Eh... I wonder why this only pops up now? I mean, it had already been decided. Maybe they are some kind of conditions for this ''engagement" status to show up?
Like, knowing the other person''s name? When I was engaged to Ilis, I didn''t understand what our mothers were talking about.
However, given the fact that I was the only male about her age, I kind of guessed the situation.
And as if to confirm my assumptions, a window showed up. So I guess some conditions are needed for the windows to pop up. But I could be wrong...
So what were they doing for thousands of years? Still, it''s good for me. It made me smile. The Creator of the Status... it should be Eqphion, if the status is something that accompanied people since the beginning of the world.
Gaining the attention of the king of gods must be quite an achievement. Haha! What a good day, what a good day.
"Yes mom, I''m happy!" Mother only smiled and returned to her conversations.
Being happy, I started having fun too. I manage to find Ilis and dance with her, together with Sila. While dancing with both of them at once, applause and cheers could be heard. It''s embarrassing...
I spent the rest of the day just like that.
Chapter 12 ~Trip~
{17 days earlier}
[Sila POV]
I got to know that I had been chosen to be the future wife of one of the males from the Vim tribe. The reason: To be in better touch with them.
Mother is one of the village''s guardian. In the entire village, she is the best when it comes to firearms. I want to become like her when I grow up! She said that the engagement was necessary to maintain good relationships with the Vim tribe and that I won''t be disappointed with my future husband.
Father is sad that I will have leave village once I reached 13, but despite this, he will still be able to see me from time to time. The mother told me that he really, really loves me as a father and as a Smith. I already know that though. Each time he returns home, he squeezes me to death!
My father met my mother in a funny way. Father first saw mother when was young, as she was looking around for a firearm. She chose his hand-made gun and told him that she will come back to check for a weapon.
On each firearm ball, my father secretly engraved sweet words. It took a long time for mom to notice it, but still, she pretended that she didn''t see it. Time flew and mother started to often visit dad, as she slowly started falling for him until she confessed her love to him. Her words surprised father, because he wanted to confess first. He had already prepared everything, yet mom confessed first. They still laugh about this.
But that aside, my mother told me to be like a lioness with my future husband, on our first meeting. At first, I didn''t understand what she meant, but I soon got it. I needed to be brave and bold when I meet him so that I can get close to him! Mum, you are a genius! That''s why I want to be like you!
?Eto~ Mummy! Mummy! Who is my future husband~?¡±.
?He is the son of the best hunter of the 3 tribes, and a genius too!¡±.
?Yosh, yosh! so I have to be like him!¡±.
?hur hur, you better be!¡±.
I ran to train, but came back in an instant, because I forgot about mom! It made me blush. My mother giggled at that.
Stolen story; please report.
{12 days later} (12 days passed, 5 days until she meets Azarrar)
The day after tomorrow, we will go to the Vim tribe! My father has been crying for two days, like if he was giving me away forever. My mother had to cheer him up, and I had to hug him a lot too!
?Sob sob, Sila! Don''t go away!¡±.
?Arere~ you go with us father~¡±.
"R-really?¡±.
?Yes¡±.
?Sniff, but I won''t give you away!¡±.
?but father¡±.
?I won''t!¡±.
Mother came and said that they won''t be giving me away. It calmed father down, but he was still sobbing. He hugged me and mother, lifting us. We giggled when he did that.
{3 day later} (2 days until she met Azarrar)
My mother told me that we will be there in about 3 days! It''s very long! I thought that we would arrive today...
We packed our things and we went out, together with the village''s chief and a few other saurians. In total, 10 people including me.
My father held me in his arms, saying that I still didn''t know how to walk in the swamps and that''s why he couldn''t let me walk on my own. If he says so... I couldn''t even ask mom, as she was walking in front of us, with a firearm in her hands.
We reached the first base. Nothing happened during the first day, so everybody was relieved. I was looking around the base. It was surrounded by a fence with spikes protruding out.
My mother said that we were safe here and we had enough supplies for everybody for 5 days. We ate and went to sleep. During the night, the adults changed the three people on duty to guard us.
The next day, we had problems with some kind of plant. Father didn''t show me how they fought it since it was too dangerous. But I really wanted to see them fight...
We reached the second and last base. We left and they fought again with some kind of monster, and once again I couldn''t watch... I''m sad.
They were happy because the monster they killed was rare. They skinned it, cut off its claws and horns. They covered its meat in salt. When I asked why mother said that my future husband discovered that covering meat in the White Gold allows to keep it fresh longer. I''m happy! My future husband is so smart! But at the same time, I''m a little sad... he is already engaged, so I will be his 2nd wife...
We finally reached the Vim village. It was night, so tomorrow will be festing and I will meet my future husband! And after that, we will return home...
Chapter 13 ~Map~
Early in the morning, Sila returned to her tribe, after saying goodbye to me and Ilis. Both girls had a hard time parting away since they began to like each other. It''s good, I won''t have problems about this in the future.
I already finished my training with father and started heading home, where I found mother and Ilis. I wonder what¡¯s she doing here...
¡°Azarrar, you are already here!¡± My mother said.
¡°Hurry, hurry! Kharsuma is waiting for us¡±. As Ilis said this and clutched to my right arm, my mother imitated her, clutching to my left arm. They began to pull me toward Kharsuma''s house. Dumbfounded by what just happened, I found myself already sitting on a chair. Really, that was quick. It made me smile. Ilis was still clutching to my right arm.
¡°You can release my arm¡±. In response, I heard a sweet voice which refused. After a hard training, it was like a balm on my heart. I will be having a hard time in the future. It''s quite funny thinking that there won¡¯t be problems between the girls, but between them and me. It made me laugh.
¡°Hehe¡±. Ilis only tilted her head, but immediately placed it back where it was, on my shoulder. Waiting for Kharsuma, Ilis began to get bored and started humming some kind of lullaby, which put me to sleep.
¡°Azar... Azrar... Azzarar~¡±. Ilis wake me up. She smiled when I opened my eyes. I returned her smile. I slightly smacked my cheeks and looked at Kharsuma. He unfolded a roll on the table. I approached it and with a first glance, I already knew what it was, a MAP!
It will be very helpful in the future.
¡°Cough, as you see, it''s map of our region and the near areas. Ahem. Unfortunately, we don''t have any more maps, since they were eaten away by the time. Cough, it''s shame that we don''t have a cartographer...¡±.
¡°Uncle, uncle, what is a cartographer?¡±.
¡°hur hur. It''s somebody who creates maps and redraws them¡±.
It will be the easiest way for her to understand.
¡°I want to create one too!¡±
¡°It''s very, very hard, Ilis. You must travel a lot! You must have a flair for it¡±.
¡°I will travel a lot with Azarrar, that''s why you don''t have to worry uncle!¡±
I blushed, as it made me smile.
¡°hur hur. Cough, you will, you will for sure. But now look at the map¡±.
Kharsuma turned the map in our direction. It''s an old style map. Yep, I''m quite sure about it.
Map : (post-chapter author note)
¡°Cough. As you can see, the map has been corrected by some people. Cough... This is why you can see different styles of writing-¡±. He stopped for a while and pointed at some words. As he said, they were different. ¡°Ahem. Today we will learn about this map, I will give you all my knowledge. Cough, Cough¡±.
¡°Uncle, why do these mountains have no name?¡± Ilis pointed at the mountains over our forest.
¡°Ahem, nobody knows what their real name is, every race call them differently. We call them The Blind Mountains.¡±Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.
¡°Why?¡±
¡°Since fog is floating around there. Cough, you will never know when an enemy attack from the sky. Chances of survival here are close to zero¡±. Kharsuma made a sad face. The atmosphere became tense. I stopped Ilis as she wanted to ask another question, and quickly said something different.
¡°What about the Ownerless land?¡±.
¡°A-ah yes... So... The Ownerless land. Nobody wants to take it, because of the waste ground and the Nargzah Mountains, which are inhabited by the Narghs. Cough, they are small creatures covered in fur, similar to green goblins. They work in groups. They are weak, but their attitude and coordination can be troublesome. There are different monsters too, but they aren''t as important as them now¡±.
He looked at us to check if we were still keeping.
¡°And what about our region?¡± I asked.
¡°Let¡¯s start from times over 200 years ago, cough. Our village was without any stockades during those years, the reason we didn¡¯t have any enemies. My grandfather, on his deathbed, told me that the invasion of Alligators, who is sub-species of Saurians, cough, ended after four years with a non-aggression pact. We agreed that we wouldn''t trespass their territory and they as well ours. But because of that, we are cut off from the rest of the world, cough, and from kingdoms, since they took all of the South. Sometimes, we learn about wars, but that''s it. No more information. We are clearly falling behind the rest of the world in many aspects, cough.¡±
¡°Humans?¡± Ilis asked.
¡°Humans are stupid race, but we mustn''t abuse them, cough, even if they lead wars every year for petty reasons. They can easily adapt, we can be jealous of it, I¡¯m jealous!... cough, cough. Also, they have a lot of prejudices against many species which don''t look like them. That''s why most of the species are discriminated, including us, cough, but due to our humanoid appearance, they won''t attack us without a reason. They are on good terms with elves and dwarves, but any species that dare to attack them will be met with the force of their alliance, cough. The force of their alliance is powerful enough that even dragons don''t dare to provoke that! cough.¡±
When Kharsuma ended talking, everyone fell silent, we didn¡¯t have any more topics¡
¡°I want to ask something!¡± Ilis surprised me while looking at Kharsuma.
¡°Go on.¡±
¡°My father was talking with my mother about the increasing number of the monster in the center of the NorthForest. Why is that?¡±
¡°Good question! We started to produce salt, which is called the White Gold, cough. The place where we produce it is in the west of the North Forest. We set up the place so the water could disgorge in, cough, and when it reaches the distance of half a cubit, we stop the water and wait for around a week. Once the water evaporates, we collect the White Gold! cough.¡±
"But that''s not what I asked!" Ilispuffed her cheeks.
"Hur hur, cough, right. It''s because of the White Gold "damage" the ground for plants, cough, cough! We finished, cough, our lessons for today, cough."
I with Ilis went home, while holding hands.
Chapter 14 ~Duel~
Before going to elder Kharsuma with Ilis, I will have a duel with a father. He is already waiting for me, so after breakfast, I will be rushing to him.
***
My father was leaning against a tree. When he saw me, he threw a sword at me and took a stance. I picked it up and¡
I attack instantly. My father evaded once, twice and again! Shit. My sword brushes past his ear, shoulder and even in front of his nose! And I still didn''t manage to hit him...
Once my father told me how real Saurians fight. They don''t care if they will be late to a dodge that might take off their heads, they push their enemies with all their might. They walk a tightrope between life and death when they fight.
I stopped my attacks. When I heard a respectful sigh, when did they gather here? I don''t remember seeing any spectators. But I don''t care!
[Unknown POV]
Haha! We will produce the next, great hunter! Despite his young age, he can already brandish his sword like a warrior! Everybody can tell that his father was giving him a big handicap.
Suddenly, I felt a cold whiff on my neck. I turned around... this must be my imagination, haha.
[Azzarar POV]
I attack my father with all my might! Despite this, his face did not even budge, like my attacks don''t make any impression on him! Argh!
I still can''t touch my father, my blows keep hitting the air! Some spectators chuckled... Am I that bad? Why do you laugh at me? Argh! I will show you what I have!
HA! My father can''t avoid this attack! *thwack* my father parries the attack away and takes a step forward. He attacks me. I manage to parry his counterblow with a stronger swing *thwack!*.
Argh! He managed to hook my thigh! Fuuuuuck!
If Saurians didn¡¯t have such a hard skin, it would hurt like hell!
Somebody yelled out ¡°Hit!¡±. I must wear a ballast on my leg now, which imitated a wound. I get 60 seconds and after that time I will wear the next ballast, which will this time imitate attenuation after the loss of blood.Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.
But I''m still angry! That my father ''hurt'' me that easily! It¡¯s frustrating.
I moved my leg slightly. As if there wasn''t a ballast stuck to my leg. I grinned and instantly attacked my father.
Even if I increase my speed, father won¡¯t have any problems avoiding them!
30 seconds have passed. I still can''t hit! If I wear the next ballast I will get 40 seconds before the next ballast! I won''t win! I don''t have much time left! Quick! Quick!
[Amhuus POV]
You have great potential to surpass me, but... I will end this now, continuation doesn''t have any effect on your development.
*bach*
My son is lying on the ground. He is looking up at me.
¡°Anger and haste make people incompetent. That''s enough for today¡±. You must get rid of this. If not it''s pointless going any further in your training.
[Azzarar POV]
I''m angry at myself! To think that I got carried away so easily. I took my sword and began to swing it, as my dad taught me.
After one hour, I was ready to end my training, but to my surprise, a window popped up!
| You acquired a new skill: Slash. |
| Slash | Beginner 1/10 | Your attacks will be faster by 1.05x |
YEAH! Finally! I didn''t think that this will pop up! Yes! Yes! Yes! But my happiness was interrupted as a window appeared next to it.
| Skill Slash and Cleaver will be fusing together. Do not use them until the fusion is over. |
I want to cry... I wanted to try it out... but! A better skill will develop, right? The feeling I¡¯m having right now... I don''t know how to describe it... I¡¯m happy, yet, at the same time, really disappointed.
But, that aside! Now, I have to look for Ilis so we can go straight to Kharsuma''s house.
***
It¡¯s slowly growing... I think that it will be finished by tomorrow.
For now, Ilis and I are sitting in Kharsuma''s House. He hasn¡¯t arrived yet so I¡¯m teaching Ilis how to play Rock-paper-scissors.
¡°Rock, paper, scissors!¡±
Paper vs scissors ¨C I won.
Rock vs scissors ¨C I won.
After my two victories, she started to get frustrated, saying things like ¡°I will beat you!¡± But she still had a lot of fun, repeating ¡°Again! Again!¡±
She had this bad habit of unconsciously showing her thoughts, which allowed me to win easily. When I let her win, she started jumping around with glittering eyes. It''s so cute! I wanted to squeeze her, so I did.
She got embarrassed and pushed me away, but in an instant, she came back and hugged me with an apologetic face. It''s so cute that I can''t withstand it!
¡°Ahem, ahem... Sorry for intruding-¡± Elder Kharsume said. Ilis and I blushed, as she covered her face with her small hands while I lowered my head.
¡°Today we will be learning about monsters.¡±
We calmed down and looked at Kharsuma. He seemed¡ happy? Was it because of us? Or...
¡°Uncle, uncle why are you so happy?¡±
¡°Ah! I managed to bring someone special for you two! He will teach you about monsters. You won¡¯t be learning here though. Your lessons will be taking place outside the village.¡± Ilis was already standing on the chair with a joyful face since we never left the village. I was happy too!
A special guest?