A hand reaches out from the river and grabs onto the riverside.The boy comes out of the river gasping for air with an unconscious Tatsuo in tow and heaves him onto the shore.

???: *Pants*…*Pants*…Damn this guy is a LOT heavier than he looks….

The boy kicks Tatsuo’s body.

???: Oi, wake up!

A stream of water shoots out from Tatsuo’s mouth and Tatsuo regains his consciousness.

Tatsuo: *cough!* *cough!* …Wait…this seems familiar…

Tatsuo stares at his hand recalling distressing memories: This happened before…!

???: Yeah, only this time I was the one who woke you up, and I did it properly. Unlike you.

Tatsuo: Mm. Yeah. Thanks for saving me.

???: You should be. It was one of the hardest decisions I had to ever make. But you did try to save me back at the cliff so now we’re even. Anyways, now you get what you’re facing yeah? So how about you take my suggestion and quickly skedaddle on out of these woods.

Tatsuo: Oh don’t be like that, we should both try to help each other out yeah?

???: Huh???

Tatsuo: You need to take down that monster, and I need to get to Argonaut, wouldn’t you say this is a good opportunity for the both of us?

???: Did the water cause even more brain damage to you? What makes you think you can help me take down the Mandaeliscopod? You’ve seen what it can do! Also even if you were to somehow force me into helping you, I can’t navigate us to Argonaut without a map, my things got washed away by the current the first time we drowned.

Tatsuo: Well perfect then, I guess this means we’re both lost.

???: What?! No! How could you be this stupid?! This is almost the worst case scenario!

The boy stomps away in his tantrum: You know what, fine! Do whatever you like!

Tatsuo looks down at his stomach that begins growling.

???: But if anything else happens to you I ain’t gonna come and save you!

The boy turns back and sees Tatsuo is gone.

???: …In the end he just left?! – He exclaims angrily.

*Later on in the day…

The boy’s stomach growls.

???: Dammit…So hungry….

The boy perks up upon smelling a delectable fragrance.

???:…Is that…Meat being cooked…?

??? (thinking): Someone else is here!

The boy rushes over to the location of the smell. He hopes that whoever he finds will be able to help him. Suddenly the boy gets one of his legs ensnared by a vine trap and dangles from a tree branch.

???: …What? A trap…?!

???: Damn…! The scent was actually a bait…?!

??? (thinking): What kind of cunning bastard…!

The boy twirls to see Tatsuo holding and eating a piece of charred meat looking right back at him.

Tatsuo: Oh hey! It’s you! – The boy has a dumbfounded disconcert look.

[https://i.imgur.com/cpWHfLY.png]

Tatsuo: Sorry for leaving suddenly, I was getting hungry so I went to go fetch some food. Well, by food I only really mean meat since not only does it taste a lot better than fruits and vegetables, but the last time I ate something like that I had a reeeaally bad stomach ache…Henteko told me it was poison.

The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

Tatsuo starts untying the vines: I didn’t expect to have you fall for one of my traps, but then again I fell for them myself before so it’s understandable. But ever since I fused with Henteko I never had that problem.

??? (Trying to process everything that just came out of Tatsuo’s mouth): What the hell is this guy even on…? I think the veggies he ate did more than just giving him an upset stomach.

The boy falls to the ground, letting out a grunt. Tatsuo hands over a piece of meat.

Tatsuo: Want some?

With the transpiration of events, the boy awkwardly takes the meat from Tatsuo. Promptly after, Tatsuo brings the boy over to where he’s roasting a monster over a campfire. The two sit down to eat. The boy grabs a piece of meat, and stares at it lost in thought.

Tatsuo: Is something wrong?

???: No, nothing just…Lamenting on my place in this world is all…

Tatsuo: How weird…You’re having an existential crisis now? I wonder what made you think of that right now…

The boy makes no comment. He remains silent in his abrupt epiphany.

*It is night time.

Tatsuo: Whew~ That was pretty rough!

Tatsuo and the boy are out lying down in an open grass field.

Tatsuo pats his stomach: But life is as good as full as your stomach!

Tatsuo lively introduces himself to the boy.

Tatsuo: I’m Tatsuo! What’s your name?

??? (thinking): …When did he start to get so chummy?

???: I’m Darren.

Tatsuo: So Darren, are you an adventurer too?

Darren: Hmm…I never thought about it like that…but I guess in a way I am…

Darren: Well the situation right now with me is I need money, so recently I’ve been taking up jobs and hunting down monsters.

Tatsuo: Should’ve just gone with the slime.

Darren: You know about it? I saw that one but I never found it…Course, I don’t think I’d ever be lucky to run into it.

Tatsuo: Well it’s pretty darn fast too that’s for sure, me and my friends were unable to catch it.

Darren:…What?

Tatsuo sits up: Why don’t you join a guild then?

Darren: No it wouldn’t work out well for me…I’m working towards a very personal goal. I’m trying to get off this continent to find someone.

Tatsuo: You’re looking for somebody?

Darren: Yeah…Actually I’m looking for two people…I’m looking for my brother Conrad and our mentor Sahara. I’ve spent most of my life searching around Irene and I’m convinced they’re no longer in this region…

Tatsuo: Can’t you just wait for them to return? Maybe they’ll come back.

Darren: That’s what I thought too…

Darren somberly looks up to the starry night sky.

Darren: But I’m tired of waiting…

Tatsuo: What a coincidence then, I’m looking for a person too. The name is Veloren, Veloren Aund Gerfuden. Have you heard of anyone with that name?

Darren: No, I feel sorry for whoever got named with a name like that.

Tatsuo: So it’s the same with you then…Well! That’s why I’m headed to Argonaut. Supposedly I’ll find something there about that person.

A thought pops up in Tatsuo.

Tatsuo: You said you’ve explored most of Irene already…Have you been to Argonaut?

Darren: Yeah. It’s an amazing place. It’s by far the most technologically advanced city in all of Irene.

Tatsuo: Hmmm…Then can you come with me to Argonaut?

Darren twitches his head in perplexion.

Tatsuo: You know…To show us around the place and such… Plus once you claim the monster you gotta turn it in for the bounty somewhere right?

For someone who Darren deemed as a bizarre existence, the idea didn’t seem half bad to him. He takes the moment to go through with it in his head.

Darren: I suppose that’s true…I’ll think about it…

Tatsuo: That’s fine with me! Tomorrow is monster hunting time, so let’s sleep!

Tatsuo: 3,2,1!

Both Darren and Tatsuo synchronously knock out together into a deep sleep. Their bodies instantly drop on the grass.

*The next day…

The Mandaeliscopod is roaming around the forest. A high-pitched squeal catches its attention. It’s a distressed boar. The Mandaeliscopod trudges forward to investigate the screaming animal.

The boar’s legs scurries but makes no progress in moving, as one of its legs is broken. Up above on a tree branch, Darren watches the Mandaeliscopod.

*Flashback:

Darren: Listen up Tatsuo, there are two ways the Mandaeliscopod will approach the bait. If the Mandaeliscopod approaches the bait, we’ll release the trap. If it uses its arm to snatch the bait, then I’ll act as a distraction and lead it into the trap myself. I’ll let you know when to activate the trap, got it?

Tatsuo: Roger.

Darren: No seriously, you can’t screw this up. Especially if I gotta act as the bait. If you mess it up I’m gonna ditch ya.

Tatsuo: Mmk.

Still unconvinced, Darren leaves Tatsuo to be.

Darren: But what should we use as bait…? I don’t think the Mandaeliscopod will be interested in small prey such as rabbits or squirrels…

Tatsuo: Why not just use a boar?

Darren: What? How are we gonna snare a boar? By all means if you know of a way to keep a boar in place then sure. Who knows what else you can do at this point…

Tatsuo: I’ll break its legs.

Darren makes no further comment. It was an answer he wasn’t expecting, yet it was one that would work. Simple and effective, but also quite ratherly cruel.

*Flashback ends.

Darren (thinking): Guy is more ruthless than he looks…He even carried the damn thing too…

The Mandaeliscopod walks up to the panicked boar and readies its claws.

Darren: NOW!!!

The Mandaeliscopod flinches at Darren’s yell. Tatsuo snaps the line. A tree comes flying towards the Mandaeliscopod and slams into it.

[https://i.imgur.com/dXlSahZ.png]