The smell of roasted boar was wafting in the air, but as Zero proceeds to take a bite of the cooked meat, his expression does not match the aroma. He grunts and bites on something that in all senses resembles the boar only to have a very unpleasant experience. His face distorts itself as he no longer wishes to chew, the chew turns to swallow that too comes with disdain.
"This… tastes like rubber dipped in ash" Zero mumbles whilst looking at a boar that seems absolutely lifeless. "You don't feel like making it or putting any spices or oil. Dry meat is all that you are left to have. So is this what it means to survive? If so, I'd rather starve in style."
The snake which was wrapped around him stuck out its tongue as it glanced at the meat. The fire lizard was seated close to him and it didn't seemed too happy, in fact it looked annoyed but there was a tiny flame flickering on the lizard. Zoro sighed, then broke off pieces of meat into small bits and gave one bit each to his fellow companions.
"Have a look" He says, the snake tries to gobble up whatever Zoro has to offer, and as it does succeed the lizard also gets a piece of meat as well. Zoro is certain that both the snake and the lizard are about to consume the food given to them, and he wasn't too off as the snake gave off a hiss sound as if in approval while the lizard was already had its mouth full.
The snake hissed appreciatively, its long body curling up in satisfaction, while the lizard chirped excitedly, its flame flaring slightly brighter.
You have got to be kidding me," said Zero, rolling his eyes; "Naturally, you and this giant lizard have to boom at this. Huh, I guess, that means you two love it" Zero said as he chewed on the rubber taste "Heh, Primitives."
The serpent froze mid-hiss while locking its eyes on Zero. It made a strange noise that appeared to Wiser's ears as rude and disrespectful, but then so it went, the meat was just too awesome to bear a grudge. So it went back to munching happily.
Zero smirked. "See? Even you can't help but forgive me when it is I who gets you tasty food."
With the night setting in, Zero keeps looking at the fire lizard. A thought was approaching. "Okay, matchstick, only one job left for you and then you are off for good."
Zero backtracked on Tether Magic, flicked his fingers and the lizard was dangled upside down by a branch of the tree. The shimmering thread held it firmly across its entire body while its stumpy little flame bobbed crudely like a working light bulb.
"Deluxe night light — wow! It's congrats time," said Zero in a cheerful voice "And remember, if that light goes out, you're dead meat— for real this time."
The lizard let out a frustrated squeak, but its flame stayed steady. And from behind Zero the faint sounds and sizzling of the campfire were still overbearing witnesses where the lurching glare of the lizard was darting as if telling Zero 'There's already a light source why force me'.
"Backup lighting is too important in jungle survival," Zero said in an easy lazy tone while leaning against a tree and closing his eyes." You never know, you know, just in case".
__________________
The latest developed strategy worked. As Zero managed to stay awake during the night until dawn with minimal sleep due to the soft ground, his throat began feeling sore. "Okay, is it morning or evening now?" Stretching, he wondered out loud while making a weird face. "I think I might require some medical assistance, or I can just help myself and look for a tombstone!" I mean, what's so bad looking for slumber in a coffin?" He added as he popped his neck "Anyway, when did bedtime turn into heavy labor?" Zero said as his body was more tired than the time he had dragged the boar " What exactly is going on?" He further queried as he noticed the moon on the opposite horizon.
He sat up straight before circling his hand at the grimoire which lay beside him in a relaxed demeanor. "Show my Status," he said. Suddenly the dark book spread open and hummed with cold vibrations, the power of dark showed on the pages to his amazement as the status had changed.
_______________
[Notification]
1. Intelligence +2 - Prolonged magic usage has refined your mana control and a bit of your mana reserve. (Unfortunately, it doesn't make you any smarter—you're still a lazy genius wannabe. (´ｰ∀ｰ`) Heh.)
-----------
Name: Zero
Age: 17
Attributes:
-Strength: 3
-Agility: 5
-Endurance: 4
-Intelligence: 9 (+2)
-Wisdom: 15
-Luck: 6
-Charisma: 2
----------------
Mana Reserves: Low
_________________________
Zero sighed, staring at the notification. "Oh, fantastic. So now I can handle mana better... but it still doesn't make me any genius. Guess I'll just nap my way to success."
A new tag materialized right under the mana bar: [Low Mana]
Zero frowned, staring at the notification. "Low mana? Seriously? You have got to be kidding me. I just tied up a lizard for a couple of hours. Am I really that Insignificantly weak?""
The grimoire's page seemed to answer his self-derogatory comment. Along with his stare the page illuminated with a new notification.
[Wisdom +1: You've come to terms with your humble position as a mere weakling in this world of magic. Congrats. (￣▽￣)"]
Zero was shocked, and most importantly, his eyes were wide open as he read what was written beside the highlight. His eye twitched in reaction, mockery to his Kaldor utterance, followed by extremely irritated glances directed towards the gore red eye at the backside of the grimoire. Sighing, Zero now shut the not so relaxed and easy to read grimoire.
As if it had comprehension skills, the terrorizing blood red located at the back side of the grimoire seemed to shimmer, almost mocking him.
________
It was after the grimoire notifications had ceased that Zero felt an emotion that was far from pleasant, spitting at the evil black Pages in front of him."Great, mana's low, wisdom is through the ceiling, who cares anyhow, this is how I feel first thing in the morning like a piece of garbage" He was not happy. "Great, the day has started on a fantastic note".
At the easternmost point of the horizon, the sun rose, looking bright orange and diligently destroying the darkness of the night. Skipping forward a few hours in timeline Zero should have been able to witness this exciting event whilst munching on boar meat that another glutton calls breakfast. But sadly there was no breakfast for him as Zero's fellow snaps had decimated it all. Hence he was hackling through the leftovers that tasted more like rubber than meat. Alone and disgruntled, he waited by the dying embers of the campfire.
As he rubbed his throbbing head, he recalled the first thing he had tried to eat in the morning. He realized that he was having a hug relationship with hunger from various types of monsters. He has often spoken those lines in anger, but witnessing the hours of struggle he had every time before eating, which ended with a slap to his tear-drenched face, he understood why life made him more hungry than most other pets and even fought with them after consuming food.
The snake still coiled lazily around his neck, he snake seemed to beg for his attention as it stuck its tongue out. The nearby fire lizard who was sitting close too stared at Zero with anger – its minute flame sputtering weakly, probably due to his hanging position from the previous night.
With a long sigh, as if he has been drained of energy, Zero appears to roll his eyes, "Great, another meal that we've managed to escape," he said with a sarcastic undertone. "As for the two of you, are you fans for squishy rubber meat? Because that's all you little brats are eating. I surely can't taste it because I don't have the appetite that you two do."
As it appeared to want to say, the snake satisfied its shameful undertakings by hissing. The fire lizard, though, was not pleased and started to flap its frilled neck in what looked like anger. Watching this, Zero scoffed, and reaching for a piece of meat, he ripped into one such piece, tossing it into the snake's mouth and the other one into the fire lizard's mouth.
"Savor it, cause the next time I go hunting, I surely won't share my catch with the two of you," he said, grumbling under his breath as to how discontented he was feeling of being their free manufacturer.
While the group was similarly easy-going, their backdrop that was the large surrounding jungle remained constant, not overwhelmed by the multitude of the foreigners who seem so small in numbers. Far-off a few bird calls could be heard, and otherwise only the crackle of wind around the trees or the occasional sound of the snake munching away food could be heard.
As he sank himself deeper into the tree, rubbing his palms on his pant, and gazing into the sky, Zero commented in his mind, "I swear to god, never again do I want to return into a jungle. If there's one thing I truly despise, it's the idea of being a father who's spoon feeding the two girl children who are freeloaders." He said looking at the Lizard and Snake.
Due to overexerting himself the previous day, Zero's body still groaned in pain and now his stamina was almost depleted hence making it hard for him to even concentrate, just an ounce taking too much of effort in his already fatigued body.
"Well, it's alright," he groaned as he stood up and adjusted the dirt on his pants. "We can't remain in this position forever, although this is better than moving. We have to get out of this hellish jungle as soon as we can. But there is no way in hell I'm going to be the one carrying you two. The snake can crawl and the lizard… well I guess for now you will have to get used to me carrying you. Or I have an idea"
He cast the tether magic again to attach the lizard to the snake's silk tail. The fire lizard let out more than a few irritated chirps as she was pulled back but made no attempt to fight the tether, most likely because it didn't have any energy left to do so. Zero grunted at the imagination of moving once again but gladly braced himself up to stand.
"Okay, you two. Let's try to check how far I can go before I fall unconscious."
With that, he began to move forward, lifting legs, slightly straining them, straying the burden of fatigue along even with the smallest of loosening. It only took him a short while before even that minimum fatigue began to fester straying at the very edges of his mind, along with the stubborn voice that insisted he moved, backwards. Ignoring such ominous thoughts, he muttered, "I'm not made for this. I was not built for this kind of lifestyle. My body's not designed for this in history or a fantasy. What did I even do to receive such a punishment?"
For a fraction of a moment, he seems to lose focus, fixating his gaze on the plethora of swaying trees that overshadow the entirety of his current world. The constant insect and animal activity only amplified the distant deafening feeling uhvoluntarily forming within me.
"Or alternatively, I could just sit down here and have a snooze. It is better than me fumbling like a klutzy buffoon," he grumbled before feeling guilty. He decided to elaborately explain why he forced himself to keeps moving. His footsteps ached as he shove ahead. "Perfect. I'm currently conversing with myself. I really am starting to lose my calm center."
The snake flicked its tongue, seemingly uninterested in his complaints, and Zero let out another dramatic sigh. The fire lizard, who was visible just behind, suspended behind the snake, bobbed like an obnoxious, fiery balloon, clearly not thrilled by the situation.
"Guess this is what happens when you get stuck with a lazy idiot like me," Zero said, his last words being more inaudible than the rest. "It is apparent that nothing works to my favour here. But okay, let's get on with it, step after step. And if I don't spot a sideline to rest within half an hour, then sadly enough, I will vomit while fainting and you gentlemen will have to drag me back to the camp."
A few grumbles between Zero and the snake saved their skin for the next few moments while he took the role of an unwilling guide. Zero was relentless in his pursuit of getting somewhere, although the size of the jungle was not fixed in his mind, his goal was to outsmart the jungle itself.
But as more and more time lapsed and he started to feel nauseous because of the immense exhaustion, he couldn't help but wonder how much will he be able to sustain while the jungle continued to close in on him.
The snake slithered up beside him, tilting its head as if to say, You're pathetic.
Zero glared at it. "Don't start. You're lucky you don't have legs to get tired."
The fire lizard, now free from its tether but still sticking close, chirped smugly, its flame flickering in amusement.
"Laugh it up, flashlight," Zero said, waving it off. "I'm taking a break."
And with that, he closed his eyes, vowing to stay put until he had enough energy—or motivation—to continue.