“I can handle that,” Zach said.

He glanced at the one near the staircase. It was Teena who had her bow directed at him.

“I’m sorry, my lord, I thought you were sleeping,” the lass replied. Her aim had been impeccable. “But how did the bird come in? Shouldn’t the fort be impenetrable?”

The question she popped made him realize it. It did not cross his mind while conversing mentally as the bird-bee acted as the medium between Zach and Astabuen. He made a mental note to ask Astabuen about this, and if it had anything related to the taming skill then he hoped for the best that no one out there had learned it yet. It would be a loophole that could be exploited by enemies out there, and Zach feared for the worst.

Shrugging it off, he told Teena it was just a monster that slipped inside before dawn broke. Teena did not question the reason, accepting it as it was. What mattered to her was that at least she protected Zach from potential danger.

“Oh, I’ve been meaning to ask. How does your new skill work?” Zach asked.

She came over and sat beside Zach. Teena fidgeted a few times as her hands couldn’t stop moving, trying to straighten the crease of her clothes, hoping to at least appear prim and proper. But Zach cared less about that as he was intrigued by the new skill itself. Teena showed it firsthand how it worked. Taking out a few branches she collected inside the quiver, she held two of them together before a light enveloped them both. Then in the blink of an eye, an arrow was formed.

Zach was amazed. The thing he saw was exactly how he pictured if an MMORPG item creation came to life. You could easily grab an ingredient and voila, the item was formed. There was no need for shaving bark or placing an arrowhead between the notch, all of it was made after using a simple skill. Well, the arrow itself was not exactly a good one as from the tip to the end, everything was made out of wood. Even the fletching was made out of wood, flexible enough that Zach thought it was made out of plastic. He even questioned whether she could use different materials to make an arrow. She had never tried it before, and while they were at the topic, Zach grabbed a few pieces of debris laying around and handed them over to Teena.

He assumed it was made out of stone since it once was a part of the parapet. She focused on the material in hand and did her magic. But alas, she shook her head.

“Forgive me, my lord, but I think I cannot,” Teena said. “It says here my skill level isn’t enough.” The answer was there. It was possible, but not right now.

“Well, there’s hope,” Zach said. “Perhaps in due time, you might be able to make an arrow out of pure iron.”

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“I’ll do my best to meet your expectation, my lord,” Teena said. There was a slight curve at the end of her lips as nothing felt sweeter than making a promise with Zach.

“Pardon me for asking this, but have you slept, my lord?” she asked. “I do not want to be a meddler, but I’ve noticed you haven’t rested for a while as even Lady Jeyne said you haven’t taken a proper rest.”

“Come to think of it, you’re right,” Zach said. She left him be, and Zach wondered why he did not feel tired. Did vitality have an extra effect in influencing the need to sleep? Or was it just the adrenaline that kept coursing in his veins as most of his time was spent fighting?

But then it struck him. For someone who had always been yawning no matter the time, it seemed he had never yawned even once after getting here. Laying on his side, Zach tried to get some shut-eye. It wasn’t the best spot to sleep, but he thought it was better than the living quarters or even the dungeon in the underground.

His eyes were closed. He tried to loosen his muscles, relaxing. Yet no matter how long he closed his eyes, he wasn’t dozing off. It might be because it was daylight or it might be just him not adaptable enough to sleep somewhere else besides his own bed. Not to mention, his bed was the highest of quality, and custom-made at that. It was built to satisfy the need of a man who once lived in the twenty-first century.

“No!” Zach got up, screaming. Despite thinking he couldn’t sleep, just a second ago, he managed to doze off. But his sleep barely lasted a second as if nightmares plagued his dream. He was sweating bullets as he remembered it. Those non-existent days lasted over a year where he could never sleep, not even for a second. The extreme hunger and thirst he felt kept bothering his mind and body, preventing him from sleeping peacefully much less take a nap.

Zach calmed his nerves, trying to put away those nightmares behind him. He was no longer in that circumstances as he was now somewhat free. Zach got up and grabbed his sword. He jumped from the top of the battlement and left the fort in haste. His feet burst in speed, coursing through the forest floor as he went further from the safety of the fort. He stumbled with a few creatures along his aimless path, most of the time he ignored them while for the persistent ones, he killed them in cold blood.

In time, his free run brought him to a river. The current was strong and rough as seen by the froth that kept forming with each wave crashing against the boulders in the river. Zach stood there in a daze, staring. His mind focused on the river, bringing himself to a calm state. He was at ease at that point, no longer anxious over those days of extremity.

Taking his time, Zach channeled his mana like before. Using the calmness he was feeling as a platform for his attempt of succeeding in the Identify skill. Then his eyes began to glow. It happened so fast, that before he knew it the mana flowed into his eyes.

[The eyes that yearn to see through everything. ]

[Identify(Lv.1)(Tier: Normal): The ability to see through a subject. Information provided depends on the user’s capability and the level of the skill.]

He succeeded. But out of nowhere, a loud growl drew his gaze. He turned and saw. A big grizzly standing on its two legs, baring its fangs, trying to make itself intimidatingly bigger. Well size-wise it was definitely bigger than the grizzlies back home, and that huge rhinoceros beetle horn on top of the grizzly’s head only showed it was not something to take light of.

But rather than fear, he had the urge to utter this word.

“Identify.”