In the morning, we packed up the camp and started heading towards the mine. We moved slower as a group but were still able to get there around noon when the sun was at its highest. I showed them around and told them about the one way door idea. They were all for it and we got started setting up immediately. Half of the nomads unpacked the wagon and got the cave set up for living while the other half went to gather wood and stone for the door. Killer and I went with the woodcutters while Voyd and Ro stayed back to help unpack. Killer refused to follow the nomads orders but did everything I said without question. I had to babysit him the entire day to make sure he stayed on task. By the end of the day we were able to haul back enough wood to build the door. We got to bed early and spent the next day building the door. I was in charge of the planning while the nomads did most of the work.
Eventually the door building got to a point where they were moving efficiently without needing my help. Meanwhile, Voyd was teaching Ro and Killer wind magic so I decided to head over to them. When I walked up I noticed that they weren’t using any magic, Ro was just shooting her bow and Killer was swinging his flail. I kept watching and I noticed that the arrows Ro were firing were traveling extremely fast. “Is she using wind magic to boost the speed of her arrows?” I asked Voyd. “Mhm, she’s just about mastered it too. I think she’s almost ready to move on.” She replied. “Move onto what?” I asked. “Changing the arrows’ trajectory using wind magic.” She said. “What!? You can do that?” I replied in surprise. “Yeah.”
So this is what she meant earlier when she said you can use any weapon as a catalyst and enhance it with magic. I should’ve started learning some offensive magic sooner, if I can learn how to fire heat seeking bullets I’ll be O.P. So I told Voyd, “I wanna learn some wind magic.” “Oh, alright.” She replied. Then Voyd called Ro over to us and asked her, “Can you teach him the basics of wind magic?” “Huh? Why me? I barely know anything.” Ro responded. “My mom always said that the best way to master something is to teach it to someone else. Once you’ve perfected the basics, you’ll have an easier time when trying to learn more powerful stuff.” Voyd said. “Fine, whatever.” Ro replied.
Voyd went back to the cave and Ro explained to me and Killer how to channel the power of wind into our weapons. I did exactly as she said and aimed my gun at a nearby tree. When I pulled the trigger, a strong burst of air came out of the barrel and not only knocked the tree out of the ground but sent it flying back a couple of feet. The three of us were stunned and Ro shouted, “Wha- h- how did you do that first try!?” “I dunno!” I replied. Then Killer said, “Master, you amazing! I try all day and still don’t do it, look!” He swung the flail around like a madman on crack. “Alright that’s enough.” I said, then we went back to the mine and helped out until nightfall.
The next morning we went back to learn magic while the nomads finished building the door. It ended up taking three days to finish. We set it up and it worked perfectly, no matter how hard you pushed from the outside the door wouldn’t budge but it was easy to open from the inside. The door was also reinforced with stone so it would be extremely difficult to break with tools available from the wasteland. One of the nomads came up to me and said, “Thank you so much.” “Oh it’s no problem.” I replied. Then he said, “I’ve talked it over with the others and we decided we’d let you name our new settlement.” “Woah really?” I said. “Yep, you are its founder after all.” He told me.
I thought about it for a moment. I don’t really know what to call it. I don’t wanna name it after myself and I don’t think I’ll be able to come up with something original on the spot so I’ll just name it after something in a video game I used to play. “Is it cool if we named it Sanctuary?” The nomads’ eyes lit up. “Yes, that’s perfect! I’ll go tell the others.”
Before he walked off he turned around and said to me, “I almost forgot there was something else I needed to ask.” “What is it?” I asked. “You’ve already done so much for us so we don’t expect anything more from you but we could still use your help.” He said. “That’s fine, just let me know what you need.” I told him. “You’re too kind…” He replied. “So, what do guys need?” I asked. “One of the elders brought up a solid point the other day, as it’s set up now we’d have to go on frequent supply runs in order to gather food and water but water is the main issue. We need something that can store a large amount of the rain water we collect, the skin of a large animal should do the trick.” He said. “Alright, I’ll go tell the others.” I replied.
On the way over to the others I passed by Ro’s parents, I told them about how we were going out and asked if Ro could come with us. “Of course, we had a deal.” they said, “But make sure you bring her back to visit often.” I told them I’d make sure to keep her safe and bring her back as much as I could.
I gathered up the gang and told them about our new job. I asked Voyd where we could find an animal large enough. “The northern side of the country near the mountains there are some large trolls we may be able to slay. But we have to be careful, the dragons that live in the mountains will sometimes swoop down to the planes to hunt.” She said. Then I asked, “Why don’t we just go kill a dragon?” Voyd yelled, “NO!” Ro said, “Are you crazy?” And Killer screamed, “Dragon? Dragon! I wanna fight dragons!!” Watching Killer get excited was all I needed to confidently say, “Alright fine no dragons.” Ro and Voyd looked relieved while Killer slouched over in disappointment.
I asked, “Is it alright if we head out tomorrow?” They said yes. We spent the rest of the day resting and preparing for our long journey. We wanted to make the most out of the sunlight so we got up as soon as the sun rose. It’s going to take multiple days to reach our destination so the nomads let us borrow some of the tents and camping supplies they no longer needed. We made Killer carry all of it on his back. When we stepped out of the cave the nomads gave us a warming goodbye and then we were on our way to the northern side of the country.
During our first day walking Voyd lectured us about magic as we moved. We were occasionally attacked by bandits and animals, I was able to take out every threat with just a couple shots. We even took one of the animals I killed to cook up later. Eventually it got close to dusk so we set up the camp for the night. I didn’t know how to set up the tents so I tried getting the fire going but I couldn’t… I rubbed sticks together as fast as I could to no avail.
“What the hell are you doing?” Ro yelled, “gimme that!” She took the sticks from my hand and started the fire effortlessly. “There, now just make sure it stays burning, can you do that?” She said that to me like she was speaking to a toddler. I replied, “Umm, yeah I got it.” I kicked back and tossed wood and dry leaves into the fire while watching the others set up the tents. Ro was doing most of the work and I gotta admit, the way she takes charge and bosses everyone around is kinda hot…
What the hell am I thinking? It must be a lack of post nut clarity. Or maybe the fact I haven’t felt a woman’s touch in decades. I’m just gonna stop looking at her.
That night, we gathered around the fire and cooked up the animal I killed. Surprisingly the person who knew the most about cooking meat over an open fire was Killer. He set up a spit over the fire and did all of the skinning and cooking. The meat was a little tough and unseasoned but the girls loved it. I personally rather have prison food than this, it felt like I was chewing on a car tire and it was just as flavorless.
Eventually we went to bed, with each one of us alternating and staying up on lookout for a 2 hour shift. During my shift, a group of bandits attacked. The rest of the group was startled and slow to react, but Killer sprung up into action like he was never asleep in the first place and went crazy on our attackers. He had handled nearly all of them by himself and forced them to retreat.
After the fighting stopped, Ro, Voyd, and Killer gathered outside the tents. “Where’s Jeff at?” Voyd asked. Soon after she said that, I came sprinting out from the bushes nearby.
“Where the hell were you!?” Ro yelled at me. “I was uhhh…” I hesitated. “You were what!?” She yelled. “…rubbing one out.” I said quietly. “What!?” She yelled back in confusion. “I’m sorry…” I told her. “We could’ve died! Sorry’s not gonna cut it!” Ro shouted. “It’s fine.” Voyd said.
“Huh!?” Ro and I said simultaneously. “Killer was able to hold them off and we’re ok.” Voyd said. “Me like fighting!” Killer shouted. “You three are fucking crazy!” Ro screamed.
“Yeah Ro’s right,” I said, “I shouldn’t have wandered off, it’s my fault. You guys can go rest up, I’ll keep watch the rest of the night. And I promise I won’t leave again.” Ro scoffed and said, “Hmpf, you better not.”
The gang went back to their tents and I stayed up posted by fire all night long. At first I felt like pulling the all-nighter was gonna be easy, but by the time the sun got up, I was ready to pass out. The others packed up the camp quickly and we got on our way. The group must’ve known how tired I was, Killer even offered to carry me but I declined. They kept suggesting we take breaks but for some reason I didn’t want to waste any time. I knew I could keep pushing so I did. Even though it felt like I could collapse at any moment I never stopped moving and we were able to make a lot of progress. We set up the camp and by “we” I mean mostly Ro, and before we could even start cooking I was out like a light.
That morning Ro woke me up. She shook me violently and yelled, “Get up pussy!” “Mmm… are we there yet?” I mumbled. “No dumbass now hurry up.” She replied. “Just five more minutes…” I mumbled back. “Hell no! It’s gonna take us forever to get there. Now get up and don’t waste anymore of our time!” She said. “Ughhh, fine.” I got up and helped pack up the campsite, then we continued our journey.
Isekai: God Let Me Keep My Glock 