Chapter 147

147 Find your pets, please! part Almost a full month had passed since Ryu saw the amarok or Mochi for the last time, they were supposed to be nearby but whenever he attempted to use sense presence he rapidly lost his focus and got a headache just like the first time.

Most skills would be enhanced the more they were used, but it seemed to be the opposite with this one. Learning it was easy enough, it simply popped in and that was it. Mastering it was a difficult process that took him a lot of effort and practice, he spent long hours practicing it with Sera whenever they went for gathering quests.

But now, it was as if the skill was rapidly decreasing it’s effectiveness and it became almost impossible to control. That’s why Ryu decided to go out to look for his pets before he lost the skill completely.

He asked Bardun to help him track his pets, but it was useless. Goblins were exceptional at hiding, not so much at tracking beasts. It didn’t mean that it was easy to get past them, but the amarok had such an acute sense of smell it would be nearly impossible to catch him off guard.

Even the first time Ryu caught him, it was only possible thanks to the combined effort he made with Anne and even then, despite Anne’s unnatural stats, it was a difficult task that costed them a lot of effort and time.

Now he was by himself and his only advantage was that as soon as the amarok detected him, he would run towards his master like usual.

Ryu had been enjoying his stay at the goblin village, at least a lot more than he did at Celarent. Here not only people didn’t think of him as their inferior, but he was almost revered by the inhabitants.

His words were taken as law, they would shower him with gifts on a daily basis and they all helped him in any task he wanted. He didn’t even have to ask, in fact, most of the times goblins would simply walk in and lend a hand, even if Ryu didn’t want them to.

It was only thanks to the goblin’s help that Ryu was able to craft almost a full attire with the megalania leather. Thankfully, he figured out that the creature’s fangs were the same rank as its leather and he used one of them to punch holes into it.

.....

Now he was wearing gloves, pants, boots and a cloak all brand new. He was able to copy the same design from the pants he was already wearing and he did the same with the boots, but sadly he didn’t know how to make a shirt and didn’t have any sort of mold to copy so his torso was almost uncovered.

While his new outfit did look fashionable, he didn’t really care that much about that, what really excited Ryu was the defensive capabilities that undoubtedly better than those of a steel armor.

The black leather was soft to the touch and somewhat elastic and after the tanning process it became really difficult to pierce or cut, but most importantly, it was almost invulnerable against blunt or abrassive damage.

“Master you’re forgetting your rucksack!”

Mia handed Ryu a black leather rucksack she made for him with a leftover piece of leather she picked from the ground secretly. It’s design was rather simple, but it costed her a great deal of effort and pain. She poked and pricked her fingers so many times while crafting it she lost count and simply kept going until she finished it.

“Uhm, thanks Mia! I can’t go out without my provisions!”

A smile dawned on Mia’s face as she handed Ryu his new rucksack, but it was actually so small he could barely fit in rations for a couple days, thankfully with all his acquired experience on the wilderness he was quite confident in his ability to survive by himself.

Besides, the forest was goblin’s territory and it shouldn’t be too difficult for him to find a friendly little helper on the way.

Before leaving,Ryu kissed Mia softly on the lips. Despite what it looked like, it wasn’t a romantic gesture, it was simply a safety measure in case he didn’t come back soon enough. As much as he wanted to keep Mia out of his pants, he couldn’t let her starve and they agreed that kissing on the lips wasn’t that dangerous for either of them, so they built an habit of kissing at least three times a day. When they woke up, when they went to bed and also when he came back home.

Ryu took off at a frightening speed and Mia was left with a flushed face as she waved at him saying goodbye in a lovely fashion.

Judging by Ryu’s speed, he could reach Celarent within the day, but he couldn’t afford to go back there until Sera came back. He knew nothing about her current situation and the danger she was facing, instead, he thought she was simply being delayed by Luke who wanted to date her or something of the sorts.

A month was a long period for Ryu, but it wasn’t that long for regular people. At least not for Rina, who apparently moved on very quickly after dumping him. This sort of thoughts invaded Ryu whenever he was alone, and now he was venturing into the wild on his own again.

As much as he hated being alone, no one could keep his pace or help him in his current endeavor, not even Athela who was actually a dual class adventurer.

The first couple days after leaving the goblin village were the hardest for him, not only he didn’t find any tracks to follow, he also found himself alone with his thoughts at night, sleeping on top of trees like he did back when he met the heroes.

Everything was coming back to him, only this time it wasn’t a nostalgic feeling, but a remorseful self hate that was born after second guessing his every choice.

‘What if I had stayed at Ironwoods? would I still be with Rina?’ of course not, the curse would have killed him. ‘What if I went back as soon as I got my soulbound card?’ Then it wasn’t certain he would have found out how to deactivate his passive skills.

So many thoughts traversed his mind in such a short period of time, it was as if he was a completely different person. But that wasn’t it, he was actually just learning to know himself.

Every day he spent with his friends was another day he had to put on a mask of strength and wisdom, despite being the weakest of them all for so long everyone relied on him for everything. From basic chores to life threatening desisions.

The quiet of the goblin’s forest was the perfect place to get to know himself. There wasn’t a single animal sound in the distance because goblins made quick work of everything they found, even insects, and unfortunately even fruits.

By the fourth night he was out of food and was considering going back to the goblin’s village, when he finally found something that could be considered a hint on his pet’s location.

He didn’t find any tracks, which somewhat relieved him because it meant they at least were able to hide them to be safe. What he found was some of Mochi’s fur lying around in a comfy spot in a clearing.

Why didn’t he start looking in those kinds of places? of course Mochi would find a comfortable place were he could sleep and be lazy.

Ryu couldn’t do something as convenient as picking up the scent from the fur Mochi shed, but there was something else he could do now that he was in the outskirts of the goblin territory. He nimbly jumped on top of a low tree branch and used it as a step to jump even higher. Hanging on with both hands on other branch he lifted himself until he was at the treetop.

He couldn’t see that far away, all he could see was nothing but trees. What he could do, though, was activate his sense presence skill to the top of it’s capacity. He knew there would be a price to pay in pain, but that was his only useful skill for tracking and he was willing to endure it for his pet’s sake. For Ryu they were the closest thing he had to a family of his own.

He sat on the branch and attempted to focus, but it was useless. It was as if the skil wasn’t being activated at all. Still, Ryu wasn’t the kind of person that would surrender after the first try.

He then remembered how natural it felt when he used the single strike skill and tried to replicate it.

He started by releasing energy in vasts amounts and then noticed how it was easier to manipulate the energy once it left his body, of course he wouldn’t be able to re absorb it, but at this point all he cared about was finding his pets as soon as possible. Blue energy was being released in a constant stream from his body, it looked almost like steam but instead of rising to the skies, it accumulated until it enveloped him completely.

His self awareness diminished, but at the same time his senses were heightened and he was able to quickly find them, or at least the general direction where they were. And, despite not being able to see them, he could have sworn the amarok turned back to see him.

The amarok and Mochi were moving fast and by the looks of it, it seemed as if they were running away from something and then it hit him.

His beloved pets were running away from him!