“Jurot says you’re stronger now,” Jaygak accused, shaking Adam’s forearm.

  “I am,” Adam replied.

  Jaygak sighed, her eyes falling to the baby. “Another child of yours?”

  “Something like that.”

  “Yrandfather is going to be happy.”

  “Whose my grandfather?” Adam huffed in reply. He settled with the rest of the group, crossing his arms. “So, we probably haven’t split too far if we all got grouped together like this?”

  “Or they are oher side of the p,” Jaygak said.

  “Really?”

  “It could be the case.”

  Adam sighed. He go Bell, w if he had anything he could do in this situation. As he stared at Bell, the baby turned white, dispying his various abilities on his stomabsp;

  “Hmm?” Adam blinked. “Wait. What?” Adam leaned in to stare at the baby’s stomach.

  “What are you looking at?” Jaygak asked. ‘Is he into stomachs? Is that why he always blows against the children’s stomachs?’

  Adam reached for his axe and held out his hand. “Aren’t you hungry?” As he ted the words, berries formed within his hand, dropping to the earth around him. “I’ve got all my spells prepared.”

  “All your spells?” Jaygak asked. “You mean those which you know?”

  “Apparently so.”

  Jaygak blinked. It was already ridiculous enough that Adam’s spells seemed to be cheaper to cast in terms of the raw magic required, but he also had access to every spell? That was…

  ‘Crazy!’ Jaygak’s heart cried, causio sigh. ‘How could he…’

  Jaygak stood up, her eyes wide. She caught Kitool’s eyes with her own, and it took her panion a moment to uand what was going through Jaygak’s mind. Jaygak quickly shuffled away, before she help up her hands and ted, calling out the fmes from her fiips, which spread across the air. She waited for a moment, before ting once more, and another set of fire escapes from her fiips. She caught Kitool’s eyes, her own fill of mischief. She tio throw up the fire, mesmerised by the heat and light.

  “All magic is enhanced?” Jurot asked.

  “Not ons,” Kitool said. “Only spells?”

  Jurot nodded in response. Every world was different, though this world seemed to be one of the greatest. He stared at the sky again, noting the fading stars. He realised there were fewer stars in the sky than typical, by about a tenth. His eyes trailed across the different streaks of light, and then the shattered moons around the nd.

  “If only the kids were here,” Adam grumbled quietly. “Then I could show off as much as I wao.”

  “We will o explore the nd in order to leave the world,” Jurot said, certain there was a way out, there always was.

  “What do we o do?”

  “A feat must be aplished.”

  “What kind of feat?”

  “Killing the Dragon which pgues the nd,” Jaygak said, haviurned from her fun of letting out fire.

  “Or training the vilgers to defeat it,” Kitool added.

  “Or kill a great oppo in single bat,” Jurot said. “There are many ways.”

  “Well, let’s figure it out quickly. We don’t have long until my little gobbos are one.” Adam made a face as he thought about his children, as though he was satisfied by a great meal. Then worry fshed across it. ‘What if we take too long?’

  “Time may pass different here,” Jurot warned. “end a year here and only a week may pass.”

  “Or…” Kitool added, but she did not say more, seeing the look of shock, and anger, on Adam’s face.

  “If we miss my children’s birthday, I’ll have a word with Baktu,” Adam said, holding his amulet. “How dare the Gods interfere! If it’s because of them that I’ll miss my beautiful little babbies’ birthdays, I’ll…” Adam noted Vonda from the er of his eye. “I’ll write a sternly worded letter.”

  Vonda wasn’t sure if she should be gd he had left it at that, or if she should be offehat he would dare to belittle the Gods in such a way.

  “Let us take watches,” Jurot said, quickly stopping the bsphemous talk.

  “I’ll summon Zeus and Hades,” Adam said, casting his spells, watg as his Mana was reduced by just a single point for his Find Steed spell, summoning the giao them, before realising he was carrying a bunch of stuff, and now it was all gone.

  ‘Damn it!’

  Hades remaiop the tower as Adam began to fall asleep, stewing in his annoyand ahen a thought fshed through his mind. ‘How did I summon Hades if I didn’t use the dust? I definitely cast the spell, and didn’t summon him from nothingness…’

  Omen: 1, 12

  The night had passed ufully, though Jurot had beeed to awaken to a giant sea creature which could tear apart the nd with its might. The group ate breakfast, eating the berries Adam was able to create infinitely, before they made their way through the nd, following the coast from nearby.

  Jaygak, somehow, was able to tain herself from casting her fire so much. With her ability to now cast Burning Hands near infinitely, her strength had reached the same heights as Kitool and Jurot.

  Vonda and the porters each rode one of the Awakened Wolves, since each was teically now the weakest. Without her magic, Vonda was far weaker than a typical Expert, whereas Remy and Jeremy, who had somehow gaihe abilities of an Expert and were now teically strohan Vonda, were still weaker than the Adam or the trio of Iyrmen.

  Adam blinked as they saw a group of tiny little figures in the distance, who were quickly rushing towards the group. They were pale skinned, with rge eyes, and long pointed ears. The tallest mao reach their waists. Each was adorned in a long piece of cloth which ed around them, and wore a bde made of bo their side.

  Adam sighed, thinking of Jirot and Jarot, and the others uood why he had sighed, sidering how simir to Goblins these creatures looked. Remy and Jeremy were a little fused, though, but made no ent.

  The creatures rushed over to them until they were about fifty steps away, and siher group hadn’t drawn their ons, they stopped and waited. After a moment, the creatures chattered between one another, pointing towards Adam’s group. They eyed up most of the group suspiciously, but poio Jurot and Kitool excitedly, jabbering away in their own little nguage.

  “Gasha karaka?”

  “Gishu, bodi.”

  “Bodi? Cheka bodi! Cheka bodi!” The little figure spped the other upside the head. “Hua bodi?”

  “Cheka bodi!” the other replied, smag his panion upside the head. “Bodi bodi bodi!”

  “Bodi!” The pair began to brawl, while the he two.

  Adam reached down to his amulet, and waved his hand around as he spoke, causing the others to look his way.

  Spell: prehend Languages

  “What did he do?”

  “Magic?”

  “Nothing happened.”

  “Maybe he’s trying to unicate to us?”

  “Why are they so big?”

  “Are they Mur?”

  “They’re not Mur, you idiot, look! Some of them are made of metal.”

  “That’s not metal, that’s armour.”

  “Armour is made of metal.”

  “You know what I mean, you idiot.”

  “Idiot? You’re the idiot! You’re the idiot! Whose the idiot?” Another pair began to fight together.

  “Look at the oh the axe, he is so handsome.”

  “Very handsome.”

  “His armour is purple?”

  “Armour ’t be purple.”

  “Silver armour, bck armour, blue armour.”

  “There’s gold armour too.”

  “Not any more.”

  “Maybe it’s a different type of gold?”

  “A different type of gold? Are you an idiot?”

  “Idiot? You’re the idiot! You’re the idiot! Whose the idiot?” Another pair began to fight.

  Adam removed his helmet, staring down at the group, before clearing his throat. The group looked up at him, the six who were fighting no lhting. “Hello there.”

  “Yucky! Look at this ugly guy!”

  Anrabbed his stomad stumbled away to gag. “It should be against the w to be that ugly.”

  “Look at them! No wohey wear armour, they must not be allowed to walk around to show their face.”

  “I’ve always said only ugly people wear armour.”

  “Ugly people and smart people.”

  “Yucky, smart people.”

  “Yucky!” They all began to t together.

  Adam’s brow twitched. “Jurot, I’m about to beat them up.”

  “What are they saying?”

  “They’re calling me ugly.”

  Jurot reached down for his axe, causing them all thten up in shock. Adam reached out a hand to calm Jurot down, before he dropped to his knee. “Hello there.”

  “Yucky!” the group all began to t again, before they looked at Jurot.

  “You there! you speak our tongue?” one asked.

  “What did he say?”

  “He asked if you could speak their tongue.”

  “No.” Jurot shook his head.

  “ they uand us?”

  “Obviously not.”

  “We ’t be too sure. You there, ugly one! Cp your hands if you uand us.”

  Adam cpped his hands, but his brow tio pulse. ‘I’m a handsome guy, you bastard! My Aunt even says so!’

  “That’s just a ce. Hey, cross your arms if you’re tall.”

  Adam did so.

  “Oooooh!” they all gasped up at Adam.

  “Okay, you tell the handsome one our words. Cp hands for yes, cross arms for no.”

  Adam cpped his hands. “They said cp your hands for yes, cross your arms for no.”

  “Okay.”

  “What are you doing here?” one asked.

  Adam blinked.

  “That’s not a yes or no question, idiot.”

  Adam poi them.

  “What? What’s he doing?”

  “He’s pointing at us.”

  “You think he’s asking us?”

  “That might be it.”

  “We’re trapped here by a Sea God.”

  Adam looked to Jurot. “They’re trapped here by a Sea God.”

  Jurot huffed, almost smirking, before he cpped his hands.

  “Oooh!” they all replied together.

  ‘This is going to take a while…’

  I both love this ard hate it.