"We give up!" said the girl while she sat on her knees with her hands raised.
It wasn't her alone; the other three were in similar condition. Hands raised and face swollen.
Their skills were on an amateur's level, while the daggers might seem to be sharp. It was only the paint that made it look sharp and hid the rusty blade.
The stubborn girl's name was Marti Gorni. She was the leader of this small squad of adolescent kids that had barely grown of age.
Joren took the daggers from them and crushed them with his bare hands.
Three of them were terrified; however, Marti was adamant. She wasn't willing to surrender and fill her with artificial tears and plead for mercy for herself.
"Eat dirt, you scumbag. Kill me all you want but leave them alone."
Joren gazed at her with his poker face. He had no intention of killing them; instead, he walked away without saying anything.
The four of them were left confused; they thought it was their end, but it seems they were spared. Maybe the foe took them for a negligible threat.
To Marti this was an insult. She gritted her teeth, and she saw the back of the Joren receding away and disappearing into the crowd.
Joren kept on exploring more places and kept observing people. Initially, it all seemed normal; people were enjoying and laughing, chattering, and drinking.
With time, Joren's observation got sharper, and the truth became more vivid to him.
Eventually, the conclusion was that.
'They are affecting those emotions.' He thought.
It wasn't simple to detect it. However, the best way to recognize that they were feigning those emotions was to see where they erred.
Several times, they did. Not only that, but Joren had also heard conversations.
"I really can't keep up with this world. It's strange, like I can't feel my emotions."
"There are no emotions in this world, only pretending is the solutions tothe problem."
"Why this world? why not upper world…?"
Some grumbled and some were sobbing. They were new to this place, as if newly arrived souls from earth or other planets.
Furthermore, he heard them talk about the higher world. As if this was a world of gloom and there were worlds with richness of emotions and everything else.
Joren could see the grief and despair hidden behind those faces. However, Joren felt hungry and thirsty, something he hadn't felt for so long.
It had become a strange thing for him. Thirst had consumed him the most and hunger was second behind.
He looked for a restaurant or any place where he could find food and water.
Lucky for him, there was a nearby person holding a sign, which had letters Joren hadn't seen in his own life but still could understand.
He strode up to the person, a female human with her long cascading hair reaching her waist and light brownish eyes. Her face gleaming with her wide smile and her cheerful voice requesting people to visit her food shop.
"Hello! Would you like to try out our food? you will find wonderful textured food that will blow your mind out of this world and the beauty will have your taste for the food return."
Joren listened and abruptly gave her a curt answer.
"Sure."
As they entered, Joren sat on the chair. Several dishes were brought for him.
The place was busy; it wasn't the food that they came in the shop for but rather the beauty of the place. Morian Silver, the same person who held the sign in her hand outside the shop.
However, Joren didn't find her very attractive; rather, it was the food he craved.
As he began to gobble the food on the plates and drink water greedily. People stopped staring at the Morian and shifted their focus on Joren.
This sight before them was strange and alien.
Not because the human was eating too much or drinking an absurd amount of water. It was something else, something that had been lacking ever since coming here.
The cook came outside and sat beside Joren.
Instead of being mad at how much Joren had eaten, the cook took off his long white hat and stared at Joren for a long time.
When he found the right time to speak, he said.
"Did you enjoy the food?"
His tone was polite and filled with curiosity. His eyes were trembling like his hands as his fingers dug into his hat. His heart was pounding; he was not sure what he had expected in his heart.
The onlookers were just as curious as the cook and Morian.
The atmosphere was tense, as if people had bet their lives on the line. Monsters, humans, lizards, dwarves, elves—no one was an exception.
Joren expressionlessly looked at him. Slowly did he open his mouth.
"He was good."
For a whole five minutes there was silence, and then there was a sigh of relief. The cook returned to his place.
Alas, Joren wasn't sure what exactly this was all about.
Everyone returned to their normal conditions, talking and speaking without much caring about Joren afterwards.
'Did I miss something?'
Perhaps it was the status as a clan member that had made them scared. However, there was more to this than just watching a higher-position person rate the food.
And that, Joren didn't know what it was.
'This world is mysterious. I need someone to explain everything to me.'
Just as he was pondering about it, the door to the shop was kicked open, and a voice reverberated inside the place.
"Where's my F**k meal, you darn old cook?"
He was a man of small stature, his long hair secured in a ponytail. In his hand was a small sword, just like his height.
Behind him were several of his men, smirking and gazing around at the woman with their lust.
Upon seeing them, the customers were scared and some frowned. But none of them had the guts to speak to the people.
It was only the cook that came out and bent his upper body, pleading with them to wait for a little longer.
"You expect me to wait? What do you think of me? I'm not weak and a lowlife like you. have it now or else—"
The man glanced at Joren, who was eating without giving any care to even glance back at the man.
Seeing the calm human gobbling without paying attention to the man, it irked him. And then he realized after gazing at his clothes.
"A foe from the neighbor clan."