Things have become a bit simpler since we beat Delta. We started our journey to Horinn, which, according to the map, was a week’s worth of walking. Even longer thanks to my pitiful agility stat, which kept me at a brisk walking pace at all times.

  Veyra crouched over the base of a tree, a smile brimming from ear to ear. “Atlas, I found the mushrooms for my supper!” With a swift cut at the stems, she separated the mushrooms from the log and tossed them into a pouch.

  She’s getting really good at that. Hold on, are those new kinds of mushrooms? My eyes focused on her hands as she stuffed them away.

  {Fuzzy Mushrooms}

  {A delicacy when prepared properly, but can prove fatal if digested raw}

  {Rating: Medium}

  I made it a habit to appraise anything and everything we crossed in the forest. If I wanted to get stronger, I needed to evolve and level up every skill and ability in my arsenal. Sadly…

  Still no evolution, huh? I stared at the panel of light with a frown. I had probably appraised over a hundred new creatures and items on our journey, but still hadn’t gotten closer to evolving the Absolute Appraisal skill. When I asked Lost Oracle about it, I was met with the following:

  {Evolution of the following skill requires appraising more High Grade targets}

  There’s pretty much nothing rare in these forests besides us. It was so much faster to evolve it the first time, that it kind of makes sense why it’s taking longer now.

  A rustling of the bushes along the path sent Veyra and me on guard. My floating claws raised in front of me, ready to attack, when suddenly an ashy-grey hand reached out from the mass of leaves and twigs.

  {Hollow Lv23}

  {Species: Ashen Spirit Knight}

  {Planks of wood}

  {Dried wood that has been sliced into thick planks. They are all different in size and shape due to a poor cut}

  {Rating: Low}

  (Oh, it’s just you, Hollow. Thanks for fetching the firewood. Was it any trouble?)

  Hollow bowed his head slightly, carrying a massive load of wooden planks in his arms.

  “Not at all, Master.”

  (Glad to hear it, let’s get a fire started and prepare the food.)

  “Perfect, I saw a nice open spot just ahead where we can camp. There’s barely any monsters in this area either.” Veyra stepped forward, cupping her hand over her eyes to block out the last beams of sun. “I counted roughly six other parties travelling in the area, so anything that can attack us has already been hunted or scared away. We should be safe,” Veyra pointed ahead, keeping her eyes fixed on something I couldn’t see.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

  As impressive as usual. An archer's senses are way sharper than mine or Hollow’s. She’s a remarkably talented tracker, but she’s only improving with each passing day.

  Extending the link of our telepathy, I asked the question burning on my mind.

  (How’s your condition?) I got the words out, but just barely.

  Veyra wasn’t shy or anything about the topic, but it still felt a little raw to bring up. Especially since things never seemed to get better.

  Veyra massaged her throat with two fingers as her mouth opened, accompanied by no sounds whatsoever. The creases alongside her eyes doubled as she strained herself trying to get something, anything, out. Still nothing. It seemed like she’d never be able to talk again.

  “I’m afraid not.” The tone of her voice entered my mind with a chipper ring. She often kept herself smiling, especially after these attempts, but I saw through it.

  Her memories had slowly been returning, more and more each day, along with her abilities. Her voice was unfortunately not as lucky. That’s why we were headed to Horinn.

  The advice I received from Azrael said I just need to head to Horinn, and I’d be able to cure Veyra’s condition.

  I stared blankly at the planks of wood that Hollow packed neatly in a pile, deep in thought.

  She didn’t give me any specifics, though… Where am I even supposed to find this method of curing her? Without any other hint or help, this is looking like an impossible task.

  {Unable to provide information at this time}

  I figured as much… don’t feel bad, Lost Oracle. For now, we just need to worry about getting into the kingdom.

  Distracted in my own thoughts, I barely noticed Hollow standing over me. I glanced over my shoulder with widened eyes and nearly leapt up in surprise,

  (Don’t scare me like that!! Seriously… you’re going to give me a heart attack- or rather, if I had a heart that is.)

  “My apologies, Master.” Hollow lowered his body into a kneel, one hand placed on his chest, and the other pressed against the ground. “I await your next order.”

  He’s been doing this every night… Does this guy not understand the meaning of downtime?

  I shifted my concern to Veyra, who seemed too busy sewing something, so she didn’t see me at all.

  I guess this is up to me to fix, then.

  (Uh… Hollow, you don’t have to wait on me for everything. Isn’t there something you’d want to do instead?)

  His head lowered further, “I simply live to serve you, Master.”

  (O-oh, is that right… Well, in that case, how about hobbies? Anything you like doing?)

  His head rose to meet my eye line. The small flame behind his helmet danced in place with gentle beats.

  “Enjoy…? I take pride in my swordsmanship…”

  He’s too far gone. He doesn’t even have something to relax with! That’s it, I need to do something about this ASAP!

  My arm extended out, and a magic circle suddenly appeared along my palm. The ground in front of us rose as a thin tube, then snapped off and floated into my hand.

  Pretty light. He shouldn’t be able to do any damage with this, right? I pondered while swinging the practice sword around.

  (Here. Use this when you’ve got some free time. Oh, and try not to break it. Okay?)

  I figured it beat him, swinging his actual sword around and possibly cleaving a tree in half by accident. Plus, the added restraint needed to keep it from breaking might be good for him. As reserved as he is, I got the sense that Hollow struggled with the basics.

  Hollow nodded, taking the sword in his hands. He gave it a slight inspection, looking at its size and weight, but still didn’t say anything. I wasn’t sure what he was thinking, but after the nod, he walked off and started swinging.

  Strong gusts of wind followed each swing, as he wildly tore through the empty air with his stone sword.

  Alrighty, that should hopefully hold him for a few days… I just hope this doesn’t become troublesome.

  ?