Crickets chirping in the dark and foggy morning, as the north groups march towards their destination. Gathering wild resources and avoiding aggressive monsters to conserve their energy the best they could. Sunrise approaches, reaching only a quarter of their destination, Illumi’s sweating and running out of breath. But as he looks at his party who’s carrying loads of supplies on their back, Illumi toughens up, and keeps walking.
As the sun is almost at the top, and they’re half way on their journey, the leader of the north group signals for a break. Most of the hunters drop to the floor exhausted, even Illumi. But everyone else in his group stands tall, barely looking tired.
Kori signals to Mi and Eric. “Mi, set up the campfire. Eric, prepare the ingredients for lunch.”
Mi and Eric nodded, and did their task without a single complaint. Ire took out his bow and headed inside the thick forest and said, “I’ll look for some fresh meat.”
Illumi couldn’t help but sit awkwardly, not knowing what to do, other than watching everyone do their thing. Kori opened up his backpack, and brought out his ledger and revised the group’s new positions. Everyone is caught up with their own task in silence.
Kori looked up to Illumi and said, “Illumi, you’re fine with being fire support?”
Startled by the sudden break of silence, Illumi replied, “U-Uh. Yes, I’m fine with any position.”
“Understood. I guess our group positions right now look solid. Though only in theory. It would have been great if we had a normal hunt instead. We could have practice along the way.” Kori sighs in disappointment.
Kori noticed Illumi being quiet by himself, looking at the ground. “What’s wrong Illumi? Are you nervous?”
“I am a bit nervous… I’ve never done any of this. I don’t know if I would be useful, or end up causing everyone problems…” Illumi replied.
“Don’t worry about it. We're in the second batch group. We basically got the easy position. Just kill the leftovers that managed to get through. Most of the time, the monsters are already injured, so it's an easy kill.” said Eric with confidence.
Kori smiled in agreement. “Eric’s right. Our group had experienced this twice. As long as you keep alert of your surroundings, we’d survive this without any scratch.”
“Now that you mentioned it. It’s Ire first time too. She’s been with us only for a year.” said MI.
“What are you guys talking about?” Ire pops out of the thick forest, with a few birds on her hand.
Everyone was startled except for Kori. “We’re talking about today’s mission. It rarely happens. Which is a good thing, the casualty it causes is tremendous. A lot of good hunters die every time these stampedes happen.
Ire blush red. “Oh.” she said, as she handed the bird to Eric. “Butchered it for me, I don’t want to get my clothes dirty.”
“Why me!I don’t want to get my clothes dirty too!” Eric replied in protest.
“I-I can butchered it for you.” Illumi volunteered.
Illumi got up and took the bird from Eric. Kori got up and grabbed a couple of birds from Illumi and said, “I’ll help.”
“Thank you! Both of you!” Eric expressed his gratitude.
Ire stares with envy and dissatisfaction as Kori and Illumi leave. Eric looks from aside in disappointment and releases a sigh, and continues his task.
Illumi and Kori walk deeper in the forest, and stop after they find a small open space. Kori handed a small knife to Illumi and said, “Let's continue our conversation from yesterday, as we are butchering the birds.”
Illumi smiled and continued where they left off. Focusing more on chemistry and basics of the periodic table of elements. Explaining the variety and the difference of metals and gasses. Kori's eyes were focusing on Illumi talking, but his hands neatly skinning the birds.
Illumi paused his conversation and said “I think it's bad timing for me to explain this. It’s something that would be better written down.”
“Don’t worry, my memory is pretty good. I can memorize everything you said perfectly.” Kori said without stopping his task.
“If you think it’s fine. Then I’ll continue.” Illumi said, and continued his conversation.
They continued their conversation for another half an hour, even after they finished butchering the birds. Kori paused their conversation, and cast a ball of water in front of them, to wash their hands and the birds.
“We’ll continue the lessons later. I’m sure everyone is hungry. They’re gonna be mad if we take too long.” Kori said, grabbing the washed birds.
“You’re right we might have taken too long.” Illumi replied.
They both walked back towards the group. Halfway, Kori stops and turns to Illumi and says, “You’re a good teacher. You should try and be a personal tutor instead of being in the hunter’s guild.”
“I guess that doesn’t sound too bad.” Illumi replied with a smile.
Kori and Illumi arrived at their campfire. All of the hunters are already eating, except for their group.
“What took you guys so long! I’m starving!” Eric complains.
“Sorry! We had a lot of birds to butchered. Have to be careful and not contaminate the meat.” Kori replied.
Kori handed the birds to Mi, as he chopped them into smaller pieces and threw them in the pot they already started stewing the vegetables in.
“They smell really great!” said Mi, taking a whiff of the aroma that is coming from the pot.
A few minutes later, they all grabbed a bowl, and filled themselves with a hot meal. Chowing them down like hungry beasts. Illumi takes his time and eats slowly, watching everyone’s enjoying their food. Making him think of his previous life, eating microwaved food in his apartment alone.
Having their belly full, everyone laid back and took a nap. Illumi couldn’t sleep, and sat by the damp up campfire.
“I don’t know what I’m even doing… But I can’t help but have fun… I can’t help but feel alive…” Illumi thought to himself, staring up at the clouds in the skies.
“Wake up.” Kori shakes Illumi softly, startling him. Half asleep, sitting next to the campfire.
“We’re moving out.” Kori said to Illumi.
Everything had already been cleaned and packed.
All of the other groups had already started moving, except for Kori’s group, who’s waiting for Illumi. After a quick face wash with Kori’s water spell, they caught up with the rest of the group.
Following the same routines, the groups continued their journey to the north. Blazing hot sun and the humidity of the forest affected all of the group's pace. Having bearing the harsh environment, some of the hunters used their energy to create a freezing ball of ice on their own group members to combat the heat.
Kori cast his own magic and made a ball of ice to keep his group cool. Not a second of break, they all continued their march.
The burning hot sun had started to dawn hours later. Arriving at their destinations, the leader of the hunter’s groups gave a sign to set up camp, as the night was approaching.
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Kori’s group took a spot at the very back of the other’s group, as all of the other spots had already been claimed. They’d set up small tents that would only fit 2 people.
“Are you okay with sleeping outside, Illumi?” Kori asked.
“I don’t mind. The air here is refreshing, it’d help me sleep better.” Illumi replied.
All the males in the group set up a bedding for themself outside the tent, while Ire headed inside the tent. Mi sets up a campfire in the middle, and prepares for their dinner as Eric helps prepare the ingredients.
A group of female hunters came up to their spot and asked, “Is Ire here?”
Kori nodded and went to the tent to call Ire. Ire came out of the tent and join the female hunters, walking far deeper into the forest.
“Where are they going!?” Illumi asked innocently.
Everyone in the group laughed. Mi chuckled and said, “What’s wrong Illumi, do you want to join them!?”
“They’re taking a bath. I’m sure they were all dying to take one, after the long sweaty march.” Kori said, wiping his tears of laughter.
Eric jumps towards Illumi, giggling. “If you want to watch, I don’t mind accompanying you!”
Illumi’s face started to get red.
“Don’t bother with him, Illumi. He’s just going to use you as an excuse. Apparently he has a death wish.” Mi said, getting angry at Eric.
“I’m joking! I just wanted to see if Illumi had the balls or not! He’s going to have to grow a pair sooner or later!” Eric said, holding Illumi tightly.
Everyone carries on with their laughter, as Illumi cowers in embarrassment. Having their fun, the group continued with their task. Illumi sat by the campfire, putting in the firewood.
With dinner finished, they sat down next to each other and had a chat, waiting for Ire to come back. Sharing their experience and knowledge to each other, and turning to them telling each other jokes. Time passed, and the female hunters came back from their shower, and Ire sat down next to Kori who’s sitting next to Illumi without saying anything.
“How’s the shower?” Kori asked absentmindedly.
“It was okay…” Ire replied nonchalantly.
Sitting in awkward silence, the group had their dinner. The sounds of laughter and chatter from the other hunters can be heard from far away, and the chirping of crickets accompany the group. Mi started a conversation with Eric about their dinner, talking about the preserved ingredients. Illumi put down his emptied bowl and got up.
“Sorry, I have to go and relieve myself.” Illumi said, excusing himself.
“Be careful of your surroundings. Venomous creatures lurk in the dark in this forest.” Kori warns Illumi.
Illumi searched for a bush far away from the camp, pulling down his pants, he crouched down and relieved himself, washing it off using a small ball of water that he casted. Pulling up his pants back, he glanced at the sky, as the lunar light shines the sky, Illumi noticed dark vapors surrounding the sky.
“You’re done with your business?” Mi called out to Illumi from behind.
Startled by the voice, Illumi turned to the side in reaction. “Y-You scared me, MI.”
“Haha. Sorry for bothering you. Just that I couldn’t sit there anymore in that awkward silence. It’s suffocating.” Mi said.
“Yeah. I don’t know what I should do. I couldn’t help with anything else. All I do is sit in silence, and watch everyone.” Illumi vent out his feelings.
“Sorry about that. I couldn’t really say you’re not part of the reason. But this group has its problems. As you’d already figured out, Ire is in love with Kori. But what makes it awkward is that Eric is in love with Ire. We were working perfectly as a group for almost a year, until Eric decided to confess his feelings towards Ire. And of course Ire rejected. They were about to push all of the bad memory away, until Mira asked a little kid to join the team.” Mi spills out his thoughts.
Illumi looks down with his hands twisting each other.
“Ire had always had a soft spot for childrens. Growing up in an orphanage had made her appreciate life more than anyone. She joined the hunter’s guild a bit around your age. She’s not specialize in anything, so she took up archery, and practiced as hard as she could and put her life on the line to put food on the table. Desperate, other kids started to follow in her footsteps. Since the hunter’s guild is always in need of meat shields, they’d take in anyone they can. But the other kids aren’t like her, they’d all die in just a few months, some didn’t even survive a week. So don’t be too harsh on her, she just didn’t want to be attached, and ended up losing someone she loves.” Mi finished up his story.
Having finished listening, Illumi bowed to Mi, and said, “Thank you for telling me that story. I will do my best to support everyone in their journey, and will not be a burden.”
Mi pat Illumi on the head and laughs. “That goes for everyone. We will all do our best to support each other. And not be a burden to one and another.”
“Lets head back, I’m starting to feel sleepy, after filling my belly to the brim!” said Mi, trying to cheer up the mood.
They both headed back to the camp. Ire already asleep, while Kori is talking gleefully to Eric, who seems to be falling asleep.
“You guys aren’t asleep yet!?” Mi shouts to Eric and Kori.
“I was about to. But Kori insists on talking about his magic theory.” Eric complains to them both.
“Alright, alright. Illumi’s back, you can chat to your heart's content. Let me and Eric sleep in peace.” said Mi, as he shoved Illumi towards Kori.
Mi and Eric went straight to sleep. Kori brought out his ledger and had Illumi accompany him at the edge of the camp, trying to avoid someone from eavesdropping.
“Shall we continue?” Kori said, full of excitement.
Illumi nodded and said, “Understood.”
Kori handed out a piece of paper and a pen to Illumi. Continuing their last conversation, Illumi draws out the periodic table, and explains the one that he could remember. WIth his perfect memory, Kori could quickly memorize all of the periodic table, and wrote them down in perfect chronology.
Impressed by Kori’s learning ability. Illumi decided to continue his lesson, and went to physics. After a short period of explaining the definition, he’d spent the entire time explaining Motion, Energy, Forces and Waves as best as he could. Hours went by, and it’s past midnight, Illumi started to doze off and fall asleep, as Kori wrote everything he could.
“I think we should stop for now. You look like you could fall asleep standing.” said Kori.
Illumi didn’t respond, his head kept falling up and down. Kori picks Illumi up, and lays him on his bedding. Illumi pulls on Kori’s sleeve, half asleep and asks. “If you could remember everything… why did you write it down…”
Kori tucks Illumi in and replies. “My memories are only good to me, and it will only last as long as I can.”
Illumi chuckled. “I know. I just wanted to make sure…”
Illumi started to snore. Kori sat by the campfire, writing down on his ledger in silence, while everyone had fallen asleep.
A loud bang on a metal rang through the area. Woken up everyone who’s still asleep. Illumi woke up from his slumber, greeted by his group who seemed to be already woken up, long before him.
Everything was still dark, and crickets can still be heard chirping everywhere. Breakfast is already in the making, Eric pulls out a new set of clothing from his backpack.
“Here Illumi. It’s my old clothes, but I don’t think I can fit them anymore.” said Eric with a bright smile.
Illumi stood up and took the clothes, after bowing in gratitude, he went inside the forest to take a shower. Along the path he took, he noticed a flower from his memory that had a very good smell. Picking a few to fit in his palm, he carried on his way. Deeper in the forest, Illumi conjured a handful of chemical compounds of soap, and used a blast of oxygen to mix in the flower with the soap. Casting a ball of water at the top of his head, he lets the water flow down on him slowly as he uses the soap to wash his body.
Wearing his new clothes, he washed his old one using the same soap. And dried it with a strong and steady blast of heated up oxygen. Satisfied with the drying, he went back to the camp.
Kori sat down next to Mi and Kori and grabbed himself a bowl of soup. Mi and Kori’s nose quickly caught up with the strong perfume smell.
“What the hell. You smell very good, Illumi!” Mi expressed his shock.
Eric turns to Mi in disgust. “Creep!”
“Mi is right. But the products are a luxury, and the method of making them is protected by the maker.” said Kori.
Eric hastened towards Illumi and took a sniff. “You’re right. He smells really good!”
Ire caught the whiff of Illumi’s body and got curious. Getting closer and closer, trying to figure out the mystery. Illumi pulled out the soap he had made and handed them to Ire and said. “You can have this if you want. I have another one.”
“Are you sure? Those things aren’t something us common folk could even imagine touching.” said Mi.
“I don’t mind. She can take it.” Illumi said with a smile.
Ire took the soap holding them tightly. “Thank you…” She ran off to the females in the other group, calling them out cheerfully, whispering to each other. The other female hunters look surprised and excited, they quickly rush deep in the forest.
“Thank you Illumi.” Kori bows to show his gratitude.
“Y-You didn’t have to bow to me. It’s really nothing to me.” said Illumi, cowering in shyness behind Mi.
“You’ve helped boost morale in the group. It will help us in the long run. And you’ve also lightened Ire’s mood, I no longer need to worry about the group’s dynamic.” said Kori, still in his bowing position.
Eric sneaks up behind Illumi and grabs him. “Where did you hide such luxury you little brat. You better give me some too, or I’ll cling to you with my stinky body!”
“I’d appreciate it if you lend me it, too.” said Mi, embarrassed.
The sun started to rise, everyone had finished their breakfast, as the females just finished taking their showers. Coming out of the forest elated, and looking refreshed. Waving each other goodbyes and thanking Ire, they went back to their own group. Ire joined Kori and everyone. Ire walked to Illumi, looking down, humbled.
“Sorry. But we used up your soap.” Ire said, twitching her fingers.
Illumi couldn’t help but smile. “Don’t worry. I have more.”
Ire smiled back, and held her tears, reaching her hands and hugging Illumi. “Thank you. I feel really refreshed. It helps me clear up my thinking.”
Everyone’s mood lightened up, and cheerful laughs and chatters started to flood the atmosphere. Ire grabbed her breakfast and sat by the campfire, chatting with Mi and Eric merrily. Kori called out to Illumi, and gestured to follow him. They both walk inside the forest, towards the sunrise.
“I would like to thank you again, Illumi. You have no idea how relieved I am at the moment.” said Kori, as they walked deeper into the forest deeper.
“Don’t worry about it. It’s the least I could have done, to repay you guys for taking me in.” said Illumi.
“I’ve also figured it out. I had my doubts. But you’ve confirmed it for me. It might have been obvious for me, except for the others, Mi and Ire. I’m sure Eric already had his suspicions too.” Kori’s tone changed from merry to serious.
“I-I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Illumi panicked.
“If you don’t want to tell me. I’m fine with that. I’m just really happy at the moment.” Kori continued. The sun shines through the forest, and shone upon Kori. Relieved and happy, his tone relaxed. “We can finally save everyone.”