A short-lived fierce fire.

After my fight with the giant red bird — and after resting for a few minutes — we decided to keep going. The sun was still up ; sleep time was still far away.

While we were walking to the next town, I started thinking. It was a fact that I was weak by this world's standards . There was no doubt about it. But... how was I supposed to get stronger?
This wasn't like a game, where you could level up and increase your stats while gaining stronger skills.
Even if I defeated a lot of enemies, my "stats" would never increase. If anything, my muscles might become a little more developed as a result of physical activity, but that's all.
And even if I learned new fire-based magic skills, my body would still severely limit my options.
Faylinn said that most of my options would come from magical items.
Slowly accumulating magical items was certainly a possibility. But I needed more than that.
The custom-made item that the blacksmith of Rida was making for me was going to be useful, but maybe that wasn't the only thing from my world I could use here.

Leonel: Astra, are there any magical items that can accumulate lightning magic?

Astra: Lots of them. But it's not just crafted items. There are magic crystals, too. Certain magic crystals can absorb mana from the surroundings and turn it into elemental mana. For example, a topaz-based magic crystal will naturally absorb mana from the environment and turn it into lightning-type mana.

Leonel: Do you think we can buy one in the next town, or are they hard to find?

Astra: They are not exactly hard to find, but if you find any magic crystals for sale, they will probably be quite small. I wonder if they can be of any use to you. Most of them are used to power small tools.

Leonel: It's okay if they are small. They would still be good enough for what I'm planning on doing.

Faylinn: Leo, if you want to pick some magical tools that fit your fighting style, you might want to focus mostly on regeneration amulets. Other magical items will be of limited use to you.

Leonel: You might be right, but if I can re-create certain items from my world, then we will have more options during combat.

Faylinn: Items from your world? What are they? I want to know! said Faylinn with an expression that denoted extreme curiosity.

Leonel: I will be crafting a support item for Astra. If I craft everything correctly, she will be able to help us in combat from a safe distance.

Faylinn: Safe distance? Faylinn immediately laughed. "She is more sturdy than a granite boulder. Even if she was being attacked by ten of those giant red birds, she would probably take very little damage".

Leonel: But she has no actual fighting skills, right? With the thing I have in mind, she will be able to occasionally join the fight.

Astra: That's nice of you, Leo. But you should really focus on acquiring stuff for yourself. This world is a dangerous place for a human like you.

Leonel: I know. I know...

Faylinn: Speaking of dangerous stuff, Leo's sword broke in half. Are you going to replace it? If you have no swordsmanship skills, the same thing will happen again.

Leonel: Well, I still have a magic dagger I got from a green lady. This dagger might be useful since it has the ability to absorb heat through the grip and transfer it to the blade. I can essentially turn it into a "fire dagger" if I do that.

Faylinn: That's the dagger you were using against the earth elemental when we first met you, right? Leo, that dagger is not a weapon; it's a tool. If you heat the blade and use it against any kind of enemy, the heated blade will easily bend. Don't waste your time using it.

Leonel: Then what should I do? Should I really get another sword? What kind of weapon should I use to survive in this world?

Astra: I guess at some point you might be able to get an azurium sword, but those are extremely rare and expensive. For now, you will need to rely on other things.

Leonel: What is azurium? Some kind of metal?

Faylinn: Azurium is a horrible metal. But, for you, it might be a good thing. An azurium sword will constantly cool its immediate vicinity. It will cool down your arm if you are holding it in your hand. This means you could, in theory, use fire-type strengthening magic on your arm for extended periods of time without burning your muscles from the inside.

Leonel: I definitely need one!

Faylinn: You won't be finding one anytime soon...

Astra: Leo, are there any fire weapons in your world that you could re-create here?

Leonel: Hmmm, there is the molotov cocktail. People in my country use them all the time during protests against the government. I suppose they could be useful against enemies that are made of flesh and bone. They probably won't work on an earth elemental, though.

Faylinn: How do those things work!? Once again, Faylinn's extreme curiosity was written all over her face.

Leonel: Once we get to the next town, I will show you.

We kept walking for a while, and night eventually fell upon us.

Astra: It's getting late. Shouldn't we find a place to sleep?

Leonel: Maybe, but, before we go to bed, there is something I must show you.

Astra: What is it?

Faylinn: Is it what you promised!? Faylinn was very excited.

Leonel: Yes, Faylinn. Now that it's night time, you will finally get to see why I bought those ingredients from the alchemist in Rida.

I grabbed the ingredients from my backpack. I placed some saltpeter, some charcoal, and sulfur on the ground.

While keeping a safe distance, I fired a tiny spark from my right finger directly at the mix of ingredients on the ground.

Needless to say, it quickly ignited, producing a bright burst of flames that rose rapidly and quickly consumed all the ingredients in the process.

The girls were in awe.

Leonel: This is called gunpowder. It's used in certain weapons from my world. Unfortunately, the blacksmith of Rida explained to me that making one of those weapons in this world is a little unrealistic.

Faylinn: Then can't you make a different weapon with it? I'm sure this can be useful in combat.

Astra: Faylinn is right. Considering the fierceness of the flames, this could very well become a powerful weapon when used at a very close distance.

Leonel: Actually, I did ask the blacksmith to make something else for me. It's not what I originally planned, and it might be very unreliable, but if it works, then it might be useful in situations where other weapons won't work.

Faylinn: I can't wait to see it! Faylinn was now more excited than usual; her eyes were sparkling. It was almost as if she had fallen in love with gunpowder. I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing.

Astra: I'm looking forward to it. Leo's world seems to be a bit more developed than ours.

Leonel: It's not just a bit... anyway, we should really go to bed now. It's getting really dark.

Astra: We should probably rest under a tree for tonight. We can take turns watching out for dangerous creatures.

Faylinn: I'll take the first turn!

That was when I noticed my mistake.

Back in the town of Rida, when we exchanged my wristwatch for a ton of stuff, I completely forgot to ask for a tent or sleeping bags.
I felt like an idiot.
Sleeping on the ground under a tree wasn't going to be easy.