The Abysmal Territory

[39]

Silica panicked and almost let go of the bow she’s holding.

“Ohh, a bow, is that from your inventory, Akeiko? Are you an archer, Silica?” Teiko asked.

“Ahm, yeah. I think so?” Silica replied.

“So what’s that thing that you wanted to say?” Teiko asked.

“Ahm, no, I’ll say it the day before you leave this village,” Silica said.

“Okay, okay. I’ll wait for it,” Teiko said.

“Hey, Saki. What was the thing she’s about to say?” Teiko asked.

“And after you said you’re going to wait?! No, wait patiently, I’ll not say anything about it,” Saki replied.

“Anyway, how many hours do we have before the start of the feast?” Teiko asked.

“Normally, if there’s a feast, we start it after the sun sets. So we still have four hours left to spare,” Silica said.

“Then, let’s try hunting some wild animals for food and we could also harvest the skin as an addition to Auntie’s materials,” Teiko said.

“Wait, don’t go outside, it’s not safe,” Cecilia said.

“Don’t worry, Auntie. If it’s just outside and just hunting, I could do it. We’re on the journey of becoming a hero so we should be fine, right, Akeiko?” Teiko said.

“Me, ah-oh, okay. Yes, we’re good at those things,” Akeiko answered.

“You’re going right now? Then I’ll join, I’ll test this bow out. Maybe to trees or fruits? I don’t know,” Silica said.

“Well, if you say something like that. Just get the permission of the village chief, make sure you take some hunters to guide you in the forest,” Cecilia said.

The three of them prepared to venture outside the village.

“Are you not joining, Saki?” Teiko asked.

“No, I’m not feeling good. The outside is boring since we’re not able to see other animals right? I’ll stay here, I know you’re all going to be fine without me,” Saki said.

“Okay, then enjoy your stay here,” Teiko said.

The three of them went to the village chief who was busy preparing for the feast.

“Hey, the three of you! What are you doing here?” Helson asked.

“Where just here t-” Teiko said.

“Oh I see, Silica is touring you in this village. There’s not much to see but enjoy your tour. I’m quite busy right here so I can’t accommodate the two of you. Silica, do a proper job alright,” Helson said. He goes back to work making Teiko not able to finish his sentence.

They left the place.

“I guess we’ll do it without their assistance,” Teiko said.

“Alright, then let’s go!” Silica said.

They went to the forest trying to find animals.

“This place is very dry, the trees don’t have any fruits in it,” Akeiko said.

“Yup, because we already picked them up, maybe we need to go a little further,” Silica said.

“What kind of animals are present here?” Teiko asked.

“Normally, there are three usual wild animals that can be found in this forest. We have the deers, some squirrels, the spider monkeys and the killer rabbits,” Silica replied.

“Okay, we somehow saw some of the animals you said, but what is the killer rabbit?” Teiko asked.

“It’s a rabbit but a very aggressive one. It is called a killer rabbit since it can kill a person by itself. It has an incredible speed and once it notices you, it will run towards you and in an instant, its horn will be struck in you. So killing it from a long distance is the best option, and that’s what I’m good at,” Silica explained.

“I can’t wait to see you use that bow and show us your ability,” Akeiko said.

“So aside from the normal one, what are the rare one?” Teiko asked.

“Hmm, the only thing I can think of is the bear. Though they are very rare, the last time someone spotted it in the village was three years ago. They are very dangerous and just wanted to kill anyone in their path, but I don’t think we will meet them even if we spend weeks hunting here,” Silica answered.

“Okay, are they hard to fight against?” Teiko asked.

“From my knowledge, they are stronger than wolves. It may be in comparison to the ten wolves that you fought before we met,” Akeiko said.

“Really, you fight against that many, Teiko?” Silica asked.

“Not really, I took them one by one so I think I did not do something like that,” Teiko replied.

“Anyway, they are very rare so talking about them will not benefit us,” Silica said.

“Fine, but don’t blame me if we encounter one, okay?” Teiko said.

Few minutes have passed by.

“Hey, is it me or we are not seeing anything even after half an hour of walking?” Teiko asked.

“Days ago, the animals that were present here suddenly disappeared,” Silica said.

“Wait, so that means that what we heard earlier about shortage of food is really true,” Teiko said.

“Oops, it slipped out of my tongue,” Silica said then laughed.

“Why are your village still going to have a feast if you’re having that kind of problem?” Akeiko asked.

“Right? Let’s go back, I have to stop them,” Teiko said.

“Please, Teiko. Even just tonight, let them thank you through that. We’ll just do it for a day, tomorrow or maybe after tomorrow, the animals here might come back,” Silica said.

“Even if you said that, that’s only a ‘maybe’. We can’t sacrifice food for a week just for you to thank my father, you do understand that if my father is in my situation, he’ll not do something like that,” Teiko said.

“I know! But we've been waiting for him to return for about seven years already, now that we know that he is dead and his son is right here in our village, we can’t let this moment pass. If you go on your journey to become a hero and fight the evil beings, you’ll only be able to return just after 7 years or more, we’re not even sure if you will return here again,” Silica said.

Akeiko hugged Silica. She said, “Teiko, let their village do this. Is that okay?”

Teiko takes a deep breath. He said, “Fine, we still got three hours left. We’ll try to find food as much as we can.”

The two nodded.

They took another one and a half hour walking away from the village but didn’t manage to find anything.

“Teiko, let’s give up. We need to return to the village,” Silica said.

Teiko looks at the far distance then turns around walking towards Toya village.

GROOOWL!

“Wait, that’s the sound of a wild animal, right? Yes, we got some!” Teiko said.

“But what’s with that growl, it’s different than any I heard of,” Silica said.

THUMP!

THUMP!

“It’s approaching us!” Akeiko said.

“By how loud it is, it’s a big animal. That also means a big chunk of meat, right? Teiko said.

The wild animals become visible to the three.