Chapter 3 "The Abilities"
After a quick visit to the Blacksmith's shop Raphtalia was now properly clothed and armed with a small knife. I also ordered her to kill one of the Balloons that was hidden under my cloak. After a bit of resistance she eventually complied. Now we were headed to plains, as to have her grind some levels. But before that...
Something growled. As I turned to see the source, I saw Raphtalia that was frightened.
"Are you hungry?" I asked her.
"N-No!" She immediately replied, denying the obvious. I could only sigh and pat her on the head.
"Come on, let's get something to eat. I'm hungry too." 'Although everything I eat has no flavour at all'. I immediately thought that, but decided to not tell her about it.
After grabbing a quick meal form the nearby Inn, we were on our way to the Plains. We arrived there sometime before noon. This is were we encountered many mobs, all of them low-level. Raphtalia made quick work of them, so I decided to move deeper into the forest. We continued earning experience until late afternoon, when I decided to set up a camp by the river. I also fished us something to eat. When she was eating, I decided to try out to compound some medicine. Her coughing was only getting worse.
"Master who are you?" Raphtalia asked me between her bites, as she was eating grilled fish.
"I'm the Shield Hero. Can't you tell by the shield?" I answered, slightly annoyed. Just a tiny bit.
"You're... One of the Legendary Heroes, summoned to fight the Waves, yes?" She asked in awe.
"Yes, I am. My name is Naofumi Iwatani." Then a notification poped up. It sad that compounding process was completed. I took it and handed it over to Raphtalia.
"Here, drink this. It should help with your cold." As she heard it, she reluctantly took it and started drinking... Only to spit it out mere seconds later.
"Bitter!" She exclaimed.
"Good medicine tastes bitter!" I countered her reply.
"BLLLAHH!"
After that little struggle, she went to tidy herself up by the river stream. When she returned, she ate some fish and went to sleep. 'It is unusual for a small kid to eat that much.' I thought but quickly chased it away and focused back to compounding medicine.
It was late evening when I remember that I had to check my abilities. I've forgotten about it, because I spent my time polishing my compounding skill.
I brought up the interface of the Shield and started to analyse my abilities.'Hmm... The Blink ability sure is useful. It allows you to teleport 15 meters in any direction. Additionally, time stops if user isn't making any direction motion, such as walking, sprinting etc. The Void Gaze is useful too. It allows me to see the vague direction of any rune. The Mark shines brighter the closer it is. Coupled with ability to see living (or dead) beings through walls among other things. Let's move to the powers that I can learn. There's Windblast, a power that creates a powerful strike of wind that is capable of knocking caught targets off their feet. The Greater Windblast is just a straight upgrade to the basic version... But what's this? 'This ability can be unlocked only after meeting specific requirements.' I noticed the same text for the upgrade for Larger Devouring Swarm. I don't know what's this about, but I'll let it pass for now. 'I was also wary of the greater range of abilities... It seems like that pop-up window didn't show everything... And that's acceptable. But there are some passive benefits about it. One example is Agility as it allows for higher jump and overall faster moving speed.' but then my thought process was interrupted by a loud child-like scream. It was Raphtalia. She must've had a bad dream. She's trembling right now.
"MOM! DAD!" She almost jumped out of her bed but I quickly clenched my left fist to use Blink to get to her, and I was amazed that it's ability to stop time worked! 'I guess the Outsider must be some kind of God'.
"It's okay! It's okay! Everything is going to be okay." I said as I hugged her close to my chest, in which she was now sobbing. After I calmed her down, she quietly went to sleep once again. I rubbed my forehead, and decided to go to sleep myself.