50. Wild Weapon

Doubts about my masculinity? No, my friend. I have long since transcended those kinds of worries. After all, if I had any, I wouldn't have been so happy to be wearing a woman's dress, nor would I have washed and cared for it as if it were my most valuable possession.

'... Actually, it was'

Urgency to show the world what I was, I didn't have that. On the contrary, I wanted by any means to get something to cover me, to hide my genitals, as a piece of skin roughly cut didn't do that task well.

Also, as I grew older, the dress I borrowed gradually turned into a tunic that reached about ten inches above my knee. A garment adapted to the clothing worn by peasants during medieval times, as recorded in historical records and fantasy stories.

'Although, the fact that it was woven in warm and bright colors with beautiful embroidery of yellow flowers did not allow me to look manly'

Still, it was useful, so I appreciated it. Due to this, I was very sorry that it had been ripped to shreds, but despite that, I refused to throw it away. It would be a waste to do so. Therefore, I kept it with me, using it as a pillow or handkerchief, waiting for the day when it could be of value again.

That day was not long in coming.

While I lay in the shade passing the time, waiting for the party to return so I could join them by pretending I had accompanied them, I thought about what I would need to participate in future fights as soon as possible without having to risk being torn to pieces.

Consider carrying a spear that I would assemble with an elongated dry branch and with the remains of the dress used as a rope to tie a sharp stone to the tip.

For a while, this idea seemed excellent to me since I even thought about the best place to position myself when I was going to use it, whether it would be among the burly bodies of the barbarians or hidden behind a tree to attack the prey from behind.

Unfortunately, all those musings went down the drain when I wondered if a simple stone could even pierce the skin of a rat or if the branch would withstand its struggle without breaking in half. The answer I arrived at, after five seconds of deliberation, was a definite no.

From then on, many other options came to my mind, but as soon as I considered them, I discarded them because they were too dangerous or potentially useless.

Thus, tired of looking for a solution to a question apparently impossible to solve with the means at my disposal, I got to my feet, planning to head back to the cave, but just as I was on the way, I stepped on a small stone that got stuck in the sole of my foot.

The pain was negligible, but as, with annoyance, I removed it, just as if a light bulb had gone off in my head, the memory came to me of a weapon that might be my best and only choice in this situation.

''A rock sling, of course. Why didn't I come up with it earlier?''

I said out loud as I ran to get what I needed to make it.

It's worth mentioning that throwing stones with my bare arm is something I had already contemplated, but I dismissed it because I didn't think I was strong and skilled enough to harm a beast. However, with a tool that would amplify the power of the shot with just a few turns, things could be different.

Now, although I had the necessary motivation, I wasn't entirely sure if I could create it out of torn pieces of cloth or if I would be able to use it properly.

Doubts that would easily be resolved once I went into action. So, without delay, being at the top of the tree where I kept the remains of the dress, I used the small stone that I had lifted after stepping on it to cut thin pieces of the same length and then a third different one that I would use to...

'Well, I don't really need to tell you the process. In the end, all I did was mechanically imitate the actions of the video I saw on the internet, in which a man created the object I wanted'

Nonetheless, although I was able to play it infinite times in my mind, I would be lying through my teeth if I said I succeeded in the first few attempts because, in fact, by the time all the clothing had been torn into too small to be usable pieces, I had not created a single rock sling.

That was why I went to the women's dormitory to replenish the materials and get new clothes with which to dress.

To cut into strips, I took a luxurious loose-fitting dress with a wide buttocks since it seemed worn with a petticoat. Besides, it was made of thick red quilted fabric and adorned with countless embroideries. From the look of it, it was easily discernible why women did not wear it, as it looked too uncomfortable.

'I chose it because it looked durable and had a lot of fabric to use'

Meanwhile, to cover myself, I took several garments, which consisted of brown or gray tunics stained with a little blood and that seemed to be worn with sashes, but I didn't need them because, without them, they were too tight, so much that I had to tear off the sleeves so that my arms could fit.

Regarding my lower half, for this, I found two pairs of pants that were wide in the leg part but snug in the calves, so, with regret, I also cut them to fit like shorts.

Shoes, I couldn't find my size, although I tried to put on some women's sandals, as they looked roomier, but they ended up breaking before I left the bedroom.

Back to the matter at hand, once the supply was replenished and available, I continued the process of creating a functional weapon. Although by then, it turned out to be more to make than before, as due to wanting good fabric, I ended up with one that was too thick to maneuver freely.

However, with enough patience, I achieved results, creating a rock sling that, despite not being very durable since if I applied too much force, it would come undone or break, at least it was useful for me to practice.

Since these were only good for a maximum of two uses, my production speed improved, but not the quality of the result.

Seeing that there was no solution to this problem, I decided to go back to the women for more clothes, but before I did, the merchant arrived, and with him appeared, so did his guardians, who were dressed in similar garments to mine.

'If a group of warriors uses them, they should not be easy to tear'

I thought without being mistaken, for when I tried it out by using the sleeves torn from the shirts, which I had saved just in case, the rock waves proved more useful than the ones made with the big dress.

While they were not what I wanted, I judged that they would serve me long enough for my left arm to finish healing.

So, having told you the above, it is time to return to what concerns us.

As I grabbed with my right one of the rock slings kept in a makeshift bag tied to my waist, I bent down to pick up from the ground a stone half the size of my fist, not very big but quite hard, and after that, I moved with quiet steps to hide in the shadows of the nearby trees, to catch the felines unawares.

Having found a place that favored my ambush, I watched the fight between the adults and the beasts, waiting for the right moment to release the rock, which was already spinning inside the weapon held in my hand.