On an egg

Zain, at first, was feeling high and mighty as he read the map. But his happy attitude crashed into pieces the moment he realized what a big mistake he had made. While he was running around pointing at different things, he realized that the location and objects the map alerted him about did exist in reality.

He was awestruck until he realized that he had put himself in trouble.

*Crack* *Crack* *Crack* The egg cracked!

"Zain, I think you broke something," Gem spoke from behind in a voice carrying an almost shivering tone. Turning around, the nervousness Gem was producing was starting to make Zain nervous too.

Trying to jump away from the egg, Zain realized he couldn't; he was paralyzed by fear. "Zain! Move away, now!" Gem screamed at the top of his lungs but to no avail. Zain still couldn't move.

*Crack* *Crack* The cracks were spreading rapidly, and it was only a matter of seconds before the egg shattered. "Haaaaaaaaaa!" Gem screamed as he rushed towards Zain.

Leaping upward, he did a big jump towards Zain. As he landed on the egg, more cracks appeared, but he didn't care. Grabbing Zain, he did another jump, and just at that moment, the egg completely hatched, shattering like glass, and six pairs of red glowing eyes could be seen inside.

Not far from the city, a person or possibly people were running as fast as possible.

The forest that surrounded the small village was indeed very unkempt and almost untouched. The leaves on the ground from the trees that had shed were all over the place, dry, brown, and nearly close to decaying.

Each foot that met the ground made a crispy noise due to contact with the leaves.

Crunch! Crunch! Crunch! Crunch!

"I'm sorry, guys," Dem couldn't help but whisper to himself as his body sliced through the air with full speed. "It's for the best, I did this for the best."

Tracing the duo that left the village without any permission or approval wasn't as hard as expected. The leaves gave away their location. Since no one had dared to leave the village ever, it made the footprints of the duo clear, and the leaves hadn't decayed for as far as the eye could see, making the crushed leaves also extremely visible. It was only a matter of time before he caught up.

From the eggs, a rat beast emerged. Its body is covered in matted fur that ranges in color from a sickly gray to a deep, mottled brown, giving it a camouflaged appearance in the shadows. The creature's size is larger than an average rat, standing about three feet tall in all fours, with a long, sinewy tail that can whip around with surprising speed.

Its head is a disturbing blend of rat and something more terrifying; its eyes are unnaturally large and glisten with a predatory mindset, reflecting a deep, unsettling hunger. The snout is elongated, filled with sharp, yellowed teeth that are perpetually bared in a menacing snarl. Whiskers swirl and twitch constantly, sensing the air for movement, while its ears are oversized and twitching, picking up even the faintest sounds.

Its length wasn't long, just a few meters.

Leaping above, a large rat beast swung its dangling claws Gem didn't notice earlier. "Arrrrrghhhhhh!" Gem screamed as he also leaped upward, grabbing the rat's sharp claws before it gathered enough momentum in the air to create a deadlier attack.

From below, another rat beast launched at Gem; it came too fast and completely unexpectedly for Gem to react. Its mouth was widely open mid-air, showing its multitude of razor-sharp teeth.

On the other hand, seeing how Gem was taking on the fight... I mean receiving a beating from the beast, Zain knew he had to do something.

Going on an adventure outside the village, which was the only safe zone they knew, it would be extremely foolish to not prepare for beast attacks, especially after knowing they exist outside. And the purpose of the overloaded bag being carried by Gem earlier had lots of stuff that is meant for such a situation.

If Zain hadn't messed up by climbing on the egg here, then all would have been well. They wouldn't have encountered or rather, awakened these beasts and would still have a low chance of encountering a beast.

They are currently not traveling with the brainiac they were supposed to be traveling with, but that didn't mean they hadn't already prepared beforehand, they made preparation along with Dem beforehand.

Using the knowledge from the people who built the forest around the city and their other theories, they could already tell they managed to figure out some things, and one of the major things was about plants.

Plants, especially the ones with fragrances like flowers, are extremely unappetizing to beasts and play a giant role in masking human scent against beasts with a good nose. And so, the bag has enough of it.

Also, the sweater they have on isn't just for show; one of the reasons was for holding their scent in.

'I just didn't expect to face a beast this early,' Zain thought, clenching his fist.

Opening the upper part of the bag, Zain pulled out a sharp, thin silver material—a sword. Rushing forward, he had the sword ready. Then, when he finally got close enough to strike, his body froze... One of the rat beasts had its teeth clenching onto Gem's torso, and the other beast's sharp claws were in contact with Gem's limbs that were crossed in an X-shape.

"GEM!"

With his teeth gritting on each other and his eyes bulging with intensity, Gem's eyes then move to Zain, his pupils shaking he stared at Zain, unable to utter any word due to the sheer force the beast was applying to him.

All the energy Zain had gathered, all the fear he had gotten rid of, suddenly struck back, freezing him this time. Its teeth... Clutching to Gem.

Zain stayed on one knee on the floor as he stared at Gem, still not knowing how to move his body. These beast's terrifying nature itself is enough to immobilize anyone.

When the egg hatched, six red eyes could be seen inside, two belonging to each beast, which meant there were three beasts. The two beasts in sight already had Gem, and as for the last beast...

*GROWL*

It was right behind Zain with its claws raised... This is what Gem was trying to alert Zain about.

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