Wild Dragon of Rome 39 (Patreon)

After the show she had watched with an intense focus, I wasn’t able to talk with Astrid. At some point, she sat in a concealed corner, and acted like she was meditating to avoid talking to me. I knew that she wasn’t meditating as the mana around her wasn’t showing any turbulence, but she was too distracted by the memories of the show to notice that detail.

And, that was with thinking she managed to stay hidden while peeking. How entertaining.

As much as I was tempted to talk to her, secure. And, since we finally had a camp that would stick around, we could eat something else than roasted meat. This time, I didn’t just want to hunt but also forage, hoping for some herbs to change the taste at a minimum. If I was lucky, I might even find some roots or wild vegetables, enough to make a side dish or two.

While I wanted to learn about the ways of the shapeshifters as soon as possible, I didn’t need to talk with Lillian to know that pushing Astrid too much would only backfire. A day or two wouldn’t make too much difference either way at this point, and letting Astrid feel confident and secure while letting her take things at her own pace was more important.

I needed to trust Lillian.

Without the sensation of mana churning on my body, I didn’t need to hurry up while foraging. I deliberately walked at the edge of the valley, mixing it with a scouting expedition. Just because I believed that we managed to ditch our opponents didn’t mean that there was no risk. The world was more complicated than that.

And, our little group was certainly suspicious. Three people, a man, and two women, with one clearly Germanic origin while the other clearly had a rich upbringing, was a notable sight. I didn’t trust either to conceal their origins in any hope of success. Such a setup shouted easy pickings.

Revealing our magic would have protected us from any opportunistic enemy, but revealed a new problem. It would bring a whole new set of attention. At this point, I didn’t know which one was worse. Lillian couldn’t use her powers, because the identity of a blonde water mage with noble bearing was distinct enough to be a part of the gossip, and might be enough to bring our enemies to us. Astrid was a Germanic priestess, and the idea of one moving on her own behind the border would surely catch the attention of the legion scouts.

Then, there was my abilities. The best case was for them to mistake me for a shifter, which would be the same case as Astrid. The worst option was for them to realize that there was something extraordinary about my abilities.

I shivered.

It wouldn’t have gone well.

However, just because extending the foraging trip was done out of necessity didn’t mean I hated it. On the contrary, I loved it quite a bit. The valley was wild, untouched. It might have been irritating for others, but I always liked wilderness. There were no pointless insults or annoying relatives there, just the plants, beasts, and the gentle caress of the sun.

I climbed the edge of the valley, enjoying the challenge of the steep stone wall that even a mountain goat would have found challenging. The midday sun rested against my skin, but the usual sweat that would have followed was nowhere to be found. My new strength meant that the climb was nowhere near challenging.

A smile popped onto my face as I finished my climb, and looked at the valley in front of me, unfolding like a beautiful painting. The previous times, I didn’t bother looking at how it looked, focusing on the more practical things like the magical fauna and hunter access.

Now, I was in a mood to enjoy the towering presence of the trees, their leaves shining emerald under the sun, the chirping of the birds a gentle melody.

“Not a bad place to set a camp for a month or two,” I muttered as I realized the valley was mine to explore, and I intended to do exactly that. Amusingly, I couldn’t help but feel glad for the constant war at the border. Otherwise, such dense magical locations wouldn’t have been ignored, and one noble family or other would have moved on, turning it into another farm to raise mana plants.

No one did here, as having such a valuable asset near the border would have been just an invitation for constant raids.

As I was lost in thought, a flicker in the far side caught my eye. A deer, its coat the color of burnished copper, its antlers thick with an unnatural soft glow. A second-order beast, fire-natured. It gnawed on a patch of wild grass with some mana, its attitude lacking the usual fear of its kind.

It didn’t surprise me. While each beast had its embodiment of their elemental nature, it was rare for a beast of fire to have weak explosive strength. The beast was probably confident enough with its strength to deal with any second-order predator.

Too bad he was about to get a new one. He would make a nice present for Astrid. She lacked the offensive means, and giving her a beast would help her feel secure, representing our trust in the process.

I slid down the valley silently and moved toward it. I managed to sneak to it from its downwind, easily avoiding its attention until it was too late.

He flinched when he noticed my presence, its body locked as its elemental nature fought with its beastly nature. For a deer, escaping was the best way to get away from danger, but its fire nature leaned more on aggression.

In the end, its beastly nature proved stronger, but it was too late. I had already darted forward, the stones crunching under my feet as I covered the remaining distance, and grabbed him from behind.

The beast raged as it tried to get away, but it was hopeless. Even with elements boosting its presence, his situation was hopeless. With me on its back, tightly wrapping its throat, he had no way to counter me. A third-order beast might have attacked through its magic, but a second-order beast was helpless against my presence on its back.

With a smirk, I tightened my hold, achieving something that was impossible for a normal man. I put a deer into a successful chokehold. Soon, it collapsed silently, its eyes wide with shock.

“Not a bad haul,” I muttered as I went back to our camp, with the unconscious deer on my back. It was a significant haul, almost reaching five hundred pounds, but it wasn’t enough to convince me to extend the trip a bit more, picking the wild vegetables I managed to find, and even managed to hunt a few pheasants and a large rabbit.

All needed to prepare the meal. But, before I could return, I felt some kind of presence in the depths of the valley. Overwhelming yet threatening, it went as quickly as it appeared. Any sane person should have feared, yet, my heart started to beat with excitement, pumping more mana to my body.

Apparently, my new instincts decided to treat that prey as a worthwhile one, and started to pump more mana. “Inconvenient,” I muttered as I moved back to the camp faster than I planned. Luckily, as that sensation disappeared, so did the sudden mana flood to my body, but not before reaching the point of another intervention.

When I returned, I saw Lillian and Astrid chatting. Lillian noticed my presence, but Astrid did not, allowing me to hear their conversation. And, with my hearing, I didn’t need to get too close.

Lillian was giving a highly redacted version of my situation, particularly, my ability to ‘soften the mana I gather from the environment, helping Lillian to progress faster. Also, I had a problem with draining mana constantly.

As she explained, Astrid was using her particular brand of magic to check for any possible side effects, finding none. Lillian impressed me. Not only she was informing Astrid about my unique condition, but also she was doing it as safely as she could manage under the circumstances.

Constantly devouring environmental mana was much less sensitive than actually generating mana. Hopefully, learning the magic of shifting would be enough to solve my problem, and we wouldn’t have to reveal it.

Then, as I continued to approach, the story turned to how Lillian enjoyed ‘helping’ me deal with the excess mana.

It was a good point to interrupt, I decided.