Whether Njal holds up to his promise of teaching him a trick, he doubts he'll learn about them now. They have been traveling for a few days, with breaks in between to hunt for food. It was clear to him, everyone's used to this and may have done this often before he came here. If they are what he believes, they'll remain on the path for two to three weeks.
He expected to feel sick since they were traveling and at a high altitude, for a baby. Nothing happened, though. Saying he's lucky wouldn't make sense so could it be related to his parents. From how everyone phrased it, they have been doing this for quite some time, definitely longer than he's been alive.
They were moving, however, where they were going he didn't know. The anchors in his stomach weighed down on him, it wasn't the first time they hid something from him. He learned what it was after, amazement by the scorpions and how they were carrying his and the others' huts. He just felt sick, he should probably not vomit on himself. It would be pretty pathetic.
He thinks back on the days at the beginning of their travels and two things came up in highlight.
He thought they mainly used scorpions as a mode of transportation only; he was wrong. They also own lizards. The lizards were used for the guards to cover any blind spot we couldn't see. The lizards are able to keep up with the scorpions. From what it looks like, he gauges the speed they're at is twenty miles per hour.
He made some noise to catch the attention of his caretaker, he needed to do something. He was bored and tucked tightly into the hammock, entertainment is a necessity, he however didn't respond. He then decides to use the kid as means of entertainment to end his boredom and take a nap once more afterward.
Ah, yes. The great outdoors. The last thing he wants, not even needs. He would have been content bullying Tapling but no. Tapling must have thought he needs some fresh air and here they are outside together, in the kid's arms. He just has to be here out here instead, great. The wind was brushing through his hair, the sun was blinding him as the barren land stretches beyond as far as the eye can see.
He looks around at the other huts carried by scorpions. Some of the residents were laying on the shell with blankets and sheets to soften it, napping under the sunlight as it warmed them through. Others were chatting among one other or reading. Down below, the guards were drifting alongside them, focused on protecting the residents.
He'd rather not tire himself in this body. If that happens, Tapling will use it as an excuse for him to take another nap. He's not a bad caretaker, if anything he's really good with kids, Rudeus is just an actually full grown adult who doesn't need naps.
He can sleep on his own just fine.
"Tapling!" Someone screams was so loud it could catch anyone's attention. They quickly turned to the direction of the noise, it was a young girl, she looked eleven years old. She wasn't even on the same scorpion as them. She is in front of them, on their left located on another scorpion."Can I come over?!"
… Excuse me? You're riding your own separate scorpion, they weren't sharing the same one. She was on her own, just like they were.
"Sure, Q'aila!" And yet Tapling agreed. How would she even get here? How would she be able to come to them?
She gives a thumbs-up before running back inside her hut, grabbing something inside to bring with her. Q'aila appears once more, in hand was a rock. The rock looks sturdy, he thinks. It didn't look dirty, it was solid and wouldn't bend no matter how much force was used. It was probably used to make stone tools when they were low on supplies.
She closes her eyes and he noticed her murmuring something. The line of dialogue she was saying was covered up because of the distance between the two of them. Pulling her hand to her chest squeezing tightly around the rock as though she could crush it herself. Before pulling it away from her, outward-pointing towards them.
What was she doing?
She mummers another string of dialogue to herself. Finally, she opens her eyes, verdant green glow with a deep blue shades within her iris and her lashes glowing with the highlight of gold flickering off of them. Her hand, still maintaining the direction, turned her palm facing the edge of the shell… Then she drops it.
It stops midway. Apart from him, he questioned if he was seeing straight. However, it started to move, technically expanded. The small rock size increased its size, flattening itself and adding railing to the side. Both endings were stuck, secured to the edge of the shell unmoving like it wasn't going anywhere. It looked ragged but was smoothed out within a few seconds like it was a stone pathway.
She checks over it, making sure if the quality was up to her taste, and she nods to herself in approval. Q'aila walks down her own bridge as if what she did was the most normal thing in the world. It stayed stationary, no creaking or cracking, even with the motions between the two scorpions.
What the hell was that?! He wants to do that too!
He pulled his arms to the boy's neck and started reaching out to the girl. His excited gargling of what he had seen. He wanted to know if what he saw was actually real. The girl finally at their end, looking proud of what she made.
Tapling is surprised by Rudeus's reaction at Q'aila bridge. "Do you like what Q'aila made, Rudy?"
He nods excitedly at him, this is now the second amazing thing he has seen yet. He wished he could talk to know what he had seen.
"Ooh! Did little Rudy get excited from my spell?" Q'aila had finally crossed the bridge, she was next to him with a wide smile on her face. "I may not look like much but I used to be an adventurer!"
"I'm quite aware of that. Your uncle had to find you himself and bring you back, or did you forget that?" Tapling does not look impressed; though he was smiling, menacingly. Oi, can you stop? You're starting to scare me.
The young girl, however, was unaffected. If anything, she looked like she expected it instead. "You're not going to drop that, are you?"
"No."
She fake sniffles, acting like his words had an effect on her… Oh, they were playing around.
"Why did you come over? Aren't you busy with the others?"
Others? Was she with some of the others who can do magic like her as well?
"Nah, we're taking a break. We haven't been making breakthroughs with their magic." Frustration was etched in her face but not directed towards anyone. Maybe at herself. "I'm tempted to send them over to Jade and Marcella. They'll probably have more success with them than me."
You're the teacher for magic? He looks up and down at her, drowning himself in her looks… I approve.
"Thinks that's best?"
"Does that matter? They only have a couple of years before they turn ten. I can only do so much." She eases closer to him, whispering in a low voice. "If nothing's done about it, the Elders will get involved. The last thing I need is for them to stare at me with a disappointed look."
Should that really be your concern?
Tapling pulled her cheeks as punishment. She deserves it. It's obvious she's isn't a bad girl though she does have a horrible time phrasing her words. Her cheek is blooming to a bright red and she noticed that Rudeus was staring at her.
"Oh yeah. Do you think Rudy will want to join my sessions? I bet an attentive boy like him will pay attention." She pokes his cheek gently, worried she would injure him. "You will, won't you?"
Absolutely.
"Don't decide things for him. Besides, he still hasn't learned how to read or write. Including the 'trick', Njal is planning on teaching him after this trip is over."
"B-but he could learn them now-."
"No."
You're quite scary aren't you, Tapling.
It's been a year and a half. He's officially two years old.
And he's pissed. Today was the day he was meant to start his training on magic with Q'aila. However, it was canceled.
Everyone had finally decided to descend and ground themselves on the floor, the scorpions digging themselves a hole to hide for plane sight. There's a village nearby that has been showing hostility towards us for the past four weeks; it was after discovering where they were located. They weren't pleased when they learned who our tribe was.
Thanks to that, there was tension leaking between the two tribes.
The concern of them harming us was imminent and it would take too much time to move again. Elders found the situation to be tedious and sent representatives to clear out the issue. Q'aila turned out to be one of those people.
Does he know that she technically had no control over what happened? Yes. Will that make him feel better? No.
He had essentially nothing scheduled for today. As such, he couldn't stay home and be expected to do nothing. If it wasn't for everyone always barging into the hut, he probably would have never left and stayed planted there. Wonder if this counts as exposure therapy? He quickly tells Tapling he's going for a walk.
Walking along the handmade trail down the tribe, passing by anyone that came his way. He greets everyone as he passes by. Everyone looked as young as they did before, one of the many gifts he's thankful for. He finally arrives at Q'aila hut, ready to steal a book from her. Her home is being taken care of by the others since she won't be around for a while.
Entering her hut, light streams from the door, highlighting everything that was here. It was decorated with fabrics, string, and beads hanging off the walls held up by small hooks. Bags filled with something leaning against the wall. Her hammock hanged on the ceiling, swing side to side. The cupboards on the floor opened wide revealing a couple of books inside it.
There were 3 books inside and a map, all of them looking worn out from years of use. Did they lack the money to get new books? Actually, why do they have books in this place anyway? If life couldn't survive, then someone wouldn't be able to document it. He pulled them out of the cupboard, it took a bit of force to come out. Quickly skimming through them, they were all hand-written and what it looks like from multiple different people.
The pages inside were preserved pretty well compared to the exterior. Did they have some technique with preservation? The tribe has always been an oddity so he has yet to understand all of it. He'll learn more about them with Q'aila. Though, it means others had done something like this as well.
The first one is called "Monsters, Weaknesses, and Taming". The book describes the different kinds of creatures that lurk on the land, ways to defeat them, and how to even tame them.
The second is "Guide to Magic". The book describes the different types of magic they can use and the theories behind them.
The last one is called "Plants and Herbs Encyclopedia". The book describes where they can be found, the type of uses each has, and how to gather them as well as how to grow them on your own.
He's thankful for his father, mother, and Tapling for taking the time to teach him how to read and write. The same goes for the other inhabitants always encouraging him. He's truly blessed to have a family like them.
He grabs a map from inside, untying the string that kept it from unfurling. He spreads it out on the ground, letting it go but it curls up by itself. A few rocks are placed on the edges, keeping it in place to give him an easier time looking over it.
He skims over the map, there were multiple continents on it. Each labeled with their own name, though it didn't really tell him anything more but their location. He finds 'Demon Continent' labeled in bold and finds that they're the most detached from the rest besides the 'Heaven Continent'.
He'll learn more about the rest when Q'aila returns.
Removing the rocks, he curls the map appropriately and ties it in place with the string, placing it back in the spot inside the cupboards.
Finally, he opens the "Guide to Magic" and starts reading.
Whoever wrote this book, thank you. You're probably dead but thanks anyway.
The book confirms his belief about how magic works thanks to the knowledge of a NEET. Mana exists in all things and it can be used for many different kinds of magic.
There are three schools of magic that exist here. They are Attack Magic, Healing Magic, and Summoning Magic. Each is straight to the point. You're required to use mana if you want access to these abilities.
Mana can be used in two ways. It can be used within your body or to draw out mana from something that has mana.
Incantations are used by people when they want to use magic. For most incantations, it takes five seconds for a spell to be formed but that can vary depending on how complicated the spell is. It looks like it's the norm to use incantations.
Everyone is born with a set amount of mana. Tough out of luck for him, both of his parents are similar to warriors so there's a chance he has very little.
How worrying…
"Q'aila wouldn't mind if I did one spell?"
He may as well figure out what he's working with rather than go in blind. He flipped through the pages, looking for a low level spell, and landed on water ball. If he remembers, it should be something everyone has to learn in the beginning so this should be safe. Pushed it aside and started citing the words as followed.
"Bestow the protection of water on the place thee demandest, let thin crystal clear flow here, WATER BALL!"
He felt his blood gathering at his palm like the blood was attempting to seep out of his hands. Soon, he notices the generation of water was quickly formed in front of him. Its form dripping and wobbling, floating and weightless.
It caught him off guard, the water ball fell to the floor when he lost focus. Grabbing a piece of cloth from nearby to clean up the floor. No evidence of him being here shall be left behind.
Well… At least, he can do spells. He doesn't feel anything after doing the incantation and attempts to do it one more time. The incantations, in his opinion, were a hassle. Were they something everyone was required to learn? No, that can't be the case. It would be easier for him to understand they use incantations as a crutch to understand the spell. Besides, the idea of memorizing it would take too long and he forgets halfway through.
Instead, he closes his eyes and starts to visualize it. The image of the look, and shape merging to the sight he had seen earlier. He could feel the burning sensation of his blood pulled in one central part of his palm once more. Once the image was fully visualized, he opened his eyes and a water ball once more as he imagined.
He was surprised by the fact he could easily do it. Walking back in disbelief about what was happening, he trips over the book and falls back. Getting a water ball head first.
Wiping his face, he looks at his hands and sees them soaked with water. He realizes what he did was real and a bundle of excitement bloomed in his chest. Before he could do anything with his accomplishment, he felt a headache and drowsiness bleating out the pain.
Wait, is this mana depletion? Is that all the mana he has? How pathetic…
Soon after, he passes out.