Jack was stunned to see fear in the beast's eyes. Oddly, he couldn't sense any other creatures around him.
'So what's making it all scared?'
Curious, he turned his head to look behind him.
There, a small hut stood, built from smooth stones with a thatched roof weathered by countless rainfalls. Wooden stakes encircled the hut, and the green field was blanketed with plants.
On the portion he was on, he was surrounded by plants that looked like clovers but sprouted purple flowers in their centers, ones that filled the air with a nauseating scent.
"Alogra's house?" Jack quickly realized where he was and why the beast didn't move.
'Is it afraid of him?.... Well I guess I'm in luck' Jack was relieved. But then he was left rather shocked.
The humble scene didn't match his expectations for a man with the power to instill fear across the four kingdoms. Alogra, though formidable, had worked with all the kingdoms without pledging allegiance to any—at least in the years following the first war.
No one knew what led him to this drastic decision. And many came up with several conclusions at the end.
From the sight alone, Jack could tell Alogra took no pride in his power. The simplicity of the hut hinted at a humility Jack knew he'd never achieve in this new world.
'What's the use of humility when you have power?" Jack thought with a hiss. "They could all despise him, and they wouldn't dare lift a finger against him.'
Still, he figured there had to be a reason for it, something never mentioned in the novel. 'Maybe I might actually just have to find out.... It might be something that can help me' Jack mused, turning his attention back to the beast.
"Ha! Can't scare me this time!" he taunted with a grin.
He so much loved the annoyed look on the beast face.... A feeling that one would get annoying someone that couldn't harm them.
Despite this, the beast remained, three heads growling in unison. It seemed reluctant to leave without its meal, even after expending so much energy.
The beast inched forward cautiously. The two side heads kept their eyes on the hut's door, while the center head focused on Jack.
"Hmph, still eager, huh?" Jack scoffed, picking up a nearby stone and flinging it toward the beast.
It dodged with ease, leaping aside. The center head snarled, urging the other two to lunge at him.
"So, center head's the leader," Jack noted, amused as he watched the beast spring at him, clearly provoked by his taunts.
But just as the beast lunged, the hut's door creaked open.
All six of its eyes widened in fear, and a shiver rippled through its massive form. It could see calm, piercing eyes peering from the narrow opening, as if looking straight into its soul. The gaze was a silent but stern warning.
Instantly, the beast twisted mid-air, its body arching into a 'U' and, as soon as its paws hit the ground, it vanished in a blur of speed.
Jack stared, impressed. "If it chased me down at that speed, I'd be dead by now.... but it ran away, so I guess I'm the real man" He smirked. "Even the big ones have things they're afraid of. Don't worry, we'll meet again," he thought with a sigh of relief.
Finally, he could say the words he'd been holding in: "It's finally over." Those words brought him a wave of peace.
The door to the hut opened fully, and Jack's eyes darted to the figure emerging.
It was a tall man, broad-shouldered and muscular, with graying hair falling to his shoulders and a dark beard scattered across his chin. His bright gray eyes held a wisdom Jack hadn't often seen. Despite his graying hair, his face had a youthful edge, though Jack guessed he might be in his early fifties—if they were back on Earth.
In this world, though, appearances were deceptive. Mages, swordsmen, beastmen and even Alchemists all had a means to lengthen their lives.
On the side of the mages, as time went on and they practiced more on magic, they could elongate their life simply by breaking through to several ranks, they achieved this by refining their cores.
Swordsmen achieved theirs by strengthening their life force with mana, allowing them to live longer than expected. Probably something Jack was witnessing at the moment.
Beastmen with mixed bloodlines could manipulate energy or their lineage to live far longer than ordinary humans.
Alchemists, with the right materials, could extend their lives, too. However, this could olybe achieved if they could find the necessary ingredients to create such. Ingridients like that were not only rare, but could also bring about a war.... so it was a more difficult side on their side.
Altogether, It wasn't uncommon for people to live to a hundred and only marry around three hundred.
Remembering that made Jack cautious about judging by looks alone. The last time he did, he'd been shocked when he learned his mother's age.
"That old hag in a maiden's body! And I was actually admiring her beauty," Jack thought bitterly, recalling when his aunt Maria revealed, "Your mom's only 320. Young, right?"
Since then, Jack couldn't look at the handsome and beautiful people of this world without picturing wrinkle-lined faces beneath their flawless skin.
"And she said 'only,'" Jack muttered, feeling mildly irritated.
'How could a freaking 320 years old be called young! That's 10 times my previous age and this, even more!' thinking of it just made him annoyed.
'But siceut doesn't affect the looks I guess it's not so bad' Jack concluded, he didn't want to think further on the matter.
"What was all that noise about?" Alogra asked, stretching as if waking from a long slumber. His gray eyes looked almost sleepy as he raised a hand.
Alogra's gaze shifted to Jack, who was still standing in the muddy field.
With a frown, Alogra asked, "And who are you?"
[A/N: please remember that your support is of great importance to our success.... Thank you. I hope you enjoy the next chapters]