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Chapter 38 - Fully Equipped
🕑 Added 2024-08-26 22:40:00 +0000 UTCThe mote of light started moving toward the greatshield at John’s will, spreading the blue light like a ripple across its surface before falling still. The information streamed into his mind, letting him know what the new enchantment could do.
‘Hmm, okay… I guess that could be useful?’
The enchantment made the shield capable of teleporting anywhere within John’s sphere of influence, which he knew had a radius of fifty meters.
It could use the power once every five seconds. But John couldn’t think of any great uses for it. It was already capable of traveling back to his core in an instant.
‘... I guess I could use it to protect someone else if I have to. You never know when that might come in handy. Oh, and I might be able to trip an enemy with it! Or even blind them momentarily!’
Once he thought some more about it, the opportunities revealed themselves. Putting a thick and heavy shield in front of a foot could do wonders in a battle or a chase.
He nodded to himself and turned back to the giant bird. The purple blood seeping from its wounds didn’t make it seem particularly appetizing, but that had become the norm already.
‘If just one of you beasts could have red meat, I’d hunt you to extinction. Hmm, maybe someone did before me?’
Heavy steps approached from behind him, making him turn to look at Kerchak, who was bringing Rain and Dennis to the battle site. They both looked happy to see the results, even if Dennis had already seen them through Kerchak.
“That sword of yours is amazing, John! Straight through its chest from out of nowhere! I didn’t even notice it before it landed,” Dennis yelled as they got close.
Rain also seemed satisfied after seeing the corpse, waving her arms at him. “John, good job!”
John waved back, smiling. “Of course Larang is amazing! You should see me wield it properly!”
Kerchak sat them both down on the ground in front of John before sitting down himself, creating a heavy thump in the sand. Rain walked over to John and patted him on his head, but she struggled to reach up.
John didn’t mind much, so he bent his head down to make it easier for her. He looked at Dennis with his head down. “We should bring some meat with us, shouldn’t we? It should hold for a day or two when it’s this fresh.”
Dennis looked at the bird in wonder. “Huh, so it was this big? It looked so much smaller through Kerchak… Yeah, we should probably bring some along with us. But first, let’s have a nice meal right here!”
Rain looked at John curiously. “Food now?”
John nodded and summoned Larang before stabbing it into the sand. Then he sat down and used the blade as a backrest. He also summoned the greatshield beside him for Rain to lean on, and she promptly sat down as well.
“Heh, you’ve done that before, I see,” Dennis said while looking at them.
John smirked as he looked at Rain, who was studying the dead bird. “Well, we’ve been together for a week by now. Some understanding can only be expected, right?”
“Sure, but you honestly seem closer than that in my eyes. Like siblings.” Dennis summoned one of his daggers and started carving some meat off the bird, avoiding the intestines or guts.
“... I guess? I don’t have any siblings, so I don’t really know how it is. But I can see why you’d say so.”
“Well, of course, most of us ECs don’t have siblings—that we know of, at least. I’ve only seen one pair that went in together,” Dennis said calmly as he carved.
“... I don’t know much about all that. I only had a week or so before coming here.”
Dennis stopped carving and looked at him with raised eyebrows. “You’re that fresh? But… you’re so good at fighting!”
John sighed and nodded. “Yeah, they thought I was good enough, probably. I won a national tournament before getting pulled out, so I have plenty of experience. And natural talent, I guess.”
“Oh, wow. I was just part of the military back home. What company did you come from?”
“Uuh, Project Red, I think it was called.”
Dennis nodded, seeming to realize something. “Oh right, Rain’s uniform was yours, of course. I’m from IO, but that probably doesn’t mean anything to you.”
John shrugged, having no idea what companies even meant. “But back to what you said about going in together, I grew up with a girl who was also a candidate. She wouldn’t be my sister, would she?”
It was a small worry, but one he had to figure out just to be safe.
“Not unless you were also siblings in that world. They wouldn’t do that… It’s odd that they put you together, though.”
John released the breath he had been holding subconsciously. But he also wondered why they had to put the two of them together.
Dennis had finished carving and handed John two lovely pieces of purple meat. As far as colors went, it was far better than green or yellow meat, but it still made him pause slightly.
“Thanks. You’re not having any?” John asked, seeing Dennis’ empty hands.
“Nah, I’ll just keep watch with Kerchak. I don’t often eat unless there’s something delicious on the menu.”
“... You don’t need food?”
Dennis raised an eyebrow. “You don’t even know that? Even you should need less food than a normal human, right? Well, aspecters don’t need nourishment. We do need water and air, but not food.”
“Oh! That’s very useful! But of the three, it’s the least useful one, I guess,” John replied, surprised by this info. He was heating the meat in his hands using essence, spreading a pleasant aroma.
Dennis nodded while taking a deep whiff of air. “We use essence to replace the energy we usually get through eating. Our bodies also become more efficient, removing the need for most nutrients. Which also makes us age slower.”
“Really? Is that why the Lady of Fate looked so young?” John thought out loud, not considering whether he should reveal his meeting with her.
“You met her? Wow, I guess you really are special, then…”
“Ehm, not really. I… Well, it’s probably not something I should be revealing. But I do have a role to play, it seems.” He handed one of the pieces of meat to Rain, who happily accepted it and started devouring.
“Very good!” she said in between mouthfuls.
It was the first time John heard her say something was ‘very good,’ so he assumed it was the best meat yet. He took a bite of his own piece and was surprised by the rich taste and texture.
“You should really try this, Dennis. It’s delicious!”
Dennis smiled a crooked smile while shaking his head. “No thanks, I’m good… It’s very understandable that you have a role to play, considering the knowledge you acquired about essence. And possibly, it has something to do with the person sitting near the big metal plate.”
He stared at Rain with a hint of suspicion before averting his eyes.
‘Oh, trying to talk about her without her understanding it, huh? Well, fine.’
“It’s possible. I have certainly found more incredible stuff than I expected on this journey. But what can I do about it?” John tried to mix in more complicated words in his speech to make sure, but he felt bad about hiding anything from Rain intentionally.
Dennis took a deep breath and stared directly at him. “What if some people aren’t even human? What if someone is making a mistake by bringing something somewhere, and they do a lot of damage? What if something is–”
“Shut up.”
John felt his heart beating faster with each word Dennis spoke, bringing up all the fears he had buried deep in his soul. He knew Rain was more suspicious than anyone else he had met, and he knew it was unlikely that she had merely lost her memories.
She had used essence to save him once, and she had antlers. Not to mention, she could point to things she should be completely unable to locate. John knew all that but couldn’t bring himself to distrust her.
“John?” Rain asked from his side, sensing the sudden halt in the conversation. She looked between them curiously, not understanding what they spoke about.
“Don’t worry, Rain. All good,” John replied while staring at Dennis and taking another bite of his meat. “You have the choice to keep traveling with us, Dennis. But don’t make me choose between you.”
Dennis sighed again, even deeper this time. “No, I apologize. I just needed to air some suspicions. Humanity can’t afford to make grave errors… anymore.” He stared down at his dagger, deep in thought.
John studied his expression, sensing a heavy history behind it. “... Anymore?”
“... Did you know that equipment can be passed on?” Dennis asked before flipping the dagger in his hand. It’s blade started glowing in a deep red color, radiating heat that could be felt all the way from where John was sitting.
‘A heat enchantment? That seems useful.’
“No, that’s news to me. But you can only have four, right?”
“Hmm? No, that’s how many you can take out of your core at one time… Anyways, these daggers once belonged to… someone important.”
John sighed, sensing the hesitation in Dennis’ voice. “I’m fine with not knowing. It sounds very personal.”
Dennis shook his head slowly. “No, I… I don’t mind. You see, this is actually the second time an expedition has experienced the creation of a titan.”
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