One of the larger trees in the area was chosen as a temporary base. It had a small hole under one of the branches, partly hidden by leaves, that was just large enough for someone to crawl through.
‘This will have to do for now… ‘
It had taken some time to carve enough room for him to sit comfortably, but he did manage in the end, using the shortsword as his tool. Now he sat leaning against the wall, resting. All the fighting and running had left him tired, but also hungry.
His thirst was taken care of during the escape. There were leaves that gathered rain, perfectly suited for a quick drink. In the long term, he would need a better solution in case there was a drought, but it was enough for now.
‘There has to be a river or something around here, right? Or at least a small lake. The ground seems pretty flat, and due to all the trees, I can’t see any hills or lakes nearby.’
Watering holes would be prime locations for demons to hunt, so he was wary of looking for one.
He sighed, leaning his head against the tree. ‘Did I make any mistakes during the fight? The increase in speed when I lower my weight is incredibly useful, but I need to be careful as well. If that shield bash had hit the tree instead of the monkey I would have crashed into it and been hurt.
The slash on the third monkey was dangerous. I was too fast, nearly causing an accident. Larang becomes harder to use when I lower my weight, so I need to keep that in mind. Swinging it with less counterweight just makes me swing around as well. Is it possible to stick to the ground somehow?’
The essence remaining in his core was too low to be experimenting with, especially since he needed to hunt soon. Over half of it had been used during his escape, strengthening his feet for every jump. But the fight with the monkeys hadn’t taken much, so he felt he had enough to take on another enemy.
‘How will I hunt, though? That first monkey found me first, so I don’t know how easy it will be. Do I just… stay here? And wait for something to come to me?’
He shook his head, realizing that fighting near his base would be a bad idea in case he needed to escape again.
Taking a final deep breath, he got up and started crawling out of the hole in the tree. He hadn’t heard any movement nearby, so he assumed the coast was clear.
Once he was on top of the tree, he started looking around the area. Nothing but trees could be seen around him, at least in the nearest surrounding area. He could see large reaches of open plains in the far distance, but it was likely several thousand kilometers away.
‘That’s most likely where I’ll have to go. That plain leads to that large continent there, while the other directions mostly just lead to the ocean. I really, really hope the portal isn’t on one of those other continents…’
The planet was split into three main continents. Luckily, it seemed that John was on the largest one—unless it only looked that way because it was closer. Half the planet was currently dark, so the cycle of night and day was still functioning somehow.
Those thoughts were irrelevant right now, though, so he put them in the back of his mind and started looking for signs of beasts instead. All the trees limited his sightline, and nothing stood out to him.
But a sound from his right caught his attention. It sounded like something moving from tree to tree, trying to be quiet.
‘Oh, is it another monkey? A lone one? If I manage to take it out before it signals any others, I should be safe.’
He would start to make noise as soon as he moved, but trying to bait it to him seemed like a worse plan. So he lightened his weight again and started moving toward the sound, hoping it would be something he could handle.
After jumping past three trees, he saw it—another of those green monkeys, stealthily jumping between trees while keeping a look out for prey or predators. It spotted John as soon as he came into view and quickly put its hands down on the tree.
‘No you don’t!’
John shot his prepared shortsword toward the monkey, forcing it to use its hands to protect itself. The sword pierced through its right hand before stopping, saving it from the worst of the damage.
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But John was already on his way, firing a blast of air from both hands to shoot toward it. Larang showed up when he was at his fastest, practically pulling him along through the air. A wide swing started from his right side, but he found it incredibly challenging to change its direction in mid-air when his weight was so low.
‘Damn! Give me my weight back!’
His weight returned and slowed him down, but Larang had the same speed as before, which made it spin in front of him, slinging him to the right as the greatsword swung to the left.
‘Oh shit! This is perfect!’
The unintentional swing landed awkwardly with the blade at an angle, but it still did massive damage to the beast's left side, tearing through its shoulder and continuing down to the abdomen. Blue blood splattered on the tree as the healthy hand was chopped off.
The beast was already on the ground from the force, and it would not get back up. Only the final blow remained to put it out of its misery.
Its eyes stared at him as it lay there, but John could only see resignation reflected in them. No rage, no sadness, just acceptance.
‘... I’m really gonna hate eating you.’
He retrieved his shortsword through his core and held it toward the beast's forehead. It shot forward, piercing the head completely and stopping all movement.
John sighed, feeling bothered by his own actions. He would obviously prioritize his own survival over that of others, but if given a choice, he would never kill another monkey again.
“Child.”
A sudden voice surprised John, and he quickly scoured every direction around him. He could see no sign of anyone, even if the voice sounded very close.
'Another human? But where? Am I losing my mind already?’
“I am below you,” the voice said, still sounding like it came from right beside him.
John looked down from the tree, shocked by the sight awaiting him. The giant red horse demon was back, but it wasn’t alone. Riding on top of it was a man in shiny green armor, covered from head to toe. The design was unlike anything John had ever seen before, and it looked quite strong.
‘Oh! It is a human! That has to be an aspecter, right?! Thank God!'
His relief was palpable. He felt his chances of getting back home increasing significantly. Someone capable of taming the demon as a mount would be a considerable force, even in this world.
“Ah, a human! How interesting!” the rider said, tilting his head to the side.
John's relief crumbled into confusion. The words didn't make sense coming from someone who should be just as human as he was. He felt his muscles tense, unsure if he was facing a potential ally or a new threat.
"What do you mean?" John asked, unable to control a tremor of uncertainty in his voice. “Of course I'm human! Like you, right?"
“No, I am a researcher, traveling here from the halls of the Loreholders. You can call me Sage Full Blue.” He put his hands behind his neck and bent his head forward, as if in greeting.
“... You’re not from the encampment here? So you’re an alien?”
“Yes, from your point of view, I probably am. But this is not your home, is it?”
John felt very confused by this situation. As far as he knew, humanity had never encountered any intelligent life from other planets. But there were a lot of things he didn’t know, so it was entirely possible they had.
‘But if this is a first meeting, won’t it be a bad idea to tell him where we’re from? Is he an enemy?’
“Is it your home?” John asked, wondering if this person was part of an indigenous people on this planet. The clues pointed to that not being the case, but anything else would be too incredible not to make sure.
“I am part of the Loreholders, so no. I was sent here once this planet awakened, but there seems to be something strange going on. Did you arrive by portal?”
Still unsure about how much he should say, John kept silent. He feared angering the Sage since he obviously was far stronger than him, but he wanted to avoid making any disastrous mistakes.
“... Ah, are you scared of telling me? Is this your first meeting with someone from outside your civilization?”
John remained silent, feeling sweat dripping down his back. An intense debate was going on in his mind. ‘Would I sacrifice myself to keep earth safe? Unless Serah is safe as well, I don’t think I would… Am I really that selfish? Mom would die, but she would suffer horribly if I never returned, so how highly can I prioritize her life? The rest of humanity hasn’t done much for me, but… Ahh…’
“I admire your stance, child. You’re more like the monkey you killed than I thought.”
That caught John’s attention. “What do you mean?”
“Once it was close to death, it could have summoned its friends. But seeing your strength, it chose to die in silence instead of putting its companions in danger. Quite noble, don’t you think? Much like yourself.”
Hearing his words, John looked back at the monkey, feeling a sense of respect mixed with guilt. Now he understood the look in its eyes in its final moments.
“... If I tell you some things, can you help me get back home?”
The sage leaned his head forward. “I apologize. We of the Loreholders only deal in information. But I can offer your people some knowledge about essence. It would make it a lot easier for you to grow in strength, unless you already know about it, of course.”