"Entering the city, Raven, looking around, said: "Look, Kopii, how beautiful it is here!""
"Well, okay, I'll go, Raven."
"Bye, Kopii."
"Thank you again for saving me," he replied, already walking away."
"No thanks needed! I'm a future hero, after all! Bye!" - Raven shouted to the departing Kopii, waving his hand. Raven watched him go until he disappeared into the crowd. His shout attracted some glances, but Raven paid no attention to them, glad that one of his goals had been accomplished.
He walked past familiar houses, hearing the laughter of children and the calls of merchants. For the first time, he felt at peace. He had failed to accomplish his task during these two weeks of travel, but it didn't matter that much. After a while, Kopii finally reached the blue apothecary. "Finally, I'm home," he thought. Hearing the sound of the bell, he was unconsciously pleased.
Kopii saw Naaza in the same place as always. He waved to her. "Hi, Naaza," he said, approaching her and looking into her sleepy eyes. Kopii noticed Naaza looking at him attentively.
"Hi, Kopii… Where are your things?" - Naaza asked, looking him in the eye.
"In short…" - he described everything that had happened to him during the trip, of course, hiding his thirst. Naaza listened carefully without interrupting. "That's how it was, Naaza."
Naaza silently considered his words. "Okay, Kopii, I understand… The main thing is that you are safe." - Hearing the sound of the bell and looking at the visitor, the orc saw a stranger. He cast a fleeting glance at him and immediately looked back at Naaza.
"Well, Naaza, I won't bother you, I'll go rest," he said, heading towards the stairs.
"Okay, get some rest. Take a potion to recover faster."
"No need, my wounds have almost healed, so I won't waste a potion," he said, climbing the stairs. He only wanted one thing - to lie down on his mattress. He had slept in very bad conditions for two weeks. Entering his room, he undressed and looked at the clothes.
"Should I throw them away or give them back at our next meeting?" he thought. His clothes were all torn, so Raven had given him his own. He was a little shorter and had a different build, so Raven's clothes were quite tight for him.
He decided to leave it for later and just threw the clothes into the closet. Finally, his long-awaited bed! It was soft and a little cool. "What a pleasure," Kopii thought, slowly falling asleep.
Waking up, he felt refreshed. Without wasting time, he put on his gear. "Now this is clothing I understand!" he thought. Such clothes did not restrict him at all. Taking his arrows and bow, he left his room and unexpectedly ran into Miyach.
"Good morning, Miyach-sama."
"Good morning, Kopii," - Miyach had a smile on his face. "Naaza told me everything. I wanted to check on you, but you were already asleep."
"I was just very tired, Miyach-sama."
"Yes, I understand."
"Are you going somewhere already?" - Miyach looked questioningly at Kopii. "I think you should rest. You just recently returned from such a dangerous trip." - Miyach felt guilty about the trip, as it was his idea. He told Naaza to send Kopii to that place and collect herbs. He wanted to keep Kopii safe, but it turned out the opposite. "Ah… But if you want to go down to the dungeon, be careful, Kopii," Miyach put his hand on Kopii's shoulder.
He shook his head. "No, Miyach-sama, I'm not going to the dungeon today."
"Ah, really? Then why did you take the bow?" - Miyach looked at the bow that Kopii was holding.
"Ah, this…" - he looked at the bow. "I just wanted to refresh my archery skills today. I will go out of Orario and shoot at wild animals. After all, a moving target is much better than a stationary one."
"Yes, Kopii, you're right. Well, I won't keep you. But still, be careful, even if they are weak. Never relax." - Miyach didn't see Kopii's face become serious after his words.
He understood this perfectly during this trip. Those slavers were weaker than him, but even so, they managed to catch him. Kopii clenched his bow in anger. "If it weren't for the thirst, I would never have escaped," he thought, descending to the first floor.
"Good morning, Kopii," said Naaza, preempting him.
"Yes, good." - But before Kopii could say anything, Naaza thrust a restoration potion into his hands. "I told you my wounds were minor!" - he didn't finish speaking before Naaza interrupted him.
"No, Kopii, you will drink it right now. This is my order as the captain of the familia." - The orc did not argue with her. Opening the potion, he drank it in one gulp. "Well, I'll go," Kopii said, heading towards the exit of the blue apothecary.
"Naaza," said Miyach, descending the stairs. "Don't you think Kopii has changed?"
Looking at Miyach and pausing for a couple of minutes, Naaza replied: "Yes, Miyach-sama, he has changed… more distant."
"Well, that's not surprising. But look, he even found a friend from this trip, so there is some benefit. What was his name?" - Making a thoughtful face.
"Raven, that's his name."
"…Raven."
Kopii left Orario. He didn't know where to go. What animals live where? But, deciding not to think about it for too long, he headed in a random direction, going deeper and deeper into the forest. Kopii couldn't find anyone.
For half a day, Kopii walked through the forest, but couldn't find anyone. "Where are they? Did they make a deal?" he thought. "I've already gone quite far into the forest, but I haven't met anyone except those stinky squirrels." - Kopii stopped and continued on his way. And finally, after some time, he met his first animal. It was a hare. "This is my chance!"
Kopii drew back the bow. "I must understand…" Lowering the string, he hit the hare. He felt that thirst again, but as quickly as it appeared, it disappeared just as quickly. In frustration, he turned the bow away.
"How am I supposed to learn this if it only appears for a second? Go to the dungeon and kill there?" he thought. But he understood that this was quite a stupid idea, because after any monster, the thirst completely takes over him.
Sighed in frustration, realizing that his training was turning into torture. He picked up the hare, deciding that there should be at least some benefit from this outing. Lighting a small fire, he began to roast the prey, thinking about how to cope with his thirst. But the more he thought, the more he didn't understand what to do and how to solve this problem. He had too little information.
So a week passed. Every day he went hunting to understand how to control the thirst, but it didn't give any results. "Every day the same… Fruitless!" Kopii shouted in despair.
He had only one solution left - the dungeon. He thought it was better to kill monsters outside of Orario, but the more he thought about it, the more he leaned towards abandoning this idea. After all, if the thirst takes over him again, who will be able to stop him? Ordinary people? Kopii had only one option left - to descend into the dungeon.
Kopii walked along the streets of Orario. Walking along the noisy streets, Kopii pondered. "A week wasted…" Kopii sighed, regretting the time spent, but there was nothing he could do about it. He was so lost in thought that he didn't notice when he bumped into someone. Looking up, he saw a man with gray hair, orange eyes, and gray wolf ears. When the man turned to face him, Kopii noticed a blue tattoo on the left side of his face and saw arrogance and superiority in his eyes.