“Ahaha. Ahh... CamperBoy59... This is too much. I’m dying!”
Quite literally, Reizel was on his knees from laughing. No wonder, Zeke didn’t want to actually say his name and came up with one of his own. After all, who would go around introducing themselves as CamperBoy59? The hell was that? Was it even valid as a name?
In between muffled laughter, he managed to ask a question that had been bugging him for the longest time.
“Haha... So, how did you come up with the name Zeke? If, haha... If, CamperBo. Ahahaha... Sorry, I can’t control myself!”
Zeke was tomato red all the way up to his ears, as he mumbled through gnashed teeth.
“I.. I just felt this name fits me better than... That..”
Not counting Reizel, even he was embarrassed to say it out loud for a second time.
Once the two of them calmed down enough to be able to hold a conversation again, they started addressing several other matters. After all, information was also a valuable resource for survival, and getting a better grasp of their current circumstances was by far better than nothing.
“Okay, I get the gist of the situation. But, doesn’t that imply the blue screens are not to be completely trusted?”
“Hmm. Maybe... Wait a minute..”
Zeke’s gaze was directly on him, as he said in an almost questioning manner.
“I thought you knew your way around the forest...”
He didn’t finish what he was trying to say, but the hidden meaning behind his words as well as his scrutinizing gaze were more than enough indications for Reizel to understand what he was trying to say.
“Nope, I have no idea as to where we are, hehe..”
Zeke didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Other than his non-existent boots, he thought for sure that, judging solely by his attire, he must have been a local, hunter, or something along those lines. Alas, it turned out he was just like him. Another wanderer lost inside the mist.
“Then, where did you get all that stuff? No, more importantly, how long has it been since you... Uh.. ‘Awakened’?”
Pausing for a moment, the word ‘Awakened’ crossed his mind. It felt like the proper way of referring to people like them in Zeke’s opinion. After all, having no memory of their past and waking up in the middle of nowhere was more than good enough of a reason to refer to them like that.
Gazing at the fire before him, Reizel seemed to be lost in thought as he contemplated inwardly. Zeke didn’t press him for an answer either, seeing how they had all the time in the world, it wouldn’t matter if he had to wait for a little while longer.
“Awakened, huh? I like it. But, don’t you think we resemble more of a wanderer than anything else? Being lost and left to wander without any indications of where to go?”
If a picture could tell a story of a thousand words. Then Reizel’s troubled expression as he said that was more than enough to achieve a similar effect. Or at least, that is what Zeke felt as he watched over him. And with that in mind, he tried to lighten up the mood with a joke.
“Hmm... Yea, you are right but don’t we already know where we should be going?”
Taking his gaze off the fire and with a look that signified ‘I need answers’ in his eerily blue eyes, Reizel looked straight into Zeke’s direction.
And, unlike what was going on in Zeke’s head, he was genuinely just waiting for an answer. It wasn’t like he was trying to apply pressure or anything, but his icy cold demeanor was more than enough to do just that. Naturally, he was unaware of such a thing and just patiently waited for Zeke’s feedback.
Zeke on the other hand thought his attempt to crack a joke had gone terribly wrong and irritated him to the point of no return.
“Alright, alright! No need to glare like that... It’s just a joke! The quest! I am referring to the quest ‘Exit the forest’.”
Feeling confused at the words Zeke uttered, he just had to ask.
“I am not glaring though?”
“What part of this Bonafide glare ‘s not glaring enough?!”
And just as he said that a light bulb seemed to go bright in Zeke’s mind as he slowly added.
“Wait... It couldn’t be... Are you unaware of... This?”
Reizel frowned at the finger pointing straight at his face and at the rather rude words as he contemplated inwardly.
‘What is this guy saying? When did I start glaring at him? I have been amiable the entire time... He must be overthinking things. Hmm, that sounds reasonable...’
With his thought process completely wrong, he decided it was the perfect time to change subjects. Recalling Zeke’s earlier questions, he decided to answer both of them for now.
“What were your earlier questions again? How long has it been since I awakened? Hmm... I think it’s about one and a half days? Maybe a little more, but that’s about it. As for where I got those... I’ll show you later.”
“Did you just change the subject? Hey!”
The two kept chatting like that for a while longer, their conversations getting less and less awkward as they got acquainted with one another. And, as the sun was slowly setting in the horizon, they each held a frog skewer in hand, ready to taste the results of their effort.
“Man, I don’t think I can wait enough for it to cool down... My belly is screaming right now!”
Zeke couldn’t help commenting in between blowing away at the suspiciously steamy skewer. Alas, the two were too hungry to pay attention to the small details. Opting to ignore the obvious signs of ‘something might be wrong with this’, they had their first bite in quite a long while.
“...”
“...”
“What is this... Thing..?”
“...Food?”
Unlike their rosy expectations of delicious frog skewers, the bland and burnt meat tasted more like charcoal than anything else. Only the faint brownish color of the frog’s skin was left to remind them that the abomination before them once used to be a frog.
“Is it even edible?”
With a question that could trouble even the most hardcore of survivors, the two looked at each other, searching for an answer. Being the camper that he claimed to be, Zeke decided to be the first one to break the silence as he took a second bite of the suspicious frog skewer.
“Well... It should be... At least it shouldn’t be poisonous? Oh, wait... A notification...”
With cold sweat running down his spine, Zeke clicked the exclamation mark and carefully read through the blue screen’s contents with an anguished expression. Meanwhile, Reizel was also observing Zeke’s reactions from the side, if it was a notification due to poisoning, he should also be getting one any moment now. Gladly for him, Zeke’s expression quickly turned into one of delight as he exclaimed.
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
“I just got my first skill!”
With an eyebrow raised, Reizel asked him about the skill. After all, during their earlier talk they had already shared information about skills and titles. Zeke had earned himself a title when he got the fire going called [Fire Starter]. Fire Starter was a title that raised his body stat by 1 point and made the process of starting a fire slightly easier. Reizel, on the other hand, gave him a tour of his own titles, including the negative one, surprising him in the process.
“It’s called Survival Cooking. Common grade. The description says it will help me identify poisonous ingredients through cooking...”
“So, if you cook something poisonous you will know it is poisonous while it is cooking?”
Reizel asked for confirmation as the description Zeke gave was rather vague.
“No... I think we’ll know after eating...”
“So... it’s useless after all?”
“Hmm... At least, I have a feeling I can make a decent meal with the frog meat now?”
“Awesome! Get on with it immediately!”
Zeke had a troubled expression on his face but he asked the obvious question anyway.
“Now?”
“Yes, now.”
After learning of Reizel’s ‘glaring face’, he knew that even though he seemed cold and authoritative on the outside, he wasn’t trying to force him into doing it. That was his way of asking things and he couldn’t really blame him for it as he reluctantly agreed. After all, he too didn’t wish to eat the skewer before him, now that he knew it could be better.
“Ok... There is a bunch of herbs in the forest that I need for that. I saw them earlier while traveling but...”
He paused for a second before looking back at Reizel and adding in a troubled manner.
“I could go get them... But, the night is falling and I don’t wanna lose my way inside the forest. The second option is salt. If we had some salt it would easily do the trick.”
Truth to be told, the last rays of the sun were almost gone from the reddish sky as the campfire was the only thing left illuminating the surroundings. It’s not like they couldn’t go search for some herbs but, as Zeke said, it could get dangerous if either of them lost their way.
“Hmm..”
Pondering over what their next move should be, Reizel took another bite of the burnt meat and said.
“You are right, it could be dangerous. Even though we can’t discern things clearly inside the mist, it will be even worse during the night. Eat for now and...”
Hesitating for a moment, he added:
“You should take a bath after that. You stink!”
Slightly embarrassed, Zeke nodded and mumbled through gnashed teeth.
“It’s not my fault... The damn forest is too humid...”
Opting to ignore his muffled comments for now, Reizel continued with his ‘well thought out’ plan.
“Once we are done here, I’ll show you where I found all these goodies.”
Zeke’s mood did a 180 degrees turn as soon as he heard him mention the word goodies. His grey eyes sparkled with excitement as he finished the charcoalish skewer in two bites, almost choking in the process. It wasn’t good to throw out food after all. Even if it was ‘slightly’ burnt.
Reizel, on the other hand, let out a small chuckle at the sight before him. He leisurely kept munching the bland food as Zeke made haste towards the lake to shower. Having already been aware of the dangers lurking in the waters, he had no such plans as going further than the lake’s bunk.
“Hey, Reizel! Come check this out!”
With a questioning gaze turned on Zeke’s direction, he had to ask jokingly.
“What? Do you need help while bathing?”
“Haha... Very funny. I didn’t know you could tell jokes as well.”
While showcasing a rare deadpan face, Zeke ushered him over as he pointed towards the deeper parts of the lake. In the distance, the faint glow of blue fluorescent lights could be observed. Like a starry sky, the brightest among them were situated in the deepest parts of the lake, while the fainter ones were scarcely situated all over it.
“It’s beautiful...”
Only the word beautiful could describe the sight before their eyes. And with words fitting of the astonishing view before them, Zeke couldn’t help exclaiming as Reizel added.
“Yes... Yes, it is.”
Indeed, it was an amazing sight. But, for some odd reason, a nudging whose origin he couldn’t quite place overtook him. Was he forgetting something? Or was it something entirely different? And, all of a sudden, realization hit him as his left hand wandered towards the upper pocket of his shirt. Lightly touching the crystal inside it, he could feel it pulsing faintly.
Taking it out from his pocket, the crystal’s glow was similar to the lights inside the lake, only fainter. And as Reizel’s gaze fell on it, he couldn’t help having a sense of urgency. Unable to understand why he felt that way, he kept his eyes glued on it.
‘What a weird feeling...’
He didn’t express himself out loud, but he did slowly edge towards the lake’s surface. His gut feeling told him the crystal in his hand had to go back to the place of its origin.
As for the place it desperately yearned for? It seemed to be the crystal-clear waters of Mistraline lake.
Meanwhile, Zeke who was lost in admiration of the scenic scene before him, caught Reizel moving towards the lake’s waters from the corner of his eye. And even though his interest was piqued, he didn’t interrupt him. Opting to observe from a distance for now.
Falling down on one knee, Reizel let the crystal sink gently inside the shallow parts of the lake’s waters. As he observed at it from a distance, he couldn't see any obvious signs of change. Alas, the feeling of urgency he had earlier slowly disappeared.
*Ding!*
And with the familiar sound of an exclamation mark resounding in his ears, an expression of delight surfaced on his face as soon as he read through its contents.
[You gained a new title!]
[Spirit Saviour]
(Your actions have saved the life of a spirit, earning its gratitude while at it. Spirits will be friendlier in your presence.)
[Soul +5]
It was a new title! And one that gave a whole 5 attribute points at that! All he did was throw the crystal inside the lake and just like that he got a new title... Was the system broken? He wondered. Alas, his thoughts were on a different matter.
‘So, the blue crystal was a spirit? What’s a spirit anyway?’
“Everything alright?”
Zeke, who was looking from a distance, decided it was a good time to close in now and check with Reizel, to see what was going on.
“Nothing much, I just got myself a new title.”
With a grin on his face, he answered in a not so informative manner. Zeke didn’t seem to mind it though. If it was anything of importance, he would most probably tell him later anyway. And even if he didn’t, that was also fine by him. After all, he had already gained too much from him. Having a secret or two was fine with him.
“Anyway, I’ll take a dip real quick and then we should get going.”
“Okay...”
⚔ ⚔ ⚔
Night had already fallen as the two made their way through the forest. Thankfully, Reizel had marked out a path earlier during the day, making the trip back easier than it seemed. It still took a while longer for the two of them to reach the cabin though.
“Haah... Hah... We are finally here...”
Exclaimed Zeke who was completely out of breath. But that was to be expected. Like a mull, he was dragging a bucket filled to the brim with water. But that was not all. On his waist, a bunch of smelly frog parts where messily tied around with the help of some rather long vines adding to his burden.
Reizel’s load on the other hand was by far less. Having his right arm broken, made for the perfect excuse to pass the hard labor over to Zeke. All he did was hold tight onto a makeshift torch with his other hand and guide Zeke through the forest.
Moving closer towards the cabin with quick steps. Zeke let out a sigh of relief. He let the bucket fall by the entrance and exclaimed.
“Phew... So, this is where you got all those tools from? Honestly, it’s quite shabby.”
Well, that was to be expected. Other than Erin and Isabel, the rightful owners of the log cabin, no one else knew how long the cabin was left alone for, to rot and gather dust. Glancing towards the tired Zeke, he didn’t refute his words as he added:
“It might be shabby, but it is by far better than sleeping outdoors.”
“Are ya joking? Of course, it’s better! How can a roof over our heads compare with the bloody forest?! Anyway, I’ll search for some spices inside. Do you think you can make a campfire?”
Reizel nodded. Even with one hand, it shouldn’t be too troublesome. He already had a lit torch anyway. How hard could it be? Each of them started their corresponding work and before long a resounding shout came from inside the cabin...
“REIZEL! WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?!”
Zeke’s mad figure rushed out of the cabin holding onto a pair of flintstones and a lantern. He was glaring daggers at him as he shouted.
“IT TOOK ME HALF AN HOUR TO START A FIRE!”
With an expression as calm as the lake’s waters, Reizel answered flawlessly.
“I have no idea what you are talking about.”
He obviously knew what he was on about. There is no way he didn’t know. But, playing dumb and watching Zeke all flustered was too funny of an opportunity to pass on.
Zeke had a vein popping as soon as he saw Reizel’s face. Obviously, he wasn’t an idiot either and knew the guy was simply messing with him. So, he turned around while gnashing his teeth and went back to searching.
After that small incident, peace seemed to return in the small clearing. Alas, it wasn’t bound to last more than five minutes.
“HOLY SH*T What is this disgusting smell?! Reizel! Come check this out! I think I found a hidden compartment!”