The gleeful smile slowly replaced into a frown. His concentration was at his highest, trying to make sense of what he was reading. Understanding the principle of a law of this world that was far different from the likes of Newton or Archimedes. In his opinion, the thing he was learning far triumphed over the laws and formulas on Earth and was much more interesting. Enough said the past Zach wasn’t the studious type.

“Lord Zachary,” a voice called. Interrupting his reading as Zach glanced and saw who it was.

“So what does he want now?” Zach asked in the most languid tone. Ryden stood before him, and a visit from him meant a task from that justice freak. The look in Ryden’s eyes was hard not to notice. A glance was enough to tell Zach that Ryden did not approve of such a tone when referring to Cyrus even when he wasn’t present. In hindsight, Cyrus did well in gaining a loyal dog.

“Lord Cyrus requests you to participate in the hunt,” Ryden said. It was a textbook example after acquiring shelter, to procure adequate sustenance or in this case, meat. Cyrus kept his priority on the people under him and it made Zach question something.

“What about the hole in the wall? And the gateless entrance?” Zach asked. “Can’t I join any team responsible for those things?”

“Unfortunately, no,” Ryden curtly said. “Lord Cyrus decided that for the moment all manpower available is for the hunt, and if you desire food in the evening, you better work for it.”

Zach wasn’t surprised by those eyes that looked down on him, but seeing it today really pissed him off. It might be the stress of the difficulty of learning a skill or perhaps he unconsciously regretted taking the hard path compared to the others. Unlike in the white dimension where he was all alone, here he was surrounded by people who were a step ahead of him in status points and skills. In some way, it might affect him much to his unawareness.

“Fine then,” Zach said. Closing the book shut as he stashed it inside his tunic. “So who I’m with?”

***

Trudging through the forest floor, Zach and two others searched for any game that would fill their tummies for the evening. The only thing they could find was some wild mushrooms and the occasional tree branches, twigs, and dead leaves. Nothing that could fill them up properly. But Zach wasn’t picky. The mushrooms he stumbled upon were all kept inside a makeshift bag from his torn-up sleeve. A tight knot at the other end and voila, he got himself a small rucksack which would be useless if the item was bigger than his fist.

“Oh, I lament my fate of being thrown into a situation like this. No big tits, no food, no servants to do my bidding, and now I’m forced to hunt for my own sustenance. Oh, how far I’ve fallen,” Mathias complained. For a while, this Solksjaer had been buzzing Zach’s ear with endless quibbles after reality had finally slapped him in the head.

But the biggest bafflement Zach had in Mathias’ priorities was the big chest taking the first spot, ahead of food and the leisure of not working. It seemed Mathias had been utterly disappointed after his search for bountiful mounds among the thirty-four crowd came to a dud. Zach at least understood that some men were motivated by the opposite sex for romance and such, but Mathias was something else entirely. Rather than love for a woman, he favored sacks of fat. It wasn’t wrong per se, but Mathias’ fetish really outweighed everything else even in a dire situation like this.

On the other hand, Calrin was in the lead. Cutting branches and whatnot, clearing a path for those behind him. His wounded thigh no longer posed a problem as Tobias’ healing made it good as new. Not like it was necessary as at that point Calrin’s wound was almost close to fully healed, demonstrating the remarkable effect of vitality and defense. But splitting between the two attributes made it more confusing for Zach to determine which one of those held the major responsibility of the healing part. He could have just told Calrin to dump it all into vitality but with someone’s life at stake, the safest bet at that time was to distribute it equally.

Staring at Calrin’s back, he wondered what would happen if he made a mistake.

“A pity,” Mathias said. “He took your women and left you with a bunch of useless cocks.”

“From the way you say it, it sounds so wrong,” Zach said.

“Well in fact I’m not,” Mathias said. “Your brother took the only archer with a set of capabilities that could put him on the lead in terms of gathering food as well as attaining levels. So in my opinion, he pulled a fast one on you.”

“And what about Dayana? Are you not going to mention her?” he asked.

Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

“Flatbread? Yea, well. I’m just saying like she’s important but she isn’t,” Mathias said. “Unless you have the heart for her, then perhaps it is a big loss.” He gave Zach the eye as if trying to affirm that speculation he just made.

“She’s beautiful, but she isn’t my type,” Zach said.

“Ah-ha, I see we share the same love for—”

“No. Not like that,” Zach shut him down quickly before he was jumbled into the same kind as Mathias. Although he indeed preferred a bigger one if he had a choice, but that was second to love. The pure love that loved someone unconditionally. You could call Zach a romanticist, but that was how he believed a relationship between two hearts should be.

“I understand, brother,” Mathias said. Patting Zach softly on the shoulder. “Love towards the magnificence of breast is best to be hidden unless you want the title pervert to be stuck on your name. It is wise…” Mathias kept on rambling about tits and it eventually made Zach tune out from the buzz in his ears. Focusing on Calrin’s hardworking back. Yet something made him frown.

His steps became light. Jogging before transitioning into a full burst sprint. He sheathed his sword and without hesitation, swung it hard and fast. Blade met timber, and the sword went halfway into the tree that was right on Calrin’s left.

The lad who had been working hard on clearing a path was surprised by Zach’s random action, questioning in his mind before he saw what it was. Green ooze trickled down the hard tree bark as Calrin saw a twitching appendage. He jumped off the ground in surprise, and almost stumbled on his feet.

“What in the seven hell is that?” Calrin asked. The creature’s skin was the exact same match as the tree trunk, and judging at first glance the texture of it might be the same as well. It was long with its width a bit smaller than the tree it clung on to, and its thin sprawling limbs were thinner than the branch that Calrin had been cutting down all this time.

“A stick insect,” Zach said. Dislodging his half-embedded sword from the tree as he watched the dead stick insect fall to the ground. He thought it would fight back, but he guessed that the first strike must hit a critical spot, enough to kill it in one shot.

Calrin and Mathias gathered around Zach, staring at the huge insect on the ground. Then Mathias asked, “you think we can eat it?”

Both Zach and Calrin gave Mathias a weird look as if asking in silence whether Mathias was being for real. But a noise of constant buzzing snapped all of them from the thought of eating an insect. Their eyes went around, and similar creatures like the stick insect unveiled themselves, moving around, breaking from their camouflage state. From the look of it, Zach had stirred up a hornet’s nest and this case, a giant stick insect’s lair.

“Back to back!” Zach said. Immediately, the trio stood with their backs against each other in a triangle. Their eyes scattered over the emerging stick insects that descended from their trees, gathering towards the trio that killed one of them.

“Should I get started?” Mathias asked. His hand pulled out the crooked wand from his clothes.

“Just don’t pull that shit from before,” Zach said. “Keep the fire small, and attack them one at a time.”

“Are you sure?” Mathias looked skeptical. His long casting time and this many enemies were not an ideal situation to go through things one at a time.

“Of course, and besides, you need to train yourself to control your spell,” Zach said. “So it’s better to start small.”

“Oh, did I just earn myself a Master?” Mathias grinned.

“Don’t spout nonsense, Mathias, and get on with it,” Zach said. “Calrin, protect Mathias at all cost, and get used to Guard Stance.”

“Yes, milord,” Calrin nodded. Looking nervous like he used to.

“And what about you, Master? You’re not leaving us are you?” Mathias asked. His words made the already nervous Calrin even more anxious. Calrin’s eyes stared at Zach as if begging him not to do what Mathias had just said.

“As I said, stop with the bullshit, and start casting,” Zach said. Pointing his sword at Mathias.

He parted from the two. Sword and shield in his hands, his eyes scanned the many stick insects that were converging at them. Slow, but threatening. Zach was the vanguard and he dove straight in. His blade roared. Cutting through the thin skin of the giant stick insect as the bark-like camouflage was only similar in appearance alone. He couldn’t know whether he cut a head or a tail, and the lack of showing pain from the opponent only made him a bit more diligent in hacking the stick insect. They were in pieces, and for now, he deemed it as dead.

But his focus on one led him to be surrounded at all sides. Their silence and slowness worked to the swarm's advantage, pushing forward as Zach still wondered how these creatures attacked.

Rather than wait, Zach took offense. He slashed and cut. Splitting those thin branch-like appendages, mowing them down as they reached out to him in a creepy spine-tingling manner. One of them got closer, and Zach slammed the shield right on its presumable face. If it had eyes, it would be a lot easier for Zach. But the opposite happened. The shield didn’t knock the stick insect as he expected. As something else happened. The shield stopped on its track, grasped tightly by a strong force. Soon he saw it.

His eyes widened as his blood ran cold. Goosebumps crawled all over his skin as this was the creepiest thing he had seen. The whole underbelly of the stick insect from one end to another, split open and revealed a pinkish gum filled with jagged sharp teeth. It was like a nightmare came to life, a nightmarish mouth that was hidden in plain sight as a giant stick insect.

Zach snapped out of it. Slipping his hand from the shield, freeing himself. He spun at the same spot, using the rotation momentum, and put an extra force behind his blade. With a single swipe, the nightmarish mouth monster collapsed on the ground. His shield dropped as there was nothing alive that could grip it.

Zach picked his shield up and stared at these stick insects that were no longer insects to him. Then a thought came to mind. ‘I guess I will scratch you guys off from the menu.’