Once the meat is done cooking I give Kechara her portion and start eating mine. As I am eating I start hearing the sound of water dripping, but looking around I don't see anything. Once I am done eating I get up and walk around until I find the source of the sound.

At the bottom end of one of the cuts made by my wind blade there is a very slow drip of water. Somewhere behind this wall there is a water source, which means I can make sure Kechara has water available. All I need to do is make a catch basin beneath the cut to collect the water, that should be easy enough.

For some reason this idea feels familiar to me, and after thinking for a minute I remember doing this same thing when I was first thrown into the pit. Just a glance at Kechara, who is being all cute and curious, is enough to dispel the bad memories that are running through my head. The pit was a long time ago and I have long since put it behind me, except for killing the king.

That is something I will do no matter how long it takes, he has to pay for what he has done. It isn't just about revenge though, if it was just what was done to me it wouldn't matter so much. What he did to Mericel, his own daughter, is what is truly unforgivable!

To sacrifice his own daughter for the sake of power, for that he has to die, and die painfully if I can manage it. I also haven't forgotten about those poor women in the pit, if I can find out which nobles did that then they will all die as well. When I get back from this mountain I really need to go check in with Mercy and see how things are going, I hope I don't miss the final attack.

Then again since there is the shadow demon to deal with she probably won't attack until I am with her. She isn't the type to waste her troops fighting against something they can't beat. Although, now that I have dropped in rank and am not strictly a demon anymore, I am not sure if I can beat it.

When I was only one rank lower I thought I had a good chance, but if I am three ranks lower I doubt I can handle it. Maybe if this stat lock gets removed I might stand a chance, but that will be a big risk. Only using physical abilities against a shadow demon doesn't sound like a good plan to me.

While I do still have my demonic powers, although now they are sacred powers, I don't really think they will be effective. Maybe if Justin has leveled up enough he might be able to deal with the demon, after all he is a paladin. Fighting evil is what paladins are all about, so maybe they won't need me after all.

Either way that is something to worry about later, for now I am going to focus on improving the cave. Moving around I check the floor near the water until I find a crack, leaning down I feel air moving through the crack. That should mean it connects to another open area somewhere, which means it should act as a drain just fine.

So for the rest of the day I work on carving the floor beneath the water into a basin. It is much easier and turns out better then my last one since I have tools this time. I also carve an overflow drain from the edge of the basin to the crack in the floor.

*DING*

Congratulations! Skill Masonry has progressed to level 5!

Masonry

Level 5

Str +5 End +5

Able to build simple structures using brick or stone.

'I still don't think this counts as masonry, but I'll happily accept the stat points! Although, I guess my stats going up really doesn't help me right now since my stats are capped.'

After a break for lunch I get right back to work, I want to make it nice for Kechara. I am making it a bit bigger than I did last time, I want it to hold enough water for her to get a good drink even when she is her mother's size. After all, if I am unable to take her off the mountain with me then this will be her home for the rest of her life.

Once the basin and drain are finished I find the spot the water is coming from and hit it once with my pickaxe. This increases the flow of water to a steady trickle, enough to fill the basin in about an hour. Kechara is absolutely fascinated by the water pooling in the basin and she doesn't stop playing with it until I call her for dinner.

After she is finished eating she goes back to the basin and when she finds it full she jumps in. I hadn't thought about that but the basin is pretty much the perfect size for her to take a bath, at least for now. She will probably outgrow it in a week or two at the rate she is growing.

Speaking of, the rate she is growing is also increasing the amount she eats, at this rate I may run out of meat before the month is up. If that happens I guess I will have to try my luck at hunting, at least I have a ranged attack now. Trying to chase down something like a rabbit with a sword does not sound fun at all.

Once Kechara is done with her bath she comes over and sits next to the fire. As I sit here petting her I start thinking about the way I have been fighting, up till now I have pretty much just relied on my superior stats to survive. Back when I was in the pit I counted more on stealth, so I suppose I could try that again.

However, stealth doesn't work in a lot of situations, like a large-scale battle. I need to work out a better way of fighting, I have my evasive steps to help me avoid damage. But enough attacks coming at me at once would make that useless, it also wouldn't help me against magic that affects an area.

Since I am strong enough to wield Blitz in one hand I could go back to using a shield to increase my defense. But that would make me a tank, and I already have Bones to act as my tank. He just needs to get stronger so he can keep up with me in a fight, I need to remember to summon him when there is a fight.