"I still think I should stay up,” I muttered to myself.
“It’s okay, Master.” Lydia reassured me, “The skill Alarm will tell me if anyone comes anywhere near our tent. The Adventurers showed me before we left how to set it up to detect specifically larger creatures, so it won’t be triggered by something like a rodent or a bug.”
“Yeah, well, that’s why it kind of bothers me.” I sighed.
We had usually set up watches in the dungeons. Only occasionally would we depend on the holy circle barrier as our only means of protection as we all slept. It was probably sufficient enough, but it still left me worried that a monster would attack at night. However, as much as this world was like a game, animals were animals and people were people. Monsters might be a little bit more aggressive than animals, but typically if you left them alone and didn’t encroach on their space, they left you alone too.
It was as unlikely to experience wolf attacks in this world just as much as in my other world. Most monsters remained near their dungeons, so unless you were in a wild area, you weren’t like to see them. Within a country’s borders, where every dungeon was closely guarded, this was doubly true. In fact, the biggest worry was bandits, and even bandits only struck when they thought it was worth it and rarely would attack people at night. At least, that was what I had been told.
Either way, I wasn’t used to walking in the sun all day and was feeling a bit tired. I was overweight, but it was like I was averse to exorcise in my old world. I just happened to really like sugary and fast food. Weeks of walking around dungeons and eating on the run had helped me lose the weight, but that hadn’t really turned me into a marathon walker. Twelve hours of walking was twelve hours of walking. It was better than having to take care of a horse, but it still left me wanting to sleep the whole night without interruptions.
It wouldn’t be fair to expect the girls to take breaks instead of me, and that’s how we ended up on the topic of her skill known as Alarm. She had picked it up as a scout. You could basically set a proximity line, that if crossed, would signal the person. Is a perfect skill for this kind of thing, and quite safe according to the Adventurers. Nine out of ten times it was usually just a fox anyway. On top of that, I had my map and Sense Life. If anything got close to us, I could see it, presuming my eyes were open.
I decided to just trust in the magic and skills of this world. In the end, exhaustion overtook my worry, and I drifted off to sleep. I wasn’t sure what I dreamed, but it was probably good. That was until I was awoken to somebody shaking me in worry.
“M-master!” Lydia whispered, “Someone has triggered the alarm!”
I sighed. “Just my luck.”
Thanks for the Chapter! I enjoy this story far more that I thought I would.
Most monsters remained near their dungeons, so unless you were in a wild area, you weren't like to see them.
Typo: It should read "...in a wild area, you weren't likely to see them." The spellcheck missed this because "like" is spelled correctly, despite how "likely" is the correct word.
You could basically set a proximity line, that if crossed, would signal the person.
Q: By "proximity line", I wonder if it means a literal straight line. Must Lydia set up 4 corners with invisible magic lines between them? Or, instead, is this proximity line an invisible magic circle.
Also, I'm really, really curious to know the approximate range or radius of this Alarm perimeter. Are we talking something like, say, 10 meters, 100 meters or 500 meters? Can the user set the perimeter range?
Nine out of ten times it was usually just a fox anyway.
I thought Lydia was taught to set it up so it only triggered on larger creatures? A fox is not a large creature. Rather, it's the size of a small dog and they are quite harmless to humans. Even if a fox bites you, it's barely enough to break the skin. Why wouldn't Alarm be set to things larger than foxes? Are there dangerous monsters the size of a fox?
Twelve hours of walking was twelve hours of walking. It was better than having to take care of a horse, but it still left me wanting to sleep the whole night without interruptions.
I disagree. Riding horses is many times faster than walking. Not only would it be nice to shorten the trip to the capitol to less than half (probably much less), less days on the road means less chances for events like bandits attacking. It also means not ending up so exhausted at the end of the day when bandits, monsters and animals are more likely to attack. It even means less need for provisions like food, which means less expense and more carrying capacity for things to buy and sell. And it's not like the MC can't afford a horse.
Better than having to take care of a horse? In what way? About all a horse requires is grass and water - or a "nose bag" (feed bag) with oats, if you want to treat it. The MC can generate water, so that's no problem at all. Is it the idea of tying off a horse to a tree or removing the saddle at night and putting it back on in the morning? Oh, how tedious!
Even 2 horses would be sufficient - 1 for himself with Celeste sitting in his lap or on his shoulder (fairy form) and 1 horse for Lydia and Miki to share. And by dusk when they make camp, they would not be exhausted, so he wouldn't need as much sleep. Alternatively, they could camp early. (BTW: Since Celeste is a Sylph - a type of magical being - I question whether she needs 8 hours of sleep like the MC or if she needs any sleep at all. Couldn't she keep watch?)
Anyway, once the MC reaches the capitol, they will no longer need horses since he'll just use his Gate or Portal skill for the return trip, or pay blue mages to teleport them to different cities. But all he'd have to do is sell them, which should be easy.
Great points.
Great work thanks for the chapter