Chapter Eleven

The next long while, Alem focused on just traveling and finding a good place to settle down. He would sit down at points and eat berries or at times spend a night in single areas, starting a fire and cooking meat. Sadly, meat wasn't easy to acquire. The bunnies were around, but they were fast and scarce.

"Based on this timer, It's been about a month since the test started…" He felt his head hurt looking at the timer. Though a month went by, it felt more like a year. Everyday was stretched, atleast in his own mind. Walking was getting tedious and tiring. Starting new fires was exciting at first, but now it was annoying too. "How will I last a thousand years? I will die of boredom!" Sighing, he continued to walk. Luckily, during the whole trip, he figured out how to make himself a leaf skirt, and even acquired a stone axe of sorts. They weren't good quality, but still did the job. He even made himself a backpack of sorts, using bunny tendons. The process was quite simple, he got a bunch of tendons and smashed them using rocks until he could access the strong fibers. With that, he made rope-like material. This was used for both the skirt and the backpack. "Maybe I'll just sleep for the most part." He didn't care too much for the test. He would pass after acquiring five pellets. He believed that he could do such a thing as long as he fought someone directly, even if it was a group. As for traps and other methods, he wasn't used to such things.

Continuing his journey, he kept his eyes out for anything and everything. Although he was tired and lazy, that didn't mean he wasn't cautious. His senses were always at their peak. 'Wait, what's that?' Suddenly, through the gaps of the leaves and trees, he noticed a bright light, slightly different from the normal green. 'What?' He began to sprint a little, getting excited. He was finally leaving the forest. As he printed, his eyes began to notice the light getting brighter and brighter.

He made it through, and the sight shocked him, freezing his smile. 'Now fucking way… a desert?!'

The yellow glow of the sun was now encompassing the whole area. Yellow was everywhere. There were few trees, only being close to the desert border which connected to the forest. Cacti were more abundant, especially small critters.

'I'm super lucky…' Breathing in deeply, he leaned against a tree and looked at the sigh in front. Although he knew deserts had resources, did that matter to him? What was his aim? Survival. He didn't care for resources which were useless to him. "Fine, since this is my luck, I might as well make the best of this situation." Grabbing a stick, he began to write something into the sand. "The things that are available to me in abundance are water, wood, sand, dirt, leaves. Food is scarce, but now that the desert is here, I can maybe rear some snakes. Speaking of rearing, maybe I can rear bunnies as well? What if I find a camel or something similar?" As he spoke about this, he understood more of where his goals should align. If the desert animals were captured and properly reared, including the forest ones, he could have a sustainable food source for a long while. Water was no issue since the forest contained many lakes and ponds. Plus, the water was all fresh water. Second, although the area was dangerous since snakes and other critters, a lot being poisonous, were around, once he got a shelter off the ground, it would be safe. Plus, he planned on building inside of the forest, rather than in the desert.

Looking at all the pros and cons, although it wasn't optimal, he could barely survive. Adventuring was needed, and lots of effort, but once things came into place, he could potentially turn the place into his base. "Alright, the first step should be getting a place together." He turned around and walked towards the many trees and began to chop away. Since he built a house back in his own world, he had a general idea on what he wanted and how he would do it.

In a different location, near the forest where Alem was, a group was gathered around a dead deer of sorts. All of them wore properly made clothes and even carried a real weapon each. "This should be enough for tonight's dinner."

"Kir, continue hunting for more deer, even though this will last us a few nights, it's better to have more." The group consisted of three people, two girls and one boy. Well, they were all around the same age as Alem, so lady and man would be better terms.

The one named Kir was the man. He carried a large sword while wearing black clothes. His hair was spiky and short, his eyes a bright blue. His face carried a large nose and sharp features, making him very good looking. "Alright Nor." Saying his piece, he turned around and ran in a different direction.

"Nor, although Kir has a sword, he is still not that good alone. He may be a genius cultivator like us, but his talent lies in cultivation, not necessarily combat." One of the young women spoke. Her hair was short as well, but her eyes were grey like the stone under their feet. She had gentle features; her nose small and petite, even her frame being so. On the other hand, Nor was taller and much fiercer. Her eyes were black and her hair brown. Her nose was small and her lips plump. "Don't you think we should stick with him? He could get hurt."

Standing up from the ground, Nor patted the girl's shoulder. "Eli, I know how you feel, but this is a test after all. Do you know how many of the candidates are starting off alone? Only people from major clans and sects get to start with groups. We already have such an advantage; how could we protect Kir even more? He needs to grow up a little too." She squatted back down and used a thin sword to dissect the deer. Eli watched from the side while feeling somewhat uncomfortable. Unlike Nor and Kir, she didn't carry a sword, only bringing a bow. She didn't like gruesome sights; she preferred killing from a distance. "Now then, Kir should be gone for a few hours, let's discuss our findings."

Unlike Alem, who started in the middle of the forest, the group of three started on a rocky hill. It wasn't big enough to be a mountain, so they called it a hill. In relation to the hill, the forest was from the South to West, a desert in the North, a large ocean could be seen behind the forest, and the East contained a dangerous land which was completely grey.

"We know the forest is fairly safe, but it still has a few Lacky Bears and possibly Soar Wolves. Luckily, their cultivation is restricted, and we can beat them one by one if we work together. If not beat, we can atleast escape." Eli was the one reporting since she was the scout of the group. "Other than that, one man we met on the outskirts of the grey land, we haven't met anyone else. Which means, excluding our own pellets, we have only one. We need to obtain a total of fourteen more."

"Food and water is not much of a concern for now, plus this hill allows for a good view, so we can scout much more easily. Other than major clan and sect members, the rest aren't much of a worry." Nor also included her own thoughts.

"Well, the biggest threat is that person." Eli suddenly spoke with a bit of fear. "You remember him. The one who we watched fight all those opponents? He took out not only singular opponents, but he fought groups, animals, everything alone. His skills were too high."

"You're right, if we run into that person, we need to either get rid of him quickly, or just run. If only we knew what he looked like, then this would have made things easier." Most contestants were wary of each other, but the biggest threat was actually Alem himself. "Anyways, the likelihood of running into him is around one in a thousand, so it shouldn't be a big deal." Though she said this, one in a thousand was not a low chance.

"Understood." Nodding her head Eli began to include a few more information, some including the leaderboard, and the time limit.

After discussing for a while, Kir finally returned, along with him were a few bunnies and even a deer with two heads. "I'm back."

"You brought a good amount of food. Great job." Nor walked over and patted him on the shoulder. Since they were from the same clan, all three were actually related. Nor was the oldest of the three, then Eli, and lastly Kir. The latter was actually Nor's half brother. "Kir, while you were gone, we decided on our next path."

"Where are we headed?" He asked curiously. Kir already knew he wasn't super smart nor skilled, but that was only because he never got to experience anything aside from cultivating. Since he was young, he would cultivate alone, not allowed to meet anyone. This test was his first time outside.

"The grey area is off limits since it's danger lies in the smog that surrounds it. The desert is also dangerous because of the lack of water and the poisonous insects and critters. The forest is large and contains a good amount of water, but sadly lacks lots of animals because of the Lacky Bears and possibly Soar Wolves. Still, it is safer than the rest, so we will find a cave in this hill near the forest and try to expand from there. The hill is a good view point, but others can also see us, so we will live near the bottom." She began to explain each step carefully. Kir and Eli listened and nodded along. Nor was the leader of the group, so everything she said happened.

"Alright. I'll start to clear the area then." Kir became excited as he ran towards the forest at full speed.

"Hey, wait a second." Eli yelled and the young man stopped. "Do you know anything about shelters?" Eli asked in frustration. "All three of us were taught different things so we could survive this round. I was taught recon, herbology, material gathering, as well as construction. So, you will follow my instructions."

Rubbing his head, Kir laughed a little. "Sorry, I got excited." He then walked back and grabbed the two headed deer and followed the two women.

Scenes like this occurred all over the continent. Everyone started off in a semi safe area, but some were closer to each other then others. Fighting ensued right away, people began to build, gather in groups, and even adventure the continent.

A full year passed like this. The leaderboard showed great changes. As did the various regions. People were building, expanding.

"This should be the last of the bunch." Unlike the rest of the candidates, Alem was very easy going. In the beginning, he built a small hut, but then expanded it throughout the year. Currently, it resembled the cabin from his own world. Just not as clean, since his tools were limited. Other than his own home, he began a bit of agriculture and animal rearing.

With his skills, he was luckily able to catch a few snakes, scorpions, bunnies, and even a few one-eyed goats. Of course, it took him a few months to figure out the food for each animal and how to somewhat rear them. Luckily, it worked out and he was able to turn his two goats into five. His few snakes into dozens, saving a dozen eggs for himself on the side.

"Now that things are in order, I have a stable food source, water source, and shelter. I can just relax for now." He honestly didn't want to participate in the test. Participation meant fighting, and he was bored of that at this point. Plus, he knew that rather than going out, someone would find him themselves. "Even if they destroy this place, I have so much time, I'll just rebuild it." He was too lazy to care for the test. "Luckily, my clothing situation is much better than before." Though it took him months of learning, he eventually found a method to use hide and tendons to make himself clothes. It wasn't great, but it protected his important regions. He didn't cover his chest, but he covered his sensitive parts much better than before. Even his weapons were much better than before. Still stone, but they were more effective and sharper. "Let's see if any of my traps caught anything." Stepping out of his cabin, Alem walked towards the area behind his house. He didn't have lots, but around his home, he built both pit traps and spike woods with meat as a lure. In hopes of catching new prey for different meals.

Grrr

"Oh? So, we caught something?" Closing in on one of his put traps, he noticed a large bear in one of his holes. "What a peculiar bear. What's your name?" One thing he learned during the whole year was that he could still communicate with animals and beasts. Most animals didn't want to communicate with him, but that didn't mean they couldn't. Ever since he learned of this, he continued to communicate with almost anything. He even made a pet snake through this, reminding of his own snake.

Grrrr

"I see, well you know I can't save you if you threaten me. I don't mind letting you out if you help me though." He smiled and heard the bear growl back a few times. "I don't need too much help. I'm just wondering if you've seen anyone like me here." The bear raised its head with a confused expression. "Oh, you can't see me properly? Alright, if I let you out, you won't attack, right? I'm a pretty good fighter." The bear nodded its head and Alem helped him out by pulling as hard as he could.

Grr

"No problem." The bear stuck its tongue out, which actually had razors on the side. "Anyways, this is how I look, anyone like this nearby?" The bear thought for a moment before nodding its head. It stood on it's large legs and used its arms to point in a certain direction. "Over there?" Alem looked in the direction with a smile. "Thank you for the help. Want some food?"

Nodding its head, the bear excitedly followed Alem towards the many animal farms. "I will give you the animals myself, so don't attack them. It's hard to raise them." The bear was atleast a few times larger than Alem. Yet it didn't argue back. Alem took him to one of his snake farms and grabbed around five. Snapped their necks, he brought them in front of the bear. "These snakes are actually really good; you might like them. Don't eat their heads though, they have poison." Saying this, Alem ripped the five snakes' heads from their bodies and threw them to the bear. Though the bear was a little cautious about the food, it still leaned down and bit one of the bodies.

Nibbling the body, the bear's eyes went from confused to a widened shock.

GRRRRRR

With a loud rawr, it began to frantically eat the other four bodies, even chomping on the bones. "You really like it, huh?" Alem smiled and spoke. "After eating the same things over and over again, it must be boring." The bear nodded while chewing on the snake which was still in its mouth. "I feel you. Eating just berries got so boring, luckily I found lots of animals. I even tried insects for the first time, you should try some." Alem walked towards a wooden pit he made and picked up a thin pike. Stabbing into the pit, squirming noises could be heard, but they weren't too loud. He pulled the pike back and a few scorpions, some as large as Alems head, came out. Of course, they moved around a little, but they were pierced so their death was inevitable. "Now, some of these may be poisonous, so I'll just remove their stingers." He chopped a bit of the tail off before moving towards the bear, yet he didn't pass it over just yet. Rather, he started a fire with sticks and began to cook the scorpions. "I don't know if you will like it cooked, but who knows." He waited a few minutes before throwing the stick near the bear. "Try it." Alem watched as it began to nibble on the scorpions. The bear seemed to be enjoying them as its eyes closed while its mouth continued to move.

Alem watched this with a smile. Ever since his life changed, not only could he communicate with animals, but he felt a strong love towards them. To him, the animals were like kids, no matter how big and scary they looked. To him, they were… cute. Even the snakes, scorpions, anything really.

After the sounds of chomping and chewing vanished, Alem walked towards the bear and patted its head. "So, you came from the forest, huh? Where are the rest of your kind?" The bear shook its head a little. "Oh, so you're on your own? Just like me, huh?" The bear nodded its head, then suddenly pointed to its chest, breathing heavily through its snout. Alem looked at the spot and spread the thick fur before seeing a black scar. The bear then began to make a bunch of noises, from growls to whimpers. Listening carefully, Alem continued to shake and nod his head, while also patting the bear's head. "I see, so you and your cubs were attacked by a pack of wolves? Did any cubs survive?" The bear nodded its head, but its expression didn't show happiness. It whimpered a little more, explaining its situation. "Only a single one survive?" Hearing this, Alem felt saddened. "Here, why don't you bring your cub along with you and stay with me? I'm alone here and can help provide food. Plus, you can help me as well." The bear thought for a moment before nodding its head. "Alright, I'll come with you to get your cub. Show me the area a little too, I would love to collect anything cool." He wanted to find more animals if given a chance. As for the humans. He would go to them at a later time. Atleast he now knew where they were located.

The bear excitedly rubbed its head on Alem before helping him onto his back. With the letters help, the bear avoided all traps and then ran into the forest, causing the surrounding area to shake. Using his strongest grip, Alem held onto the fur as tightly as he could.

In a different area of the forest, Kir and Eli sat on a well-designed bench while Nor went through a piece of paper in front of her. Rather than paper, it was beast parchment, made from animal skin. "Alright, we were luckily able to obtain one more pellet this year, but the speed is too slow. The person named George already has over thirty points. If a single point means a single pellet, and there aren't other ways to obtain points, then he has killed atleast thirty people. Not only that, but just the top five on the leaderboard have collectively obtained around eighty points." Nor rubbed her forehead. Their group had only two points. They hadn't run into others for a very long time. At times, they would try and travel a little, but they came back empty handed. "Even our food supply is becoming limited. The Soar Wolves are killing most animals in the forest and even the Lacky Bears are being hunted."

"Why don't we just kill the wolves?" Kir asked while cleaning his sword. "We can obtain food and possibly good material for other weapons and builds."

"It's easier said than done." Eli shook her head. "One on one, none of us can handle a single Soar Wolf, let alone a full pack. Nor has a slight chance against an injured one, but you and me? We won't last. Remember, our cultivation is restricted so we can only depend on combat skills, something all three of us lack. Swinging a sword is different when you depend on essence versus skills." The situation was dire for the three, and they discovered this when they faced off against an Earth criminal. He didn't have a good weapon, just a few rocks and sharp sticks. Despite such odds, he was able to injure Kir and almost stab Nor.

"I know, but wouldn't more fighting help us develop such skills? I'm not saying to face off against a pack, but maybe leading a wolf out and trying to face it. If our combat situation remains like this, we won't be able to get all the pellets we need." Kir wasn't dumb, he got his wake-up call and knew what he needed to develop.

"You're right Kir." Nor said with a sigh. "But the risks are too high."

"High risks means higher rewards, remember?" Kir said with insistence.

"Not every risk will give a proportional reward. What will fighting a wolf give you? A bit of experience? Almost guaranteed death?" Nor felt that Kir was still too immature. "Forget it, since I said no, then that means no."

Feeling frustrated, Kir got up and walked out of the room.

"He is still young." Nor shook her head. "Anyways, since Kir isn't here, any news on that person?"

For the past few months, Eli had been watching a man that also lived in the forest. When Nor heard about him in the beginning, she wanted to attack right away, yet his continued actions caused her to think otherwise.

"When I went to scout him a few weeks ago, his situation was no different. He has his little farms, both animals and berries, while still using basic tools. I feel striking him will be a good option. He seems slightly stronger than the previous two, but that's only his physique." After watching him for so long, she understood his daily activities to an extent. After setting everything up, he was lazy. For most of the day, he slept, or cloud gazed. At times, he would use sticks to draw or write things on the ground, at most feeding his animals once in a while, but that was it. "Nor, we can strike him when he sleeps."

"Alright, let's do that then. If possible, I want to get rid of him with the least number of injuries, ideally we actually get him in his sleep." She hadn't seen the guy yet, only hearing things about him from Eli. At first, she wanted to play a passive role, wanting to see if he would collect other pellets for them, but nothing like that happened. He stayed in his own place, doing the same tasks everyday. "Eli, just to be on the safe side, I want you to scout out potential areas we could either escape to if danger arises. We must be ready for any sort of danger." After the second person they killed, their alertness was shot into the sky. No more risks. Even if the target was half dead and couldn't move, they would plan as if it was a group of healthy fighters.

"No problem. I already scouted a few areas last time I went. I will go back and watch him for another few days and bring back an updated report. We can strike then." With that, Eli walked out of the room, leaving Nor alone.

The latter's eyes shimmered as she looked out of the room with a chilly expression. "This time, no mistakes. This person needs to be killed. We're low on food and don't have access to many animals because of the bears and wolves. His farms need to become ours."

"So, this is your cub?" In a cave, Alem lifted a small bear, no different from the ones back on Earth. Of course, that was only because it hadn't grown yet. It would change once it entered teen hood atleast. "He does seem slightly weak." He sighed and said, while rubbing the exhausted cub's head.

The large bear growled lightly, feeling hurt for its own child. It was only one left from her previous three. It was even more protective of this cub because of that.

"Don't worry. With me here, your cub will be fine. Let's bring her back to my place and I'll feed it." Although the cub was slightly heavy, Alem was able to lift it up. He walked out with the cub in his hands and started to head towards his own home.

AOOO

"Fuck." Alem looked around with his eyes cold.

Grrr

"Don't worry." Patting the large bear's arm, Alem felt a small bit of air leave his mouth. He spun his arms a little as his chilling eyes glared at the large wolves surrounding them. "Listen, if you guys attack, things will not end well." He could communicate so why not try and convince them not to attack? "Don't think I'm scared; I will kill most of you if not all. I'd rather not waste my time right now." He wasn't lying. Despite the wolves being stronger and faster than him, that didn't mean he had no means of fighting.

Heavy breathing hit Alems ears as his eyes watched red tongues dance outside the wolves' reeking mouths. Akin to the night sky, the wolves' pupils were large, taking most of the space in their eyes.

They didn't budge. It was a given though, why would they? "Fine, I warned you guys." As if someone was pulling his eyebrows, Alem's brows twitched. "Hold your kid, let me show you why staying with me is better."

Grass prostrated as Alem got closer to the four wolves. The former's eyes met the largest wolves, his gaze still like water. "Ready?"

AOOOOOOOO

Like a battle cry, wind broke as Alem felt something nearing his neck. "As if." Quickly ducking, the corner of his eyes saw a wolf fly over his body, landing with a big thump.

While on the ground, his gaze locked onto razors nearing him with lightning speed. Lifting his left hand, he grabbed for the right fang, quickly pulling himself next to the wolf while simultaneously throwing off his pounce.

Like a ragdoll, the wolf lost its balance and began to roll. "Lucky hit, you actually got me a little." Alem stared at his bleeding left hand, which had a deep cut right in the palm.

Casually, his body bent onto the ground, picking up a sharp stone and a few pebbles. "Now then, let's finish this soon. I find fighting boring."

With such a phrase thrown at the wolves, the latter couldn't help but get even more riled up. All four attacked at the same time, yet Alem found the situation to be manageable. With a flick of his hand, he threw out two pebbles, hitting the leg of one wolf, and the tooth of the other. Though damage was low, it distracted the two easily, especially the one that got hit on the leg. It stumbled and even tripped.

Holding the sharp stone tightly, Alem rushed towards the wolf that got hit in the tooth. It wasn't injured, but it got slightly distracted because of the sudden pain. Using this distraction, Alem made his ways towards it and dodged its swipe, quickly jumping onto its back. Using his left hand, he jammed his finger into one of its eyes.

AOR

The whimpers echoed in the forest, yet Alem's hands didn't stop there. Using the sharp stone, he quickly pierced the side of its belly and began to move his hand.

AO AO AO

Red dyed the ground as the wolf felt its legs become weak. Unfortunately, Alem wasn't done there. Digging his hand into the spilling guts, he pulled out anything that could be pulled. "Eat this, literally!" An organ was thrown at the largest wolf, yet the latter easily dodged it. Its speed exceeded the others and was already in front of Alem, going in for a bite. The latter already expected this, so he rolled into the puddle of red, barely dodging it. While on the ground, the final wolf pounced too. "Fuck!" Using all the strength in his legs, Alem kicked upwards, hitting the jaw of the wolf. Grabbed the sharp stone, He quickly stabbed the eye before rolling away.

Howling reverberated in his ears as he got up and looked at the scene. "You see what I mean? Fighting won't help you." Staring at the alpha, Alem took his leather clothes off, leaving himself with only the grass skirt. "This was really annoying to make, and you guys had to go and destroy it." Sighing lightly, he patted the shredded clothes, feeling deep pity.

Grrrr

"Don't act cocky. One of you is dead, one is half blind, the other has a slightly hurt foot. You're the only one that is capable of properly fighting. Yet, even when all of you were capable, nothing could be done." Alem turned his back and walked towards the bear. "And don't forget, this guy hasn't joined the fight yet."

Staring at the bear, which was twice its height, the alpha cowered slightly.

Grr

"Still, let's make a deal." Alem sat on the ground and looked at the large wolf. "Unlike the bear, you're nimbler and probably know the forest better. Plus, you're strong as well, probably stronger than this bear alone." The wolf listened to Alem patiently, while still being cautious. It looked at its fellow pack members, understanding that Alem was a difficult opponent. "Join me. This place is boring for me, while dangerous for you. I have lots of food at my place, some things you probably have never tried."

To Alem, the test was basically useless at this point. He understood how to survive, how to collect food, and even how to fight against animals. He avoided poison critters, tested on berries, cooked, and so on. What else could he learn? How to make proper clothes? That wasn't useful to him. How to make different sauces? How to advance technology? What was the point in all that? The test was now tedious.

The alpha wolf raised its head and turned it at an angle, looking at Alem weirdly. "Although we fought and I even killed one of you, that was in the past. Let's forget about it and work together, it'll be fun. I can even help you." Alem then walked closer to the alpha wolf of course slowly. "Listen, you're strong, so am I. You hunt for food, so do I. We don't need to be enemies; we could literally just relax and enjoy working together. Your pack won't have to constantly fight either. What do you say?" He got closer and closer until he was about a meter away from the alpha. "Also, don't try to attack, because I won't be nice the second time." A glint flashed in Alems eyes which made the wolf take a step back.

It was an alpha; it could sense danger well. When it attacked Alem before, the wolf thought things would be alright, but now that one it's pack members was dead, and the other two injured, rethinking was needed.

Rrrrrr Rrr

"No, I won't kill you or do anything like that. Don't forget, if I wanted to hunt you down, I could do that. Instead, I'm asking you to join me." Alem walked even closer this time, standing right in front of the wolf. "This is called trust. We may look different, but we're both just trying to survive."

After a few more lines of convincing, Alem stared at the wolf finally laying onto the ground. 'I feel that my communication isn't so simple.' Although conversing was a great start to convincing the wolf, normally that would never be enough. Even his show of power would not be enough to convince it. 'Where does my ability lie?' Alem got bent over a little and patted the wolf's head. "Good. You won't regret it. Bring the other two with you, and let's head back to my place."

"Shameless, didn't you say everyone's powers were restricted?" A few people stared at Shameless in confusion, yet the latter just shrugged.

"It isn't so simple. His physical powers can be restricted, but trying to seal his communication with animals is impossible. I would have to seal his mouth for that, or destroy his brain." It wasn't that he didn't try to stop this part. He just couldn't. "It doesn't matter too much though. Everyone has certain strengths that can't be removed. Look at some of the Fneg Beasts, they have drills all over their bodies, something humans and many others don't. Some have wings, others long fangs…" People in the room nodded their heads. "Keep in mind, communication is the only advantage Alem has in this test, but this advantage is only useful if he can use power to back it up. All of you know that already though."

"Look, someone from the Nillian Clan is heading towards Alem's direction. This should be interesting."

Alem was able to quickly allow the wolves to settle in his area. Explaining areas where they couldn't enter and areas they could, Alem found that the wolves were quite obedient. The bear and her cub were also given similar instructions, of course they were further away from the wolves. After all, the wolves were not friendly with the bears.

"Yellow, since you know the area well, have you met the people Brown spoke about?" Yellow was the name of the alpha male, while Brown was the large bear. Alem didn't care for cool names, he needed them to be simple and easy to remember. "Have you met them at all?" The wolf thought for a moment before shaking its head. "I see. Alright, that's fine. From now on, I will assign a few roles to you and Brown." Alem wanted to expand a little. Sleeping all day was getting boring, plus finding lots of animals and creatures was actually fun for him. He wanted more farms, more animals, and even more areas cleared.

Rather quickly, he assigned berry finding to Brown while Yellow's pack would be responsible for finding more animals in the forest. Of course, they were not allowed to kill them if possible. He needed them alive.

Grrrr

Brown suddenly growled. Alem raised an eyebrow and looked at it questionable. "What's wrong?"

Yellow also glared at the forest, his fangs appearing from his mouth. "Someone is nearby?" He asked them. Both of them nodded and kept their guards up. "Don't worry. Let's go check it out." Alem pat both of their heads and took the lead. Yellow followed closely while Brown stayed back, just in case. The closer they got, Alem noticed Yellow getting more worked up. He knew they were near. "Hello, anyone there?" He called out. Yellow looked at Alem weirdly. No caution, no nothing. He just called out without much thought.

Shhhrr

Alem suddenly heard the branches shake. He looked up and saw a shadow escaping from the branches. Sighing a little, he looked at Yellow. "Go, get me this person. Don't kill them though." Based on the shape of the shadow, he was certain it was a person. 'Another candidate?' He thought while Yellow flashed past him.

Aoooooo

He waited patiently. "Arh!" A shriek resounded in the forest and Alem rubbed his head. "A girl, huh?" Standing up, he slowly walked into the forest. "Yellow, come back now." After a few seconds, he saw a yellowish figure rushing back to him. In its mouth was an arm which dragged a girl on the ground. "Oh shit, Yellow, you're kind of savage, huh?" He laughed bitterly and approached them.

"Arh!" She shrieked in pain as the wolf suddenly halted. Her eyes darted around, and she finally saw Alem approaching her. "You bastard!"

"Ayo, what the hell did I do?" He raised his hands in the air. "You were the one stalking me." He tapped Yellow's snout, hinting to open its mouth. "Let me take a look." He got on his knees and inspected her arm. "Yikes, your shoulder is dislocated, and these are quite the lacerations." Her arms were not in a great position.

"Don't touch me! If you want to kill me, just hurry up and do it!" She glared at Alem, yet her eyes showed fear and sorrow.

"Why are you getting so worked up?" Alem turned his head to Yellow. "Do me a favor, open your mouth and drip as much saliva as you can on this."

"Eww, don't! Get away from me!" Using her right arm, she tried to push Alem away, yet he gripped her tightly.

"Don't move around too much. Although it's not certain, saliva can possibly help with pain." There was a little research done about this, but Alem wasn't a hundred percent if it would actually be effective. Still, first time for everything. "Stay still… wait a fucking second!"

Hearing him suddenly yell, the girl's pupils shrunk and her face paled.

"Where the hell did you get such good clothes?!" He didn't notice it before, but the girl was wearing real clothes. Not the crap he had on. "What the hell, I'm out here wearing garbage and you have such good clothes?"

Seeing him act so weirdly, Eli couldn't help but become speechless.

"And what the hell is this?" He suddenly grabbed a bow that was behind her. "You even have this? I've been using sticks and you have a fucking bow?" Alem felt frustrated by the sight.

"Everyone started with something, even clothes. Didn't you?" The pain still didn't occur, so her mind was able to stay sane. Of course, because of this sanity, she was even more confused. 'He didn't start with a tool? Even clothes?'

"Everyone?" Alem stood up in anger. "I was told everyone is starting off with nothing. No clothes, no anything!" He looked up into the sky and couldn't help but growl. "Shameless, you piece of shit!"

Seeing his reaction, Eli suddenly began to calm down a little. Despite her injury, she couldn't help but let her guard down around Alem. It didn't look like he would harm her.

"Damn, I was totally tricked." Alem took a breath in and got back onto his knees and checked her situation. "This will likely hurt a lot when your nerves calm down. It will also cause a bit of problems for you, but nothing else can be done." He stood up and quickly lifted her up from the ground.

"Ah! What are you doing?" Her face became red in anger and embarrassment as Alem lifted her up like a princess.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to do anything to you." He laughed. "Just relax." He placed her on Yellow and sat behind her. "Alright, we can either go back to my place, or to yours. Which one?"

"You know?" She looked at him in shock. Eli had been watching Alem for a few months, so how could she miss him watching them? He couldn't have.

"Of course, I know. My friend Brown told me about you guys." He smiled. "Now then, which is it?"

"Umm…" She didn't know how to answer. "Ah!" Suddenly, an extreme pain throbbed from her arm. "Ouch!" She grabbed her arm and squeezed, gritting her teeth.

"So, the pain is coming now, huh?" He sighed a little. "Yellow, take us back for now." He patted the wolf, who began to rush back to the base.

"It hurts!" She couldn't help but squirm a little, clenching her teeth and fists. Her eyes watered as her face paled even further.

"You'll be fine, don't worry." He rubbed her head a little. "Scream and do whatever to help ignore the pain, it's fine." Alem couldn't help but treat the girl like a kid. Slight guilt filled his heart. Technically it was his fault. Plus, she was a girl, so he had a soft spot seeing her in pain.

Eli continued to groan and weep because of the pain. Alem continued to rub her head until they reached inside of his home. Yellow barely fit inside. Alem got off and carried her to the bed. "Help me, it hurts so much." She wept like a kid causing Alem to shake his head.

"C'mon, you will be fine. Just stay here and I'll bring something to help clean this up, alright?" He quickly left the house and hopped onto Yellow with a small wooden bucket. "Take me to the nearest pond." With great speed, Yellow began to sprint.

The pond was close, so he was able to fetch water rather quickly and get back to his base. As he entered the house, he saw Eli rolling on the bed, covered in sweat. He walked over and grabbed a piece of clean leather from the corner of his room. "I'm back, don't worry, you will be fine." He placed the water next to her and used his hands to scoop a bit. Pouring it on her arm, he cleaned the sides of the wounds.

"Stop, it's hurting more." She spoke tearfully, pushing his hands away.

"It's going to hurt, but we need to clean this up as much as possible. Just in case it gets infected." He couldn't clean the wound directly since he didn't have the proper tools. Plus, the leather might still contain harmful bacteria.

For a few minutes, he continued to wash her wound. Her crying continued to resound in the little room, it lasted until nightfall.

"She's finally asleep." Sighing, Alem got up and walked out of the cabin. He stretched his back a little and walked around his base just for a little before heading back inside.

Eli's face continued to frown even in her sleep, as tears would occasionally fall down. Sighing, he sat next to her and began to rub her head gently, as he would a crying child.