Aric had also not forgotten to go back home in his own world. When he had gone in search of 'treasures and exotic materials,' he had returned home to eat, thus making sure that his parents didn't shout at him later for not showing up. At night, too, he had shown up for dinner. His parents weren't big fans of what they perceived as isolation from Aric, but they could only chalk it up to exhaustion from practice.
Aric also spoke of the body pain he was experiencing as he was exercising for the first time, which was a valid explanation, as the first-time body exercise did bring immense body pain for a few days. After Aric was back at the cave, he started cooking the meat, and the delicious smell of the roasted chicken wafted and filled the entire cave.
Elowen, who had been cold all this time, couldn't help but side-eye the roasted chicken, and a part of her was happy that she would be able to eat this roasted 'bird' and not have to share. The smell wouldn't attract anyone, as the cave, the home of the dead Acolyte hyena, was enough to keep any animal off their trail.
Soon the chicken was ready to eat, and Elowen didn't waste a second chomping down on the chicken breasts. Aric took small bites as he wasn't hungry at all. He looked at the unconscious duo on the ground and couldn't help but feel pity for them.
"That beast was very powerful... I should have tried to help you," Aric spoke in order to show his remorse.
"No. We are lucky to be even alive after what had happened," Elowen said.
"Huh? But it seemed powerful." Aric was confused.
"Hyenas aren't known for living alone. When we arrived, the hyena had already spotted us but didn't attack, which meant that the Eclipsian Hyena was either sick, wounded, or pregnant. There was another possibility that it was protecting something. If it was protecting some kind of exotic plant or fruit, it would have never let us set up an ambush. But it did, which meant that the beast wasn't protecting any precious material. If it was protecting, it would never run after us, and thus we knew that this Hyena wasn't at its full power. The actions of the Hyena made us believe that it was gravely injured or pregnant, which it was, but we just overestimated our ability," Elowen said.
"You mean to say that the Eclipsian Hyena wasn't even at its full power?" Aric got the gist of what Elowen was saying. Elowen just nodded her head in approval.
"Fuck," Aric could only grasp under his breath. He had just seen a Hyena make food out of these powerful individuals, and that was not even the full power of the beast. This world was dangerous. More than he thought. If an Acolyte was that powerful, how would the higher levels be?
Aric was contemplating what he had seen and decided that after returning, he would closely analyze every single aspect of what had gone down today. He was fiddling with his chicken and taking small bites when he heard an alarm.
"Intruder alert...
Intruder alert...
Three men and one woman approaching the cave. Two carrying cold weapons... Appear hostile. Please proceed with caution...
Intruder alert"
Aric became instantly vigilant when he heard that. The notification came into his ears as he had put his communicator in silent mode. But he didn't alert Elowen at all. He waited, and soon he heard some noise from the bushes and trees.
Elowen went on alert immediately while Aric pulled out a knife as they looked into the darkness of the night, illuminated by nothing but the stars in the sky.
"Well... well... look who we have here... the bitch Elowen and her little band of misfits," a man spoke. Aric could finally see the man; he had a cut across his face that seemed like a claw mark and was scarred very badly. Surprisingly, his nose and eyes were intact, but the sight of him would make anyone think twice before confronting him.
He stood more than 6 feet tall, was quite burly, and had glistening muscles. He was followed by two other men, each of lesser height than the scarred man, and also a woman who looked like an archer.
"George... get the fuck away from here," Elowen spoke in the coldest voice possible.
"Now... now... that's not how you greet your old teammates, is it? After all, we shared love and even blood," George said as he pointed his finger at the claw mark. A few years ago, Elowen was in George's team, and she was highly valued because she was a mage, though a budding new mage, still a mage nonetheless.
To ensure that she was always safeguarded, she was able to get into George's pants. And George genuinely thought that they were in love, until one day his team was besieged by a powerful Mystara leopard in the forest. Though the beast wasn't an Acolyte, it wasn't far from it.
It was able to take down five of his team and was ready to take down Elowen and George. The beast was on its last straw, and thus it would have been easier if George and Elowen banded together and killed the ferocious monstrosity. But then she betrayed him, left him to die, and ran off.
George was both emotionally and physically hurt. He got a scar on his face, and a chunk of meat was taken away from his thigh, which still feels sore sometimes. He was able to take down the beast and also heal himself. After that, he lodged a complaint at the Adventure Guild, which was not a shining example of a good legal system.
It was his words vs. her words, and thus it ended with no resolution. He wanted to kill her, but Elowen had been able to escape his eyes all these years. But today, the smell of chicken brought him to this location.
And he was glad that his new teammate had a special olfactory runic circle that enhanced the sense of smell by two times.
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