Setting up the camp proved that there had been some serious oversights in their mission training. It was assumed that the leaders would be experienced, and not just powerful first years who had never actually used any of the kit before.
So, an hour after dark, they were only just finally managing to get the tents set up around a small magical fire that they assumed was intended to be their campsite.
It was made of flaming rocks, which gave off a gentle blue glow, as well as a level of warmth that reminded everyone that while this was a magical realm, it was still getting colder at night.
For most of the students that wasn’t a big deal, but some of them came from the warmer climates, or from the big cities, where the apartment buildings were maintained at a steady temperature. They weren’t expecting how fast it got cold out, even with the fire nearby, and many had chosen to pitch their tents further away for privacy.
That situation changed quickly, and the students who had camped further from the fire found themselves moving out of their tents and coming forward.
Karl and Dana had both chosen spots near the fire, but not because they knew about the temperature. They were both used to it getting cold at night and were somewhat used to the change, but they had wanted to be closer to the centre so that they could respond evenly to an attack from any direction.
Both Golems and Rae were on lookout for the early portion of the evening, while Hawk would be taking over from Rae later so that they would both have enough sleep tonight. They could both see well enough in the dark, with the simulated stars overhead, but nothing that they were seeing was enough to concern them, and Karl didn’t wake until Hawk informed him that it was first light and that Thor was being annoying.
The Lightning Cerro had realized that many of the students couldn’t sleep in their cold tents, so he had volunteered his large, warm body to help them out. Which naturally led to the students going around in the morning to find snacks for their scaly benefactor, and a lot more movement than the grumpy Hawk would have preferred.
One of the students tapped a spoon against his metal canteen to get everyone’s attention.
“Everyone, bring out the breakfast packs and anything you have to season them. If you brought something that you think looks good, you can bring it out as well. What I’m going to make this morning is known as a cowboy stew.
I’m not sure how many of you know how to cook at all, but I grew up on a cattle ranch, and we learned that if everyone brings a different bit of the basics, we can actually make one large decent meal out of ten lousy ones.” The boy explained.
The students that Karl had set to pick berries each brought out a couple, as well as the packs of dry oatmeal, granola and dried fruit that were in the breakfast ration pack.
The rancher’s son brought out a pot that he had managed to stuff into the bottom of his pack, and one of the mages filled it halfway up with a water spell. Then he added all the various ingredients in, and Karl brought him three sticks to create a tripod to hang it over the fire, the way his mother did at home in the summer.
It got too hot to cook inside, and this method was much better for cooking over the fire pit in the yard.
Then, Karl brought out the masterpiece of the meal, much to Hawk’s annoyance. A large piece of Iron Tusk Boar meat at the Common Rank. One of the last pieces from the very first boars that they had killed during the fight against the Goblin Tribe, and a food product that Hawk routinely ignored, in favour of the many better options in his space.
Food didn’t go bad in there, it seemed to be in stasis. So, though Karl couldn’t keep books in there, all forms of food and other resources were a valid option, and it was going to make their breakfast much more enjoyable.
One of the mages scrubbed off a flat rock, and began cutting the meat into small cubes, making forty of them in total, then conjured a collection of long sticks and began to skewer them.
“Now, this is what I’m talking about. See, everyone, with just one chunk of meat and a few berries, we’re all going to be eating well today.” The warrior stirring the oatmeal gloated.
They weren’t master chefs, and some of the kebabs got a bit burnt on the edges, but the oatmeal was fruity instead of bland, with no dried chunks of leathery mystery fruit to gnaw on. That left each of them with a small package of nuts left over, and the drink mix to go in the plastic drink pouches if they wanted something other than water.
Once they finished eating, Karl stood to address the group.
“Alright, you can try the same site again, if you think that you will gain something from it, or you can try a different one. I know we all discussed our experience last night, and the willpower side was definitely not the most popular among the options, but for those of you with trouble concentrating on your abilities, it might still be a valid and valuable training resource.
Take some time to choose your path. You can only do one a day, so there is no need to rush right to the wall this instant. I will see you all when we get back, but don’t forget to bring water and something to eat, in case you find a spot you wish to train on all day.” He informed the group.
As terrible as the willpower stairs were, his meditation last night had made huge strides in the improvement of the living spaces for his pets, and Karl was briefly tempted to go back, just to see if he could meditate on the higher steps and improve the beast spaces even more rapidly.
If the spaces were at their peak, it might make it easier for the three beasts to grow. Hawk was certainly advancing far beyond what anyone would expect of a Windspeed Hawk.
But it was also possible that what they needed was a more magical environment. Karl was human, they were all magical beasts. What if the real limitation was the fact that he had a virtually nonexistent mana pool?
He might not think of it the same way that a mage did, but ultimately, the energy needed to use [Rend] was still magical energy, so there should be some merit to going up the mana improvement stairs.
The warriors of the ancient times had powers beyond anything that he could dream of holding for himself, so was it possible that they did it by having a well-rounded set of abilities, and not some super rare class and an Immortal Ancient bloodline that allowed them to leave their competition in the dust?
Three of the sides of the pyramid appeared to be intended to train every aspect that a true warrior could need, and they were intending to stay here longer, so there was no harm in using one of the days on the mana stairs. Even if they didn’t help much, he could still meditate and make the best of his time.
Hawk had the same idea. He had tested his willpower, and the stairs had tested his appetite. So today he would train his magical stamina instead. Rae had decided to stay on the strength stairs to build her rapidly growing body to a standard she was happy with, while Thor didn’t see any other option than strength as being worthwhile.
All the warriors were with him on that one, except for one Berserker who was staring toward the willpower stairs, which startled everyone around him.
“Are you thinking of building your willpower to extend the amount of time that you can maintain the pain nullification and enhancement of Berserk? I think it should work. I trained for a few days with Professor Tank, learning how to fight against and alongside Berserkers, and there was a lot of willpower involved on his end.” Karl encouraged the young fighter.
The mention of the massive Berserker made the warriors smile as they reminisced about meeting him, and that steeled the boy’s resolve.
“One day, I will be as mighty as him.” He agreed, then stepped up to the guardian Golem and vanished to his chosen trial.
One by one, the rest split up, and Karl found himself standing next to Dana at the bottom of the mana staircase.
“You’re training mana with Hawk? That’s unexpected.” She commented as Karl stared up the staircase.
“Magical beasts, magical energy. I think it will help. If not, I’ve wasted a day, but I can meditate on the steps.” Karl shrugged.
“Well, if you’re willing to risk it, I won’t stop you. Good luck, I’ll look back now and then to see how you’re doing.” Dana laughed as she set off up the stairs.
The first few weren’t going to pose any problems to her, especially now that she knew how it worked, but the moment that Karl put his foot on the first step and felt the overwhelming magical force on his body, he knew that he was not going to be impressing anyone today.
