Prologue can be found here:
http://www.fanfiction.net/s/4618653/1/F ... V_One_Half
This is a rough version. The chapter is finished, but I still have to reread it and correct spelling mistakes and probably rewrite some sentences. But this is basically the finished chapter.
I still have to write the bestiary and the extensive author's notes though
Everyone was frozen in place except for the giant who, with a mighty stomp, caused a heavy earthquake that threw everyone to the ground and created a large fissure starting at his foot and continuing for several kilometers. Everyone was astonished at seeing the very large fissure that now marred the landscape. Not bothering to check if the knights were incapacitated or not Ranma jumped into action and ran over to the girl, getting her away from those ruthless killers. When he got back to Kasumi he grabbed her and sprinted away at top speed, creating a dust cloud in his wake.
Only when he couldn’t see the village any longer he stopped and put the two girls down.
“Who… who are you?” Rydia asked after she had recovered from her surprise.
“A friend,” Ranma nonchalantly answered. “Don’t worry. I got you away from the evil men who have destroyed your village. You’re safe now.”
The greenette relaxed a bit but didn’t completely put her guard down until she saw Kasumi smiling at her. Some considered Kasumi’s smile as one of the most powerful weapons in the world. One of her serene smiles was generally enough in Nerima to stop any fight. And once again it had worked like a charm. But then, everything that had happened that day hit the young girl with full force and she started to cry. Kasumi took the kid in her arms and gently pat her on the back. “There, there. Just let it all out. You’ll feel much better afterwards.”
Kasumi’s calming tone didn’t miss its intended purpose and after several minutes of soothing words the tears stopped flowing until she was only sobbing. Kasumi kneeled down and looked her in the eyes. “Now, why don’t you tell us your name? I am Kasumi Tendo and my companion’s name is Ranma Saotome.”
Ranma winked at the girl and she gave him a small smile. “I… I am Rydia, and I live in Mist Village. I’m 12 years old”
“Well Rydia, that a very pretty name. Could you tell us what happened? And maybe give us more information on that giant we saw?”
Rydia hesitantly nodded her head. “His name is Titan. His kind is known under many names. Call, summon, guardian force, esper, to name but a few. They live in a different dimension, but some people called summoners have the ability summon them. All of us in the village possess that ability. Titan is my personal guardian. Every time a new summoner is born one of the summons automatically becomes its guardian. Titan is mine, like the Mist Dragon was my mother’s. I’m surprised that I was even able to summon Titan since I don’t have enough mana to summon him normally.”
Ranma and Kasumi were avidly listening to the young girl’s tail and wondering what it would be like to possess such an ability.
“We saw one of hose creatures about 2 hours ago and it’s thanks to him that we got stranded here. We got sucked in by the portal he used to disappear.”
Now it was Rydia who was surprised at that piece of information. “I’ve never heard of something like that ever happening. What was his name?”
“He called himself Ifrit,” Kasumi answered.
“I have heard of him. But I don’t have a contract with him yet, so I can’t summon him for you to get answers. I’m sorry. But don’t you think the person who summoned him will be able to get you back?”
“There are several problems with that,” Kasumi calmly explained. For one, the summoner is dead. Ifrit killed him for summoning him without a proper contract. And secondly, I don’t think we are in our world any longer. At least, I’ve never heard of a place like this one or of summons before today.”
“WOW! People from another dimension!” Rydia said in awe but then turned pensive. “But I’ve never heard of a summon killing a summoner.”
“That’s probably because Happosai wasn’t a summoner. He had a scroll in his possession which he used to summon Ifrit.”
“I’ve never seen a scroll like that. I didn’t even know it was possible. People are born with the gift of magic and I can hardly imagine another way of getting access to such an ability. Maybe magic works differently in your dimension.”
“Is magic a big part of this world?” Kasumi enquired. “Magic is very rare in our world, but it seems to be rather common here.”
“Oh yes,” the greenette confirmed. “Most people can use at least a little magic, but a lot of them either don’t have the talent to grow strong in their skills or they simply lack the drive. A fair number of them also prefer the fighting arts to magic.”
Ranma’s eyes lit up. Fighters meant new techniques to learn. He couldn’t wait to meet some of them. Maybe this fiasco had some good points after all. But still, he needed to go home. “Do you know if it is possible to send us back to our world?”
The young girl shook her head. “I don’t know. You should ask the Mysidians. They are rumored to be the best mages in the world and have a very extensive library. Unfortunately I don’t know where the town is. The only information I have is that it’s on another continent and you can only get there by ship.”
“Is there a town around here where we could ask?” Kasumi asked.
“Yes there is,” Rydia confirmed. “The desert town of Kaipo.”
“Well then, let’s go!” Ranma exclaimed in an upbeat tone, trying to cheer up their new travel companion. Kasumi and he considered giving a proper burial to the poor villagers, but in the end decided against it. It would be better to get Rydia away from this desolate place as soon as possible in case the attackers returned to finish their job. And they didn’t want to put the sweet little girl in danger.
As they were walking through the grassy plain Rydia opened up some more and told her travel companions about life in the village and about magic. Ranma and Kasumi were very attentive listeners and really fascinated by the subject. The pigtailed martial artist had been wary of magic at first, since he had had more than one bad experience with it, but he quickly realized that, unlike the cursed artifacts he had to deal with, the magic of this world was quite different. They were so engrossed by the native girl’s tales that they didn’t notice the group of goblins that were laying in ambush.
Suddenly Ranma’s danger sense kicked in and he pushed both girls to the floor. “Stay down! We’re under attack!”
When the young martial artist got a look at the attackers he was quite surprised since he had never seen creatures like those. They were surrounded by four very short, two legged things wearing brown smurf hats, brown shirts and carrying curved daggers. But rather than dismissing them as harmless, their beady eyes showed much malice and Ranma knew that they weren’t his usual enemies looking for a friendly, or not so friendly spar, and that they would kill them without remorse.
“Look at what we got here, boys,” one of the creatures said. “Easy prey. Just a bunch of kids and a harmless girl. Let’s have fun.” While the thing was gloating Ranma readied an attack and was soon joined by Rydia, much to his surprise.
Rydia couldn’t stifle a giggle. “Don’t worry. I know how to fight too. Those are goblins, bythe way. They are not very strong, but in groups they can be dangerous.”
Ranma nodded. From the greenette’s stories it was easy to deduce that this was a hostile world and that the people had to learn to defend themselves from an early age to cull the monster population. And even if the girl was young, the determined look in her eyes and the confident stance she had taken had been enough to convince the martial artist that she knew what she was doing.
Both fighters were positioned in a way to keep Kasumi out of harm’s way and Rydia launched the first attack. “ICE!” She shouted and a large icy shard left her rod and encased one of the goblins in ice before it could even blink. This enraged the three remaining opponents and they launched their attacks together. They deduced that Rydia was the most dangerous one of the lot, even if she was the youngest and concentrated their attacks on her. But Ranma wouldn’t let them. While Rydia was preparing her next spell, Ranma blocked two dagger strikes by firmly grabbing the goblins’ arms, but the third enemy succeeded to lacerate Ranma’s left arm. It was a shallow cut and didn’t hamper the teenager, but Ranma was forced to reassess the threat these creatures posed. He released one of the creatures and clutched the other one firmly by its throat and with a quick move crushed its windpipe.
The remaining goblins sprinted away to a safe distance, but before they could get away they heard a shout of “LIGHTNING!” and one of them was struck down by a lightning bolt, not to get up ever again.
The last one was now very afraid for its life and used its final attack, hoping to take at least one of them down with it. “GOBLIN PUNCH!” The travelers could hear just as Ranma was struck by hundreds of blows not unlike his Kachuu Tenshin Amaguriken, but even faster. Lucky for him the goblins were rather weak and so the blows didn’t hurt too much, but they’d smart for some time. The black-haired boy retaliated immediately by bisecting his opponent with a well placed Kijin Raishuu Dan.
After the creature was down for the count Rydia moved in front of Ranma and healed him with her magic, much to Kasumi’s joy who was hoping to learn white magic too.
“Thanks, Rydia,” Ranma praised the young girl. “You are strong. And your healing spell is really neat. I wish I had had someone like you to heal me during some of my most violent fights.”
“It was nothing,” she said humbly, but her blushing face told another story. The two older teens were about to leave when they saw the young girl pilfer the goblins’ pockets and checking the bushes around them.”
“What are you doing?” Ranma asked, outraged by the girl’s actions.
“What?” She asked, not understanding why the pigtailed boy would reprimand her. “They are dead. They won’t have any use for the items while we need the money. Everyone does it.”
Ranma couldn’t deny the veracity of that statement. They had nothing but the clothes they were wearing and since Rydia wasn’t finding it the least bit disturbing, so he guessed that it was normal for this world.
“YES!” Rydia enthusiastically shouted. “Look what I’ve found?” She ran over to the pair of otherworlders and showed them the item. It didn’t look like much, but in this strange and unknown new world that might not mean anything. The object resembled an ofuda, but had the word ‘tent’ inscribed on its surface.
“What is it, Rydia?” Kasumi wanted to know.
“You don’t have things like this is your world?” She asked, and at seeing them shake their heads she explained. “This is a magical seal. Things can be magically sealed inside these sheets of paper to avoid wasting space. This particular seal contains a magical tent. These tents are very popular since they increase one’s mana recovery rate and healing speed. This means that if we sleep in these tents our magic reserves replenish faster and our wounds close up at a quickened pace. They aren’t all that, but with our meager funds we should be happy with every break we get. Oh, and take this. Since you don’t have any weapons I’ll give you one dagger each. If you prefer other weapons you’ll have to wait until we reach Kaipo and buy them at the weapons shop. You’ll need a weapon to survive since there are a lot of monsters that are protected against physical blows.”
Ranma and Kasumi nodded. Ranma had not much experience with daggers, but it was a versatile weapon and he was sure he could incorporate them into some of his katas. But he’d definitely try and find weapons he’d feel more comfortable with.
“I’ve also found some money. That will help us buy some protective equipment and better weapons for you. But we’d better hurry now. It’s still a four-hour-walk and we should try and get there before nightfall.”
Both Nerimans diligently followed the young girl, although Ranma was reluctant at first since that put her in danger, but he was impressed by the girl’s determination and adult behavior. But then, living in world where you had to live in constant fear of becoming the next snack of a gigantic monster probably explained it. Just as admirable was the fact that she hadn’t become an emotional wreck after her mother’s death, but had decided to make the murderers pay. Vengeance wasn’t a solution in Ranma’s opinion, but it might be a great way to deal with one’s grief. He pitied her, He still had his two parents, and although they’d never win the parent of the year award he loved them nonetheless. Rydia was all alone in the world now. Except for her traveling companions she had no one and it was Ranma’s firm intention to protect her to the best of his abilities.
The pigtailed boy wasn’t vengeful by nature, but he agreed with Rydia that Baron needed to be stopped. But that was not his fight. His goal was to find a way home for both Kasumi and he. He would let someone else play the hero for a change. He had already given so much and really wanted to solve all of his problems in a honorable way. He could take the easy way out and simply stay in this world, but that wouldn’t be honorable and not fair to Kasumi. The older girl had never been away from home and she was probably homesick already. But when he looked at her face he was perplexed by the happiness he could see there. She seemed to be enjoying this adventure by the way she was conversing with Rydia. She even giggled at some of the child’s stories, something he’d never seen her doing before.
Well, maybe they could explore the world for a bit. Nerima would still be standing when they returned, or at least he hoped so.
The plains were slowly giving way to the desert as the lush vegetation receded to be replaced with plants that were more better adapted to an arid climate. Just then the party stumbled upon a group of three large monsters. One of them looked somewhat like the Creature from the Black Lagoon while the other two were a gigantic centipede and a very large butterfly. The creatures hadn’t seen them arrive and so they able to get a preemptive strike. Quickly taking up their combat positions our group of adventurers attacked at once, not giving the creatures enough time to mount an offensive of their own. Ranma was the fastest and with inhuman speed drove his dagger into the centipede’s belly, leaving a deep, heavily bleeding wound. At the same time, Rydia flung a lightning bolt at the butterfly, lighting it up like a Christmas tree and killing it on the spot, leaving nothing but some charred remains behind. Kasumi clumsily attacked the remaining monster, but since she had never been trained in the use of weapons only managed a grazing blow, which didn’t have any effect at all. But before the monster could retaliate Ranma had flung the dagger at its head with pinpoint accuracy, driving it through its left eye and killing it on the spot. Unfortunately, this left the martial artist open for an attack by the wounded monster, which bit him deeply into his shoulder.
Ranma cried in pain, which intensified as he tore away from the centipede’s maw. Than God Rydia was there to finish it off with an ice attack.
When the battle had ended Rydia looked over to Ranma, ready to heal him when she saw a crying Kasumi sitting next to him.
“This is all my fault,” she cried. “If only I’d been stronger this wouldn’t have happened. I guess it’s true what some people say. I’m only good for housework.”
As Kasumi was crying her eyes out she didn’t notice her right hand, which was keeping the wound covered with a piece of cloth, glow in a soothing white light. Ranma was rapidly feeling better and gasped when he saw the older girl’s hand. “Kasumi, look at your right hand!”
The startled girl did as Ranma suggested and was quite surprised when she saw the light slowly die out. She took the piece of cloth away from the wound to see a completely healed shoulder, the torn silk shirt and some dried blood remaining the only clues that he had ever been wounded.
Slowly, a grin illuminated Kasumi’s face. Maybe she wasn’t helpless. Maybe she could be of some real help to Ranma and not being confined to the role of damsel in distress, like her younger sister regularly was. Maybe it was time for Kasumi to find her own place in the world… and she liked it. Before she could get up she was hugged by Rydia who happily shouted, “You did it! You used magic!”
The young woman’s radiant smile grew bigger as being praised for something else but her cooking was completely new to her. But then she hugged the greenette back.
“That was great,” Ranma enthusiastically congratulated her. “It doesn’t even hurt any longer.”
“This means you’re a white mage, Kasumi, just like I am. Maybe you have another affinity. We should try and find out later. For now we’d better hurry up and get into town.”
“That might be for the best.” After pondering about her newfound magical talent for a while she asked, “Do you think that Ranma may be able to use magic too?” That question immediately got the boy in question’s attention as he had wondered about that too.
“That’s quite possible,” the young girl confirmed. “We’ll just have to wait and see. Oh, before I forget, there’s one monster we should avoid at all costs, the sand worms. They are the toughest creatures in the desert and without some proper equipment it will be a very difficult fight. My advice would be to run away as soon as we see one.”
Both Nerimans nodded their heads. Running away was something Ranma abhorred, but Rydia knew these parts better than he did, and he would be a fool to disregard her point of view. And then there was Kasumi. The girl was courageous, no doubt about it, but she wasn’t a fighter. His first priority was to protect his friend, and if that included running away from a fight, so be it.
As they resumed their trip to Kaipo they were attacked encountered several more enemies, but they didn’t stand a chance since Ranma could concentrate on his fights more since there were tow white mages present to heal his wounds. They also found some more items near the groups of monsters: two potions and one hi-potion which have the same healing effects as a cure spell, an antidote, which cures most poisons, one eyedrops which cures darkness and, much to Rydia’s joy, a goblin stone which grants a summoner the ability to summon a goblin. Not the strongest summon by far, but it could probably have its uses.
She hoped that they’d find a chimera stone too, if only to have another summon to add to her growing collection.
They had also encountered one of the infamous sand worms and the monstrous sight made even Ranma shiver. The creature was more than three meters long and its maw was filled with very long and very pointy teeth dripping saliva. Rydia’s description really hadn’t done it justice. Kasumi was shaking and Ranma seeing the panic in the Tendo girl’s eyes did the sensible thing and took Rydia’s advice. He grabbed the girls, one with each arm and ran away, thankfully into the right direction. He didn’t stop until he recognized a town in the distance. He put the girls down, relieved that there had been no new monster attacks. They continued their trek and when they were but 500 meters from the town away they were stopped by a group of three men wearing suits of armor and brandishing swords. The one in front was wearing a green suit of armor while the two flanking him were wearing a red one.
“Halt! The one in front ordered. “By order of the King, hand over the summoner! Mist Village and all of their inhabitants have been declared enemies of the crown and are to be executed. Refusal to comply will be considered an act of treason and the offenders will be declared enemies of the crown too.”
This didn’t sit well with Ranma. Rydia was under his protection and he couldn’t imagine the young girl having done anything to offend the king. This smelled like genocide, pure and simple. Fighting in a war was one thing, but destroying a peaceful and harmless village was another matter altogether. The king of Baron reminded him a lot of Adolf Hitler and he would never deal with someone like that. No. Rydia was his friend and he’d do everything to prevent her from sharing her friends’ and family’s fate. “Forget it. You won’t get her. Haven’t you done enough already? Her whole village was destroyed. A village populated by simple and harmless people.”
“We do as we are told,” the general answered. “The king’s orders are clear and it’s not up to us to question them. If you won’t hand the girl over willingly we’ll have to use force. You are hereby declared enemies of the state and the sentence is death. MEN! ATTACK!”
The two soldiers complied, and in perfect synchronization they attacked the most dangerous opponent. Ranma evaded one of the sword strikes, but had to block the arm of the other soldier. This was a really dangerous battle since Ranma did not have much experience with being attacked by several sword users simultaneously… and the men knew how to use them. He turned around and kicked the soldier who missed hard in the back, sending him flying away at great velocity, while he used a judo throw on the other one, smashing him into the floor. The soldier was stunned and closed his eyes when he saw Ranma’s fast punch approach. But the strike did never land. Ranma stopped his punch right before it would have smashed the frightened soldier’s skull like a ripe tomato. Ranma was appalled at what he had almost done and retracted his fist, and instead of finishing the man off he let him go. The soldiers immediately sprinted back to the general to regroup, and were much more cautious now of their pigtailed enemy who obviously knew how to fight.
“What do we do now?” One of the grunts asked. “The boy is skilled and doesn’t even look winded.
The Baron general had watched the attack and noticed right away and had concluded from Kasumi’s inactivity that she was probably a noncombatant and therefore the weakest link. “Attack the brown-haired girl first. She’s harmless. And it will be a heavy blow to the fighter’s morale if they lose one of their companions.”
The soldiers launched their next attack, but the young summoner was faster. Before they reached Kasumi, Rydia’s lightning bolt had electrified one, but the bolt was unfortunately not strong enough to knock the other one over and even if the sword blow was not 100 per cent on target he still managed to ram the blade through Kasumi’s chest. As he pulled the sword out, blood erupted from the wound like a geyser, much to Ranma’s shock, and Kasumi fell down. Rydia immediately sprinted over to her to stop the bleeding and heal the wound, but Ranma didn’t even notice. His eyes were fixed on the bastards who dared do that to his friend. He had never been so angry in his whole life; it was more than anger, it was hate. He hated the man for what he did, and not even Saffron managed to enrage him to such an extent. The man would pay dearly for what he’d done. And it wouldn’t have happened if he had just had the courage to finish the downed soldier off. But no, he had to let him get away. He had always believed in second chances, well many chances in case of the Nerima regulars, but not anymore.
He had finally realized that this world was governed by other rules and that killing was a normal thing. Well, so be it. The lives of his friends were too important and precious to endanger them by being soft.
Having decided not to hold back any longer and too consumed by rage to hold back he launched the strongest ki blast he could produce at the two grunts and the general who had regrouped, turning them into an unrecognizable smoldering heap, leaving charred remains and molten metal behind. Not caring that he had just killed three people he jumped to Kasumi’s and Rydia’s side and was relieved to see the eldest Tendo daughter getting up; a bloodstain on her clothes was the only indication that she’d been injured at all.
Relieved, Ranma was crying tears of joy and hugging Kasumi in a way that would make shampoo jealous. “You’re all right! Thank God, you’re all right. I---I was afraid I’d lost you. I’ll never let anything happen to you ever again. I promise. It was my fault. If I hadn’t hesitated none of this would have happened. I…”
“It’s alright,” she said, hugging the martial artist back. “You couldn’t have known. And I’m completely healed. See?” She asked and made a pirouette to show Ranma that she was telling the truth. “Magic is really a wonderful thing.”
“You were lucky this time. And all thanks to Rydia’s quick intervention. But what if she weren’t here next time? What if you’d really die? What would I tell your family once I got back home? No, I’ll make sure you get home in perfect health. I promise.”
He then looked at Rydia. “That goes for you too. I promise to take care of you. You won’t have to suffer again. Not if I can help it.”
Rydia couldn’t hide a blush. Ranma really sounded confident, and she believed him. She joined the two Nerimans into a group hug that lasted for a few minutes. She almost felt like she was back home with her family.
Ranma looked at the remains of the soldiers, but much to his surprise didn’t feel any regrets at what he had done. He had taken lives but it didn’t bother him all that much, and he couldn’t understand why. He had never killed a human being before and it should affect him more, but nothing.
“What’s bothering you?” Kasumi asked.
“Nothing. And I don’t understand why. I’ve killed 3 people and I don’t even feel sorry for it. The only time I’ve killed before, Saffron came back to live… and he isn’t human to start with. But these were human beings, probably with a family that will grieve for them. I should be shocked, but I am not.”
The brunette thought about it for a while and came up with a theory. “I might have an idea. Maybe you don’t feel any remorse because when you showed mercy and spared the downed soldier, he repaid your kindness by trying to kill me. Maybe you’ve realized, at least subconsciously, that the usual rules don’t apply to this world and that these soldiers are merciless killers. True, they might have families, but it was their decision to attack me, although I hadn’t done anything to them. There’ nothing to be ashamed of. You’ve done what you had to do to protect us. They would never have backed down. You did the right thing and I won’t hold it against you. It’s thanks to you and Rydia that I’m still alive. Let’s just forget about it. This was pure self defense.”
Ranma nodded. Kasumi’s explanation made sense. These men were scum. They got their just deserts. He wouldn’t become a merciless killer, but he was going to do anything to protect his friends, even if he had to kill again.
Rydia was checking for salvageable stuff the soldiers had been carrying, but apart from some gil and two swords the rest of their equipment had been too damaged by the explosion to be useful.
“Take this!” Rydia ordered, and gave one of the swords to Ranma. It’s probably better than the knife, and one we’re in Kaipo we’ll go to a weapons shop and see if we can find something that suits. And we also need to buy some protective gear for protection. Your clothes offer none. The armor shops generally have a large selection of enchanted armor and clothing boosting one’s defenses by a large margin. Well, you’ll see what I’m talking about once we’re there. So, let’s go.”
They marched on and fortunately didn’t run into any more monsters or soldiers. And barely an hour later had they arrived in Kaipo.
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Meanwhile, Cecil was in trouble. Kain had somehow disappeared after the earthquake and he couldn’t find the dragoon everywhere. Hoping that his friend was safe he was ready to go back to Baron through the Mist Cave when he discovered to his shock that the earthquake had triggered an avalanche of rocks and dirt, and that the entrance had been completely obstructed. Seeing no other alternative but to take a very large detour since the mountains were much to steep to safely climb without any special equipment he marched towards Kaipo too in hope that he might find someone who could help him get back to Baron. He had a report to deliver after all. Unfortunately, the previous fights had been very taxing and crossing the desert all alone was very dangerous. He tried to avoid groups of monsters as much as possible, which slowed him considerably down, but he had been lucky so far and only encountered a pair of Hundlegs. But he had to use a potion, of the he had left. If he didn’t get any supplies soon things could get really tricky.
“Damn monsters!” Cecil ranted as he cleaned his sword of the Hundleg’s blood. “Lately, their numbers have been increasing and no one knows why. I hope that the problem will be dealt with soon. Ah well, there’s not much I can do but grin and bare. Complaining doesn’t help. I should stay focused on my mission and deliver this report as fast as possible.”
When he saw the group of Baron soldiers approach he relaxed. Finally some help. But he was disappointed very quickly since the four men immediately draw their weapons as soon as they were at a good striking distance..
“Cecil! Finally I’ve found you,” exclaimed the general.
“Wait! The king…” the dark knight tried to explain, but the general didn’t give him the chance.
“I am here on the king's orders. All summoners of Mist must be annihilated, yet you let the girl get away. That’s insubordination and treason.”
“What?” Cecil incredulously shouted. “You’ve been spying on us?”
“Of course. Suspected traitors can’t be trusted. And this was all the confirmation Her Majesty needed to be convinced. Our orders are to kill you if you should betray the kingdom. MEN! KILL HIM!”
Luckily for him, Cecil had had some of the best instructors teach him all the ins and outs of the soldier business and since he was also taught tactics he knew how the soldiers would attack. That’s what saved his life as he knew when and where they would strike. Still, one man against three was unfair, but he was relieved that the general apparently was too frightened to join the attack but only barked orders. Cecil had dispatched the men rather easily, but just as he was about to take care of the general the coward had run away.
Cecil was rather depressed now. He still hoped to somehow get back into the king’s good graces, but first he needed to get back to Baron. But that had to wait. He was exhausted and really needed some rest before get could go on. He searched for a secluded area and took a magical tent seal out of his backpack and activated it. Not five minutes later he was fast asleep.
.
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Kaipo was unlike any towns that Kasumi and Ranma had seen before. Well Ranma had seen some over the years, but none like this one. The houses looked European and were spread around the very large pool of water in the center. Several narrow canals distributed the water to the different areas. Palm trees were spread throughout the town and the shade they offered was extensive enough to protect them effectively from the scorching sunrays. Rydia had been in the village a few times and showed her new friends around. The village was much like most of the others in this world and had the obligatory weapons and armor shops, an item shop, an inn and the local branch of the Hunters Guild, which was also the building the greenette was leading her traveling companions to.
“Here’s the Hunters Guild I told you about,” the young girl explained. “It’s the best way to earn money. You become a member and they’ll pay you for every monster you kill. The stronger the monster the more money you get. I’m not a member yet since my mother thought I was too young, but I’ve dreamed about it for a few years. So what do you say? The annual membership fee is very low and the guild only takes 5% of the money we earn. We need the money if we want to buy weapons and other gear, and this is the fastest way.”
Not having any better ideas Kasumi and Ranma agreed to at least get more information before agreeing, and so they entered the house together.”
“Welcome to the Hunter’s Guild,” a middle-aged man greeted them. “How can I help you?”
“Hello,” Rydia answered, having been appointed the official spokesman for the group, “we’d like to apply for a membership, but my friends still need to make up their minds and want to have more information.”
“That’s not a problem. I’d be glad to answer every question you might have. My name’s Garan by the way.”
Ranma and Kasumi were asking the questions as Rydia knew most of the information but not everything and it was probably better to have a pro explain everything. And indeed, Garan knew a lot, and even the greenette learnt a lot. The question and answer session lasted for about half an hour and it was quite enlightening. Monster hunting paid a lot better than manual labor and there were not many people doing it. The main reason was the death rate, but Garan reassured them that it generally only happened to overconfident hunters who were either not prepared or loners. Complete parties were rarely lost.
Kasumi was especially interested in the magical book the hunters got once they were registered because they reminded her eerily of the pokédex the tamers use in Pokémon, a videogame she liked to play at when she was younger. Every hunter gets a magical, self updating book that contains useful information on all known monsters, and whenever a new one is discovered or new facts become known, the entries are automatically edited and completed. The book lists the average stats of the monsters, names and effects of their attacks and keeps count of the number of monsters killed. The book is keyed into its owner’s magical signature so that no one can steal or temper it, and the owner is also the only person who can open it. Whenever a hunter ultimately dies, without an chance for resurrection, his book is automatically teleported back to the guild.
Whenever a hunter turns his book in at a guild house, the guild will tally the kills and calculate the amount of money earned. It’s an ingenuous and foolproof system.
Not seeing any disadvantages in becoming members the trio immediately signed up and paid for the membership; the money they took from the goblins was more than sufficient to cover the costs and they had still some to spare. Garan handed each of them the basic hunter kit consisting of the magical book, a sturdy backpack and some simple wilderness survival tools.
Having stored their belongings in the backpacks, Rydia led them to the weapons shop where they sold the loot from their battles. They didn’t get very much for the crap, but it was enough to buy some weapons. Kasumi bought a staff, and Ranma promised to teach her how to use it, Rydia got a new, sharper knife and Ranma, who was at first reluctant to buy any since they really didn’t fit his fighting styles changed his opinion when he saw the claws. He had had rudimentary training in lots of weapons, some of them made for hand to hand combat like knuckles or katars, but claws were new for him. He recognized their usefulness, however, and bought a pair.
They had just enough money left for a hotel room and some cheap protective gear. Each of them bought an enchanted tunic that gave at least some protection and after quick snack turned in for the night. The following day, ass soon as they got up and had breakfast they made some enquiries, but no one could really tell them how to get to Mysidia. The best advice they got was to travel to Damcyan Castle and ask the king since Damcyan was built near the sea and they might have boats.
They left the town in direction of the Underground Waterway, a tunnel that led straight to Damcyan they were attacked by another sand worm. Having had a full night’s sleep, a very filling breakfast and better equipment, the group was much more confident and this time didn’t run away. Ranma tried out his claws and was surprised at how much of a difference it made to the lethality of his attacks. Rydia attacked with an ice blast from afar and Ranma jumped out of the way as the monster tried to swallow him whole. As the martial artist continued his deadly dance he instinctively used a new attack. “GOBLIN PUNCH!” He shouted and, at a speed that eclipsed the Kachu Tenchu Amaguriken turned the monster into swiss cheese.
“Woah!” That had really surprised him. “How did I do that?”
Rydia gave him a winning smile. “See? You can use magic too. Congratulations. I’m not sure what magic it is, but don’t you remember? One of the goblins used that attack on you.”
“Ah, right.” Having had much on his mind since their arrival the fight had completely slipped his mind. “I wonder if I can use other spells.”
“Probably.” The greenette reassured him. As far as I know everyone who can use magic learns more than one spell.”
“But how do we get new spells?” Kasumi was curious too. So far she was only able to use that cure spell, but she hoped that she could learn more. Rydia had told her about the white spells she knew and the ponytailed girl had been fascinated. All the good she could do with those spells. It was mind boggling. She giggled. She couldn’t wait to show it to Dr. Tofu. Boy, would he be surprised.
“I’m not really sure myself. I know that there are two ways to learn new spells. The safest, but also more tedious one is through studying. It’s a very long process and it might take years to learn a single new spell. Most mages prefer this method since it’s safe and they don’t have to put themselves in danger. The second one is through fighting and an intense use of the spells you already know. Not only do you get stronger, but your mana reserves grow as well. No one knows why, but it seems that every mage subconsciously knows all of the spells of the school he practices and new spells get unlocked once they are strong enough or have enough mana to use them. Typically this happens in stressful and life threatening situations, where you need more powerful spells to survive.
Kasumi and Ranma were speechless. Did that mean that even the people of their own world could learn to use magic? After all, they hadn’t been born here and yet they could use magic. They really needed to learn more about this world. “Can we learn more about this in Misydia?” Kasumi asked.
“Probably. The magical academy and library is located there. If they don’t have the information it doesn’t exist.”
They arrived at a large hole in the mountain and Rydia stopped them. “Here’s the entrance to the Underground Waterway.”
“Stop!” Ranma ordered as they were about to go in. “Let’s check our equipment one last time. We don’t know what to expect.”
The two girls couldn’t fault his logic and they made a quick inventory of everything they had in their backpacks. Seeing that nothing was missing they entered the cave. Not a hundred meters further they saw an old man standing there, muttering to himself. The elder looked to be in his 70s, but Ranma could easily recognize the tightly controlled and powerful magical aura he was emitting. This man might look old, but he knew centuries old martial arts masters and knew not to judge a book by its cover. The mage would be a formidable opponent if he attacked them.
The elder turned around an immediately his gaze concentrated on Ranma. “You… I can feel that you’re very strong. I need your assistance.”
“Erm, if we can help, sure. What do you need?”
“I must get to Damcyan to reclaim my daughter, who was deceived by a WICKED BARD!! We must hurry, for I sense an ill omen!”
“That’s fine,” Kasumi answered. “We’re headed that way too. But, could you give us your name first?”
“Oh, I’m sorry. Where are my manners? It’s just that I’m so angry at the moment… Ah well. I am the sage Tellah.”