Author's note: This is going to be the first chapter without the orange bar! Maybe!

EDIT: I lied. Wrote the title wrong(Forgot to add 'chapter 22' to it)

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The rest of the travels was fairly uneventful, compared to the fight with wolves earlier, and the fateful meeting. It seemed that the random encounters were fairly rare. Was it because we were still in a forest for beginners? Or was there some other reason?

Either way, gaining a level looked easier than it actually was, due to the lack of monsters to fight in the first place... so I was rather thankful for the old man's teachings, and directions to the closest dungeon.

"Are we there yet?"

"Nope"

And that was the most eventful thing that happened.

"Are we there yet?"

"Nope."

"Are we there yet?"

"Nope."

Or rather, the only thing worth mentioning.

"Are we there yet?"

"...Aya, for the last time, we'll arrive soon." I mumbled, cursing under my breath. It can't be that hard, right? Especially with the fact she began to ask such question only thirty minutes after we set off.

" At this rate, Aya- I mean, I will die from tired-ness!" The Arachnae declared, stubbornly.

"...It is 'die from exhaustion', Aya." I corrected her, just like a proper grammar teacher should.

" See? I'm so exhausted that I'm not even thinking straight! Let me rest, pleaaaseeee?" She begged me, looking at me with the closest thing to puppy eyes an Arachnae could do.

"We'll just walk for twenty more minutes and we'll rest for the night." I lied, feeling little to no guilt. I could only hope my karma has not decreased from this.

Twenty minutes later, though, I stayed silent, occasionally playing with my wind magic. It was rather fun, to juggle balls of winds between my hands.

The skill [Mana manipulation] has leveled up!

The skill [Mana manipulation] has leveled up!

It was a surprisingly fun and productive little game...though I wonder... could I use it as a deadly projectile? Maybe if I make it smaller and faster, I could do quite a bit of damage, just like a gun! The destructive power of a bullet in a medieval world is-

" Are the twenty minutes over?" Aya asked, a bit tired...but it was mostly boredom, nobody gets tired just from walking for twenty minutes, right?

...Why did you have to interrupt me out of all times! Now I forgot what I was thinking about! But I'm pretty sure it was related to making you stop asking the same question over and over. But I knew the best way to get revenge from this...

"Just five minutes have passed." I lied through my teeth. I do not want to sleep in the woods, when with a bit more of effort, both me and her could sleep inside of a warm bed. So... there is no issue lying a bit right? Especially since it was a good punishment. Harshness builds character!

"....But it is so boooring to walk..."

That sums up the travel. Me being a dirty liar, my partner complaining and beasts rarely attacking. I loved wherever a wolf popped up, since it helped on both mine, and my partner's extreme boredom.

By the nightfall, we finally arrived at a small settlement... although Aya was far too tired-looking to jump in happiness. "Gee, that wasn't so hard, right? I mean, it was just four hours of walking." I said...before my face paled a bit.

"Didn't you say just 'twenty minutes', my dear fae?" She replied...with a voice that made me shiver. Hell hath no wrath like a spider scorned.

"L-look at the good news! We have a good bed now!" I replied with a cheerful, awkward smile. The walls surrounding the village wasn't that high, even Aya dwarfed them... but out of respect, we both had an unsaid agreement of walking to the village gates...only to be blocked by the guards.

They weren't too tough looking, wielding only a spear and iron armor, compared to my friend, Aya...but without a doubt, they had more inside, so they can protect the people from monster attacks.

"Halt, who goes there?" The guard to the right said, moving his spear to block our path.

"Aya the Arachnae and Nysa the fae!" My friend said, right away.

"Uh... we are travelers, and we've recently met a human adventurer who spoke of great deeds, giant monsters and legendary spells. We've asked where we should go to get started on the path of greatness, and he told us the direction to the village, since according to him, it has a nearby dungeon." I lied quite a bit. At the very least, it shouldn't sound too weird.

"You know, you never said anything about great adventurers and such, Nysa. Aya wants to hear more about it!" My ditzy friend said...that was not the time to say such things!

"""..."""

"....You never asked about it." I replied, trying to salvage the hopeless-looking situation.

"Uh... alright... you two are allowed inside of the village, I suppose... just don't make any trouble." One of the guards said, relunctantly.

H-hey, we're really powerful, and my friend here can eat people you know?!

You can't treat us lightly!

I am strong! Strong you hear!

My inner thoughts began to rage, at how pathetic the guards were.

But yet, I can't say them out loud, lest I want to lose the rights of entering the village. So I could only pout and cross my arms, as we walked inside.

The village wasn't very big, but there was a few buildings that stood out from the rest: The adventurer's guild, although it was just a small branch...or so I assume since it wasn't much bigger than the rest of the houses.

There was also a small inn, and a church at the distance, and all these three, 'major' buildings were in the center of the village. It made sense, since they're also the most important ones, and they probably take shelter inside of the adventurer's guild.

As we walked, all adults kept a 'safe distance' of 10 meters from us, treating us as if we we are extremely dangerous. Even if they didn't show any intention of murdering us in cold blood, this wasn't much better. It seems that many of the adults held grudges against our races...or maybe it was just against the Arachnae.

The children on the other hand...

"Wow, are you an Arachnae?" "How do you walk on eight legs?" "What do you eat?" "Can you produce some silk?" "The fae is so cute! What is your name?" "I've always wanted to see a fae!" "Can you show me some magic? Pleaaseee?" "Arachnae are more awesome though!" "Fae are cuter!" "Can I see your fangs?" "Your wings are so pretty!"

We were ganged up by the children. There was so many of them that my trusty friend, Aya, could barely move in the crowd!

Meanwhile I stood up on top of Aya's head, trying to kick away all of the hands that were trying to grab me. "Somebody save me!" I shouted, as I struggled to not get caught.

"...Don't you mean 'somebody save us?' " Aya replied, some of the children even climbing on top of her back.

"T-this is not the time to correct me!" I shouted back. Aya could deal with a bunch of children, but if I fell off right now, I'd feel like a doll thrown in the middle of the kindergarten...

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Author's note: I was planning for a slightly bigger chapter...but this event with the children felt somewhat amusing, and also the perfect place to stop it, meaning, you got the average sized-one so I have more time to play games. XD