Chapter 21- New Item
The rest of the day passed quietly as the truck moved across the Forbidden Lands at a leisurely speed. Everyone was mentally exhausted from the previous encounter and so they didn't want to rush or they would end up tired before the day ends.
Eventually, the night dawned on them and the truck had to be parked for the group to rest. Davey and the man who turned out to be named Tarik set up a small camp beside the truck and started cooking some food.
"Even though we usually don't feed people that we transport along with us who didn't pay for the food cost, you two saved our lives so please come dig in with us," Tarik said with a grateful expression on his face.
However, both Asher and Rain refused.
"I have my own food."
"Me too."
"... Uh, ok, suit yourself then."
After that, Asher turned around and looked around the area of the camp. The place was quite hidden behind a building in an old parking lot with the only way inside being the gates they came from so they can be ready in case Zombies attack them.
"I will be there." The boy announced before walking away and taking a seat on the ground with his back against the wall.
'Now, let's see what we have here.' Then, Asher manifested the notifications that appeared earlier that day to check them properly.
The first few notifications were about him leveling up and the stat increase that came along with it which was really good on itself. He already felt the huge change in his body structure, speed, and even the improvement in his senses like eyesight and hearing after barely spending less than 3 weeks in this world.
The change wasn't big but it was noticeable and that was more than enough to give Asher a motivation boost. The seemingly far dream of finding the bastards who killed his sister and killing them was getting closer and closer slowly.
After that, Asher looked at the last few notifications which were the meat of the matter.
'A random item drop and inventory? What's that about?' Thinking of the word itself, another window appeared in his retina.
It was comparatively bigger than any other interface he had seen yet with slots spread across the board that stretched down seemingly infinitely. Only 4 slots out of the countless ones that exist were shining with a bright, blue light indicating that they were available for use. A typical inventory section he saw before in games.
In this inventory, there was one single item in there which was a weird orb-like ball that was green in color.
Tapping on it, the orb vanished and appeared in Asher's hand. The latter was shocked at first but then quickly calmed down and examined it. The shiny nature of the orb made it look like a lamp, illuminating the dark parking lot.
"Hmm? Is this the item itself?" Asher murmured confusedly.
However, at that moment, he heard a cracking sound. So, he turned the orb around only to see a small crack appear where his thumb was situated. The crack quickly spread at a rapid pace before the boy could react properly and the orb was shattered in a moment.
Then, a small bright light took Asher's eyesight away for a moment and then vanished quickly as he felt the weight of something on his hand.
"Hmm?" Looking down, he saw what seemed to be a ring. It had a silver outlining with runic scriptures decorating it and a red rock imbedded in the middle
[Ring Of The Explorer: Legend says that a man once found the path to the edge of the world and left behind a long legacy recording everything he discovered. The Ring Of The Explorer is one of those items. When the user wears it, they will get a 1% increase in all stats. That buff increases by 1% for each creature they kill and maxes out at 20% for 3 minutes. Requires mana to work.]
An item description appeared over the ring.
'Oh! This is very nice!'
The ring's powers were amazing if not outright shocking. Not only was it extremely useful against an army of enemies, but it also allows Asher to not get exhausted quickly in drawn fights.
'However, I still don't understand how these item drops work. For a level 5 Zombie to give me such a valuable item is quite shocking after all. I need to research more.'
"Hey, you…" As Asher was deep in his thoughts like that, a feminine voice woke him up from his thoughts.
"Hmm?" Looking up, he found Rain standing in front of him.
"Can I sit down? I need to discuss something with you." She asked.
"Uh? Yeah, sure." Sliding to the side, Asher created some room for Rain to sit down.
Then, for a good 2 minutes, the two remained in complete silence staring at Davey and Tarik sharing dinner and cracking bad jokes. Although it was awkward, the flickering of the fire somehow gave a sense of serenity to the otherwise ominous place.
"So, uh… Do you need anything?" Asher couldn't bear it anymore and broke the silence with a question.
"Actually, I do. Can I know why you're going to the southern settlement?" Rain asked as she glanced at Asher.
"Why is that of any relevance to you?"
"Not many people would go from north to south of the Forbidden Lands in one go for no particular reason. Since we are going to be traveling together for a few days, I thought getting to know you is going to help us on the road."
Although many would think that Rain had taken an interest in Asher. However, the latter had read the novel and knew Rain very well.
'She's trying to make me useful to her in case of a fight with strong Zombies or monsters. That's her character early on in the story, after all. She's a very manipulative and cunning person. If I end up being a hindrance, Rain would definitely get rid of me.' Asher thought.
Before meeting the protagonist, Rain was a very quiet, cold, and distant person that didn't get attached to anyone for some reason or another. She considered everyone around her as a pawn that she can use to achieve her goals big or small.
'It's interesting to see one of my favorite characters in action. However, I'm not going to let you use me.'
"I don't see the point in knowing each other at all. We can simply cooperate when needed. Other than that, consider me a stranger." Asher replied as he stood up, intending to leave.
At that moment, Rain asked a question.
"Are you perhaps looking for someone there?"