The Survival of the Third-rate Villain

Me, Zephyrus, and Pyro continued traveling.

Oh, and Pyro was still merged with [Celestria].

See, the spell [Fuse] takes a huge amount of mana from the both of us to activate.

So whenever we do use it—

We don't cancel the spell right away.

Why?

Because once it's active, it doesn't drain any more mana, unless I attack or cast something.

So Pyro can chill inside [Celestria] for as long as he wants.

We just both need to have enough mana at the start to sustain the merge.

Anyway—

"Have you seen something?"

I asked.

-Nope, nothing near us.

Then Zephyrus replied, perched casually on my right shoulder.

Right now, the two of us were scanning for a good place to set up camp.

After all—

We're in a forest-type dungeon.

That means monsters are hiding everywhere.

And we can't just build a camp anywhere we feel like.

Pick the wrong spot, and we'll wake up as a monster's midnight snack.

'We need a safe zone.'

I thought, narrowing my eyes as we kept moving.

Meanwhile—

SWAAHHHHH—

The fire inside my gun flared suddenly.

It was Pyro—trying to communicate with us.

This was his new way of "chirping."

And somehow—

'I can still understand him.'

He just wished us good luck with the search.

"Thanks, Pyro. We definitely need it."

I mumbled, smiling slightly.

SWAAAAAH~

The flames flickered again, more playful this time.

Pyro was happy.

*****

A few hours passed by—

Zephyrus and I continued our search.

Walking.

Scouting.

Stopping every now and then to rest or rethink our path.

And, of course—

We ran into monsters on our way.

I avoided fighting when I could.

After all, we still hadn't found a base.

Wasting stamina for unnecessary battles when we don't even have a safe place to recover?

That's just stupid.

But now—

-GRAAAAAHHHH!!!

A Glimmerfang Basilisk lunged out from a bush, trying to ambush me.

I can't avoid fighting it.

Though—

-Yeah, that one had been following us for a while now.

Zephyrus had sensed its presence long ago.

He'd already let me know.

So, calmly—

"What a stalker."

I muttered.

Fwip—

I raised my gun.

PSH!

And fired.

THUD!

The basilisk's body collapsed, a clean hole through its head.

It was dead.

-Nice shot. Your accuracy's getting better and better.

Zephyrus complimented, still resting on my shoulder.

With a casual shrug, I responded—

"Well yeah, that one was easy."

SWAAAHHHH~

Pyro agreed, the flames in my gun dancing proudly.

Then, I narrowed my eyes slightly and said—

"Anyway… the number of monsters we're running into is decreasing."

-Yeah, this guy was alone too... These types usually travel in packs of three to five.

Zephyrus replied, his small head nodding thoughtfully.

And at that moment—

We both had the same realization.

"We're getting close to the safe zone…"

I mumbled.

"A place where we can finally set up camp and build a base."

-Yeah, I think so too.

Zephyrus and I exchanged hopeful looks.

We were excited.

Honestly, I was exhausted.

I just want to set up the tent and lie down already.

And from the way Zephyrus stayed quiet, and how Pyro's flames pulsed calmly—

I could tell that they were feeling the same.

So, without wasting another second—

Tap— tap— tap—

We kept moving, heading deeper into the forest.

'If only Leon didn't find the safe zone in a damn cutscene in the game… We wouldn't have to wander around so aimlessly.'

I grumbled mentally, letting out a frustrated sigh.

*****

We delved deeper into the forest dungeon.

And except from the last one that I killed—

"We have encountered no monsters so far."

I muttered, disbelief was apparent in my voice.

"Any monsters around us?"

I asked Zephyrus.

And shaking his head—

-None, all clear.

He answered.

He looks pretty shocked too that there's nothing.

"..."

-...

The two of us silently looked at each other.

And then—

"Hah..."

-Heh...

We smiled.

"Let's set up the base here."

I suggested.

-Alright, I have no issue about that.

Zephyrus replied.

And with that—

FWOOOSH—

I took out all of the camping equipment from my spatial ring storage.

THUD!

They fell onto the ground loudly, but they're durable so it's fine.

"Pyro, you can cancel the spell now."

I said, looking at my gun.

And after that—

SWAAAAHHHH—

The flames burned brightly.

Then—

POOF!

-Meep!

Pyro appeared and the gun returned to its previous appearance.

-Meep! Meep! Meep!

Pyro was excited that he could fly around again.

"Sorry for trapping you in here."

I said, pertaining to [Celestria].

Fwoosh—

I transformed it back into a ring and made it slither on my left hand index finger.

-Meep!

Pyro said it was fine and that he's just happy he could help.

"..."

I swear he's just the sweetest kid I know.

"Thank you, Pyro."

I said to him.

Then—

-Hey, let's start... I want to rest.

Zephyrus suddenly said that.

"Yeah, I agree... let's start before it gets dark."

I followed.

-Meep!

Zephyrus too.

And with that—

We started setting up the camp.

...

...

...

Because we only need to set up one big tent to share—

"We're all done."

-Finally...

-Meep!

It only took us half an hour to finish doing it and starting a camp fire.

Pyro was controlling the fire and Zephyrus was controlling the smoke so we won't give out our location to monsters.

And now that we have a base—

"I'll cook dinner now, it's getting dark."

It's time to replenish our stamina.

The pink sky is turning crimson red now, getting dark...

It's an indication that the day is coming to an end.

During this time of the day, some of the monsters get more active and stronger.

But most of them go to sleep.

So it's safe to say that this is the perfect time to rest too.

'The three of us wasn't able to eat lunch... I'll just cook more for our dinner.'

I thought.

I was roasting deer meats.

Kyle gave it to us.

He actually gave us a lot of meat before we left. It was enough to last for a while.

'Maybe a week or so.'

Because of that, we wouldn't need to worry about hunting for food right now.

-Mhm, is it done yet?

Zephyrus asked.

-Meep?

Pyro added.

They're both behind me, inside the tent.

And without glancing at them—

"Hmm, it'll be done soon."

I just said that.

-Grrrrowl...?

Then I received a weird reply.

"What was that Zephyrus?"

I asked, still cooking.

-Hmm? I'm controlling the smoke from here. Do you need something?

He asked back.

'Hmm, is it not him that replied?'

"Pyro?"

I called.

-Meep?

Then he answered.

'Ah, right... He could only say meep.'

So—

If it's not Pyro and Zephyrus that I heard...

'Who was it?'

I asked in my head.

Then—

"!!!"

My eyes quickly widened in panic!

Fwish—

I turned my head back—

And there, behind the tent—

"For fuck's sake... Let us eat first, at least..."

I saw a massive gorilla covered in glittering moss—towering about 10-meters-tall!

I recognize it—

It was a Glittermaw Ape!

One of the mini bosses of this dungeon!