Chapter 4: Wolves in the Woods
The smell of burned flesh combined with blood lingered in the air. He pulled out the arrow embedded on his arm with great difficulty, the feeling of an arrow being inside one's flesh wasn't a pleasant thing.
After finishing his struggle with the pain, he bind the wound with some cloth. Viers rested for a few minutes before he began to plan his next action.
'I need to get out of here, the blood and sound will attract predators. Take whatever seems of value then go to the hut, only… my injury, will make the journey more troublesome. There's nothing I can do about it. Time to loot them.'
First, the knife man. The man's corpse lay on the ground dyed red with his own blood. Viers checked for anything worth taking. A coin pouch with few coppers inside then a water bag made of some animal skin. Nothing else worth mentioning. Viers also took his shoes because the man's footwear condition was better.
Next is the bowman, some coins and in a separate pouch, 2 brown beads, a water bag, a hunting knife, and a fire starter to make fire. His corpse was a wreck because of his unwilling sacrifice as a human shield.
'The beads, they should be food pills. Like the energy bar in this world. Good for emergency, nice find. Now, for the mage... I hope he's got something good.'
A ghastly sight, there was brain matter scattered around his head. The realization of the fact that Viers did this to him personally, made him want to puke. He managed to hold it in the throat.
'It's killed or be killed, only that. Shut off unnecessary thoughts and let's finish this…'
As expected the mage was the wealthiest of them all. 10 silvers, 2 gold, and a crystal the size of a small bead with pale light inside it. Viers also took his water bag, ring, and his staff.
'A mana crystal. Great, previous Viers had managed to see some at his father's shop. It is used as currency and some other things mana related… if I remember correctly the value should be quite high. The ring seems to be a magic item, don't know what it is yet, just gonna bring it for now. The staff can be used as a walking stick or sell it away later. I can't use it for shooting fireballs so it's not overly precious.'
'...This was my first life and death battle, I thought taking human lives would be a heavy burden but I feel no remorse... In the movies, the actors trembled after they've done the deed, like they've done something unforgivable... For me, it had to be done. That's just it, I have no need for forgiveness. Whatever the consequences, I will deal with it. Time to get out of here... Hmn?'
He felt something strange, especially the wounded area. It was such a subtle feeling that he almost didn't realize it. Viers looked at the burn wounds on his left arm, it was slow but bit by bit the burn wounds were in the process of healing.
'Whoaa, I can regenerate? I have regeneration?! I'm not dreaming, am I? It was slow but I'm sure I'm not mistaken! My wound is getting better! Viers's face brightened up, like a kid gotten his Christmas presents. I see, is this how I survived the wounds from the bandits? This must be the flower's power.'
After ten seconds, Viers let the happy feeling pass. 'Time to get out of here. I can think more as I walk… I should destroy their bodies.'
He still felt pain from his wounds, but it wasn't impeding his movement. He dragged the other two bodies to the mage's location, stacked them together, and set them on fire with his newfound fire starter.
'Better than just leaving the corpses alone, who knows what could happen. It probably won't burn them to ash but whatever.' Viers thought as he saw the fire burning their clothes and flesh. The fire started to spread and got bigger, Viers' spoke a few words as he watched the bodies burning.
"You shouldn't have come after me. You wanted to kill me and now you're dead, blame me if that make your passing easier then curse your own powerlessness."
He ate a food pill, he emptied two of the water bags by drinking them and went towards the hunter's hut with a bit of a hurry.
'The farther away from here, the better.'
After some distance away, Viers's mind was hard at work.
'So I got regeneration ability, but a weaker version compared to the famous man with metal claws. Can I make it stronger? I need to research this thoroughly. Besides healing wounds, my eyesight getting better must be related to it. Good, good, my stamina has increased as well, or I fatigue less? Hard to know the semantics. I will call this the healing factor from now on… yes, it sounds better.'
'Regrowing a lost limb seemed unlikely at this point, looking at how slow the regeneration rate is. What's the principle of this healing process? What's the cost? Reduce my lifespan? My magic energy? Something else? Are there any more effects of this gift? Super-senses? I'd loved to have that. Super-brain? That would be incredible!'
'Now, now let's not get ahead of myself, fantasizing about all that won't do me any good. I need to know about the limits and drawbacks of all this… There must be some kind of limit, condition, or trade-off. Well, enough of this. Time to remember I am still in the woods.'
Viers had direction, he took care of the pursuers, and he discovered he had healing factor. These made Viers very happy, his steps were light as if he was bouncing on the clouds. Still, he continued to be vigilant throughout his journey.
Time passed, the sky was already colored reddish-purple by the setting sun. Viers was losing daylight and yet his destination still some distance away. He hesitated about what he should do, push-on or make camp, both had no guarantee of safety.
'Both are dangerous, I should push-on, it had to be done sooner or later anyway. The woods seem eerie... should I make a torch? Animals fears fire right? Grhhh, so many unknowns, old Viers's memory isn't helping either, nothing about how to survive in the woods at night! Only cardboard warning, stay away from the woods, especially at night... I should empty my bladder now... it's better safe than sorry.'
Viers decided not to make a torch and continue walking. The light slowly disappeared, unconsciously, Viers picked up his walking speed. His nerves strained, every small sound startled him.
'Think positive Viers, The hunter's hut is close, maybe you will meet a nice old hunter there, give you shelter for the night, give you a pick up to Luxore town… yes, not so outrageous right? Totally plausible, maybe he will even share some hot sou-'
Reality beckoned, a howl pierced through the night, followed by more howling. Viers felt a shiver through his back. 'Wolves! Why did it have to be wolves!' He threw caution to the wind and rushed forward running for his life.
Soon he saw a light, coming from the direction of his destination. As he went closer he saw the light came from a little campfire, there were two silhouettes beside the fire. 'Yes! I made it at last!'
"HEEELPP!!" said Viers loudly to his would-be savior, so he hoped.
"Whoa, stop right there boy!" Said one of the men with dark green garb. While the other man readied his bow.
"Help, there are wolves after me. You also heard the howling right?" Viers stopped and raised his hands.
"Wolves don't howl to hunt, boy. What kind of a predator notifies its prey before the kill? You must be some sheltered snot-nosed rich kid pampered by your parents. Bah, kids these days, got no respect for the wild." The green garbed hunter said grumpily.
"Oh…" said Viers while contemplating his blunder. After he realized the wolves were not after him, he felt some burden lifted from his shoulders.
"Right, apologies for the disruption sirs. I was traveling with a caravan but got attacked by bandits and was forced to flee to the woods, can I borrow a place beside your fire?" Viers asked with sincerity.
"You shall have it... is what I like to say. We can't trust a stranger so easy, kid. You can be a scout for an ambush. Your friends may be hiding, waiting for the change to strike." The green garbed middle-aged man said.
Viers took a few seconds to examine himself. A fat boy, dark brown wavy hair, white skin tone because rare exposure of the sun, beat-up clothes with stains of blood. On his persons he carried a staff as a walking stick, a knife strapped on his belt, a few pouches on his belt. Came screaming of wolves in the night. It was a weird sight to be sure.
"It's fine brother, I detect no one else in the vicinity." The other man finally spoke, he had sharp eyes like an eagle, wore brown outfit for ease of movement, leather boots, and kind countenance. "We should help him, it is only right to help each other when in peril." He added.
"Bah, stop saying the church's preaching to me Collins... You got lucky kid, you can stay. Come over here, this is my brother Collins and I am Gary. Don't make trouble or I will kick your sorry fat ass back to the woods," he said before sitting back down. Viers used this opportunity to take a closer look at the grumpy man.
Gary was a big tall man, about 180cm. He looked like someone who went to a gym regularly. He had dark hair same as his brother, and a grumpy face like someone who hadn't smile for a long time. Both of them had sun-browned skin complexion, prove of how much time they spent below the sun.
After receiving their permission Viers sat down near the fire, the warmth felt great throughout his body. Viers meant to keep vigilance against the strangers but he allowed himself to relax a little bit and rest.
Collins gave him a bowl of warm soup, vegetables with some meat and spices, the taste was better than he thought it would be. "You are injured," said Collins while looking at Viers burn wound on his arm.
Viers' burn continued to heal slowly. It was a lot better now and the pain was bearable, with how tense he was he didn't pay his wounds much attention. There were other wounds on his body but mostly minor cuts and bruises, it didn't pose him any trouble.
With Collins mentioned his burns, Viers replied with half-truths. "When the bandit attacked the caravan, there's someone who could launch a fireball. It didn't hit me but the heat managed to injure me a little. No need to worry, it's not as bad as it looks."
"Hmph, bandits, monsters, or anything else. Even in the Green Zones, there's always something out there that wants to eat your innards. That's why you have to be strong!" Said Gary while biting some meat.
"Thank you for the advice Mr. Gary, are both of you hunters?" Said Viers, he ripped some cloth from his right sleeves with his hunting knife to bandaged his burn. 'I better hide it to avoid suspicion,' so he thought.
"Right, we came from a long line of hunters. There are barely dangerous monsters in this woods and there's a plethora of game. This is still a Green Zone area after all, it's a good place," Collins answered him.
Green Zones, when he heard those words he thought about the old Viers' memory. The world was full of dangers, humanity thrived but there were still many dangerous areas not fit for human settlement. The relatively safe areas for human habitation were called the Green Zones, those that posed great threat called Red Zones, whether it's because of the hazardous environment or the powerful monsters that made those place their home. Somewhere in between those two are called the Orange Zones.
"I was en-route to Luxore town, I was supposed to enroll at the training center there. How far away are we from Luxore town, sirs?" Asked Viers while slowly ate the warm soup.
"The town is quite near, two days travel with a horse... Training Centers huh, it seems your parents love you a lot kid. It takes a lot of money for going there, don't waste your time fooling around and throw away the opportunity your pops and moms gave you. Study diligently or you will regret it. Where are you from?" Gary looked at Viers straight in the eye.
"I will try not to disappoint them, Mr. Gary. My name is Viers by the way, apologies for the late introduction. I came from Peja town, may I ask a ride to Luxore?"
"We have some business in the town as well, you can travel with us. As long as you help around. The Goddess' blessings are on you, young Viers," said Collins. "Well, let's get you settled, you are safe here. Here are some clothes for you to change, you can wash your body using that basin. You can eat more later," he gave Viers instructions.
"Thank you both, Mr. Gary and Mr. Collins," Viers said as he went to the basin carrying his change of clothes.
***
"So what are you really thinking brother?" Asked Collins after the boy went away.
"The boy is a bit shady. The staff should be worth a few gold coins… He tried to hide his injuries and if the blood on his clothes is his, he should be severely injured but seemed fine. Most likely he killed the bandit mage and took his stuff and managed to get some healing potion or something… or maybe his story is a complete bullshit. Why do you ask?" Gary looked sideways to meet Collins' eyes.
"Nothing, I just thought you are going to suggest we kill him and take his stuff and dump his body in the woods," replied Collins to his brother with a smile on his face.
"Humph, you think all the people in the world are cruel bastards like you? As long as the kid doesn't cause trouble then he is free to follow. We drop him at Luxore and that's that." Gary snorted.
"Now why would you say that dear brother? Of course the world is full of cruel bastards like me... but since you disapprove, I'll let the boy tag along." Collins replied with a smile worthy of a priest.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone