Tetsu kept following the baby rhino as they went deeper into the forest. Still confused about how to apologize, he mumbled to himself along the way. He was adamant to apologise and then leave, not a moment sooner.
It is wrong to upset someone and leave, but how does one apologize for something so weird?
"Sorry, my mom raised a cannibal?"
Blaming stuff on Karen always solved his issues back on Earth.
"Man, I wish I had my phone. Could've asked the apology AI to write me a letter or in the least a sentence?"
Tetsu wonders out loud about all the different prompts he would need to feed the AI before it understands such a complicated mess.
A simple sorry was still a long way to go.
The apology never arrived, but they did circle back to the Bubbledrop bells flower to quench their thirst. These were long bell-shaped flowers that drew water from the earth and the atmosphere to create small bubbles of dense water inside their bell. Super rich in mana, water mana to be specific. They reduce the need to consume a lot of water.
One can run around and lose a bucket of sweat, while a single drop can replenish the lost water and then some.
All of this information Tetsu gathered by using the rune 'info,' but not before he stupidly chugged down a bell's worth of water.
A better hour of his next journey consisted of him puking out the excess water and begging the baby rhino to slow its already slow phase.
When he circled a small part of the forest or found more 'Bubbledrop bells,' he honestly didn't know. The baby rhino poked him with her horn, almost breaking his bones, just to show him the proper way to drink.
The suggestion upheld Tetsu. Just because he wasn't cautious at first, doesn't mean he never thinks. He blasts the bubbles with his mana, purifying it, while blasting amusement into the tiny jelly brains.
"See." Tetsu grins with all his teeth and gives her a thumbs up, before drinking too much yet again...
------------------------------P-B-------------------------------
Life has but one purpose: to survive. From day one we fight to stay alive, we run to stay alive, and we grow to stay alive. Since birth, we are seared with the knowledge to survive. It doesn't matter from which part of the universe you've woven out of, this instinct reigns supreme above the rest.
Any force that dares threaten this instinct makes us react. A primal sense from deep within roars louder than ever.
Run or fight, if you are under the gaze of a hunter.
Never approach or approach with caution if the predator hasn't noticed.
One of the most primal and ever-present skills: 'Danger sense.'
Yet somehow, this stupid human got molded without this sense. The baby rhino made a gurgling sound, warning Tetsu to watch out for yet another obvious trap.
Is this the tenth time today? She had lost count.
It's been two days since they had forced her to escape from her cover. First, that stupid Dandralith picked a fight, who shouldn't have won but got lucky. Later, its body was moved and diced up as she had to plan a quick escape.
She was certain she stayed far away from those Zephyrglades. Unlike this stupid human, she listens to her danger sense. Yet after being immobilized, her body made it all the way to the other side? Something smelt rotten and not the good kind that comes from mixing minerals.
Out of her shell, she found a strange being. With a quick identification, she found him to be a level one human. Her danger sense flared, but once she regained a single level by eating her shell, that tingling sensation stopped.
"No way a stupid human can beat a mighty Quart: node." She puffs and orders him to lift her up.
She needed more of her main body to recover her lost levels. These tiny legs were too short to cover long distances. Yet the human kept laughing and attracting predators towards him. Which, in turn, would affect her more. He was useless, and she was priceless.
Who do you think the hunter will attack?
This should've been her first clue. Still, being a good Quartnode, she didn't judge him too quick. But oh girl, she was right on the mark.
After jumping into the human noise hole, she understood how weak he actually was, and to make matters worse, the dumb humans kept following her.
She didn't even care when she found out her actual body had been lost.
"Those darn alchemists." She blamed some imaginary weirdos, not knowing how an alchemist looks.
She met no alchemist so far, but her mom sure told her a lot about them and, boy, were they bad.
Mom warned her to take it slow in the tutorial. In her defense, moms are always overprotective of their little girls. Again! Which mom isn't? But, perhaps…
She looks at the human. "Might be heredity?"
Anyhow, she wanted to prove Mom wrong. Her daughter can grow faster and stronger than her and their chief. She will prove this. From defense, she would switch to attack and squash those stupid alchemists.
The tutorial ground was perfect with highly concentrated mana resources. She ate and grew super fast. Within two months, she crossed the threshold and aimed to go higher. No one could trade a critical hit with her insanely strong defensive skills. While every fight gave her more experience and levels, as she was solely defense-based.
This was fun and games until she met the competition in higher ranks. At this stage she understood her mom's concerns. Higher meant smarter opponents.
"Next time be more clear, Mom." She grunts.
Behind her, the human kept following her. "Stupid little legs." She manipulated the mold as she stomped harder.
The mold or her lower body, comprising various metals and gems, is an inanimate object that she made and has no sensory connection for her to feel any pain. Yet imagining hurting it helped her let off some steam.
Talking about pain in the ass, one pain kept following her around. She tried and failed to outrun the human with her tiny legs.
How can one be born with no sense of direction, the stupidity to die every five minutes, and absolutely no sense of danger?
Well... now she had an example to show.
If Dumb had a persona, it would be him.
He kept begging to go back to the tree. Once I took mercy and showed him the way back, he got lost and came back to me. I seriously don't understand how he survived for this long. He doesn't understand the meaning of stealth. It's like he wants a bird to fly down and snatch him away.
From time to time, he keeps cutting his palm and touching every single thing he comes across.
A lunatic, I tell you.
He exhausts his stamina by running and doing weird stuff. Then crawls behind me, begging for some water. I use the most common skill and show him to a nearby water source.
"Wow! Did you pick that water-sensing skill? The human rambles.
"Also, do you know the way back?" Tetsu notices they traveled quite a distance and he for sure was lost. "Will we be going back anytime soon?"
As expected, he didn't notice that I granted his wish long ago and now I am busy with my own quest.
"Boo hoo." I gurgle at him as he ignores me yet again. I swear he must not know how to use his system translation skills either. Why am I even tolerating him? And why is he so bare? I never met a human, but they can't be molded to be this fragile. I can see him not having the common sense to have armor, though.
Or like… yup! Like now, where he gulps down without inspecting the water source. Out of courtesy, I give him a gentle nudge with my horn and show him how to drink. But as expected, he does the exact opposite and feeds it with more mana before drinking.
It was expected, but some part of me had hope, you see...
At least he will die within the hour. The rhino shrugs and keeps moving ahead. She had to find resources to consume for leveling. She wasted enough time on this thing and couldn't afford to waste another second.
R.I.P. all those seconds she wasted because of this human. No problem, he would be…
To her surprise, the human fell to his knees and puked out the excessive water.
"Hmm, Maybe he can survive until night." She wobbles ahead.
Night approached and her surprise still hung close. The still-alive human started a fire and snored like there were no predators around. She didn't need the extra heat as her shell could always produce high temperatures. She just has to activate a skill to mix the mold and it would produce sufficient heat.
So, she peed all over the campfire, sniffing it out. The human can thank her in the morning. For good measure, she choked him one last time. His snores were attracting beasts and she was too weak to protect them both.
Wait! Both?
No, she is too weak to defend herself. Let us go with this. After all, Quartnodes don't run or hide. She puffs out her chest with pride and sleeps.
Early in the morning, she gets up with a deflated chest and a surprisingly alive human. She half hoped the hole he dug for himself would be his grave.
"Oh well, back to the grind." She hops right back into the game, still surprised that this weak human somehow suppressed the million seeds with the water. Maybe she can make him his pet.
Now she had to level. At least for her dumb pet.
------------------------------P-B-------------------------------
Tetsu got up with a cold. It somehow only rained around the campfire and on top of him. Remembering the rain saving him twice, he didn't dare complain, yet he still wondered–how?
At first, he followed the baby rhino out of pure curiosity. But now he realized he was a true lost lamb, ready for slaughter. Part of him wished the rhino would protect him, and he thoroughly scolded that part of him.
"After all you did, you should be protecting her, not the other way round. Get your ass back to exercise."
Back to his training regimen. Tetsu did laps around the baby rhino, a constant eye on its position. He told himself it was dual training. His mind focused on the baby rhino while his body sensed and moved around in its surroundings. But in actuality, he didn't want to get lost twice in one day.
Moments ago the baby rhino flipped a one-eighty and went back from the way they came. Tetsu almost got lost. Thanks to her tiny legs or his long legs, he found his way back to the baby rhino.
Since some hive-mind grass had brains, he assumed the rhino could understand him too. But so far, he only doubted this theory.
"Guess it has to level up to turn intelligent." He thinks and shrugs.
Looking at her blow at some water, before drinking, made him reconsider this stance. Yes! He decided it was cute, so it had to be female.
"It's not hot." Tetsu lifts the bellflower, laughing at the stupid rhino's caution.
Concerned, he blasted the water with some mana and gulped down. He puked out more water than he drank, but it still wasn't hot.
The second time around, the baby rhino smashed into his knee with its horn. The bugger was small but could pack a punch. After what he assumed was a threat. He did what the baby Rhino did and still puked out water.
In conclusion, the rhino is dumb.
Yet the lost lamb had no choice but to follow its master.
═─┈─{═E═}─┈─═