The dawn of the Amazon village brought with it a gentle breeze and the sound of distant birds, although the cabin where I was sleeping was cozy, the awakening was something more... peculiar. I slowly opened my eyes, feeling that I was stepping on something soft, but I noticed that it was Stella, who was sleeping next to me. I had moved in the middle of the night without realizing it and, apparently, one of my feet had landed on her face.
I was immediately embarrassed. I moved my foot slightly but Stella seemed to be hugging her face to it, I was surprised that despite the situation she slept so comfortably.
Suddenly, the door of the hut opened abruptly and one of the Amazons burst in with a large conch shell. She blew it loudly, emitting a roar so loud that it echoed throughout the hut. Stella woke up with a jolt, inadvertently kicking me.
"Aaaah! What's going on!" Stella exclaimed very confused.
"Time to wake up, sleepyheads!" shouted the amazon with a smirk, waving the conch shell. "The whole village is already active, and you guys are still lazing around!"
Stella slowly stood up, still rubbing her eyes. "Ah, good morning to you too..." she muttered and then shot me a glance. "Ryuji, did you put your foot on my face while I was sleeping?"
I didn't know how to answer. "Eeeeh, I was sleeping very well and moved around a lot in my sleep, hahaha..."
"Haha, well, next time.... Do it when I'm awake." She winked at me as she stretched, I was a little embarrassed.
The amazon, laughing, came out of the hut. "Come on, get out now! There's a lot to do today."
We left the cabin and Stella adjusted her gloves and set out to find the coordinates of the connector to the deserted cosmoworld. As she did so, the small lights coming from her antennae glowed dimly, projecting a holographic map into the air. He stood silently, analyzing the data.
"Ah, here it is..." he murmured and then looked at me. "The connector's coordinates are off. We'll have to travel to where it's located to activate it manually."
"And is it very far?" I asked as I stood up and stretched.
Stella pointed to the hologram and zoomed in. "Not that far."
Then, Tives appeared and with a serious look and said, "It's Ungalon territory" he stated seriously. "Red-skinned, white-haired apes who live in a large cave. Their king is known as the Thunder King, he is a sacred beast. Defeating a sacred beast grants great power, a transformation."
The news left us silent for a moment. Stella looked at the hologram again. "And we can't avoid that territory?"
Tives shook his head. "Impossible, the Ungalons will not allow us to pass through their lands without battle."
My heart began to beat faster, but I tried to remain calm. "Don't worry, Stella." I said with a confident smile. "I'm much stronger now. We can do this."
Stella looked at me with a mixture of concern and relief. "I hope you're right..."
After a quick breakfast of exotic meats and fruits I had never tasted before, we prepared to leave. The group consisted of Queen Tives, her elite warriors and the 2 of us, of course. As we walked through the dense jungle, the sound of crunching leaves under our feet accompanied us. The giant Amazons walked gracefully, despite their size.
Along the way, Stella was still analyzing the coordinates as we moved forward. "Do you think we're really ready to take on a sacred beast?" She asked, clearly concerned.
"Easy." I replied, puffing out my chest. "I'm a hell of a lot stronger now thanks to the queen, it won't be a problem."
Then, something moved among the leaves. A small spider, very similar to the giant ones we had faced when we first came to this world, but this time it was no bigger than my hand. I saw it advancing towards me and without thinking, I lifted my bare foot and crushed it with a single blow.
"Look, I'm super strong! Hahaha!" I exclaimed as I crushed her with confidence.
Stella, next to me, couldn't help but look at me surprised and blushing. "It really didn't gross you out?" she asked me, though she muttered under her breath, "It was... sexy, somehow."
The Amazons laughed. "Warriors should always walk barefoot." Said one of them, proudly tapping the ground with her bare foot. "That way we connect with the earth."
Suddenly, the laughter stopped. Several of the Amazons stopped dead in their tracks, hearing something in the distance. Tives held up a hand, signaling us to be quiet.
"Something's coming." He muttered.
Before we could react, a Group of Ungalons appeared from the trees. There were about 15 of them, all huge, about 2 meters, with red skin and white hair, their eyes glowing with ferocity.
"Attack!" shouted Tives.
Stella was the first to act. A beam of greenish energy emerged from her antennae, which she launched directly towards the apes. "Cilantro!" she shouted, as the Ungalons were hit by the blast.
The Amazons unsheathed their weapons and rushed into combat with impressive speed. Swords and spears flew through the air, the sound of steel cutting flesh echoed through the jungle.
One of the Ungalons lunged at me, roaring with fury. Without thinking, I punched it full force in the jaw, sending it flying into a nearby tree. "That's all you got?!" I shouted, feeling the adrenaline rush through my body.
Queen Tives, with a ferocious grin, caught one of the apes in the trees with her hand. She squeezed it with monstrous force until it stopped moving, then released it and, before it fell to the ground, she kicked it so hard that it launched it into the air.
"Ryuji, you're getting stronger and stronger." Commented one of the amazaonas as she looked admiringly at my performance in battle.
The group continued to advance, leaving the Ungalons dejected on the road. However, one of the apes, badly wounded, crawled into the thick of the jungle, as if trying to escape to warn someone else.
End of chapter 7