POWERLESS
Page 13
The old man scoffed at the comment. "A little kid like you? I don't know," he shook his head. "It's more likely that I'll be shooting at the snakes trying to eat you," he joked.
"What do you think my Class is?" the teenager asked in a serious tone of voice. It was time to lay down his cards on the table.
The old man looked him up and down. Kanorell saw a boy who was physically fit. Schmendrick was recovering much faster than one would expect after swimming across the sea. The old man noticed the two daggers. "You're some hotshot fighter, eh? That's why you were invited to Rezdi City?" Kanorell chuckled.
"You're half correct," Schmendrick grinned. He pulled out both daggers and clanged the blades together. It made a small, vibrating sound which was soothing to his ears. "I'm a Level 13 Assassin," he revealed.
The man's eyes bulged at the revelation. He had never encountered an Assassin before. He didn't know the Assassin Class existed. Furthermore, he thought the kid was maybe a Level 8 with 10,000 experience points. This kid had DOUBLE the points that the man had expected. The only way to gain experience so rapidly was to kill. Frequently. Kanorell began to worry if he had made a mistake in rescuing the boy. His hand slowly reached for the gun at his hip. Just in case.
Schmendrick was oblivious to his rescuer's growing uneasiness. "I was sent to Rezdi City with two assignments. First, I was to teach an advanced course in dagger fighting at the Advanced Academy. But the headmaster was still getting students to sign up for my course and I never taught a class. The second assignment was to fight the dune worm replica in the Simulation Room," the boy continued.
"So what happened when you fought the worm?" the man was intrigued now. The system had just managed to successfully create a replica of the dune worm after frequent consultation with scavengers like Kanorell. When the scavenger team departed for The Shar, no one had successfully defeated the worm.
"I figured out its weak spot and killed the dune worm," Schmendrick grinned and sheathed his daggers.
Kanorell's jaw dropped. His eyes blinked several times. The boy's tale was unbelievable. How could one little kid kill the gigantic dune worm by himself? Yet, the man didn't think Schmendrick was a liar. The kid had a sense of confidence beyond his young age. "I guess I have a new bodyguard," Kanorell smiled politely. He will have to keep an eye on the self-admitted Assassin at all times.
Schmendrick looked up at the sky. There was a small, red moon surrounded by bright stars. It was slowly rising above the horizon. He looked at the man. "Let me take the first watch," he offered. "I slept long enough. I can stay awake now."
"You slept for two nights," the man retorted and shook his head. "But I humbly accept." He pointed a finger at the red moon. "Wake me when the moon is directly above us." He laid on the ground near the fire and pulled a blanket over his chest.
"Will do," the boy replied and continued gazing at the night sky. The eerie moon cast his world in a pink hue. It reminded him that he was no longer home.
Unbeknownst to the teenager, Kanorell stayed awake until he was asked to keep watch. The archaeologist didn't trust the boy fully yet but Schmendrick did not attempt anything foolish while Kanorell pretended to sleep. The old man stared at the burning flame until sunrise.
3.3 - Survival Lessons
"Why are we doing this, grandpa?" the teenager complained. His right hand had been tied behind his back to his belt.
"Because I want you to practice attacking solely with your left hand," the old man replied. "You're now halfway decent with a knife in your right hand. But if you can attack with two knives at the same time, that's your edge. Now, start attacking the dummy."
The teenager rolled his eyes and started jabbing with his left hand.
* * *
Kanorell looked at the sky. The red moon had receded to the opposite side of the horizon. The sun was slowly rising. He shook the boy's arm lightly. "It's time," Kanorell said.
To his credit, Schmendrick woke up immediately and stood on his feet. He checked the sky and saw that it was barely dawn. "What should I do?" the boy asked.
The old man grabbed a large ceramic container and gave it to the boy. Kanorell grabbed another container; he was also carrying a backpack. "We need to collect sea water. We will use solar desalination to turn the collected water into fresh water. I do this every morning," he explained. The guide started walking out of the campsite.
Schmendrick followed the old man. "How do I know which direction is the beach?" the young companion asked.
Kanorell glanced back at his eager pupil and smiled. "Just follow the sun," he said cryptically and continued walking. "We need to hurry and get there before other animals show up. Or else you might need to fight them," he warned.
The boy decided to hold off on asking more questions. After a fifteen minute trek, he heard the sound of water splashing on the ground. The water crashed into the beach at regular intervals. A few minutes later, he was stepping on fine sand; he had reached the beach. Ever cautious, Schmendrick turned his head back and forth. Fortunately, he saw no monsters in the vicinity.
Kanorell turned around and passed his container to the teenager. "I need you to fill up both containers with water. But avoid getting sand and stone mixed in, if you can. In the meantime, I will try to catch something in the water for us to eat. If you see any mean looking animals, please yell out to warn me. Are we good?" he asked.
"Yes, sir," Schmendrick replied. He carried both containers and headed toward the water.
Kanorell removed his pack and untied a bucket. He opened the pack and removed a cast net. The net was attached to weights on one end; the other end was attached to a rope which he slowly unwound. The man then walked over his favorite fishing spot and dipped the bucket to fill it halfway with water. He put the loop at the end of the rope through his left wrist. He grabbed the net by its throat with his left hand while his right hand loosely held the weighted end. He spun his body once and then threw the net into the water. After a few seconds, he pulled on the rope to retrieve his net. Luckily, he had caught a few fishes. He carefully dumped them into the bucket.
The fisherman checked his surroundings and noted there were no animals nearby. Since there was now an additional mouth to feed, Kanorell decided to cast his net again a second time. He stepped on the rocks and threw the net further out into the water. When he started pulling the net, he felt something pulling back. The harder he pulled on his rope, the harder whatever was in the water pulled back. He decided to seek help before he got pulled into the water. "Help me, Schemdnrick!" he yelled frantically.
Schmendrick saw what was happening and ran toward the man. However, before the boy reached him, Kanorell lost his footing and he was pulled into the water.
The man swam to the surface but he was immediately pulled back under the water.
Schmendrick dove into the water after him. He discovered what Kanorell was fighting: a giant jellyfish! The creature had its tentacles wrapped around Kanorell's legs and it was trying to drag the man further below. The teenager swam toward them and rose to the surface for air. Taking a deep breath, he dove back under water and started cutting the tentacles imprisoning his companion.
The monster felt the sharp blades and finally released the man; the jellyfish hurriedly swam away.
However, Kanorell was paralyzed by the stings of the jellyfish. He couldn't move his arms and legs to swim and he began to sink.
Schmendrick quickly resheathed his blades and pulled the man back to the surface. Then he slowly dragged the man back to the shore.
The paralysis wore off a few seconds later and Kanorell breathed big gulps of air into his burning lungs. "Thank you for saving me," he huffed.
"I'm your bodyguard, remember?" Schmendrick reminded him.
Kanorell rested for another minute and then pulled himself off the beach. "We have to go back to camp now."
Schmendrick gave the old man one ceramic container filled with water. The teenager took the backpack, the bucket full of fish, and the
second water container. As the two walked back, Schmendrick took the lead because he needed to confirm that he knew the way to get back to camp. If Kanorell happened to die in the near future, then Schmendrick will have to return for more water on his own.
The two quickly returned to camp. Once they arrived, Kanorell started barking orders. "Please set the containers down by the walls," he said. "Please take half of the fish out and put them in another bucket full of water. Now, I'm going to show you how to perform a solar desalination. Please take an empty wooden bucket and put in a spot away from the walls." The man waited for his pupil to do so. "Now fill the bucket with water until it's 90% full. Then slowly put a smaller bowl into the bucket. Make sure the saltwater doesn't touch the interior of the bowl and contaminate it. Next to the wall is another backpack. Take out a clear plastic bag and cover the top of the bucket. There is a rope inside the pack and you will need to tie the sides of the bag against the bucket. Finally, find a small rock on the ground and put in on top of the bowl."
"How does this make the water drinkable?" Schmendrick asked.
"The sun will heat up the water inside the bucket and cause evaporation. The plastic bag will keep the moisture inside. The moisture will collect under the rock and drip into the bowl. The condensation is pure water without the sea salt. The process will take several hours. But the water in the bowl will be drinkable and free of microorganisms that will make you sick," Kanorell explained. "Okay, now I need you to repeat the process for your own drinking water."
Schmendrick proved to be a quick study and he performed the steps to desalinate his own drinking water.
Kanorell held up his left wrist and removed the loop of the rope. He placed the cast net, or what was left of it, on the ground. He knelt down and examined the net closely. Big holes had been ripped into the mesh netting.
"Can it be salvaged?" the teenager asked while peering over the man's shoulder.
The fisherman sighed loudly. "We could try to put a patch over the holes. But it won't be as effective. And the patch might not hold up either. The plants we used for fiber to make the mesh aren't available in The Shar," he explained.
"We could look for equivalent plants here, no?" Schmendrick suggested.
Kanorell grimaced. "It'll be trial and error. Luckily, I caught enough fish to last a few days. But after that, we'll have to go without food until the net is fixed."
"So is that our first priority? To find a way to fix the mesh? Or are we heading for the pyramid instead?" the boy asked.
The old man shook his head. "We have to fix the net first. We'll look for cactus and use their needles to fix the mesh." He reached into his pack for a pair of gloves and a hat; he passed them at Schmendrick. "You'll be needing those."
Once the teenager put them on, Kanorell checked the position of the sun. It was still relatively low on the horizon. There were a few hours remaining before noon arrived. "If we can collect some suitable cacti to fix the net this morning, we can enter the pyramid in the afternoon and stay out of the sun altogether," he suggested.
"That sounds like a great idea," Schmendrick agreed.
The old man wore his own gloves and hat and walked out of the campsite. "The pyramid is located to the west of us. I'm heading north into the desert. If we become separated for whatever reason, I want you to head south and return to the camp. That's our go-to spot. Okay?"
"Okay," the teenager replied.
The guide took out a mask from his pocket. Made of cloth, it had an elastic band on each side. He passed it to his young companion. He took out a second mask and wore it to cover his mouth. "In the desert, when it gets hot it is important to avoid perspiring as much as possible. Otherwise, your body will become dehydrated. When you breathe, do it through the nose to minimize your water loss through evaporation. The mask will also keep any wind-blown sand out of your mouth. We will walk slowly to conserve energy. We're going to walk two miles north. There are clusters of cacti at that location. We'll pull out some of the plants by their roots and bring them back to our base camp. Hopefully, it will be a peaceful trip. But be prepared for anything," he warned. Seeing the boy's nod, Kanorell continued the rest of the journey in silence.
About 40 minutes later, the two arrived at the cacti nursery. As his guide had promised, Schmendrick saw clusters of cacti. Some were minuscule while others were as tall as an adult human.
Kanorell pointed at a medium sized cactus. It was yellowish colored and it had tons of long needles, which the man believed could be used to fix the cast net. "Please dig up the soil around this cactus. We'll uproot it and bring this specimen back to our camp."
Schmendrick knelt on the ground next to the cactus and started digging around it with his gloved hands.
Suddenly, the cactus started jiggling from side to side. Its embedded roots separated from the ground. The cactus slammed into the teenager's body.
The boy felt some pain as the sharp needles were embedded in his flesh. He immediately backed away and pulled out his daggers. He saw the plant jiggling again and immediately dove behind another cactus. However, this time the other plants started jiggling as well. "Ah, fuck!" Schmendrick yelled and started backing away from the cacti cluster. Suddenly, the boy instinctively felt the need to drop to the ground. "DUCK!" he warned Kanorell. When he hit the ground, the cacti started discharging their needles at him. Schmendrick managed to avoid most of them but he was struck a few times.
When Schmendrick felt it was safe to move, he slowly pushed his body off the ground. His eyes were kept on the cacti as he moved. Thankfully, the plants did not jiggle again. As he backed away from the cluster, Schmendrick yelled, "Are you okay?"
Kanorell groaned in pain. "I got hit with a lot of needles. Damn, they sting!" he swore. He slowly plucked each needle out and dropped it to the ground. He chuckled when he saw all the needles on the ground. He picked up a needle and bent it with his fingers. It was flexible but strong. "I guess we have what we need to fix the net now."
"I hope so," Schmendrick said as he started plucking a dozen or so needles out of his body. He was hit primarily on his hands and arms because he had used his arms to shield his head from the needle attack. "Are they poisonous?" he asked with concern. The boy checked his menu screen and saw that his Vitality had dropped to "180/200."
The guide brought a needle to his nose and smelled it. "I don't think so," he replied. The man examined his puncture wounds. Thankfully, there was no discoloration to suggest the presence of poison. "If you feel up to it, let's gather the needles and return to our base camp. I have medical supplies to treat our wounds. Then we'll head for the pyramid."
3.4 - Back to Base Camp
It took at least 10 minutes to gather up all the needles on the ground by hand. The two men decided not to tempt fate and retrieve the needles on the ground near the cluster of cacti. The needles were put into the backpack and the bag became half full.
Schmendrick took the backpack from Kanorell and carried it on his back. He took note of the bleeding on the man's arms and neck. "How badly are you injured?" the boy asked. "My Vitality is at 180/200."
The old man's brows knitted together as he whistled appreciatively. "You have 200% in Vitality? Very few people choose to dump their precious attribute points in Vitality. Most Reborn prefer to increase their Physical attribute first and then their Aether capacity. My Vitality is a meager 60/120, I'm afraid."
The teenager shook his head. "In my opinion, Vitality is the most important attribute and it should be increased first. I recognize this is a dangerous world that we've been reborn into. Doubling my Vitality would increase my chances of survival. I understand the allure to increase the Physical score. But in the end, it matters little how strong you are if you die prematurely," he argued.
"Maybe that's why you've been able to power-level so quickly," Kanorell admitted grudgingly. "Anyway, we need to go now. I don't want to encounter more monsters out here." The man started walking, leaving his young companion to follow from behind.
However, both were bleeding from their puncture wounds and the coppery smell carried in the wind.
About a mile into the journey, Schmendrick suddenly had a feeling that they were not alone. "Stop!" he yelled out.
"What's wrong?" the old man turned.
A giant lizard released its camouflage, and its sandy-colored scales returned to their natural light green color. With an ability to change its scale color, the lizard was able to blend into the environment. However, the predator's ambush was foiled when the younger prey refused to come closer to it, forcing the lizard to reveal its presence. The monster had an elongated snout like a crocodile. From head to tail, the lizard was at least ten feet long. It started pumping its four powerful limbs on the ground and rushed at Kanorell with its mouth wide open!
"Dive to your left!" Schmendrick ordered.
The old man immediately obeyed and managed to elude the jaws, which clamped shut at the spot where he was standing a moment ago.
The Assassin rushed forward with his daggers.
The giant lizard's black eyes focused on the boy and tried to bite him.
Schmendrick took a big step to his left to dodge and then thrust his dagger into the lizard's right eye. He was not surprised to discover a lack of pop-up text to inform the fighter how much damage he had incurred with the attack. After all, he was physically too far away from the system.
The lizard hissed in pain and anger. It turned its body to face the teenage boy and tried to bite him again.
Schmendrick hopped up and landed on the lizard's mouth; he immediately ran along its snout, forcing it to shut. He straddled the lizard's neck and slammed his dagger into its left eye.
The monster started thrashing about and rolled its body over.
The boy immediately released the lizard and rolled away from the dying monster.
After several rolls, the lizard finally ceased all movement.
Kanorell walked over to his young companion and pulled the boy to his feet. "We have to get away from here. The dead carcass will attract a lot of carnivores," he warned. The old man started jogging.