Taka floated back through the portal and after passing through the blinding light, he was back in Deon's study. The lizard man was staring inquisitively out the window, watching the town below.

"This is where I grew up," Deon said softly. "Kronkswell's come a long way."

Taka floated over to the window, following Deon's gaze. He was looking at the town square, merchants selling goods, kids running around... it looked peaceful.

A squawk rang throughout the room as a small bird flew through the portal, crashing against the wall. Taka turned around to see the creature fall to the floor in a heap as the portal closed.

Deon scoffed, "I will take care of that, you should get some rest before tomorrow, Sir Filo."

Please, you do not need to use a title for my name, Taka sent. The lizard man had begun using the honorific after Taka took out the Fire Bear, but Taka preferred the informality. It made him feel a little more normal.

Deon grinned and nodded is head with exaggerated fervor, "as you wish, Filo."

The Lily Minion began jumping up and down next to Taka, bobbing its head violently. It still had more than enough mana left to keep going for a few days, and Taka had no way to find out what it wanted, so he nodded to Deon and floated the flower pot out of the room.

Once in the stairway, the Lily Minion turned around and faced Deon's study, as if it was staring at the door with its eyeless flower for a face... its face... Taka thought to himself, his focus narrowing on the creature, but couldn't seem to make a connection he felt like he was reaching for. The Lily Minion continued to stand motionless, so Taka flew down the stairs.

The flower pot floated through the air on the castle grounds, garnering glances from the lizard folk guards on duty. The flower pot began to wobble as spots started to appear in Taka's vision. Strong hands lifted the flower pot out of the air, and Taka looked through blurry eyes to see an oafish smile. He used his TELEPATHY skill and opened a connection with the orc who saved him from falling.

"Bick catch," the large creature said.

Thank you, Taka sent as he released the flower pot from his telekinesis and felt a weight lift from his body. He had flown around for most of the day and must've completely exhausted his mana reserves. I need to be more careful of that in the future, he noted to himself.

"Come to dinner?" Bick asked, still staring down at Taka from above.

Yes, let's, Taka sent back.

Bick carried Taka to the mess hall in companionable silence. This was Taka's first time in the room, as usually Syla or Rhoz would bring him something to munch on. A tinge of loneliness shot through Taka as he remembered the last dinner he had had with his mom before getting sent to this world, and the fancy dinner reservation he missed for after his graduation ceremony. It had been less than two weeks since he arrived in this new world, but it felt like a lifetime ago. Maybe its an side effect of this body, Taka wondered. Worms had significantly shorter lifespans than humans, and it seemed like he was born into the body of an adult worm, so... he shuddered at the thought and stuffed it down. Thinking like that won't solve anything.

Bick set the flower pot down at a table and left Taka to grab some food. Taka looked around: the mess hall was fairly quiet. It was starting to get dark outside, but there was barely anyone eating. Across the room, Taka saw a lanky lizard man with blue-green scales chatting with a fox girl, the fox girl poking at the lizard man as he seemed to tense up in embarrassment. They looked pretty young, but both were wearing the sleek casual wear of knights, as per the fashion-forward cultural traditions of Kronkswell. Bick returned to the table and set down a platter full of different kinds of meat and bread. He looked at Taka, and pointed to one of the sausages on his plate. Taka wasn't that hungry, but he was worried turning down the orc might offend him.

If you wouldn't mind, Taka sent. Yes Thank you.

Bick smiled and ripped the sausage in half, then dropped half into the flower pot, almost crushing the Lily Minion. The creature still didn't move. Bick turned his attention back toward his own plate and began to methodically organize his meats from smallest to largest. Taka looked at his own sausage and sniffed it. It smelled good, like, really good. Taka took a bite and was shocked at how complex the flavor was, given the more primitive technology of this world.

This is quite good, Taka sent to Bick.

The orc grunted as he devoured his meal in ravenous fashion. Yes, Demon Lord makes meat good, he sent back to Taka.

Taka was surprised -- most of the creatures he'd interacted with were put off, or at the very least, skeptical of Taka's TELEPATHY skill, and would still talk out loud even if they were only talking to Taka. After his first encounter with Bick, Taka thought the orc would keep his distance, but he was glad that Bick proved him wrong.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

Bick, Taka sent, is there a reason why the lizard folk eat so late?

Lizards eat under moon, Bick replied while continuing to stuff his face. Part of legends.

Bick swallowed and let out a loud belch, drawing the attention of the lizard man and fox woman in the corner for a moment, but the demi-humans turned back away after seeing the big orc's smile.

"Mind talk good," Bick said, "Eat and talk nice."

Yes, it is quite convenient, Taka replied, amused at the orc's insight. It has the potential to be far more efficient than other means of communication.

Bick glared at Taka, "Mind talk good. Filo talk? Too many words. Not efficient."

Taka began to think of a counter, but stopped. The orc wasn't wrong; although the structure and grammar of language that Taka considered to be necessary may add a level of eloquence, he had never been unable to understand what Bick was saying, despite his diction. He remembered back to a lecture he had in his first university course, COMM 1001: The Art of Communication as he stared at his unmoving Lily Minion.

"The essence of communication," Dr. Royland had said in her raspy, deep voice, "is the bonds we build with others. We share our experiences, our feelings, we pass on information and our thoughts, and above all else, we connect..."

An idea struck Taka like lighting. How could I forget? Taka used his TELEPATHY skill and targeted the Lily Minion--

Bad bad bad bad bad bad bad bad bad bad bad bad bad bad Bad bad bad bad bad bad bad bad b̴̨̫̰͚̥̟̗͌̓̇͑̃̂͒̄̿̀̈̚͝a̷̧̼̥̣͛̀̉́́̑͒̀̏͝͠d̷̛̞͓̂̓́̐́̎̀́̈́̚̚̕͝͝͝ ̷̛̯́̿̆̎̈̔b̷̛͚͌̏̽̈́́̑͛̇̓̈̌̍͘͠â̸̺̙͔̣̟͐̓̄̌̑͊̾̉̑͊̐͐̈͗́̽͝ḋ̶̡͇̬̭͙̫͓͍͂̈͝ ̴̳̤̅͆̅̑̈̃́̆̅̈́͒͝b̵̛̟͚̗̿͐͌̐̏̈͗̉̀͑̉̎̃̑̚͠å̷̗̅̋̉̉͌̊̀̉͑̔̄̋͊̎̇d̷̡̻̝̮̦͕̰̥̝̙͍̩̬͍̙̔̔̓̿͝ b̵̴̵̷̴̴̷̶̴̷̸̷̴̴̴̶̵̵̴̵̴̶̵̢̨̢̨̧̢̡̧̢̡̢̢̢̧̧̨̢̨̧̢̨̧̧̨̨̡̡̡̡̛͍̗̫̰̭͔̙̩̬͇̟̼̹̘̦̻̙͍̦͎̻̲̳̼̙̪̹͈̘̱͕̫̱̩͍̺̜̩̦̯̘͙̞̞̺̲͎͉͕̝̟͈̙̩̠̱̪̻̰͇̬͔̳̜͕̯̲̱̤͓̻̞̱͉̣͔͈̝̥͇͈̰̘̺̺̘̬̳̲̹̗̤͕̜͎̹̬̠̟̮͎͍̦̝̮͈̙̭̜̱̫̼̪̲̘͎͚̦͉̹͉̫̮͕̗̻̬̲͓̭̫̲̳̱̜̰̥͖̗̟̫̬̤͎̞̠̣̦̼̪͕͉̰̟̯̯͚̺͚͓̳̘͍͎͚̫͍̪̥͔̦̮̻͕̹̣̟̤͓̩̰̦͉̳̖̱̮̘̰̬̩̗͖̩͕͚̦̝̗̐͛̈́̓͌͛̇̐̉̓͗͛́̓̓͌̊͌͂͋́̾̂̋̓̅̉̋́̈́̏͛̂̅̅͗̃̒͊̇̑̓̀͑̋͐̐̃̏̔͋͛̆̈́̈̍͗̃̂̓͑̊̋̇̋̃͒̄̾̃̎͐̿͗̽͑̄̆̿̾̓̀̾̆̽̂̋̽̈́̃͆̍̐̈́́̈͌͌͆̑̎̎̀̿́̐͛̎̈́̆͌̂̀̉̿̒͌̓̈́̃͂̋̐̈́̀͒̄̀̆̓͊͊͐̂̇̈́̈́̔͋̇̇̅͛̍̈̍͐̈̇̚͘̚̚͘̕͘̚͜͜͜͜͜͜͝͠͝͝͠͝͠͝͠͝͝͝͝͠͝͠͝ͅͅͅͅͅą̵̷̷̴̶̸̴̶̴̴̴̸̷̶̴̷̷̸̢̨̡̢̢̢̢̢̧̢̨̡̧̡̨̧̧̧̧̧̨̨̛̛̛̛̘͕̣̹̳͓͉̳̭͚̰͔̯̱͍͔͙̰̬̥̻͍̻̥̮̜̞͕͖̻̠͉̰̹̺̭̳̰̣̜͉̬̩̼̫̺̖̗̦͓̺̲̖̭̤͈̹͕͇͙̩͇͇̼͖͉̞͉̟͉̬̤̳̥͇̣̟͍̲̜̭̳͓̼̝̞̗̹̗̦̦̻̣̹̥̣̳̪̙̣̠̦̻̳̭͈̼̙͔̻̳̥̭̲͍͍̤̫̻̲̮͖͙͖̻͓͓̞̭̹̤̣͖̝̟̙͔̩̟͙͐̐̂͗̂̏̽̆̃̽̋̆͂͊̔͋̊̑̀̌̒͆̈́́̏̐͒͛̋͆̊̋̀̃̽̓͑̐̂̀̈́͊́̃̊̑̑͋͐̋̀̍̓̾̇͌̉̄̈́̍́͆́͑̋̾͌̉́́̄́̿̏̅͐̓͂͋̐̅̌̓̂̿̀̌́̎̃̍̆̈̏̆̽́̓͛̋̑̈́̅̈́̂͐̑̍̈́͂̓͒̅͐̉̑̐͒̑̎̅̉̑̓̾̀͋̏͊̀̓̊̒̉͊͒̃̈́́̇̽͑̃́̆̀͊̾̈̍̊̀̐͌͊͘͘̚̚͘̕̕͘̚͘̕̚͜͜͜͜͝͝͝͠͝͠͠͝͠͝͝͝͝͝͝͠ͅͅͅͅͅͅͅḑ̴̷̷̸̴̶̴̸̸̴̶̶̸̸̶̸̸̵̷̷̷̢̢̧̢̨̡̡̧̢̡̡̨̛̛̛̛̛̛̛͖̫̭̥͙̝̠̤̗̥̰̩̮̙̤͈̻̲̬̲̹̞͕̳͕̹̺̮̼͍̠̳̪͈̲̲̫̰̲̭̳̞͚̖̯̗͕͖̥̯̜̠̗̗̙̗̯̙̤͈͎̝̲̳̭̮̟̪̣̩̙̮̬̻͚̭̬̺̠͕̫͓̣̻̤̫̟̭̥̯͚̪̰̞̠̠̬̠̲̘̝̰̱͚̻̤̱̞̺͖̫̫͔͈̦͔͍̤̝̙̟͉͔̤͙͇̺͚̪̻͇̣̜͔̝̦̞̗͈̞̦͓̝̖̱͚͔̩͓͖̜̱̹̺͓̗͇̞̜̍̐͋͆͛̑̌̽̊͒̽̂̉̂̅̆̃̾͛̿̃͛͋̓́̓́̍̀̒̍͛́̈̓́̒̐͊͒̂̋̇͊̑̃̂̄̾́̿̑͐̓̀̀̀̽͋̿̿̈̋͊̉͗͒́̒͐̑̽̉̂̆̋͌͒͒͆̅̈́̍͌̈́̆̾̀̀͊̈́͒́̒̂̾̉̀̐̓̀͊́͊̎̄̏̎͂̃̈́͐̍͛̀́͗̿̾͆͐͗͋̑͊́͂̄́͂̈́͋͋͊̽͊̈̄̄̆̃̋̀̃̌͋̐́̉͊̏͗̎̑́̑̆̈́̐̑̀̈̊̓̅̆͋͒̒́̈́̈́̈́͋͑̓͊̉̅̽̈́̿͛̈͛̇̐̂̿͑̆͐̎̋̎̈̊͆̑͂̈́͑̃̅̄̈̚̚̚̕̕̚̚̚̚͘͘̕͘̚͘͘̚͘̚̕̚͘͜͜͜͜͜͝͝͝͝͝͝͠͝͠͝͝͝͝͝ͅͅͅ ̶̷̷̴̴̷̷̵̴̷̵̨̢̡̢̢̢̡̢̢̛̛̛̹̪̼͈̦̥̦̖̹̺͔̳̺̯̞̘̜̞̗͖̲̟̰̺̮̫̤̺͇̝̺͔̪̭̜̲̮͖̟͈͕̪̦̱͇͔̱͖̠̯̬̘̮͍̥͙͙̭̜̘̹̝̭̥̙͎̭̺͈̖͉̥̹̗̞̖̦͚͔̯̫̪͓̱̩̖̗̘͔̰̿̄̋̀̈͑̐̐͂̆̒͑̈̆̾̉͐̀͗̈̀͛̋̓́͆̍̎̓̄̃̉̊̌̿͒̅͗̇̃̿͗̑́̐͋͒͋̓̎̆͐̀́͂̈́̐̆̄̂̎̅̈́̽̾̊͋̂͗̀̔̐̿̈̅̾̌͂̔́́̔̃̃̄̈̇̀͊̌͌̒͂̀́̓̀̉̇̓̈̈̏͑̂͛͊̄̈́́̎͘̕̚͘̚̚̕͜͜͜͜͝͠͠͝͝͝͝͝ͅͅb̸̷̶̷̴̴̵̶̷̵̴̷̶̷̷̸̶̵̸̡̡̡̧̧̧̡̨̨̡̡̨̧̢̛̛̛̭̬̱͎̤̹̗͉͎̺͈̝̜̠̱͔̩̥̺̯͖͉͖̻͙̱͕̱͍͈͖̯͇͎̝͔͖̜̦̯̼̬͍͙͓̝̺̟̼̺̟̫̦̲̞̘͔̰̣̙̥̱͚͚̫͓͈̦̼̳̻͍̲̞͍̱̺̖̹̳̱̠̤͇̘͇̩̱͈̰͙̫͖̲̪̰̙̞̜̞̬̯̣̗̤̮͖͚̣͕͎̹̝̮̞͚͉͙̳̬̮̫͚̪͓̼̖̭͈̤̹̘̫̹̦̹͇̟̲͚̗̝̥͆̈͑͂͊̃͂̅͒̌̈͒̿̆̇͑̽̑̆̃͑̅̎̒̿̓̏̈̍̀̈̑͆́͐̄͌̊̌͗̑́͗͂̏̉̑̏̓̓͊̌̏͑͗̽̾̽̔̈́͂̈͑͋͆́́́̈́̂̇͆͆͛͂́̈́̏̌̎̈̑͂͒̇̊̎̾̑͛̈͛͋͗̊̇̀͐̀̓̑̍͋̑̓̈́̓̽̈̑͆̈́̐̅̌̅̌́͛̊͌̊̐̍̓̓̂̈́̓̅̓̉̽̎̄̔̿́͛̾̆̍͌̔̃̏͘͘̚͘͘̚̕̕͘̕̚̕̕̕͘̚̕̕̚͘͜͜͝͠͝͠͝͝͝͠͠͝͝ͅͅͅͅͅă̶̸̷̸̷̵̶̸̸̴̸̸̷̴̵̴̸̷̷̷̷̷̵̴̸̵̧̧̨̨̨̨̨̢̨̢̡̡̧̡̧̧̧̧̨̡̧̨̨̨̛̛̛̛̛̛̳̫͕͔̪̞̣̞̫̦̦̩̟̭̳̤͔̭̠̝̙͎̖͉̣͓͔̳͈̤͈͎̫͓̪͍̪̟͎͍̻͚̺̠̼͈̥̘̳͚͙̘̭͚̟̥̺̻̭̟̮͇̣̠̮͉̣̩̮͎̼̜̣̰̜̗̞̞̠̭͈̮̻̮̹̰̪̖̙̺͕̤̟͖̥̫͍͈̜͍͖̟̖̝̼̜͎͈̩̙̲̱͉̱͎̤̰̠̹̞̫̘͎͍̜̞̻͕͉̣͖̟̪͎̝͖̘̗͎̙̦͚̞̺̫̭̟̯̭̱͎̼̳̙̼͔̣̘͙͈̺̱͖̝̫͖̲͓̤̟̖̳͉̻̞͓͓̥̌̀͂̑̓̊͊͐͌̾̉̓̈́̐͆̋̃̾̅̎̾̾̇͛̽͆̌̐̊͗͋̂̎̈́͆̔͗̓͋̈́̈͐̈́̓̀͗͂͛̃̈̏̎̓͛͐̓̊̀͊̽̍́̌̈́̐̾͑̇̃̏̄̓̇͂͐͆̋̂̽̈́̌̉̔̐̌͗̇̍̈́͆̐̂̆̃͌͂̀̌̆͌̑́͑́͊̽̍̾̈́̉̈́͒͆̑̽̓̉̃̑̈́̇̉̊̔͊̃̔͂̽́͒̒̑͗̓̇̐̌͛͛̍͊̃͐̋̐̍̓̊̿̿͂̈́͐̄͗̈̈́͂͛̒̊̀͆͂͗̍͋̾́̈́̒̂̌͒̂͒̄̆̈́̒̉͛́̽̐̃̊̋̊̃̈́̇̒͑͆͛̽̎̾͌̿̂̎́̉͗̍͊͆͐͗̅̑̊̉́͑̊͆̎̃͒̓͆̄̉͌͐͒̀̐̍̄́͛̎̾̃̾̒͗̚̕͘̚̕̚͘̕̚̚̚̚̚̕͜͜͝͝͝͠͝͝͠͠͝͝͝͝͝͠͠͝͝͠͝͝͝͝͝͠ͅͅͅͅͅd̵̶̶̴̸̷̴̸̵̷̸̸̶̸̴̨̧̢̢̢̡̢̡̨̧̧̛͖̙̹̘̠͍̳̩͔̟̙͔͖̫̳̠̜̺̮̻͖̬͈͓͔͇̺̪̘̦̣̻͎̯̹̩̗̠̩̦̮͈̹̱̹͚̬̣̯̱̺͍͖̭̱͈̗͕͇̱͍̬̠̙̭̯͈̟̰̺̺̘̱̱̜͙̬̰̟̖͙̭͇̳̻̠̫̼͍̥̭͕̗͎̭̯̭͈̜̹̰͖͔̼͓̰̩̳͉̗̱͍̯̖͔͈̟̟̜̬͍̩̟̥̳̩͕̲̻͊̍̓̿̄̈́͛̾͑̄̋̓͌̉̊̈́̿́́͒̃̒͗͗̈̆́͑̏̈̇̐̅̋͂̆́́͂̌̓͊̿̈̐̀̓̿͊̇̈̊̌͆̿̈́̎̒̓̑̌̓͛̈́̆̇͌̉̂̈̑́̀̄̆̾̉̑̔̾̈́͒̂̓̏͆̎̌̇͐͐̀͂́͊͋̈̑͑̒̋̎̾̀́̾̍̋̿̓̆͋͐̚͘̚̚̕͘͘̚͜͜͜͜͝͝͝͠͝ͅͅͅ ̶̴̴̶̶̶̴̶̸̸̸̶̵̷̶̷̶̡̢̧̢̡̧̨̨̨̢̢̨̨̢̨̢̛̛̛̬̲̤͓̝̺̹̳͍̗̻̼̪̭̹̼̯̫͔̞̘̪̩͔͔̹͖̮̬͈͈͇͓̭̺̙̩̤̜̖̘̞̱̭̦̳͙̻̗̮͈͇̤̬̹͖̠̤̻̤̬̳̬̬̳͚̟̫͙͇̟̲̹̩̹͉͖̻̣̩͔̯͎̘̙͉̲̜̼̖͈͖̳̼̰̠͙̼̬͈̱̼͎͕͙̘͉̪̣̫̩̳̱̜̹͚̖̫̩̹̠̻̭̦̹̳̣̥͙̼͇̱̗̯̮̭͍̱̰̦̟̞̳̤̺͈̫̑̿̅͗͋̓̓͂̈́̓̄̅̄̏̅̏̌͆̉̅̐̎͗͆͂̅̍̽̎̍́̑͊̈̐͛̒̐͒̎͛̓̃͛̏̊̀̐͌́̀͒̐͒̃̈́̅̔̒́̋̓̿̃̇͌̊͆̓͂̆̈́̒̅̒̔̀̃̐̀̐̽͆̏͗͋͗̽̾̐̈́̈́͛͌͒̇͋̈͒̅̀͛͂͋͛͗̈́̇́͊̄̊̍̿̓̑͊̎̓̒̄̿́̄́͌͗̍̏̎̓̓͘̚̕̕̕̕̚͜͜͜͜͜͠͠͝͠͠͝͝͠ͅͅͅ

Taka cut off the connection. What. The. FUCK. The Lily Minion turned toward Taka as if it could see him, sending a shiver down his spine. Something was wrong. Something was seriously wrong.

Bick, something bad is about to happen Taka sent to the orc. Bick looked at him with a confused look on his face.

"What thing--"

We don't have time, we need to find Deon, right now, Taka sent as fast as he could think.

Bick nodded and stood up, and as he reached down to grab Taka's flower pot, he ducked to cover Taka as something whizzed where the orc's head had just been. Taka could feel the air shift and heard a SPLAT come from the other side of the room.

The fox girl was on the ground, as if she had just been shoved away, and the lizard man was pinned against the wall... with the corpse of a bird sticking out of his head. The bird was the size of a falcon, but with a long, pointed beak that had pierced through the man's head. The fox girl looked up in terror to see the lifeless body of the lizard man she had just been chatting with above her.

"Oh, oh, no, no no no, what?" The fox girl squeaked out, Taka hearing through Bick's ears.

Bick, Taka began, but the orc was already running toward her. The Lily Minion beside Taka was jumping up and down, with even more energy than before.

Bick scooped up the girl in his other arm and ran, carrying both Taka and the fox girl, toward the entrance to the mess hall.

Before Bick could get out, another bird landed in the entranceway, smaller than the last one. It was blue, and looked like a pigeon...

The bird stared Taka down as if eyeing its prey, as if it recognized him, because it did; Taka recognized it. Taka used TELEPATHY and opened a link to the bird.

I thought I scared you away, Taka sent to the bird that had almost eaten him when he first awoke in the forest.