Kai and Luar finally made it to the upper deck. They had been seated at the same seat where they were originally sat before all the chaos went down.
"After we reach land, we'll head eastwards. Since we're going on foot..it'll take 5 days to reach Gia with included breaks." Luar said, it seems it knows the exact way home and the exact duration it'll take. The cat was almost like a map.
"On foot?" Kai asked, looking at his torn legs. It still hurts to move around. It was a mistake to exert too much energy during that fight.
"You lost your coin pouch back there, didn't you?" Luar stated, remembering the bag it had seen left behind in the cabin before.
Kai sighed. "Alright, on foot it is." He agreed with a smile. "How about food?"
Luar looked at the boy and saw how thin he was. He definitely won't last 5 days in the wild, walking in the unstable weather with little to no nutrition. "Let's take some money."
"From the deceased bodies?"
"No." Luar immediately replied. It was ridiculous how the kid could come up with such vile ideas. It shook its head and sighed.
"Then forget it." Kai said.
Luar turnt its head in shock. "What about food?"
Kai smiled and looked at the scenery. "That's what those beasts in the wild are for."
The waves crashed into the ship vigorously. The ship rocked lightly every time it met the waves. It traveled across long stretches of the blue sea till it could reach land.
The ship came to a stop. People started packing up their bags and rushing to the exit, pushing each other around even though there was more than enough space.
After more than half had left, Kai left his seat and searched for the exit, occasionally looking behind for Lewellyn. He was nowhere to be seen throughout the rest of the ride.
Guess that'll be the last of him.
Kai left the ship on the steel staircase while holding tightly onto the handrails. He looked up and saw a bustling city.
There were nightlights hung beautifully across the poles. Some came in various designs of flowers, flags and shapes. They twinkled brightly in the night sky.
Though it was cold, people were still out and about. Voices boomed in the crowds, some were aggressive while most were cheerful laughters.
Luar saw Kai's eyes set on an object sold by one of the stalls. It was a brooch that resembled a three leaf clover, though it looked cheap, it was still eye-catching.
Kai gently picked up Luar in his arms while he limped through the crowd. He was nudged and pushed around at most times, some people came up to him to sell him their treats but were rejected.
He walked and walked till the night lights ran out of fuel and he reached the end of the road. Onwards was just a man-made path with no end. He looked at the sun that was peeking above the mountain.
Kai slowly watched Luar fade without a word. He let his arms rest after a long time. His legs have gone so numb from the walking that it felt like it wasn't his.
The path stretched far and led to many villages and cities on the way but neither of them were in the eastwards direction. The east was always empty and deserted.
The houses came to an end, just like the man made path. It stopped right at the line where the forest started.
The trees were tall and the leaves were enormous. Enough to block out the sunlight completely. One peek inside and all one could see was vague images of tree trunks and branches.
Rustles of leaves and scratching of trees that weren't made by Kai could be heard with every step he took. Squeaking sounds and low growling sounds could be heard like a continuous cycle.
It feels like Kai had just set foot into a den of hungry monsters that were lurking around. As far as he knew, adventurers don't search this place often due to how isolated it was from civilization.
There were definitely some monsters lurking in here. Not animals but purely bred monsters with large fangs and claws described in those fairytales.
Monsters were created from magic, they originally did not belong to earth but from another dimension. Humans discovered the dimension through a portal of magic and opened its world to dangers.
Thus, the need for adventurers to eradicate monsters often from the other dimensions, or else it'll start spawning instantaneously on earth.
But monsters cannot simply disappear in a blink of an eye. Some managed to survive long enough in the other dimensions and spawn on earth.
And only the strong ones do. Ones that skilled adventurers cannot defeat or dare try.
Adventurers play a large role in society. They remove threats from the world and keep earth safe enough for civilization to continue. Thus, they need to be strong and capable.
Kai couldn't see where he was going, he was fully relying on his senses. Feeling from trunk to trunk. They were rough and terrible to the touch but the only thing keeping him afloat.
He could hear his own breathing and feel it touch his skin. It felt as if his senses were heightened due to the fear he felt. He knows something is lurking in the dark along with him, but where is it exactly?
He could hear all the squeaking and growling stop all of a sudden. And only the loud breathing of something huge remained. Each breath it released was like a strong gust of wind. That was flowing from the sky instead of from the sides.
He could feel water dripping down on his arms. It didn't feel like rain specks but rather..
Kai looked up and saw multiple white huge eyeballs staring down at him. It twitched furiously as it hung it's eight legs from tree to tree and web to web. It's body was humongous. Big enough to be used as a roof. Too bad it was raining a shower of saliva from its mouth.