Pausing at the edge of the forest, I held out a hand, stopping Sia in her tracks as she looked questioningly at me.

Jerking my head toward the trees, I said, “I’ll get some branches. You find some sharp stones. We need weapons after all.”

Nodding at me, Sia went off to hunt for the stones while I looked at the boy, who ignored me as I held out my hand and said, “I’m Faustus. What’s your name?”

Shrugging in frustration as the boy, without pausing, disappeared into the forest of death, I trudged over to the trees and began gathering sturdy branches and twigs.

Soon, I had a collection of them of all sizes and bringing it back; I waited for Sia to return.

When she did, my jaw almost dropped as she emptied her pockets, and streams of coldly glinting sharp stones came falling out.

Sticking her tongue out at me, she said, “I got lucky!”

“Lucky,” I repeated, clicking my tongue.

Then, Sia asked me with a frown, “How are you going to tie them together?”

Grinning, I tore off a piece of my uniform and tied together a particularly sharp looking stone on the top part of a branch.

Brandishing the makeshift spear, I smirked as I said, “Not professional by any means, but it’ll get the job done. Just stab them with the pointy end.”

Laughing, Sia asked, “Are you sure? Maybe I should test it on you.”

Hastily, putting the spear out of sight, I said, “Perhaps not, perhaps not.”

Then we fell silent as we worked to fashion two daggers and a few more spears as my uniform shirt was quickly destroyed.

Finished, we drew in a deep breath before we looked at the forest, and then, pulling out the map one last time, we ventured forth.

And were attacked barely a few hundred steps in by a snake monster that seemed to have taken particular offence at our intrusion into its territory.

Shrugging, I turned around after seeing that the snake was not giving up on its chase, and charging forward; I stabbed forth with the spear valiantly.

Only for the spear to bend and break with a cracking sound while the sharp stone left a line on the snake’s scales.

Gulping, I looked at the snake, and then at the twig that I was left holding.

Then, Sia was there, and she was dual wielding daggers as she slashed at the snake’s eyes, trying to blind it.

Seeing her having difficulty landing her blows, I charged behind the snake and jumped on its slippery body and wrapped my hands around the snake’s head, locking it in place as it hissed and thrashed furiously while its forked tongue slithered out.

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“Now,” I shouted and Sia did not disappoint as she swept in with the dagger piercing deep into the snake’s left eye.

Flipping in the air, as the snake recoiled and sent me flying, I landed and charged forth again while yelling, “Dagger,”

And a dagger sailed through the air, and catching it, I stabbed unerringly at the snake’s open mouth and my hand went deep inside before it exited out of the snake’s throat with a burst of blood.

Pulling my hand back, I winced as the snake bit down but I had already determined that the snake was not very poisonous, and so I forced down the faint numbness that was spreading, and moved backward swiftly as the snake thrashed in its dying throes.

A while later, we cautiously approached the snake, and confirming it to be dead; we exchanged victorious glances.

Then we stood there puzzled.

Because we couldn’t hunt further with the snake being carried with us, and we couldn’t be sure that the snake was going to be enough food for us given how strange the Academy had been so far.

So, compromising, I hefted the snake onto my shoulders and walked outside the forest, where I tried skinning it with the stones.

Only to fail miserably.

Looking in frustration at the snake, I picked up a particularly jagged rock and began sawing painstakingly at the snake’s scales.

Finally, cutting off a huge chunk of the snake’s body, I quickly set up a firepit and then, with great difficulty, started a fire the way Sir James had mentioned long back.

Cursing at how reliant I had become on Firestones and the like, I resolved to master the art of being primitive first.

As the fire rose high, the next problem presented itself.

We didn’t have any utensils.

Not to be outdone, I held up the piece of snake flesh and just held it straight over the fire.

Gasping, Sia moved forward only to stop in stupefaction as she saw that my hand was absolutely fine.

Grinning, I said, “Fire resistance. Nifty ability, huh.”

Whacking me on the head, Sia spoke angrily, “Now you tell me! I almost had my heart in my throat when you did that!”

Then, curiously, she extended a finger toward the fire and yelped as the fire’s heat burned her.

Pulling her finger back hastily, she looked at me and murmured, “How is this fair?”

Gesturing grandly with my free hand, I said, “It is, of course, because I am magnificent.”

Growling, Sia said, “Magnificent my foot, blockhead.”

“Hey!” I said, offended.

Ignoring me, Sia sniffed deeply as the snake meat was roasted, and then salivating, she asked, “Is it done?”

Looking at the snake meat critically, I turned it over a few more times before I held it out to her and proudly said, “Your meal, Madam!”

Looking at the meat and then at me, Sia had an unhappy expression as she said, “You might be able to eat it that hot, but I can’t.”

“Ah,” I said, before I blew on the meat to make it cool down faster as Sia watched drooling.

Finally, hoping that the temperature was alright, I handed it to Sia, who wolfed it down in an instant.

Looking at her with a pleased expression that turned to almost crying, I stammered out, “Wh-what about me?”

Jerking her head at the snake’s corpse that lay, she said, “You cook. I hunt.”

With that, she dusted her hands off and marched off toward the forest to hunt, while I watched, jaw agape, after her receding figure.

Then, getting up with a sigh, I morosely picked up the jagged rock and prayed for the animals of the forest as I eyed the snake in front of me.