Master Of None

"One more! Just look at that one right there. It's weird and has some spiral leaves too!" Remey knew that Walker might bite this time with the relation to the weeping oak and other herbs or plans he had checked out.

"It's just a spiraled spruce. They grow like that to get more sunlight. It doesn't have medicinal or potion uses." Walker had grown pretty tired of using the all around appraisal skill. He did have to admit that he was making great progress in other means though.

Since Walker had been forced to split his attention further from trying to gather mana without thinking too much since he wanted it to be instinctual, he was able to train his mind more. The all around appraisal skill, speaking, and focusing on his instincts all came together to help him pursue his goals.

The small changes that Walker had realized already was the ease to grasp at mana in general. He had already felt that his connection with mana had increased due to sensitivity, yet this was only a small part of it. The large aspect was that he could gather it faster than before when making it take the form of a skill.

Walker had already started to play with the water in the air idly to test this out. It easily formed a water ball which had already earned him the water ball skill. As specific as that was, he realized he couldn't do much with it other than gather the water in to a ball to use in other ways. He did see that it would be helpful elsewhere though.

Forming water in to a ball could be useful for farming, healing, and household matters. It made sense that it had come from the water maid system. Not that Walker had ever heard of a maid completely based around water affinity and skills. The world was always bigger than he seemed to understand.

The additional observation was that he could freeze that water or turn it to mist much faster now. Since before it would require a skill or take more time, Walker felt this to be a great thing. He could easily freeze the water faster and with less mana making his frost whip skill appear faster and slightly more powerful since he could push more mana in to the skill without it going out of his control.

"Walker, what are those fruits?" Gil, Alice, and Remey all asked at the same time. It was enough to completely take Walker's focus from other things. He even saw Midnight and Su showing interest. The only one that didn't seem to mind it was Onyx since he was asleep on Walker's shoulders. Alma was similar since she was distracted with communicating with the elves that had returned from scouting.

The spiky red and black fruit that they pointed out was hanging from a very tall tree. The leaves even looked like they had small spikes on them that would make them very unpleasant to touch. After spotting them too, Walker looked at the branches and bark only to find that they also had little spikes on it. The entire tree was slimy and sharp!

'Caltrop fruit

The caltrop fruit was named for the spikes used in war against cavalry, caltrops. It is known for the spikes it has that make the tree a massive pain for anything that wants to eat it or the fruits.

The inside is a surprisingly sweet and soft white meat while the outer spikes hide the seeds. When the fall the spikes shoot around on to the ground exposing the fruit.

The smell attracts animals and monsters that eat it and stomp the seeds in to the ground unintentionally. The fruit itself can be made in to extremely smooth and sweet wine.'

"Hmm, so it's supposed to be really sweet and good to eat but also makes wine. Let's get some." The idea of food attracted everyone's attention. Walker didn't have any reason not to try it.

"Just keep an eye out for monsters. There are definitely tracks around." Gil focused himself after hearing Walker's appraisal.

Alma had a close eye on things, she had been taking the role of communication since the other groups behind them would need to know every detail they could. The dangerous herbs and beneficial ones had already started to pay off. Finishing a fruit that might attract monsters but also feed them was great too. It came with some good and bad, but they needed a lot of food to feed their hefty pace of travel along the trails.

"I'll just use wind to cut them, don't try and catch them since they are spiky." Walker used his mana to channel the wind in to a small focused blade. It was much easier than even making a gust of wind now since he had gained the passive instinct release skill.

The little blades of wind shot out cutting ten fruits down in a few seconds. However, they were not prepared for when they hit the ground.

The thuds of ten fruits hitting the ground were followed by the cracking of the fruit skin. the next thing everyone knew, there were little spikes shooting in the air while the sweet fruity smell assaulted their nostrils. Naturally, midnight charges head on in and grabbed a fruit devouring it in the blink of an eye. Anyone could see that she was happier than all else with her new snack.

The others had shielded themselves with their hands and arms to block the spikes that had been shot up around all of them. They were all either covered in them, had pieces of fruit on them, or were looking around at the mess while Midnight was having her own feast.

"Now I see why these are a pain…" Remey thought that they smelled good but that they were clearly not going to be worth the trouble.

"They are awesome. I wonder why they explode like that!" Gil had other thoughts. He was very amused by the sudden explosion of fruit.

"Are you going to bring your mother back some seeds? I'm sure she would grow these!" Alma was right there supporting him while even grabbing a piece to try herself. From the expression she made, the sweet and smooth taste of the fruit was exactly to her liking. She even went as far to wave over two of the elven archers that had come to report to her. They made the same delighted expression when they tried the fruit. It was sure to become an elf's favorite when they returned to Genesis.

"Walker, you should store them away quickly, I can hear a few more of those gremlins around." The similar cackling and hissing that the gremlins had made the last time the group encountered them could be heard. That meant that the smells of these fruits spread very quickly.

"Done and done." Walker sent a few more wind blades up to cut the fruits down while also cushioning their falls with wind. This time they did not fall and explode. They were perfectly fine to save for another time. Midnight had even gathered a pile of spikes so that the seed could be brought back. It was very clear to everyone that they had made the top of the snack list other than the roasted horned rabbits.

"We don't need to worry about leaving now, we managed to attract a new monster." Gil found the movement in the corner of his eye. It was keeping away while looking at the fruits on the ground.

'Scaled bear

The scaled bear has a very minimal dragon bloodline while having a major forest bear bloodline. It is usually wary of other monsters and prefers solitude. It is rare for it to attack anyone or anything making it a beloved monster around small forest villages. It is considered a guardian monster to some smaller villages.

The scales that grow on their body are tough but not tough enough to be used for armor. That makes them less hunted. Surprisingly, they have been known to help lost children get back home when lost in the woods. This has made many fairytales to be created about them. Some even believe that they are the kindness monster in existence.'

"Oh, go offer it some fruit. They are docile monsters." Walker smiled and pointed at Gil and Alma. The entire group gave him a confused expression until the scaled bear slowly crept up trying to steal some fruit that had fallen a few feet away. After that, they all understood that the scaled bear was a herbivore that just wanted some snacks too. It also made Midnight very interested since it had scales and enjoyed fruit like her. This was also one of the first monsters with dragon blood, however weak, that they had encountered.

….

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