Chapter 5: A not so quiet life

Adam Hope's point of view:

—This forest is full of life, –I said as I felt every fiber of mana from different animals and plants that surrounded me. I could well look at a small puddle and it would be inhabited by frogs, insects and birds that came to try their luck in the hunt. I could even feel the burrows of various small animals under my feet–

—That is due to the large amount of sacred mana in the environment. Although that coupled with the proximity to the Badlands means that predators are still significantly more dangerous.

—And that is why I leave the detection of danger to you – I said, squatting down to pluck a wild carrot of an absurdly red hue from the ground – This will come in handy.

—Crimson carrots can tolerate freezing temperatures. They will be a good source of food during the winter.

—Now that you mention it, what is the temperature of this forest during winter? Or how long until winter? In fact... Are there seasons on this planet? –I began to ask, curious about how the climate of this unknown world works–

—Exodus has four seasons just like Earth, and winter in the Aurora Grove has temperatures that range between 15°C to -5°C. As for the time until winter, it would be four months.

—In that case I should get many things that can be grown in winter -I said continuing my path and collecting different roots, tubers and fruits. I got yellow apples, blue oranges with red flesh, surprisingly normal blueberries, black potatoes and also normal tomatoes – I think I have enough to start my garden. The best thing would be to return to start sowing – I said, happy with what I had obtained –

—7 mana signatures were detected within 200 meters. It is believed that this is a conflict between two of them and the remaining 5.

—My goal was just to come to collect food, but if I can get magic cores it would be a great loot. Let's go take a look – I said, blurring from reality to appear on a tree branch 200 meters in the direction of the conflict that was within my sight. And once on the branch I looked down to see what looked like a fight between 5 rather ragged werewolves and two rather large snakes that were sandwiched between visibility and invisibility. Apparently the first ones were losing since two of them were injured while the rest were doing everything possible to repel the sneak attacks of the snakes – Can you tell me what it is about?

—They are a group of kobolds fighting two ghost snakes. Most likely, it is a hunting group that came across these when they were looking for deer.

—I see them making signs and I hear them shouting things to each other. Are they intelligent magical beasts? –I asked, curious about the level of intelligence they could have–

—While it is true that magical beasts in rare cases can have intelligence on par with that of a human, kobolds are not magical beasts. Kobolds are considered secondary races and have their own culture and language.

—Are you telling me they are people? –I asked surprised–

—That's right, although because of their appearance they are considered slave labor or raw material for weapons. Although according to the User's memories that should not be something he agrees with.

—That's right, just because you look different doesn't mean they should treat you like one thing. It's disgusting –I said while thinking about my mother. She had an irrational fear of trucks, every time one passed near us she shook a little. When I was little it seemed strange to me, but now that I can remember it with another perspective, the most likely thing is that some bastard tried to kidnap it and put it at some illegal auction– "Ahh, I'm in a bad mood, –I said, taking a step forward to let myself fall like a cannon ball between the kobolds and the snakes and then redirect the energy of the impact at one point to raise a piece of the ground to serve as cover for them – I was thinking about it for a while, but if you hide your presence to the point of disappearing? Wouldn't that leave a void in which not even a hint of mana would be detected? –I said using "Nature's Favor" to be able to feel all the mana around me until I realized that there were two elongated areas in which there was not even a hint of mana– "Flaming Javelin" –I said manifesting two magical circles of the javelins made of pale blue fire came out and were fired at almost supersonic speeds towards the snakes, exploding slightly and breaking them in half - The power is nowhere near on the heels of "Explosion", but it is enough to split two large snakes in half and leave a small crater –I said, approaching to see the remains of my attacks and then put away all the materials– Oh, right, the kobolds –I said turning to see how they pointed their claws imbued with mana towards me– It makes sense, I wouldn't trust someone who falls from the sky and annihilates two magical beasts while speaking a strange language - I said, resting a hand on my hip and thinking about what to do now -

—It is currently possible to embed the language of the secondary races in the User's brain if they wish.

—Your ability to manipulate my body is sometimes scary, but I can't deny that that would be a great help in this situation –I said when thousands of words began to link with words I already knew– Ah, mae fy mhen i'n poeni – I said, realizing that the complaints about my headache that were coming out of my mouth were in another language – Well, all that's left to do is talk.

 Nid wyf yn elyn, rwy'n dymuno heddwch.

I hope you believe me –I said to myself–

—How do we know you won't do the same to us as you did to those beasts? —Said the light gray-furred kobold who was behind the one who seemed to be the leader—

—Calm down Gwyn, don't be aggressive with those you don't know their strength, —said the dark gray-furred kobold who seemed to be the leader of the group— You also saw him kill both snakes in an instant.

—I know but...

—It won't sound as relaxing as possible, but if I wanted them dead they would already be dead, –I said, trying to calm them down–

—And how do we know that you don't want to enslave us? —Said the kobold named Gwyn as he bared his fangs—

—You have a good point, in fact, I could be trying to gain their trust so that they will take me to their base so I can enslave them all.

—You! —He shouted making his mana claws even bigger—

—But that's not what I want, –I said, turning around to turn my back on them– In any case, the snakes and their cores are mine, and if you want to complain, go see me at the sacred tree with pink flowers, that's where I live, –I said, waving. on my back with one hand while I blurred to disappear from the place and reappear next to the river in my house–

—Welcome back Adam —Flora said as our mental connection was reestablished— How was your day?

—Somewhat agitated, I think I met my neighbors –I responded, scratching the back of my neck– Although I hope we get along well –I said as I walked to the place where my garden would be to start using earth, water, and sacred mana magic with the help of "Machine brain" to plow the land and make it even more fertile and then spend the rest of the day sowing seeds and tuber sprouts– I hope they grow well –I said, connecting the main pipe with some sprinklers that would activate when the sun was at its point. higher– Hm, magic is indeed quite convenient.

—May your crop grow healthy —Flora said with a comforting and protective tone—

—The blessing of the sacred tree was cast on the User's garden. It is estimated that the plants will grow twice as fast.

—Hey?! But didn't fertilized soil already do that? Wouldn't it be quadruple now? –I asked excitedly–

—That's how it is.

—Wow, that's amazing! Flora, thank you very much! –I said hugging one of her roots –

—It's nothing, it's because Adam has been nice to me. Protecting me from rabbits, healing me and talking to me.

—Don't worry about that, we are friends after all, you don't have to pay me back –I said, a little worried that I was saying that to a tree, but doing it anyway since I considered it correct–

—Friends? —She asked surprised with a tone of joy—

—Of course, aren't we already, after having spent hours chatting and laughing? –I said thinking that was something I hadn't done in a long time–

—Is Machine my friend too? —She asked timidly—

—I do not think it is correct to take the place of a friend since I am a skill made by and for the User. Besides not being an individual —She said coldly—

—You are not? —Flora asked with her voice breaking—

—...If Flora thinks it's right, then "Machine Brain" will take the place of "friend."

—What happiness! —Flora said full of joy—

—Well, now that we've agreed, let's continue talking inside –I said, entering the house and taking a seat in the dining room to continue chatting while I ate. After that, a week flew by in the blink of an eye, the crops in the garden grew at a terrifying speed, and my relationship with "Machine Brain" and Flora improved a lot. I even started calling her Icelyn to avoid the long name of her ability, although at first she always corrected me until she gave in to my insistence. As for the kobolds, I have come across them from time to time every time I went out to map the forest, our relationship is somewhat tense since they don't seem to trust me, but they don't seem to care as long as we keep our distance–

—There are two mana signatures approaching the User from a kilometer away. Their identities are Gwyn and the leader of the kobold hunting party.

—Ah, despite asking you hundreds of times to call me by my name –I thought to myself– I don't think they have bad intentions, I will prepare something to eat for when they arrive –I said taking advantage of the time until their arrival thanks to the fact that it was now possible for me. possible to detect my surroundings at a greater distance since I absorbed the cores of the snakes and the sacred mana of the environment strengthened my core – Hm, ant meat is ruled out since it is monster meat, but the rabbit seems somewhat precarious to me since You can find it everywhere... Maybe I should catch something from the river to change my diet a little and make grilled fish with vegetable skewers. Yes, it will definitely be that – I said, throwing a small discharge into the river so that a few fish would float dead to the surface, and then store them in the inventory where I would strip them of their visors and spines so I could eat them without problems –

—Brother, are you sure we should come here? What if it's a trap?

—Gwyn, the human has been in the forest for a week without causing problems, he even gives us the territory every time we pass so as not to bother us. A human with bad intentions would never have so much patience.

—But...

—Enough, once we get to his lair and talk face to face we can know if he is trustworthy or not.

—Okay, but if he tries something strange I will attack him without hesitation.

—Ahh, Gwyn... What is that smell?

—Fish?

—Ah, they arrived just in time to eat. I was already worried that I had started cooking too late and couldn't speak comfortably – I said, placing a couple of trays with skewers of fish and vegetables on a stone table that I had created a few minutes ago –

—Did you already know we were coming? —Asked the leader, looking at the area with his sharp eyes—

—It must have been another human who was spying on us and warned you! —Gwyn said, showing her fangs—

—Calm down Gwyn, no one was watching us, they would have noticed. Besides, this place doesn't smell like anyone other than him —The leader said after examining the place—

—I'm glad you trust me a little more –I said, taking a seat– But... What do I smell like? –I asked curious while smelling my body–

—To filth —Gwyn said to annoy—

—You smell strange, as if it were an exotic smell that you couldn't find in the forest no matter how much you looked everywhere —The leader said with his hand on his chin, trying to describe the strange aroma of my body—

—That may be because I'm from another world –I thought curiously– Well, let's take advantage of eating before the food gets cold –I said, taking a skewer of each and enjoying the new flavor while the leader sat down and took a skewer. of fish-

—Brother, wait, how do you know it's not poisoned? —Gwyn said worried—

—The food doesn't smell like poison, and he's not weak enough to need something like that —He said, taking a bite of the fish and opening his eyes in surprise—

—Brother?!

—This thing... Doesn't it have thorns?! —He shouted surprised—

—Hey? —Gwyn said as he took a fish skewer and also took a bite—It's true. They also don't have visors, but there is no cut in sight.

—It's a dream food —Said the leader, taming another skewer and devouring it in one bite—

—Now that we're in confidence, let's chat –I said, taking a couple of bites of my vegetable skewer– First of all, I know your brother's name is Gwyn, but what's your name? –I said pointing my skewer towards him and then throwing it aside–

—My name is Du, I am the leader of the "Claw Wag" tribe —He said taking another skewer from the tray—

—I see, so you're the leader of the entire tribe, that makes things easier –I said, thinking that if I clarified things with him I would do it with the entire tribe. It would be two birds with one stone– My name is Adam, I am human, although my values ​​are a little different as you can see.

—That's true, usually the humans who see us flee or try to attack us, they don't invite us to a meal in their homes —He said emphasizing the second part—

—On second thought, wouldn't that make me suspicious among humans too?! –I thought out loud and a little upset–

—Ha ha ha! You really are strange! —She said with a loud laugh— You treat us as if we were equal and you talk about other humans as if you weren't too. Are you really human? —She asked with her sharp eyes observing me carefully and with a tone of distrust—

—I...

—There are multiple small mana signatures fighting with 5 large mana signatures a kilometer away. It is believed to be several kobolds, and they are being slaughtered little by little.

—The village... –It came out of my mouth in a whisper out of confusion, which made both brothers stop suddenly and tense–

—What happens to our village? —She asked, or rather Du demanded to know—

—It's under attack! We have to move quickly or it will be too late!

—You! You really fooled us! —Gwyn shouted, taking out her mana claws and preparing to attack me—

—Gwyn! Wait! That stench of blood... they are those unfortunates -He said, expelling large amounts of mana while showing her fangs- The scarebear.

Author's words:

Hello, I hope you like this chapter. I don't have much to say this time, except that the language spoken between the protagonist and the new characters at all times is Welsh, although there will be times when I write phrases in other languages, such as when there is a third party who does not speak Welsh, speak a new language for the first time or in cases like names. Without further ado, I hope you look forward to the next chapter.

Best regards, Don_Miseria.