Rain stared down at the three vineclaws. He was glad to have allies, but they were currently more of a hindrance—they were slower and weaker than him. Still, having some help was better than none. He considered killing them for the extra stats but decided it would probably be more worthwhile to build their strength in the long run.
Rain reached into his bag to grab some food and realized a pitiful amount was left. He gave the remaining food to the vineclaws and set off into the forest, looking for something to hunt. The vineclaws seemed to understand his intentions and began sniffing along the ground. They were already proving useful. Rain noticed his sense of smell was much better than before, but it wasn't nearly as strong or accurate as theirs.
Following the vineclaws, Rain glanced down at the scarf he got from Sylthara. It was slowly changing color. Yesterday, it was a delightful green, but now it was turning a dark blue. Looking closer at the vineclaws ahead, he noticed the vines attached to them were the same color at the base. It seemed they were changing to fit their new leader better.
Rain continued following the three vineclaws through the forest until they finally stopped, growling at something hiding in a nearby bush. Shifting into a stance, he activated his fog cloak, surrounding the area in mist. The creature, shocked by its sudden loss of vision, bolted from the bush. It was a pig-like creature with thick brown fur, two long tusks protruding from its face, and rock-like formations on its back.
Rain's vineclaws rushed toward the boar, grabbing its legs. Rain dashed in, launching a barrage of strikes while the boar tried to shake the vineclaws off. The vineclaws held firm, their vines surging forth to grapple and restrain the boar further. Rain charged aqua vortex around his staff and drilled forward, piercing a hole clean through the boar. It fell to the ground, lifeless.
["Stonedge Boar slain. Intermediate rune of strength rewarded"]
Rain was exasperated—it had been surprisingly easy. The boar hadn't even had a chance to attack. Somehow, his vineclaws could see through the mist just fine. He had been worried about them at first, but the skill seemed to recognize them as allies. That was helpful; he didn't need to worry about friendly fire, so at least they wouldn't be in the way. The vineclaws were about to pounce on the boar, but Rain held up his hand, signaling them to stop. He unsheathed his shortsword and began to dismantle it.
Rain carefully removed the boar's hide and began extracting the shoulders and hind legs. He gave three legs to his vineclaws and kept one for himself. He took the loin and set it aside, planning to smoke it so it would last longer.
He set up some sticks over a small fire pit he dug, creating a makeshift grill, and sparked a flame. He placed his shoulder of pork over the flame and let it cook, turning the meat periodically. While the shoulder was cooking, he cut the tenderloin into small strips, set up a smoking rack of sticks slightly higher up, and let the strips begin to smoke.
He wasn't worried about less intelligent creatures—they would mostly avoid the smell of smoke. His plan was to use the scent of cooking to attract intelligent species that could be bargained with, a strategy that had worked last time. He was curious if the man only enslaved non-humans, so he didn't try to contain the scent.
After a couple of hours, he removed the shoulder and took a bite. The meat was naturally flavorful, and the smoke from the grill only enhanced the taste. He only wished he had some spices, but he couldn't complain. He was lucky to be alive, let alone thriving like this.
Rain let the smoke wallow through the forest and a small group of humans arrived, they were wearing simple fur clothing offering decent protection, and most of them had crude weapons like clubs but two of them wielded longswords. Rain sat patiently with the three vineclaws standing behind him they weren't aggressive yet but clearly on edge.
The group of four approached with their hands raised and heads slightly bowed. Rain stared at them without moving from his seated position. He could sense their weakness. Although he couldn't see their levels, it was as if his body naturally understood who was stronger. As they came closer, Rain motioned for them to sit. There were two women and two men, all seemingly in their twenties. They sat around the fire, eyeing the smoked meat with hunger.
One of them, a woman wielding a sword and seemingly the strongest of the group, finally broke the silence. "Who are you? We saw your smoke signal a few days back but thought it was a trap or something."
Rain took another bite of the pork shoulder before speaking. "I'm nobody important. I just need some information. I'm open to trade."
He motioned to the meat. The woman, her hunger clear, focused back on Rain. "What do you need to know? We'll see if we know anything."
Rain glanced at the others, sensing their hidden intentions. They weren't good at hiding their emotions, but he asked his question anyway. "Where can I find some stronger monsters? I need to get stronger as quickly as possible."
The group exchanged glances and nodded before the woman spoke again. "If you head directly left from this campsite for about an hour, you'll reach the Mistwoods. There are plenty of strong monsters there."
Rain nodded and gave each of them three pieces of smoked meat. He could procure food easily and had smoked this batch mostly for trade. "One more question. How big is this place? How is there a day and night if we are in a weird test area, and what are we even here for?"
They exchanged glances once more, struggling to mask their smiles. "This place is about the size of a small island. It's a large forest surrounded by magical fields on all sides, except one where that man resides and observes. He raises slaves here; sometimes he sells them, sometimes he keeps them for other things. He's a loose cannon."
Rain nodded again and handed them each three more pieces of meat, leaving himself with twelve. He could get more soon, so it was fine. He took the meat and visibly put it in his bag. "Well, you can leave now. I'm going to turn in for the night."
Rain shooed them away and laid down. As they moved further away, he created a clone to pretend to sleep while he slinked into a tree and waited. His vineclaws, understanding his intent, hid behind the tree he was in.
He waited through the night, and finally, they came back, this time with two more people, obviously weaker than the rest.
The leading woman approached Rain's sleeping clone and stabbed it in the chest. The clone popped, leaving behind a puddle, and the woman jumped back in fear, clearly not expecting it. Rain leaped from the tree, staring down the group as they turned around in terror. His vineclaws emerged from behind him.
"Did you really think I was dumb enough to reveal the location of my food and camp?" Rain's voice was steady and confident. It felt good to finally have the upper hand. He could speak freely without the threat of Vivian starving him for talking out of line or beating him for being disrespectful. He was no longer forced to do things he didn't want to do.
The woman stepped back, trying to come up with an excuse, but nothing came to her. She swung her sword wildly, launching blades of air toward Rain.
He raised his hand, and a hydro shield appeared, blocking the slashes. Rain walked forward, his clan's ability activating. The woman hesitated upon seeing the wings protruding from Rain's back but then launched another skill. A large horizontal blade of wind shot toward him.
Rain jumped over it and Torrent Dashed in midair, instantly closing the distance and sending a knee into the woman's head. She hit the ground, and Rain summoned Raging Torrent. All six shots blasted into her head, taking her life swiftly.
He didn't want to kill anyone, but they wouldn't hesitate to do the same to him, and his survival was more important than the lives of strangers.
Rain turned his head toward the remaining enemies and spoke. "Don't worry, you'll be with your friend soon."