CH 18

I unpack in the tent allocated to me.

“Good thing they gave me a tent for one.”

I say to Hipopo, who is here with me.

This tent is the second biggest one in the camp, next to Kalin’s. That alone makes it very clear how much she values me and how big her expectations are. It’s probably also a message to everyone else.

Having that said, the tent really is all that’s been provided to me. I don’t even have anything to cover the floor.

It’s just like Kalin to do this. She really knows me.

“Watch over it for a while longer.”

I say to Hipopo about the white lizard, that still hasn’t awakened.

“Alright, now it won’t get dirty.”

I say while finishing applying 《Purify》 to a carpet I prepared just for this. I spread it directly on the ground.

“Ah, it’s almost time. Thank you Hipopo.”

I take the white lizard from Hipopo, and place it on a cushion in the corner of the tent.

“《Activate》 《Return》 Hipopo. Good night.”

I send Hipopo back to the scroll, and look for another one.

“I haven’t used this a lot recently… Ah, here it is. 《Activate》 《Manifest》 rose.”

A rose appears in the corner of the room, taking root near the white lizard and growing big. It looks like a plant, but it’s actually a transmuted beast just like Hipopo.

“Rose, make a bed for the little lizard. A sturdy one.”

It responds to my command by stretching its vines and slipping them underneath the white lizard, before raising it vertically. Once the vines and the lizard reach the height of my waist, the vines start spreading out and taking a shape that resembles a cage. The complex mesh is exactly what I want.

“Thank you, that’s good. Next, the standard type on this tent.”

Rose shakes, signaling a positive response.

The vines start stretching throughout the whole tent. First they go below the carpet and lift it evenly, improving insulation and airflow. Then Rose’s vines begin making furniture.

A bed frame, a table and chairs, and a table for experiments.

I take out a thin mattress and place it on the bed frame, and cloths to put on the tables.

Rose is a transmuted beast I created when I was a student. It was really helpful when we went on fieldwork investigations and were away for a long time. It was so good that other students taking the same class, starting with Kalin, started hanging around too. It was annoying then, but now it’s a nice memory.

I keep working while reminiscing, and eventually Rose is done making everything I need. As I look around thinking that it’s looking nice, someone calls me from the outside.

“Master Rust, I brought a patient. Can we come inside?”

Says Ahri.

I’m about to really start my new job.