The moment Azel surfaced, the four men noticed him and raised their weapons, pointing them at him. The oldest among them, apparently the leader of the group, shouted in alert "stay right there, if you don't want to lose your mind."
Azel already expected it, because by gaining the memories of the original Azel and assimilating them with the help of the cube, he was familiar with the treatment of people in this world. No one would trust strangers on the outside. It is normal to protect yourself in this wild place where danger lurks on all sides.
"My name is Azel, a traveler. I was going to a town near here but before I got there, the caravan I was riding in was assaulted by wild beasts and we dispersed. I was lucky and fell into this crevasse, which saved my life. I just want to go to the nearest town to this place and I was wondering if I can accompany you. Of course, I will not go with you for free, but I have no coins to offer. So I propose this: in exchange for traveling with you I will help you to avoid most beasts along the way. I have a special talent from birth which makes my senses much sharper than the average person and I can detect wild beasts by smell, distant sounds, plus I can see distances much longer than normal. " In fact, Azel had already deliberated what to offer before leaving the cave, even he was surprised because he was able to analyze the changes that happened to his body and use it to his benefit as soon as he obtained them. He found that not only were his senses improved, but he was also able to process a large amount of information in short periods of time.
The group leader frowned and looked at him. No one knew what he was thinking but seeing that his other companions said nothing, Azel confirmed that he had the ability to decide for the group. That was even better, since he only had to convince one of them. He said one more time. "If you are not convinced of my ability, let's do this, I accompany you for the time when the sun sets and, if I still do not show any kind of help by then, I will stay where we are no matter what kind of dangerous situation we face. Let's meet at that time. You gain greater security in the rest of your trip if what I say is true and you lose nothing if I am lying. " Azel flashed a smile that was neither humble nor arrogant and looked him straight in the eye.
The hunter no longer hesitated and was resolved when he said "we are hunting so we will not return immediately, but I warn you, if you dare to try something, I will not hesitate to kill you". After that he turned around and spoke to his companions "he will accompany us until sunset, if what he said is true, we will be safer and we will have a better chance of hunting what we are looking for".
The three hunters nodded in agreement and said nothing more. Azel was not uncomfortable by the silence they showed, as they were strangers to each other and he was already relieved that they agreed to let him accompany him for the moment. He prepared to walk behind them and they advanced towards a mountain in the south. The mountain was very high, it was stony with no visible signs of vegetation and strange sounds could be heard in the surroundings. Azel focused his senses around him and from the sounds he was picking up, he began to perform calculations in his head.
Azel only told the hunters that his senses were keen, but he did not speak about his brain's computational ability, in addition to the knowledge he already had about engineering. In addition, Azel was not a normal student, but the best of his grade, so he always stood above his classmates, with the aim of maintaining his outstanding grades and thus, his university scholarship. he. He was also enthusiastic about the laws of nature, how the phenomena around us occur and how they behave. If he was still on the ground and sufficient data were provided, he could perform calculations such as distance from an object or person by the sounds they make, ambient temperature, general terrain, mass, volume, and other data. Now, with his exponentially amplified senses and the computing power of a computer, he was able to collect various data that were impossible in his previous state, such as the general temperature of the place by comparing his memories with the temperature he currently felt. So too his spatial consciousness shot up, forming a three-dimensional map in his head of what he saw. Finally, he did the calculations of the distances in an instant, using the data as the sound, the speed of the wind, apparent distance according to the sight of him in complex formulas as if they were elementary operations. 'This is amazing, I can perform so many calculations in such a short time. Before this would take me weeks to figure everything out. ' Soon after, the three-dimensional image on his head had several red areas. At the end of it all, he still couldn't pinpoint the exact position but still, he narrowed the red area into circles of ten meters in diameter.
After half an hour of advance, Azel spoke suddenly and said "we must take a detour, it is dangerous if we advance further."
The leader was quiet for a few moments before saying '' We can handle it if it's just one or two wild beasts, how much information can you provide? ''
'' There are five beasts, that cave is probably their nest. From the growls I hear, I can tell that they are at least twenty feet or more in size. '' Azel said this with a serious face, speaking objectively. He knew that these people being hunters, they were more intrepid than common people, so he had to convince them to go astray with accurate data, without exaggeration.
'' We'll take a detour then, '' after saying that, he hesitated a bit before speaking again but in the end he said, `` To be honest, I'm surprised that you can say so much despite being still far from the place. Since I've already decided to let you join us, I'll take your word for it. If true, you saved us from a bitter battle. We could still win, but we would suffer injuries before reaching our destination. ''
After the brief exchange, they continued on their way, deviating from the original path and circling the area Azel pointed out. When they were in a higher place, they heard fierce roars behind them and turned to look towards the place, when they were shocked by what they saw.
Five black lizards, like the one that chased Azel, came out of a cave and began to look in various directions. Azel and the hunters were already quite far from the place but he could still see how huge these creatures were. The leader of the group broke into a cold sweat and his face paled a bit, when he said '' desolate lizards, it's actually a nest of theirs! Let's move faster, even though we're far away, they could still detect us. If they see us, we'll be in trouble. '' They hurried even more after this and in another half hour, they weren't seeing them anymore.
The leader of the hunters stopped the group and looked at Azel, approached and said '' I didn't think you were that precise. Excuse me for the rude attitude and for not introducing myself earlier. My name is Harret '' and then he passed his hand over to her. The change in attitude surprised Azel a bit, but he still responded to the handshake. ''No problem''. He gave a slight, cordial smile.
Harret realized that Azel did not make things difficult for them and his impression of his improved and then introduced him to his companions. '' They are Hak, Taro and Ryan. We are hunters from a nearby village. '' Azel looked at the three hunters carefully this time, as the first time he didn't want to be rude.
Hak was the tallest of them, appeared to be in his thirties and had short black hair, sharp eyes, and a distinctive scar that ran from his forehead to his cheek, past his left eye. He had a calm disposition and he responded by nodding once.
Taro on the other hand was shorter and sturdier than Hak, brown hair and scarred all over his arm, giving him a fiercer disposition. Unlike Hak, he said, "Even though you seem a bit weak, you still play a role. I'm not afraid to fight those beasts, but I admit that I can't protect them all with so many at once, so I'll let it go. '' He finished saying this with pride written on his face, implying that if he were alone, he wouldn't mind fighting all five lizards at the same time.
'' Ignore him, he's a bit proud but he's still a good man '' said Harret with a smile. Azel nodded in response and looked at the last person on the team.
Ryan was young, probably in his twenties, had blond hair and blue eyes, his features made him very handsome and a smile adorned his face, giving him a cheerful disposition. He greeted Azel enthusiastically, put his hand on his shoulder and said "I'm very surprised brother, how did you do it? I've been hunting with my uncle since he was twelve and I know a lot about wild beasts, but I can't say anything about beasts unless he sees them from afar or they have a very distinctive roar. You are amazing!''. Azel didn't expect Ryan to be so enthusiastic and honest. As they were approximately the same age, he had a very good impression of him, so he replied `` Since I was little, I developed my senses in detection skills, so despite being weak I have managed to survive as a traveler thanks to my senses. It's the reason I escaped the caravan and found the rift to save myself. If the people who were with me in the caravan had believed me, disaster would be avoided, but I know it's hard to believe a stranger without proof. I had no choice but to get off in the middle. '' Azel created a story that complements his sudden appearance in the middle of nowhere, to increase the hunters' confidence in his ability and lower their guard over him.
Happy with their decision to let Azel accompany them, Harret's mood was very good, but he still kept his seriousness and said `` Azel, actually, our goal this time is to search for a specific beast, an azure serpent, we need an organ in your body to prepare an antidote. We know that they live in nests on that mountain and hunting them is not difficult, but it is difficult to find them and at the same time avoid the beasts that live on the mountain. With you here, we are more confident of getting the antidote without further incident. To express my gratitude, in addition to bringing you back to our village, I am willing to give you ten silver coins as a reward. ''
Azel didn't expect to suddenly be offered a payment, but still he gratefully declined, '' Thank you for his kindness, but it's not necessary. They are already doing me a favor by letting me accompany them, after all, it is still possible to find beasts along the way and I would not be able to defend myself against them. Take my help as payment for that favor. '' He knew when to accept a person's gratitude and when not to. The impressions that others have about oneself seem not to matter, but before leaving this desolate place, Azel preferred that these hunters be grateful and hold a good opinion about their character, after all, they were unknown an hour before and did not want to force your luck. If he had accepted it, maybe they would not say anything or think it is natural since Harret offered it first, but the human heart is complicated and deep down, they would keep it as an exchange of benefits and nothing more. No one knew what would happen if they found themselves in a dangerous situation after that.
They continued on their way to the mountain, which was already a few kilometers away. Heeding Azel's warnings along the way, they took more detours and thus ended up reaching the base just as the sun began to set. They had to spend the night at the base, because it was dangerous to climb the mountain in the dark. The four hunters took turns keeping watch. Azel settled on a nearby stone and began to doze, not caring about anything being done to him. They had a good impression of each other and knew that he had nothing of value with him, not to mention that they needed his help. They were also walking all day and he had to be alert and perform calculations in his mind constantly, so he was still a bit tired despite the physical improvements that he had recently.
When the first rays of light appeared on the horizon, Azel woke up. He felt well rested and recovered after sleeping and that put him in a very positive frame of mind. "I wonder if we will find anything interesting."