WinterHord (1) – Beginning of the Journey.

After I laid out my theory on what might be happening in WinterHord, the rest of the meeting became tense and heavy.

I changed the topic to the team members' skills, and we talked for some more time before everyone bid farewell and went to make final preparations. I had mentioned that we would start the journey tomorrow morning or, at the latest, in the afternoon.

After they left, I resumed working on the Humvee.

I thought about asking Selina for help with some things since she seemed to have a good understanding of mechanics and such. However, upon reconsideration, I ended up discarding that idea.

Despite her intelligence and creations like the exoskeleton, as Dylan had told me before he left, they were still creations... I would hesitate to call them archaic, as they were far beyond Terraria's current technology, but still...

The best word to describe them, ironically, was: Steampunk.

The creations were well-made, something completely advanced for the current time in Terraria. However, I doubted they would function without magic and Mystic Symbols.

This didn't diminish Selina's merit for such creations. On the contrary, I felt that if she were born in a future era or even on Earth in the 21st century, she would have revolutionized the planet.

I even compared her to Stark's father, Howard, someone intelligent and innovative but limited by the era he was born in.

If this makeshift team we had created continued forward, and Selina stayed on it, I would rectify this by allowing her access to the library stored inside the VoidBag.

Of course, this would be done after translating the books from Japanese to Terrarian or, even better, asking Jarvis to translate after he learned the language of Terraria.

I spent the rest of the day finishing the final modifications on the Humvee before finally completing it, close to midnight.

Upon finishing, without hesitation, I threw myself into the back of the Humvee, removed the rear seat, put it in the inventory, and lay down, observing the Humvee's ceiling now adorned with hundreds of small Mystic Symbols.

"Let's check these stats then..." I murmured, pulling up the Humvee's stats screen in front of me.

As much as I knew what the Humvee was capable of, well, I was the one who modified it and designed the matrices of Mystic Symbols and carved the Runes, still, I wanted to see how it would look in a quantified manner.

-//-

[Humvee]

Runes: Defense - Durability - Protection - Resistance - Toughening - Elemental Resistance - Magical Resistance - Mobility - Stability

Type: Mount Prefix: None

Mystic Symbols (Human): Projectile Protection (Medium - High), Impact Protection (Medium - High), Piercing Protection (Medium-High), Magic Protection (Medium - Peak), Cold Resistance (Medium - Peak) (+)

Speed: 0 KM/H ~ 620 KM/H - (Variable depending on Energy/Mana) Defense: 990 ~ 2289 (Variable depending on mana) Durability: 8637/8674 Rarity: Light Red

[..]

ARC Reactor (MK3): 0% ~ 100% (Off)Mana Stone Reservoir: 187/3000Artificial Sapphire Reservoir: 5000/5000 (MAX CAPACITY!)Gel Reservoir: 5000/5000 (MAX CAPACITY!)

[..]

[Ability (1) - Central Command Matrices (Internal)]

First Internal Command Matrix - Matrix responsible for controlling the internal matrices of the Humvee:

Temperature Matrix - Matrix recorded inside the Humvee seats and on the internal coating - Uses "Mana Stones" or "Artificial Sapphires" to regulate the temperature inside the Humvee and prevent temperature changes due to the outside environment.

Purification Matrix (Filter) - Matrix recorded inside the Humvee ventilation system - Uses "Mana Stones" or "Artificial Sapphires" to absorb and filter the air/oxygen from the outside environment before sending it into the vehicle.

(Note: Costs triple when underwater).

Purification Matrix (Powder) - Matrix recorded inside the Humvee air conditioning - Uses "Mana Stones" or "Artificial Sapphires" to crush and spread the "Purification Powder" contained in an internal container, spreading it throughout the interior of the Humvee.

Internal Protection Matrix - Matrix recorded on the internal ceiling and floor of the Humvee - Uses "Mana Stones" or "Artificial Sapphires" to generate a barrier inside the Humvee, covering only the internal part of the vehicle.

(Note: Barrier defense varies depending on the amount of mana used)

Visualization Matrix - Matrix recorded on the Humvee windows - Uses "Mana Stones" or "Artificial Sapphires" to facilitate vision in dark, foggy, rainy, stormy, and smoky environments.

(Note: Does not enable perfect vision, only facilitates based on the level of visual pollution or darkness of the environment)

(…)

[..]

[Ability (2) - Central Command Matrices (External)]

Second External Command Matrix: Matrix responsible for controlling the external matrices of the Humvee:

Hardening Matrix (External - Internal - Engine) - Matrix engraved at all internal and external points of the Humvee - Uses "Mana Stones" or "Artificial Sapphires" to reinforce the entire structure of the Humvee, increasing the vehicle's defense to extreme levels.

(Note: Variable mana cost based on the reinforcement used).

Protection Matrix (External) - Matrix engraved on the external roof and underside of the Humvee - Uses "Mana Stones" or "Artificial Sapphires" to generate up to three barriers on the external part of the Humvee that cover the entire vehicle.

(Note: Barrier defense varies depending on the amount of mana used)

Attack Matrix - Matrix engraved on the external roof of the Humvee - Uses energy generated by the ARC Reactor (MK3), "Mana Stones" or "Artificial Sapphires" for two types of attacks: Electromagnetic Pulse, Flamethrower (Gel)

(…)

[..]

[Ability (3) - Central Command Matrices (Engine)]

Third Engine Command Matrix - Matrix responsible for controlling the engine matrices of the Humvee:

Engine Protection Matrix - Matrix engraved on the internal and external part of the Humvee hood - Uses "Mana Stones" or "Artificial Sapphires" to generate a focused barrier for the protection of the vehicle's engine.

(Note: Barrier defense varies depending on the amount of mana used)

Adrenaline Matrix - Matrix engraved on the internal part of the Humvee engine - Overloads the engine and matrices responsible for accelerating the Humvee, causing the vehicle to accelerate at speeds close to the speed of sound (1189 KM/H).

(NOTE! DANGER! MATRIX ENABLED ONLY WHEN ALL BARRIERS ARE ACTIVE!)

(NOTE! DANGER! RISK OF SERIOUSLY DAMAGING THE VEHICLE!)

(…)

[..]

Description: The HMMWV (High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle) M1025, or Humvee, is a lightweight armored military utility vehicle originally owned by Rika Minami, later given as a gift by nurse Shizuka Marikawa to "The Streamer."

After various internal and external modifications, along with various matrices of Mystic Symbols and various runes, the Humvee became something entirely different from its original, but still, with the same purpose...

(…)

-//-

It took me some time to wipe the smile off my face, but when I did, I began to read the Humvee's status more carefully.

The first thing I noticed was that the rarity of the Humvee was Light Red, which was strange since I used several materials of Light Red rarity in building the matrices.

The next rarity either had to be something much stronger than Light Red, or it had some requirement to be reached that the Humvee currently lacked.

Still, it didn't really matter much, as the result of the Humvee was something I was more than satisfied with. Sure, it could always be better, but for now, it was enough…

… I hoped, at least.

Unlike the other nights, I didn't go to sleep this night but instead pulled out my armor from the VoidBag, as well as several sets of cold weather clothing, both male and female.

The first thing I did was upgrade some parts of my armor, drawing cold resistance matrices in the places that still had space.

Meanwhile, I threw all the clothing sets into a cauldron filled with Scarlet Ore paint and let them soak in the paint for a while before pulling them out and letting them dry.

I realized moments later that it would take longer than expected for the clothes to dry, so I ended up improvising a heat matrix and a wind matrix to speed up the process.

With the armor part finished and the clothes drying, I moved on to the last thing I wanted to do.

"You really won't acknowledge me as your master?" I asked the Shadowflame sitting on the table in front of me.

"KRIKRIKRIKIKI!" The flame crackled in an aggressive manner that I only understood as such due to my familiarity with it.

"Huh? Do you have a talking flame too?!" Millia, who had woken up after an afternoon nap, quickly wrote.

What do you mean, too? "Do you have one of these, Millia?" I asked, holding the Shadowflame necklace.

"No! But Aunt Alice had one, but hers was rainbow-colored, not this strange purple!" The little slime replied, making the Shadowflame crackle even more aggressively, as if offended by the insult to its color.

"And did your Aunt Alice manage to get her flame to acknowledge her as a master?" I asked without much hope.

"Uhm....? I don't know! D: - Sorry, I never thought to ask!" Millia wrote, shrinking a bit for not having the information.

"Nah, don't be sad, I'll find some way to make this guy respect me." I reassured the little slime with a smile.

After that, I tossed some slime cores for the Shadowflame to eat, of course, out of Millia's sight, and left the Shadowflame on the table, illuminating the clearing.

"Millia, what do you eat?" I asked after a few seconds, while looking at the clothes that were almost dry.

It never crossed my mind, but do slimes eat something specific?

"Everything! But I like sweet things, salty things make my gel bubble, and I don't like it!" Was the response that the little slime wrote.

I'll interpret the "everything" in this sentence as literally everything, which included rocks and metals. Now, what was sweet and salty in this case, I had no idea.

"Do you want a cake?" I asked while taking a chocolate cake out of the inventory. "It's chocolate." I offered.

"Yay! I had eaten a bit of grass and some leaves, but I always have room for dessert! :D" She replied, jumping toward the cake.

Interestingly, she didn't devour the entire cake but instead transformed part of her body into a knife and cut a slice.

"Do you have a plate?" The words formed as she asked me. "Three, actually!"

"Millia, why did you eat grass and leaves?" I asked while taking the plates out of my inventory and placing them on the table.

After the little slime cut two more pieces of the cake, placing all three on each plate, she turned to me and answered with a certain hesitation.

"I didn't want to be a bother... I saw the slimes that exist in this forest, they are... empty..." She explained, writing slowly.

"I don't want you to think that I'm like them. I can do things on my own! I'm already big!... Well, a little, still growing... Even so! I'm already a big princess!" She wrote, just before making the words disappear.

"Millia, first of all, I'll never compare you to the other slimes." This idea was so absurd in my mind that it was never considered for a second, actually.

On one hand, there was the daughter of the king and queen slime, as Millia had confirmed she was their daughter and a princess.

On the other hand, some particularly dumb gel balls that spent the whole day hopping around.

There was absolutely no possibility of me comparing them.

"Second, if you're hungry, thirsty..." Do slimes drink water? "... or wanting anything else, just ask me, okay?" I said with the gentlest tone I could muster.

"... Okay... Thank you..." The little slime wrote. "Here, take this." Millia offered me one of the cake slices she had cut. "I made sure my gel didn't stick to the cake, don't worry!"

I glanced at the piece of cake momentarily before grabbing a fork from the inventory and starting to eat.

In the meantime, Millia placed the other piece in front of Shadowflame. "Here, sorry for calling your color strange; that was mean of me," she said, offering the piece to the flame.

I watched the scene alertly, unsure of how Shadowflame would react. The moment the flame tried to attack Millia, I would toss it into the inventory.

Fortunately, it wasn't necessary, as the flame flickered for a moment before moving as if waving and then stretching to start eating the cake.

Well, burning the cake was the right move in this case, but that's okay.

It must have been a strange scene to witness.

A tiny slime with a staff attached to its body like an antenna, a necklace with a purple flame, and a human, all eating a piece of cake sitting at a table in a clearing at night...

Well, I couldn't complain; the cake was good, and the company, as strange as it was, was good too...

[...]

"The Oakwood boy said he'll be running late," Gilbert sang.

"He already called me to let me know," I nodded.

It was the next morning, to be more specific, seven in the morning.

The rest of last night was calm; Millia went to sleep shortly after eating the cake, and I followed suit after turning off the stream and putting Shadowflame in the inventory.

I woke up a few hours later and started working on the cold-weather clothes that were already dry. I continued until around six in the morning when Gilbert and Robyn showed up in the clearing.

"Do you know what's going on? It's not like the boy to be late; something might have happened," Gilbert murmured.

"From what he told me, it had something to do with his mother; I just don't know what. But if it were serious, he would have let me know," I explained, not looking at the merchant as I was still drawing Mystical Symbols on the clothes.

It wasn't the best option, but I sucked at sewing, and since I didn't have Wall Creeper silk, I didn't bother.

"Could his mother have kept him at home to prevent him from going on this mission?" Robyn asked, speaking for the first time since arriving.

"It's not impossible, but it's unlikely," I replied.

After all, it was Helena's idea to send Dylan to rescue his sister, or rather, to get away from the kingdom.

The only reason I saw for her to change her mind is if the problem happening in the kingdom had already been resolved, which it hadn't...

"...Speaking of keeping someone, aren't you going to let her walk?" I pointed to the snow fox on Robyn's arm. "Or are you afraid I'll steal her?" I smiled, pointing to the distance between me, Gilbert, and her, who was on the other side of the clearing.

It was cute how she seemed to keep her distance from me, not out of fear or anything, but because she didn't want her fox to run towards me.

"I'm afraid I won't be able to control myself and punch that smile off your face," she replied in a dry tone but still approached.

"Oh, young love... Am I finally going to be a grandfather? Will I have a grandson or granddaughter to take care of me in my old age?" Gilbert said in a dramatic fashion, looking at the sky, before having to duck, avoiding Robyn's whip strike.

"You old ingrate, I'll be the one taking care of you in your old age!" Robyn exclaimed as she stored the whip. "Besides, I don't plan on having kids for a long, long time."

"Unfortunately, I have to agree with the aggressive woman over there," I said, pointing to Robyn. "Ignoring the fact that I'm only twenty-one, the current situation I find myself in is not the best for thinking about children..."

If I ever have a child, it will be in a world where they can play and run without worry, where stories of monsters under the bed are just that, stories.

"Twenty-one?" Robyn asked in a low voice. "You're younger than me?"

"Yes, surprised?" I replied, making Robyn raise her head in my direction.

What? Did she think I hadn't heard?

"A bit, actually. I thought you were older..." She responded with a few seconds of hesitation.

Before I could come up with a response, a "PING" sounded on the Minimap. Two green dots.

"Dylan and Selina have arrived," I informed the other two as I stood up.

"Uh, where?" Gilbert asked, looking away from the sky.

"Five kilometers in that direction," I pointed to the area behind me, towards the kingdom.

Five kilometers because it was the new range of the Minimap, along with the VoidBag, which had increased from thirty meters to a hundred meters.

-//-

[Live Map LV6: 3,000,000 SP]

[VoidBag LV7: 10,000,000 SP]

[Current SP: 1,722,726]

-//-

My dear SP had gone away... Well, at least the upgrades to the VoidBag and Minimap were more than just their total range.

First, the Minimap gained a new icon next to the one that enabled ore visibility. The only difference was that this icon didn't show ore veins but plants instead.

It was basically the same thing, the only difference being that now I knew what each plant around me was. A good overall update.

As for the VoidBag, besides increasing the size to a hundred meters, which was quite a lot, not much had changed.

The control I had over the inventory had become even greater, and I felt like I could do things more easily, but other than that, not much had changed.

It was a somewhat lackluster update compared to the Minimap, but the extra seventy meters of range kind of made up for it.

"What?... You can sense their mana from this distance?" Robyn asked with a shocked look, mirrored by Gilbert's expression.

"More or less..." Well, if I focused, I could, but it wasn't my merit in this case; it was the stream's.

Ignoring the looks Robyn and Gilbert were giving me, it took about ten minutes for Selina and Dylan to reach the clearing, as the two didn't seem to be running.

"Dylan, my friend!" I shouted as he entered the clearing, accompanied by the Steampunker. "You're free!" I exclaimed, laughing as Dylan sighed.

"It seems like you guessed the reason for our delay then," Selina said with a smile. "Come on, 'cousin,' Aunt Helena was just worried. She didn't lock you up as you expected."

"No... but I felt like she wanted to..." Dylan sighed, walking behind Selina.

"Don't get depressed; your mom can be super protective, but at least it's for your own good... Well, to a certain extent," I shrugged. "Here, a present." I said as I tossed the clothes I had prepared for Dylan and Selina before turning around and handing the others to Gilbert and Robyn.

"Is this Direwolf fur?" Robyn murmured as she ran her hand over the hood of the outfit.

"I killed a pack of them a while ago," I said, shaking Dylan's hand.

"Thanks, I had one prepared, but still, I appreciate it." He nodded before taking a step back.

"Thank you too. But I think it might be tight in some places..." Selina commented with a light smile.

"What? Would you prefer it to have a perfect fit?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"You just dream of knowing my measurements," she said, sticking out her tongue and giving me a pat on the back.

Gilbert was next. The old merchant didn't hesitate to pull me into a hug as he thanked me. I returned the hug with the same strength before we both stepped back and started laughing.

"Of course, you'd get along with my dad..." Robyn muttered before giving me a handshake, thanking me.

After a few more minutes of conversation, I finally brought up the main topic.

"Well, I suppose everyone has had breakfast?" With everyone nodding in agreement, I continued. "Great, let's get going then; we have a long journey." I said just before pulling the Humvee from the inventory.

As expected, everyone looked at the vehicle's new appearance in amazement, well, those who had seen it before at least, which was the case for Gilbert and Dylan.

Robyn seemed shocked only by the huge size of the car, while Selina...

"WHAT?!"

...She ran past me, heading towards the Humvee and inspecting it like a person lost in the desert searching for water...

Although in this case, a junkie looking for crack would be the more accurate comparison...

"I hadn't even thought about that..." I heard Dylan murmur. As I turned and looked at him, he continued. "Selina, well... She may call me a nerd, but when it comes to anything mechanical, she's ten times worse..."

Huh? I thought she'd be the type to treat technology as a tool, like Stark, but it seems she's more of a Ruby type...

After a few seconds of looking at the Humvee from every possible angle, Selina turned around and walked quickly in my direction, stopping in front of me, raising her head to look me in the eyes.

"If you let me study that, I'll marry you," she said with a serious face, making Dylan slap his forehead, and the stream's chat exploded with messages.

"I'll have to decline," I replied with a flat look. "I feel like marrying the heir of a ducal house will only bring me a headache." I said seriously.

She didn't seem disappointed and continued at the same pace. "It doesn't have to be marriage; I can just be your-." A hand covered her mouth before she could finish, courtesy of our guide... Because I felt like this offer would be inappropriate for minors?

"Ignore the idiotic creature that unfortunately happens to be my cousin too," Dylan sighed with tired eyes. "Didn't you say you'd prefer women to men?" Dylan asked Selina after taking his hand off her mouth.

From the corner of my eye, I could see Gilbert and Robyn watching everything with amused looks.

"Yes, but I never said I didn't like men too," she replied, pointing to the Humvee. "And I prefer machines to both, for that is worth it..." She said with a gleam in her eyes.

Why did I feel like if I showed her the ARC reactor, she would be willing to sell her soul?...

[...]

After managing to calm Selina with the promise that I would negotiate with her when we returned from the mission, we got into the Humvee and finally set off.

The layout inside the Humvee was simple: I was the driver, for obvious reasons, Dylan was in the passenger seat since he was the one guiding the way.

In the back of the Humvee, I had placed a second seat in place of the trunk, as a trunk was not really necessary when I had my inventory, and everyone else in the car had some accessory with a Travel Space.

On the seat behind mine, Robyn was sitting with her fox on her lap, with its head out the window. As for the owl, it was flying outside the Humvee and would probably come in when it got tired, if it didn't land on the roof.

Gilbert, who was sitting in the back seat behind Dylan, seemed to be just enjoying the ride. He had opened the window and let the wind gently hit his face as he looked outside and saw the landscape passing quickly.

Finally, Selina, who was sitting between Gilbert and Robyn, leaving the last seat of the Humvee empty.

"You know there's a whole seat back there, right?" I asked. Damn, did I put that shit there for nothing?

"There's no window back there," was the reply she gave before opening the Humvee's roof hatch and sticking half of her body out.

"If you fall, it's going to hurt." We were going sixty kilometers per hour; it wouldn't be pretty.

"I can take care of myself!" It was the muffled shout I heard over the wind.

Well, my warning was given.

The next hour of the journey was quiet, with occasional conversations happening here and there.

Unfortunately, I had to maintain this speed, unable to accelerate the Humvee since the route wasn't straight, and making turns at over a hundred kilometers per hour with a car that weighed several tons wasn't the smartest idea.

"Dylan, at this speed, how long do you think it will take us to get there?" I asked.

Dylan hesitated for a few seconds, his eyes shining slightly in a light blue. It had been a while since I saw him do that.

"Three days and six hours with few breaks, possibly varying a few hours," he replied.

"Hmm... How long until we reach the coast?" I asked, briefly glancing at the map; on the coastal part, the route straightened out...

"About an hour. Do you want to do something there?" He asked.

"If we stop at the coast, there's a fishing village where I have some friends. We can stop there to eat before continuing the journey," Gilbert commented. I could see in the rearview mirror that he had his eyes closed while speaking.

"Not a bad idea..." I had planned for us to eat in the Humvee, but stopping at a coastal restaurant wasn't a bad idea.

I also wanted to see the Terraria sea since I hadn't had the chance yet.

"I'm allergic to octopus. But I'm up for eating fish, especially shrimp," Selina shouted from the Humvee's hatch.

"I'm not against it either, even though I don't like beach sand, I like eating fish," Robyn commented while petting her fox.

"And you, Dylan?" I asked the guide.

"As long as we don't take too long, I'm in favor of stopping to eat. Just don't ask me to go into the sea," Dylan commented, shrugging.

"Still afraid of the sea, Dylan?" Before I could comment, Selina crouched down, getting back into the Humvee. "It's just water, you know, right?" She asked with a mischievous smile on her face.

"Still afraid of bees?" Dylan shot back, making the Steampunker's face turn into a grimace. "It's just an insect, you know, right?" He repeated.

"Touché... But that demonic being is not just an insect, it's evil with wings!" she exclaimed before returning to the Humvee roof.

Dylan had a victorious smile on his face with that conversation.

"And you, Millia, you said salt makes your gel bubble. Is it okay to go to the beach?" I asked the tiny slime sitting on my shoulder, remembering the comment she had made earlier.

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Millia reaching forward and writing the words: "Okay! I just won't go on the sand, it makes my gel dirty! D: - But I like fish! :D"

"Well, it's settled then," I exclaimed with confirmation. "No octopus for Selina, no sand for Millia and Robyn, and no sea for Dylan. All good?" With nods of confirmation, I slightly adjusted the route to the village Gilbert had mentioned.

"To the beach then!"

[...]

Omake - Non-Canonical: Not even a touch!

(And if Devas and the Kamado family encountered an oni on a car trip?)

"Tanjuro... Take this." I said as I handed one of my katanas from the inventory.

The man who looked sleepy opened his eyes and seemed fully awake with my actions.

"Enemies?" He asked.

"Some... Coming towards us quickly." I quickly counted the points on the Minimap, all red. "Thirty, to be more precise."

I slowed down the Humvee and opened the door. Tanjuro did the same.

"Stay here, leave them to me." I told Tanjuro as I equipped my armor and pulled Houtengeki from the VoidBag.

The man nodded seriously and stood guard beside the Humvee, where his family was sleeping.

I walked calmly to the front of the Humvee and waited, the darkness of the night making the atmosphere tense. After a few seconds, I had confirmation that they were onis and not just roadside bandits.

They looked similar, all having light blue hair, entirely black clothes, six arms, and multiple pupils, like a fly. Some kind of insect oni variation?...

"Can I help you with something?" I asked rhetorically.

"Yes!" They all responded as one. That was an unpleasant thing to hear... "We want your flesh! Your blood!"

"Okay, forget it, just be quiet." Their voices had a high pitch, it was like listening to the buzz of several insects at once.

"Do you dare to answer us, food! We-" Before they could continue, I pulled out my trump card that I had in case I encountered an Upper Moon.

One by one, several UV lanterns appeared, alongside them, the UV spotlights I had found in Japan.

As one, they all turned on at the same time, pointed at the onis in front of me, instantly lighting up the night.

I briefly heard some hissing and high-pitched screams, and I could see the points representing the onis on the Minimap disappear one by one practically at the same time.

Less than a second later, all the onis in front of me had disappeared, burned and turning to ashes in the wind.

"Devas, what was that?" Tanjuro, who was in the back of the Humvee, asked after I turned off the lights.

"That was me testing a theory..." Onis died from UV light; I doubted it would work on stronger onis, but it was good to know, as even if it didn't kill them, it would still be a distraction.

"Theory?..." He looked confused. "And the onis, what happened? I heard the voices, but then they disappeared after the light. Did you kill them?"

"I didn't. I just pointed the flashlight; who killed them was science." Tanjuro's confused face was funny, so much that I had to hold back from laughing.

It was lucky the children hadn't woken up with those annoying voices; I didn't want to take any risks.

"Come on, you can go to sleep. If something happens, I'll let you know." I said, returning to the Humvee, with Tanjuro doing the same.

In the next life, at least, I hope those insects learn not to follow any random light, after all, they might end up burning...

... Or turning to dust.