Reed woke up at dawn, starving. He turned his core into a filter straw again, and filled up with water.

"What's your plan today?" Bella asked, floating nearby as Reed recreated his bike; this time, he put better suspension on it.

"I've gotta eat," Reed said, looking down the road thoughtfully. "And to eat, I need money... Any suggestions on that?"

Bella flew in a circle around him, spun, and landed on his shoulder. "If you follow this road further west, there's a town. Normally, it would take a whole day to get there, but your core's shape should have us there within the hour." She giggled. "You like going places fast, don't you?"

Mounting his bike, Reed said, "Hell yeah."

"But you didn't like the Tar'chula." She leaned against his neck, and he felt her hand caress his jaw.

"No," he looked up at the sky with a frown. "I want to fly, but that wasn't flying. That was bouncing around helplessly in a box. If I'm to be yeeted, I'd like to be in control."

"Ah, like with the kite." Bella mused.

"Yes. Exactly." Reed revved the engine and felt Bella grip his ear. He'd been thinking about it the night before, but if Bella had been with him in the bathroom, he didn't remember seeing a fairy anywhere in there. He did remember having a clip in his hair. Also, while he'd been flying down the road, Bella had gone to his shoulder, but he knew she'd not been flying with him, nor hanging onto him the whole time. Yet Bella had been able to speak clearly to him. He lifted his hand to his ear, finding a thick ear cuff he'd not had before.

Bella giggled. "That tickles."

"So that's where you've been."

"Easier this way," Bella said.

"It is." Reed set off, spraying gravel and dust. The better suspension was working. He'd given the bike wider tires, too. This was an off-road motorcycle now, considering that the road was a well-worn dirt track and nothing like the roads Reed was used to riding on.

Bella spoke in his ear. “The Odinsphere is in the Elven treasury in Arunte. That’s to the south. Another two hours' travel past the town, you'll come to a crossroads. Turn left there.”

Reed nodded with a grin. “So, how many of these cores can I have? Is there a limit?” The forest continued as a mix of different deciduous trees. Their leaves looked nothing like what Reed was used to, which was part of why he'd not bothered trying to forage for food during the day.

"Hmm," Bella mused. "Given how you instinctively conserve energy, I'd say two, at your current power level. Do you want another?”

“I’d like to be able to make more than one tool at a time," Reed said.

“There’re a couple abandoned ones along the way. Let me think about which one would be better for you and remember their trigger words.”

"So how do these things work? And what's power level got to do with it?"

"They use your energy to change shape. So if you'd turned your core into a horse, it would be using your energy to run. Even if you are going faster than you would've on your own feet, the energy consumption would be the same. You've turned your core into static objects for the most part."

Reed nodded slightly. "So I'm the gas tank. Then why couldn't I make a lighter?"

"The sacrifices that went into making you didn't include anything with magic potential," Bella explained. "You can't produce flames. Yet." She giggled. "Once you have the Odinsphere, though..."

He grinned. "Can't wait." His smile faded, though, as he caught a whiff of something on the breeze. It smelled like heavy woodsmoke. The trees blocked the sky, so he couldn't tell where the scent was coming from. It was about what he would expect from someone burning clear-cutting trash. That seemed a little concerning.

Rounding the bend in the road, the trees suddenly opened into a glade. It would've been breathtaking if the village built in the center weren't on fire. The roar of his engine covered the sounds of screaming as people fled, fought, and died.

Reed wasn't sure if the villagers were elf or human, but the attackers looked like typical fantasy ogres. He counted three, but what they lacked in numbers, they made up for with size and strength.

"Oh hell no," Reed muttered. He wasn't sure what he was going to do about this, but he wasn't going to stand by and let it happen. Directly ahead, an ogre was chasing a child.

"Uhmmm..." Bella sounded worried. "I did mention that you don't have magic, right?"

"I'm pretty sure these guys will die if you stab them in the right place," Reed said with conviction he didn't quite feel. The child collapsed, but the ogre had noticed him and stopped. It was difficult not to notice the roaring engine, after all.

"Yeah. But..." Bella fell silent as Reed sped up and went off-road. Cutting right again, Reed hit the bank of the ditch, sending his bike airborne. Launching himself off the bike, Reed called his trigger word twice, turning his bike into a spear. The surprised monster roared in pain as Reed struck it through the gut. Calling his core back, Reed turned it back into his bike and landed on the other side of the road, speeding through the tall grass. The ogre had only been wounded, but now it was after Reed instead of the child.

"Reed, this is really dangerous," Bella said.

"Well aware," Reed said. He knew he could get away from the ogre easily, but he wasn't going to let that child die. "They got any weaknesses?" he asked.

"Head, heart... But you're not a soldier."

Laughing as he spun the bike around to face the charging ogre, Reed said, "Not for a long time, but it's coming back to me."

Bella fell silent.

Reed revved his engine and spun the back tire before it caught and shot him forward, aiming directly at the oncoming ogre.

Raising its club, the ogre made to strike him, but Reed leaned, laying his bike flat and launched it at the ogre as he dropped off it into the grass. This time, he turned it into a whole spike plate and impaled the ogre throughout its torso and head. It collapsed to the ground as Reed called his core back and reformed the bike. Speeding off toward the next target.

Roaring into town, Reed popped a wheelie, then dropped off the back, launching the bike-become-spikes at the ogre as it was about to land a strike on an already smashed person lying on the ground. Reed knew he wasn't in time to save that person, but that the ogre was distracted was enough for him.

The pincushioned ogre roared in pain and collapsed to its knees as Reed withdrew his core.

"Left!" Bella called.

Reed didn't bother trying to block. He just dodged as the third ogre exploded through a wooden wall and slammed its club onto the ground where Reed had just been. Creating his bike under him again, Reed sped away. He'd not killed the second ogre, but it was bleeding profusely as it tried to get up.

The third ogre had come to assist its companion. They were smart enough to team up, it seemed, and it looked like they wanted to retreat.

"Nope," Reed muttered. He wasn't going to let them get away with their lives.

Thinking fast, he revved his engine and shot toward them before they were ready.

As he drew closer, Reed decided to try something.

"You're having way too much fun at this for someone with Peace powers."

"Peace by any means," Reed retorted and turned his bike to drop off it while it continued toward the ogres. They expected it to turn into spikes this time and threw themselves back. Reed was already running to flank, called his core back, and turned it back into spikes as it flowed beneath the ogres.

Either dead or dying, the ogres collapsed as Reed called the core back.

It reformed on his wrist, and Reed staggered, bracing himself on his thighs as a sudden wave of dizziness hit him.

"Sir Knight! Thank you!" a woman called as she ran up to him.

Reed's stomach growled loudly.