Was that all of them? In a haze of pain and exhaustion, Julien limps off, his health bar on just a quarter left and still steadily declining.
Shit, even breathing hurts! He heads to the Pagoda, remembering the gourd-shaped Balmea. He gets lucky. He cuts the first one he finds from its branch. An uncoordinated attempt to pierce its husk with a weak thrust is repelled.
Discovering the gourd is quite tough on the outside, Julien tries to aim a slash with a trembling arm. Upon his fourth try, he hews the gourd in two. Dropping to his knees, he collects the two halves. There is still some liquid left in both.
He gulps greedily. Almost instantly, his body is wracked with more pain.
He gnashes his teeth to keep himself from screaming out as his flesh knits, and he feels whatever was broken inside slowly being put back together. Julien is dead to his surroundings. As the world goes in and out of focus, he keeps sipping from the Balmea.
It takes the remainder of the morning for the healing process to complete. In between the excruciating healing spurts, Julien manages to collect another Balmea gourd. This time, he places it on the ground and, putting his entire weight behind his blade, pierces its husk. He drinks on, monitoring his health carefully.
When the worst of the pain is over and his health finally stops decreasing in medium-sized chunks, Julien manages to regain full control of his mental faculties.
Several implications of his fight start to sink in.
First is the realization that voice messages have taken the place of the text screens popping up. It was a pleasant surprise – about the only one he’s experienced so far.
The fact that combat skills could only be gained through combat is specifically annoying. To be forced to risk life and limb in order to learn skills that could increase his life expectancy in a world that was infested with monsters. What a sick joke.
Yes, he has survived several encounters with such creatures now. If circumstances had been slightly different, however, each of those encounters could have ended very differently.
But how can he anticipate an unknown world intent on killing him at each turn with minimal to no guidance?
One thing is for certain. It is time to move on. Fool or no Fool. With or without extra intel.
Sitting at the foot of the Balmea tree, Julien stares at the silhouette of the castle in the distance and decides it is his new destination. Where else can he go? Besides, there is bound to be something significant and interesting there, right? As long as monsters aren’t the interesting part.
His magical energy still depleted, Julien gathers some of the Migaera berries to assist in his recovery.
As soon as he is able to, he checks his status again. He leveled up once again, right? Will Mage Armor be available now? Still reeling from his latest brush with death, he yearns for an extra layer of safety.
Only half of it is greyed out now. Seriously? What do I need to do to get it? And why is only half of it greyed out?
At first, he curses his misfortune, but then he has a thought. If I move on, who knows when I’ll find resources again? If I find resources again. The Qami, Rabest, Migaera, and the Balmea were invaluable in regaining health and magical energy, and lacking something like a simple backpack, he would not be able to carry even enough for two days. He reaches a decision.
“Fool suit upgrade purchased: Knapsack of the Fool. Activate with the phrase ‘Synthisa Sarcina Activa.’”
The words are hardly spoken when a stick materializes beside him. On its end, a colorful piece of cloth is bound. As Julien reaches towards it, a circular frame opens in front of it to…nowhere? He hesitatingly reaches inside. Nothing. When he retrieves his hand, the portal closes. He picks up part of the cloven Balmea at his side. Approaching the cloth, the opening appears again. Julien reaches inside the strange opening and drops it. It falls seemingly into nothingness. Feeling around, he bumps into the shell, grasps hold, and retrieves it.
Awesome!
Not an hour afterwards, Julien is ready to depart. He has stuffed the knapsack to its full capacity with Qami fruit, Rabest nuts, Balmea gourds, and Migaera berries. He tried to put in more, but each time he did something would fall through whatever magical boundary was placed around the knapsack. Still, as it holds about four days of food and medical supplies, along with his bone dagger, Julien is more than satisfied.
He visits the pagoda for one last look at the window that had disturbed the Fool so. He commits it to memory, then walks around its interior for what could well be his last time. He admires the latticework once again that he partially cleared from the Migaera vines. The vines encircle the ceiling and, like spokes of wheels, converge on the central pillar, carrying the gorgeous bunches of purple flowers. Casting a few final adoring glances at them, a glimmering amidst a particularly thick bundle of flowers catches his eye.
What’s this? Using his sheathed sword, he parts the many flowers. From the bundle’s heart grow three stalks that each end in a shiny, opaque, purple orb. Unbelievable. Have they been here the whole time? Eager to find out what it is exactly that he has uncovered, Julien puts down his sword. He wants to be careful not to damage the plant that increased his odds of survival. Jumping up and down, he uses his left hand to brush aside the flowers and his right to try and grasp the orbs. An exercise in both patience and dexterity, it takes him quite a while to succeed.
As soon as he has them in his hands, he activates the Fool’s Lens and inspects them. The description reads, “Migaera pearls. The fruit of the purest strain of the Migaera vines. Extremely rare. Fully restores magical energy.”
Julien smiles until a grim thought arises. Let’s hope three is enough to see me through to a less hostile environment.
With his magical knapsack filled to the brim and the precious pearls in his pocket, Julien turns his back on the place he had considered a haven and sets out.
As he enters a particularly colorful field, filled with a myriad of different flowers growing from tall bushes, he almost feels like he can relax. But the pretty sights and scents are not enough to make him forget his near-death experience. With my luck, these pretty flowers attract some type of killer bee.
With his senses on high alert and one hand on his sword, Julien walks further and further into the fields, making sure to keep his target in sight – the mysterious castle in the distance.