Chapter 22

“They… the hunters, consisted mostly of Crocodilians and Draken. The Draken think themselves dragons, yet they are but overgrown lizards,” she clarified when she saw Oskar’s questioning face.

“The hunters thought we Kobolds had secret abilities to find water, or perhaps had access to a hidden Oasis. They did not deem it important enough to clarify which it was when they began slaughtering our people. The hunters tortured and killed so many of our people. They could not imagine that we simply worked for what we needed, and trusted one another completely to help provide, and the other races gutted us for it.”

Her eyes were wet under her Goggles. “It appears now... I must learn to trust again.”

On one hand, Oscar was glad he hadn’t gone into detail about the losses that he’d suffered. He hadn't been ready to talk about it. But sitting here, listening to her... he realized she had likely lost even more than he had. She was more than capable of understanding what he’d gone through, and the thought bothered him as much as it comforted.

It’s such a strange thing, he thought to his PUB, that we find comfort through shared pain and the empathy of others, but at the same time, it kind of hurts to know someone else has had to hurt the way you have.

// Look, I’m just a brain, but it seems like you’re doing what you can with the information you have. Absorb, process, improve. That’s how I handle data, so it’s definitely the correct way to handle it. //

Thanks, I think.

Knowing there was no way to reply to everything she’d just shared, he simply said, “I’m glad you are here. I’m glad that I met you and Touwon. Your knowledge and resourcefulness are the only reason I’m alive right now. I’m tickled pink I had a chance to pay you back at least once.”

Fox smirked at him, shaking her head at his ill-timed humor.

Chuckling, he winced, holding a hand to his ribs.

“Please don’t make a habit of it, though. I’m not good at saving people. It hurts.”

Fox grinned her feline grin and sat up. “Let us fill up and get out of here. Touwon won’t be happy with such a brief nap, but the heat will soon be at its peak, and we have lingered too close to the battle to wait any longer. Although Touwon dragged the remains as far away as he could, and Penny buried all the blood she could find...scavengers are always a threat. Also, Valla escaped. She would not dare attack us alone, but she might have some way to contact someone willing to help and curry her favor.”

"So, I think I remember at least this much, but Vulk died to my spear when I hit him, right?"

Fox eyes looked savage as the turned an intimidatingly wolfish smile his way. "You tore him in half. It made it much easier for Touwon to dispose of, to be honest."

Oskar let out a shocked laugh, "In half? Two pieces, you say?"

She nodded. "Completely."

Her nose wrinkled in distate, and her eyes went flat.

"Falk, though, was a husk. Penny could have carried what remained after what Valla did."

Oskar nodded, trying to process everything.

I can think and walk, though. We've got to get moving.

As if reading his thoughts, Fox stood, stretching, and Oskar grunted as he stood as well. He had to lean over to loosen the prosthetic and re-situate it. He then locked it back in with a few small bounces as Fox walked over to wake Touwon. Penny had somehow gotten under one of his furry arms, and Touwon looked as shocked as anyone to find her there cuddled up to him when he woke.

The Pangolor stood and stretched with an admittely cute yawning kwin sound, and then tottered off to find a snack or twelve.

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Touwon watched her go, grumbling, but stood and rolled the tent while Fox and Oskar gorged on water and filled up the waterskins. Curious, he took a moment to look at his stats, something he hadn’t remembered to do in a while. He knew he was adapting, though; he was stronger than he’d ever been.

Mind F+ Rank

Body

F Rank Spirit F+ Rank

He suspected the reason his body ranking was the same as before was because of his lack of mobility. The “system” still saw his missing limb as a debilitating injury or disfigurement.

Which I guess it is, if not for the modern science of prosthetics.

In sheer strength, he had to be closer to Peak F. He was much stronger than he’d ever felt in his life. It wasn't even close.

I don't mean to look a gift horse in the mouth, but this puts a whole new meaning to the term, "There's something in the water."

// Hah! Nice one! //

I think I'm spending too much time with you.

// Hey now, don't be hurtful. //

The PUB flickered blue to let him know it was playing, and Oskar smiled as his mind went back to his stats.

The physical changes weren’t exactly subtle, either. Fearing the unintended consequences of his growing strength, he worried about exceeding the limits of what his prosthetic foot was designed to handle. He’d been in good shape, but he’d lost some size these last few months, even with his recently increased strength. Now on a desert planet, he was burning fat like no tomorrow. The prosthetic didn’t feel as secure as it could be, but for now, he had no choice but to rely on it.

It was only a matter of time until something went wrong with the prosthetic, really. He was quickly approaching what had to be the limits of the human body on earth. He was maintaining more muscle than should be possible considering he was eating primarily bitter cactus fruit and lizard meat.

Maybe those lizards are packed with protein.

The night before, Touwon had talked Oskar into trying a fat beetle, one of Penny’s favorites. For not speaking any language Oskar could understand, the Kobold was surprisingly convincing, and Oskar found himself shoving the golf ball sized beetle in his mouth and tried to choke it down.

Oskar considered himself to be open-minded food wise, but the beetle was juicier than it had any right to be, which turned Oskar’s stomach almost immediately. It had a disturbing amount of unidentifiable liquid that left an aftertaste of copper and hot milk that spilled out of his mouth as he froze in disgust, slack-jawed.

Fox and Touwon laughed uproariously at him as he hurried a few steps away to spit out the juicy beetle. Penny stared at him questioningly, as if she couldn’t fathom why he’d waste such a delicacy. Her barking kwinn had a decided undertone of disappointment and reproach.

Shuddering at the memory, he shook his head while he walked. It had popped in his mouth. He’d felt and heard it. He could imagine if one were hungry and dehydrated, the beetle would be a treat, but he was thankful that between Penny and the Kobolds and their successful hunting, he hadn’t yet been that desperate.

As far as the Spirit and Mind stats were concerned, they were a bit less tangible, but the benefits were still noticeable. During the fight with Vulk, his adrenaline had kicked in, but the usual nervous strength and energy were replaced with hyper vigilance and multifaceted focus.

He’d been aware of things around him and had remained calm the whole fight, as if that wasn’t the first time he’d ever fought to the death with Crocodilian spearmen. He’d been in over his head and would likely have been killed if he hadn’t caught Pale completely flat footed- but at least he was calmly aware he was in over his head the whole time.

As he promised himself he would, he began trying to feel out Sora. To start the process of learning what it, and he might be capable of. The dream he'd had, floating... no, flying in the colorful currents of air above, seemed impossible. So, he continued feeling for Waysprings and creatures as he walked, but wasn't able to make any tangible progress with the Magic Above.

Exhausted from the heat and the constant drain on his capacity that practicing caused, he worked and occasionally rested his mind as much as he could while his body paid the price.

I don't feel like I'm making much progress. Maybe I'm going about it all wrong. So far, practice makes tired, not perfect.

He knew he was being a little dramatic. His range and ability were getting better. His magical senses were gaining clarity. It was slow going, though. Every time he felt what little skin he had exposed start to burn, he drank Wayspring water, and could feel the sting subside over the next few moments. Embarrassingly enough, Fox carried his waterskins when they were partially empty to keep him from splashing around like ol' Chief Biggums.

The day passed as heat washed down on his back and they continued walking, mostly in silence, until the blue sun dipped behind the dunes. That was when Touwon froze, holding up a hand in warning as he threw himself to the side to dodge a thin spear that slid into the sand right where he’d been standing.

Oskar looked around in every direction, wondering how they'd been snuck up on without him feeling anything before something caught his eye above the dunes.

Two somethings, Oskar corrected.