" - chip chip !"

I yawn peacefully while waking up in my bed. When i open my eyes, i can the see the blue sky and hear the bird singing outside. I'm under my favourite warm, soft quilt.

It's pure bliss... Haaa, another beautiful day.

Mmmh ? There is something on the other side of the bed.

I slowly turn my head.

Monstersquito is under the sheets and smoke a cigarette. He, too, slowly turn is head toward me.

" - So... happy ?"

....

HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA#$¤%§#�#@§]}% !¡¿!?!??

My eyes shoot wide open.

I finally wake up from this nonsensical nightmare when Carl poke me on the side. THANKS, CARL.

I look nervously around, but the area is now clear of all monsters insects. It look like a peaceful man-eating purple forest again. Our escort is harnessing the horse with all the remaining heavy equipment we will take, while the less space-taking one are put in Book girl space magical handbag something. And dont ask why they cant put everything on it, i dont know myself. Speaking of her, the poor Book girl who protected us all night is really tired and munch silently on the breakfast Carl prepared near the bonfire.

Mmmmh, i dont see Beastcat or the dog anywhere...

In summary, except for the visible, empty corpses of the horses, and some wolves who were hurt in the earlier fight and didn't flee fast enough to escape from the giants mosquitos swarm, nothing remain from the fight last night.

Yep. It's clean.

No, these things on the grounds are not traces from another big creature i didn't hear last night. I can safely erase them from my memory. They dont exist. I was sleeping anyways. I will deny you, reality.

Ok, really, no need to tense up again, i'm already pretty useless like that, no need to turn psycho who scream and have panic attack at the worst time. It's always like this in movie, the one who cant react when he's panicking die first. I need to have a cool head.

Or at least, look like i keep a cool head...

Ho, i'm hungry. What-can-i-eat-on-this-wonderful-day (monotone.)

I calmly ( ... ) go down from the wagon, smelling the sweet scent of the (blue) coffee, and walk to the fire where the breakfast is prepared.

" - Ha, Carl, what a bad night yeah ? The loss of the horses and all... So what will we do today ? How much time until we reach the next city by foot ?"

I'm trying to distract myself here, but i'm also curious.

" - They Say it's going To Take three days !"

Three days.

You will be mourned, my poor feets.

" - We have TaKen your speeD into acCount so it will take one more Day than normal."

" - Thanks. I'm sorry to be so useless."

" - No, no, it's noT your fault to begin with, so noBody is going to blame you for this here. We will finiSh to eat and start immediately. I have alreaDy taken the liberty to place your baG on the horse, so you will tRavel lighter."

Carl... You're such a good guy !

That said, i still cant help having mixed feeling, like, you know, i'm a sheltered princess or something. I'll never get used to it. You can't help it, on earth i'm usually the worker-guy-who-do-everything.

I really wonder what they said to the escort guys to explain my absolute uselessness...

Well. Time to fill my stomach. Mmmmh, sausages... Green sausage, but sausage nonetheless. Dont think about what's inside, just eat it. It smell like sausage, it cruch like sausage, and it taste like... Freshly cut grass. yeahh.

Well, we have an elf with us, so it's probably that ? Or not ? Are elf vegetarians ? Is it racist to think they are vegetarians only ? Do it count at cannibalism to be vegetarian for an elf ? WHY THE FUCK ALL THESE STUPID QUESTIONS ARE THE ONLY THINGS POPPING ALL THE TIME IN MY HEAD ?

Stop. I need to eat. Eat. Stop thinking pointless things.

After eating my fill, Chief-def warrior put the exhausted Book girl on the horse in an improvised seat made with some woodplank from the wagon. She smile softly and immediately fall asleep. All the equipement is attached behind her so she will not slip while dozzing off. When she's solidly harnessed, the escort take place around us with J-priest guiding the horse with a leash.

And now, here we go. A full day walking...

...

Surprisingly, if i didnt walk at a fast pace, and if they didnt walk slowly, they would have been nothing but a tiny dot on the horizon in less than ten minutes. I can perfectly picture myself walking on my knees in the next city, everything beneath it would have been worn out by the road...

" - Is it okay like this ? We Cant go slower, we need to keeP up this pace to attain the next saFe area before the night."

Carl is at my side since he dont speak with Book girl or J-priest. We have a safe area tonight ? Woo-hoo ! I'm motivated now. No fucking monsters and a good night sleep !

" - We will stop at a safe area tonight ? It's great ! I was thinking there was no one since we were sleeping in the wild yesterday..."

" - It's just Because we entered late on this roaD, we would'nt have Time to attain it before the deaD of the night, it would have been Too dangerous. And we didnt have lucK with the monsTers, the wolves were one things, but to enCounter Fagznhtss here too..."

" - How come these Fagzbzz-stuff monsters exists ? It's the work of evil gods and everything i've read on the library ?"

" - Ho yes, you Dont know very munch how this world worK. Let me have the pLeasure to explain."

He pause to collect his toughts with a large, large smile. Haaaaa, i think i triggered what we can call familiarly a verbal diarrhea, i forgot he was a teacher in training. Well, it's going to distract me on the road... Go for it, my Carl radio.

" - MonsTers come from differents souls patTern. There are essentially monsTers who came fRom the soul patTern of special area, of fabricated Belief, of a long lifetiMe, of a physical particulariTy or by the sheer size of some pacKs. The monsters Born from area are-"

Wha dide yu saeee ? try it again ? He started speaking another random language ?

" - Sorry to say this, but i stopped understanding anything after the monsters come from."

" - Ho, you dont kNow about how the floW of magic worK ? I will starT from here, then !"

" - Huuu, yes, it would be a pleasure, but consider the fact i came from a world when magic dont exist at all, please."

Not as if it concern me since i'm a living magic-repellant, but well.

" - Magic come from the Soul. Each living beinG from this worlD have something you can define by a soul souRce coming froM them, you can imagine it like a litTle sun inside you. He permanently Radiate magic everywhere in the boDy, and the more developped the Soul is, the more magiC it naturally produce. Plant, inseCt, fiSh, animal, then senTient being is usually the order of magic one naturally Radiate from the smallest to the highest Power. You can also compaRe the soul to the eGo to explain the Power difference. Plants have a small to non-existant ego, when animal haVe already a simple senSe of Self, even if they're some difference Between them."

" - Okay, for now i still follow."

" - You see, when Someone want to use magic, they neeD to visualize and Direct the magic power emanateD from the soul-sun to the desired area and imagine the Determined effect. If you need to create water from your hand, you have to Sense your magic fiRst, direct a chunck to your hand, and imagine the staTe of the water you want to proDuce. It seem Simple, but it's hard to do it at the same time when you begin. The same when you wanT to reinfoRce your muscles, it doesnt matteR if it's internal or external, the thing that matter is if you Can effectively direct, Vizualise and imagine the effeCt you want."

" - But the more magic you have the better, no ?"

" - Not necessarily. Naturally when you have a stRong magic power you're more suited to wield iT, but even against the power of a dRagon, a human has a chance if he has more contRol over his own magic. To maKe a example, someone strong, with bulging muscle is not Going to be necessarily more efficient in Combat against someone who know how to Fight even with a lowestPower."

" - It's like a mastery stat in video game ?"

" - It's Something from your worlD ? I know someTimes when people crosS worlDs they are given a way to examine in a more familiar waY the sTate of their body, but it's just an imprit from the enTity bringing the otherworlder to this siDe, the model of a self diagnostic spell."

Whoa, slow down here, please. It's starting to get hard.

" - Its not some special power offered by a god or something ?"

" - There are sPecial powers sometimes, but the majoriTy offered are just pattern imprited on your memory, the real help is an eaSiest way to manipulate their magical power. And for the self-diagnostiC sPell, when you have the patTern, your mind create somethinG you have an easiest time undersTanding, or at least one you are the most used to See."

Mmmmh, okay, so in short they just make a short magic training with the strict minima before tossing us here ?

" - I was thinking that for "normal" people ejected here, they would have been offered something more... Heroic ? Powerful ?"

Like i can speak.

" - As i saiD, it happen sometimes but it's not neCessarily a good thing. And Since they come from another worlD, usually their constitution already give them an adVantage, and/or their capaciTy to visualize and create magic become something diFferent from the folKs here."

He seem to be unhappy saying that. Well, if some motherfucker like the ones pictured in history books popped here and here with the ability to fart fireballs or shoot wire-guided missiles from their nostrils, i can perfectly relate to the fact people are upset about it...

" - Well, bacK to the explication about monsters. I briefly explaineD the basic about magic, and i said your soul-Sun raDiate magic everywhere in your body. Now, since you permanentlY emit magic power, a little part oF it is Sometimes send involontarily to an object you think for a reason or another. This magiC emanation is usually feeBle and litTle, but it can accumulate over time, creating what we can call an enchanTed zone if it's a place, or a magiC monster if it's a creatuRe."

" - It seem dreadfully easy to have monster spawning everywhere..."

" - It taKe a lot of time, fortunately, and it depend furtHer on the creatures who "think" of this. Except for really powerful creatures, it also reqQuire a lot of creatures to think of it, and it's always starting by Being weakly enchanteD.

I will say another examPle, but a clearing in a Dense foreSt can somewhat be enchanted by the plants around it, but it will take a great Deal of time and generations of plants. Generally, it happen faster beCause animals "think" about it too, since the zone is givinG them a special impression or saFety. The more restricted the zone is, the more Faster it will be to be enchanted."

" - It not happen to large areas ?"

" - Yes, but these zones neeD to be awfully special. I will not exPlain it because it will confuse you, but magic come From the earth others naturals elemenTs too and Can Be mixed with it, helping and sthrengtening the enchanting Process greatly. The perFect example would be an active volcaNo, with the fire and earth elements, but as you will See on our travel, we will also paSs through a zone affected with eartTh and pure magic power elemenTs."

" - Ho... The zone with others natural laws you speaked before, right ?"

" - Yes. These zones have a sPecial effect on the earth and have a Tendancy to give birth to magical creatures. Not all are Dangerous or threatening against peoPle, some even friendly, but frankly it all depenD from the zone, the thoughts of cReatures who slowly enchanted the area and the Type of creature who were liVing beFore."

"- Like ?"

" - A swamp is enchanted. Animals and people think it's a Pain, plants cant gRow well, some magiC with water and earth is mixeD. And you have the previous inhabitants slowly mutaTing into giants monsters liKe the one we have encountereD yesterday."

" - ..."

" - I can give you other examPles. Especially bloody battlefielDs from greats wars have a tendancy to gather strong negatives thoughts and create undeaDs and wraiths. Oasis in the middle of a desert can gain stronG reCovery purposes..."

" - Okay, okay, i see, it depends on the nature of the thought involved, and it need to be strong and stable over time, right ?"

I'm slowly thinking it's like a tea infusion, but with magic instead...

" - Exactly ! The creatures from these areas are then linKed to the nature of the zone. They all have a sTandard intelligence and neeD to stay in this generally Defined zone, since they need more magiCal power to exist than They can produce for themselveS."

" - Then why do we have encountered these things yesterday ?"

" - It's because to exisT ouTside, they need to hunt for magic. And the beTter way to hunt for it is to devour other magic, especially from People or animals."

Outch ? Hey, why the fuck would they want to devour me in this case !