Meeting up with Damascus and Asher

Hendrix left the Refugee camp and returned to the path while surveying the mountainous terrain.

'I should kill more small varmints and sell their bodies to gain extra coin. I can't do much else until enough of my classmates arrive.' Hendrix thought before sighing as he looked for any varmints he could kill or attempt to.

{Alright, just be careful, Hendrix. Your class doesn't allow you to use any healing items made by sentients except yourself. So please don't get injured.}

'I'll try my best, just know most things are out of my control.'

{I know. Hey, there are some secrets about your scroll Originator class I need to tell you. You know each of your inventions, right?}

'Yes, I do. I'm curious, though, why you wish to talk about them.'

{Well, whenever you create a physical invention. A corresponding gear precisely like it is bound to your soul. However, Guide has been hiding this from you for some reason. I only know due to my direct connection to your Scroll Originator class.}

[...You cant use the inventions you made in your tribulation and combat assessment now. You have to reach the Okria first.]

"Hehe." Hendrix began lifelessly laughing as he continued to walk, expecting nothing more from Guide.

{Hendrix, are you alright?}

'I rarely am outside your realm Ackalon.' Hendrix thought before sighing and continuing to walk.

While the three were talking, the bushes began moving. Subsequently, Hendrix got into a defensive stance, but what came out of them caused his eyes to widen.

"Hey Hendrix, I finally found you! I've been climbing many steep slopes and almost fell to my death a few times." Damascus stated while wheezing and pulling himself up onto the ledge and relaxing on the path. He had lots of bruises and bite marks on his body.

"I don't remember you, sadly. May I know your name?" Hendrix asked while his brow raised.

"I'm Damascus, and it makes sense you know nothing about me. You spent most of your time in the hospital." Damascus replied before sighing.

"Did anyone arrive in the crown world with you?" Hendrix questioned

"No, I arrived alone. My quest told me to find you at all costs since it told me you would lead our class to the portal in Okria, and if you left without us, we were doomed." Damascus replied

"Why doomed? Don't you know there's a path to a refugee camp and the portal?" Hendrix asked

Damascus didn't respond right away as he looked at the path Hendrix was taking, it wasn't flat for sure, but at least it looked easy to walk on. Afterward, he sighed while staring at Hendrix.

"You are so lucky, Hendrix. I had to climb horrendous terrain and face strange rodents." Damascus exclaimed

'If you only knew what I had to accomplish to get this, you wouldn't be saying that.' Hendrix thought before replying. "Well, maybe the world thought climbing cliffs was out of my capability. Who knows."

"That makes sense. Since it seems walking on this path is very difficult for you." Damascus joked.

Hendrix sighed, not getting angry, thinking it wasn't worth it.

"So, are we going to the refugee camp? Or are we going to wait for other people?" Damascus asked

"We'll wait, but while we do so, kill creatures you find, and you can sell their bodies to the camp for some currency. Also, please don't bring up small talk. Remember, I'm only willing to answer questions about survival." Hendrix instructed before continuing to walk on the path.

"Alright, I apologize. I forgot that was a rule." Damascus replied before sighing as he followed Hendrix, looking for varmints to kill.

The two continued to walk until they spotted a group of twenty fur-covered Jerboa varmints. Hendrix walked towards them, and the varmints didn't attack.

'Wait, they aren't attacking Hendrix. Perhaps it will be the same for me.' Damascus thought before following Hendrix's lead.

The fur-covered Jerboa varmints turned to Damascus and bared their teeth, and started running at him with malicious intent.

"Huh, why are they after me but not you?" Damascus asked as he quickly grabbed a stick and faced the varmints.

The closest Jerboa varmint went to kick Damascus; however, he got out of the way just in time and stabbed its back as hard as possible.

The Jerboa varmint cried out, impaled on the stick, as blood dripped from both openings, resulting in the others increasing their speed and attacking Damascus with kicks.

"Hey, I need help, Hendrix!" Damascus yelled while feeling all their kicks bruising his body. He tried to kill them by swinging the stick with the impaled one at them. But they dodged out of the way, learning from their fallen comrade's mistake.

Hendrix sighed and ran towards the battle, and when he arrived, he smacked the closest varmint on the head as hard as he could multiple times, resulting in the varmint's head sinking in a bit.

The varmint fell to the ground, foaming at the mouth and weakly gasping for air. Hendrix smacked its head again, and its skull caved in, killing it.

Afterward, the group of varmints split in two, one after Hendrix and the other after Damascus.

"Thanks, Hendrix, for saving me." Damascus thanked while fighting with his half of the varmints.

"You're welcome." Hendrix civilly replied while he got into a defensive stance and began to block all nine Jerboa varmints expertly. Additionally, he tried to use the least amount of stamina possible.

After about a minute of fighting, Damascus killed nearly half of the varmints surrounding him, but not without sacrifice. Bruises almost completely covered his body, and when he looked at Hendrix, his eyes widened.

"How are you not hurt, Hendrix?!" Damascus yelled, seeing Hendrix not have a single wound on his body.

"I can't tell you." Hendrix stated before feeling his technique effectiveness reached the previous level of three, and he started bashing in the skulls of each varmint at a brisk pace.

Damascus didn't look at what Hendrix was doing, having problems to deal with.

Hendrix killed each Jerboa with two attacks, and afterward, he rushed to Damascus and killed the remaining four he was battling before putting his cracked cane down.

"Hendrix, I didn't know you were so powerful. Why didn't you participate in the fight in our class?" Damascus asked

"I wouldn't have shown you if our lives weren't on the line." Hendrix replied while pondering how to cover up his secret without causing suspicion. Afterward, he feigned he was still strong, despite having an intense desire to wheeze and cough due to him having barely any stamina left.

"I see. You are terrifying. So what should we do with the bodies? We can't carry them all." Damascus asked.

"I'll try to deal with those in the refugee camp and see if they could grab these for us. However, I believe they will lower the currency paid to us if they do it for us." Hendrix replied

"Well, we have no choice." Damascus stated

Hendrix nodded and smiled, thinking of making money if he had more time here. However, he dismissed it since time was a third up.

"Let's go." Hendrix stated as he began walking away.

Afterward, they both began to head towards the camp. However, when they almost arrived, they heard something.

"Someone, please help me up!" Asher yelled as he tried to climb up the cliff near the path.

Hendrix and Damascus stopped and approached Asher before realizing his predicament.

"I'm sadly too small to be of any use." Hendrix bluntly replied before backing away.

Damascus held his hand out and grabbed Asher's. However, it hurt due to all the bruises he gained.

"Alright, I'll try to pull you up in three, two, one." Damascus yelled before he used all his strength to try to pull Asher up. However, his efforts were for naught.

"I'm slipping. Please hurry!" Asher yelled

Damascus's eyes widened as Adrenaline began pumping through his body, causing him to gain a significant boost in strength before he pulled Asher onto the ledge. And both began panting while wheezing.

"You two go find a bush to hide in. I'll make some makeshift bandages to cover your injuries. However, it may take a while." Hendrix instructed while pointing to some large bushes on the broader parts of the path.

Damascus and Asher nodded, and both found one and rested.

Afterward, Hendrix went backward on the path, and when he arrived in front of the varmint carcasses, he started skinning them roughly with a sharp rock. After about an hour of skinning, he sighed while yawning before cutting the hide into long strips and layering them one onto another. Additionally, he made some rudimentary rope with the plant fibers of the local Flora.

Subsequently, he grabbed these and placed them in his sack on his back, and carried a single Jerboa varmint back in one hand while using the cane in the other. After fifteen minutes, he returned and placed the sack and carcass near his two injured sleeping classmates and began collecting all the fallen branches.

Once he collected enough, he placed them in a pile and made a fire pit around them before he skinned and gutted the carcass. Afterward, he put it on the fire and cooked the meat before sighing again.