Cedric followed Marcus as they moved through the forest. Even though the road was a little bumpy, there were no wild beast attacks. After reaching a clearing in the forest, Cedric saw something that neither should have imagined nor should have existed in a forest.
Out there in the clearing laid a magnificent concrete house, unlike any he had seen before. Most of the houses in his hometown were made of wood and stones, with the well-off living in the latter. He and his mother, too, lived in one of those. But sadly, most of the tenants of the land had to live in wooden houses. This was also the reason that they burnt down so easily.
This thought made Cedric sober from his initial shock, subsiding his flabbergasted expression. He looked at Marcus, who had a wide grin on his face. Marcus, too, was very happy to show off his masterpiece to another person. Finally, he got the chance today, and the feedback did not disappoint him.
After Cedric saw this place, his expression was a masterpiece in itself. Marcus decided to carve this memory in his mind since he did not have a camera.
"Did you make this?!" Even though his tone was serious, the bewilderment in it could not be hidden.
Giving an affirmative answer, Marcus gestured for Cedric to enter.
"How do you enter this place?" Cedric said, his thoughts aloud after not seeing a door.
Seeing Cedric's expression, Marcus was ready to give him a show. In front of his bewildered eyes, Cedric saw the concrete parting ways, making it possible to enter. But he calmed down; the other party was a mage, and it was very much possible for them to do such a thing.
Cedric did not enter. He looked at Marcus's expression as if to determine what he was thinking. Marcus, too, felt a little awkward after falling under Cedric's scrutinizing gaze. Marcus tried to explain himself, but Cedric was the first to voice his concerns.
"Sorry, but I would talk outside. This place is quite safe, and I like the open environment."
Marcus closed off the temporary door he had created and chuckled as if to lighten the mood. It was not like he was not having any thoughts of trapping this guy inside, and he would also get a home environment if a confrontation broke out. Marcus was not gullible enough to trust this person; after all, trust is a very expensive and fragile thing. And who would not be on guard when they encountered a man with blood-stained clothes?
"Ha ha ha, I guess we are not close enough to sit down and talk inside," Marcus said. He did not force the other party since antagonizing Cedric was not what he wanted, but he still wanted to show a little courtesy and sincerity.
"Let's start with introductions, shall we?" Cedric nodded in agreement.
"I am Cedric Williams, just a soldier who deserted."
Marcus was surprised to hear that someone could call themselves a deserter; he thought using the term 'survivor' was more appropriate. It was not like Cedric did not think of this, but telling the truth could not make himself lose his dignity in front of this person. After all, he had already lost both his dignity and home. And telling the truth was also a way of showing his sincerity.
"I am Marcus. Nice to meet you, Cedric!" Marcus said with a cheerful tone, hoping to make a good impression. It had been quite a long time since he had interacted with another person, which made him unable to hold back his nervousness and excitement.
Even though Marcus tried his best, it still weirded out Cedric. 'Why is this guy so enthusiastic?' Cedric wanted Marcus to share more information about his background, but since he didn't give much information about himself, he didn't dwell on the matter. Instead, he tried to clear out some suspicions about himself to Marcus.
He told Marcus that the blood on his armor is from the battles he fought against the demons. Marcus was very interested in the existence of demons and made it a point to ask Cedric about them later. Marcus also learned that Cedric was teleported to this forest three days ago. Marcus, too, told him that he came to this forest a week ago.
This made Cedric see Marcus in a new light. He was not surprised by the fact that Marcus came to this place a week earlier. The thing that surprised him, though, was that Marcus was able to build this house in a mere week. Cedric started to believe that Marcus was indeed a formidable mage, and he, too, was making the correct decision in teaming up with him.
They exchanged a few more words about their situation and abilities. When Cedric thought that there was nothing more for him to say, he decided to take his leave.
"I will take my leave now. I have to clean my sword and armor."
Just as he was about to leave, Marcus spoke up.
"Why don't you let me take care of it?"
Cedric didn't want to hand over his possessions to Marcus; he still had some reluctance in fully trusting him. But rejecting help also didn't sound good. So he decided on a compromise. He opened up his chest plate and gave it to Marcus. As for his sword, it was not something he would ever hand over to anyone under any circumstances. Rather, he wanted to see what Marcus would do with his chest plate. After which, he could decide if he would give him the rest of the parts to clean or not.
Marcus examined the chest plate; it was simple and practical without any decorations. The blood on it had already dried and turned black, so it would definitely take quite an effort to remove it. Marcus pointed his finger at the stain and used the magic he had been practicing for some time. A jet of high-pressure water came out from his fingers. Under its pressure, the blood quickly got washed away.
After removing the majority of the stains, he used some extremely diluted acid to remove the top layer from the parts which still had some stains. After this cleaning service, the armor piece looked as good as new. Returning it to Cedric, Marcus gave him a proposal.
"Let's consider this our first step in our cooperative efforts. Why don't we hunt together tomorrow? This would further our understanding of each other."