That night, we ate the meat she brought us. I was glad I managed to get more HP to resist damage, and I am not scared anymore to get one-shotted by a rabbit.
I just don't like the way it worked, and I was afraid to ask Aurelia to do it again. She cannot kill me, but it hurts a lot.
The next morning, we are walking after breaking camp, resuming our travel by the river, moving north.
"Anything new, Karina?" I ask her while we walk.
"With whom is she talking?" Lisa asks Lucio.
He shrugs.
"She is crazy and speaks with her hallucinations."
I throw a Firebolt at her face. She gets hit in the face with it and scoffs at me, growling.
"You know Bloodless has a spirit on it, you fool!"
Karina laughs.
"I am not sure. First, I managed to start appearing around you and moving small objects, then I started to read spirits. I attempted one out of frustration, and the other just happened when I saw you come into this world."
Then that means she doesn't know what she gets or how or even when.
"You don't have a system screen?"
She shakes her head.
"How inconvenient."
"From what I understand, only living beings get a System," Lisa explains.
"Mmmm... I want to be more helpful! Aurelia is strong, and you are good at spellcasting! I feel so useless..."
I did not know she was feeling like that.
"But you are being useful." I pull Bloodless out of its scabbard and show it. "I would be dead if it weren't for Bloodless. We both know you are her."
"The increase in MP, the buff on Magic Damage, and now the reduction of damage if I use more MP than I have. All of it has been useful so far."
She pauses her floating, and I can see her face turning red, somehow. Maybe I am imagining it. She is looking at the ground.
Then she returns to her usual princess persona.
"O-of course! You thought I was actually having doubts?! I am that amazing, after all!"
I look at her with squinted eyes.
"I guess the spirit is talking smack again," Aurelia explains.
I wish they could hear her already.
"You know, let me give you a reward for being so good at what you do!" I say to her, holding Bloodless.
"What? Are you going to put me the decorations I want?" Her eyes seem to shine at the idea.
Instead, I touch the back of the blade with one finger.
"Ah!"
Her face turns white, and she presses her knees together and presses her pelvis with her hand, trying to hold the sensation.
"Maybe now you will be..."
SPLASH!
While I am talking, I get interrupted by a bunch of water that gets thrown from the river towards me. I am drenched now, dripping from my hair, tail, and ears.
"H-hey! That was u-uncalled f-for!" Even with the Cold Resistance that comes from being a Vulpin, cold water is cold water. And it is not fun to have wet fur. I am shaking and shuddering.
"That is what you get for being a creep, Amber." Aurelia comments.
"You are one to talk!"
"Hmph! Pervert!" Karina crosses her arms and looks away from me.
"I still don't understand what is happening...?" Lisa is completely confused.
"Why did all that water suddenly get splashed at her out of nowhere?" Lucio asks.
"Ah, yeah. There is a spirit inside her sword." Aurelia explains them. "It can move stuff and interact with her..."
"W-well, at least we discovered your upgrade..." I am shaking while speaking, covering myself with my arms to try to keep heat.
Aurelia approaches me and heat starts to appear around her. The snow under her feet starts to melt, while I don't feel as cold. I start to dry.
"I will put you to work as a drying machine." I point out.
"Hah! Try!" she answers.
"What do you mean you discovered something?" Karina asks, with a hand on her mouth, tilting her head in curiosity.
She really seems to want to help. Good.
"You threw too much water... You normally could take small stuff only to throw."
"Ah! Right! I did it because you pissed me off!"
Of course, she did.
Karina finds a rock. It is the size of a basketball. She seems interested in trying her new level of power. Makes it float, causing both Lucio and Lisa to react in surprise. Then the spirit throws it to a nearby tree with enough force to leave a mark on the bark.
"T-the rock...!" Lisa stutters.
"I can already see the use of this..." I have no intention to learn how to throw stuff, but she can do it.
Lucio is good at throwing items like daggers, potions, and bombs, so that skill is covered with him already during this trip. Good for making full use of potions with negative effects, like the sleeping one he used in Gunther.
But Karina? She can take a dagger, a bomb, or anything she finds around a group of enemies and use it against them without being detected. She has become a very useful asset.
"Y-you think?" She asks nervously.
"I am not feeding your ego again," I answer.
And she sticks her tongue at me, pouting and crossing her arms again.
We walk more, around 4 kilometers, when Karina talks again.
"Hey, I think I have found another improvement." She warns.
"Huh?" I stop walking to look at her. Everyone does. "What is it?"
"Like, around 500 meters forward, I can feel a group of souls together. I believe there is a camp there.
"What? You can now feel souls half a kilometer away?" I am impressed.
"Oh! That is such a good upgrade!" Aurelia mentions.
Good. She was worried about not doing anything. I kept my voice silent, but now we have a nice scout and ambusher that cannot be harmed.
And the question is, what is it that she detected 500 meters away? She said it is a group.
"How many?"
"I cannot tell, but there is a strong one in between."
It must be a camp. I hope it is friendly, but if it is not, then that will be useful for us too.