Ball of Nothing

Travelling with Truen was something Zero enjoyed tremendously. As they put their heads to think of how to find a gnome city and the desert poppy, Zero also learned about Truen's new abilities.

"How come you never told me that you had such wonderful magic? Area Detection will help us navigate our way in the desert without a map. It's also good for finding underground caves. I don't know how many caves will reach the bedrock level but it's better than not knowing there was a cave beneath our feet."

Truen smirked. "I thought you said you had a plan?"

Hearing his best friend tease him about his lack of planning skills made Zero blush. In all honesty, Zero did make a plan. He just didn't think that far ahead.

"I planned! We just needed to find the desert poppy and a gnome city then get back. We already have a map of the desert so I thought we could mark out the place that had oasis towns as places to ask for directions."

While there was nothing wrong with Zero's plan, there was still too much uncertainty in it. Truen didn't know how Zero managed to survive so far but then he remembered that there was always someone else beside Zero to help him out. Even if there weren't anyone, Mii would always be the one scolding the doctor for his lack of foresight. His worries about Zero's future were unfounded and Truen felt a little silly for even considering it.

"Truen, what do you think we should name these sand walkers? Axel said that they are both females."

Whatever Truen thought Zero was going to say, it most certainly was not about naming some sand walkers. "Is this very important? I thought we're trying to plan what we're going to do about getting to Derby Desert and finding a solution to your village's shortage of manpower."

"Nah, those can solve themselves," Zero said airily. "I have an idea of what to do about them. The more important thing is to think about how we can name these beasts. According to Merlin, naming things can give them power. While they are strong, I think they need something extra against the harsh terrains of the desert. Also, regular beasts won't stand a chance against the dense mana in the air at Endow Hill. I also don't want them to be overwhelmed if Bob is going to join us."

Now that Zero mentioned it, the doctor had a good point. Horses were scared of dragons and that was one of the main reasons why Vrald and his group travelled mostly on foot. Olaf was still a dragon even if he was in his human form. Most humans cannot tell but it wasn't the same for animals and were folks.

"I don't really know. How about you name them? Just don't name them too powerful. I don't want to have to deal with questions about having two legendary evolved beasts."

Zero raised a brow. "I'm not going to do that. Besides, what can sand walkers evolve into? Dragons?"

The archer took a good look at the strange creatures and frowned. "Possibly. They're lizard-like with a bit of bird and fish on the side. If anything, I'd think of a basilisk instead of a dragon but that's not my point. Don't overdo it and control your magic when you name them."

Point noted, Zero threw name ideas at their mounts. The sand walkers weren't very responsive and Zero sighed. He didn't want to stick a name to them if they didn't like it. Surely there would be a sign if they liked a name, right?

They stopped for lunch and Zero was mentally exhausted. He came up with over three hundred names but neither of the sand walkers reacted to them. Still, the doctor wasn't going to give up. Truen's suggestions didn't sound much better. His friend mentioned that these sand walkers resembled velociraptors on the previous Earth. Although dinosaurs were extinct, books about it could still be found. Mii had been nice enough to find an illustration on that dinosaur for Zero who spent his time reading up a lot about dinosaurs. The naming was forgotten for a few days as they travelled in silence with Zero occasionally sharing fun facts about dinosaurs.

"I can't believe these sand walkers are relatives of dinosaurs from the old Earth. Unlike their terrifying cousins, they eat straw instead of meat. That's good to know. Also, do you think they can swim? Those webbed feet make me think they can."

Truen shrugged. "I have no idea, Zero. The one way to find out is to shove one of them into the water and see if they can swim. I highly suggest against it. Pulling a thrashing beast out is going to be more difficult than pushing them in."

Zero considered it and watched as his mounts ate. Then, an idea came to him. He wasn't known to be the best with names but surely, it wouldn't be anything as bad as the man who named dinosaurs after a direct translation from the language of the titans "Terrible Reptile" right?

To make it fancy-sounding, Zero decided to name them in a similar language of gods. He named Truen's mount "Ela" for "Light-footed" and his mount "Grigoria" for "Quick-footed" to wish them a speedy journey. Truen watched as the names became a line of runes, shackling the necks of the sand walkers as they evolved.

"How much magic did you put into their names?" the archer asked when the sand walkers transformed. They were beginning to shed feathers and Truen wondered if they were going to see a basilisk.

Zero watched as the sand walkers moulted their scales and shed their feathers to grow new ones. Ela grew some fiery orange feathers and dark green scales that reflected the sunlight. Grigoria grew yellow feathers and had dark blue scales that also reflected the sunlight. Both sand walkers were easier to identify after their transformation and Zero grinned. He took out a hunting knife and prodded the new scales, they were solid as steel.

"What do you think about armoured sand walkers?" he asked.

Truen nodded in approval. "You did well. At least now we can tell which mount is mine. Still, are the feathers merely for show or can they actually fly now?"

Zero shrugged. "Only one way of finding out. We shove them off the cliff and tie a rope on them in case they can't. Though I must say, pulling up a beast as big as this will be more tedious than pushing them off a cliff."

Truen took two seconds to understand why those words sounded familiar. Zero was learning how to throw the words he used back at him. Feeling annoyed but proud that this doctor was growing, Truen rolled his eyes and dismissed the idea. It was way too much work.

"Let's go. I can smell the forest of Endow Hill now, we must be close to the border. If we're fast, we can reach it by late afternoon and look for a place to set up camp. I don't know about you but I feel like hunting for pheasants."

Zero agreed. The food offerings by the giants might be good but nothing beats the thrill of hunting and cooking wild pheasants over a campfire.