After the carriages reached the forest, they stopped, and Arad and Gojo walked out.
"Arad, mind to life both carriages?" Gojo asked.
"Why?"
"Look," Gojo's body shifted black, expanding rapidly to form a titanic dragon.
Gojo was massive, standing over one hundred meters tall and a whopping two hundred in length. Even his wing span covered half of the forest.
Unlike Arad, Gojo's scales flickered with specks like black diamonds. Everyone looked out of the carriage, their knees shaking as they sensed the magic rushing out of him. "Oh my!" Zephyr giggled, "What's that?"
"It's subtle, but the magic rushing out of him is terrifying. Remind me of angry Nina," Lydia said with an exhausted face.
"Unless I'm in my humanoid form, it's almost impossible for me to completely shut off my aura." Gojo looked down, "If I flew like this, I would scare the nearby monsters, and they could run away, creating stampedes all over the place."
"That makes sense," Arad looked at Gojo, "But can't you teleport us back? Your range is quite big, right?"
"I can," Gojo replied, "But it's more fun to travel, and I would like to give Lucy some time to learn her spells."
"That doesn't sound like a reason to me," Arad stared at him, "There is something you aren't telling me about..." glaring suspiciously.
Gojo sighed, "You're right. It has to do with Lucy. I don't know what teleporting her would do to her wild magic. Last time I tried, it exploded." He looked at the carriage, "Dealing with unknown magic is annoying, and I didn't want to deal with her until after you're settled in Alina."
Arad remembered himself trying to teleport Meimei. "You can't teleport things you don't understand."
"It's a bit different in her case. I understand her wild magic, but it's so random that it would change and cause unexpected effects." Gojo replied, "I would like to not take chances with her."
"Me too," Arad sighed, "I can't have Isdis's little sister blown to mist upon teleporting. Fine, I will carry us to Alina."
Gojo nodded, extending his claw to Arad and pulling a book from his stomach. "Tales of the Great Wall. It's a magic book about barrier magic and tells some stories of how that magic was used."
"Teach you how to cast the spell. How to use it effectively in combat," Arad smiled, flipping the pages of the book.
"The best use would be locking your expansion into a barrier, or using it to trap people and objects, as a means to block attacks or separate things." Gojo extended his hand, "Like this."
A large glass-like wall appeared, refracting light into a prismatic array of colors. "I use it to block attacks most of the time. Especially ones that I'm not sure of."
"Shall we go then? I will read it on our way back." Arad transformed into his draconic form and Gojo shifted to his humanoid form. In each arm, he lifted one of the carriages and flew to the sky.
The horses began to freak out even though Arad told them not to, so Gojo had to put them to sleep with magic.
After flying for half a day, Arad spotted something on the ground. A carriage was being chased by bandits as they rushed across the open plains.
"Evil doers! Master, shall we teach them a lesson!" ….shouted, staring down from the driver's seat.
"No, leave them be. We have a trip ahead of us, and they should be able to handle themselves." Arad replied.
"We can't do this! It's the strong's duty to protect the weak." He looked down, pulling his wooden sword.
"Listen there, I don't want to get sidetracked." Arad glared down at him.
"Come on master, you're a dragon, aren't you? Soar down at them with the wrath of the heavens!" …. Screamed again.
"Those aren't normal bandits. Look closely at them." Gojo sighed, and everyone looked down. Crimson fungus latched on their flesh, making them look more like zombies than humans.
"Crimson rot, Vars once read a book that theorised that one of the demon lords, a woman to be exact ruled over rot and fungus. One touch and you're infected."
"Really?" Lydia stared down, "Then we can't ignore this. The infection might spread."
Arad looked down, "Fine." He sighed, "Aella, burn them to ash."
Aella smiled, "Of course!" She pulled fire arrows from her quiver and aimed out of the window. "Zephyr, let's do this."
Tens of burning arrows fell from the sky, burning hotter with Zephyr's wind, and sniped all the afflicted bandits. The traveler watched in awe as a divine punishment rained from the heavens.
From that day, a rumor started spreading. The gods themselves saved the travelers, and Aella's arrows were held in a shrine by the locals, worshipped as divine objects.
After a few more hours of travel, Arad landed as it started getting dark.
Aella walked out of the carriage, stretching her arms, "Nothing beats the fresh air of the forest, does it?" She looked back.
Lucy was half dead, barely walking out of the carriage. The other girls walked out, looking at the clear river.
"I bet we could catch some nice fish there," Mira smiled, "Arad, can we fish and grill some for dinner?"
"Do what you like," He replied, finding a stone to sit at.
"We will gather firewood," Agnar's father, Simon, said as he walked with Sebas to the forest.
"I will fish," Jack pulled a steel wire from his pocket and headed to the river with Liliana and Mira. She seemed to have already found a long stick and intended on making a fishing pole with Jack's wire and some nails she had on hand.
"Leave the rocks to me," Lydia started walking beside the river, looking for stones for the firepit.
Agnar's mother, Sofia, clapped her hands and called the girls. "Come closer. We will get ready to clean the fish when they catch it."
"We have tools," Rey said with a passive face.
"And knives," Ray added with a smile, carrying several sharp blades.
"Gug wants deer," Gug rushed out to the forest on her own, and Gojo waved his hand, "Be careful, and call me if you need help."
Thud! Lucy sat beside the carriage, taking a breather from the long trip.
"How are you feeling?" Gojo asked.
"I'm fine, this is nothing," She replied with a grin.
"Well then, come, casting training in next." Gojo waved his hand, pulling a small wand for her.
"NO! You demon teacher!" She cried.
"No complaints. Monsters won't wait for you to rest." He dragged her to the riverside to train.
"Master." Agnar approached Arad with his wooden blade in hand.
"What?" Arad looked back at him, "Want a fight?"
"Sword training," Agnar replied, "That little girl Lucy is already back to grind. I can't fall short."
"Fine," Arad stood, pulling a sword from his stomach.
"We won't fight, but try mimicking my moves." Arad took a stance and swung his sword.
"YES!" Agnar lifted his sword, stood beside Arad, and started swinging with him.
"Swing down, kick, and the slice again," Arad said, performing the moves. "Remember, decide before the battle starts whether you want to kill or spare your opponent. You can't hesitate in the middle."
"Hesitation opens the door for counters!" Agnar replied with a firm voice, keeping with Arad's moves.
"Remember, you're a human unlike me. You can't afford to take hits." From his stomach, Arad pulled a small shield and gave it to Agnar. "Get used to it,"
Agnar took the shield and smiled, "Thanks for the gift!"
"Attack! Block! Block! The attack!" Arad moved, "If the opponent wasn't leaving any opening, bash them with our shield to force an opening,"
The two kept training while Lucy cried in the back, doing her best to cast a fire bolt.
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