"Here you go, Fishy!" Tim said with his brothers next to him, all holding several large pearl-white flowers.
"Thanks," Fishy replied, taking them and grinding the petals into the cleanest wooden bowl in the village.
"What are you doing?" Tim asked.
"He's making soup, clearly," Tom responded.
"It's a potion, right?" Tam asked.
"That's right," Fishy said. "It's called a medical pearl, I'm sure you can see why?"
The triplets watched as Fishy crushed with all his might. The petals turned into a creamy white paste when combined with a small amount of water.
"We need to be careful," Fishy educated them. "Although this is an easy way to make potions, too much water will ruin them."
"WOW!" The three triplets were mesmerised by Fishy's knowledge, the three of them didn't know he was new to this world and assumed he was just a normal adult.
"Once it's like whipped cream, we then use it for the next step."
"What's whipped cream?" The triplets asked.
"Oh, that's right, you guys wouldn't know… I'll make sure to show you someday."
The triplets were visibly excited about whatever it was Fishy was describing to them. Unsure of what it was. Each of them had a different idea of what whipped cream was. Tim was thinking it was some sort of monster, Tom was thinking it was a location, whilst Tam was the closest, thinking it was a drink.
"Alright!" Fishy screamed after having fully whipped the medical pearl. "We don't have the ability to create a proper potion, so this will have to do."
The triplets looked into the bowl to see a white cloud sitting inside. It looked as light as the air around and as soft as the grass they sat on.
"Shall we go and try it?" Fishy said to the kids' curiosity.
At one of the many destroyed houses, the triplets' mother, Tin, rested on a straw pillow covered in several pieces of cloth. Her face was as red as the blood that Fishy saw in his last life. He crouched down next to her to hear how heavy she was breathing. Not wanting to waste time, he took a large scoop of the medical pearl cream and applied it to Tin's face. It quickly vanished into her head as it melted from her fever.
"Well, now we wait," Fishy said, turning back round to the triplets. "This may not happen instantly, so I have a special task for you three."
"YES!" They all said ready to do anything for their mother.
"Every day, apply a bit more to her, don't use too much. Always use less than the day before. Got it?"
"YES!" The triplets smiled brightly, saluting Fishy, who couldn't withstand their cuteness and started to pat their heads.
"So what's the next plan?" Clara said, waiting outside the house for Fishy.
"What do you guys do for meat? Can we hunt anything?"
"Afraid not," She said. "The only thing close to us is a herd of Cowsaurs."
"Cowsaurs?" Fishy replied, not wanting to know why they sounded like they were part of the dinosaur family.
"They are pretty big. Bigger than any building here. We can't get through their thick skin."
"I see…" Fishy said, "Worth a shot!"
Fishy's determination that wasn't present in the other world shot through like light wanting to populate the darkest room in the world. Fishy wasn't scared of whatever was ahead of him; he didn't see it as a terrifying giant creature, but as a way to learn.
"There they are," Clara said, pointing through the bush that they were hiding in. A small herd of five Cowsaurs shook the trees around them with each step. Each one was as big as the houses Fishy was used to, and it was clear from the patterns on the skin where they got their names from. As with many things in this world, confusion quickly hit Fishy's mind yet again. He was unsure of why they were named what they were when they looked just like giant cows. Perhaps Fishy's imagination was expecting them to have carnivorous teeth and a thirst for blood.
"Alright," Fishy said, looking at his hand. "You head back, I'll make sure to bring something back for everyone tonight."
Clara was against leaving him to face this alone, but her trust in him was something she quickly gained. After seeing how he dealt with the Hand Golem and the Destroyer, she was confident that he must have some trick up his sleeve.
"Alright, I'll see you back before sundown." Clara slipped back to the village, as Fishy stood with false confidence
"Hello there, giant cows," Fishy said, awkwardly approaching with his legs behind him just in case he had to run. "You see, I need to eat your meat… and I need to understand my magic, do you see where I'm going with this?"
The first few attempts ended as one would expect. The 20-foot beasts trampled over him as soon as they saw him. The large gaps in their steps made it so Fishy was able to dance in between them with little damage. Although exhaustion was becoming his biggest problem.
"Damn it."
He held up his hand each time, hoping to try and use some form of magic. His goal was never to use the powerful magic he had conjured before, but to just get an understanding of it all. After each attempt, he rested on the floor with the Cowsaurs resting as they were done playing. He went back to the bush to hide and read the book about magic that he took with him.
"This is like studying for a test…" He said, barely able to speak because of how dry his throat was.
The sun was quickly setting, and Fishy had his promise to keep. Except that his stupidity was what kept him committed. He jumped out of the bush for one last time and held out his hand as one of the Cowsaurs stood up, ready to charge at him.
The beast charged forward with a direct path to crush Fishy. He didn't back away. Like a game of chicken, they both stayed to their goals. Even as the beast's foot was right above Fishy, he never flinched away.
SMASH
Fishy had closed his eyes. He stayed firm but had to keep them closed so he didn't see fate coming. However, when he looked up. He was met with surprise.
The foot of the beast rested above him. Sitting on a slightly transparent box that withstood the impact of the beast's charge.
A small magical wall protected him
"I did it…" Fishy said to himself as he looked around to make sure no one was pranking him.
"I really did it… I did it!" He cheered as he did it again. Creating a barrier in the place where he conjured, this time with more precision than before.
His cheers were cut short as the beast was still above him. Rapidly bashing against the barrier, he used to protect himself.
"I wonder how strong it is? Are all barriers this strong? Is this even strong?"
Thousands of questions surrounded Fishy as his curiosity continued to break past its peak. He knew it was possible. He cast his first spell. Technically. It was the first one he meant to cast.