SMO Chapter 8.2 : Rebuilding

Cooking was difficult with Magic, but LacX barely managed.

Using Water to Clean, Wind to Cut, and Fire to Cook, he managed to make food using Magic.

'And with this, we can help with construction tomorrow.'

. . .

As it turns out, rebuilding was way harder than it sounded.

Every Structure had to be built from the ground up. And to make ut worst, most of the ground had Craters or Hills.

Using Earth Magic and Shovels, they took the Hills to fill the Craters. There were still a few dips in the ground here and there, so some people went to some other nearby hill and shaved the top off, then filling the rest of the holes.

LacX was on Resource Duty, since he had the "Storage" Skill and high Agility.

Amy and was on Cutting Duty, since they needed more Planks or Slabs for construction.

Mana was on Wash Duty, as well as Freezer Duty, since there was some leftover meat that needed to be cooled.

Nia was on Ground Duty, using her Earth Magic to Flatten the Ground.

And Laril was on Flame Duty, since there were a few buildings that needed Iron Bars for support, so she kept the fire in a recently built Iron Furnace lit to a certain degree.

They were reluctant at first, but Nia and Laril just followed the order given to them.

After a few hours, there were 5 Buildings finished, with a few more that were only a quarter of the way built.

A whistle blew, signaling that everyone cam take a break.

LacX and the others are eating outside for a change.

"Hey, so what exactly is it that you do?" Amy took a kabob and sandwich from a Basket that was handed to everybody who participated in the rebuilding.

"Me? I'm an Adventurer from a Town called 'Stella'. I participated in an Event that was held there, and was first place for the First Round. The Second Round is supposed to be here in Mardeal, but because of the No-Name, it was stalled until next week." LacX takes a Sandwich from the Basket.

Noticing how Nia and Laril weren't eating, his guess was that they were waiting for permission.

"You guys can eat your fill. There is no need to wait for me."

"Are you sure? Slaves are usually supposed to eat whatever is left over when their Master finishes. If you insist, then I'll dig in." Nia takes 3 Kabobs and 2 Sandwiches.

"Don't eat it all Nia. You should leave more for Master." Laril takes a single Sandwich, and nothing else.

"It's fine. I grabbed what I was gonna eat, so just eat until you can't eat anymore. Afterall, there is still half of the Basket left. Almost out of Kabobs though."

Not knowing what to decide, Laril takes a Kabob and another Sandwich.

'What meat is this made from? I should give my gratitude to the chef. Both the Kabobs and Sandwiches are superb!' Mana has already eaten 2 Kabobs and 2 Sandwiches.

"Well, you can thank them after we return the Baskets. For now, just enjoy the food." Amy takes her last bite, and sits on a nearby log.

Everyone continues to eat, until a sudden shout comes from one of the Towns residents.

"There are Wolves coming! A Bear is also heading this way!"

"I'll check it out. You guys stay here." Getting his weapons ready, LacX heads towards the area where the man came from.

'A Bear? That's new.'

Spotting the Wolves, he realized something was off.

'Aren't they all Wolf Cubs? And different color too...'

Out of nowhere, a Ball of Fire suddenly came charging towards him.

Quickly gathering Mana, he uses 'Mana Disruption', which was a gamble considering that he has only succeeded once.

After recovering, he noticed the Attacker.

A Large Dark Red Bear began to invoke another fire attack.

'What is that?'

[Appraisal]

[Name : None]

[Race : Ash Bear]

[Rank : B]

[Level : ? ]

[Clan Unique Skill]

<Ashes : Using the Ashes of a Target, the User can recover HP and MP by 1 for every 10ml>

<New Skill Acquired>

<Ashes Acquired>

[Daily Copied Skills : 1/3]

'So it's an Ash Bear. I guess Fire Magic would make se-'

LacX was interrupted, since he had to avoid an incoming Fire Ball.

'That was close. Let's focus on the Bear first.'

Activating "Booster", LacX runs towards the Ash Bear at top speed.

Using "Momentum Slash", he strikes at the bear... and hit's something hard.

The Bear blocked using it's claws.

'Is the Bear faster than me? And how hard are these Claws!'

Jumping back, LacX tries again, this time while activating "Sprint".

There was a slight crack that appeared on it's claws, but nothing else happened.

Swinging, the Bear nearly hits LacX as he jumped back.

'There is one more thing I can try.'

Putting his weapons away, he creates Daggers made of Water.

'And for the final touch.'

While simultaneously using Wind Magic, he coats the Daggers in a Sharp Layer of Wind.

Going in for one more shot, he hits the Bear directly in the Forearm.

It was cut clean off.

'At this point, I can't even be amazed at myself anymore.'

With an injured Arm, the Bear goes into a Rage, going Ablaze and surrounding itself in fire.

Everything around it turned into ashes, and were immediately absorbed by the Bear.

It's Arm began to grow back at a steady pace.

'It's recovering. I should disrupt the Fire first.'

Gathering Mana, he started to subconsciously gather too much.

Just realizing, it was too late.

"Whoops, too mu-"

Throwing the Mana, it hit the Bear.

It began to scream.

Yelling and Screaming, the Bear began shaking violently, then started charging towards LacX.

Jumping out of the way, the Bear ran past him, then collapsed after one more cry of pain.

[Rewards]

[Exp +437]

[Level 6 -> 8]

[Drops : Ash Bear Pelt]

'Two Levels? That's a boost if I've ever seen one.'

Before he did anything else, he heard a yelp from his left.

There were 5 Wolf Cubs, each a different.

Dark Red, Dark Blue, Silver, Brown, and a really Light Yellow.

'My guess is that they each have a different element, but what is the Yellow one?'

[Appraisal]

[Name : None]

[Race : Bright Wolf (Infant)]

[Rank : F]

[Level : 1]

[Clan Unique Skill]

<Luminescence : Creating Light from it's body, the User can use Heal any target within it's range. Uses 1 MP for every 1 HP Recovered. Self Use is possible>

<New Skill Acquired>

<Luminescence Acquired>

[Daily Copied Skills : 2/3]

'So is it a "Light" Wolf? Or maybe a Holy Wolf. Anyways, they don't seem to be hostile.'

Walking towards them, LacX dispels his Daggers.

As he approached, the Cubs began to wag their tails.

'Reminds me of Puppies. Are they not afraid of me?'

Kneeling down, the Cubs all tackled him to the ground and began to lick him furiously.

"Hey! That tickles!"

To his surprise, they all stopped licking him, and instead sat next to him.

'Are they attached to me? This is gonna be a handful. Should I take them with me? They could be helpful.'

Getting up, LacX begins walking back to the others.

. . .

"So? Care to explain?"

Amy was surrounded by the Wolf Cubs.

"Well, there was an Ash Bear, so I took it out. However, these guys were all nearby when the Bear attacked. After defeating the Bear, they became attached, and followed me back here."

Mana was unsurprised, but the others staring at him with puzzled faces.

"That's a joke, right? Even an Ash Bear wouldn't be around these parts." Nia was suspicious of him.

"I have the Pelt right here for proof."

Taking the Pelt from his Storage, everybody is left stunned at the Red Pelt.

A couple of seconds went by without a word, and Amy finally snaps out of it.

"LacX! Do you know what this is!?"

"Umm, an Ash Bear Pelt?"

"Exactly! That was a B Rank Creature! How did you beat a B Rank at your Level? What Level are you?"

"Well, I was Level 6 before the Bear. Right now I'm Level 8."

"Hold on... Level 6? You beat this at Level 6? I'm a higher Level, but even I can just barely beat a B Rank! Even if the Ash Bear has a small amount of Magic Resistance, it can still engulf itself in Flames, making Water Magic less effective because of the High Temperature!"

"Oh yeah! I saw the Bear do something like that! When I tried using 'Mana Disruption', it didn't work, and the Bear began to Scream and Yell. It charged at me, but after I avoided it, it just fell."

Mana put her hand on her chin.

'Wait, did he do what he did last time?'

Thinking on it, Amy realized something.

"Wait, are you gonna sell that at the Guild?"

"Well, I'm gonna need Money if I'm gonna go to the Magic School, so I think I'm gonna sell it to the Guild."

"Well, if you don't mind, can I buy it off you?" Amy takes out a small pouch.

"Sure, but I don't know the Market Price, so I think you should name the price."

"Really? If that's the case, then here."

Amy hands LacX a coin.

"Sure, this should be mo-"

Realizing the Gold Coin in his hand, he begins to hesitate.

"Wait, isn't this a Gold Coin? Even hunting 50 Rabbits didn't give me this much."

"50 Rabbits?" Everybody looks at LacX curiously.

"It was after my First Quest. I hunted Rabbits for Exp, and afterwards I turned them in at the Guild in Stella. While I was at it, I also gathered Menti Herbs, and altogether I made almost 2 Silver."

Amy was gonna say something else, but cut herself off.

"Anyways, just take the Gold Coin. Think of it as a Token of Appreciation. You also need School Funds, don't you?"

Saying nothing else, LacX just nods and gives Amy the Bear Pelt.

As soon as the deal was made, the Whistle blew.

"I guess we should get back to work. The sooner the better." LacX packs everything up, and then remembered something important.

"Right, what are we gonna do about them?"

Pointing at the Cubs, they now had something else to worry about.

. . .