Lone: The Wanderer

contemporary romance

Book 1: Chapter 12: Logging and Goblin Stirrings

Sophie slowly opened her eyes and felt something soft and fluffy brush past her nose, making her almost sneeze. With her Mana Sensing, she saw the golden blob of mana that was Lone.

His face morphed into a smile. It looked radiant. Perhaps that was just because of his unique colour. Shed never seen anything shining in a golden light before.

Most things were just blue or green. The ocean? Blue. The sky? Less blue but still blue. Grass? Green. Goblins? Also green, a dark disgusting green.

She returned Lones smile with one of her own, hoping it didnt look too weird. She was groggy but she didnt want to be impolite.

"It seems that our positions have been reversed from yesterday morning, huh?" he teased her.

Sophie realised that she was laying with her head on his lap and one of his hands was resting on her head.

Their positions were just like when she had been caught with his ears in her hands. She quickly fumbled up, scrambling away from him a bit in embarrassment.

"Hahaha, you can be pretty endearing sometimes, huh?" Lone joked as he got up and brushed the sand off from his trousers.

Collecting herself a bit, Sophie noticed that she was wearing the clothes that Lone had made for her, their distinct slight golden shimmer still lingering, a sign of them having been created by him.

Her knife and his spears along with the bathtub and his own clothes all shined golden too in her eyes which only saw the magic of the world.

But I was wearing my swimsuit she muttered.

Lone chuckled a bit. "Yes, yes you were. Still are, even. Its under your clothes.

Looking more closely at herself, she found he was right. It was hard to see through layers of mana but not impossible when she focused.

Lone sighed faintly. I know you were sleep deprived and it was a long day, but did you really have to fall asleep the second you got comfy when it was your turn to have a bath?"

Her face heated up as she asked, "W-Was I being a bother?"

"Nah, its fine. Cant fault you for being sleepy considering the circumstances, he said then yawned.

You h-havent slept? she asked in concern.

He smiled wryly. Yeah but its fine. Im used to all-nighters. Shame I have no caffeine to keep me going but Ill live.

So I was being a bother, she noted to herself before she scrunched up her face. Shes trying to get out again Now is not a good time

Perhaps picking up on her silence as a cue to change the topic, Lone said, "Anyway, you were out for at least 12 hours, so I had plenty of time to set up some more stuff for us through the night. I'm glad no goblins came to find us. I guess we're lucky, huh?"

"Y-Yeah," Sophie muttered as she followed him out of the teepee and looked around, still trying her best to focus her mind.

While she was sleeping, it would seem that Lone had started to build a small log cabin. As of now, there was only a foundation set, but nonetheless, Sophie was still impressed.

Her campfire which she had built herself now had a row of stones encircling it, and it looked far more permanent than her hastily made one was.

I wonder how much of this was done by Creation Magic and how much by just his knowledge alone. In truth, Sophie felt ashamed.

Regardless of her special mental condition, she was still far, far older than he was yet she felt so much less significant or critical to their continued survival. It was disheartening.

The last thing she noticed that hed changed was there seemed to be a hole in the ground that was about as wide as a head.

There was a cross-shaped stick poking out of the sand with a strange-looking roll of parchment on top of it right next to this hole.

"Lone, what's that for?" Sophie asked as she pointed at the aforementioned hole and stick-roll combo.

"Hmm?" Taking his attention away from the tree that he had started to saw at with a strange metal device with a jagged edge she didnt recognise, Lone grinned at her.

"It's to avoid shitting in the forest and wiping with leaves. One, that was disgusting, and two, it was a safety threat. Better to do it out in the open where you can see in every direction. The hole runs straight to the ocean. It was a real bitch to make. Needed so much more Creation Magic than I expected. Still, definitely worth the effort," he explained.

Stepping closer to it, Sophie could see that the interior of the hole was lined with something made up of a dark brown mana.

Wood? Yeah. Wooden planks, she surmised.

They seemed to be there to stop the sand walls from caving in, and at the bottom, Sophie could see some water.

I forget I even need to do that I, do, uh, kinda feel the urge though looking at this Weird Sophie confessed.

"Yeah, it kinda sucks that we still have to shit and piss honestly. I'm not even a human anymore and you used to be immortal, but what can you do, huh? Im still a biological creature and youre now down here with us mere mortals," Lone lamented jokingly as he returned his focus to the tree he was trying to cut down.

Sophie wasn't particularly bothered by her body's necessary functions, odd as they were since shed lacked the need to perform them ever since she was nine years old.

Regardless, she nodded and walked towards Lone. "Did you build this all by hand?"

"Mmm, more or less. I used to be interested in this kind of engineering before I became a history teacher, so I know the basics, though still, this would be a complete mess if I hadn't learnt two skills while I was first putting the foundation of the cabin together. After all, engineering and architectural design are two very different things, even if they are slightly related to one another." Lone's explanation went in one of Sophie's ears before quickly flying out of the other.

"Engineering? Architectural design?" Sophie tilted her head to the side in confusion as she held her chin.

Lone laughed. "I keep forgetting that you're from the middle ages."

"The middle ages?" Sophie was even more confused. Thats the second time youve said that. What does it mean?

"It's what we call your time period. From the fifth century to the fifteenth. You really didn't do anything after you killed God, huh?" Lone asked as he put down his self-created tools and wiped the sweat from his brow.

"No... I just slept most of the time away... Sorry..." Sophie, once again, ended up apologizing almost as if on reflex.

There was more to her story that she was sure hed be interested in but she felt it was better for him to not know that side of her.

Lone frowned. "It's not something you need to say sorry for."

"M-Mmm." Sophie still felt guilty for being such a burden on Lone.

She couldn't shake the feeling that it like he was wasting his precious energy on her by explaining things that were apparently common knowledge to himself.

Not only had he been awake for a long time but hed been working nonstop to improve their living situation while she had just woken up and was now hounding him with questions.

Lone smiled at her and asked, "Wanna know what my new skills are?"

"Uh, y-yeah," she answered. So he doesnt mind talking to me too? Thats Thats good.

Grinning, Lone quickly pulled up the information of his two new skills to include Sophie in the joys of his progress.

Something about gaining new skills, regardless of how mundane they were, was quickly becoming very addictive to him.

This is exactly why I was addicted to Paradox Online, only here, its real, he thought as the skills appeared in his vision.

Passive Skill: Logging A skill that allows the host to harvest wood 5% more easily and 5% more skilfully. Cost:N/A Mastery:Beginner Level 7

A simple skill really, but it made using his new bow saw that little bit smoother which was great.

Passive Skill: Woodworking A skill that allows the host to craft with wood 5% faster and 5% more skilfully. Cost:N/A Mastery:Beginner Level 5

This had been incredibly helpful with only a 5% buff. It made it possible for him to try building the cabin without relying too much on his Creation Magic.

He only had so much MP to go around, after all. One slip up and hed be experiencing another migraine.

Lone detailed the skills effects to Sophie before saying, I was doing everything manually until about three hours ago. Making the bath fucked me MP-wise for ten hours but Ive been hard at work incorporating it into my building.

He scratched his neck and stretched a bit. Needed the magic to make this and the toilet, sadly, he said, gesturing to his saw.

"Amazing..." Sophie said in pure admiration. Uh Whys it sad that you need your skill? I-Its incredibly useful

It is, Lone answered as he frowned, but its dangerous. If Im not careful I overtax myself and get punished with an MP seal. It seems to vary in time based on how much I overuse. It needs more testing that I honestly dont want to ever do.

Ah Sophie seemed stuck for words for a bit before she said, This is all incredible though.

Lone grinned. "Right? I should be able to finish a half-decent house for us in a day or two if I really put in the work."

"That sounds really nice." Sophie's face was easy to read.

The little girl hadn't experienced the cold nor had she needed to bathe or look after herself when she was an immortal being living lackadaisically, Lone assumed.

Abruptly regaining her mortality must have reminded her of how important it was to have a proper place to take care of yourself and to relax.

"But, uh, Lone, what about the goblins? Won't they just destroy the house once you've finished it? You know, with more of those boars or something..." Sophie suggested much to Lones pleasure.

Shes so clever when she wants to be. Its refreshing since the kids I taught could be such dumbasses at times, Lone thought before saying, "I thought of that."

He pointed to the wooden foundations that were half in the sand and half in the dirt before he said, "Do you see that all of the trees I've knocked down were in a circle around there?"

"Yeah. Was that on purpose?" Sophie asked curiously.

"Yup," Lone calmly answered with a proud nod of the head.

He knew that Sophie was fairly ignorant on a lot of subjects, but he could clearly tell that she wasn't stupid and that she had a desire to learn. This ignited the teacher inside of him.

"It's pretty simple, actually. My plan is to add a bunch of self-made spikes and force them into the earth and the sand, surrounding our house," Lone said.

Sophie tilted her head to the side and held her chin again.

Seeing that she didn't fully understand, Lone continued, "I'll use my Creation Magic for the spikes since I don't want to risk fucking it up if I do it by hand. I also plan to make a string alarm system, again, with magic."

Sophie still seemed confused. "How will we get inside the house?"

"Good question, but also a stupid one. Come on, youre a quick one when you need to be. Give it a moment of thought. How will we get inside of the house?" Lone asked with a smirk.

Hmm Sophie scrunched up her brow and appeared to be thinking seriously about the question before she suddenly gasped a little. "Ah. I I can teleport"

Lone beamed from ear to ear with pride. Yes, you can.

He patted her shoulder in encouragement. "It'll be a good form of training for you to strengthen that ability. I imagine that you can teleport farther and more times the more you train it. Most skills seem to work off the principle of refinement, though you never know, it might be possible to create sub-skills from our unique powers. I have no clue how limited or free the system that binds our powers really is."

"I never attempted anything with my powers before I met you, so it'd be fun to try," Sophie admitted as she scratched her cheek playfully.

"Wouldn't it just?" Lone smiled.

A few hours passed as not only Lone, but even Sophie worked hard to build the cabin.

Lone would cut down the trees between sessions of creating string and bells with his magic.

Sophie would teleport those trees to the cabin and use her knife to cut them as he instructed. She didnt do a perfect job and, honestly, neither could he.

It was more than enough though and it was pretty fun to be working together, he felt.

Before long, Lone had finished setting up the string perimeter and was able to complete a third of the spike wall before he came dangerously close to running out of MP.

It was getting late too so he had decided to call it a day. He got Sophie to help him cover the top of the cabin that now had some walls with large leaves.

A real roof could wait until tomorrow. With what little sunlight they had left, the two tore down their teepees and used the materials as insulation for the walls to stave off the cold of night a bit.

It was makeshift, a bit wonky on the left side and wouldnt sell for more than a few quid to someone desperate but it was built by his and Sophies hard work.

Hed be damned if he wasnt proud.

"Lone, what are we gonna do about the goblins? I'm worried..." Sophie's eyes were a bit hazy as she bit into her dinner, some roasted boar meat.

"I was thinking about making a map of this island first," Lone replied. I do agree they are an issue though and we should try to hunt a few more groups like yesterday when we can.

"A map?" Sophie asked. And, uh I a-agree. We need strength

"Seconded. We don't really know anything about goblins, but I'm assuming that they have a nest or a home or something. My plan is to map out the island and find out exactly where that base is via the process of elimination," Lone explained.

Sophie's dull grey eyes sparkled. "Wait You can actually write maps? I remember that was a very hard thing to do properly back when I was still y-young. I thought you meant scouting it out and remembering the layout of the i-island"

Lone stared into the girl's lifeless eyes that seemed to somehow exude so much emotion. 'How can a blind person be so expressive with just her eyes?... I wonder what the world looks like to her with that Mana Sensing of hers?'

"Lone?" Sophie cocked her head to the side while looking at him.

Unconsciously, Lone ended up laughing. "Sorry. I was lost in thought. I've never actually drawn a map before but I must have read thousands of them, what with my job being what it was. Lot of maps in history. I'm fairly sure I can get a skill from the system and work it out along the way."

"T-That's amazing... I haven't learnt any skills since we got here..." Sophie mumbled a bit dishearteningly.

She smiled weakly at him. You keep getting more and more though I-Im happy for you.

"It's okay," Lone said as he reached over and gently rustled her golden-blonde hair. "I have the Growth Accelerator skill so it's unfair to compare us. I'm sure you'll get skills that are just as useful on your own."

"Y-Yeah I'll, uh, Ill try my best!" Sophie's enthusiasm gave the former teacher hope.

In the depths of the forest on the island, a force stirred.

An ancient temple of some sort was illuminated by a single torch held by a goblin who was running as fast as his short legs would take him.

He was rushing to the heart, where his king was surely waiting.

A few moments passed before the goblin was in a grand chamber filled with bodies, equipment, jewels and gold.

This room also hosted several large beings, Hobgoblins. The small goblin counted at least six.

Scary things, those Hobgoblins. They could crush him with a single strike and he knew it.

Even more frightening though was what they feared, not what he feared.

At the very centre of this room, on a throne of wood and bone, a massive goblin sat as he feasted on an entire boar.

This goblin was so huge that it wouldn't be hard to mistake him as an Ogre. This was the target of the Hobgoblins terror and it was why they at least pretended to treat him and his kin fairly despite being so much stronger than them.

A Goblin King. A rare breed that had a one in a million chance of being born. He was the ruler and god of this island. None stood above him, all bowed beneath him.

The kings blood-red eyes peered at the intruder, at him. Without hesitation, the young goblin began detailing his report.

"Ikik! Kik! Gakhikikiii!"

The Goblin King smiled, showing his fang-like teeth. "Human... female? Hutututututu..."

The little goblin knew what the wicked smile meant. Only human females could breed Hobgoblin offspring, not like the pointy-eared elves who only sired his kind or the ones who thought themselves better than all other goblins.

The Goblin Mages.