Jim went to sleep while Wilson took first watch. He was half filled with the hope that they were going in the right direction, although he could imagine Jim and him going in the same direction without an end to it. The feeling that came with one knowing one was lost was in many ways a terrible feeling. Thankfully, he now has a companion. He looked at the slightly snoring Jim. This was the first 'not so bad' person he had come across in a long while. Wilson sighed as he remembered all the people he had come across in the past unknown number of months and he wondered what had become of them. The scary Old cane lady, aka, Grand Elder and the other elders that wanted him dead because their brainwashing technique had gone wrong somewhere; Ruthless, who Wilson hoped was dead for the good of all of humanity but knew was most probably still alive. After all, even Wilson survived the 'interrupted space jump'; the bald old man, that betrayal bastard, that Wilson accidentally hit and also hoped got killed in the fight.; Old man Jenkins and his granddaughter, Alice.
"What happened to them anyway?" Wilson asked out loud, not speaking to anyone but himself and so therefore, not receiving an answer. If he remembered correctly, those elders had mentioned that the brainwashing technique had been used on him and his granddaughter as well.
'Were they not friends?' Wilson thought to himself, shaking his head in confusion and disappointment at life itself. He thought back to when he first saw Alice in that cottage in the forest.
"Oh yeah, what happened at the Abyss. How did I get to the cottage? Who snuck me out?" Wilson asked with his head raised up at the sky, as if expecting an answer from the universe itself. All what he got in response was a cold howling wind that threatened to put out the fire.
'Too many questions, too little answers.' Wilson thought sadly. He kept thinking about everything that came to mind. His mind drifted to the conversation in which Jim had given a short lecture about abilities and magic. When he got to that point where he asked how to know if one had awakened, he stopped reminiscing entirely. He could not stand to remember Jim's words at that point. Instead, he was filled with various ability related questions.
"What is my ability anyway? Do I even have abilities? The elders said that I had no abilities, but they said nothing about ability cells. Perhaps, I had the cells. Did I awaken them? How am I even supposed to know? Jim said you just know, but do I? Perhaps it happened during one of my long sleeping periods so I totally missed it. That is possible, isn't it?" He thought with curiosity and helplessness boldly written on his face.
'Or, is sleeping my ability?' When he thought of this possibility, a horrified look appeared on his face.
'What are the chances? Is sleeping even considered an ability?' He asked himself another question.
'But Jim did say that anything one could think of was an ability. So, sleeping is my ability?' His face contorted even more.
"Impossible!" Wilson had already yelled before he could contain himself. He quickly looked at Jim to apologize for waking him up by yelling. That was a rude thing to do and his beautiful mother had made sure to teach him proper manners. It was not needed though, as Jim did not even budge in his sleep.
Wilson sighed in relief and looked forward again.
'This is too depressing to think about.' He thought. 'And it is not even sure if I even have any ability cells to begin with.' How cool would it be though, if he could shoot fire out of his hands or control lightening or shoot snowballs like the snow tiger did. Maybe just not from his mouth. That could not have felt comfortable for the majestic snow tiger.
Wilson sighed again. He could only hope for the best as he continued to reflect on himself.
**************
Shorty walked briskly, not stopping even once to rest. Throughout the day, he was walking briskly. All through the night, Shorty was walking briskly. He did not stop for anything. Not for the few beasts and small animals he encountered. Not even for eating or drinking. He ate and drank on the move as if he was pressed for time, which, in a way, was true. He was pressed for time. He did not want to reach the city only to discover that his precious snow tiger had already begun to rot because he was using a travelling bag which unlike the standard-issue hunters bag, did not possess the 'prey preservation' function.
By his estimate, the snow tiger's already dead body should not begin to decay until the still barely alive ability cells were completely dead. Ability cells had two uses. Or at least, there are only two uses that humanity has managed to discover that ability cells possess. One, was obviously the awakening and usage of abilities and the second; ability cells always ensured that the vessel that carried those cells did not immediately begin to decay, but instead, will be preserved by the cells until they are all dead. Scientists did not and could not understand or discover why ability cells never died immediately even after the vessel was long gone from the land of the living.
Anyway, Shorty estimated that if he continued moving without stopping for any reason whatsoever, he would be able to arrive at Tiger City about a couple hours before the last cells were dead. As long as he could get there at the nick of time, he would be able to store the body in a special refrigerator that had been engraved with magic runes, which would ensure that anything put in it would not rot, regardless of whether it was living or dead.
And after that....
'hehe, money that would change my life forever. I would finally be able to quit this crazy, bloody hunting job and get a big Villa and any women I want.' Shorty happily thought to himself. He could already smell the mint currency and even vividly envisioned his life after acquiring the millions that the rare snow tiger would definitely earn him. He would finally be able to live a carefree life.
But before all that, he had to get to the Hunters Association Headquarters in Tiger City. As long as he got there safely with his loot, he was set for life.
With these kinds of thought as his constant motivation, Shorty trudged on and on through the night until he saw a sign of burning fire from the distance.
'Seems like there are other hunters in the vicinity. Although I don't know what they are looking for. I think the best choice is to simply walk past them.' He thought and readied himself for a Sprint. He intended to act scared like a noob that had just bitten more than he could chew and was now running for his dear life. It was he would have to kill them.
Why? Simple reason; They knew too much and as a result, had to be silenced so that Shorty could earn and spend money without any worries.
Shorty burst with explosive speed. Wilson, who was now lost in deep thought, felt a sudden death threat coming from behind. He quickly alerted Jim and sprang to his feet.
'This one does not seem to have too scary an aura.' Wilson thought as he got into a boxing stance. Behind him, to his right, Jim had gotten up on his feet and begun creating wind blades.