I got the ants and spiders to lead the way to wherever they’d found the fruit in question. Shion, Kurou, and Sasa followed at my side as we sprinted through the forest to keep up. Luckily, I was much faster in this world than I’d been in my last one. I still had to take care not to trip; tree roots were quickly becoming the bane of my existence.
We stopped at a thick grove of trees, each heavily laden with fruit. Unfortunately, the majority of the grove was outside of my barrier—making it laden with just as much curse as fruit.
Hmm...
I’d tried to expand the Barrier recently, but Koa and the others had stopped me. I still wasn’t sure why. Our mutual understanding was improving but not enough to let them explain the reason. But they’d shaken their heads and growled every time I’d tried to do it, so I’d quickly given up. But now, with the fruits I wanted just out of reach...
I’d apologize later.
I took a deep breath and pictured the barrier. I looked down from above through my Clairvoyance drone and imagined it stretching, stretching...
How much should I extend it? Double—no, triple. I’ll triple the current area... Hang on!
Something had caught my eye—a cluster of vegetation in the distance. The shadows made it impossible to tell for sure, but it looked like something I very much wanted to investigate later.
Hopefully I’m right. It won’t be within the barrier, though—lemme make it five times bigger, just to be sure.
With the temporary barrier marked out in my mind, I cast Purify, followed by Return, to send all the unwanted junk back to the sender—just like spam mail. I made sure to extend the spell into the ground too, to the same depth as the initial barrier, followed by another Return. Next, I cast Barrier proper and then quickly cast Reinforce. Using the drone, I checked all the rivers and lakes from above to make sure they were curse-free. I targeted anything that wasn’t with an Adhere/Return combo. Finally, I dispelled the original barrier. I imagined every leaf and twig being scrubbed of shadows, every drop of water being filtered, and cast a final Purify and Return for good measure.
That should do it.
The forest spread out before me, vibrant and green. There wasn’t a hint of curse anywhere. I smirked.
Looks like my Purification skills have leveled up.
I checked on the animals. Everyone seemed fine, so we quickly gathered as many pieces of fruit as we could and set off home. A monster or two tried their luck on the journey back, but Shion’s growls froze them in place, leaving them open for a quick—and fatal—attack from Sasa.
The new doggies are just as strong as the wolves. Glad to have you on our side! I should really start training too...
I returned home to find everyone waiting for me outside, seemingly worried.
Did something happen?! Is everyone all right?
A quick inspection of the mountain and the surrounding revealed no changes. It didn’t seem like we’d been attacked or anything, at least. I sighed with relief.
Koa approached me, and I reflexively reached out to stroke her. She stared at me for a moment but eventually gave in, wagging her tail. With the first wag, the tense atmosphere softened, and the gathered creatures seemed to relax in unison.
Are you mad at me for extending the barrier after you told me not to?
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to worry you. Everything’s fine. The barrier’s fine too.”
I didn’t mean to worry you, honestly. But I needed to do it. Hopefully she forgives me.