Chapter 48 Dismantling and Hunting

It was the next day. It was hard to get myself out of bed. The weights were really making day to day life inconvenient. I eventually rolled my way off the bed, before going into my familiar exercise routine. I did less than normal, because the weights made the workout extremely hard. Once I was done, I flipped back onto the bed to rest. I momentarily considered removing the weights, but decided against that, since I would get stronger at a faster rate with them. My physique is already on par with Astra and Ana, but I'm certain I can make it stronger than them.

"Breakfast is ready," Ana barged into my room to say. Then she sees me lying in bed. "I'll tell Astra to leave out a plate."

"I'm awake," I yelled at her as she was leaving the room. "Set out a plate for me."

"Okay," Ana cheerfully replies before leaving my room. After some time spent recovering, I followed her out and went to the dining room table. At the table, I could see a simple meal of meat and potatoes. The potatoes had the skin removed from them, and were mashed together. When I ate them, I could tell they were seasoned with salt. There were also other tastes within the mashed potatoes, but I didn't know what they were. However, the mashed potatoes really did match well with the meat.

Once we finish eating, Astra gathers the dishes and heads to wash them. Ana tried to leave at one point, but I stopped her from leaving, because I had something I wanted to discuss. It wasn't anything big. I just wanted to dismantle the demonic beast's bodies that we had in storage. This by itself could be done by Astra or me. However, while we were down there, I thought that we might be able to expand the tunnel. Of course, this only works if everyone is involved, so I wanted to ask them what they thought of this. Soon enough, Astra came back after washing the dishes.

"What are we talking about?" She asks upon returning.

"I wanted to dismantle the demonic beast's bodies now," I said. Astra tried to interrupt me at this point, but I signaled for her to let me finish talking, and she luckily agreed, so I continued. "I know that Astra and I can do it by ourselves, but I was thinking that it would be better if all of us were productive. As such, I wanted Astra to dismantle the bodies, while Ana and I worked on expanding the tunnel. Then, when Astra is done, she can help us expand the tunnel."

After I was done talking, Astra immediately asked, "how long should we work on the tunnel?"

"I was thinking that we worked until lunchtime came," I replied. Anticipating her next question, I followed it with, "don't worry, we'll hunt together once we are done."

"Okay," Astra says to indicate that she doesn't have any other questions.

"What about you Ana?" I asked once getting confirmation that Astra is on board with this idea.

"I'm fine," Ana says before going on to mumble. "I'm gonna be staying with sylvi."

I couldn't really hear what she was saying, but she seemed to be really excited. Also from the first part that I could hear, it seems like she is on with my idea.

"Okay, since there are no complaints, then let's start," I say as I head towards the dismantling/storage room.

Once there, I begin to move the bodies of the demonic beasts that had their blood drained yesterday. I did this because I wanted to help Astra, since she would be by herself dismantling. This would be a little thing for sure, but it may just make her work a little bit easier.

"O spell of wind spread with me as the center to detect my enemies."

Once I had finished moving all the bodies closer to the dismantling desk, I chanted my detection spell. From it, I could find 3 reactions. It seems like they have once again sent someone out to hunt for food because I couldn't find the fourth reaction within the vicinity of the warding barrier formation. However, it is safe to dig because from what I can see, they are not close to us.

"Okay, are we gonna do this the same as last time?" I asked Ana.

"Of course we are," she replies. "My claws make digging a piece of cake. All you have to do is move whatever I dig out of my way. Oh, since you're hunting after this, try not to use too much mana."

I wasn't planning on using any spells other than my detection spell and breeze spell. Even so, I still nodded my head to Ana because she doesn't know my plans. Once I nodded my head, Ana immediately began to work. She used her claws to attack the tunnel walls. She left claw marks on the wall. Once she made them reach a certain deepth, she began to cut in the opposite way. Her claw marks intersected with one another, and caused lots of rock and dirt to fall. There really wasn't much for me to do at the moment. Instead, if I tried to do something, I would just be getting in the way. As such, I refrained from doing anything, opting to wait for when I was needed.

"Break time, so you can move the rubble and dirt," Ana says after some time has passed. I was over in the storage area, sorting through the things Astra has already dismantled. However, once I heard that I went down the tunnel. There I found a big pile of dirt and rocks. I quickly picked up the rocks first. They are the easiest thing to move, and would also get in the way when I tried to move the dirt, so I decided to move them first. Once I finished moving the rubble, I began to work on the dirt.

"O spell of wind come forth as a breeze to blow away my opponents."

I stopped channeling my detection spell, and started using my breeze spell. This helped push the dirt down the tunnel. I had to chant it multiple times, as it wasn't really that powerful. However, that didn't stop me from using it, since it was just too convenient. Besides, the spell didn't use much of my mana. I could easily recover this amount in the time it takes for Ana to make another pile that big. I also don't really use spells while hunting. I either sneak attack the demonic beats, or have Astra attack from range. As such, mana isn't really that big of a concern for me. The only problem is an attack from Diego and his crew. However, they are still in the middle of moving bases, so they aren't a worry. I also have enough mana to deal with them even if they do attack us. I continued to use the breeze spell and soon remade the large pile, just in a different area.

"I finished moving your pile," I yelled out loud because I didn't see Ana anywhere.

"I'm still a little tired," I heard in response. "I'll continue in a little bit."

I went back through the tunnel and found Ana collapsed on the ground. I picked up her fox body, and placed it in my lap. My lap should be an improvement from the floor, especially if she is trying to rest. I also brushed my fingers through her fur, which was just as soft as her tail. However, as I brushed, I would find pieces of rubble and dirt all over her fur.

"You are gonna need to bathe after this," I told her honestly.

"I don't like the feeling of dirt in my fur either," she complains.

"I'm done," Astra suddenly says. I see her walking over to us. She momentarily pauses when she sees Ana in my lap, before she dives into my lap. I also began to run my fingers through her fur. As I was doing this, my fingers would get stuck in some places. I could tell that these places were dried blood spots, but I don't know how that happened. After all, the blood should have already been drained before she worked on them.

Well, that didn't stop me from running my fingers through their fur. I would just gently glide over those areas, since I might pull out some fur if I roughly run through them. I think it might have to do with their mana, but Astra's body is warm, while Ana's is cool. I could vaguely tell this when they are on top of me, but because I'm usually sleeping when they do that, I haven't fully realized. Right now though, I am not sleepy, so I can easily tell this.

"Okay, let's get back to work," I say upon seeing that Ana is no longer tired. I could tell this because of her expression, which seems to be fully enjoying my brushing. If she was tired, her face would have also shown hints of fatigue.

"We'll do it like before," I say while pushing them off of my lap. "Astra can dig the tunnel, Ana will use water magic to move the loose dirt, and I'll take the big stones and rocks."

It seems like they don't want to work, and just want to enjoy my brushing. I then realized that I haven't really been brushing them. I'd even told them that I would create a brush, but haven't told them that I have created it already. I'd even planned on asking them for their opinions on the bristles used in the brush, so they would have a better brushing experience. However, I never actually told them. This should give them some good motivation.

"I know you want me to brush you guys more, so I'll do so after we hunt," I say. "I also have a brush and comb made, so I'll be able to brush you guys better."

They didn't say anything in response, but immediately got into their work. It seems like actual brushing really did motivate them. I'm definitely gonna brush off all the blood and dirt that'll get onto their body. Of course, this is gonna be after I hunt with Ana, since she'll get blood all over her during the hunt. Wait, instead of thinking of this, I should be chanting my detection spell.

"Stop, let me check to make sure we are safe to dig," I yell out. "O spell of wind spread with me as the center to detect my enemies."

They stopped digging once I said that, and lucky for us, Diego and his crew weren't near us.

"That was bad," I said. "I'm glad you're motivated, but we shouldn't let down our guard. We may not be so lucky next time. Well, we are good to continue digging. Don't worry, I'll tell you when they are getting near. Let's continue to dig this tunnel out till lunch."

Then, we restarted our digging. I couldn't really see their facial expressions, so I don't know how they reacted to my sudden outburst. They shouldn't be too mad about it though. While I was thinking of this, I would also move the large rocks and stones that were removed. After a while, my stomach began to rumble, indicating that it was lunch time. We didn't even have to stop working once.

"I'll go cook," Astra suddenly says and stops digging.

"I'll go make sure she cleans herself," Ana says. "You'll be able to finish the rest up here, right?"

"Yeah," I reply as I continue moving the rocks. I had to take many breaks while we were working because the weights were really dragging me down. If this is how I am now, I don't want to think of my state when we go hunting. I'm sure I'll be even worse. Well, if I really can't handle it, I'll just use my reinforcement spell, or take off the weights. I still have some work to do, so I continued moving the big rocks and stones.

"O spell of wind come forth as a breeze to blow away my opponents."

Once all the rocks had been moved, I chanted my breeze spell. I moved all the loose dirt and dust, and mixed it with the other stuff. Once that was done, I went to the underground river. Even though I wasn't digging, I was still getting dirty. As such, I'd need to wash my hands before I can eat. I'm sure Ana is using her water spell to help clean off Astra. After I finished washing my hands, I went to the dining room table. I'm sure I have dust and dirt all over me, but washing right now would be a waste, as I'm bound to get dirty from hunting.

I waited at the dining room table for the food to be served. I knew that it was gonna be a while, since Astra literally just started making it. As such, to pass the time, I started to train my multitasking skill. The easiest way to do this would be to use multiple spells, but I can't do that now, since in doing that, I would run out of mana. After all, I need to use 6 spells, and 2 continuous spells are enough to offset my natural mana recovery. So I did the next best thing, which was use my multitasking skill to try to think of 6 separate things at once. I could do 5, but I couldn't do 6. I wasn't even able to do it when I tried to do 6 simple tasks. I had even tried to force myself to do 6 tasks, but that had just caused me pain, so I didn't go through with it.

After I had tried this, Astra and Ana came over to the table. Astra was carrying 3 plates full of food. Looking at them, I could see a salad had filled the entirety of the plates. Looking closely, I could see meat hidden underneath the salad, along with other vegetables. This looks really appetizing, despite not taking long to make. Once it was served before me, I instantly dug into the food. It was good, surprisingly good for a simple salad. It seemed like there was some ingredient connecting it all together, but I couldn't place it.

Well, as long as it tastes good then it's fine. I don't need to know what is causing the taste. Thinking like this, I continue to eat the salad that is before me. I soon finished the entirety of the salad placed before me. As usual, I finished first and then proceeded to watch Astra and Ana eat. They also finished their food quickly. Astra took the dishes and went to wash them. Ana also left, presumably to get the magic bag so we can start hunting. I'm pretty sure that we will get 7 weeks worth of food if we fill up the magic bag today. That means, tomorrow will be the last day we hunt. After that, we'll most likely do some testing in the other part of the cave. If the testing gives positive results, then I'll start running through it to see if the shape is a circle. While thinking this, Astra and Ana came back at the same time.

"Okay, it's time for us to hunt," I say. "I'll brush you guys after we are done."

"You better," Astra says.

"Don't worry about it," I replied. "Just stay safe and make sure to use our mana links if Diego and his crew attacks."

"You guys stay safe as well," she replies as we leave the cave.

"O spell of wind spread with me as the center to detect my enemies."

Once we are outside, I chant my detection spell. From it, I can see that Diego and his crew are in the same clearing. All four of them are there, so we don't have to worry about running into them while hunting.

"You want to check in on Diego and his crew?" I ask Ana.

"Let's first fill up the bag," she replies. "We can always visit them on the way back."

"Okay then" I replied as I led her out of the warding barrier formation. Ana would walk faster than me, and have to slow her pace down. The weights are really slowing me down. If I want to sneak attack the enemies, I'd have to take them off. Otherwise, I wouldn't have enough speed to actually perform the sneak attack. I don't even know if we are gonna be relying on my sneak attack, so I should attack.

As such, I asked, "are we gonna hunt like last time?"

"Yeah," she replies. "It was the most efficient way. Don't worry, I'll kill the ones you don't."

"Sure," I replied as I pointed at the weights on my limbs. "If we are doing that, then I'm gonna need you to watch these."

"Okay," she replies.

With that short conversation over, I once again focused my attention on the detection spell. I still haven't gotten any hits from it, which is weird. Demonic beasts should have appeared on the detection spell by now.

"Anything?" Ana asks. It seems like even she is noticing the lack of demonic beasts.

"I am not really getting anything from my detection spell," I reply to her.

"Any ideas as to why?" She asks casually, as if this problem doesn't affect her.

"The winter months are coming," I replied back. "The demonic beasts could have gone into hibernation. It might also be Diego and his crew. They could be hunting demonic beasts in the nearby area to prepare for the winter. It could also be a combination of these two. Either way, the demonic beasts close to us are gone."

"Well, if that's the case, then we'll just have to walk farther out," Ana says calmly.

"Yeah," I say, "so let's do that quickly."

Once I said that, I started running. I was heading towards the human zone. Over there, we would be able to find the demonic beasts in hibernation easier. We would also be able to kill them easier. Ana also ran, but she was faster than me.

"O spell of wind flow through my body to reinforce myself."

I didn't want to slow us down, so I chanted my reinforcement spell. I still kept channeling mana through my detection spell, just in case we ran into any demonic beasts on the way to the human zone. The detection spell was able to catch a group of 5 demonic beasts. They were probably looking for food to store for winter. As such, they'll attack us when they see us, so I won't have to sneak attack them.

"Ana, there are some demonic beasts to our left," I yelled out. "Let's kill them first."

Ana doesn't say anything in response, but instead chooses to rush towards the left. From her actions, it is clear that she wants to fight them. I also follow her, but stop channeling my detection spell. Keeping both spells up would constantly drain my mana. Also, since we are heading to an area with a lesser concentration of mana, my natural mana regeneration took a hit. This is just causing me to lose mana while I'm only using one spell. Luckily, my mana pool is pretty large. I'm pretty sure that it is larger than both Astra and Ana's now.

Either way, while I'm keeping the detection spell up, Ana has already engaged the demonic beasts. It was a pack of wolves, which is pretty much expected. They also immediately went to attack Ana, most likely thinking of her as easy prey: I'm sure that she doesn't need my help, but I'm still gonna watch over, just in case. However, my help was, as expected, unneeded. Her claws were able to pierce the demonic beast's fur, and decapitate them.

While I'm watching this battle, I began to realize how overly reliant on spells I am. This is something that I'm really only focusing on now, but I'm practically useless if I don't have mana. After all, my weapon is made from my own mana. Sure my physique is on par with Ana and Astra's, but that doesn't mean I'll be able to decapitate demonic beasts, especially when I don't have claws. I also don't know any fighting styles. My dad did teach me the basics, and they have served me well, but they are only the basics.

However, I won't be able to improve these things if I stay within the Forest of Calamity. After all, I'd need a weapon if I don't want to rely on mana, and the only way to get a weapon is from a blacksmith. There is no way a blacksmith would be within the Forest of Calamity. If I want to find a blacksmith, then I'd need to go to a city. The same thing applies for fighting styles. If I want to learn any fighting style, then I need to find someone to teach me. So, if I want to improve myself, then I'd have to leave the Forest of Calamity.

Well, it's not like I need any of this in reality. Being reliant on mana isn't necessarily a bad thing, and I'll be fine as long as I manage my mana properly. Also while fighting styles would help me improve, they'd also take a while to learn. They also might not even help me that much. I feel like it'll be better for me to just stay within the Forest of Calamity. While I was deliberating this, Ana had already finished killing the demonic beasts. She had also stored them in the magic bag.

"Everything alright sylvi?" She asked once she came back over, which jogged me from my thoughts.

"I'm good," I replied. "I was just thinking of how I'm too reliant on mana."

"Oh, is that so," she says out loud, before mumbling. "Then why is your face so pale?"

"What was that?" I ask as I wasn't able to pick up her mumble.

"It was nothing," she replies before going off. I'm pretty sure it wasn't nothing, but she had already left, so I couldn't ask any more. I just continued to follow her as we arrived into the human zone. I could already find a lot of demonic beasts before we had entered the human zone, but I didn't want to say anything, as Ana would just go towards them immediately.

"So where are the demonic beasts?" Ana asks.

"I'm attacking first, remember," I say as I place my weights on the ground.

"I remember, I just want to know where they are so I can attack in case you miss."

"Fine, they are over there," I say as I point in the direction of the demonic beasts that I plan to sneak attack. After pointing, I begin to head over there under the cover of the trees. I got close to them. It was much easier compared to the ones in the beastmen zone.

"O spell of wind, form from my hands a mighty blade that follows my movements to destroy my enemies."

I chanted my spell sword and used it to kill the demonic beasts. They were slower compared to the ones in the beastmen zone, so they aren't able to dodge in time. My spell sword cleaved through their heads. Of course once I had done that, I instantly stopped channeling my spell sword. Ana came over and put the bodies into storage. The rest of the day went pretty similar to that. Most of them were killed during the sneak attack. There was rarely a time when my sneak attack wasn't able to finish everything off. If that did happen, Ana would take care of the ones I had failed to kill.

The demonic beasts were easy to kill, but our hunting efficiency was still lower than yesterday's. I'm gonna say that is because of the wasted time it took to get here. If we didn't have to worry about the time, then this would have been the most efficient hunting trip. We soon finished filling the magic bag, and decided to head home.

"O spell of wind flow through my body to reinforce myself."

With that decided, I chanted my reinforcement spell. My detection spell was still being channeled. The detection spell was used to find the best route to our home, while the reinforcement spell was used to help keep up with Ana. Next time we go hunting, I'm gonna take off the weights as they are just a big detriment. I'll only use them while we are in the base. After a bit of time, we made it back to the base. I didn't see Astra anywhere, so I thought she was in her room.

"I'll go place these demonic beats so that their blood drains," I say to Ana as I grab the magic bag.

"I guess I'll go look for Astra then," she replies before going off to look.

Seeing her off, I went to the dismantling/storage area. I went to the underground river, and just placed the demonic beast's bodies in a way to where the blood would flow out of the wound. I was pretty accustomed to this, so I was able to do it pretty quickly. Once that was done, I went back to the kitchen, where I saw Astra cooking dinner. I didn't want to interrupt her, so I went to the dining room table where Ana was. There, I waited for dinner to be done.

I didn't have to wait to long, as Astra made something that didn't take a long time to complete. I ate it quickly, and didn't really taste it. I was just too tired to do so. Once I had finished eating, I went to bed. I wanted to do my regular practice, but I was just too tired, so I just fell asleep without doing them. I can always just do it tomorrow, but why do I feel like I have missed something.