CH110

Ben was sitting out at the front of Falk’s shop, waiting for everyone else to arrive. They had agreed to meet up there early in the morning before heading off, but he still got there hours before anyone else would to try and get a few things done while he could.

He’d already packed everything he thought he would need just the night before, many of which were the same things he’d packed for the trial. He had his jacket, his barrier gauntlet, sleeping rolls for both himself and Thera, as well as a couple staves packed away for her. The main difference was the presence of a first aid kit, as well as a proper tent to sleep in. Though his friend Steph had an advanced form of life magic he wasn’t going to take any chances with his safety again, even if it might seem like overkill.

Finally, on top of a hammer and a knife, Ben made sure to bring a charm enchanted bear trap he’d made in the early hours of the morning. Usually, he’d make them so that it would require a sufficient weight to set them off, but he’d lowered that threshold considerably with these ones as well as reducing its crushing force. It wasn’t for use against any demons they might encounter though, as Will and Steph were going out to get experience for fighting them in the future he couldn’t go lowering the challenge for them by capturing it, they needed the full experience.

No, the trap was for his own training. He didn’t want to go to the effort of fighting whatever small animal he needed to in a fair situation, he wasn’t a warrior and that seemed like a fast way to getting himself injured. He would get the hammer and knife wielder skills as safely as he could to improve his crafting and then be done with them.

As he was inspecting the hammer and knife he would be using for weapons in front of the shop, Thera was the first to show up.

“Did you get everything you needed done?” She asked him as she arrived.

“Yeah, it was all pretty quick. How about you, feeling ready for the day?”

“Mmh, for all I’ve heard about demons this will be my first time seeing one. Honestly, I’m a little worried about how things will go,” She said, seeming a bit off.

“It doesn’t sound like there will be many, and even if you, Will, and Steph struggle then there’s still Wedrow so it’ll probably be fine, unless there’s something else you’re worried about?” He asked, having a decent idea of what was actually bothering her. Demons after all were just another monster to hunt, at least while they existed in such low numbers on the world. Interpersonal relations were a whole other matter.

“I guess I’m just worried about how the week will go is all,” She told him. “You’re the only one I’ve had any luck hunting with. I understand why uncle wants me to have this opportunity, I just think it’s going to be awkward.”

“It might,” He conceded. “Sorry my friends didn’t make the best impression, I’ll try and keep things positive while we’re out there.”

“It’s alright, it’s not like I don’t understand why they were worried about you. Besides, I’ve dealt with this plenty in the past. I can handle a bad week if it happens, and I don’t want to get in the way of friends you haven’t seen in so long.”

He reached out and took her hand. “Well don’t forget you’re my friend too. I don’t think there’ll be any problems since I explained things to them but if there is I’ll set them straight, don’t worry.”

“We interrupting something?” Will yelled out to him as he, Steph, and Wedrow arrived at the shop.

“Just chatting while we wait,” He called back, dropping Theras hand as he did.

Despite the fact that the worm-like Wedrow didn’t seem to have eyes, he appeared to be looking at them all appraisingly.

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“All of you just remember this is a training exercise to prepare for the coming war. I don’t intend to put up with whatever mating behaviour your species participates in.”

“I already told you our engagement is a sham, you don’t need to worry about anything like that,” Ben told the giant worm, who still seemed to give off a lack of faith as he floated in front of him. “Anyway, since you’re Steph’s spacial magic teacher are you going to whisk us away to our destination, or should I expect something a bit less magical?”