Raising Wonders

Chapter 5: Interference (Part 1)

Chapter 5: Interference

"One! Two! Three! Four! Five! Hya!" Chloe let out her voice as she swung her wooden sword up and down in a rigorous manner. It was the same swing over and over again. Each one had to be completed using her entire body and 100% focus, the sixth swing she had to use 200%, or so Mask had told her.

"Good," Mask nodded as he watched nearby. "You can stop for today."

"Phew," Chloe wiped the sweat from her forehead and tottered awkwardly to the wall where she had left her towel and water. It had been two weeks since she had started learning from Mask and so far she had been doing the same thing for 10 minutes five times a day. Besides that Mask had been making sure she was well fed and doing standard exercise. They had been using the yard at the back of the adventurer's guild to practice. It was meant as a place for adventurers to test themselves and train however so far Chloe had yet to see anyone else.

"Are you disappointed?" Mask asked Chloe as the girl heaved tiredly.

She quickly shook her head, "No, not at all." A normal child may have been disappointed at the very repetitive way of learning but Chloe understood entirely why it was needed. Sure she would have loved to learn cool techniques like those Mask had shown her but even she knew that her body wouldn't cope just yet.

"You're doing well. By winters end you may just be able to reach the novice level in one of the three styles."

"Really?" Chloe said doubtfully.

Mask gently pressed down on her head, "Yes really. Though you're not showing a genius level ability you're showing much more than that. Heart and a desire to learn. That will get you far further."

"Thank you," she nodded unsure how to feel about his words. In the end that is all Chloe had, no genius and only the desire. Her thoughts were wiped away however as a breeze passed by and a gentle coldness touched her nose. In the sky falling all around them was snow.

**

Lana stood on the other end of the counter, her arms folded, "The snow has finally come and true winter starts."

"Will the city be alright?" Mask asked as Chloe looked at the two of them.

"We should be okay. The herbs you've gathered will help those who get winter fever and the slimes you've captured have been incredibly helpful. The smaller gaps in the wall have been filled up and the sewage problem has eased quite a bit from the slimes eating it all."

"But?"

"Yes there's that 'but'. That but is food."

"Can't we eat slime noodles?" Chloe chimed in. "They were actually really nice." Though when Mask had first prepared them she had been very sceptical.

Lana shook her head, "Even with all the slimes you've caught, they don't grow fast enough to feed an entire city and we're using most the slime to fix up the walls. Maybe in time, but it won't settle our current needs."

"What do you usually eat?" Chloe asked.

"You've had it quite a bit. It's the mutt fruit," Mask answered.

"Oh the one with the meaty texture," Chloe nodded. "Is there not enough?"

"We have enough. It's the city's staple food and grown in the fields within the wall but it's also our finest export. It grows best in winter but the Lord is hoarding more this year to sell in the springtime."