The smell of barbecued meat reached Gerald's nose as soon as he came out of his smithy.
The sun was about to set, and he had just half-finished the project that he was working on.
Remembering that they had guests, he guessed that they were having a barbecue feast, so he followed the scent to check up on them.
When he arrived at the backyard of their residence, he was surprised to see several tents set up around the campsite he had made for their family.
Camping was a skill all Wanderers must be used to. In Solterra, they would spend most of their time outdoors and facing the harshness of the elements.
So this wasn't new to him.
A smile even appeared on his face because he believed that the kids should have fun while they still could.
Seeing that everyone was having fun and enjoying their youth, Gerald walked towards the house, intending to spend some adult time with his wife.
'Let the kids play,' Gerald thought as he gave the teenagers one last glance. 'While we adults play to make kids.'
The no-good father laughed internally and left the kids alone to play his own game.
Thirteen was reading a picture book story for Rhia, who was seated on his lap.
Remi was helping their guests with the barbecue and was also happily talking with Diana and Erica.
Roland, Derek, and Joshua were also doing their part in cooking their meals. Occasionally, they shot sidelong glances at the thirteen-year-old, who was seated on a log with his sister.
"I tell you dudeâyou should just have Master train you too," Derek said in a hushed tone. "What's the point in having pride if you're weak?"
"More cooking, less talking," Roland replied as he calmly turned over the meat on the grill.
"Since you will be training, does that mean that you will not accompany us back to Cygni?" Joshua inquired. "Originally, we only planned to stay for a few days to accompany Shana and see Zion in person."
"I talked to Master about it, and he said that going to Cygni right now will not make me stronger," Derek answered while putting vegetables and meat on a skewer. "He added that I will just be fighting monsters that I won't find hard to defeat, so it's not good for my training."
Roland, who was listening silently, frowned, but he didn't say anything to refute Derek's statement.
"So, does that mean that he intends to let you fight strong monsters?" Joshua scoffed. "Monsters you can't defeat?"
"Yes," Derek replied. "It won't be just me, but Diana too. Both of us will have a training montage with Master. That's why I'm telling you guys to come along. I'm sure you'll learn something. Just set aside your pride for now, okay?
A prideful man is not cool."
Joshua pondered as he flipped the barbecue skewers on the grill. "I specialize in using spells and long-range attacks. Can he really train me?"
"You won't lose anything by asking, you know?" Derek, who had been infected with the Zion virus and Remi Virus, had joined Rianna's, Viola's, Sharon's, and Louise's Fan Club after getting his butt handed to him by an eight-year-old.
She had fallen asleep near the end of the story, and yet, Thirteen didn't stop and finished the story till the end.
He was well aware that even though someone was asleep, their subconscious mind was still very much active.
He wanted to train his sisters from a young age not only physically, but mentally as well.
The teenage boy gently carried his sister to their tent, where he and Remi would be staying for the night.
Albion and Boo followed as well. It went without saying that wherever Rhia was, they would be there as well.
After making sure that his sister was sleeping peacefully on her personalized bed cushion, Thirteen went out to help the others in preparing their dinner.
But when he arrived at the table, Erica and the Archer, Mildred, approached him together.
"We girls have talked about it and decided to ask you if it's possible for you to train us as well," Erica said seriously. "I specialize in using long-range spells like fireball. Do you think you can train a magician?"
"I can," Thirteen replied with confidence. "But my training will be hard for Magicians. Are you sure you can take it?"
"...Can't you go easy on me?" Erica asked. "I'm a very delicate girl."
"Will the Jinns go easy on you?" Thirteen arched an eyebrow. "I assure you that beautiful and delicate girls are their favorite delicacy. You'd be on the top of their menu if they come across you in Solterra."
"I've already burned those monsters to a crisp," Erica replied with a smile.
"Correction," Thirteen smirked. "You've burned those weak monsters to a crisp. Have you burned a Rank 4 Fire or Water Elemental Jinn before?"
"... No." Erica pouted. "I specialize in fire magic, and monsters with fire elements have resistance to it. Water Magic also counters my spells, so it's no good."
"See?" Thirteen replied. "Don't worry. After I'm done with you, you won't have to fear them again. I'll make you the greatest Sorceress in the world."
"R-Really?" Erica asked. "When you say the greatest, do you mean THE GREATEST?"
Thirteen nodded. "Yes. That's exactly what I mean."
Shana, who could hear the two talking, pinched the bridge of her nose because Erica was indeed very weak to praise.
'Zion is really scary,' Shana thought. 'I'm sure that before the Night of the Solstice, more than half of our group will be infected by the Zion Virus.'
Shana could only sigh in her heart because there was nothing she could do about it.
Just like the others, she also planned to join Zion's training regimen, which she believed would make the entire Hero Party stronger than ever before.
The only question in her mind was whether they would really be able to do it.
And what price they would have to pay to keep their sanity in check.