To the First Monster Lair

"So the monsters only come out at night? That certainly explains why you wanted us to rest up until morning." I said, letting out a tired yawn.

"Under normal circumstances they usually stay in their dens. Though I've seen monsters walking around during the daytime before." Bea explained.

"So if we attack the monster dens in the day we'll at least end up killing most of them?" Steven asked.

Bea nodded her head and continued walking along the poorly kept path with us following closely behind her. What used to be a thick jungle had now become no more than just a forest. It was nice being able to see the sky again though so I wasn't complaining.

"How well do you understand how to use your aura, Steven?" I asked.

Steven looked over at me with an uncomfortable look, "not much. I can't even use my Genmochi without it."

"That's rough. When I first unlocked my aura I was taught that I just had to feel it."

"That doesn't help me at all." Steven had a dissatisfied look on his face.

I let out a small laugh, "I thought the same thing at first. Then I realized that you really were just supposed to feel it. It's kinda like entering a state of flow. Although once you get used to it you can activate your aura without being in a flow state."

"That's actually really helpful. Thank you." Steven nodded his head before returning his gaze to the path in front of us.

Bea suddenly came to a stop and looked up at the sky. In the short time that we've spent walking, large gray clouds had slowly begun to fill the sky. It didn't take long for us to hear the sound of thunder coming from within the clouds.

"Looks like we're about to get hit by a pretty nasty storm." Steven said, looking up at the dark grey clouds.

"Yeah… it's probably a good idea to find a place to stay until the storm passes." I suggested, looking around the area.

"How about that cave over there?" Bea asked, pointing to our left.

I turned my head towards where Bea was pointing and saw a small cave entrance. Seeing as there wasn't any other option and we were short on time, the three of us began moving towards the cave entrance. We were only halfway towards the cave until I felt a singular raindrop hit the top of my head. It didn't take long for the rain to pick up, forcing the three of us to sprint into the cave.

As soon as the three of us entered the cave, the storm became increasingly worse. The extreme winds caused the trees outside to shake violently, making it look like they could fly away at any moment. To say I was grateful that Bea managed to find this place was an understatement.

"Good thing you found this cave, Bea." I said, looking out the cave entrance to watch the storm.