AN: Yes, I am alive and sorry for the massive delay. Real life kept me quite busy.

After some of the longest hours in my life went by with the dull work of carefully handling the carcass while at the same time keeping watch in order to avoid being ambushed by some opportunistic beasts, Frank conjured a campfire.

This was our traditional meal after a successful hunt. Though it was interrupted last time we would make this time all the more amazing to make up for it. Sometimes I find how much importance we place on such a simple act quite dubious, but like so many other things this is just inexplicably satisfying.

With the snap of Frank’s finger, a spark was sent out, igniting the dry firewood. At the same time a waterball slowly descended into the empty pot, filling about three quarters of it.

Already knowing what was going to happen next, we carried a cutting board with a lot of finely cut up meat on top of it over, pouring it into the big pot above the quietly burning flame.

As soon as the water started to steam Frank went to work with glee, the wooden spoon that suddenly appeared in his hands constantly swirling around. I picked the herbs that we had already prepared beforehand up and threw them in at regular intervals while Owen tended to the fire, making sure it would stay at the perfect temperature.

Of course all of this would be far easier if we were to use the full extent of our abilities. Especially the part of tending to the fire. But it just felt wrong to do so after years of manual cooking. Well, with the exception of the herb picking.

As we found out a few years ago it is impossible to create any living things in our core spaces, even plants are impossible. This is quite strange considering the products you get from harvesting plants like wood and corn are easily producible, though far costlier in terms of mana consumption.

We pondered about this issue quite a bit and tried to find possible solutions, but in the end we couldn’t think of anything that could solve this.

When we asked Teacher he answered that he also didn’t know, but he speculated that it was most likely a matter of lacking mana. After all, it was proven time and time again that nothing is impossible to create as long as you have enough mana.

His words disappointed us quite a bit though. If even he, a more than 200 years old monster, can’t create living beings then it will be quite difficult for us to even hope to do so in our lives.

Especially because of the low life expectancy that most warriors have. I just hope that we will survive long enough for us to create life.

When my hand grabbed nothing but air I inspected the result of my work: The previously crystal clear water had now become a light brown that barely let me see a few centimeters into it.

A mouthwatering aroma spread through the area, causing me to gulp the accumulating saliva down.

“How long until it’s ready?” I asked him impatiently.

“Don’t worry, it will be ready in a few minutes. Trust me, I’m just as eager to eat this delicious meat as you but good beast meat takes time, you know?” He answered without looking up, still stirring with gusto.

Greta was a few meters away from us, looking anywhere but in our direction. In the beginning we tried to incorporate her but…a lot of accidents happened.

Painful accidents that involved burns and cuts. Lots of them.

In the end we deemed her unfit and let her wash the dishes, where she wouldn’t be able to accidentally hurt anyone unless she acts really stupidly.

We waited wordlessly for our meal to finish, none of us even bothering to hide the hunger that was growing with every second.

Frank’s stirring abruptly slowly came to a halt, prompting our bestial gazes to wander to concentrate on him.

Owen also stopped his fanning, standing up with a heavily decorated bowl as wide as an adult’s palm in his hands.

Seeing his actions, we did the same, bowls of the same size but extremely different decorations appearing in our hands.

Frank carefully used his spoon to fill each of our bowls to the brim. Slowly sitting down in order to prevent the soup from spilling out, I took a sip.

The deliciously hot soup flowed down my throat, warming my entire being. I let out a quiet moan of satisfaction before resuming drinking it.

When the soup was gone I attacked the soft meat, ravishing it until there wasn’t even a speck of it left.

I leaned back in contentment, staring up at the night sky. The familiar sight of hundreds of white specks dotting the otherwise dark sky soothed my mind. A big red object looking like an oversized star was plainly visible, taking its usual place in the middle of the night sky.

It was too small to be a moon but too big for a star in the distance, coupled with the fact that it only occasionally appeared I concluded that it had to be another star in this solar system.

“Frank, seriously now, how the hell do you manage to make this food so fucking delicious?” Greta interrupted the peaceful atmosphere.

My head resumed its normal position, just in time to see Greta leaning forward, her eyebrows knitted together in a frown that was directed at Frank.

“It has something to do with your tools, right? I bet you enchanted them to make the food you make better.” She continued with her speculations, her gaze drifting off.

“Pfff is this envy I hear?” Frank remarked, a mischievous smirk on his face.

Greta’s eyes regained their focus and she sent a sharp look at Frank, probably wanting to prove that she was serious. I could understand her sentiment but wasting mana on something like that is just ridiculous, no one right in their mind would do that if it could be used far more efficiently.

Owen stood up and walked to the pot, pouring another helping into his bowl. I noticed that the deer intricately carved onto its surface started to glow in a dim yellow that was similar to the color of the soup.

“Owen, am I just seeing things or is your bowl glowing?” I tried to confirm that I wasn’t hallucinating.

He looked at me strangely. “You only noticed that now? It’s been like this for a few weeks, you know?”

I looked at the bowls of the others, seeing that theirs had a similar glow but in different colors. Greta’s rabbits were a calming white whilst Frank’s birds that were flying through the sky glowed in a ferocious scarlet, resembling small phoenixes.

What have I been doing to have missed this fascinating spectacle?

I looked down at the plain white snake-like dragons on my bowl, thinking about which color would suit them best.

Back in my childhood in New Pandora I was so very fascinated by a whole plethora of things, especially the myths of the region on Earth that we used to call Orient. I still remember spending uncountable hours reading every imaginable bit of information regarding it, all the while having a carefree smile on my face.

But all of this information doesn’t really help me in deciding on which color would be the best one.

As I couldn’t really decide on the fly I decided to visit my core space for inspiration.

The previously lukewarm environment became a comfortable one where the temperature was just perfectly right. It was like being shined on by the sun on a warm summer: Refreshing and calming.

I was standing on an elevated platform made stone bricks that was about three hundred meters high, enabling me to see far into the distance, where differently colored hills and valleys spread out in the distance.

Every color I could even remotely think of was represented, their vibrancy somewhat making up for the fact that there wasn’t a single shred of life present. No plants, no animals. Nothing.

This is another reason I would really like to be able to create life. To hear the melodious songs of small birds that won’t kill you on first sight. To to see a natural environment that doesn’t endanger your life with every passing second.

To be able to actually appreciate the scenery instead of having to be on guard against every single fucking thing that would be able to kill you in the blink of an eye.

I looked up, seeing an endless expanse of white covering the sky. It was an unnatural color, but it would stay like this until core space becomes big enough to have a complete solar system.

Which, considering that the whole area available to me is not even close to being as big as the area humanity inhabits, is at the very least a few centuries away.

Not that this says a lot. The territory we are able to defend isn’t even big enough for us to need maps. There are just a few roads to every settlement, with nothing but giant farms and pastures in between.

The only reason we are even able to live peacefully is due to the low mana concentration in the air, causing the growth of the beasts to be slower than it would be in other regions.

I can’t help but wonder about the strength of the beasts that grow up in these supposedly mana dense areas. If we are already struggling with the relatively weak ones how strong do they have to be?

The only word I can think of is absolutely terrifying.

Shaking my head, I concentrated on the current situation again.

The platform itself was about ten meters wide, more than enough to walk around on. Although I say platform, in reality this is a gigantic tower that is about three hundred meters high. It is made of gray bricks, further enhancing one’s impression of it being a tower.

I noted the failed attempt at making a crossbow still lying in a remote corner. Through lots and lots of experimentation I had found out that I had no freaking clue how crossbows are supposed to work. Sure, I had seen some pictures in the Internet before but they didn’t really help me out.

It was an eye opener that also made me realize why I couldn’t completely replicate a gun. Yes, I thought that all parts that needed to make it work were present, but what did I know of the many intricacies of a gun? For all I know a bunch of essential things could be missing or configured wrongly.

As such I decided to simply use a bow, which at least aren’t really complicated to make and maintain. And they are easily strengthened and enchanted too as I know exactly which part needs to be strengthened in what way.

Stepping past the remainder of my shattered dreams, I quickly walked towards the ledge of the tower, where I waited for my means of transport to arrive.

Barely a minute passed until a silver blur whizzed through the air, its destination being me. When it came closer it slowed down until it stopped in front of me.

It looked like a mixture between a body suit that also included the head and a medieval full body armor with the multitude of ring like plates overlapping each other, giving the armor a slender and smooth look. The bigger plates at the joints provided decent mobility, enabling me to perform nearly every move I would normally be able to.

In the places where plates would be awkward like at the armpits a scalemail suit, which was the second layer of defense, could be seen, offering a decent overall protection.

The helmet was essentially an oval egg that was similar to the shape of my head with the exception of the metal forming a cone in front of the mouth, protecting my jaw, teeth and nose from blunt attacks.

A broad slit allowed me to view the world around me even though that wasn’t really necessary in my core dimension as I was able to feel my surroundings here anyway. It would be quite useful once my channels are strong enough to transport it outside though and another enchantment would hopefully keep any projectiles away.

The breast area, legs and arms however were covered by bigger plates that had the same shape as the counterparts they were supposed to protect, just a bit bigger in order to avoid hindering my movements and provide enough place for the others layers.

I activated one of its many enchantments, causing it to liquefy. It formed a puddle on the ground, from where the cool liquid began flowing up incorporeal body. A second and a decent bit of mana later the armor had completely reformed, enabling me to enjoy the soft padding on the inside.

I tested whether the movement was still as smooth as it was supposed to be and wasn’t disappointed as the multitude of plates seamlessly stacked onto each other.

The other enchantments I had painstakingly placed on it would prevent me from being simply crushed by the concussive force of strong hits and also enable me to handle riskier movements in the air without experiencing strong aftereffects from the g-force.

Unfortunately, every improvement I made only served to delay the day that I would be able to use this masterpiece of mine even further. Considering that I was nearly killed by that damned lion I should get a decent set of armor soon, my enchanted clothes won’t be able to prevent me from dying should I encounter such a beast again.

But that is something for another day. The most important thing right now is giving my beloved bowl a shiny enchantment.

I quickly shot off the ground to fly upwards, enabling me to see every landscape I had created. It was a random mess of colors, making it look like something a madman might have dreamed up.

After a bit of looking around I found my gaze lingering on the azure sea surrounding this land. Making my way towards it, I wondered if this was the color I had been searching for.

I looked down at the bowl in my hands. Well, it’s certainly worth a try.

I stopped midair and started do descend until my feet touched the gray ground under my feet. Even though I was just meters away from a gigantic mass of water nothing could be heard. The water was completely still, not even a single ripple could be seen.

Silence, why is it that it is sometimes enjoyable and sometimes just lonely? It reminds me of the time when I still possessed that damned artifact, of the time I spent a lot of time on my blue spaceship.

It reminds me of the time I was lonely.

Yes, blue is a truly fitting color. Let it be a reminder that I have friends again, ones that I won’t lose under any circumstances. So that I may not repeat some of the mistakes of the past.

With a smile on my face I initiated the process of enchanting.