Everyone enjoyed the food. Ledrind had used one of his fire spells and roasted the meat so perfect that it taste delicious even without salt or spices.
The forest was still bright. Eels shining brightly above their heads. Aidan still hadn't used to them. Usually, a ball of floating gas in space would warm the planet and gave them life. They could see sunrise or sunset every day.
But it was different here. So instead of sunrise, they have eel rise. Instead of afternoon, they have eel bright.
For the evening, it was eel dim. And for the night, it was called sparkling eels or eel sparkle.
Aidan chuckled and shook his head. Whoever made these names must be a child. So stupid. Yes, it was easy to understand. But still stupid.
Looking above, Aidan guessed that this must be eel bright.
"What are you laughing about?" Gomon asked.
"Just thinking something funny about eels," Aidan replied, telling the short man to sit beside him near the campfire. "Anyway, I've been meaning to ask. What race are you?"
Gomon turned speechless after he heard that. "I'm a human. Isn't that obvious?"
Aidan laughed. "I just want to make sure. You know I'm not from around here, right?"
How was he supposed to know that? Sure, short humans existed back on earth but that was millenniums ago, the medical technology had advanced so much that modifying any biological body was easier than jogging for half an hour.
And the reason for that was because medical procedures were executed by bots and Artificial intelligence. Humans only need to oversee the operation. That was all.
Gomon nodded. "You have a lot to learn in this world, Aidan. There are so many things you haven't seen."
"I know." Aidan grabbed a handful of dirt and threw them into the campfire. The fire died. "I want to explore this world. See all the wonders it can give me. But to do that I need to be strong enough to protect myself. You know this world already gave me a life lesson."
"What life lesson?" Gomon said, staring at the sky.
"You need to be strong to live the life you wanted. It doesn't matter if you want to simply sleep at home, do research, or travel around the world, if you are weak, then it would be hard to do."
Back at home, it was wealth, power, and influence. And the way to obtain was mostly through tricks, treachery, and lies.
Political figures wouldn't hesitate even for a split second to lie if they could get something that they want.
In fact, since the employment world was so competitive. A lot of workers would trap their rivals and remove them from the company. This could be done using gossip, reporting false information, and sometimes even murder.
Food was free. But humans weren't satisfied with that. Even with all the entertainment, video games, movies, and music, some humans were still striving for glory. With most jobs already replaced by bots, only the brightest of minds could get a job. And they were usually irreplaceable.
It was much simpler here. Kill monsters, level up, get stronger, and then travel the world.
"You think too much," Gomon said. "You can do whatever you want. You can travel the world now if you want to. The question is. Are you willing to start?"
"Soon," Aidan said. "After I have enough strength to defend myself. I was almost eaten by a bird when I just came here."
Gomon looked at him, smiling. "Fate must have been on your side."
"About that. Can you tell me something about the eye o—"
"Alright everybody stands up!" Feval said. "Since every belly has been filled and all the throats have been watered, it is time for us to be on the move again."
Everyone stood up.
"Cover the campfires with leaves," Feval said. "We don't want the shaman to find out. The scouts had already placed a few fake campfires that leads to other directions. But we still need to cover it just in case."
Aidan kicked a few leaves to cover the campfire. He made sure that it couldn't be seen just enough but not too suspicious.
"Is everyone ready?" Feval asked. His armor reflected the light. Gomon said that the Chosen also researched Power Armor. Was it possible that the golden armor that Feval used was one of those?
It might be possible since the armor was so magnificent with crystals all over.
"Yes, everyone is ready," They answered.
"Then let us go," Feval led the way ahead as everyone followed from behind.
Aidan tapped his shoulder. "Gomon, is that a power armor that Feval wears?" Aidan asked.
Gomon turned to look at the man in golden armor. "Yes, it's finely crafted too. I think it's made by a fifth-level tinkerer."
Since Feval was scared of a fourth-level shaman, then that meant this fifth-level tinkerer was much more powerful.
"Do you know at what level the emperor is?" Aidan asked. If someone can rule an entire kingdom, then that man must be the strongest.
Gomon shook his head. "I don't know. Have you heard about the Fortis Praesidio?"
Aidan put a finger on his chin. "I think Maninsov mentioned that before. They serve the emperor or something?"
"Yes," Gomon said. "They not just serve the emperor. They also protected him with all of their lives."
"That's normal," Aidan said. "We also have people that guarded our leader with their lives."
Gomon smiled. "This one is different. Well, at least I think it's different than yours. You see. The Fortis Praesidio is hand-picked by the emperor himself. Once hand-picked you must come to the Blessed Palace and be trained with the Soul Screeching technique. Some say that the Fortis endured so much pain that even their souls started screaming. And many people believe it since it was known that the Fortis didn't feel any pain anymore."
Back on earth, people could cut off their pain reception nerves which turn off their pain reception.
Here, even the soul had to be tortured just to turn it off.
"Still isn't impressed?" Gomon asked. "Then let me tell you something. The Fortis is immortal."
Aidan frowned. Immortal? Even humanity couldn't achieve that. Billionaires all over the galaxy had pooled their resources and invested in this research, but five thousand years was the best they had.
It still had some defective too, such as being weirder as they age. Easy to get bored. And experiencing an illusion where time seemed to pass so fast. Yet, people here could already achieve immortality?