Lost In The Sands
Adam found Felix and Tiffany far away from the tomb. They sat on air, most likely to be invisible seats that Felix created by solidifying space itself.
"...You guys look comfortable." [Adam]
"Well, the only thing we could do was wait for you to finish rampaging." [Felix]
"Haha, he's kidding… Anyways, what was that? Was that your ability?" [Tiffany]
"You mean me turning this entire area into a desert?" [Adam]
Neither Felix nor Tiffany said a word. They just stared.
"Ah, right. It was dumb to ask. Yes, it was compression." [Adam]
"I never knew you had the mana in you." [Felix]
"Trust me, I have metric fuck ton of mana." [Adam]
Adam's daily training of his mana truly bore fruit.
"Although… I am pretty winded after that one. Can you make me an invisible chair too?" [Adam]
"Sure, have a seat." [Felix]
Felix motioned next to him.
"Thanks." [Adam]
Turning around and leaning back, Adam fell into the sand.
"Oof! Felix! You little shit!" [Adam]
It appears that Felix had not, in fact, created an invisible chair.
"Hahaha! Oh, that's hilarious." [Felix]
Adam let out an annoyed grunt before compressing the sand into his own chair.
"I should've done this from the start." [Adam]
"Aw, don't get your panties in a twist. It was just a joke." [Felix]
Then he felt a tap on his shoulder.
"Hm?" [Felix]
Felix turned to see Tiffany with a strained smile.
"Felix? I don't think it's alright to mess with someone when they're tired. Especially when they're your friends." [Tiffany]
Through the smile, Felix could feel malicious intent. Sensing this, he apologized.
"Y-Yeah… I got it. I'll be sure to take it into consideration next time." [Felix]
("Was Tiffany always this scary?") [Felix]
Moving on, Tiffany continued to speak with Adam.
"By the way, Adam, I forgot to ask how you learned to make things using your ability. If I remember correctly, you don't have Earth Manipulation." [Tiffany]
Adam could see her eyeing the sand chair he made.
"Oh, yeah. I did some training. You know how I compress air and blast it, right?" [Adam]
Tiffany nodded.
"I thought that maybe I could grab other elements too. As you can see, earth works." [Adam]
"And the other elements?" [Felix]
"Water is a little trickier than earth. Fire… was hard as hell to do." [Adam]
"What about lightning?" [Felix]
"Actually, I think I managed to do it once." [Adam]
Adam had forgotten, but he felt like he had compressed Krino's lightning before.
"I don't get the principles though. You compress things. It's not like you can pick things up and- oh." [Felix]
It was exactly that. Simply by shifting where Adam compresses, he can move objects at will. Similar to grabbing something with a hand.
"It's kind of like telekinesis when you think about it." [Felix]
"Don't generalize it like that. It takes a lot of skill and finesse." [Adam]
"Finesse my ass, you literally picked up what felt like the continent." [Felix]
"Alright, you're just exaggerating at this point." [Adam]
They bantered like this for a while and rested until Adam felt ready to move on.
"Now, can we go to Lithik?" [Felix]
"Lithik?" [Adam]
"The demon country. It's literally our main objective. How did you forget?" [Felix]
"People with high IQ tend to be forgetful." [Adam]
"That has to be a lie." [Felix]
Without further conversation, they all stood.
"Um… Which direction, Felix?" [Tiffany]
"Let's see…" [Felix]
Checking the map, Felix quickly put it away.
"Welp, I'm just gonna guess because Adam buried the only landmark within a 200 mile radius. Probably. I don't know the measuring system of this world." [Felix]
"Great." [Adam]
As they began their trek, Astos spoke.
"Just use a destination spell." [Astos]
("Oh? You know a spell that can tell me where Lithik is?") [Adam]
"It's more of a spell to tell you where places you've visited are." [Astos]
Adam went silent.
("...Well, if you haven't noticed, I've never been to Lithik.") [Adam]
"You didn't let me finish." [Astos]
("I literally didn't say anything for like, three whole seconds.") [Adam]
"Don't you… what was that word again?" [Astos]
"Sass?" [Krino]
"Yes, that. Don't you sass me, boy. I was going to teach you the spell that reads directions. I'm sure the map that Felix boy has contains north, west, east, and south." [Astos]
("...Better than nothing I suppose.") [Adam]
Skipping the part where Astos rambled on about Adam's ungratefulness, he successfully learned the spell.
"Felix, can I see the map real quick?" [Adam]
"Be my guest." [Felix]
Passing him the scroll, Adam unfurled it.
"...Huh." [Adam]
"What?" [Felix]
"Does this… Not have north, west, east, and south?" [Adam]
"It doesn't." [Felix]
"...Well, that sucks. You can have the map back now." [Adam]
Returning the map, they continued to walk in silence.
("...Hey, shitty god.") [Adam]
"I'm not answering." [Astos]
("Your spell was fucking useless.") [Adam]
"How was I supposed to know it didn't have any directions?!" [Astos]
("I dunno. Maybe because you're a fucking GOD?") [Adam]
"Gods aren't omniscient! They're not even omnipotent! We may be near omnipotent, but there's a vast difference!" [Astos]
"Hey, cut the discount god some slack." [Krino]
"Discount?" [Astos]
"I'm sure he has a spell somewhere that can solve this dilemma." [Krino]
It was surprising to hear Krino take the god's side. There was something amiss.
("...Are you saying this because you want to see him fail again?") [Adam]
"...Was it that obvious?" [Krino]
("Yeah.") [Adam]
"I despise the both of you. Don't bother asking me for help." [Astos]
("What about that binding contract we have? You have to help me.") [Adam]
Astos didn't reply.
"I bet he's saying that because he literally doesn't have anything useful to offer here." [Krino]
"Quiet, sword." [Astos]
"Looks like I struck home." [Krino]
They continued to poke fun at Astos, which made it feel like time passed faster. After the usage of Felix's warp to speed things up, the desert sands thinned and a new environment started to emerge.
"Ah, lush greenery. The scent of spring. How I missed it." [Felix]
"Isn't it supposed to be summer or something right now?" [Adam]
"I thought it was winter?" [Tiffany]
"Shut it, guys. I was just saying it for fun." [Felix]
They found another road trailing off into a forest path. There were several signs of other trails branching off, but there was one in particular that appeared to be the most used.
"I'm going to assume the one with the most foot traffic is the way to Lithik." [Felix]
"What makes you say that?" [Adam]
"Cause it leads to an assumingly populated area? Duh?" [Felix]
"How do you know that it's a populated area?" [Adam]
"That's why I said "assumingly". Open your ears." [Felix]
"Nah, I'll keep them shut." [Adam]
Ending the conversation with sarcasm, they followed the trail. As they traveled along the unpaved path, they could hear the sound of metal clashing.
("Another battle?") [Adam]
His guess was correct. Going further, Adam could see humans battling demons in an open field. Several bodies lay on the floor, and many more were soon to fall.
"Adam, should we just go around?" [Felix]
That suggestion was cut off when a demon lunged at him.
"Die human scum!" [Demon]
Was it's last words before Adam kicked it off to the side.
"Does it look like we can just go around?" [Adam]
Felix let out a tired sigh.
"Through, it is." [Felix]