CEO in a Fantasy World 2

by Tristan Brown

  Sweat started trickling down Joe's face, "haha, it's okay right? We don't need the money, right?" Joe asked with hollow laughter.

  "It can't be helped, I suppose, I should have known you would've been an easy target for seduction," Caesar said with exasperation.

  Caesar didn't pay much more heed to the idiotic Joe and looked out of the carriage window with his cheek resting on his hand.

  The carriage moved through the night in silence, only the sound of the carriage wheels hitting rocks and the horses hooves hitting the ground could be heard.

  "Renee, tell me more about your clan," Caesar suddenly asked.

  Renee turned her head towards Caesar, "why, are you curious about my family?" She asked with a curious expression.

  "Indeed, I want to know more about my wife's family and, of course, how to help them."

  Renee slowly nodded her head and put on a nostalgic look, Joe also sat up and looked at Renee, intrigued.

  "The fox-kin clan are descendants from the past nine-tailed-fox clan… because of this, our clan treasures those with stronger bloodlines. Whenever a new fox-kin is born, their talent is tested by a clan elder. Those with higher talent hold a higher place in the clan. The entire fox-kin hierarchy is built upon strength. Hence, why they are angry that my grandfather is sick and becoming weak."

  "I'm confused about the bloodline part, why is it that your clan specifically cares about bloodlines in particular?" Caesar asked curiously.

  "Each fox-kin has a chance to awaken the nine-tailed fox bloodline, the fox-kin clan's main aspiration is to reawaken the nine-tailed fox clan to their former glory… that is why the issue about my marriage is such a huge deal."

  "I see, do you have any kin besides your grandfather still alive" Caesar had wondered about this question for a while.

  "I was an only child. My mother and father had both fallen in battle with the trolls when I was a very young child. My grandfather has taken care of me my entire life," Renee calmly explained.

  "You had said there were many in your clan that were trying to take your father's place as the clan-head?"

  "In my clan, there are nine different divisions. Each division has a different specialization… Seven of those divisions are currently trying to gain power and usurp my grandfather…"

  "Hmm, it sounds like your clan is in a worse condition than I thought," Caesar voiced his opinion audibly.

  Renee looked down towards the ground sadly, "if my father didn't die and took the position of clan head, none of this would've happened…"

  Caesar squinted his eyes, "it would appear to me that your father died at too good a time for the others in the clan… with you being born with the nine-tailed fox bloodline and your grandfather being the current head of the clan, he held too much power."

  Renee nodded her head, "when my father and mother were out hunting, the troll head, along with hundreds of other elites ambushed them. The only way for them to have known their exact location was if there was a mole. My grandfather had looked far and wide to find who the mole was, but to no avail."

  Caesar looked out of the carriage window in silence. "This could be harder than I initially had thought," Caesar quietly thought to himself.

  The carriage once again moved in silence for the rest of the night, the sound of Joe's loud and obnoxious snoring echoed throughout the night.

  Renee was resting her head on Caesar's lap. She was sleeping with a slight frown on her face… presumably from a nightmare.

  Caesar looked at Joe's sleeping body and squinted his eyes, Renee had pointed out a change within his eyes, but he couldn't feel anything different. In fact, he felt perfectly normal.

  Caesar concentrated on his eyes while staring down on Joe's figure.

  "H-huh?" Joe abruptly woke up and looked around the carriage warily. He noticed Caesar peering down on him and breathed a sigh of relief.

  "Oh, it's just you…" Joe muttered.

  Caesar looked at Joe inquiringly, "what spooked you?" he asked curiously.

  "Heh, I told you that dwarves are sensitive to magic… I felt a predator looking down on me, like it was about to cut my throat. Now that I think about it, were you just thinking about killing me?" Joe stood up and looked at Caesar wide-eyed.

  "Haha, I would never," Caesar said quietly and chuckled softly, he didn't want to wake Renee up.

  Joe looked at Caesar with doubt and sat back down. Caesar suddenly saw a small reddish dot appear on Joe's right shoulder.

  "Hey, what is that?" Caesar asked and pointed his right hand at Joe's shoulder.

  Joe tilted his head and confusion and looked at his shoulder, "what are you talking about, there's nothing there?" Joe asked in confusion.

  Caesar leaned forward and poked the red dot on Joe's shoulder.

  "Ow-Ow-Ow, what the hell man, that's my bad shoulder" Joe held himself back from screaming out in pain because he feared to wake Renee.

  "What's wrong with it?"

  "I used to be a great blacksmith until some bastards crippled my shoulder… and you just poked me in its sore spot" Joe complained

  Caesar examined Joe's body once again and noticed many more dots all around his body. Some were brighter than others. Caesar felt as though he knew the best course of action if they were to battle.

  "H-hey man, why are you looking at me like that?" Joe asked warily and broke Caesar out of his trance.

  Caesar leaned back and contemplated this new discovery, "weakness? Or perhaps efficiency? This power needs more testing. I also doubt that I gained this power without a setback of some sort," he silently thought to himself while Joe just stared at him curiously.

  "Oi, I'm going back to bed, mate… but, now that we're alone, I was wondering if we could search some mountains for the crystals needed to make magic accessories," Joe changed the subject and asked Caesar with a pleading look.

  "Do you want to make a magic accessory?" Caesar asked inquiringly.

  "Yes! I have been aching to make one, and I guarantee that it will help us on this journey," Joe said excitedly.

  "As long as it doesn't delay us by too much, I don't mind. However, it will be a while until we encounter any mountains anyway," Caesar explained calmly.

  "Hehe That's fine, I have waited at least 20 years, what's one more month?" Joe said with a happy grin on his face and laid back down.

  Caesar just shook his head wryly and also closed his eyes. He decided to test this new power tomorrow.

  CHAPTER THIRTY

  The carriage door opened, and Edward walked in, he had a haggard expression and was clearly exhausted. He nudged Caesar's shoulder to wake him up.

  "Let's swap, I am too tired to go on," Edward whispered into Caesar's ear.

  Caesar opened his sleepy eyes and slowly stood up, "okay… have a good night's rest," Caesar said, still half asleep and went to the front of the carriage.

  Caesar sat down and grabbed the reins of the horses. He controlled the horses to move forward slowly.

  The carriage abruptly started moving once again and awoke Joe, he gradually stood up and grumbled loudly as he did so.

  "Damn, it's early," he grumbled and squeezed out the front carriage window… he plopped his arse down and yawned loudly next Caesar.

  "It's chilly as hell" Joe complained loudly and picked his nose.

  "Sigh, I thought I would be able to enjoy a quiet morning…" Caesar sighed loudly and massaged his forehead.

  "What's for breakfast?" Joe asked Caesar curiously.

  "We'll either eat the dry foods that we stocked up on, or we can go hunting in an hour or so," Caesar replied.

  Joe nodded his head and sighed in exasperation… "haha, an hour is to damn long!" Joe whined in a slightly annoyed tone.

  "Renee is still asleep, and besides, I don't think there are any animals nearby," Caesar said while scanning their surroundings.

  Joe leaned back and stroked his long beard, he turned his head towards Caesar, "do we at least have some jerky?" he asked pleadingly.r />
  Caesar reached into his right pant pocket and pulled out a few pieces of jerky. He placed them in Joe's hands… "Hopefully, that can hold you over for now," Caesar said with a sigh and jerked the reins harder.

  The carriage started to move at a quicker pace, and Joe began eating the few pieces of jerky in his hands with relish.

  An hour quickly passed by, Joe had an impatient look on his face as he glanced between Caesar and his belly.

  "It's been an hour, hasn't it?" Joe asked, curiously.

  Caesar nodded his head and brought the carriage to a gradual stop. They were still in a relatively simple grassy plain. However, many trees were on the sides of the dirt road.

  Caesar jumped down and tied the horses to a thick tree, Joe followed behind, and they both walked westward.

  "Are there any animals to hunt this way?" Joe pestered Caesar continuously as they walked.

  "Yes, now shush," Caesar placed his index finger on his lips and made a hushing sound.

  "Okay, okay, I get it," Joe mumbled quietly and just silently followed behind Caesar.

  They stealthily walked through the lush forest. Joe tried his hardest not to step on any branches or to make any sounds for that matter.

  They continued walking for a few minutes before finally, Caesar raised his hand to signal Joe to stop moving.

  Joe and Caesar walked a few more steps and poked their head out of a green bush, a large and crystal-clear lake appeared in their line of sight.

  On the sides of the lake were many different types of animals, they were all drinking water in this peaceful lake.

  Slobber started to drip from Joe's mouth as he looked at the many Favin boars, "h-hey, are we going to catch one of those?" he asked eagerly.

  Caesar nodded his head in confirmation, "yeah, we should get a few extra for tonight as well," Caesar replied calmly.

  "Did you bring any weapons with you?" Joe asked, curiously.

  Caesar shook his head, "I can just use my hands or a branch" he said

  "Heh, it's a good thing I brought this then" Joe smiled widely and took out a short bow from the insides of his pants.

  Caesar looked at Joe wide-eyed, "I don't remember you grabbing that… did you sleep with it?" he asked with a bewildered expression.

  Joe rubbed his nose, "A dwarf such as myself is always prepared," he replied boastfully and put his chin up.

  Caesar examined Joe for a few seconds before asking, "where are your arrows?"

  Joe's eyes went wide, "I can't put sharp objects down my pants, you know?"

  "Then what is the point of bringing your bow if you have no arrows…" Caesar massaged his forehead and looked at Joe in shock.

  "Meh, at least I have a weapon," Joe argued back with a defiant expression.

  "Are you mentally disabled? The bow is useless without arrows, Joe!" Caesar tried explaining calmly to Joe.

  "No, I am not retarded, who is that?" Joe asked curiously

  Caesar sighed loudly and wanted to bash his head against the tree, "it's fine, just go spook those animals in my direction, and I will take care of them" Caesar said towards Joe quietly.

  Joe put the bow back in his pants and nodded his head, "okay, wait here, and I'll show you," Joe said excitedly and soon disappeared from Caesar's line of sight.

  Caesar jumped up on a nearby tree and broke off a slender branch. He patiently waited for Joe to startle the animals in his direction. Although with Caesar's current power, it would be simple just to kill the boars where they stood, he didn't want to fight with any of the other animals around the lake.

  Caesar waited for about a minute before finally, a short dwarf popped out of a bush and charged towards the Favin boards headfirst.

  "GAHHH, IM COMING FOR YOU!" Joe roared loudly

  Contrary to both Caesar's and Joe's expectations, however, the boars weren't scared of Joe; in fact, they angrily snorted and charged back.

  Caesar jumped off the tall tree and looked at Joe with interest, he wanted to help Joe out, but he was curious as to what power this small dwarf hid from him.

  Caesar stroked his chin and smiled in anticipation. If his guess was correct, Joe should be a decently strong figure.

  Both Joe and the boar in front collided, Joe went flying in the air, he loudly screamed out in pain and was once again being charged at.

  Caesar scratched his hair with his index finger, "was my presumption incorrect?" he whispered to himself and moved towards Joe.

  Like a shadow, Caesar soon made it in front of Joe and gazed at the three upcoming boars.

  Caesar concentrated on his eyes and could see a glowing red dot on all three of the boar's spines.

  He shot off the ground, and before the boar's instincts could even warn them of their impending, Caesar was already right in front of their eyes.

  Caesar struck out three times with his stick and hit them directly in the middle of their spines.

  The three boars squealed out in pain and toppled over, Caesar scanned his surroundings and noticed all of the other animals already ran away after all of the commotion they caused.

  Caesar lifted two of the boars and put one on each of his shoulders. He looked towards Joe that was still on the ground with a slightly annoyed glint in his eyes.

  "I know you are perfectly fine, hurry up and pick one of the boars up" Caesar spoke somewhat angrily.

  Joe's body didn't move one bit, so Caesar just snorted and walked away, once Caesar made it a decent distance from the lake. One of Joe's eyes abruptly opened up, and he slowly stood up.

  "Whew, that was dangerous… I almost needed to use 'that' thing," Joe grumbled inwardly and picked up the last boar on the ground.

  Once Joe lifted the boar on his back, he shakily walked back towards the carriage, the boar was a bit heavy for Joe to handle.

  Caesar made it back to the carriage relatively quickly and plopped both of the boars loudly on the ground. He gathered some dry wood and leaves and started to craft a bond fire.

  When Caesar was a young child, his father happened to be a military specialist. He taught him many things required for survival; starting a fire was one of them. Unfortunately, his father didn't stay very long.

  Caesar created a tinder nest and a small hole in a board of wood, he created an angular notch in the small hole and got another piece of timber… he started to continuously twist the piece of wood until he got an ember.

  He quickly put the ember on the timber nest and blew on it gently, suddenly a flame erupted, and the bonfire was complete.

  Caesar went towards a nearby tree and grabbed some thick branches and put them in the fire; he then strolled towards the side of the carriage and took the knife that Edward customarily used.

  Caesar went to one of the boars and crouched down beside it, Caesar sliced the neck of the boar and put it upside down to drain it.

  Once the boar was drained, he gutted it and took out all of its innards, once the boar was prepared, he grabbed some water and salt from the carriage and cleaned it thoroughly.

  Caesar impaled the dead boar with a rod that Edward had brought with him and started rotating the boar above the fire.

  After about 10 minutes of cooking, Joe finally made it back to the carriage. His body was full of sweat, and he threw the boar on the ground.

  Joe sat down and gasped for breath, "my goodness, that damn Favin boar was HEAVY" He roared out angrily.

  "Go bring me all of the spices we currently have" Caesar glanced at Joe and ordered.

  "Why do I have to do it?" Joe asked sadly

  "Both Renee and Edward are sleeping, and besides, you want to eat something delicious… don't you?" Caesar replied, calmly.

  "I suppose so…" Joe said quietly and walked towards the carriage, he looked for a few minutes and brought back a few brown pouches that were tied by a string at the top.

  "Here you go," Joe handed Caesar the pouches and sat down by the fire.

  Caesar smelled and tasted each of the spices and put on which ones he
thought would be good.

  When he was the CEO of his company, he had lived alone… He hated going out or having others live inside of his home, so he learned how to cook.

  Soon a delicious scent was released in the surroundings.

  Renee opened up the carriage door and stepped off, she patted her stomach and looked at the boar with anticipation.