Now then, I can’t just keep lying down here forever.
The sounds of battle could likely be heard from a fair distance, so there was a possibility that other monsters or students knew we were here. We needed to relocate immediately. I dragged my tired body off the ground and returned to the cave. My spoils of war were a magically enhanced wooden spear, some slight information on my monster taming ability, and a new ally.
“Okay, I’ll call you Rose. I’ll be in your care.”
I named the magical puppet kneeling before me Rose. I named Lily after a flower, so I just went with the flow and chose another flower name. Just like Lily, Rose was a monster who didn’t really seem to have a sex, so it was somewhat strange to give her a girl’s name... But I was the only one calling them by their names, so it wasn’t a problem so long as they were okay with it.
The stress from having risked my life twice in a single day weighed heavily, so I decided to spend the rest of the day in the cave. Lily, who was injured in battle, remained in the cave with me, while Rose left to forage for food.
I used Lily’s large body as a sofa and lay there in a daze until Rose returned. She was far more agile than Lily was, but she couldn’t use magic.
Rats, skinks, and squirrels.
Due to the nature of her weapon, the small critters Rose brought back were all crushed and split in two, but that wasn’t really a problem so long as I could eat them. I roasted them all over a bonfire. They honestly tasted pretty bad, but I wasn’t going to complain about being able to satiate my hunger.
It would’ve been great to be able to eat something large enough to fill my stomach, but it seemed there weren’t any large animals near the cave. It was possible they were all eaten by the monsters of the forest already.
I heard about this in passing back at the Colony. The difference between normal animals and monsters was the possession of mana. I couldn’t really tell what this meant, but it was apparently something one could more or less sense after learning magic.
The presence or lack of mana created an absolute disparity between creatures. It was apparently impossible for a regular three-meter-tall bear to defeat a five-centimeter-small monster mouse. In which case, it was impossible for large animals to survive in this environment.
Incidentally, they said mana was stored in one’s soul. After defeating a monster, it was also possible to steal a small amount of it. Monsters which possessed a large amount of mana were strong, but that also meant one could gain more mana from them. In truth, the cheaters of the exploration team were getting stronger and stronger by the day. There were even talks of taking along members of the home team on hunts, allowing them to gain the strength to protect themselves. The Colony was destroyed before that plan could be actualized, however.
In any case, there was more to gain by searching for monsters in the forest than making new servants. It was also useful in strengthening my existing forces. This was of course useless if I got killed though, so I had to guarantee it was safe to carry out. I didn’t want to walk another tightrope like I did today.
“Alright. Time to get some sleep, I guess.”
I was getting drowsy after eating some food. My strained mind desired rest. It was still a little early, but it was time for me to sleep. With allies at my side, I was able to relax and let my consciousness go immediately.
✦ ✦ ✦
Several days had passed since then. We had spent the entire time in the cave, and our livelihoods had stabilized. I didn’t go through any life-threatening danger and was able to properly acquire enough food. I even managed to store some reserves by drying some meat, so my situation was greatly different from just a few days ago.
Lily wasn’t currently in the cave. I had her investigate the area around us. The reason I had Rose stay behind was so I could get her to do something for me.
“Mm. It’s looking good.”
I accepted the wooden shield Rose respectfully held up to me and gave her a nod. It was a fair bit larger than what she used herself and could cover about half of my entire body. On top of being made of wood, it was also rather thin, so even I could hold it up without pushing myself. Despite that, it had a toughness to it stronger than steel. It truly gave me a sense of how unfair magic was.
It was difficult to swing about because of its size, but I basically had no sense for fighting at all. It would be over for me the moment I had to do so. It was more than enough to have something to hide behind like a wall.
This shield was something I had Rose manufacture from scratch. Magical puppets possessed the ability to create magical tools, so naturally, she possessed the same ability. All tools made by her hands were magical in nature. She showed me how she did so by heartily cutting down a tree with her battleaxe and carving the wood using a magical knife.
She had already finished making me a protective breastplate. It looked ridiculous atop my school blazer, but I didn’t really have the time to be worrying about fashion.
“Thank you. Next, please make some armor.”
Rose’s happy thoughts were passed to me as she bowed her head. She wasn’t currently equipped with anything other than an axe and shield. I planned to use this armor as a spare while also having something for her to use herself.
Lily returned to the cave a short while later. Having said that, she looked quite different from before.
“Welcome back, Lily.”
I turned around to face her. She now had the same form as Rose: a magical puppet. Lily had eaten the corpse of the magical puppet we defeated the other day. As such, she was able to use her ability as a mimic slime to take on the form of a magical puppet. She could still use magic in that form, so her combat abilities had gone up tremendously. She was also capable of using a weapon efficiently, so I handed her the spear we got from the magical puppet too.
However, her ability to manufacture weapons and armor was inferior to the original. Well, this basically meant she couldn’t steal Rose’s job. That’s why I had Lily go out and scout for us.
“Hm? What’s up, Lily?”
I cocked my head to the side. Her intent to tell me something was being passed through our mental path.
“Is there something you want to show me?”
I felt her affirmation. Lily had found something while searching the area. But I didn’t know what it was. The transmission of thought through our mental path could vaguely convey emotion and will, but it was difficult to exchange information on the level of having a conversation.
“Got it. Let’s go. Rose, get ready.”
We equipped ourselves as best we could and left the cave.