Luke was fast asleep, so were the mercenaries.

Ghul silently stared at the sky, he was leaning on his Traveler's Claymore, the night was quiet with only faint cries from the owls. It was his 6th day in this world, or was it his 7th? Ghul didn't know, he had already forgotten. He felt like he had been living in the wild for years. Numb from the violence and cruelty of this beautiful world. He lost count of how many times he had almost died, he didn't want to remember.

Ghul still missed his old world, the house his parents left for him. His old world, rotten, but still peaceful.

Relatively... I guess...

Ghul sometimes questioned if he was in a fictional world. He had the crazy thought of his old world being fiction. Well, he even started to question his sanity.

Suddenly, Ghul heard a faint cry. At first, the sound was low, and hard to point out, but it gradually increased in volume and was heading towards him.

Ghul's heartbeat sped up, as he tightened his grip on his sword.

Then, Ghul saw it, a swarm of glowing red dot was getting closer to him. Ghul got in a defending stance, ready to alert the group in a moment's notice.

Ghul breathed a sigh of relief, the swarm of glowing red dots was a group of Keese. They were just low-level monsters, with a bat-like appearance and only one eye. Their only attack was charging straight at the foe.

[https://www.zeldadungeon.net/wiki/images/thumb/1/12/Keese-botw.jpg/175px-Keese-botw.jpg]

Taking a deep breath, Ghul did a powerful horizontal strike, reducing the number of Keese by half.

Ghul casually swatted away the Keese that were getting closer to him. If he couldn't even defeat these low-level monsters, it would be a disgrace to all Links.

But even after killing the last Keese, Ghul didn't relax, the night was feeling eerie like someone was spying on him. Still vigilant, Ghul sat down with the sword at his side, ready to take it out at any moment.

The nagging feeling of someone watching him was gnawing at his heart. Ghul's tense body didn't relax for a second. The muscles in his body were twitching from staying alert for a long time.

A streaking ray of sunlight hit the distant mountain, as the sun started rising. Ghul's body collapsed on the ground.

The feeling of him being watched disappeared with the morning rays of the sun.

Ghul's body was covered in sweat. He didn't know what happened the whole night, but his head automatically turned towards the north-west. It was the direction of the Hyrule castle.

He was feeling like shit, as he couldn't bring himself to continue pursuing this matter.

Tobias woke up, he was an early bird. Stretching his body, he saw Ghul on the floor, covered in sweat. Walking towards Ghul, Tobias nudged him in the shoulder.

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

Ghul mechanically turned his head, he was moving like a rusted gear. Eyes bloodshot, he opened his mouth, but no sound came. With a thud, his head dropped as he fainted.

"Hey!! Ghul, hey!! What happened?" Tobias asked concerned.

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The birds chirped, singing in the wild, as a squirrel hurriedly got out of the pebbled path. Horses' hooves clattered as it hit the ground, while the rattling sound of the wooden wheel followed. The group was on the road again.

Ghul was on the cart, sitting beside Raihan. The bumpy ride wasn't a good experience for an unconscious person. Ghul groaned, as his heavy eyelids slowly opened. Having difficulty in adjusting to the bright light, Ghul squinted his eyes, while blocking the light with his hands.

"You awake?, kid..." Raihan said in his rather annoying voice.

Ghul stared at Raihan, his dark skin didn't reflect light very much, comfortable for his eyes.

"How are ya feeling?" Raihan asked again.

Ghul didn't know what was going on. Wasn't it supposed to be night, and didn't he feel like someone was watching him. How was it day now?

"You okay?" Tobias asked, since every one of them was worried about Ghul.

Ghul nodded.

"What time is it right now?" Ghul asked.

"One o'clock..." Luke said without even looking at a watch. Anyone could tell that he was quite perceptive.

"What happened Ghul?" Tobias asked in a serious voice.

Confused himself, Ghul started reciting the events of yesterday.

"Ah... It happens." Raphael nodded with a profound look, obviously pretending.

"Don't worry, Ghul. We are here..." Tobias said in a heavy voice, as everyone nodded showing their approval.

Ghul's mouth curved up a bit, he was confused, but not lost. Well, what could he say? He was... speechless.

"I'm fine, guys..." Ghul laughed, not worrying at all.

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The road split into two, one straight, and one at the right. Going straight, one would find the Kakariko bridge in lake Siela. The path to the right led towards Hateno village. Obviously, the group headed right, the path leading towards Hateno village.

"Stop!!" Luke suddenly said.

"What happened, Luke?" Hasan questioned.

"Enemy..." Luke replied, speaking not more than necessary.

Everyone became alert. Luke was a skilled archer and a respected member who was always serious. His credibility in the group was leagues apart from Raphael.

Ghul squinted, his gut feeling was telling him that there was another presence, but he couldn't see anyone other than them.

Luke arched his bow, his arrow traveled through the air and hit a seemingly normal patch of grass. The image of the grass blurred, as a green monster came into view. It was a Lizalfos in camouflage.

"Raphael and Hasan come with me. Luke and Bailey support us. Everyone else, guard the cargo." Tobias said, narrowing his gaze.

The Lizalfos charged at them, its agility unparalleled. Tobias hurriedly parried with his shield, while Raphael attacked with his spear. The spear traveled through the air at a speed far faster than the Lizalfos. The spear accurately hit the Lizalfos horn, stunning it. The spear was a powerful weapon in the hands of a skilled personnel.

Hasan attacked, his sword aiming for its neck. The Lizalfos snapped out, as it defended with his sword.

It hurriedly backed off, an arrow pierced the ground where he was previously standing. Nothing could stop it if it wanted to retreat. The Lizalfos eyes gleamed with intelligence.

Suddenly, an arrow slashed its cheek, barely missing as the Lizalofs had moved on time. It stared at Luke, the Hylian was dangerous.

Ghul felt something, a presence beside him, but there was nothing there. Gripping his sword tight, he slashed beside him. BINGO. It had hit something. A Blue Lizalfos materialized from the void.

Ghul glanced at Luke, while Luke just nodded. Ghul laughed and shook his head, This wasn't a reliable teammate.

Ghul followed up with an attack, it dodged, the Lizalfos was too fast.

Its eyes flickered, as it gave a cry and ran towards the lake. The other Lizalfos followed suit.

The lake Siela was a big lake, it's corner even extended up to the road they were taking.

Ghul stared at the vast water body, pursuing was useless, unless he wanted to turn into a Zora. The Lizalfos probably had a camp somewhere in the river