Scavenger

To achieve the best results, I tried to restrict my breathing and play as dead as I possibly could. I want to see their true nature.

While I was still contemplating exactly what I was doing to entertain myself, I caught glimpses of their faces as they came closer to me. They were just kids, their luck has to be rotten to the core if they were forced into this situation.

Although whether they were abandoned or are orphans does not matter, they have found their new family in this small group. Despite the circumstances, they do seem happy. This small group was comforting and relying on each other. At times they were even teasing each other. Playfully calling each other names.

Chubby was not happy to be called Chubby. Drama queen wants to be called Goddess and does not allow any other term. Left Hand was content with being called Right Hand. Incompetence was the nickname from their leader and last but not least, was last and the least a young boy tilted burden.

Chubby was the first one to spot me, but he lost all of his worries after I did not move while he was looking at me. Incompetence had neither received any information about my existence nor had he asked Chubby about the sudden break he took while he was looking at me.

Drama queen was way too occupied with herself to notice someone else besides her. The left hand was still busy brownnosing Incompetence. Last and the least was just staring into the clouds, simply daydreaming.

Last and the least nearly walked into the door frame as he did not pay any attention to what was happening in front of his eyes. This sparked Drama queen to let out a snarky comment about his dreamy behaviour.

Chubby tried to defend his dear friend only to get hit even worse in retaliation. Even I had to nod my head after hearing that sick rebuttal. Sadly I could not look up the nearest burn centres.

At least that is what I would love to say, but those are just children. They are all giggly and full of life, despite the grim situation they face. Whether it is the lack of maturity or a mechanism to cope with the stress they face, it does not change the fact, that the way there are now will only lead to sadness in the end.

They follow no strategy, their wariness is laughable. They do not carry around any form of arms, that they could use. How would they fight against me? Throwing rocks at me, will not do much against any opponent.

How do they intend to survive this ordeal if they do everything that should be avoided? They seem a bit too confident given their current situation. Way too confident.

I should not underestimate them just because they are kids. I have made that mistake too many times. If they are just pretending to be so weak, what could they try to achieve?

If they knew that I am not dead yet, they could try to catch me off-guard and capture me. Though with their numbers they would not have to rely on those tactics. Though it could also be a safety measure to minimize risks.

Furthermore, there is a big chance that they are not the only group currently roaming this vicinity. While they should not pose a threat to me directly, I should be mindful of every potential witness

On top of that, I do not know whether they only 5 in this group, there might be someone following them from the roof and checking on them from time to time. I should have noticed, the small pieces that do not add up sooner.

The robes they were currently still wearing were covering much of their body, so I could not tell what they were doing. If they would have dropped their guard, they would have taken them off. Even if they are kids, they might have some sort of defence on them or near them.

Another possibility is that these kids are just used by someone else who designates them to raid and loot a certain part of this town. If I take them as a part of an even bigger group, then their disappearance would raise unnecessary questions.

The best course of action would be to continue the act of feigning my death. If they have spotted me prior to my act, then I can just fix the issue after they have shown me their true intention.

The worst thing they could do to me was take away my clothes. I mean they still could spill their body fluids over me, but I would intervene if they go so far. Although I like to avoid trouble I do not fear it.

While I was thinking and deciding on what to do, they were not showing any difference in their behaviour, Their teasing and talking continued although they were still trying to suppress their voices to a minimum.

They were coming closer to my corpse as they were taking their time searching the houses for valuables. Random curses escaped from their lips as they still had no found whatever they were looking for.

At least I can be certain, they will not find any food whatsoever. But who knows what they are looking for. Whether they are looking for food or weapons or something entirely different did not matter much to me.

The remainder of the materials that could be found in this village was not something I needed. The materials I require will be delivered by my leecher. I do wonder what might happen if he were to arrive, while the rest of the NPCs was still here.

Would he hire them on the spot or would he ignore them and come straight to me to fulfil the task I have given him? But even more interesting is the reaction on their part. Would they try to fight or try and flee or hide in the houses until the danger has passed them by?

I need more information about them so I can deduce what theory is right and what is purely bogus. The moment of truth has finally come as Last but the least have noticed my presence and pointed at me while warning the others.

Their behaviour changed and they acted a lot more careful now. Not even one sound left their mouths as they held their breaths as they approached me ever so slowly.

I am a corpse with no signs of life, you approach me with 5 people simultaneously so why is there a need to be that careful and slow? Do they take me for some kind of zombie, that will suddenly stand up as if it was some cheap jump scare?

What's next? Will they poke me with a stick? I am certain that is the best way to check if someone is truly dead or not. Ah yes, these brats chose another classic. Small rocks are also quite effective in confirming this difficult matter.

There is no need to more stones then necessary, if I do not show any reaction after 6 rocks hit my face, then the chances are pretty high that I am not going to react to 20 more. Drama queen was seemingly really concerned about me being a zombie as she continued to throw more rocks at me.

At this point in time, the purpose had shifted quite heavily. I had become the personal target of the drama queen, who was enjoying this a bit too much. Nobody of her peers was showing any intention of stopping her or doing something else, they just stood beside her and stared while those rocks kept flying at me.

I will stay calm and not be provoked by their cheap tricks, blowing my cover will require a lot more than just annoying me with rocks. Using my vivid imagination was a good way to calm down and stay composed.

After what felt like an eternity the drama queen finally had enough of throwing rocks at me and came closer towards me. The rest of their eyes were still focused on me as if they were waiting for something to happen or a signal of any kind.

What if they are not looking at me directly but into my direction awaiting their orders? The odds of someone standing on top of the roof over my head have just increased significantly.

But judging by their behaviour they must know that something is fishy, that is why the continued to act so careful. My guess is that they had someone scout the perimeter before and I was seen then. Since the situation has developed as far as this, I could end this farce as soon as possible.

But I still wanted to see, what they would try to do with me. A better understanding of NPCs is not something harmful to me.

From all the possible actions I had considered and thought about, the brick that came from above of my head was none of them. Instead of probing, they just went with murder. Well, that was also a way to make sure that your target is really dead.

After the dull impact resounded and I still did not produce any other sound, they should have lost all of their wariness. But of course, for good measure, another wave of bricks came flying down onto my face.

The produced sound resembled the melody from We will rock you. After the message of my head, came to an end after they had run out of rocks to throw and drop on me. After everything was over, they returned to their cheerful mood and started to speak with a normal volume.

" You can calm down Big Brother, this guy is as deas as someone can be." I did not know why Chubby felt the need to prove this statement by kicking me several times but ignored it for the time being.

The Big Brother jumped down from the roof and landed right in front of the 5 youth who got rid of their robes as they now assured that no danger existed for them.

And I was not surprised by the things I saw. They were indeed children, way too young and still looked immature. Their age likely did not even reach the double digits. These small children did not even seem to know, the situation they are in. All they do is listen to the orders of their big brother.

With all of stress and wariness gone they ran around and they were just back to being normal kids again. They were loud and obnoxious running around without any worry in the world.

" Do not run too far and listen to whatever Big Sis tells you to."

After the children had run out of sight letting their fantasy run wild. I was left with the Big Brother who had been eyeing my corpse since the children started to play.

He started to look through my clothes and began to check if I had anything of worth. I had to help him a little otherwise he would not even be able to move my body. In his greed, he did not notice that things were a bit amiss. All it took was the absorbing gold coin and his eyes did not know reason anymore.

The only other thing, I had on me were my punching gloves, that I had used some time ago. He would not strip off my clothes, right?

After he got a hold out of my gloves, it took him quite some time and both of his hands just to get a single one out of my pants. Watching panting and his weird expression after pulling it out was worth it.

I just barely managed to prevent the smile from creeping upon my lips as I saw the antics of him as he tried so hard to get my gloves out of my pants. I was just lucky he had not grabbed on something else before starting to pull with all of his might.

After he had finally managed to get a hold of the finger gloves, he renewed his search but was unable to locate another treasure. He still looked rather content with the spoils from looting my corpse.

But he still was eying my corpse as if he was thinking about something. Before he could do something stupid, that he would regret for the rest of his life, he was stopped.

" Rather than his clothes, we need to find something to eat. This town seems to be devoid of any food."

This must be the Big Sister he has been talking about, or it is another person I do not know off because that's the first time I heard her voice. Her voice sounded domineering leaving no room for complaints. Or in other words, if those 2 were a pair, she would be wearing the pants.

The so-called Big Brother did not even say anything back and could only nod after hearing her voice. It felt like wanted to get down on his knees and prostrate himself in front of her.

So Big Sister what is going to happen to me?