Traveling wasn't just about getting somewhere. The beautiful scenery along the roads was another treasure of the journey... as were the magical beasts that "spawned" in the wild.
After taking Raphtalia along for a joyride on a dog-Bruce, to be precise-Chuan Wenwu had Bruce return to his humanoid form, and the three of them dutifully continued toward Rude Village on foot.
Bruce was his trusted companion, his brother!
How could he possibly treat Bruce as a mount?!
All right, the main reason was actually that maintaining his original form consumed a great deal of energy, and carrying Chuan Wenwu made that consumption even greater. If a meal in his beastman form cost only one silver coin, a meal in his magical beast form cost at least fifty. Until they found a place teeming with magical beasts, Chuan Wenwu couldn't quite afford it.
On the way to Rude Village, they inevitably encountered plenty of "old friends"-the Balloon Monsters found everywhere across the grasslands.
They were weak magical beasts, and the materials they dropped were cheap, but even a mosquito's leg was still meat. Chuan Wenwu turned none away. Or rather, he wouldn't spare a single magical beast that entered his sight!
They could also use these free, weak "punching bags" for practice. Chuan Wenwu focused on trying out the god-tier skill, Shield Bash, which he had gained when he unlocked the Cross Shield. Bruce practiced killing enemies efficiently with his greatsword, while Raphtalia tagged along in Chuan Wenwu's hero party to pick up experience.
How should he put it... Shield Bash was indeed a god-tier skill. It converted his defense, which had previously only improved his survivability, into attack damage. Unfortunately, the Balloon Monsters they encountered in the wild were far too troublesome.
"Shield bash" sounded just like "blunt strike" in