Master Of None

The moon happened to be full which everyone on the ship thanked their lucky stars for. This was because the mood was bright enough for them to see the river banks and also the top of the water.

Some sounds that stood out to everyone on post were the lapping of the water against the ship as it turned slowly through the first bend. In other words, the silence was all they could hear. Whenever a change in the water or a small splash occurred, everyone would become hyper focused on it.

"Be on alert, as you can see on the banks a few monsters are starting to gather to cross." Scylla was well aware that some monsters had to travel during the night due to their predators hunting them during the day. And with the full moon, some would be traveling to their breeding grounds.

'Water rat

The water rat is a beast that primarily makes small dens in the side of the river. It will swim under the water to dig out the den then create a small space of air to raise its young. But it must leave the water and the den to hunt for its favorite food, white striped moths.

The white striped moths that the water rats eat are only out when the moon is brightest. Their beautiful appearance is able to attract multiple monsters to feed on them but they breed rapidly which maintains the population. The main predator of the water rat is the black water snake which needs the warmth of the sun to maintain its body temperature…'

Walker mumbled the information to Remey who was watching the largest of the water rats. He knew that she would be asking him if they would be a danger to them at all. "I thought there would be other monsters too. But just water rats? Won't the river snappers not go after them if they are already out of the water?"

"That's because they will have no choice but to enter the water. Can't you see what's starting to creep up beside them while they wait for their favorite white striped moth snacks to come flying in the night?" Walker created a small fire ball and threw it in to the air. The added light was able to light up just enough of the area on the river bank to show what had also come to eat.

'Whisper cats

These cats are not a cute and adorable animals. They are called whisper cats because even their hissing is silent as a whisper. They are night stealth hunters the size of an average toddler. However, they are insanely accurate in their attacks which always hit the weak points of their prey. They also use their incredible stealth to assassinate their prey. These two skills have given them the nickname, small assassin cats.

They love to prey on rodent and bird type monsters of any kind. The more they can hunt them the better since they often travel in families of six to eight. They will often hunt enough for each member of their family to consume one each. But they are also known to hoard food in dens that they soak in their saliva which in turn helps preserve their prey…'

"I see…" Remey didn't look like she cared that Walker had just shown off an interesting enemy. Instead, she had zeroed in on one of the water rats that had fallen prey to its fear. The first water rat that had disturbed the natural flow of the water under the moonlight.

Without a single moment between the water rat falling in to the water and someone breathing or blinking an eye, a sharp toothed mouth opened up and snapped the water rat in half. What proceeded was a torrent of snapping mouths jumping in to the air. Everyone was able to see their very first river snapper as it developed its prey.

The mouths that the river snappers had were definitely like a crocodiles'. But instead of the long scaly body that would be part of the crocodile, there was a fat and powerful tail. The fins were sharp barbs that mirrored the size of the tough, sharp, teeth. "Those are definitely not going to be easy to beat." Remey cracked her knuckles and felt that the fire elemental mana that her partner had been gathering was going to be more than enough to get in to the mood for a battle.

"Hey, I know this isn't the time for it, but you know that Su was training earlier. She seemed a little unstable compared to her usual calmness. I am a bit worried that she is letting the dragon instincts take advantage of her." Walker knew that Su and Remey were very close. But he also knew that Remey would tell him if he was being dumb flat out. The best way to ask her this was right out and in the open.

"Right time? Who cares about timing? We fight monsters all the time, it's normal for us to talk while we do it. Just use the flames well." Remey didn't care what she talked about. But she knew that telling Walker to ask her anything while they fought would give her enough time to have a proper response. But it was also when she felt most comfortable. Even when she was doing alchemy, she felt comfortable in a different way. When she fought, it was like she was back home with her family in the orphanage.

"And Su isn't being affected by her dragon blood like that. The bastard musician fiddle player violin harp strings guy said he didn't want to get closer to her then went on a trip to the north where he could grow as a musician. A fool that will get beaten up if I ever see him. Probably ran too for that reason."

Walker tensed up hearing that someone had actually done that to Su. in reaction, the flames he had just grabbed hold of and begun to guide were multiplied a little too much. The water started to steam in the sudden reaction of cold and heat.

"Calm down. I am fine so you should be. Su talked with me about it and after a few good fights she will be back to normal. She's using it as a reason to train and become stronger. Just let her be her." Rmeey was being nicer than usual as she got in to the mood to punch something. She was really telling Walker to keep his nose out of it.

"Then I will leave it to her. I just worried and wanted your opinion in case I needed to speak with her too. But-" Remey wound up and punched out. The flames taken from around Walker to deliver a massive bursting fist of flames to a single river snapper that dared to leap up at the ship thinking it was prey. "- alright, focusing up, I get it." Walker gave up and left Remey to smirk at her victory.

"Now that was a good hit. That single fish thing made it all the way to the bank. Ha! Even those kittens are eating it now." Walker felt that this was a strange development. The whisper cats had taken advantage of an easy prey which let more of the water rats escape without falling in to the water.

"I caught one!"

"One? Three over here!"

Those that had realized they could catch rather than punch or slash away the river snappers were looking around in competition. They had no inkling of what hardships the mages had begun to go through while maintaining bursts of flames to create heated water.

"Damn it all! I want to catch more than…Walker, how large do these things get?" Remey asked the sudden question halfway through her annoyed yelling since she felt like others were beating her.

"They should be about the size of dogs maybe? But I suppose they could grow larger if they have enough food. Why?" Remey pointed toward the dark waters that were being lit by flames. Walker directed the fire he controlled toward the place Remey pointed out.

Flames traveled over illuminating the large sharp spinal fins that had barely broken the surface of the water. The large fins that were attached to swimming that dove deep in to the water within a split second leaving the water churning. "It's about to jump."

Walker could feel it. The large river snapper had not swum downwards just to get away from what he had made. It was preparing to leap up and attack whatever prey it thought it could get. And since the ship was making the biggest commotion with flames, movements, and splashing around it, then the ship was the target. "Gil, aim in front of me when you see it!" Walker roared out the order to prepare.

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