"If I'm not wrong, you're a vampire, aren't you?" Mr. Buster says while rotating some sort of flesh around the campfire as my body slowly warms up back to a normal functioning temperature, which I was grateful for if anything.
"I am, but how can you tell?" I asked him, and he quickly answered with a very short and precise answer. "You have huge fangs on the side of your mouth and smell a lot like blood." I guess it made sense to assume things like those, but damn, was it that easy to detect me? Well, my idea of roaming between humans would not work.
"Why are you helping me then?" I asked him again, not understanding why someone would just help me out of the goodness of their heart, but their answer was just that, which I didn't want to think of in the first place. "I couldn't leave you like that; if you died and I found your dead body days later, I wouldn't be able to live with myself."
So, there were good people in this world after all? How curious, and to think I would find a decent person in the middle of fucking nowhere instead of the big city where hundreds of men bought me like I was worth nothing more than a few silver coins.
"Alright, kid, here you go. I bet you're starving," Buster soon takes the cooked flesh from the fire just to give the cooked random meat to me as he gestures to eat like I am supposed to be able to eat something like that. In any case, I didn't want to seem like an asshole, so I grabbed the stick.
"Thank you. I don't know how I will ever repay you." I had to be honest with myself. I had to make this man show me the way to survive in the wilderness without sounding clingy because there was zero chance I wouldn't die alone like I almost did just hours ago.
It was incredibly naive of me to think I would be able to survive in the wilderness just because I am technically another race that's supposed to be better than base humans, but what did I know about the wilderness? I barely watched Man versus Wild, for god sake! I didn't know shit about survival out here; I was running around with my dick in my hand!
If I didn't get this nobleman to teach me the ways to survive out here, then I would most likely end up dead one way or another and be the next meal of some wild predator. I had to make friends with Buster, but I also didn't have social skills, which wouldn't make it easy.
"Don't sweat it, but if you truly want to pay me back, then you're in luck because I do need help with some things to prepare for the upcoming winter." And just like that, as I am plotting my next way to make this man my mentor, he simply throws out an amazing opportunity to me, which doesn't take a genius to accept right away.
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"Of course! I'll help out in any way I can if you don't let me out here to fend on my own! Please!" Goddamit! I wasn't supposed to say my intentions right out loud like that. Now, he will think I just want to stick to him like glue because I am truly defenseless and weak out here alone. What if he tried to take advantage?
I guess my consolation for that would be that he already slept naked next to me and didn't do anything weird stuff to me. He also seemed to have some sort of moral compass that reassured me I didn't have much to fear in that department, and even if he did, heck, he saved my life, I wouldn't have complaints.
"Ahaha! Now that's the spirit, kiddo! I am getting a little old for some of these tasks I need your help with, so it will be good for my bones to have you do all those things." Buster's words now begin to sink in as I start to remember that this era was still like the caveman era of man, which meant anything he needed help with would probably require manual labor! MY NEMESIS!
Back in my world, I was a complete neet who solely relied on my parents for anything and everything. I never left my room unless I had to buy a new game or a special release manga, and even that reduced with the introduction of digital releases, if not for the price spike for the comfort of my bedroom.
Yet in this world, there are no such things as mechanical power tools or even the concept of electricity, which means these people still did everything by hand, and I mean everything! Do you want some entertainment? Then you had better start bird-watching or put some bugs to fight each other because the next theatre play is next month.
You were thirsty and wanted to drink some water? Then you better learn a water spell if your magic is water compatible, or you will have to walk to the nearest fresh water source with a big water container, fill it up with water, and carry it back home unless you want to die!
I guess I never realized how good I had it even back then, compared to everything I had back in my world. I am so poor in this new one that I would be considered homeless. I mean, I have to look for my own water; it is always smelly, and my hair just grows out, not to mention the lack of variety when it comes to food.
There's no top ramen or burgers. Not even pizza is a thing in this world, which is just hideous! I mean, who hasn't had the great idea to place a sauce on top of some bread dough and let it cook like a regular piece of bread? Wait a second; this world lacks many things I miss.
Aha! For a second, it seemed like a wild idea crossed my mind, but it was so outlandish that I almost brushed it off entirely until I started thinking about it some more as Buster ate his meat stick like a total champ, simply eating his food.
What if I become the person that kickstarts the next level of civilization in this world? In my first trial of life, I reincarnated as a mute with a horrible father that didn't let me experiment or do shit without him beating me up, but now that I am free, what's stopping me?
I may not know how many of the things in my world worked but I know for damn sure some of the things I miss existed and that someone figured out how to make that a reality so why can't I? Look at me being all Dr. Stone like I am some sort of genius, the truth was I was more on the level of chrome with the difference being I was useless in the self-test department as well. WHATEVER! TRIAL AND ERROR NEVER FAILS!