Both Feyd and Ray leisurely travelled towards the capital of the Wastelands, which was also in the same approximate direction as the bandit camp Ray wanted to go to.
Bandit camps usually had no names, unless they were overwhelmingly powerful or notorious, in which case the military attempts to clear them out.
During their journey both Ray and Feyd slew the occasional monster, fought a bandit or two who approached them, and completed some quests for travel expenses.
Ray and Feyd both noticed the improvement to their strength as the trained and fought others. Ray himself didn't train exactly, but mostly delved into the specifics of his shadow energy or thought of new ways to use his ability without actually activating his abilities.
They had grown physically stronger, faster and tougher. Their energy reserves were more abundant and they could regenerate energy quicker now.
And thus in an inn a month after their fight against the rat monsters both of them faced a dilemma of their own.
Ray sat on the rooftop of the inn and gazed at the glistening stars above, pondering with a slight frown on his face.
'No matter whether I try using dyes, or paint, or even cut my hair, some portion always remains black! Ahhh this is so annoying'
Ray rested his chin on both of his hands as he sighed.
'Not only that I can FEEL that my shadow energy has grown stronger, carrying a more substantial aura around it. I'm not sure if it's because of Eribos or me growing stronger but I don't think it's a good sign'
Wisps of shadow energy flowed around Ray who had a melancholic aura around him.
'His influence on me is growing stronger, while my strength is growing but not fast enough to mutually restrain him. But if I grow stronger he will too... Ahhh all this sucks!'
He channeled his annoyance into a pebble in his hand while throwing it at the roadside.
-Thwak
"Gah! What da hell!? What hit me??"
A random passerby cursed aloud as he rubbed his head and began to look around. An awkward expression appeared on Ray's face as he slowly backed away and out of the man's line of sight.
"Tch, whatever"
The passerby soon left.
'Sigh... What should I do? If I train to grow stronger then Eribos will grow stronger too, but if I just place my hopes on the passive strengthening from facing tough foes then I won't become strong faster enough to keep up with Eribos...'
Ray clutched his had and pulled at his hair in irritation before he soon calmed himself down and entered his room through the window.
'No hope thinking so hard right now. I'll decide when he get to the military'
However when he went inside his and Feyd's room he saw Feyd sitting cross legged on his bed pondering to himself.
"What're you thinking so hard about?"
"Hmm?"
Feyd slowly opened his eyes, his mouth placed on his left hand frowning slightly.
"I was thinking about that attack I used on the rat king"
"The space thingy?"
Ray recalled his memories of the final moments during their fight against the rat king. Two Rifts crossed and exploded, sending invisible spatial shards(Assuming Feyd was telling him the truth) and cutting into the surroundings. The immediate areas where the Rifts crossed was simply exploded spatially(Ray still wasn't sure what that meant) and also sliced.
"What about it?"
Ray sat down on his bed before beginning to change his clothes into something suitable to sleep in.
"Well when I first used it I called it Rift Fracture, but now that I've been thinking about it the attack seems more like an explosion than a fracture..."
"Also, I feel as though if I continue further along this path I might be able to actually fracture space and slice someone, so the name might not be suitable in the future..."
"What to do what to do..."
Feyd pushed his head deeper harder into his hand as he thought even harder. Ray paused for a moment as he looked at Feyd with a strange expression.
"You're this troubled by a name for your new attack?"
"Ofcourse, it's very important!"
Ray rolled his eyes before remarking sarcastically:
"Yeah yeah sure it is"
Feyd didn't seem to mind Ray's slight mockery as he thought for a few more seconds before throwing his hands up in the air and falling onto his bed, apparantly giving up.
Ray looked at Feyd for a moment before also getting underneath his sheets.
"Just call it a Rift Explosion or Rift Bomb for now, who knows? You might be closer to your Rift Fracture attack or whatever than you think"
Feyd paused for a moment before slowly nodding.
"You know what? You're right! Thanks man"
Ray lazily turned in his bed and covered his head with his blanket, "Yeah yeah I know I'm a genius, just turn off the lights and sleep"
Feyd got up to turn off the lamp when he realized something was amiss.
"But I never called you a genius though...?'
...
The next day Ray woke up to the sound of Feyd playing his guitar. It sounded smooth, rhythmic and fluid, with a soft feel. Feyd was playing a type of music that had recently started becoming popular, neo soul.
They quickly set off towards a major city nearby, close to the capital, after a swift breakfast. Ray plans to inquire about the bandit camp while also learning about the leader's capabilities. He had heard rumors that he wielded elemental powers from taverns and inns, but he needed for verify it.
However he did wonder why bandits from his camp were out and about so far away from where their base was situated. They seemed like regular old bandits so no special mission or anything, and didn't seem to be out with any specific purpose either.
However he eventually threw it into the back of his mind since there was no way for the current him to find out, since information about some random bandits and their activities is pretty difficult to find out.
Feyd meanwhile was preoccupied with reading a book in the backseat if the bike. He tried to shield it from the wind using Ray's back though it didn't work out perfectly most of the time.
Feyd had already readied half the book, and after realizing it was not worth attempting to read it while on a bike, he closed it and tucked it in his bag.
The book's title read 'The History Of The Royal Family Of Cecillia(Lastest Edition)'
It included information about the royal family, it's history, achievements, past rulers, the occasional black sheep, and the current ruler, the queen!
"How many books about the royal family, and the queen, are you gonna read? Don't tell me you're ACTUALLY serious about bagging the queen"
"Hehe, I've always been serious. You just didn't belive me"
"Sigh... What a shitty goal you have there. I thought you were just messing with me till now, but every town or city we past by you read books on the royal family and music, particularly romantic songs!"
"Hehehe what's wrong with that? It's useful information and the songs are for my hobby! Anyways if I really do end up meeting the queen, like I plan too, then won't this all be useful?"
Feyd chuckled heartily after he spoke, making even Ray not sure whether he was serious or not. He made major decisions like going to join to military, spend time learning love songs and Cecillia's history, yet at the end he never seemed fully committed to it.
'Whatever he plans to do is his choice, whatever justification he comes up with is his nonsense to make up. I'll just accompany him for as long as I can, while also trying to pan fry Eribos somehow'
A slight smile appeared on Ray's face for a moment, before his thoughts shifted to Eribos and a sour, irritated expression replaced it.
Feyd seemed to have not noticed as he continued gazing out at the surrounding desert, enjoying the view.
They soon reached the city and found an inn before separating to do their own thing. Ray remained at the inn and its vicinity, somewhat apprehensive about exploring since his encounter with the blacksmith. Thought the main reason was to inquire about information to the inn owner and ask through his various contacts, such as tavern owners and such.
Feyd however walked to a nearby orphanage and donated the few books he had bought from the previous town and finished reading. He gave simple ones that could be of interest to the kids while also donating some money.
At first he wanted to quietly leave after he gave the things, but after the worker there noticed how attractive Feyd was, coupled with his generous actions of donating to the orphanage, struck her heart's strings. She initiated a conversation with him enthusiastically and eventually persuaded him to have some tea.
But while having tea and conversing with him a few of the kids had come by to ask her for some help, and saw Feyd. The worker mentioned how he was an adventuerer, donated to the orphanage and other stuff, which ignited the admiration in their eyes.
An extroverted kid who seemed to be the leader of the bunch came forth to invite him to play together. Feyd's conscience wouldn't allow him to say no, or maybe he just chose to, but he agreed to their request and played with them abit.
Eventually after entertaining the kids there, who were all much younger than Feyd, well Feyd assumed. He wasn't sure how old his body was, and didn't have any means to find out. Eventually the kids found out he was an elf and were even more enamored, asking questions like:
"Are other Elves are beautiful as you?"
"How is it like in the Elven Forest?"
"Is it true you guys live for hundreds amd thousands of years?"
Eventually as he was planning to leave since it was getting late, the orphanage's director invited him for dinner. Although the food was modest, the workers and kids all ate the same things with blissful contentment.
The director thanked him for his donations, and the time he spent there, and invited him to come again next time. By the time he reached the inn he had bought new books from the library while selling some of his there too.
"You're finally back? Thought you might've been kidnapped by a bunch of creeps who are obsessed with the queen, and after finding out that you want to marry her kidnapped you and tries to kill you saying stuff like 'She is mine!' And 'Only we are meant for each other'"
Feyd's expression froze as the corners of his mouth began to twitch.
"...You have a good imagination. I don't think a group like that exists"
"Yeah they probably don't. Don't think anyone is crazy enough to he like that"
Feyd remarked while eating some snacks.
"–So you should form one!"
"Sigh... I gave some money and books to an orphanage but ended up talking to a worker there, and playing with some kids, and having dinner with them and their director..."
"Sounds fun, must've felt fulfilling. You also bought more books?"
Ray asked with a raised brow.
"Yeah"
Feyd replied with a sheepish smile. In his hand were books like 'The Queen And Her Glory', 'Queenly Majesty– An Indepth Study Of The Authority That Is The Queen', '49 Shades of Light-Black', etc.
"Whatever I got information on the bandits. I know their approximate location and their capabilities, but I have some bad news"
Feyd instantly became serious as he set his bag and books aside and sat on a chair, 'I will have take a bath after he finishes talking it seems'.
"They have only a couple dozen nornal bandits who use guns and blades, maybe fifty or so, not too much. But the main issue is their new leader and vice-leader"
"New? Since when did bandit camps change hands?"
"Well it's a special case. The guy is called boss by his henchmen and only the vice-captain knows his real name. But outsiders call him 'Steam Cannon', cause he is a steam Manipulator and prefers to use it to create pressurized blasts of steam"
"Not only that, his vice captain can also teleport around a certain radius, though I'm not sure how big. He can give alot of trouble depending on the specifics of his teleportations"
"They only recently became the leaders, after appearing out of nowhere and killing the previous leader. He also killed a bunch of the bandits that resisted him. That was a few months ago, he now raids merchants and sells slaves, particular elves, in the black market"
Ray didn't mention the strange artifact that gives Steam Cannon the powers of darkness or shadows, since no one else had mentioned it since those bandits way back. Thus if the Intel was wrong than he saves some slaves and kills some bandits, if it's right then maybe he might gain some clues about Eribos? Who knows.
"Hmm"
Feyd seemed to ponder for a second before looking up at Ray with a seemingly serious expression.
"I'm prepared to fall in battle, when do we go?"
Ray chuckled before replying, "Woah, they aren't that powerful. I say we have a good chance at defeating them as long as nothing out of the ordinary happens. We can always train and go in a few weeks too"
Feyd thought about it for a second before shaking his head.
"If they really aren't that strong then let's just go now, otherwise more slaves could be sold while we dawdle. It's the right thing to do"