READ WEBNOVEL Chapter 62 – Resurfacing
After regaining their strength and replenishing their mana, the Misfits were looking for a way to get out of the deep cavern they were in. At first, they looked at the lava river, watching it come and go from a hole in the wall, but they had no idea how to follow it. Or how to cross it to the other end, where there were multiple man-sized holes they could try and go through. As they were thinking about it, the orange river churned, and a green head popped out of it unexpectedly. Looking at the lizard, the group prepared for battle, especially Aurora, recognizing its features. Yet the tail-less salamander hurriedly climbed out, yelping, sounding panicky as it scampered towards them, heading straight for Ceiline.
"Wait!" She raised her hand, stopping Aurora from moving in and killing it. She already noticed the weirdness in its eyes as it rushed straight to her, hiding behind Ceiline's back, looking out towards the lava, trying to catch its breath.
A second later, four new heads emerged, like periscopes, scanning the battlefield, noticing their green brethren and the many corpses around the Misfits. Sticking their forked tounges out a few times, communicating between themselves, they sank back down, disappearing from sight in the end.
"What is happening?" Keily asked, watching the Jade Salamander, ready for battle.
"Beats me," Lia whispered, looking on curiously, unafraid of their new guest.
"I think he was chased by the survivors. They probably are blaming him for the death of their king." Ceiline murmured, turning around, and looking at the green salamander, reaching up to her waistline.
As if it understood her, it started nodding its head vehemently.
"Sure." Sion rolled his eyes, but Raufon was crossing his arms, thinking.
"I can see that. Magical beasts are not that far away from my kind!" He reminded Sion with a quick glance.
"And there is Cici!" Lia and Keily added in sync. "She is a talking cat, and she said back in the days, there were many more like them!"
"Well, this little one is not yet capable of complex thinking," Ceiline whispered, crouching down, yet her words made the salamander chitter-chatter in protest like a parrot. "Okay, okay, you may be smarter than the rest, Stumpy!" She chuckled, patting its head, and to their surprise, it closed its eyes, pressing its head against Ceiline's clawed hands.
"Stumpy?" Koa chuckled, watching them, coming closer and petting it bravely.
"Well, he does miss a tail!" Ceiline pointed it out, and after her words, Stumpy looked grumpily at Aurora… but not for long, as seeing her violet eyes flash, Stumpy shuddered, averting his gaze.
"It is good to make friends!" Lia walked close, slapping the lizard's back with such force it yelped out, his legs giving way, landing on its stomach. "Just don't think of betraying us, ahahahahaha!" She laughed loudly, and with such a tone, Stumpy felt he was being prepared for her next meal. "For starters, you can show us a way to the surface!"
As if being pardoned, Stumpy nodded its head continually, scurrying forward, glancing back at them after every second step. He was going at a small hole, barely big enough for them to climb into on all fours.
"Does that lead to the surface?" Sion asked, suspicious of its intentions. "It would be hard to fight in a confined place like that."
"I will test it!" Keily said, stepping forward bravely. "I am going to follow Stumpy and see where it leads us! If it is safe, you can come after me!"
"Are you sure?" Aurora asked, writing in the air, and seeing him nod, she smiled at him approvingly.
When the salamander disappeared in the dark hole, Keily climbed after it without hesitation, and a moment later, both were gone from their sight. Lia was already projecting a map from her bracelet that was tracking Keily and drawing a line in real-time as he was advancing forward. It took him a quarter of an hour to stop and send a message through the system.
"It is all good, Boss! I am back out! I am somewhere on the side of the mountains! It is already night!"
"Good!" Lia chuckled, writing back, "Stay alert; we are coming!" She added, lowering her hand and going after him.
"I… Can… Can I fit?" Raufon asked, watching them go one by one, looking at Koadriana with an unsure look.
"Ahaha, worry not! Go before me; if it comes to it, I'll lubricate you and push you from behind, big boy!" She replied, winking at him.
"Just… don't push at weird parts… okay?"
"No promises!"
…
….
……
After getting back to the surface and climbing down from the side of the mountain, finding a big enough place to camp, to their surprise, Stumpy was still following them. Or, more precisely, he was following Ceiline. After the tents were up, they gathered around a bonfire made by Lia; Koa was starting to cook and soon sprinkling spice onto the juicy, big slab of meat, slowly rotating above the fire.
"This one is almost ready!" She said happily while Raufon was preparing the second one, putting it on a stick so they could cook it too.
"I never took you as someone who is good with food!" Sion joked, receiving a sidelong stare from her.
"Believe it or not, I know how to catch a guy! Cooking for him is one way to do it besides stripping." Koa answered blandly.
"Cooking and stripping… noted…." Lia murmured, nodding thoughtfully.
"Cooking should be enough," Aurora added, nudging her little sister.
"Not always!" Koa countered, lifting the meat off the fire, and with a move of her finger, she sliced it apart, making the mouth-watering dinner fall onto their simple plates. "Hey!" She raised her voice, watching Stumpy stick its head between Ceiline and Raufon, opening its mouth and waiting for his part.
"Ahaha… here!" Ceiline chuckled, giving it hers, "I'll wait for the next one!"
"You are already spoiling him!" Raufon mumbled, stuffing his mouth full, looking down at Stumpy. "Are you really keeping him?"
"Why not?" Ceiline answered. "He is not hurting anybody, and he looks fairly young. A year-old at maximum! The lava burnt his stump; his tail won't regrow, which could land him in trouble with the other salamanders."
"You are easily trusting," Aurora warned her, watching the salamander, who ignored her gaze, lying down beside Ceiline, resting its big head in her lap, enjoying the scratches from her clawed hands.
"I am good with plants and animals!" Ceiline smiled, "I can tell what they feel and what they think. Stumpy is not a bad salamander! And he was blamed for what we did!"
"By the way!" Sion interjected, finishing his part of the meat, licking his lips while watching the newly cooking one, "Do we have info about the other groups?"
"I checked!" Keily replied, "Our newly elected Misfits of Metal finished the quickest! It was led by a 3rd-year student named Novac."
"I know of him." Sion nodded, "He is a serious guy who is upright to a fault! If I remember correctly, he was offered the role of becoming part of the disciplinary committee but refused so he could sign up for our group instead. He is blunt like a log."
"Ehehe, he already reminds me of Solren!" Lia giggled, listening to him mischievously, stealing a slab of meat from Keily's plate when he wasn't looking.
"The other," the bunny boy continued reading, unaware of her quick fingers, "was the Misfits of Nature, led by a girl named Xin from our year! They captured a handful of them alive and turned them over to the Academy, earning extra points for us! Finally, the Misfits of Air are still doing their task, but reportedly… they did run into trouble."
"What kind of trouble?" Lia asked, her mouth full of Keily's meat, who didn't even notice the thievery.
"They couldn't produce any corpse." He said, gently twitching his mouth, looking up from the report, "Their leader, Sadamo is also our classmate. They already sent word back that they have slain a dozen salamanders… but all of them went up in flames, leaving nothing behind to prove it."
"Pft…" Sion stifled a laugh, hearing him.
"Ahahaha, tell them to not worry about it!" Lia laughed, licking her fingers clean, acting as if nothing had happened, especially when Keily yelled out.
"Hey?! Where did my dinner go?!"
"Here~!" Koa stood up, slicing from the new and ready meat, giving her an extra portion. "Never relax at a table with us~!"
"T-thanks…" He murmured, looking grumpily at Lia, who was humming with a satisfied look, suckling on her fingertips.
"Well, at least we are going to be a fully-fledged group by the time we are back!" Raufon stretched, producing wine from his holding bag, downing it in one go. "Ahhh, this is true life! We should go out like this more!"
"You can come with me if you like! I need some samples from the Island anyway. I want to improve my plants!" Ceiline said, quickly offering it as it would be much easier to do that with the correct help, "The poor little ones I brought with me have been burnt away so quickly… it hurt to watch!"
"Sure!" Raufon agreed readily, "I can also bring along my guys and help you out! Moving earth and digging is a great exercise!"
"Let's talk about 'work' later!" Koa groaned, "We just finished it! Let's talk about different things! Fun things! So, Raufon! How big is yours?"
"..."
"..."
"..."
"What?" Koa asked, looking at their weird faces.
"Koa!" Lia raised her hand, and when their eyes met, she asked bluntly, "You asked about his penis? About its size?"
"Sure I did." She nodded resolutely.
"Okie-dokie!" Lia clapped, happy to make it clear because she was unsure.
"..."
"..."
"..."
"Why is nobody saying anything?" Keily spoke up, breaking the silence with a red face, "Or… Do you really want to know about Raufon's… thingy?"
"Exactly!" The man in question recovered, "What type of question is that?!"
"I was curious because you are big and muscly. Plus, I never saw a beast folk's schlong! Is it like a human's? Or more animal-like? How's the tip? What shape does it have? Is it red? Pink? Purple?"
"Aaaaaaand, stop!" Aurora stood up, writing out the letters with a glowing, violet light. "Speak about something else!"
"I second this!" Raufon snorted, surprisingly shy for some reason.
"Y-yeah…" Ceiline murmured, focusing on scratching the sleeping Stumpy's head.
"Ehh… you guys are no fun!" Koa pursed her lips, starting to sulk.
"Well, for one, I also agree with Aurora. Guys' sizes are not to be asked! Just as we don't ask for your three sizes!"
"I don't know them!" Koa grinned, sticking her chest out, "Come, grab it! You can start measuring them first-hand! Start here!"
"Did you put something into the spice?" Aurora wrote again, checking the meat, but it was fine.
"Come on! We can have a little fun! An afterparty, celebrating a good day's worth of work! You can stand in line, and I-" but she couldn't finish as black tentacles strapped around her mouth, silencing her.
"Go to sleep. You are drunk. Or something!" Aurora wrote, standing up and dragging her away, literally. After stuffing her into her tent, she went ahead, joining her, looking out one last time before pulling the zipper down. "I'll keep you safe from her. Good night."
"Thanks…" Raufon nodded, letting out a stifled breath, watching them disappear.
"Hey, Lia…" Sion turned towards her, watching Lia produce ice cream from her holding bag, having a dessert for herself.
"Mmmh? Want some?" She offered up the piece she was licking and sucking prior.
"N-no, thanks! I was about to ask, is Aurora into girls?"
"Huh?" She blinked her mismatched eyes, then began thinking, tilting her head back and forth. "I don't think so! But she never had a boyfriend. Or girlfriend! Why? Are you interested in her?"
At her question, the others also leaned in, listening, and Keily was making sure Lia could not steal more meat from his plate.
"Hm? Well, she has a great figure… but I am more interested in her experience against the Undead. I was just imagining if she could restrain Koa… or does she enjoy that part the most? Tying others up... whipping them. Maybe."
"Maybe there WAS something in the spice…." Ceiline murmured before laughing with the rest. Masking the fact that they now honestly thought Koa put something into it.
Not long after, they also retreated to their tent, Lia sharing her own with Keily. Climbing into it, it was much bigger and more comfortable than from the outside as it was enchanted by Opparu. They had ample space, a soft floor with fluffy rugs, and their own little fireplace.
"It is nice to have treasures like this!" Keily yawned, climbing onto his small bed and stretching happily with a full stomach.
"Teehee~! Isn't it?" Lia grinned, watching him, "Sleepy?"
"Um…" He nodded, stifling a yawn.
"No meditation?"
"I…"
"Ahaha, I'm joking! Rest!" She said, sitting down, watching him fall asleep almost as soon as he laid his head on his pillow. On the other hand, Lia crossed her legs, got into a comfortable position, and started to meditate, quickly falling into a unique state.
Opening her eyes, she found herself before her incorporeal, giant form, sitting crossed-legged, circulating her mana. It was different from before; when doing so, focusing on its flow, going from energy point to energy point, she could see it be a stream of blue and red fire. They were twirling against each other but yet to mix thoroughly.
"Still… my original, crimson fire is more abundant…." She murmured, crossing her arms and scratching her chin. "But since reading my book and now starting to take lessons… it begins to mix!" Lia grinned happily, feeling she was getting close to unlocking how to wield it properly. "Warmth must be found in the Coldness…." She whispered, quoting it. "I understand the warmth part… but the coldness is still eluding me. Maybe if I understand water magic better, I can start controlling it!" She sighed, not wanting to rush it.
Her incorporeal form slowly disappeared as she focused, replaced by a bright, crimson-colored flame silently burning before her. Remembering the battle with the salamanders, soon other types of fire appeared, coming from Lia's memory; green, golden, and finally, her own bluish one.
"The different fires…." She murmured, imagining those she saw in the office of Zorgan, making them also appear before her spiritual form. As they were not real, only a projection of her memory, they produced no heat, not until she started focusing on them individually. "How many exist? I need to look into it more…." She thought, her eyes landing on the image of her blue flames, smiling, feeling proud that she managed to wield it, even if she couldn't fully control it.
