Chapter 5:

Titan Hiking

"So...does he do that with everyone, or is it just you lot?

"No, Fou just does it with Senpai." Mash giggled, "It happens most often when something important is planned for the next day, and we worry he'll oversleep."

Ritsuka huffed and crossed his arms, "It happens one time and no one lets you forget it."

"Fou!"

After a harrowing day in town and a night filled with questions, the morning arrived far too early if you asked Rex and the others.

Underneath the Traveler's Tree, the trio of Blades and Drivers, with the addition of their new friends, had been content with sleeping the morning hours away. But as the sun peaked over the Cloud Sea and warmth covered the vast Titan, everyone began to stir and reluctantly made ready for the new day.

Or, at least many of them tried.

Nia and Dromarch were extremely reluctant to rise for the new day. The latter was tired but gracefully awoke with a long, drawn out stretch. On the other hand, his Driver did not want to wake at all. Using her blade as a makeshift fluffy bed instead of sleeping on the cold hard ground gave Nia far less of a reason to get up.

Thankfully, after an incessant amount of prodding, she did awake, albeit in a fairly grumpy mood.

Then there was Ritsuka, the last to stir from a peaceful sleep.

By the time Rex and the others were wide awake and ready to start the day, Chaldea's master hadn't budged an inch, lightly snoring despite a bit of poking by Tora.

Before Mash or Pyra could gently awaken the teen however, another member of the party took the initiative and did it himself.

Fou, the fluffy mascot, leaped off of Dromarch's back and landed on the boy's face.

Ritsuka shot upward with a sudden gasp and something with a remarkably amount of fuzz covering his face. His raced and pounded against his chest like a drumbeat. It was like he was stuck in a nightmare really. As if a bear or something equally as vicious had grabbed his face with a furry paw and prepared to suffocate him as painfully as possible.

After a moment of flailing wildly though, Ritsuka popped his eyes open, looked down, and found his culprit. Fou, staring up at the master, scratching one of his ears, and looked oddly satisfied.

Nia spared the critter with a wary look, "Just saying, it ever does that to me and it'll find my fist to be far less gentle with it."

As the last of the group was roused from sleep, Rex stomped out the last embers of the campfire and looked to the day ahead. The sun was high and the sky itself only had a scattering of clouds floating by. Despite staying up a tad later than anyone had intended, Driver, Blade, Master, and Demi-Servant felt well rested and ready to push ahead in their journey.

Unfortunately, the group had hit a tiny little snag in their plans.

"Well, this is quite the pickle we are in."

Everyone gathered around their burnt out campsite and put their heads together to decide what came next. Helping Rex get Pyra to Elysium came to mind, which also meant getting everyone to the World Tree first. Finding it wouldn't be a problem, everyone on Alrest knew the massive tree trunk was at the center of the Cloud Sea. But knowing where it was and getting there would be easier said than done.

Luckily, Rex gad an idea! With the others looking on, he reached down and pulled a rather nifty looking device from one of his pouches.

It was a Cloud Sea Compass, much to Tora's wonder. The device was an extremely useful tool for anyone needing to navigate Alrest on their own. For Rex, it made his job as a Salvager remarkably simpler. Azurda recounted that before . With it, Rex could pick up his loot and instantly know the quickest way back to the trade guild in no time flat!

Even Mash and Ritsuka were impressed. They were certain that if a particular Pirate Captain were present, she would be grinning ear to ear at the prospect of such a tool. Of course, if her ship could actually function on the Cloud Sea was still up in the air. Still, that certainly wouldn't stop Drake from trying anyway.

"She'd likely just make Blackbeard try first and then go from there…"

As useful a tool as Rex's compass was however, another problem reared its ugly head. Even if Gormott was the closet Titan to the World Tree, how would they get there?

"All we need is a ship..."

Dromarch sighed, "The Army has every ship in town in its grip…"

"Yeah…" Nia shared her Blade's bleak expression, "We're kinda stuck.

"Seems that way."

It wasn't a surprise, to anyone really. No matter what anyone planned on doing, Torigoth was off the table. Heading back for a boat, giving Chaldea a call, or even getting spare parts for Poppi were a no go. But without the city and its port, getting off the Titan just proved all the more difficult.

Suddenly, Rex stumbled on a thought, "Hey, Ritsuka? Mash?"

"Yes?"

"How did you guys get to Gormott?"

The pair winced slightly. Limited options aside, using their method of arrival wasn't something either of the two wanted to suggest. Falling from lord knows how high like some demented bungee jump wasn't a decent method of travel unless you could fly! Mash's shield wasn't big enough to hold everyone for another death defying fall after all.

So biting back that grim prospect, Ritsuka shrugged, "We got dropped off by a passing ship. I think they were dropping some stuff off, but then they left again."

"Sorry, not much help there."

The Salvager crossed his arms and sighed, "No, it's fine. Just pitching in the dark."

Pyra's Driver did his best not to frown. This was honestly a new problem for Rex. Besides special requests for the trading guild, he rarely had to worry about getting around by himself. Normally he had Azurda to ferry him around, the old Titan was basically his home after all. But after the incident where he met both Pyra and Nia, their whole arrangement had been flipped on its head.

He spared his helmet a glance, where the tiny Titan flinched the gaze.

"Sorry! I'm no use now…"

Rex shook his head, "I know, I know. I'm just out of ideas…"

He wasn't gonna blame his old man for this, Rex couldn't and wouldn't. They'd manage. He was far too used to his old Gramps but that would pass. If it wasn't for Azurda, all of them would have been at the mercy of Torna and their massive warship. Hell, if Rex hadn't taken the job in the first place, Gramps wouldn't have nearly died. Sheer luck was to thank for the old man still being around, and Rex wasn't going to belittle that fact.

Still, this left the boy and his companions in a bit of a tricky pickle. They needed some way off the Titan and all the ship's were currently in the hands of the Ardainian military, which includes the Flamebringer. She would not be pleased to see them again after he and Pyra had dropped a tank full of water on her.

"Rex-Rex need ship? Tora have good idea!"

"Huh?"

The Salvager blinked and looked down.

Tora stood, arms spread out wide and a wondrous idea percolating in the Nopon's little head. Once he thought of it, the little guy rushed up to Rex and started waving his wings excitedly.

"There is ship builder living at Gormott Titan's bum-bum! Old friend of Tora's Grampypon. He called Umon!" he cheered, "Maybe he help if we tell him what's what!"

Now there was an idea! Rex scratched his chin for a moment and considered it. If renting or chartering a ship was out of the picture, then getting one fresh off the construction line was the next best thing. Heck, if the builder was as far away from Torigoth and the military as physically possible, then all the better!

Of course, asking for a ship and actually getting one were two completely different issues.

Then again, what did they have to lose from asking!?

"Alright, worth a shot!" he decided, "Great idea Tora!"

"Mehmehmeh-! Tora thought so too!"

Reinvigorated with a fresh idea, the group saddled up and began their trek through the hills and valleys of the Gormott Titan's wilderness. Tora and Poppi took the lead for a time, being the only ones who knew the way. The Artificial Driver may not leave his house all too often but Tora was quite determined to lead his friends right to the abode of this Umon chap!

Luckily, Poppi also had built in navigation systems, just in case her Masterpon ever got lost.

It was developed mostly in case Tora got lost in the marketplace or was too tired to drag himself off to bed, but it worked well traversing the wilderness too!

Once again, the group found themselves traversing the wild landscape of the massive wondering Titan. While the path to Torigoth was filled with its own obstacles, there were still roads and paths cleared by the inhabitants. The opposite end of the Titan was a whole different beast in itself, no pun intended.

Forests were far more dense, the hills steeper, and she sheer number of cliff-sides and underground passages dwarfed anything near Torigoth. The farther they ventured from the front side of Gormott, the less developed things became. Less open fields where trees were harvested, larger reservoirs of water that hadn't been tapped, and the sheer number of animals were almost astounding to the crowd.

Or at least they would be if the number of hostile beasts hadn't increased as well.

"Rex! You and Pyra handle the big one while we deal with the rest!"

The Salvager nodded and drew his sword. Pyra followed up and began channeling either into Rex. In his hands, the weapon transformed from a collapsed blade into a massive burning sword.

Off to the side, Mash readied her shield and turned to face her Master. Ritsuka met it with a nod, prompting the Demi-Servant to rush off to back up the others.

A mere hour or so into the group's hike through the forest, a horde of vicious predators ambushed the group in an open field. A pack of Leo Feris pounced from the shadows, massive lion-esque creatures native to Gormott. They resembled felines with sharp claws, enlarged fangs, and a piercing gaze. Their most striking features were their large red mains and armored plates along their torso and hind legs.

As the group passed underneath a large, looming tree root, the pack leaped down from above and attacked. There were at least seven of the beasts, six juveniles and a particularly large monster leading the pack.

The Alpha made a beeline for Rex and Pyra while the others scattered among the rest of the group.

Nia and Dromarch matched two Feris with a blitz of their own. The Tiger-like Blade charged at one of the creatures as it dove at him and sunk his teeth into its underside. With his enhanced strength, Dromarch practically lifted the beast off the ground and tossed it aside. The Feris bounced off the ground, and stayed there when the Blade followed up with a roar to its face.

Nia, for her part, used her Twin Rings and slashed at another as it made a pass at her. Once Dromarch threw himself at one of the monsters, his Driver jumped off his back and landed on a Feris instead. As the creature snapped back at its unwanted passenger, Nia returned the act and slashed at its eyes.

The beast collapsed like a bag of bricks clutching its wounded vision. As it fumbled around, Nia gracefully dismounted and strolled back over to Dromarch with a smirk.

"Well, that wasn't that bad."

Dromarch gave a curt nod, "Indeed, my Lady."

Nearby, Poppi effortlessly lifted one of the Feris and threw it full force into a nearby tree. Their claws and teeth scraped off of her metal exterior while Poppi's enhanced strength made quick work of the smaller predators. A fact made clear when she picked one up by the tail, swung it around in a circle, and launched it through the air like a baseball.

Tora too, provided his aid. Utilizing Poppi's drill equipped shield, the little Nopon held a Feris back from swallowing his head. The beast viciously tore at the shield but Tora didn't flinch. He actually began pushing the monster back! The tiny Nopon dug his tiny feet into the dirt until another Feris came tumbling out of the sky and flattened the one Tora was dealing with.

Poppi flew back over and rejoined her Masterpon. Ecstatic, he high five'd his creation with one of his wings in celebration.

Finally, Rex and Pyra engaged the biggest of these colossal beasts. The Alpha of the pack dove at the driver with its maw opened wide. The Salvager saw numerous razor sharp teeth lining its mouth, ready to tear him apart and make the boy leftovers for the next day or two.

"Come on then!"

Unfortunately for the Feris, that wouldn't be happening. As its jaws prepared to snap down on the poor boy's head, Rex leaped backwards and slashed at the beast's mouth. He cleaved through two of its massive fangs and left more charred black. Even its tongue didn't escape unscathed. The beast let loose a pained howl and revealed a rather nasty burn all across its tongue.

Pain or not, the Aegis' driver didn't let up and Rex slashed at the Feris like no tomorrow. Pyra's flames blackened the creature's hide with every successive swing, burning fur and cutting deep scars in its armored skin. It tried to meet some slashes with a swipe of its claws but the pain caused the mighty alpha to flinch instead.

Eventually, even the jungle's mighty hunter was left limping on its front paws. As most of the creature's fur was left charred and smoking, Rex turned to Pyra and handed her the finishing blow.

"Pyra! Put it down for the count!"

"Got it! Here I go!"

After one last smash to the beast's snout, Rex leaped backwards and tossed the sword to Pyra. The Aegis caught the blade and charged it with even more power. With a flick of her wrist, Pyra tossed her weapon forward, sending it spiraling through the air and towards the already wounded creature.

"Blazing end!"

The sword became like a flaming buzz-saw, spinning excessively through the air like a blur. It smashed into the creature's hide and burst into flames. But even as the blade struck home against the beast, it didn't stop spinning. The sword spun in place relentlessly, beating the creature into submission. Pyra didn't even need to move an inch. Hand outstretched, the Blade commanded the weapon without a word.

But after the blade soundly beat the creature into the dirt, the pain came to an end.

Pyra snapped her fingers and the buzz-saw erupted into flames and exploded. The sheer force of the boom echoed across the field, sending the Feris flying and the sword cascading into the air.

When the sword finally descended, Rex caught it with a smile. He let out a loud cheer while Pyra pumped her fist into the air.

"Yeah! That's what I'm talking about!"

"It's going to be feeling like that for a week!"

One by one, the pack's numbers dwindled as the Drivers and their Blades took them out. Soon enough, only two of the fierce animals remained. While their numbers were thinned by the Drivers and their Blades, the last if the predators focused their attention on the last members of Rex's gang.

A loud, metallic crack filled the air as a Feris collided with Mash's shield. Her boots dug into the dirt as the beast's bulk pressed against her defense. Its impressive maw of fangs chomped down on the shield's armor plates. The Feris ripped and tore at the shield, trying to rip anything away it could. Unfortunately for it, the teeth barely scratched the armor's surface.

As its jaws made less than a dent in the shield, the Feris forced all its weight down on its owner.

If it couldn't pry the metal away to get at the meat underneath, the beast would use its defense against it. Crush its prey with its own shield and gnaw at its bones afterwards!

Unfortunately, the beast had little idea of what lay underneath the shield. As the weight pressed down on her, Mash bit through a grunt and shifted her weight. Once the Feris had both paws pressing down on her shield, she struck. The Shielder lurched forward, yanked her shield upward, and flipped all the weight pressing down on her.

The beast was sent tumbling up and over the Shielder's body. Before it hit the ground, Mash snapped backwards and smacked the metal shield against the predator's face. The impact sounded with a painful crack. The Feris tumbled to the ground, slightly twitching and with a snout bent at a uncomfortable angle.

Her foe defeated, Mash stood up and examined her shield. It was undamaged, just covered in a unsavory amount of slobber.

"Enemy defeated." she sighed, "Recommend we stop to perform some maintenance soon Master. Da Vinci advised me to not to let my new system get, 'gunked up,' as she put it."

"..."

"Master?"

"..."

Suddenly, Mash turned on her heel and spun around.

Gone. Her master was gone. Instead of standing safely behind her, away from the danger of battle, he was no where to be seen. Panic struck the Mash like a boulder. The others were busy with their own fights, and there weren't any other Servants present. Protecting Ritsuka was her job, her duty, and if he wasn't there-

"Master!?"

"Over here!"

A voice cut through the tension, and Mash snapped toward its source.

Several yards from the Rex and the others, Ritsuka dove face first into the dirt. As the grass brushed over his skin however, a shadow flew overhead with a growl.

A Feris, the last of its pack, barely missed its pounce. Its claws were outstretched, teeth bared, and it's revolting breath stung Ritsuka's nostrils as it passed within inches of grabbing him. While the others were dealing with a horde of these monsters, the final, smallest of the pack slipped under everyone's radar.

It saw the intense combat its pack mates were in and laid its eyes on the one person present without a means to defend himself. The beast licked its lips, this would be easy prey.

If he wasn't so damn squirrely though!

Weapon or not, Ritsuka ducked, dove, and dodged the savage beast as it came barreling at him. A year or two of dealing with demonic beasts and other monsters had given even a lackluster Master like him some proficiency with avoiding certain death. Mostly, he focused on the tried and true tactic of not getting ripped apart before some assistance could arrive.

As the beast barely missed its pounce, Ritsuka rolled back onto his feet and turned to face it.

The Feris' furious gaze bore into his head like white hot knives. He saw light reflecting off its sharp teeth, how it stared at the bare skin of his neck. It had a hungry, ravenous look about it along with a hint of frustration. Ritsuka recognized it from another vicious animal from Chaldea, only this beast had little on its mind other than tearing him to bloody giblets.

The predator suddenly pounced again. One mighty leap of its hind legs destroyed the little distance between them. Ritsuka witnessed its jaw snapped open, its fangs gravitate toward his neck, and claws coil at the center of his chest. In the time he could blink, the Master felt the Feris' breath touch his nostrils.

Then, as the beast made to knock the teen off his feet, a shield slammed into its ribcage.

Mash bashed the Feris out of the air and sent it tumbling off to the side. The Shielder quickly placed herself between the beast and her Master, a defensive wall before the monster could rise again.

Suddenly, Ritsuka placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Mash, take this thing out!"

At his words, her Master's hand glowed red, and a power flowed into Mash. A surge of strength overtook her body, like a rush of energy through her bones, armor, and even her shield. Her entire frame glowed a shade of red for a split second, and then vanished. All that remained was a determined gleam in his Servant's eyes.

Mash said not a word. She turned toward the animal as it staggered to its feet. Her strike had stunned it, knocked something loose up top but the beast wasn't done.

It shook the fog from its eyes and glared at the pair with a bloodthirsty howl. Furiously, it threw itself forward again, teeth barred to tear apart whatever was in front of it.

Mash met the charge head on, but not with her shield.

"Hiiiiya!"

Her fist clenched, Mash stomped forward and punched the predator square in the face. She delivered her fist directly into the beast's snot and crumpled it on impact. Its fangs shattered upon her knuckles, gloves crushed its snout, and the Feris stopped dead in its tracks, practically frozen in place.

Nia blinked, "Well…"

"That certainly did it."

Rex and Pyra, as well as the others, watched as the Demi-Servant continued her punch and flung the animal across the landscape. The bloody body flew from one end of the field to the other. It came to a stop when the monster slammed into a tree with a sickening crunch. Everyone winced. It was hard to tell if the sound was from bark snapping, or the creature's bones instead.

As the dust cleared, the Feris was left a mangled mess, twitching against a wooden surface.

Huffing and puffing, Mash slowly uncoiled her fingers. Once she saw that the creature was definitely not getting back up, she frantically looked Ritsuka up and down.

"Are you hurt Senpai?! Did it hit you? I didn't even notice the second target, I thought you were safe behind-"

"Mash, I'm fine." he chuckled, calming the frantic girl down, "Ain't the first time a big animal wanted to take a bite out of us."

Despite the reassurance, Mash staunchly refused, "But I should have been dealing with them, not you."

"And you did. I don't think that one is going to get up again."

The Demi-Servant blinked. She turned, getting a good look at the damage she caused. At the sight of such devastation, she blushed.

"I...may have overdone it a bit."

"Ya think!?"

Mash and Ritsuka turned to see the others approaching. As the rest of the predators were either indisposed or seeing stars, Rex and the gang quickly regrouped and joined up with their new friends. Of course, in doing so, they were gifted a front row seat as Mash megaton punched the Leo Feris across its fang ridden face.

To say that the group was a mix of shocked and impressed was a vast understatement.

"The bloody hell kind of punch was that!?" Nia pried, her arms crossed, "You practically splattered that thing across the tree like a fly on a windshield!"

Tora nodded excitedly as well, "Tora never see punch like that before! It was amazing!"

Mash's embarrassment grew with the praise, as did her blush. The Demi-Servant hid herself slightly behind her shield awkwardly. Unfortunately however, hiding behind a massive metal shield in the middle of a battle-ridden field did little to hide her from the embarrassment.

"I..it was nothing." she mumbled, "Senpai did most of it…"

The Nopon choked his head to the side, confused, "How so? Mash one who punched cat monster in face. Tora think that means Mash is one who caused big boom when it hit tree!"

"Poppi don't think that's what she meant, Masterpon!"

Tora blinked, "What does Poppi mean?"

"When Mash punched Leo Feris in the face, Poppi felt a massive energy transfer between Ritsuka and Mash! Like Ether transfer but much more potent and initiated through physical contact!"

Rex raised a brow, "So, you gave Mash that extra umph?"

Ritsuka scratched the back of his head, "Eh, remember last night? It's complicated...but, yes?"

"How does that work then? Neither of you are Blade!"

The two Chaldeans spared a glance at each other. They had been hoping to avoid this conversation until someone with a bit more professional experience could provide them assistance, but neither Sion or Da Vinci were there at the moment. That left less than average mage and his servant to do the explanation themselves.

"We're not exactly...normally, to put it frank." he admitted.

"Never would have guessed."

Ritsuka sighed but let Nia's comment slide, "Back at Chaldea, me and Mash are profiled as Master and Servant. We're...contracted to each other. Mash fights and defends, while I provide support."

"Senpai supplies me with magical energy, allowing me to operate as his Servant." Mash explained, "Without this energy, I wouldn't be able to function in such a capacity or access any of my abilities."

Rex scratched his head with confusion, "So...it's kinda like the reverse of how a Driver works?"

Now it was the Chaldean's turn to be a bit lost, "Maybe? We...don't exactly know what that means."

"What, you two have never seen a Driver and a Blade before?"

An awkward silence met Rex's question. The group collectively looked at the pair and were met with an awkward expression being shared between the duo. Mash looked down at herself, uncertain of what to say next. Her Master on the other hand, raised his hands and gave a bit of a shrug.

Rex could barely believe it, he was kidding!

"Until we met all of you? No. Not really."

Pyra was equally confused, "You don't know what a Blade is, at all?"

Neither Mash or Ritsuka had much to say. They honestly didn't.

"We were going to ask, but with how complicated everything has been since yesterday," Mash poked her fingers together, "Senpai and I thought it would be better to wait until everyone wasn't occupied with something else, like acquiring the ship Tora mentioned."

That, or when someone more qualified to explain was around. Both members of Chaldea had the basic idea of how a Servant and Master bond worked but going into exact technical details were beyond their nonexistent pay grade. Da Vinci would be far more qualified to explain, and if someone had to return the favor, that would at least make getting everything out at once easier. There would be less of a need to explain things more than once for anyone confused.

Ritsuka still remembered how frustrated Roman got during their remedial sessions back during the early Singularities. The good doctor had offered to bring the boy up to speed on things and given the situation, how could he say no? Unfortunately however, Romani nearly got to the point of yanking his own hair out with how often he had to repeat himself.

"Well then, shall I provide some explanation?" Dromarch suggested.

Mash smiled and gave a nod, "Please, Senpai and I would truly appreciate it."

"Of course."

Sitting atop his hind legs, Dromarch rested his chin on his paw and tried to summarize what a Blade was to the best of his abilities. Luckily along with himself, there were plenty examples to draw from with Pyra and Poppi present. The topic of a Core Crystal and the bonding process were fairly simple subjects. How Blades originated from their Crystals and returned to them once their Driver expired. The latter topic wasn't the most comfortable of processes but it was easy to convey either way.

When Dromarch began the relationship between Blades and their Drivers however, Rituska snapped his fingers.

"I think I understand now," he noted, "You guys supply Nia and Rex with not only their weapons, but their powers as well? It's why they can fight alongside you too?"

"Indeed."

It sounded simple when put like that, but Ritsuka couldn't help but catch a few stark differences been the comparison. Such as the topic of Ether. On Chaldea's side of things, the topic of ether only typically came up when it involved Servants and their manifestations. Ether was a core if basic part of magecraft but it was primarily known as a key component of a Servant's body while summoned.

While for Blades and their Drivers, Ether had seemingly taken the place of Mana as the core link between the two that kept the partnership going.

Da Vinci and Shion would certainly want to hear about this.

Rex nodded and gestured toward his partner, "Yup. Before I met Pyra, I could barely swing around a junk sword I made from some Salvage. The best I could fight was some buggers out on the Cloud Sea."

"Quite," Dromarch added, "And for you it's quite the opposite, correct? Instead of getting supplied ether from your companion, you grant it to Ms. Mash to fuel her abilities?"

Hearing her name, Mash pitched in too, "Yes, though to be precise, Senpai only needs to grant me power to fuel my abilities as a Servant. I don't need it normally."

"Then you're some sort of 'Half-Servant' then? Then whats a real one like?"

"A full blown Servant requires constant support from a Master like Senpai, Its mostly a passive process. If the contract between the two is severed though, a Servant will only have a short amount of time before it ceases to function."

There were other ways to maintain a Servant, but neither Mash nor Ritsuka felt the need to get into that matter. Some of the methods a few choice Servants had found to prolong their manifestations weren't the most humane things out there, especially if you asked some of the Caster class. They could be most vilely creative when they wanted to be.

Rex winced, "Dang, sounds like a raw deal."

"Yeah, just makes you a big target, don'tcha think?" Nia questioned, "Least Drivers can defend themselves, one knock to your noggin and Mash is down for the count too."

Mash frowned, "That won't happen. I'd never let anything happen to Senpai!"

Nai raised her hands peacefully, "Easy now, not what I meant. I was talkin about that whole bloody system ya got there, which is news to me. This another, 'Chaldea' thing or something?"

"Oh um," she fumbled, "Yes, Chaldea is one of the very few places with a functioning system for Servant summoning. Masters are even rarer, so the number of active Servants at one time is quite low."

Ritsuka did his best not to chuckle, "Doesn't help that I was described as...mediocre, back when I first joined up."

"Senpai!"

Again, the urge to chuckle was hard to ignore. Mash always objected to that description. Even though both the original Director, the new Director, and the Mage Association itself had labeled Ritsuka as a rather poor mage, she often disagreed with it. Not that he minded of course. After seeing what actual mages tended to be like, it was comforting to not live up to their standards.

"Hm, I don't mean to interrupt."

Amidst all the fighting and questions, Rex practically jumped when Azurda popped his head out of the boy's helmet.

"While all this is quite fascinating, don't we have a ship to find? While we're in no rush, I'd much rather find Tora's friend before night falls again."

As the miniature Titan made his point, many in the group looked up at the sky. The sun felt like it had only risen but the burning orb had already sunk halfway across the sky.

Rex and the others might have started out early but the trek across the Gormott was bound to be a long journey. A hike from the front side to the back end of a Titan was no measly jog in the park. There were forests, open fields, and plenty more wildlife to contend with before they reached Umon's home. As fascinating as the conversation had been, the longer the group dilly dallied, the more likely that they'd have to make camp again before arriving.

Besides Nia, the group collectively groaned at the idea. Sleeping on the cold hard ground in the middle of the wilderness wasn't a habit anyone wanted to develop. Even Rex had a bed of his own back on Azurda when he was full sized and mobile. God, how he missed that bed nowadays.

"Azurda is right, we should probably get going." Pyra agreed.

Rex concurred, "Ya, we can talk later. Lets see if Tora's friend can get us a ship first."

"Mehmeh! Tora sure of it! Umon good ship builder!"

Later:

"Think of it this way Rex, at least this time it's not costing you any gold."

The boy pulled at his hair with a groan. He did not need to be reminded of that, "Ugh, that's true. Tora's still lucky I didn't start a tab for all those parts he needed for Poppi."

"And Poppi is most grateful for that! Masterpon would be in debt for years upon years if Rex did so."

"Mehmehmeh! Tora would starve!"

It took a couple more hours of walking, a few sparse encounters with the wildlife, and Poppi saving them from walking in circles thanks to her Masterpon's directions, but after some time the group arrived at Umon's home. As Tora suggested, the ship builder was right at the edge of the Titan's 'bum-bum'. The house was quaint, more like a storehouse built partially into Cloud Sea for convenience.

Once arriving, Tora quickly introduced everyone to the Nopon in question.

Umon was an older Nopon with green colored skin, a rather puffy looking jacket, and his own assortment of tools hidden in a belt attached to his waist.

While not recognizing the little guy at first, Tora pleaded with his Grampypon's friend to loan them a ship. It was dicey for a moment but after some altered details about why the group didn't just head to Torigoth, as well as revealing that Poppi had been completed, Umon was more than happy to lend the gang a ship

Least, he would once it was complete.

Turns out Tora wasn't the only Nopon who was lacking a few ingredients to complete a big project. While Poppi required a few parts for full activation, Umon's newest ship needed a bit of wood before the hull was in tip top sailing condition.

So in exchange for retrieving what the ship builder needed, Rex and the Gang were well on their way to getting a ship!

Luckily, Umon had a few suggestions for where they could get some good quality lumber. Being a Nopon of a sizable age, his favored collection points weren't too far away. Stubby Nopon feet weren't the best for hiking, as Tora tended to show. The locations were reliable and he assured everyone that nothing with sharp teeth liked to prowl around too often.

Just to be safe though, Nia and Dromarch volunteered to keep lookout while everyone else got to work gathering what they needed.

"Poppi ready, is Mash ready too?"

The Demi-Servant readied her shield and nodded, "Ready!"

Despite not having tools barring any sharp tools like a sword or an axe, Poppi and Mash quickly got to work pealing the bark from the tree. The Artificial Blade's strength, combined with the Shielder, easily tore into the sides of numerous trees with one blow. Combined with several more, the two began felling tree by tree in no time flat.

A massive oak came tumbling down with a crack, landing on the ground with a visible shake. Pyra got to work quickly, slicing the tree up with Rex's assistance. Her flame control made it easy to slice into logs without having to worry about causing a forest fire in the process.

It was simply really. Pyra compared it to cutting up a carrot. Just a carrot more fitting for a Titan than a stew.

As the logs piled up, Ritsuka and Tora carried them back to Umon's shop as fast as they could. The process was slow, Tora's nubby Nopon arms weren't made to carry more than one at a time.

"Meh...Meh...legs tired," he huffed, "Tora. Can't. Go on…"

Ritsuka looked down from his stack, sparing a glance at the struggling Nopon. With a small smirk, he carefully picked one log from Tora's measly pile and added it to his own.

"Don't worry, just a few more trips." he reassured, "Then we just gotta help Umon add it to the hull."

"Tora...not...used to hard labor...mostly focus on Artificial...Blade construction…"

The Chaldean chuckled, "I know few people like that, if we have the chance, I'll introduce you."

Chaldea had its fill of legendary heroes with swords, spears, bows and all sorts of different weapons, but it also had quite a number of inventors too. Da Vinci was merely the first to come to mind. Ritsuka could picture a few artists, authors, and a certain golem maker who could entertain Tora for a few days, let alone an hour or two.

"Tora...would...like that, mehmeh."

As the pair made their way back to the workshop, Ritsuka's gaze drifted to the Cloud Sea,

Until now, the massive expanse of white seemed to go on forever in every direction. It was an actual sea, or even a ever expanding desert that stretched into the horizon. As the teen scanned the horizon though, he saw something. Off in the distance, just barely visible to the naked eye was a spec. A green blip in the distance but it was there.

It was a tree, rising out of the clouds like some monolithic pillar.

A subtle chill ran up his spine.

Another unfamiliar land, and another tree at the center of it all. After three successive trips into monstrous storms and the warped worlds within, Ritsuka hoped a mere singularity would be a decent break for him and Mash. Deep down, even he that was a weird idea. A singularity of all things being relaxing, what were the odds?

Yet here they were. Trying to get to another humongous tree.

Ritsuka shrugged, and the chill began to fade. This wasn't a LostBelt, and the World Tree had a connection to wherever Rex and Pyra were trying to get to. That was enough.

Hopefully though, it would be merely a nice, calming boat ride there.

AN:

-Hello everyone, its been a bit of a hecktic week so sorry for the chapter taking a bit longer this time.

-Chapter may seem a bit filler-y compared to the last couple of them but finally getting into some of the technical jargon for these two worlds. Now, I fully admit that I'm not the most knowledgeable on either of these subjects, so if anyone sees anything too wrong or mistaken, please let me know. I'm not gonna make anything too complicated I hope, but still, I'd like to correct something if I flub it up.

-Also, anyone in NA have luck getting Demon King Nobu? Just curious.