Chapter 4 : Strange Turn Of Events

Both of my eyes flew open as my black pupils moved towards each corner of my eye, scanning my surroundings. I jerked my torso upwards as I sat cross-legged on the green luxuriant grass which danced in repetitive motion. I was located in a large yet small clearing surrounded by fairly tall trees. The whistling winds carried numerous leaves which in turn, carried the faint smell of dew.I transferred my gaze towards the large ball of fire etched on the clear blue sky. The sun's rays of sunshine bathed my black tuxedo as I began to think for an answer towards my crucial question.

What time is it?

The reason for this question was due to the fact that I wanted to avoid night in this densely packed forest as much as possible. Not only will I be forced to battle the night's cold and the starvation which follows, but I will also be forced to face creatures that co-exist in these groups of trees. I will be forced to face "Monsters".

Monsters are creatures that were programmed to do one thing, destroy any other creature it comes across with. A human like Al wasn't exempted. These creatures bathe mana and due to the fact that mana could be found in every corner of the world, these chaotic creatures exist everywhere.

These monsters come in numerous races; slimes, goblins, kobolds. The typical monsters found in a basic RPG game or fantasy story. But, you can't just find these races splattered across the continent in a random fashion. Just like every animal, each race of monster lives in highly specific areas. Slimes live in moist biomes such as swamps while Kobolds, due to their thick fur, live in cold places such as the snowy mountainous areas. Goblins are a special case since they adapt to any environment, thus they would be able to live anywhere so as long as they have access to food and shelter.

Another thing to take account for about their shelter is the density and quality of mana. Although at first, the two may seem similar, they are actually incredibly different. The more dense the mana is, the longer the lifespan of the monster will be. Examples of these monsters are the nearly immortal undead such as skeletons, dullahans, etc. Meanwhile, higher quality mana would lead to stronger monsters. Areas with high quality mana would shelter monsters such as High Dryads, Sentient Golems, etc.

Another thing to think about these monsters are the food they eat. Although monsters can gain nutrients through mana, it won't be enough to sate their hunger. These monsters aren't creatures that would kill off others for no particular reason, they kill to protect their shelter and to gain food. Luckily, monsters can also be classified as herbivores, carnivores and omnivores. Thus monsters that are herbivores are passive creatures and won't attack unless provoked. Just like cows, pigs and chickens, most herbivore monsters can act as farm animals.

It seems my focus was lost and I began thinking about information I already knew. I eventually caught up with my mistake and began to proceed with what I was supposed to be doing. I stare at the sun's position and began to think what time it was. The duration of each day in Erevus isn't identical to that of Earth. Compared to Earth having 24 hours each day, Erevus has an additional of 4 hours meaning each day would amount to 28 hours.

But, their difference doesn't end there. Compared to Earth's 12 months, Erevus has a total of 13 months. Each month contains exactly 34 days compared to Earth having the confusing pattern of 31 and 30 days. And I'm not even talking about February were it goes from 28 to 29 every 4 years.

The only time where the time of both planets were analogous is on the duration of each hour and minute. Each minute in Erevus has 60 seconds and each hour has 60 minutes. Speaking of time, Era did say that the people in this world were stuck in the medieval period for 4000 years right? If each year has 14 months and each month has 34 days and each day has 28 hours... God, they've been stuck in the medieval era for a long time! They really do need help.

And, I got lost in my thoughts again. This time, I shifted my focus towards finding out what time it is. Due to the fact that the sun was at it's highest peak, I can assume it is noon. Somewhere around the beginning of the 14th hour.

Not wasting anymore time, I stood up and escaped the confines of the grassy floor. I wanted to ask Larry for directions to the nearest village or city. But, I didn't want to rely on the big guy too much. I walked towards the densely packed forest and stopped one meter in front of the tree.

I assumed that monsters lurked these forests and decided to scout for a path of some sort. I continued my walk along the trees while making sure that I was at least one meter away from it. Suddenly, My nose caught a faint odor which drowned the smell of nature. It's strong scent didn't captivate me in the least, but it made me curious.

It was a familiar scent, but for some reason, I couldn't put my finger as to what it was. I crept towards the source of this strange smell and stopped meters in front of the densely packed trees which blocked my way. I narrowed my eyes as I stare deeper in the forest, I transfer my gaze upwards to see a tall tower of gray clouds. I quickly realized what the smell was.

"Fire." I mumbled as I heard the distant shriek of a woman coming from the tall column of smoke.

Unconsciously, my legs began to move as I leapt towards the forest. For some reason, a strange feeling was lit deeply in my heart. It kept screaming, telling me and my entire body to run towards that direction. No, it kept telling me to save whoever was in trouble. This weird feeling of heroism suddenly popped out of nowhere and I couldn't do anything about it.

I told my body to stop and go back to the clearing as I swore I could see faint but slight movements in the trees here and there. I saw a group of tiny green men which I assumed to be goblins hunting down a white ball of fur. The horned rabbit was killed as a low quality arrow was pierced through it's head.

Although seeing the poor bunny's blood gush out, I didn't even take another glance at the bunny's dead body. Instead, I continued to race across the forest. A large tree laid down on the grass, blocking me of my path. With one swift motion, my body leapt and landed on the laying tree. I leapt again, but this time, I landed on a tree branch. Seeing that jumping through the branches would be a more efficient way to travel, my body didn't even stop to think as it jumped towards the nearest branch.

My body continued jumping on tree branches one after the other. Eventually, I was running out of tree branches to jump on. Using my hands, I swung on the next tree branch, propelling me forwards a couple of feet as I safely landed on the ground.

My body was incredibly tired, but I couldn't feel it. My heart went faster, my breathing became faster, my eyes saw more detail as I ran towards the nearing pillar. I didn't know why, but my adrenal gland was pumping adrenaline like no tomorrow.

One might ask why I was capable of easily jumping from branch to branch while I was navigating towards my destination. This is due to the fact that when I was on Earth, I decided to learn Advanced Military Parkour. My trainer wasn't even slightly surprised when he saw me learn those swift and precise movements in just 3 days. I was known all over the world due to my monstrous learning speed, so no one would underestimate me.

After seconds of running, I finally reached my destination and my adrenaline finally stopped. I wanted to climb a tree to see a bird's eye view of the area, but doing so would blow my cover. Besides, I had no energy to spare for a task that ardous. Instead, I decided to lay down on the ground with my stomach facing down as I stared at them through a bush's tiny opening.

A group of 17 strangely clothed individuals were surrounding a large wagon with two horses. Fire was littered everywhere as signs of battle were clearly evident. Half of these armed individuals were sitting on crates while the rest stood nearby another group of people.

This secondary group were tied together as white cloth covered their mouths. It didn't take a genius to find out that these people were being taken as prisoners as these "bandits", the 17 strangely clothed individuals, were stealing the contents of their cart.

I did not know how react to this dangerous predicament. I had literally nothing in my hands. I had no form of weapon to use against these people. Suddenly, I receive a feeling that I was forgetting something.

Ring

A small, yet audible rig emerged from my right hand. I stared at the source of this sudden ringing as I pulled my palm from the ground. I stared at my palm as a gold diamond was suddenly glowing from it. Written in the center were the words;

"Larry..."

I wished those bandits didn't hear the ringing. If they did hear it, I need to make sure they weren't hearing more ringing. I gently tapped the golden diamond with my left index finger as the ringing abruptly stopped. In it's place was familiar voice.

"Hey Al, how are things going down there?" Larry's cheery voice emerged from my palm.

I didn't want my voice to contribute to the noise so I began to talk to Larry telepathically.

Dude, now is not the time

"Hmm? Oh you're busy? Sorry for butting in but I need to tell you something."

Yes?

"You left your book at the shrine, A Grimoire for the Lost Art of Status Falsification?"

I paused the moment Larry finished his sentence. I tapped my chest gently to see if I tucked the book in there, but it was impossible to hide that thick book inside my tuxedo.

Oh shit.

If I was able to send a telepathic facepalm to Larry, then that would be the first thing I would do. My mind erupt in a fury of flames as I smashed my fist onto the ground. I quickly realized my mistake as pain shot up my poor hand, luckily my hand seemed to be okay.

But that didn't stop me from releasing my anger. I began swearing in my mind as the barrage of swear words reached Larry. I failed to realize that my thoughts were being transmitted to Larry since I was still talking to him telepathically.

Although Larry was part-god, he still found Al's reaction amusing. Actually, he was expecting this reaction, this was why he was maniacally laugh in the inside. Due to Larry's age, Al's conflagration of swear words were like a child's tantrum towards the part-god.

"Well, if you need the book make sure to call me." Larry said in a cheerful voice. I was sure the man was wearing a large grin on his face.

As to why I was so mad, in reality, I was more annoyed. The book was important for my plans. Without it, people would know I have a Divine Factor. Eventually the other Gods would find about Era's deal. The last thing I wanted was a large political problem between me, Era and other Gods.

Actually, scratch that. The last thing I want is being caught by these bandits. And that was what happened.

"Who goes there?!"

I was surprised, well it isn't because they knew I was here, that stupid ringing blew my cover so I wouldn't be surprised If they saw me. No, I was surprised I was able to understand his language perfectly. He spoke in strange syllables which clearly weren't in English. The language sounded more Japanese, but with the hint of German. Actually, never mind, I can't explain what their language was.

Suddenly my heart began to beat faster once more, my sense of heroism came back. My legs began to push my body upwards as I revealed myself towards the men. My body wouldn't respond to me so I had no choice but to go with the flow. I quickly deduced a plan when all the gazes of 17 bandits shifted onto me.

"Who are you?" the nearest bandit gave me a strange look.

"My n-name is Albert, I was j-just passing by t-the area when I c-came across your g-group."

I faked my constant stuttering. By showing them that I was weak and afraid, they would think that I am weak and afraid. They would either try to kill me or take me as hostage, the latter seemed to be the situation that would usually happen.

"Tie him up like the rest." the biggest one with the most scars, tattoos and the biggest sword ordered. His bald head reflected light like a mirror. His large muscular physique was veiled by a large dark-blue mantle so I couldn't see anything else.

I tried to run away but tripped on my own shoes. I heard the laughing of all 17 of them as I tried to stand up, but failed to do so every time. They didn't seem to notice me faking it as the nearest bandit walked over me. They clearly took my bait.

He pulled my by the collar as I began Phase 1 of my plan. As I regained my feet, I swiftly turned around and punched the man's chin. He went weak as his brain bounced around his skull, giving the poor man a concussion. I took advantage of the his unbalanced body and with the use of my right hand, held him on his nape. I used his body as a meat shield as my hand reflexively went for a section of his belt, but I realized I was in a medieval world. The handguns they would usually have attached to their belts are non-existent.

Adapting to the situation, I reached for the dagger on his lower left leg. I attempted to placed the dagger over his neck when all of a sudden, I felt a massive force stopping me from doing so. My hands felt weak as I saw my supposed "hostage" had stopped my hand with his own.

"Ugh, that hurts!" the man groaned.

Using his other hand, he rubbed his chin as I staggered backwards, releasing the man from my shackles. No, wait. The man was never shackled in the first place. The moment I walked backwards, he was still standing. I swore I hit his chin with the perfect angle and perfect force, yet the man who was supposed to be unconscious was obviously... Conscious.

The man twisted his head around as I felt his glares were implanted onto my body. With blinding speed, the man ran towards me as he slammed onto me. His running didn't stop until my body smashed onto the nearest tree. All the air in my lungs left my mouth as my weakened body fell on the ground. I gasped for air the moment I felt the dirt path on my face as the man who slammed me on the tree took me by my head.

His large hand was big enough to squeeze my head and crush my skull, but it seems the large man that ordered him to get me interjected right before he was even given the chance to.

"Don't kill him" the large man said.

This guy may not be as bad as he seem.

"We need his body parts intact to sell him." he followed with a grin.

Never mind.