After several hours of struggling, Igor had successfully mastered the Concealment Spell, but he still couldn't transform his belongings into clothes to wear according to his wishes.
Clothes were intricate. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't merge several separate items into a single piece of clothing. At most, he could manage a few pieces of cloth or perhaps a vest. When he managed to transform the waterskin, its carrying strap would fall off; if he transformed the dried bread, the goggles would be left behind...
No matter what Igor did, he couldn't transform two different items of baggage into one piece of clothing. He could turn all his baggage into clothes, but wearing so many clothes at once just seemed... excessive.
Ultimately, Igor had to compromise. He reluctantly transformed all his belongings into bandages and wrapped them around his arms, calves, waist, and even his head.
If one didn't look closely, they might mistake Igor for an injured man.
As for Liko and Pita, they were unsettled by Igor's question, "What did you two do last night?" Consequently, they were in no mood to delve deeper into the Concealment Spell.
Of course, they didn't answer Igor's question either. It was their secret, and how could they easily reveal it to an outsider, even if this outsider didn't seem like a bad person?
"Last night, we… went out… just…" Pita stammered at the time, unsure how to answer.
Liko, however, wasn't as hesitant as Pita. He said bluntly, "That's a secret! I can't tell you. If I told you, it wouldn't be a secret anymore!"
They both expected Igor to plead with them, but he merely responded with an "Oh." He didn't press the matter and immediately immersed himself in studying the Concealment Spell.
"By the way, why haven't you used the spell on that talking book of yours?" Liko asked, puzzled, as he watched Igor put the Spirit Book into his knapsack.
"You idiot! That's a Spirit Book. It can sense Spirit Power, which means it's a special Living Entity. The Concealment Spell isn't applicable to it." Pita never missed a chance to slight Liko.
"Huh? It was chattering away just a moment ago. Why is it quiet now?" Igor shook his knapsack. "This fellow is usually very talkative!"
Pita, after all, was a third-rate scholar and knew a thing or two. Patting Igor's shoulder, he said, "I heard from my elders that this kind of Spirit Book needs to absorb Spirit Power to function. Perhaps you need to catch a rabbit or some other creature to feed it."
"Where would we find a rabbit?" Liko and Igor asked simultaneously.
"Erm..." Pita could only palm his forehead, expressing his exasperation.
The trio only began their ascent around noon. With their unnecessary baggage concealed on their persons via the spell, each of them now only carried a walking stick, appearing quite relaxed.
Liko, as always, was laden with boxes of gold dust stuffed all over him. He swaggered up the mountain, winking and making faces at the few acquaintances he encountered.
Pita, as usual, still preferred to transform his baggage into paper and ink, tucking it into his breast pocket, feeling as if his entire being was suffused with knowledge.
Even though it was nearly noon, many Treasure Hunters were still moving up and down the mountain.
Igor temporarily set aside the matter of the silent Spirit Book. For now, his attention was captured by a group of bustling people at the foot of the mountain.
"Senior Pita, was that a Flowing Water Mount that person was just riding?"
"Senior Liko, why didn't that Fighter we just saw conceal the blades on his body?"
"Senior Pita, Flowing Water Mounts are so convenient, why don't Alchemists use them to go directly to the summit of Dawn Peak?"
"Senior Liko, why did we choose this mountain path? I feel like we've taken a bit of a detour."
...
When Liko neared his breaking point, he had a habit of tearing at his hair. By now, he had already pulled out a considerable amount of his own, and even a clump of Pita's in his agitation.
Pita rubbed his head, muttering to himself. Why wasn't the Spirit Book talking? If it spoke, wouldn't that save him a lot of breath? That Concealment Spell Igor had learned so easily... The priority now was to find a rabbit, definitely find a rabbit...
"Seniors, have you encountered any monsters during your many trips up the mountain?"
"Senior Pita, have you ever seen a White Cloud Fruit?"
"Seniors, are there any unique wild beasts on this Guru Mountain?"
"Senior Liko, why do you keep pulling your hair? You'll look ugly if all your hair falls out."
...
By the time evening fell, Igor still hadn't stopped his barrage of questions.
Pita's mouth was nearly parched from answering questions the whole way.
"Do you know why we're taking this route?" Liko asked weakly. "It's because there's a cave here. We can spend the night inside, sheltered from the wind and heavy rain. We can even light a campfire. If we're lucky, we can catch some game to roast. Speaking of which, Pita, where's that rabbit you were muttering about?"
"I—I'm thirsty. Let me have a drink." Pita pulled a piece of paper from his breast pocket, blew on it gently, and the paper transformed into a waterskin. Pita tilted it and GULPED, GULPED, drinking several mouthfuls.
"This cave is really nice!" Igor excitedly unwrapped a bandage. With a CRACK of his fingers, he produced some jerky and shared it with Liko and Pita.
"We probably won't catch any rabbits tonight. After all, we're not Hunters," Igor said softly, chewing on the jerky.
"That's not necessarily true! If Pita said there are rabbits, then there are rabbits!" Liko retorted.
...Pita looked left and right, truly at a loss for how to respond. After a long pause, he answered weakly, "Maybe you should ask the book how to catch a rabbit."
"Oh right! How could I have forgotten this little troublemaker!" Igor slapped his forehead and immediately pulled the book from the only bag he carried.
Upon opening the book, it was completely silent; not a bit of its usual chatter could be heard.
"Hey, what's wrong? Aren't you usually so full of life? Why are you silent now?" Igor asked.
"Rabbits, roe..." Liko was still muttering about rabbits.
"It's probably hungry, just like you are," Pita said listlessly.
"Hungry? It can eat too?"
Igor's reaction almost made Pita spray the water he was drinking. While he didn't actually spray it, he choked badly. COUGHING, he explained, "COUGH, COUGH, what I mean is... COUGH, COUGH... it might be low on... COUGH, COUGH... Spirit Power..."
"Low on Spirit Power?" Igor quickly rushed behind Pita to help pat his back.
"COUGH... It means you need to... COUGH... help it... COUGH... infuse... COUGH... new Spirit Power. That's why I mentioned catching a rabbit earlier..." Pita clarified, still coughing.
"I get it! You mean we need to extract a rabbit's Spirit Power and infuse it into this book!" Igor's eyes lit up as if he had discovered a new continent.
"Exactly. Oh, how wonderful it would be to find a rabbit," Pita rubbed his throat and couldn't help but sigh.
"Then, Senior Liko, let's go out and find a rabbit!"
Liko and Pita exchanged glances, then both shook their heads and sighed. "Igor, oh Igor, you're so incredibly daring! How could you venture out into the world knowing so little? What would you do if you encountered swindlers or bandits!"