Chapter 101: Camp and lecture (1/2)
Setting camp in the middle of the desert wasn't an easy task. Even with all the manpower and tools that Layn organized beforehand.
”What the heck are you doing guys?” Layn shouted while slapping his face with his very own hand. ”Is this your first time out camping or what? Let me show it how it should be done.” He added, unable to withstand the sight of a group trying to set up a tent by holding the corners of the huge piece of cloth with stones.
Layn pulled out his knife and several short sticks that were intended for the fireplace, before sharpening their ends. Then, he took each of the corners, before turning them into a small loop, through which he inserted the sharpened stick.
Then, with a single kick to the top of the stick, he forced it almost all the way into the sands of the desert, deep enough for the sheer mass of the sand to hold it in place.
”If you just place stones at the corners, a single gust of wind would be enough to shift it and destroy your tent. Have some fucking sense!” Layn continued to whine.
In the greater picture, his mercenaries weren't doing all that bad. Thanks to Antion's oversight, most of the problems were solved before they would turn serious.
”To think that people capable of fulfilling my quest wouldn't be able to set up a damned camp,” Layn complained, forcefully calming his breath down in an attempt to cool his head.
”Don't be too harsh on them,” Irea approached Layn as soon as she was done with setting their own tent. Just like all the others, it was made from a simple, square piece of cloth with one of its sides cut. Just by inserting a long stick into the ground and then stretching the cloth above it, basic protection from the cold winds of the desert could be made. ”We don't want them to just give up on you because of some silly stuff like camping, don't we?”
Layn took a moment to appreciate how the girl was worrying over his plan, before shaking his head.
”If someone is too dumb to realize that they are doing something wrong, they won't be of any use to me.” He shook his head, before reaching out with his hand and patting the girl's head. ”There is no point in looking for talented but stupid people. Talent can only amount to so much, while wits and intelligence are way more valuable… But just that much harder to evaluate.”
Irea decided not to pursue the topic. For her, just standing beside the archmage was enough to be happy in this very specific moment.
”Either way, let's not waste time. I still need to set up a fireplace.” Layn finally shook the depressed laziness out of his mind, before taking his hand off Irea's head and moving forward.
The desert was completely void of any building materials. Unless one wanted to test his luck and just build a hole to bury himself in, tents were the only possible shelter that Layn's party could carry. While Layn hoped that this situation would change once they would travel far enough into the sands, for now, he had to deal with what he had on his hands.
Soon, Layn started his preparations. After deducing the amount of dried-up sticks that could prove useful later on in case someone were to lose their tents, he piled the rest of the wood in a small, triangular structure before using a tiny bit of magic to set it on fire.
”Hey, it's starting!” As soon as the tongues of blaze reached out to the skies, a commotion appeared in the entire camp. And there was a good reason behind that.
But rather than paying attention to the people gathering around the crackling fire, Layn continued to focus his entire attention on it instead. Only when every last member of the group gathered around did the archmage raise his eyes and open his mouth.
”Everyone, first off. Congratulations on fulfilling your task.” For a moment, a notion of pride appeared on Layn's face. Not self-pride, born from his own achievements, but the pride in the people that worked really hard to fulfill his demands. ”As promised, I will refrain from reminding you that we are in the middle of the desert with no women outside my dearest. And just as I said when you brought me the third monster's core, I will now conduct a lecture that I believe everyone will benefit from.”
Layn stood up. He brought his hands towards the fire for a moment as if he wanted to warm himself up. Whoever was attentive enough, could realize that rather than focusing on his hands, Layn was actually staring deeply into the fires, as if expecting to receive some kind of revelation from them.
”Magic, cultivation, energy. Those three words are describing the same phenomena, just like we could call this thing a fireplace, campfire, or just blaze.” His lecture started. But rather than tackling complicated or deep problems, something that most of his listeners expected, Layn decided to start from very scratch.
”That's why, whenever I say energy or mana, just take it for the force that you guys are using to cultivate.” Layn smiled at the group before turning silent for one more moment.
”You see, I didn't spend a long time in what you guys consider your own world. I never received proper training in terms of cultivation nor was I taught about the common sense of this world of yours.” Layn started from a big note, instantly throwing the minds of everyone into disarray. But among all the people in the group, it was Irea that was surprised the most.