27 Forest of Death (2)

A few days later preparations were done. He created a compound bow and took few knives and sword for combat. The weight of his entire baggage was a little heavy but it didn't matter because he has the strength of 3 men.

The time of start of the trip needed to be at night, people that wander around the city at night are not concerned about other people. As long, you don't interrupt their business, they will ignore your existence. There are few exceptions, for example when you are carrying something valuable on you.

Neo was walking through the city with bag and weapons, even if he was a child, people didn't want to mess with an armed person without visible profit. When he neared the gates, he saw the guard taking a nap. There was a guild of hunters in this city, the hunters were respected by all the people because they risked their lives to hunt in deadly place. A number of hunters were low, it was a dangerous profession and requirement in recruitment was very high. The reason for high requirements was very easy, the privileges of hunters would be easy exploited by the underworld.

The boy passed the guard with ease. It was time to come back to this beautiful forest. This time, the road was quite pleasant, the view was magnificent and the air was fresh. Between forest and city, there were small plains but in fear of the beasts, it's not cultivated.

(The sight are good but it's stupid to not use your own resources because of fear. I will resolve it, in the future.)

It wasn't long until he finally reached the forest, the past owner of this body wasn't wrong. This forest is something incredible. Trees are giant, the variety of the flora and fauna is very high. His sigh let him see many different creatures hiding on trees and in the bushes. Most of these animals didn't exist on Earth, so it was interesting. He recalled the diary of the mercenary, the man described encounters with beasts and interesting animals during his journeys. There was something with a similar appearance to the canine that attacked Darius. The description told that the creature is very dangerous and its favorite food is human meat.

(Darius could be considered lucky in misfortune. I won't forget about you, kid. Don't worry I will use your body and reach something that you wouldn't ever dream of!)

Neo planned to stay in this forest for a few days, the first step is to find a place for setting a camp. The climate in this world was quite weird, the seasons were a little richer in variations. Actual seasons was something between the spring and summer. The rains were happening from time to time, the difference was that these rains were more like torrential rains. The body of a martial artist as skin strengthening stage was able to endure high and cold temperatures, yet it was uncomfortable to be wet all the time and it obstructed the sneak movements.

(I will build a small camp, with a bonfire and small shelter. Let's search for the source of water first.)

In the city, there was a big river and it was flowing towards the forest too. It should be somewhere inside the forest. The boy walked into the direction of the river but the river probably changed its course and the flow is heading another direction. Neo sat and the ground and calmed himself, closing the eyes allowed the brain to focus on other senses. He heard the sound of water, not far from his position. It was a small stream flowing with crystal clear water, an ideal source of water. This world wasn't polluted by human technology yet. The only problem was sanitary, people threw their wastes on just outside their houses. It sometimes leads to the pollution of water and leads to many diseases related to lack of hygiene.

(I won't bring all bad habits of humanity with my technology. I can create very advanced bacteria that will feed on all wastes and the world will remain clean.)

The next step was to find a good spot for building a campsite. The temporary base that would satisfy all his needs. There was a good place in the shadow of a big tree and not far from the water source. He gathered the forked tree branches and started to tie them with vines. The roof will be made from leaves of something similar to palm. The last thing was to gather dead branches for the bonfire that he will want to use later.

(OK. The campsite is ready! Time to let's explore a little.)

The compound bow and quiver were his main weapon. Hunting real animals were different from attacking unmovable target and it demanded more skill. As far he didn't meet anything dangerous yet, so he started to practice hunting on hares and other small animals. It was very hard, the arrow had many obstacles on its course and small fast animals were a hard target without sneaky approach it was near impossible to hunt them.

(I need to sneak around and hunt something before dawn.)

Neo enjoyed hunting, there is nothing better than eating food hunted by your own hands. The few hours before dawn, he hunted some hares and tied them to his bag and decided to come back to his campsite. In his previous life, he was used to eating his own game during his mercenary missions. The little creativity and meal will be delicious, it was one of his principles. Forest was full of herbs that can make the taste of meat better. You only need to find the right ones. Neo knew a lot about herbs and gathered herbal spices on his way back to the campsite.

Dismantling carcasses needed practice too, skinning, separating useless parts from meat and many more actions. After processing, he set a fire and started the barbecue. The smell of barbecue could gather the attention of beasts but boy prepared for such scenario couple of plans.

A few minutes later meat was ready. The hunger will be finally appeased and taste of this meat was good.

(Delicious! I didn't pay attention to the taste of my food in the city. This meat is better than anything from the city. That's quite bad, it's so simple and quality is better than something made in the city.)

His thoughts wandered to the city again. It wasn't easy, he was responsible for these people. He couldn't think about their well being.

(I am sure that they will handle this. I wouldn't choose them as my subordinates if they couldn't handle a few days of my absence.)