(This is harder than I thought.) I hummed internally as I sat cross‑legged on a wooden chair.
I was sitting at a table, the sun shining down from high in the sky as I stared intently at a bowl lying on the wooden surface before me. The bowl itself wasn't filled with anything you are probably expecting; instead it had been stuffed with a large amount of dirt and rock. Why had I done this? Well, I was currently testing out a new skill I had gotten a while ago.
"Is this one of the skills you got from that mean bear?" Yang, who was sitting next to her sister, asked, tilting her head curiously to the side.
"Yeah, although it's proving far trickier than I had originally expected." I mused as I watched the material in the bowl shift under my intent.
I had been trying for the last half hour or so and only now was I beginning to get a reaction. "I'd also like to try my Stone Mail skill out at some point as well."
"Why are you always testing and training, Lady Suu?" Yin asked curiously. "I mean, isn't it more fun to play games and stuff?"
"I guess that's true, but I don't want to be a burden," I admitted honestly without averting my focus from the bowl. "Also, with the threat of the orcs and who knows what else in the future, I'd rather not get caught unprepared."
"Take what happened to you three for example. If I hadn't been there to help, you might not be here now. The town might find itself in a similar situation in the future, and if we do, I'd rather be ready for the possibility that we won't have someone to step in and save us." I muttered as the dirt and rock began to shift, bending into a crude shape of a five‑pointed star.
Just then, the scaly head of Zeref, who had been coiled partially around where we were seated, rose slightly as he spoke. "Wissse is wordsss, my lady. In thisss world, if you are not ssstrong you are vulnerable, and the vulnerable rarely have happy endingsss."
"I guess that's true." Yin hummed thoughtfully.
(I'm glad they understand.) I breathed out with a soft smile. I didn't want them to get complacent and end up getting hurt because of that. (Now, back to work.)
Currently I was experimenting and trying to get a handle on my Earth Shaping skill; honestly, it was probably one of the most useful skills I had gotten in a while. While yes, it was basic on the surface, with a bit of creativity it could be used for a whole lot of things. Of course, I needed to get a handle on it first before I could test any of my ideas. There was also Stone Mail as well, although it was far less of a concern for me right now. As for the description of the two skills in question, well, they were as followed.
{• Name: Earth Shaping
Description: This skill allows the user to mold the environment around them, using their own will to shape dirt, sand, and rock into forms with just a thought.}
{• Name: Stone Mail
Description: Grants the user the ability to cover themselves or something else in hardened rock to act as a physical layer of armor against attacks.}
Anyway, my focus right now was mainly on the task at hand, which of course was understanding the mechanics of shaping the earth through my skill. This took the form of me continuously changing the shape of the dirt and rock in the bowl, shifting it over and over again until I got a proper feel for how it worked.
It took a bit of effort, but after a while I was able to start making more complex shapes. It started with incredibly simple sculptures that barely looked like what I was imagining; however, as time passed they got far more complex. Now, this wasn't me saying I could suddenly create a piece of beautiful and priceless art, in fact, the things I was creating were still incredibly crude overall, but I was definitely making steady progress.
Just then a familiar voice came from behind me. "Oh wow, are you making a tiny earth statue, Lady Suu?"
"Oh, hey Shuna." I said, turning to face her. I wasn't surprised by her presence as I was able to "see" her coming with Magic Sense. "And kind of. I'm trying to get one of my skills to work properly."
"I see." She nodded, stepping forward to get a better look.
"Hi, Princess Shuna!" Yin waved, a greeting that was followed by her sister.
"Greetings, Lady Shuna."
As for Zeref, well, he just nodded at the pink‑haired Kaijin in greeting, something that was reciprocated. The massive serpent shifted slightly to allow Shuna to get closer without having to step over his body.
Shuna smiled as she walked forward toward the seated twins and patted their heads. "And how are you two cutie pies doing?"
"We're okay." Yang whispered in response, her face turning slightly red from embarrassment.
Yin, for her part, just giggled and leaned into the touch happily. "Hehehe, Princess Shuna is so nice."
"Such good girls." Shuna's smile grew at their adorable reactions before she stopped and turned to me. "Anyway, I was looking for you."
"Really? Why?" I asked, glancing up at her.
"Well, I finally got around to fixing that top you returned to me, the one that was damaged during your fight with the Tremor Lord." She explained, causing me to let out an "ah" of understanding.
I had felt pretty bad after completely ruining it, not that I was in a position to do otherwise, but still. "Oh right, I had almost completely forgotten about that." I admitted sheepishly. "Sorry again, by the way. I didn't really have much choice at the time, but I still feel bad for destroying something you made me."
Suddenly, and without warning, Shuna's smile became a bit more sinister, causing my wing to press tighter against my back. "How many times do I have to say this? You don't need to apologize; it wasn't your fault."
"Right, sorr-" I was about to apologize again when I noticed Shuna's glare and cut myself off. "I m‑mean, I appreciate your hard work and I'm thankful for you fixing it for me."
"Good, that's better."
If there were only two main things that I had truly picked up since the kijin aligned themselves with our town, they would be as followed. First would be to never, EVER, eat Shion's cooking no matter the cost. And the second thing would be that Shuna was surprisingly scary when she was angry and it was best to not make her upset if at all possible.
Simply put, when the pink‑haired Kaijin became cross with someone, well, let's just say they were in store for quite the lecture. Thankfully, I had not courted her wrath just yet, but I had seen it happen; the way her smile turns sweet yet sinister sends a shiver down my spine every time I see it.
Anyway, I spent the next few hours messing around with my skills to understand them better and tweaking my subminds with Great Sage's guidance. Zeref and Shuna spoke amongst themselves in that time and Yang scolded Yin for trying to "help" me by distracting me and thus ruining my concentration, although it was clear she was just bored and trying to amuse herself. So yeah, it was a relatively fun time all things considered.
Right now, though, I had just gotten done trying something that I had been putting off for a while, something Yin had somehow convinced me to attempt. And yes, as you can probably tell, it didn't go all that well.
"Ow..." I mumbled, lying face first in the dirt.
"That was awesome! Do it again, Lady Suu." Yin cheered before adding, "Try doing a flip next time."
"Yin!" Yang hissed at her sister, whacking her on the back of the head.
"Are you all right?" Shuna asked with an amused smile.
"Yeah... but... it seems flying might be off the table for a while." I groaned as I picked myself up. "I need more practice."
"You did well for your first attempt, my lady." Zeref hummed as I dusted myself off.
"Well, technically her first attempt that we know of," Shuna said, glancing over at the massive black‑and‑red basilisk. "She does have amnesia after all."
"A fair point indeed."
(I had almost forgotten about that little cover story.) I sighed; I really didn't like lying to my friends.
Just then, however, Yin's ears perked up as she rubbed the spot on her head where Yang had hit her. "By the way, has anyone else noticed how quiet things suddenly got?"
"What do you mean?" I asked as I glanced around, quickly picking up on what she meant.
"Ssshe's right." Zeref growled, lifting his head to take in the surroundings. "Usssually the town isss more lively thisss time of day."
"What's happening over there?" Shuna asked, and I followed her line of sight.
Simply put, there was a bit of a commotion going on; the atmosphere seemed a bit tense for some unknown reason as well. Additionally, it wasn't long before I spotted them. Who? Well, Rimuru and several others. They were making their way through the town from what I could see, and from the look on their faces it definitely seemed like something was up. And it wasn't long before my suspicions were confirmed.
"Suu." Rimuru called out as he and those with him neared us.
"What's going on, brother?" Shuna asked, glancing over at Benimaru.
Hearing his sister's question, the redhead was quick to respond. "It seems a group of strangers are making their way through the forest toward us."
"They seem to be lizardmen." Rimuru added nonchalantly, his words catching my interest.
"Lizardmen?"