Lone: The Wanderer

Book 1: Chapter 11: Ocean Koala and Bath Pains

Lone opened his eyes a few hours later only for his sight to be blocked by a bright smile. He could also feel a pair of small hands playing with his fox ears.

"Good morning?" he asked in a questioning tone to Sophie.

"Eh?" she was clearly a bit startled by the sudden greeting.

"Em, g-good morning..." she awkwardly stuttered as she pulled her hands away from his head. S-Sorry

Lone chuckled. "Its fine. I get the appeal, he said as he raised his torso and rubbed the ears himself. Theyre very soft. Also, thanks, Soph."

"Huh? What for?" Sophie asked in confusion.

"You protected me while I was asleep, right?" Lone said. "I can't believe I passed out as soon as we returned. How embarrassing. You should be the tired one since you got so little sleep, honestly."

"I was only playing with your ears and tails..." Sophie mumbled sadly. I-I should have been on watch Sorry

"You dont need to apologise. You have Mana Sensing, remember? Its really not that big of an issue," he replied.

Lone then stretched, popping a few of his joints. He then frowned. We kinda reek and my clothes are ruined again

"W-What should we do then?" Sophie asked. I, uh, dont really mind how we smell

You should. I could ignore it since I have Basic Regeneration which seems to heal me on a cellular level but you dont. Personal hygiene is super important not only for the body but also for the mind, Lone explained, tapping the side of his temple.

So we clean ourselves? Sophie asked. How?

I can think of a few options but first, Lone said as he glanced down at his clothes, Im gonna try to clean these and fix them. My Creation Magic says it can repair stuff too so I wanna try that out before I make a new set.

He looked back at Soph and said, Im gonna have to strip down to my boxers to do that. Uh, will that make you uncomfortable? As much as Id rather have you sit in a teepee and wait for me, its best we stick together since you can only see 15-metre away.

Sophie cocked her head to the side. No, its fine. I can see all of you at all times anyway with my magic.

All of me? Lone asked with a shocked expression on his face. contemporary romance

Uh should I not have said that? Sophie asked in worry.

Lone just laughed self-deprecatingly before shaking his head. Nah, its fine.

He moved past it and tried to ignore that the almost 1,000-year-old girl probably knew more about his body than even he did.

He left the teepee with her close behind him.

Once he was at the shore, he stripped down to his boxers and focused. Lone then created a simple washbasin made of wood that was held together by some iron bands.

"Iron doesnt seem to be any more costly than wood provided I know what it is and how its made Thank you, constant time-lapse Facebook videos creating random shit," Lone said to himself with a bit of a chuckle.

Sophie inspected the basin carefully then asked, "Should I wash my clothes too?"

Scanning Sophie from head to toe, Lone replied, "You look clean enough to me. Granted, there is some mud on the hem of your trousers and your boots could use a rinse, so sure, feel free."

"Okay," Sophie happily replied before she began taking of her boots.

Lone refocused his attention to his own matters while Sophie was doing that. He stacked his clothes in a neat pile next to the water on the beach and started doing some light exercises to loosen up his body.

Sophie was finished with taking off her boots, socks and trousers in a few moments. Her shirt went down to her thighs keeping her just as covered as her old jumper did.

Lone watched in horror as the girl was about to dunk her clothes right into the ocean directly. He quickly grabbed her wrist to stop her.

"Huh? We aren't washing our clothes?" Sophie questioned, her perplexion clear on her expression.

"Come on, you're from the middle ages, right? Surely you know that seawater is horrible for washing clothes," Lone said as he let go of her and gestured for her to put her clothes next to his on the beach itself.

"I didn't live near an ocean..." Sophie grumbled as she laid her boots, socks and trousers down.

"Ah, fair enough. Lone said. Well, Im going to try and make fresh spring water. It should be possible and if it is, then we wont need to drink the coconut water anymore.

I like the coconut water though, Sophie replied.

Youre free to collect the coconuts yourself if you still want it, Lone said. I dont exactly enjoy dodging them when I shake them off the trees.

Sophie giggled a little. It is kinda funny.

Lone rolled his eyes, happy to see her laughing for once. He then closed his eyes and focused.

His home country, Scotland, was notoriously famous for its great highland spring water. The tap water was typically nice too as a result.

With that picture in his mind but making sure to preface his creation with the water existing on Altros, he used his skill.

Many such items exist on Altros.

The host has a perfect understanding of the item. 50 base MP cost.

50 total MP has been consumed to create the item: [5litres of Fresh Spring Water].

The water had appeared above Lones outstretched hands then fell right into the basin beneath them. Only a little bit of it splashed out from the impact.

Fuck yeah that was cheap, he exclaimed in joy. I wonder how much pricier it would be to create hot water? Surely not that much, right?

He shelved that thought for later before he got to work on cleaning his clothes and teaching Sophie how to do it too.

The host has developed the passive skill: Laundry Mastery.

Passive skill: Laundry Mastery

A skill that allows the host to clean clothing more efficiently.

All clothes cleaned by the host have stains removed 5% more easily and dry 5% faster after being washed.

Cost:N/A Mastery:Beginner Level 1

Not a skill I asked for, but one I appreciate nonetheless, Lone thought.

His and Sophie's clothes were still drying on some makeshift racks hed cobbled together with some boar sinew and tree branches.

Right now, he was sitting on the beach in a pair of swimming trunks waiting for Sophie to finish putting on her own swimming suit.

He had considered making a bathtub and hot water instead but figured that could wait for another day. He could use the exercise of a good swim anyway.

Lone was just glad that his trunks and Sophies one-piece swimsuit hadnt cost him much MP-wise. Whatever kind of world they were on, some civilisation out there had relatively modern clothing, that was for sure.

Maybe were not the first ones to have come from Earth It would explain the many items like our survival gear and this being commonplace according to Creation Magic, Lone thought.

Im done! You were right. It was easy to get on, Sophie called.

He turned to see her approaching him with a smile on her face. Good. I really didnt want a repeat of earlier. Ready to do some stretches?

"Stretches?" Sophie asked with a tilt of the head as she put her chin in her hand.

Lone sighed before he laughed lightly. "You really are clueless about a lot of stuff, huh? Nothing to be ashamed of since everyone is ignorant in some way or another. Just copy what I do with my body, okay? It won't be good if you cramp up and start drowning."

"Okay! Im willing to learn!" Sophie was clearly very raring to go.

After spending a few minutes to loosen their bodies, Lone stepped into the water and began floating as he slowly moved his arms back and forth to stay stable. "Well, gonna join me?"

"Yeah, but, um, I can't swim..." Sophie confessed as she held her hands behind her back and twirled her feet in the sand.

Wait, really? Lone asked in shock. Could have told me that before

S-Sorry, Soph mumbled from the shore.

Lone sighed. Its fine, dont worry about it.

He got out of the ocean and held Sophie's hand before he began walking back towards the ocean. "I'll just teach you. Wouldnt be the first time Ive had to teach someone how to swim."

Not only had he done so with his little sister, Hazel, but also a handful of times at school when he had to sub in from the Physical Education teacher when he was sick.

He only had to do that since none of the other teachers wanted to. If nothing else though, it would be helpful here.

"You'll teach me how to swim? Thank you," Sophie was thrilled. Ive never been to an ocean or lake before, to be honest

Ah. Well, better late than never, right? he asked with a smile.

Sophie nodded in response.

"Teaching you how to swim will take more than one session though in all likeliness. I'll teach you how to float first, okay? It should be pretty easy but panicking can pretty easily offset your natural buoyancy," he explained.

"Soph," Lone called softly.

"Y-Yes, Lone?" Sophie replied hesitantly.

"I asked you a few minutes ago, but you never answered me," he said as the sound of the gentle waves around them accompanied his words.

"Y-Yes?" Sophie began sweating even though she was in the water.

"Im supposed to be teaching you how to be relaxed and float in the water, right? he asked slowly.

Sophie nodded. Um y-yeah

Then, may I ask, why are you clinging to me like a koala?" Lone asked with a tinge of exhaustion in his tone.

As soon as Sophie's feet had left the sand and she was fully inside of the ocean, like a dog who was allergic to baths, she immediately glued herself to him.

Apparently, not only was Sophie unable to swim, but she was also afraid of the sea.

"S-Sorry..." Sophie hung her head down, which only resulted in her leaning even further into him as she clung onto him for dear life.

Lone sighed. "You could have told me that you were frightened of the ocean, you know? I would have used my MP to create a wooden bath and hot water instead."

"I-I'm sorry..." Sophie said as her voice cracked.

Lone sighed again. He didnt want to make her cry. "It's not your fault. It's okay. Do you want to actually try or should we go back to shore?"

"S-Sorry..." Sophie apologised, seemingly unable to find any other way to respond.

Lone smiled wryly. "Don't worry about it."

Lone wrapped one of his arms around Sophie's waist and swam back to the beach. If nothing else, they were both clean now and Lone had gained yet another skill.

The host has developed the passive skill: Swimming Mastery.

Passive skill: Swimming Mastery

A skill that allows the host to swim with less effort and with more grace.

Swimming consumes 5% less SP and the host will find it 5% easier to read the waves while swimming.

Cost:N/A MasteryBeginner Level 1

Not overly useful but it could be lifesaving in the right conditions, Lone felt.

As soon as he was back on dry land, Sophie tried to get off of him, but instead, her long hair ended up getting tangled around his legs and feet, making him trip.

It was easy to forget at times how long her hair was. It went all the way down to her ankles if she didnt have it tucked into her shirt like she usually did.

A few moments passed before Lone said, "Are you gonna sit on me all day, or what? My chests starting to get numb."

Sophie carefully got up and stood next to Lone awkwardly after untangling her hair from him.

"Well, we're both covered in the sand now," Lone said as looked down at his body.

"Sorry..." Sophie apologised.

"Stop saying 'sorry' so much, please. It's fine. I'll just make a bath and some water for us like I said I wouldve done in the first place," he replied.

"Y-yeah..." Sophie said, still wearing an upset expression on her face.

Moving closer to their teepees, the pair stopped just outside of Lones.

He decided to try making a wooden bath filled with the hot water itself. His thinking was that doing so would cost less than making both individually.

Naturally, he made sure to imagine the tub as being large enough to hold him inside it with enough room to spread out and relax.

Unfortunately, while he had seen all sorts of crafting videos online, how to make a bathtub did not list among them.

Many such items exist on Altros.

The host has a great understanding of the item but does not know much regarding its construction. 5,000 base MP cost. 2,500 additional MP has been consumed to compensate for the lack of knowledge.

The host has insufficient MP. All of the host's MP has been consumed and the host's MP will be sealed for [10 hours] to create the item: [Hot Water Filled Wooden Bath [Adult Male Sized]].

Near instantly, a searing pain overtook his mind.

Congratulations! The host's passive skill [Mental Pain Resistance] has levelled up! It is now Beginner Level 3.

Lone didn't immediately pass out like the last time this had happened. Instead, he grit his teeth and screamed to let out the pain, "Ahhhhh!"

"Lone?!" Running to his side, Sophie frantically asked, "Are you okay?! What's wrong?!"

Congratulations! The host's passive skill [Mental Pain Resistance] has levelled up! It is now Beginner Level 4. 𝐟𝗿𝗲𝗲𝐰𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

"No! I'm fuckin not! It feels like my brain is being ripped to pieces from the inside! Fuck!" Lone roared as he clutched his head and began panting heavily.

Congratulations! The host's passive skill [Mental Pain Resistance] has levelled up! It is now Beginner Level 5.

Congratulations! The host's passive skill [Mental Pain Resistance] has levelled up! It is now Beginner Level 6.

Congratulations! The host's passive skill [Mental Pain Resistance] has levelled up! It is now Beginner Level 7.

Congratulations! The host's passive skill [Mental Pain Resistance] has levelled up! It is now Beginner Level 8.

"Fuck," Lone mumbled as he sat up and slowly climbed into the bathtub with Sophie's help, still wearing his swimming trunks.

"You swear so much..." Sophie noted while she kept her hand on Lone's head and gently stroked his soft and fluffy fox ears.

Her other arm was wrapped around a few of Lone's tails that were poking out of the bathtub.

"Forgive me for my crude language. Did you miss the part where I said it felt like my brain was being ripped apart?" Lone snapped a little as he felt the warm water seep into his pores. "Ah... This is heaven..."

"S-Sorry But, um, why did you use your magic when this was the end result?" Sophie asked as she continued to enjoy Lone's fluffiness.

"Two reasons," Lone said as he held two of his fingers up. "One: There might be some wizard goblins on this island. If you and I can perform magic, then we should assume that some of the monsters can too. It's better if I'm prepared for that. Mental Pain Resistance training cant hurt in that regard."

"But that could be a different type of damage than mental, right?" Sophie questioned.

"Sure, but the second reason is infinitely more important." Lone's ears twitched. He wasn't used to Sophie playing with those, so it felt a bit strange.

Sophie gulped as she edged a bit closer to Lone. "Wh-What's the second reason?"

Lone grinned and moved so his and Sophie's faces were now only inches away from each other. "It wasnt fuckin intentional. I had no clue the base cost of a fuckin bathtub with water in it was 5,000 MP."

"O-Oh Sophie blushed, not expecting such an answer. Um it looks nice though

"Yup, it is. Despite the migraine, this feels heavenly. I've always had a saying, you know? Showers are for cleaning while baths are for relaxing," Lone stated as he leaned back and laid against the smooth wooden tub and closed his eyes.

Even as he was enduring the mental pains that came with having no MP, his face was covered with a single emotion: Bliss.

Sophie gulped again. "I-I don't know what a shower is, but c-can I join you?"

"Hmm?" Lone peered up at the young girl who looked about ready to jump in the tub. "No. thats wrong on quite a few levels, swimsuit or not."

Oh Okay Sophie sadly said.

Wait until tomorrow. My MP will unseal then and Ill refill the tub with fresh water for you, okay? Lone suggested.

Sophie nodded at that and perked up, seemingly happy with the offered compromise.