The next day, after saying goodbye to their family, Billy and Drew headed toward the town's western gate. A large number of soldiers were waiting for them there. Around two hundred… Drew went to talk with the other tribe leaders, and then Billy found his friends. However, he was forced to stop when he saw who was the leader of the elementalists mas the black-haired girl.
"You sure like to look at her," Natalie said.
"I am just surprised… aren't you considering that you are both at the same age?" Billy asked.
"What are you trying to imply?" Natalie frowned.
"What I mean is that it seems that they are short handed, since she never managed to wound me…" Billy said and frowned as well. "Geez… what is wrong with you? Why are you so angry this early in the morning?"
"Mind your own business," Natalie said and then turned around.
"What a difficult kid…" Billy muttered under his breath.
She was probably mad because the girl was the one who caused a lot of problems to Natalia back then, on the day of the attack. As usual, she had a short fuse since she couldn't let go of that grudge. Nevertheless, Alexander was forcing a smile, and Lily was shaking her head. That really was a group of troublesome kids, and yet, Billy couldn't leave them alone.
"What do you think, Billy?" Alexander asked. "This mission will be pretty exciting."
"You are the same as usual, huh," Billy said. "Regardless, what happened to your bow? We are going to an unknown area, you should have the means to fight at a distance if necessary."
"It will be fine, I will trust my teammates," Alexander said.
That was something Billy couldn't do. Leave kids to watch his back… that would be insanity. In any case, the group soon began to move without worrying about any formation. While most of the tribes were pretty much divided, there were some groups like Billy's… that probably was a tactic to make the members of the tribes interact with the others more.
In any case, the group passed through the forest that the redhead archers used to hunt on that very same day and continued to March in that same direction. Billy hadn't seen that because of the thick forest, but there weren't many mountains in that area. So, it was hard to imagine why such a large river would exist there.
The trip would last for two days, even at their best speed, so it was the first time Billy would camp out the town without worrying about enemy ambushes. While he thought that Natalie and Lily would camp closer to their tribes, they actually camped on the same spot as Billy and Alexander when the night came, and as usual, they began to train. Not magic, but their physical skills.
"We don't know what we will find in the next few days, so you should hold back on the physical training," Billy said while he was touching the ground.
Using just a small amount of mana, Billy could check the vibrations on the ground, but by using a little more, he actually could sense things around him and even below. Finding stones and ores was possible, but he had to focus, and he couldn't do it while walking since some vibrations could only be felt with his hands… probably because his boots were getting in the way.
"What are you doing now, Billy?" Alexander asked since he never saw Billy doing that.
"You will see," Billy replied.
By moving his mana below and without taking control over any amount of earth, Billy could look for things, but the range was limited due to the density of the ground. Even at his best, if he were to check the deepest part, his mana could only reach five meters of depth and only in a straight line. After doing some searching, Billy actually found something harder than stone, but the shape was weird…
Using Earth Manipulation, he made a hole without using any tool, and when the hole was deep enough, he controlled the ground below the object and made the thing move upward. Although he used the smallest amount of mana possible, Billy still used one-third of his mana. He needed to practice more… Nevertheless, even him frowned when he found a rusted spearhead. It was beyond repair. Appraisal didn't even show anything when used… but it was clear what it was.
"You really found that…" Lily frowned since it was scary how fast Billy learned new things.
"It was pretty deep underground… how did it reach that place?" Alexander asked.
Billy wasn't so sure either… it was buried three meters below, and even with the passage of time alone, it would take thousands of years for that kind of thing to be buried naturally. Billy didn't feel the presence of bones, so it was safe to assume that it hadn't been buried with anyone.
The others asked how Billy searched for things underground, but they didn't understand much. They were kids with sharp heads, but since the people around them never tried to do new things, their way of thinking and creative process was seriously lacking. Maybe the elementalists could understand, or they could do that already, but Billy had no reason to help them since they were that uncooperative.
In any case, treasure hunting was fun, and Billy was even training his magic, so he had no reason to stop using it.
Billy - Lv 57 - 5430/7200 EXP
HP: 143/143
MP: 327/327
SP: 161/161
Strength: 60
Speed: 53
Magic: 146
Endurance: 25
Dexterity: 29
Status Points: 90
Skills: Deadly Wind Lv 13, Steel Spear Lv 10, Light Spear Lv 07,
Spells:Mana/EXP conversion Lv ∞, Exp Master Lv ∞,, Analyze Lv 22, Appraisal Lv 9, Meditation Lv 23, Earth Manipulation Lv 18, Mana Infusion Lv 09, Water Manipulation Lv 06, Wind Manipulation Lv 04,
Passive: Language Skill Lv 45, Spearmanship Lv 30, Swordsmanship Lv 15, Archery Lv 25, Firing Speed Lv 13, Quick Spear Lv 07, Block Mastery Lv 01
Skill Points: 165
