Jarek's expression eased a little "Of course we know him. We once teamed up to hunt a beast with him. You could even say we're good friends," the other boy said, forcing a quick, fake smile as if he and Tobin were genuinely close.
"Is that so?" he said, tilting his head slightly. "Then you must know exactly how strong he is… and what he's capable of." he said this to test them, fully aware that Tobin's talent was only a slight increase in strength.
Quietly, he readied his dagger, just in case the situation turned unexpectedly.
"Hey, what's with all the questions? We're clearly friends of your friend. Is this how you treat us? I really don't know how Tobin could call someone like you a friend," Tavan snapped shaking his head, with that look of superiority that said he didn't need to explain anything.
"I could easily trust you? Only a fool would do that. Judging by the look and weight of your pouches, it's obvious you've only managed to kill one beast each. You'd better leave now, or I'll be the one taking your proof as mine."
"You…" Tavan shouted, his ears practically smoking with anger, as if they could explode—but a voice cut him off before he could continue.
"Jarek, Tavan, you guys are already here, sorry it took me a while to get here." As the figure fully stepped into view, it was clearly Tobin, just as the other boy had said.
"Hey, Orin! It's you?" Tobin grinned widely as he walked straight toward Orin, giving him a friendly pat on the shoulder, easing the tension in the air.
"See! Isn't this the Tobin we said would surely show up? But you didn't believe us. Hmph! So, what do you think now? Do you believe us when we said we know him?"
"Orin, this must be a misunderstanding. I do know these people. They are Jarek and Tavan from class C. We worked together once, and we agreed to meet here." Tobin scratched his head awkwardly .
"No problem, Tobin. If you say so, I'll believe you." Orin brushed it off, though his eyes lingered on Jarek and Tavan, watching them closely.
Tobin let out a sigh of relief, but his eyes soon caught the lifeless beasts on the ground. "Hey, I didn't expect you guys to take one down already just like we planned. And without me to fill our stomachs, too." His gaze shifted toward Jarek and Tavan.
"I wish we could take credit for it, but we can't. We just found it here—and it was clearly killed by your friend. We tried looking for a weaker beast we could handle, but every time we either had to run or came up empty. With our F-grade talents, there wasn't much we could do." Jarek shook his head.
"What…!" Tobin's eyes wided Turing to look at Orin.
"Orin, I didn't expect to run into you here. But seeing you take down a low-tier beast on your own… that's proof enough you don't need my help at all." Tobin shook his head, remembering the promise he'd made to protect Orin in the beast grounds.
"What are you talking about? I just happened to kill this beast and was planning to use it to fill my stomach. But I can't finish it all—it's more than enough to feed a dozen people." Orin's lips curved into a faint smile as he spoke
"Hah, listen to you—acting like taking down a beast is nothing. But since you insist… looks like I showed up at the right time. Guess I won't be going hungry after all." Tobin rubbed his stomach as it let out a growl
"Tch, no way he killed it with skill. Pure luck." Tavan scoffed under his breath, thinking no one heard him. But Orin caught every word.
"Alright then, let's set up camp and get a fire going before it gets dark." Orin remarked with a faint nod, stretching his arms with a yawn.
"We can help with that," Jarek cut in quickly. "I've got a fire talent—F-grade, but it's still enough to start a flame. And Tavan here has a wind talent, also F-grade, which can help stoke it." He stepped forward as he spoke.
"Okay then, let's get to it. No time to waste. You and Tavan will start the fire and set up a makeshift spit. Tobin will handle the seats and clean the beast." Orin moved without hesitation.
"You don't get to give us orders," Jarek snapped, his eyes flaring with arrogant defiance.
"You're pretty arrogant for someone begging for food. Everyone here pulls their weight. I've already done my part—I killed the beast and gathered the wood. If you can't do yours, then get the hell out. And don't blame me if I'm the one who throws you out."
"Tavan he's right. Since we are guest and are eating his food, we need to work for it." Jarek pulled tavan's arm back preventing him from doing something stupid.
"As I thought. Now get to work before it gets completely dark." Orin scoffed, climbing up a tree and settling in with a leisurely air.
Tobin stared up at him in shock—this was the first time he'd seen this side of Orin.
And so, Tobin, Jarek, and Tavan went about their tasks: gathering wood, stoking the fire, and dressing the beast for the fire.
Unbeknownst to them, not far from their camp, a shadowy creature crouched in the darkness. Its eyes glinted faintly as it watched their every move.
***
"Let's see if there've been any changes," Orin muttered, manifesting the SGI from his perch in the tree. It had been more than a day since he last checked it.
On the tree, the SGI slowly manifested
ABSOLUTE ENTITY CREATION · Soul Genesis Interface
:: CORE IDENTITY ::
Name :: Orin
Title :: UNBOUND
Class :: UNWRITTEN
Origin :: Self
Essence Pool :: PRIMAL VOID [2/10]
Path :: Soul Ascension
:: ESSENCE STATS ::
Vitality :: 1
Insight :: 1
Willpower :: 2
Intellect :: 1
Potential :: ∞
Truth :: ??? [Locked]
:: INTERNAL FRAMEWORK ::
Trait 0 :: Blank_Slate [Active]
Trait 1 ::
:: CREATIONS LOG ::
Available Creations:
- Basic Dagger (Properties: Adaptive Edge, Soul Bound, Phantom Mark.) - Cost: 9 Essence.
:: ASCENSION PROTOCOL ::
Power Source :: Self
Progress :: 0%
Essence Pool… two? His heartbeat quickened. He leaned closer, double-checking the display. It… it actually increased, this was a nice surprise.
He had thought that it would stay at one for a long time and would have to come up with a way of increasing his essence pool by himself. But it turns out it might not be so.
He had assumed his Essence Pool would stay at one for a long time, and that he'd have to figure out a way to increase it himself. Yet now… it seemed that might not be the case.
"But isn't this is too slow? If it continues to refill like this, I can only imagine when I'll be able to create another dagger," he thought. "I still need to figure out a way to refill my Essence Pool faster."
"Orin…!" Tobin called up from below. "We've finished everything you said. Come down, let's eat."
"Coming!" Orin dismissed his SGI and jumped down.
Orin landed beside the fire, the rich aroma of roasted meat filling the air. Tobin rotated the meat on the spit, while Jarek and Tavan tended the flames, the crackling fire casting warm, flickering light over the bustling campsite.
Orin sat down on his log seat, pulled a roasted limb from the beast, the rich aroma making his stomach rumble, and sank his teeth into a big chunk like a hungry wolf.
A small grin spread across his face as he muttered, "Hmm… delicious…" with his mouth full of meat.
Seeing Orin take a bite, the others also reached out, each grabbing a tender piece of the roasted meat and gorging it down eagerly.
After a few minutes, the roasted beast on the makeshift spit was already half finished.
"My stomach's full, I can't eat anymore," Tobin groaned, collapsing onto his back, struggling to fit even a single more bite. Tavan and Jarek were in the same state, equally stuffed and sprawled out beside him.
"Orin, are you a beast? How are you still in the mood to eat? You've eaten almost as much as the three of us combined!"
"Maybe this is the result of not eating in days I guess." Orin shrugged.
"What's happening to me?" Tavan croaked, his voice hoarse as he slowly sat upright, staring at his hands. His skin tightened against his bones, pale and dry, veins darkening, as if the life were being drained from his body.
Behind him, a hideous creature slowly emerged, its razor-sharp arm slicing through Tavan's back and lifting him into the air.
Orin's eyes narrowed as he spotted the creature. "Everyone, stay back!"
Receiving Orin's sudden warning, Tobin and Jarek whipped their heads around only to see the hideous creature, their eyes widening in shock before they scrambled back to their feet.
"I… I waited until you were full… to harvest your vitality." The creature's glowing eyes locked onto the trio, its voice cracking with each word, a twisted mix of desperation and triumph.