I'm hungry.
Where is scales guy? He said he would help.
I'm hungry.
Why is no one here? Where is everyone? It's cold.
I'm hungry.
It's so dark. Where are we? Are we? Cold, it's cold! Where is all?!
I'm hungry.
Why here? Where? Help! Want out! Cold! Killer! Scared. Why? Jar? Bright! Dark! Cold.
I'm hungry.
Cold!wherisi'mcoldwe?who's there?i'm,cold?why!mean?hurt!chaincold,help!cold!
I'm…hun…gry…
As the sun began to set, the darkness of the night was greeted with a loud ear piercing screech. A pair of intact empty chains collapsed to the ground with a loud clang..
"AGH!" Clara yelled out, falling off of the bench she fell asleep on. Another nightmare plagued her dreams once again, waking her up from her peaceful sleep. The timer in her vision and the soreness of her body told her that she hadn't been asleep for long and it was just starting to get dark.
Great, now my sleep schedule is messed up. Just what I needed.
Clara rubbed her eyes and looked around. Her face turned red when she realized that a few people training in the gym were glancing at her after her scream earlier.
"S-sorry! Portal knife," Clara exclaimed, disappearing from the room. She quickly appeared back in her room. She groaned in pain as her body yelled at her for moving too fast. Clara let herself collapse onto the bed and felt a wave of exhaustion wash over her.
Suddenly, a ripple of pain rushed through her arms, making her shoot up from her bed and grab her hands. Clara rolled up her sleeves and saw that the burns, which had almost lost all of the cursed effects, were now almost as dark as they were a few days ago.
Dang it, I forgot to get these treated! With everything happening at once, I completely neglected these. I need to stop by the hot springs again. I can probably set a teleport there instead of Boomerang island. Ah, I should probably set one on Yin Yang island as well for the skill mastery. But I only have 3 teleport points! So much to do and so little time. I wonder if I get more waypoints as I upgrade the portal skill. Honestly, I should spam a lot of these skills when I can, and just the portal skill alone is convenient.
As Clara continued to ponder over the use of skills, the sky turned pitch black except for a few lone stars scattered all around. Clara leaned on the window as she looked upon the sky and sighed.
She stood there for a few minutes before eventually collapsing on the bed again and trying to fall asleep. But despite her body hurting, she already just slept. After almost an hour of tossing and turning, Clara tossed her pillow to the side and walked out of the room.
*BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR*
Clara looked down at the small machine that was buzzing away. A pitch black liquid poured into her cup as her SP bar depleted. She had copied this machine back when she was cleaning the kitchen for the first time and it was the first time she actually equipped it.
Small Coffee Maker
abilities locked equip effect: simple drinks recipe 1
special effect: automatic brewing (10 minutes), consumption (medium)
True to its description, the coffee took 10 minutes to brew, while consuming a decent amount of sp. Thankfully, she managed to out-recover it with ease, although it still made her body feel heavier than it already was.
Clara raised the cup to her lips and took a careful sip.
"Ew! So bitter! How did my dad and Jim drink this stuff?" she grumbled as she took another sip. She remembered days when her brother would be scarfing down coffee like his life depended on it as he studied textbooks at 4 am in the morning a day before the test.
Clara continued to sip on her drink as she slowly climbed up the stairs and reached the door that led to the top deck. Up until today, she never actually made it there as she was always in a different room of the ship or she went out the cargo exit.
She gently pushed open the door of the ship and quickly grasped onto the railing for dear life as she felt the ship shift to the side. Clara's legs trembled as she forced herself to walk to the railing on the edge of the deck. She gripped the railing so hard that her knuckles turned white and took a few deep breaths as she looked around.
The view from where she stood was absolutely breathtaking. In front of her the night sky was illuminated by the dozens of stars in the sky. In the middle of everything was a bright blue crescent moon, lightning up the top deck of the ship. Clara smiled at the sight. Somehow in this chaotic world, at least the moon and sun were almost the same.
Clara looked to the side as she heard footsteps approach her. The captain of the ship walked up to Clara and leaned on the railing beside her.
"Enjoying the view?" she asked, looking at the moon. Clara nodded. "Restless night huh?"
"Yeah, a bit. It's just, so much has happened all at once and it feels a bit overwhelming. Being a hero, learning magic… Hol and Ellis…" Clara's voice drifted off and she looked down at her feet.
"Yeah, I suppose I would be overwhelmed too. I remember my first month on the job as a captain. Despite training for it my whole life I was still a nervous wreck. Heh, I panicked so much over every little thing back then," Ellrona's gaze shifted towards the ground below as she reminisced at the memory. "So I can't even begin to imagine what it's like to be thrown into a whole new world with a different set of rules."
"It's pretty difficult, but I'll adjust eventually. I mean, other heroes have done it, right? Returned home I mean," Clara asked hopefully.
"No. Never," Ellrona replied nonchalantly. Clara blinked a few times before panic began to seep in. Ellrona caught onto this and quickly waved her arms around as she sputtered out an explanation. "No no, not like they all died! I mean some did- but most made it to the end! It's just that a lot of heroes choose to stay, pretty much all of them do!"
"Oh thank god!" Clara breathed a sigh of relief and dropped to her knees almost spilling her coffee. Ellrona rushed to her side to make sure she was ok.
"Sorry. I'm not the best at explaining things either. But that's for scaring me earlier when you made me think Hol died!" the captain said, helping Clara back to her feet.
"Thanks. And sorry about that. I was still trying to understand everything that happened during the wave," Clara mumbled.
Ellrona nodded and glanced back at the night sky and smiled. "You're taking this whole thing pretty well."
I am not taking this well at all! I am freaking out, falling behind, and I am in physical pain!
Clara sighed and forced a smile. "I'm trying. The faster I get used to everything, the better for everyone, right?"
"Well, you are the Cooking Tool Hero after all. We're kinda relying on you to save our world. But no pressure, alright?" Ellrona laughed and gently nudged Clara.
"R-right. I got this, don't worry," Clara responded.
No pressure at all. I got this, right?
Clara took a few steps away from the railing and sat down on the floor, leaning against a nearby shipment crate. Ellrona continued to stare into the distance as she smiled to herself. The captain came here to take a breather and relax from her constant worry of the waves, but something about what Clara said seemed to ease that worry a bit. She felt as if everything really was going to be ok.
Clara sadly couldn't share the same confidence. Her mind was filled with worry and panic. So far, she had fought the waves with a 1 on the hourglass in her vision. Hol had explained that that was the difficulty of the wave and that the waves come in sets and every set increases in difficulty.
The next wave would not only be far stronger than the last 3, possibly twice as hard, but she would also have to face it completely alone, without Ellis or Hol to help her. Despite not really sustaining any injuries during the last wave due to her equipment, she still made too many mistakes and got tied down by the mummies. And she only really won because the boss had a huge knife as a weapon.
I'm definitely not strong enough to beat the next wave on my own. I'm heavily underleveled, I still haven't mastered most of my new weapon forms, I still have no offensive magic, I can-
"Hey. You alright?"
… wait. I'm not on my own. There are still a bunch of soldiers that are going to back me up. And the queen and everyone here is still helping me train and power up. Well, I do hold the legendary weapon, so they will do anything necessary to help me prepare for the waves. And Elora did tell me to ask if I needed any help.
"Yeah. I'm alright. Just nervous for the next wave. There is a lot I need to prepare."
I can do this. With everyone's help, I can do this.
"Captain, I need to make a few stops."
"Cooking Hero! Where have you been?" a nun greeted her as she approached the entrance to the hot springs. Clara smiled weakly and waved at the nun.
"The waves and training. I almost forgot all about the curse to be honest," she explained. The nun frowned and suddenly grabbed Clara's hand, rolling the girl's sleeves back to reveal the dark cracked skin.
"Cooking hero, this is awful! You should have come by several times or at least taken some holy water with yourself to treat this! If curses go untreated, then they fester and take a great toll on the body!" the nun yelled, dragging Clara into the church. Clara pulled her hand back as a burning pain rushed through her hand, surprising the nun. The woman stopped for a moment and her face paled a bit.
"Ah, my apologies. I didn't mean to raise my voice at you, hero," she quickly apologized and bowed her head down.
"It's alright. Please just show me to the springs," Clara said, walking on ahead. The nun rushed forward and led Clara through the hallway and into the springs room.
They walked through the changing room where Clara swapped her clothes out for a church robe, and walked into the springs room. Apparently the reason the church gives these robes to people before they go into the springs is because the robe slightly amplifies the effects of the springs, and has some resistance to curses. This is likely due to it constantly being soaked in the holy water, but to Clara it seemed like a normal bathrobe. Well, at least the church didn't force her to wear a bikini into the springs, like a certain knife has been trying to do.
"Here we are. Please let me know if you need anything," the nun said as she began to leave the room.
Just as she was about to walk into the spring, Clara noticed that on one of the rocks to the side was a crack that ran right along the middle, with a small thin hole that looked just big enough to fit a quarter inside.
It looks just big enough for me to stab the small knife in… wait.
Clara summoned a portal knife and pushed its blade into the rock. To her surprise, it fit perfectly into the hole and slid right in.
"Cooking hero, what are you doing?" the nun wondered as she looked curiously over her shoulder.
"I think I just found a rock that previous cooking heroes must have used to set their portal skill in," Clara responded, walking off to the side. She then raised her knife and activated the portal skill. In a flash of light she appeared back next to the knife in the stone.
"Amazing! So that's why the nuns said to never remove the cracked rock," the nun mumbled to herself.
I could have thrown my knife just about anywhere, but I suppose I won't have to worry about it being taken anywhere.
With her third waypoint set in the hot springs, and the other two being set in her bedroom on Cloud X, as well as Elora's secret room, Clara leaned back and allowed herself to relax for a bit as the water around her hissed, absorbing the curse from her burns. But then an annoying thought returned to her as she remembered that she should probably train her magic despite being tired and her whole body burning from curses and soreness at the same time.
Clara swapped her knife to the core knife she got from the wave boss and set it on her lap. Then she closed her eyes and focused on her mana. In a few seconds, a familiar ball of light had formed in her hands. However, to Clara it had lost the awe and beauty it had before. Perhaps this was because she got used to the idea of magic. Clara sighed and unsummoned the orb. She began to gather mana in both of her hands, trying to form two spheres of mana.
However, the mana spheres began to wobble and dissipated into the air. Clara sighed and tried again and again. However, to her frustration, her progress was barely visible. Even with the knife boosting her magic abilities… somehow… she still couldn't form the most basic attack spell.
What am I doing wrong? Am I just never gonna learn to use magic now?
Clara slumped in the spring and sighed. Her mana bar was depleted and she was completely exhausted, both mentally and physically.
This is hopeless. Even with the magic support I can't do it. Would have been kinda nice to have a vassal hero out here giving me tips, Hol!
After waiting for a bit longer, Clara walked out of the holy springs. She grabbed her things, as well as a few vials of holy water, and bandages, and teleported back to the ship. As soon as she saw her bed, she dumped all her stuff on the desk and collapsed onto the soft covers, not even bothering to turn off the light. Her heavy eyelids closed and she finally drifted off to sleep.
Clara was packing up a couple of sandwiches when Goron walked into the kitchen.
"What are you doing?" he asked, looking at the sloppily cut bread with every piece being a different thickness. The stuff on the sandwiches was already falling out, and it looked like the things were made in a rush.
"Packing up for the roa-HEY!" Clara exclaimed as Goron grabbed her food and shoved it into the back of the fridge.
"I don't care where you're going, but I'd be damned if I'm gonna let anyone leave with this kind of mess. Grab a bread knife and follow along," Goron commanded, handing Clara some bread. "Slice at about half an inch and don't angle the knife side to side or you'll get a messy piece of bread that's half thick half thin!"
"Yes sir," Clara replied, following his instructions. As they finished preparing the bread, Clara reached towards a before she could grab it, she felt two pieces of bread pressed against the sides of her head.
"Clara, what are you?" he asked.
"An idiot sandwich?"
"Damn right! If you're going on a trip for a long duration of time and use tomatoes, your sandwiches will be soggy. You want soggy sandwiches?"
"No sir," Clara responded with a heavy sigh.
"Exactly! Here, let's cut some of these up instead," he said, pulling out several ingredients.
For the next few minutes, the two made several sandwiches and even ate a couple while talking about all the different fillings possible.
"And remember, never rush when it comes to food, or it will taste horrible and look horrible," Goron explained, wrapping up the sandwiches.
"It actually… took me like a half hour to make that…" Clara mumbled.
Goron looked like he was either ready to collapse or explode, and Clara didn't know if she should run to his aid or flee for her life. Luckily, he seemed to calm himself down just enough and slid the package to Clara with a pained expression.
"Just… take it…" he gasped out. Clara grabbed the package and rushed out of the kitchen as the noise of something breaking was heard behind her.
She ran up to the deck and spotted Ellrona waiting for her with someone else. She looked at Clara as the girl approached her and smiled.
"Ready to go, little hero?" she asked.
"Yes, captain!"
"Alright, my friend here is gonna help you get to your destination. And you better make sure she comes back safe and sound, got it?" Ellnora said, turning towards the man.
"Yes yes, not my first rodeo. I got this," he replied with a smile. "You got everything you need?"
Shield, check, armor, check, holy water and snacks, check.
"Yep, I'm ready to go!" Clara confirmed. The captain led the two down and past the cargo room and into a hangar. Several smaller ships, that were roughly the size of a car from her world, were parked in several neat rows.
"Alright, good luck you two. You better bring her back in one piece or I swear to god!"
"I got this. It'll be fine. Don't worry about it and go relax or something," he replied. Ellnora sighed and looked at Clara.
"You sure you're gonna be alright?" she asked.
"Sure. It's not like I can wait around and do nothing. I'll have to get some experience, and where better than leveling up on my own?"
"I suppose. Good luck to you two. Stay safe," Ellnora sighed and walked out of the room.
"Alright, you wanna go to a forest to grind exp right?" the man asked as he unlocked a car with a small bright blue shield on its back.
"Yes sir!" Clara replied, hopping into the vehicle and setting her stuff to the side.
"My name is Sherone, by the way," Sherone said, jumping into the front seat and grabbing the controls.
"Clara, I'll be in your care," Clara replied. She frowned as she tried to remember something.
Why does Sherone sound familiar? Oh well.
"By the way, who made that shield? I don't recognize it and I have had a lot of shields commissioned," Sherone asked.
"It's not a commission, I got it out of a monster drop," she replied.
"Ah, makes sense," Sherone replied nonchalantly.
"You don't seem to be surprised. Do you already know about monster drops?" Clara questioned.
"Well, it's not my first time with a hero. Hol in his days pulled out all kinds of crazy stuff. I once saw him pull out a wedding dress made of pineapples," he replied and laughed at the memory. Clara's eyes widened.
"Oh my god, you're that Sherone!" Clara exclaimed. Sherone smiled and nodded.
"The one and only. How is Hol these days, by the way? Other than him leaving to retrieve the vassal container that is," Sherone asked, as the 'car' began to float above the ground. Clara grasped the seat in front of her tightly after putting on her seatbelt.
"Well, he's still drinking alcohol if that's what you're asking," she responded, trying to not look out the window.
"Is he still always slurring words and passing out?"
"Well, it's not as bad as I heard it was. And he hasn't smelled like alcohol as much after… well…" Clara let out a heavy sigh and fell silent, but Sherone understood.
"Ellis always did have a great impact on Hol. He stopped drinking for a while when Ellis was first summoned, and even after a few months he never got as bad as I saw him during our time together. Though I heard he got worse as time went on," Sherone finished sadly.
There was a small pause as the only noise that hung in the air was the soft sound of whatever machinery was inside the floating ship. Clara glanced down at her weapon and a thought popped up.
"Speaking of heroes and weapons, can you tell me more about how Hol used his weapon?"