Danmachi – Card Wizard

(Ais POV)

"Well, I'll see you later." Said the girl as she waved her hand at the boy who accompanied her ever since she joined the Loki familia.

"Bye, be safe." He smiled back at her as he waved and looked at them leaving the familia manor.

"Our task is to go to the forest of the elves, I have something to do there." Explained the elven women as she brought Ais along with her on her travels. "On our way there, we will stop at three villages, each plagued by some kind of monster and you will have to track it and kill it. It is different from the dungeon as the monsters in the wild aren't as bloodthirsty and are a lot more crafty." She explained as she wanted to give her some different experience. After all, The monsters in the dungeon were completely different from those in the wild.

"I see. Will we kill a lot of monsters on the way over there?" Asked the young girl as she was pumped to be able to kill monsters while in the wild. She didn't believe that Aidan wouldn't find a way to enter the dungeon during his free time despite being told not to. After all, they both loved fighting but more importantly, they loved improving themselves and reaching new heights.

"Yes, there should be a few monsters on our way that you will hunt down. After all, all the monsters outside the dungeon are a potential danger for normal civilians and adventurers' jobs is also to kill those same monsters before they start killing mindlessly." Nodded the women as they both entered a carriage which would be led to the first village. "At the same time, during our travels, I will teach you how to control your magic properly and help you improve your swordsmanship." She continued as she gave a glance at Ais.

"I see." She nodded but all she could think of were the monsters she would have the chance to kill. 'I hope that when I come back to Orario, my parameters aren't too far from Aidan's.' She could only think hopefully, knowing that they would probably have a pretty big difference.

---

After their first day in the carriage, Riveria had the coach stop on the side of the road as they would be camping for the night. Previously, whenever she wanted to travel, she would have to keep plenty of bags and items for a better life in the wild. However, now that there were storage cards made by Aidan, her life had become a lot easier.

"Well sleep here for the night and we'll be leaving tomorrow morning at the same time as the sun." Exclaimed the high-elf as she immediately took out the already built tent and the various supplies for the night. "Ais if you would be kind enough to place the necessary card around the encampment for safety, I'd be great." She continued as she looked at the young girl as if taunting her to say something.

"Mhm." Answered the young girl as she was obviously not thrilled to have to stay with the 'old hag' for the following two months.

"Well, after that, you're free to do whatever you want. I have some work to do."

"Alright." Nodded the young girl as she took out her sword and moved to an open space to do some exercise. While there weren't any monsters in the surroundings for her to train on, she always did some exercise to keep her senses sharp and be ready for any enemies that might appear.

After an hour of training, Ais went back to her own large tent as she took out a bath and filled it with water before heating it up with one of Aidan's cards. 'His magic is as useful as always.' She thought to herself as she undressed and entered the bath to clean up the sweat and get ready for the night.

Half an hour later, after cleani ng up after herself and getting in her pyjamas, she slipped into a bed she kept in the storage card and directly went to sleep.

---

An hour and a half later, the young girl turned in her bed, her eyes fully opened. 'I can't sleep. If only Aidan was there, sleeping with him is the best.' She thought as she looked at the wall of the tent angrily. 'Why did I have to accompany the old hag, couldn't she bring someone else with her?'

Getting up from her bed, she went to drink a bit of water before using the coldness card Aidan had previously created which would be useful against monsters who were afraid of the cold. 'With this card at a low strength in the tent, it should be easier to sleep when I'm under the covers.' She thought with a smile on her face at her 'brilliant idea'.

---

The following morning, Ais woke up only to feel her throat parched and feeling bad as she had no force to get up. 'Crap, did I keep the cold too strong in the tent?' She thought in horror as only the idea of getting up and leaving her covers made her want to bury her head back in the covers.

Forcing herself to get out of the covers and enter a warm bath as she hoped to completely wake up with it and maybe cure her parched throat, Riveria pushed open the tent entrance and entered only to see the sick Ais. "What happened?" She asked with concern in her voice.

"I couldn't sleep last night. So, I used the coldness card at the lowest intensity possible to feel better and fall asleep easier. However, when I woke up this morning, I felt very bad." She explained as she didn't know what to do. She was hesitant to use the healing card Aidan had made since it could save her life in a difficult situation.

With an exasperated sigh, Riveria looked at her for a moment before continuing to talk to her. "Use the healing card, at least you'll feel better. Hopefully, our two months trip will allow you to fall asleep without being with Aidan." She said as she shook her head, understanding the reason her apprentice couldn't sleep.

"Yes." Answered the golden haired girl as she immediately took out the card and felt better instantly after using it.

"Get ready, we're leaving in ten minutes." Said the women before leaving the tent once again.

"Sigh, Only two months minus a day remaining. I hope we won't have to spend more time than necessary. I already miss Aidan." Said the girl out loud as she looked back to the water, a bit depressed.

Outside the tent, Riveria clearly heard the words of the girl. After all, while she wasn't a beastman with enhanced senses, she was still a high-level adventurer and her senses were extremely developed. "Let's train her enough so that she will be too exhausted at night to not fall asleep." She nodded to herself as she really wanted what was best for the young girl who was rapidly getting ready.

---

For the next few weeks, Ais and Riveria fought wild monsters and trained together. At night, Ais was too exhausted to stay awake and it allowed her to vent her frustration on monsters at the same time.

"We'll be arriving at the center of the forest of the elves. I won't be able to accompany you to fight everyday since I have some things to do. So, for the few days that we stay here, take some time to relax. We won't stay for long and we'll rush back to Orario once we're done here.. Believe me, I also want to leave as fast as possible.