Shu POV:
Once we set off for the south, we proceeded through some more canyon areas until we happened upon an area full of water that went up to our ankles but also saw that there was a large section of water in front of us that was too deep and rough to cross by swimming over. "These are the wetlands. Though the water in front of us is too rough and deep to proceed by means of swimming, there should be a cave nearby that will allow us to go under the waves relatively dry and onto the other side of the peninsula. And there should be a Sheep Tribe camp near the entrance to the Forest of the Dead, so there's that as well," Anya stated.
"How do you know so much about the areas we keep visiting?" Jiro asked her.
"Back in Noluta, before I was the guardian defender of the village, I was in charge of the local library. I read mainly books about the world and its history, but also read some spell books just for kicks and giggles. Had I known that I would use those same spells in the future when I got Mystic Mermaid, I would've crammed them as much as the world history books," Anya smiled warmly.
"So what kinds of spells are in the books you have on you?" I asked her.
"Mainly spells in the form of Black Magic and White Magic, but I also have Support and Barrier magics, though in lesser supply. With my surreal strength and durability, I never really needed to study more than a few spells for those two latter classes. Besides, my skills in healing magic are to the point where I can cast the spell Previve, which will automatically revive a fallen ally if they happen to be killed by an attack, and the effect will last as long as there are monsters in the vicinity," Anya giggled.
"Well, maybe we should check our auras to see where we are now," Kluke smiled as she, I, Jiro, and Marumaro let out our shadows and Anya smiled.
"Shu has risen to rank 3 and Jiro and Kluke are rank 2 in White and Black Magic respectively with all three of you having a level 2 Generalist aura. Maro, on the other hand, has a bit more. Rank 2 in Black Magic, White Magic, and Sword Master while also having a rank 4 in Monk class. No wonder he's able to hit like a War Mech for such a little guy," Anya smirked at Marumaro.
"Hehe," Marumaro smiled, obviously boasting.
"So when are we going to be able to take full control of our shadows anyways?" Kluke asked.
"That will only happen once you all have reached rank 6 in at least one class. Only then will you be freed from those light spheres' influence and be able to take those shadows as your own. It will then be only a matter of time before you can use Corporeal attacks and be one with your inner shadow," Anya smiled.
"That sounds awesome! We better train like no tomorrow while we tear through the enemies!... Oh, but first, we really should go get the medicine," Shu smiled.
"I can see that you are quite exuberant for such a young man, Shu. It's almost as if you three are all different in terms of personality. Jiro is the smart and tidy one, Kluke is careful and cunning, and you are wild and exuberant. All good traits, depending on how you use them to their advantage," Anya said, our group blushing at that.
"What about Maro?" Marumaro asked.
"You're special in the fact that you express yourself through dance. But I can tell that, despite you being the youngest of us, you are actually quite brave to have gotten that shadow," Anya smiled.
"W-Well, that mean man gave me the light. Said it would help Maro save village," Maro said, Kluke and Jiro looking a bit perplexed while Anya looked a bit upset.
"What could that mean? Why would Nene willingly give you a shadow?" Jiro asked.
"Yeah, why would he?" I asked.
"I know why... I apologize for not mentioning it prior, but each of those light spheres is a part of Nene's magical soul. But as I have stated, all you need to do is reach rank 6 in a class of Shadow and then you must get intense angry inside of your body unlike any anger before. Once that happens, though Nene's soul will still be in you, it will no longer go up in strength from you using your own latent power. So it is essential that we get you to rank up to 6 in a class and then have some kind of anger rise up in you. We can then use that to conquer Nene with all of our talents," Anya said, me looking at her in confusion before a smile formed over my face.
"Damn, and I thought that Jiro was smart. You're on a whole other level to have thought out such a brilliant plan!" I smiled at her.
"Well, it's not as easy as it may seem, Shu. Nene can feel his soul's power wherever he goes, as it is a part of him. He will know when you are rank 6 and will then try to detain you and take his soul for himself, leaving you with no magic at all. It's happened at least 2 times before I gave you Nene's spheres... why they were by the Mechat loading docks is beyond me, however. He normally has them under lock and key... and there is still one final piece of his soul that has gone missing for quite awhile... the Killer Bat shadow," Anya said, me looking a bit confused at the last bit.
"Killer Bat? What kind of power does it possess?" Kluke asked.
"It possesses unbelievable speed and has balanced stats in pretty much everything else, save for a low usage of magic supply. Someone must have come onto the ship without my knowledge and made off with it, but who is still unknown to me," Anya said as we then proceeded down and into the cave in question, the place actually being quite a ways down and requiring us to go down a lot of steps before we reached the real area, which was covered in coral and pretty rocks and gems all over. But there were also some water-bound enemies that Maro smiled at.
"Magic Jellyfish, Hermit Crab Poos, and Cutlass Fish? No way they gonna get in Maro's way!" Marumaro smirked as he and the others rushed forward and began to attack the numerous different enemies while making sure to try and prevent the Magic Jellyfish from using any kind of spells.
"The Magic Jellyfish don't have that name for nothing. They can use Wind and Water spells with quite the devastating blow to any unlucky enough to have no magic defense," Anya said as we moved forward some more until we happened upon an area that looked to be inaccessible due to the water being quite low. "No worries for the water being low. Watch and learn how to truly utilize the power of the water," Anya smiled as she focused her power and, out of nowhere, we gasped as the water started to rise with a platform so that we could cross it! Good thing too, since the bottom of the water was filled with nasty piranha.
"You keep amazing us every time you use that mermaid shadow, Anya! I never would've thought of doing that," Kluke smiled.
"Well, I simply used the Waterus spell, which has a large flume of water emerge and stay in place depending on where I send it to. If at an enemy, it simply dissapears after it hits them enough. But to anything that is already a body of water or happens to be just regular ground and rocks, it will stay put for as long as we wish. I suggest we cross so we can continue onward," Anya said as we moved across the platform and went to the other side, our group then noticing a large area filled with ankle-deep water and a trio of chests at the end.
"Wait... I sense danger lurking nearby..." Anya said, me looking to where she was and me gasping as I narrowly dodged out of the way of a huge snake head trying to chomp down on me! But it wasn't just any snake. It was a monster that Maro gasped at.
"Oh no! Hyrdrattler! He's a tough one, guys, be careful!" Maro said as we proceeded to the Hydrattler and Anya smiled at this.
"I've actually faced a stronger version of this myself at one point that was green and could petrify foes. This won't take too long," she smiled as she charged of an attack and I smiled at how it was a powerful fire blast that completely charred off one of the heads!
"My turn!" Kluke smiled as she sent a Flara spell at another head and it got very badly damaged, but not out. I then answered with a smack to that same head, knocking it out in the process. But then the Hydrattler did an attack of his own. And what did he do? He roared extremely loudly and I suddenly felt extremely weakened as I saw a green ooze dripping off my hand.
"Ack! I've been poisoned!" Kluke exclaimed, me then knowing that someone had to cure the poison. "Don't worry, I'll assist," Anya said as she cast a White Magic spell and I gasped as the poison left mine and Kluke's bodies immediately, allowing Jiro to attack one of the heads himself and then Kluke to use Flara on the same head. Only one head remained on the Hydrattler as it then tried to extend that head forward to bite directly into Anya's body and she let him do it! I was scared she might die from that deep a wound, but was amazed at how, even though it bit into her arm, the bite barely affected her! That and the fact that the snake's fangs broke off after Anya yanked back made me smile at her tactful nature.
"Being a robot means immunity to nearly all types of afflictions. Poison and sharp fangs don't affect me one bit," Anya smiled as she then used her Mermaid to smack the Hydrattler's remaining face twice in a row, defeating it quite easily!
"Anya is Amazing!" Maro smiled.
"Thanks for the compliments, guys," Anya smiled at us as we then looted the treasure chests and left the place, us having to go up some more steps until we saw that we were now on the part of the peninsula that contained the Forest of the Dead.
"Before we do anything else, we need to stock up on supplies at the Sheep Tribe Camp. The Forest of the Dead is not a place to be taken lightly," Jiro said.
"Good thinking, Jiro. Maybe if we hurry, we can get back to Lago Village before nightfall. Then we can stay the night with them," I smiled at him.
"That's after we give them their medicine. Speaking of, when we do get to the leaf of the Gabo plant, which is what it is called, we need at maximum 5 leaves from the flowers to get enough for everyone. When collecting the medicine, make sure that at least one leaf is left on each flower after collecting the leaves. That should ensure that they still thrive in this forest," Anya stated.
"Good idea," Kluke smiled as we then proceeded to the Sheep Tribe Camp to stock up on supplies.