Chapter 8: Desert merchants

After wandering for two weeks in the dry lands he was nearing his destination. A forest area he had set his eyes on as his first target. At the very least, a forest was the best place to secure food and water. It would only take a few more days at the rate he was traveling by. He had not gotten there because of fear of meeting other humans in his demon form. He realized a few days after absorbing the demon core completely, he gained some more characteristics.

Most of them were listed but later after full absorption, he could go back to his human form. This was enabled by the system. His race was still the same, not a hybrid nor a demonic human. They were two distinct races labeled which he could switch with the help of the system. Over the two weeks, he used his time to better understand the system; An Artificial Intelligence which had superpowers. More accurately, gave him superpowers.

He was completely transformed into a demon when he reached a 100% absorption rate. However, he wasn't as revolting as the demon he had fought with that night. His skin simply turned a deeper shade of red and his horns grew a bit longer. He could elongate and shorten his nails at will. With his physic being nourished by the demon's vitality he had gained a manly look. His muscles were more outstanding and visible with his newly acquired abs, biceps, and triceps. His body features, those of a human's were much sharper and more defined. This was apparently in both forms so there was no major body difference between the two races.

That reverted when he was asked by the system if he liked to switch back to human form. There was one very noticeable trait difference between his human and demon forms. He could pull most of his strength in his demon form. His human form gained a huge boost, but at the end of the day, the demon form was almost twice as strong. This was something he couldn't explain or understand. It would be understood that demons were innately stronger species compared to humans.

Now there was a shred of hope moving forward as his former worries were erased. He could utilize his human form and demon form without any restrictions or downsides. Blessings in disguise. He was over the moon with things finally taking a turn for the better. That was before a pleasant surprise met up with him. A carriage road was a few hundred meters away from him. They looked like a group of travelers.

A smile appeared on Théoden's chapped lips. He was never this happy with civilization in his life. The loneliness of the desert, the few mirages, and the echoes he could only get back from his frustrated cries in the night. He was finally going to leave all that. The fear of being alone and the hopelessness of the situation he was in itself were enough to drive any normal human crazy.

Not to mention, not a single day in his life had he needed to sleep outside or think too much about where to get food or clothing. He just needed to work for his comfort. Everything that he had viewed as suffering back on Earth looked like Child-play in Théoden's eyes.

There was a ray of light and hope at the end of the dark tunnel. He switched his direction without thinking twice and headed for the caravan. The caravan seemed to notice him sooner. They drove the cottage in his direction.

His heart beat faster and faster and his fast strides soon turned to run. He stopped right in front of the carriage where he met with a few men. Théoden leaned on his knees to catch his breath before standing back up with a smile.

He first didn't say anything as he wasn't sure of their intention. He observed them one by one. It was a group of five. They had sabers on their waists and turbans wrapped around their heads. Classical wear for traversing the deserts. Something he only saw in the tv programs back on Earth.

Finally, meeting with other humans, he was curious if they were the same as those of Earth. Well, they pretty much looked similar just of the Eastern race. They had slightly tan skin contrary to his pale white skin. Thin slightly open eyes under their thick eyebrows and a few almost unnoticeable freckles on their skin. They weren't as handsome as he would have expected those of fantasy people but they were, in no way, ugly. Just average.

They held genuine expressions on their face and Théoden could not feel any malice or threat from them. They didn't attempt to speak to him until a person emerged from within the cottage. The cottage which he had just noticed had lizard-like creatures pulling it. But he didn't have the time to be surprised as he finally heard a fellow human's voice.

"Friend, do you want to join the ride to the city?" A young, darkly tanned man with more defined features spoke. His eyes shone with a bright hazel-green serenity of a person who had to see it all. He spoke with a warm smile as he gestured a welcome. Théoden stared a bit before replying so as not to come off rude and replied.

"I would love that if you don't mind having me of course."

"Hahaha. Not at all friend. I go by the name Oman. How would I address you?"

"Theo."

"Welcome abode Theo."

With the leader of the caravan speaking so cheerily and friendly, everyone else warmed up to him. Théoden didn't quite catch their names due to the rareness and difficulty. He soon forgot, but what was there the need for names when they could discuss openly?

"We are heading to the capital of Slevaria Kingdom, Landus. We don't usually frequent these places much, but kid, you are in luck. We found you in the middle of nowhere. If you continued on the path you were at, you would have met with the forest elves and that is not something you want to do. They despise humans. A lot. "

"Hahahaha."

Theo learned a few things from conversing with the merchants. They were travelers who bought and sold things in different parts of the kingdom, they said. Ornaments, fabric, and artifacts. The rarer they were the better. The merchants were affiliated with one of the major business guilds in the kingdom.

The kingdom which he was in was called Slevaria. It was a whole continent ruled by one king. The king didn't have much influence on all the places thus the dukes existed. The four Dukes; of the West, East, South, and North dukes. They each run their territories with the main castle being on the central plains. It was the central point of trade. The Merchants traveled in between these dukedoms for their business.

He found out about something else he had no idea on but to some level suspected. There were elves on this planet. Théoden could barely believe his ears. However, unlike what he had known of elves in the books and fairy tales, a race that secluded itself from the world and lived peacefully, the elves here were ones that not only secluded themselves but were also hostile to every other race. They would kill on sight making them a scary race to come across. So far, Théoden had met demons and humans and just found out about elves. This made him wonder if more races existed.

"How did you end up all alone in the wilderness Theo?"

"I found myself here. Not sure how I ended up there either. I have been aimlessly walking in search of food and water."

Théoden wasn't sure how he even got to the one-sidedly eliminated battlefield. To be on the safe side he gave a vague answer not far from the truth. He could lie without batting an eye and could twist the truth even better. A strength he had in situations that called for it. He continued to give a summary of his scavenges. He gave a few details that he made up on the spot since he hadn't thought of meeting anyone on the desert lands this quickly. He was sure to add sad and exaggerated expressions when storytelling making it more convincing.

The journey was long. They arrived at the entrance of the city in a few days. This was all because of the lizards' astronomical speed. The cottage they rode on was not uncomfortable at this high speed either.

In the night they had the leisurely to even camp out and have dinner. Everyone was in high spirits until one or two times there was an attempt to steal on the way. It was not a completely safe sailing journey without danger. With the sabers on their waists, they fend for themselves, Théoden didn't even need to join in the fight.

However they could not take him into the city as he didn't have any legitimation pendant. This was essential for everyone to show their origins and to survey the migrations. He was more than happy to get to the city outskirts. At the very least he could sell the gems he got from the corpses and have a keep. Just until he understood what situation he could go on here in the city. Théoden had now made his first step in making a new destiny for himself. With that in mind, he was happy.

Théoden had long parted ways with the merchants who were now in the city still riding on their cottage.

"Why did you let him join us without asking for anything in return? Boss."

The merchants turned out to not understand their leader's choice when he ordered to take him in from the desert instead of selling him off as a slave.

"He has the eyes of someone who will make it big."

"Him? Isn't he dressed in rags?"

"Don't judge a book by its cover. Look at his stance and demeanor. His language even. These are not the qualities you find in a peasant. I can tell he is hiding something. I trust my business intuition."

"Just that. Hasn't your intuition made you almost break a few times?"

"hahaha."

There was still humor in the group. They continued in their Jolly spirits as they discussed.

"This time it is different. He is someone I want ties with. It doesn't hurt to help does it? There is no loss after all."

The green hazel-eyed, tanned young merchant smiled as he closed his eyes once more hiding the mysterious glint that shone in them.

'A good investment indeed.'