"Oh wow.." An honest expression of astonishment was plastered on Ian's face as he stared ahead in a daze. It was bright. And shiny. And loud. There was a party. Or maybe this was their regular schedule. He didn't know. There was a huge bonfire in the middle of a wide open space. The hundreds of thousands of stars blinked in harmony with the fire dancing in the wind. But they weren't the only ones dancing. There were a couple dozen people surrounding the fire that were dancing in harmony with the rest of them. Almost the whole tribe was there. They were a small tribe. Small in number, barely a hundred of them. The dozens of dancers circling the fire were probably the warriors of the tribe. Anyone would be able to tell, just by their body figures. Then again, they weren't bulky or full of musles either. Their bodies were toned, slim, delicate-looking yet tough and full of dense muscles. Both the men and women were adorned with gold ornaments that shined against the fire's lig
"What do you wanna do? Stay? Or leave?"Rick asked while munching on a beef jerky. They decided to distance themselves for the time being after Ian accidentally let revealed his presence a while ago. Right now, there were a few miles away from the tribal village. Everyone had already stopped concealing their presence and was just freely walking around. They weren't particular doing anything, since there wasn't any order from Ian, neither did he say anything about setting up a tent. It wasn't that Ian was being indecisive, more like he was out of it.The somewhat dazed expression on his face was evidence enough that his mind was somewhere else. "Stay? Or leave?"Rick nudged him from the side again, waiting for an answer. This time, Ian finally came out of his daze and looked to the side. "Let's... stay the night.. just to make sure.. ""Alright. So we're setting up the tent?"Rick nodded his head hearing Ian's decision like it was obvious. And asked something which also had a quite
Both Ash and the tiger tribe member in front of him were momentarily lost in their thought after they came face to face with each other. But the silence only lasted for a second before the two of them came back to reality at the same time, looking at each other and asking what they were curious about."Who the hell are you?!""What did those people say?!"Both the tiger and Ash asked simultaneously, over-voicing each other. As one party tried to understand the words of another, they paused again, although only for a second. "Whatcha talking about brat? They who?"The tiger tribesman asked first, pretending to have no clue. Ash wondered what was the right thing to do at that moment, what would be the most appropriate answer. But then again, he wasn't a genius when it came to making instant excuses either. So the only thing he could do was tell the truth."The people that came before me. The ones you mistook me with.""Who were they? What was their motive?"He asked honestly without
Ian and his party was guarding the Mountains where the Tiger tribe lived.They were keeping an eye out for any sudden or unnatural movements to confirm whether the organisation had made it all the way here or not. But it was taking a while. While they stayed, ate and slept in tree branches like some monkey, Ash ran out of patience and decided to check things out for himself.So he decided to pay the owner of the mountain they were guarding a visit while Ian was supposedly sleeping. He put in a lot of effort to make countless shields around Ian before he finally left for the mountain with a peaceful mind. As he met the tiger and was invited to come in, he was genuinely shocked by how similar it's house inside the cave looked to a human abode. But then again, he wasn't there to sightsee or enjoy the scenery while sipping in tea, so he got to the point straight away as soon as he sat down on a chair."Did a group of people visit you before us? Can you tell me what they came here for?"
'I didn't do anything bad, right?'Ash thought to himself as he replayed the events of his visit at the Tiger's den a few days ago. He considered it to be a secret visit since he went there after confirming that Ian was asleep. He only wanted to lessen some of Ian's burdens so he went to check if everything was okay or if there really was an issue.If there was, then Ash planned on solving it before Ian woke up or at least before he started realising what was happening. After he was done with his visit, meaning after confirming that there was nothing wrong yet, and giving the tiger tribe member a fair warning, he left the mountain and went down to where Ian was again.Seeing how peacefully Ian was sleeping, he was happy and also a little relieved. He didn't make any more sudden or unannounced movements for the next 3/4 days that they stayed there and just enjoyed their peaceful and quiet days with Ian. That's why, although he got caught, Ash didn't think too much about it. He was r
"Do you know anyone there?"The Phoenix asked as it saw Ian heading towards the tribal village. He had his presence hidden but that was all. He wasn't sneaking around or hiding behind anything.As long as one had good eyesight, they'd be able to easily see Ian. Leading the phoenix to wonder if he was doing it on purpose, if so, whether Ian already knew anyone from the tribe. "Mm.. I guess?"It was an ambiguous answer. He didn't care to elaborate either. Because, truely, Ian himself couldn't explain it if asked. He knew them from reading a novel. But to be able to recognise them at first glace just because he read about them in a novel, it seemed unbelievable even to Ian himself. He felt weird.Ian was almost within the ranges where the villagers would be able to spot him when he finally stopped. A smile appeared automatically on his lips as he felt the sharp killing aura coming from behind him.The sharply pointed blade touched the back of his neck, threating to thrust in the moment
Erza, one of Arthur's future party member.Although she joined them in the middle of the story, she was one of the most favourite characters of the readers. They all loved her dearly.Not only wasn't she a burden to the team and got adapted to their style soon, she also had her own unique personality and strength.She was a character that had a past and her own story. You rarely find someone like that in a male protagonist oriented fantasy novel.Noah was also a fan. And just like any other fan, he was also head over heels for Erza.Just like her name, which meant the Guardian or protector, she was the one looking after her tribe and ensuring their safety for years.At the age of ten, she protected her father, the chief of the village, from an assassination attempt amd awakening her power in the process.Since then, she fought against monster waves, human traffickers, bandits and robbers. And each time she faced an enemy that was stronger than her, she only grew stronger in the face o
At the moment when Ian was being taken to the village by Erza, a severe crisis was brewing within the member of Ian's party.Louis, who was supposed to secretly tail Ian and keep an eye on him, in case he did something stupid, saw the whole thing go down between Ian and Erza.This is the version of the story that Louis made up from what he saw and delivered to Ash after he came back to the tent in a hurry.1. Ian went to take another look at the village.2. He was caught by surprise as some unknown beautiful tribal woman warrior held a blade against his neck with all hostility.3. Although he managed to somehow persuade her to put the weapon down, he was still taken hostage by the woman.4. Lastly, he got dragged into their village against his will.He said that he came back to the tent so he could take either Ash or Damon with him.Since they were capable of knowing each other's location, he wanted to let Ian know that they were coming to his aid by taking one of them with him."What