After using Flash for a while, those two reached one of the forests on the far western side of the state and the continent. So, it was pretty close to the ocean. Thus the ambient was pretty cold… Come to think of it, Billy recalled that water spirits were hard to find since they lived in lakes and the ocean. Most people couldn't look for them for long periods of time underwater, after all.
"This place is quite windy, but I can't see any traces of wind spirits," Billy said. "As expected, trying to find them on the first day would be too much."
"Are you giving up? That isn't like you at all," Natalie said.
"You must understand that we left our kids and the others nearby…" Billy said and then sighed.
Billy wasn't in desperate need of the help of the spirits. Still, it would be nice to be able to cause more elemental damage without having to worry about the cost of mana. In any case, when Billy was about to turn around, he saw something shining in the ocean. At first, he thought it was the moon's reflection, but that wasn't the case. Billy also wondered if Uvish was reading his mind and prepared another trap. He was annoying to no end, after all…
When Billy approached to check things, he saw some vestiges of a water spirit in the distance. It seemed that he got lucky, but he couldn't help but feel a bit suspicious about it. The timing was just too good, after all.
"Can you stay behind and watch my back in case something happens?" Billy asked.
"We have our armors here. We will be fine underwater," Natalie said.
"Being overconfident is forbidden… all right, but you should keep a distance from me, just in case," Billy said.
Natalie nodded, and then both of them jumped into the ocean. Billy didn't bring any flashlights with him, but they could see things pretty well, even in the ocean at night. Moreover, he could check anything as he approached, thanks to Mana Dominion. After swimming for a while, they found what seemed to be the remains of some boats. It was weird… that state didn't use the ocean to travel. Still, Billy knew that things five hundred years ago could be different.
Eventually, Billy managed to find the spirit again, and he saw the creature swimming around some sort of coral reef that had some boxes in it… it was crazy that they managed to last that long underwater. Regardless, the spirit had the shape of a small fish since animals could easily feel their presence and see them… They used to change their appearances like that, and the bigger they were, the stronger the spirits became. Sometimes they evolve, given time, and grant their masters new powers, but that wasn't the case.
Billy approached the spirit gently and then tried to touch it. That was another thing that tribesmen had to deal with. Aside from finding the spirits, they had to convince them to work with them. Usually, just being nice to nature would be enough to get their cooperation, and since Billy never burned any trees or destroyed the environment with evil intent, the spirit entered his body.
Billy approached the boxes and then froze them with ice in order not to let them break while he transported them. After that, they left the ocean.
"I felt the presence of something, and then your aura changed a bit. I guess I can't see those things," Natalie said. "Anyway, what is that? Some sort of treasure?"
"It might be," Billy replied while he was opening the boxes. "Spirits like to stay in places that usually have high concentrations of mana, after all."
When Billy opened the boxes, he found some gold spheres that were identical to the ones he got in the last. One at the bottom of a lake and the other from the tournament. He didn't remember seeing in Uvish memories a reincarnated individual that could make or control gold, but they certainly existed. The fact that the gold attracted the spirit was proof of that.
While Billy didn't need any more money, now he would be able to make his clones eat more pills without making him feel guilty. Still, instead of thinking about that, Billy wondered if he could use the same thing to attract other spirits. Still, Uvish might get in the way if he leaves such things in places away from his home.
"The spirits don't stay close to places that have a lot of people. I guess I will have to make some other base, one that isn't underground, to lure them," Billy thought.
Billy heard that most tribesmen only had one spirit to help them. Luso and Totaic were exceptions, and they only had three… Billy wanted to obtain all of them and see what they had to know about the world. Totaic mentioned some stories that some spirits could talk with their masters, but they had to be really old…
"I guess this is enough for today," Billy said.
"Wait, can't you at least show me what that can do?" Natalie asked.
" I suppose so…" Billy said while scratching the back of his head.
It would be weird to target a tree just to test his abilities after getting another spirit, so Billy decided to aim at a random rock at the beast. He didn't do much aside from swinging his blade toward it, but even from a distance, the shockwave pierced the rock in two, and it also froze the borders of the cut-in-half rock.
"Not bad, I guess… Kate, Sarah, and Lily would benefit a lot from this skill if they could have the chance to learn it," Natalie said.
"You and Alexander as well, the earth spirit can make your bodies stronger and more durable," Billy said. "Totaic showed that before, but I have to find a way to teach this first… well, let's return."
