Rhita told Achram about the current struggle for food in the village. He knew that this kind of support would be wholeheartedly accepted by the seamstress, especially since she didn’t have anyone in her family to hunt. Their only way to survive was to sell her wares to the villagers.

But as she said, not everyone was willing to splurge their food stock for a little bit more clothes, especially with the winter coming in a few more cycles.

So, this Meaty Mushroom was the thing that the seamstress needed. Achram was sure that she would accept it. However;

“I won’t accept this,” the seamstress said. She then looked up to Achram, then the mountain on the horizon behind him. “I’ll give you the clothes you want, but instead of giving me this, you must let us accompany you to the mountain.”

This shocked not only Rhita and Achram but also some of the villagers who were eavesdropping on their conversation. They didn’t think that the mysterious red thing that the intruder gave her was so alluring that she wanted to join them on their journey. Was she insane?

Everyone knew that journeying up the mountain was perilous, to say the least. Why would she risk the safety of her own home just to join the intruder’s trek up the mountain? Was she allured by the promises of the intruder? If so, then what kind of trick did he use to convince the seamstress?

She was infamous for being a hard-headed old woman. She never took pity on anyone and always bargained hard with her fur clothes. She always made sure that she came out on top in each transaction and secured enough food for her family.

So why was she convinced? Did it have something to do with the red thing that she ate?

Many of them were curious, but not enough to go to Achram and ask to sample it.

Achram, with his all-seeing eyes, did not miss the inquisitiveness in their eyes. He quickly tore out small pieces from the layer of the Meaty Mushroom and walked over to the few people eavesdropping from the other side of the house.

They were startled when they saw him walking over towards him. The hunters gripped their spears tightly, and archers notched their arrows taut, ready to attack Achram if he dared harm the villagers.

However, the eavesdroppers didn’t sense any hostility in Achram’s face. He was even wearing a disarming smile as he simply held out his hand with the pieces of the Meaty Mushroom ready for them to take and sample.

They were wary at first, but the smell of the Mushroom made them take the risk. The smell alone was enough to convince them that this was just food! As for how tasty it was, then the only way they would find that out was by tasting it themselves.

And as soon as the mushroom dissolved in their mouths, they experienced the same euphoria as Rhita and the seamstress. They couldn’t help but cry out of surprise!

The experienced hunters kept their cool when they heard the villagers yelp out of happiness. They saw their eyebrows widen and their smiles widen as they enjoyed the Meaty Mushroom. It was easy to see that whatever this intruder fed them was something that was to be enjoyed.

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One of the elder hunters quickly held his hand out, signaling the rest of the hunters to keep their weapons sheathed. This intruder didn’t mean any harm, at least for now.

However, one of the inexperienced hunters couldn’t react fast enough to the signal. His mother was one of the villagers who went to try out the strange food from the intruder. When he heard someone shout out, he panicked and thought that his mother was being poisoned!

He accidentally let go of the arrow in his bow, letting it shoot towards the crowd. He was targeting Achram, the intruder, but because of his panic, his aim got shaky and his arrow ended up targeting the small crowd of villagers!

The rest of the hunters tried to stop him, but they were too late. The arrow was already loose and up in the air.

“No!” they cried out. However, the archers were too far away for the rest of the villagers to hear them.

They were merrily enjoying this new food that they didn’t see the deadly arrow whizzing through the air.

The hunters thought that disaster was about to strike the villagers. The inexperienced archer was ready to commit suicide for his mistake.

However, before the arrow tip hit one of the villagers, they suddenly saw the intruder disappear from their sight and reappear behind the arrow. Without even looking at it, Achram caught the arrow by its feathers and stopped it just a few inches from the unfortunate villager’s head.

In a show of power, unlike anything they’d ever seen, Achram simply pierced the arrow back into his chest, crushing the steel tip and splintering the wood into a million pieces. Gasps were heard through the trees as every archer saw this impossible feat.

It made them realize how weak they were compared to this intruder. Even if they rained a thousand arrows on him, it felt like they would just be as effective as a blade of grass.

“Oh my! Is this one of the mythical grilled beef that I’ve heard of?”

“I have gotten a small taste of it before and I have never forgotten it since. This thing has the same flavor, taste, and texture!”

“I can’t eat dried meat after eating this. I need more!”

The ones who were too afraid to taste the Meaty Mushroom were suddenly enticed as soon as they heard the praises from the rest of the villagers. They stopped looking out the windows of their houses and walked over toward the center of the village where the commotion was happening.

“You…are you really Achram?”

Some of the villagers heard his conversation with the seamstress. And now that they knew what to look for, they saw the similarities between Achram and this intruder. Even though he became less Thall and more Human, he still had that distinct yellow skin that they were so proud of.

Achram smiled and confirmed their suspicions. “Yes. I am Achram. I have come back from the mountain alive.”

“Goodness…”

“I can’t believe it. But you look similar to Achram…”

“Are you him? He’s supposed to be dead in the mountains.”

Uno couldn’t help but shout to the rest of the villagers. “He’s my father! Even though he looks different, he’s still the father that raised us!”

His whole family, Rhita and the children, all walked towards Achram and stood behind him. They all hugged each other and showed to the rest of the villagers that they were truly a family back together.

This made most of the villagers convinced. Of course, there were still a few skeptics who chose not to say anything.

“I was supposed to die on that mountain. I had no more food, my body was beaten and bloodied from fights with wolves, and even my sweat had turned into ice. I was just halfway up the mountain yet my mortal body couldn’t take it anymore and slumped over.”

The villagers listened to his story and winced. His horrible experience in the mountain was exactly the reason they believed he was never going to return to the village.

“However, I was saved from the brink of death!”

The villagers gasped.

“I found the reason why the mountain was calling to me. I found Him. I found the God of Icy Rock!”

With his exclamation, the rest of the villagers went into an uproar. They murmured to themselves with disbelief and amazement. Everyone believed that gods existed, but they didn’t think that the God of Icy Rock would be so magnanimous to save him from death.

Weren’t gods supposed to cause suffering to the mortals? Why would they save Achram? If they could do those, then why don’t they save the village from famine?

“This God showed me his kingdom in the mountain! There, I felt the warmth of the sun. I felt safety and security with everything that I could ever want.”

“There are creatures and structures there that God himself has summoned! They have tremendous abilities, one of which is the Meaty Mushroom that you have all eaten. And the creatures there have never known thirst. You could drink all the fresh and clean water you could ever want without any limit!”

“Neighbors and villagers, God’s kingdom is the paradise that we could all live in. You could eat all of the food you want without hunting. You can drink all the water you want without going through the wilds to reach the rivers. You can feel the warmth of the sun even in the darkest of nights!”

Slime told Achram that he should recruit as many citizens as possible. Of course, Achram wasn’t selfish. He didn’t want to keep the paradise a secret and keep it to himself. He wanted to share it with everyone.

He hoped that everyone could live happily ever after in God’s kingdom. However…

“Blasphemy! Don’t believe him. He is an evil spirit who has taken over Achram’s body!”

The elders finally gathered and confronted Achram.