Chuck followed the stream as it widened, eventually it turned into a passable river. He kind of wished he had a raft to float down it. Eventually, deciding against that idea, now knowing how rough the downriver section was. Besides he was enjoying the walk. He had no memories of enjoying walks before, or at least nothing surfaced from his fragmented mind. More evidence that he lived a sheltered life.

He followed the small river downstream, it meandered quite a bit but kept to a generally southerly direction. He spotted a few smaller creatures along the shore. Each time he would hide in the trees and wait for them to leave the area before he continued. He did want to practice with his magic but he didn't want to repeat his mistake with the rabbit. Any of these creatures could be a vicious predator.

He spotted something odd after a few hours along this route. It was a few minutes after level four of light armor completed. A short green bipedal creature with what looked like a club was fighting something along the shore. Chuck hid in the bushes and slowly approached, using sneaking. He didn't want to get too close, but he was curious as to what the creature was. It was obviously semi-intelligent if it was using a club.

The creature had managed to kill whatever it had been fighting, Chuck stopped twenty meters away. The smell was what stopped him short, causing him to gag a bit from the rancid odor. The creature spun to face his direction. It had a mouth full of tiny dagger-like teeth and red eyes. It scanned the treeline as Chuck readied his ice arrow spell in his off-hand and gripped the hilt of his sword in his main. He was prepared as he could be if it attacked.

Three more creatures appeared from the woods with a racket and the four started gibbering in some sort of language. It looked like they were arguing over who got the kill. One of the newcomers stabbed the club wielder with a crude spear and a brawl broke out between the four. Chuck watched in sick fascination as it appeared that there were no sides, they were attacking each other indiscriminately.

Chuck decided to wait and watch. He had to unform the spell in his mind as it was taxing to keep it prepared like that. Eventually, a victor was declared as the spear wielder, covered in bruises and blood raised his spear in victory. His victory was short-lived as Chuck sent an ice arrow into its chest.

The creature looked down in confusion at the gaping hole in its chest before it face-planted the ground. Chuck had seen enough to declare these creatures a threat. Since it was injured it was best to dispose of them now, instead of accidentally stumbling on them later in the forest. He checked to make sure the area was clear of any more of the foul-smelling things before he went towards the bodies.

The smell was much worse up close and he had to pinch his nose shut to keep from vomiting. How anything alive could smell this bad he didn't know. His other hand was on his exposed sword. He kicked each body to make sure they were truly dead. He was surprised when one groaned. He stabbed it a few times until it stopped moving, making sure to wipe his blade off on the grass. The only other option being his clothes or the creatures filthy clothing. He doubted their filthy loin clothes would clean anything. He felt like he was getting diseased just by being this close to them.

This close up he could see more details of the creatures. They stood about a meter in height, had rough green skin the texture similar to a frog, and what he thought were red eyes turned out just to be bloodshot, with a tiny black pupil in the center. Chuck felt nothing for killing these creatures. Something about them just said they needed to die.

He walked over to the other creature that the one killed on the sandy beach. The club wielder hadn't left much behind. Whatever it had been it was now flat as a pancake. A pool of blood and innards spread around it. It smelled significantly better than the creatures that killed it.

Chuck decided to leave it all there, he did see some tracks leading off into the forest though. At this time he decided he wasn't willing to follow them. He also wondered what a pancake was.

Since there seemed to be more creatures along the river Chuck moved a little way into the forest. He couldn't sneak all the time as it wasn't practical, at least not with his current skills. He knew ice arrow had about two and a half hours left to hit level four. Then sneaking level four would be up next for training.

While he couldn't sneak he did try to stay as quiet as possible. Occasionally he would stop and listen. After about an hour of this, he heard voices. These weren't the high pitched voices like the creatures before. He could see the sun poking through the lighter vegetation along the river, estimating it to be around dinner time. He was definitely starting to get hungry.

He stealthily approached the voices, stopping behind a tree. He peered out into the clearing along the river. It looks like a large forty-meter area had been cleared of trees and undergrowth. Low stumps could be seen dotting the area. In the center, around a fire, were four men.

They were dressed in strange loose-fitting pants in a variety of bright colors. Two of the men had leather armor over their chests. It appeared that all of them had weapons of some sort. What looked like a spear lay near one man. Another carried a curved sword that had a blade that widened out the farther it got from the grip. The third man carried a straight sword, looked like it was longer than his. Chuck couldn't see what the fourth man carried but he had something strapped to his waist.

He heard a snapping branch behind and was about to turn around when a sharp blade pressed itself up against his back. The man spoke something but Chuck couldn't understand him. He decided to play it safe and spread his arms out wide.

The man said something again and poked him to get the point across. Chuck gulped and hoped he was right as he slowly rose. The man reached around and took his sword, then pushed him forward until he was in the clearing.

"Hey, fellas, look what I found skulking around our camp."

Mellas pushed the boy into the clearing as Bargo and Erwin rose, weapons in hand.

"Bah, it's just a boy," Bargo said, sheathing his scimitar.

"Looks young, probably isn't even awakened yet. Well boy, are you awakened?"

The boy just stared at him.

"Does it matter if he is awakened, he is wearing armor and sporting quality steel. Here, take a look."

Erwin walked over and took the offered sword, inspecting it. Other than a few spots of goblin blood still on the blade, it was immaculate. He gave it a couple of test swings, finding it perfectly balanced if a bit short for his liking. The edge was also razor-sharp.

"Where did you get this sword, boy?"

When he failed to answer Mellas gave him a slight shove.

Chuck was roughly pushed forward, towards the man who had his sword. He didn't know what to do in this situation so he started to conjure an ice arrow in case he needed to run.

"Careful, Erwin. The boy is gathering mana," Ricardo pointed out.

Erwin expected the kid to stop when he was exposed, but he didn't.

"You know what? I don't think the kid understands a word we've spoken. Mellas, put your sword away."

Chuck watched warily as the men sheathed swords. The man with his sword just held his other hand up in what looked like a placating gesture. Then he pointed towards a tree stump and let loose a fiery bolt. He could feel the heat of the spell as it burned the stump. The man turned back to him and motioned for him to do the same. Chuck deliberated for a few seconds before complying. Maybe if they knew he wasn't unarmed they might be wary of trying to harm him.

He pointed his hand towards the same stump and let loose his ice arrow. It hit the stump with a satisfying thunk. He turned when he heard slow clapping. Then the man holding his sword turned to another man sitting at the fire.

Ricardo sighed and almost instantly formed an ice arrow. He held the projectile in front of his hand and gave the kid a wolfish grin as he ran his other hand up and down the icy surface. After a few strokes, he let it go. It popped into the air and flopped to the ground about three meters away.

Chuck watched the vulgar display as everyone else laughed uproariously at the antics. He honestly didn't know what to make of it, the spell control was impressive. He was shaken from his stupor when the man holding his sword stepped up and shoved it back into his sheath, nearly bending him over with the strength he used to do so. He wrapped an arm around Chuck's shoulder and led him towards the fire while laughing.

The man pushed him to site on a stump, none too gently.

Erwin took a seat next to the boy and snapped his fingers to get the kid's attention, "Erwin," he said while tapping his chest, repeating the word a few times to clue the kid in. He really shouldn't think of him as a kid, he was awakened after all. It was hard to do though, he just looked so young.

Chuck watched the man as he tapped his chest and spoke a single word. After he repeated it he realized it must be the man's name. Chuck followed suit and tapped his own chest, saying his name.

Erwin thought the kid, no Chuck's name was odd but that just lent more credence that the kid wasn't from around here. What he was doing wandering around in the Erg jungle was a mystery.

Eventually, Chuck learned all of their names. There was Erwin, who he assumed was the leader. He took charge of everything, a man of average height and short bleach-blond hair. Mellas was the one who brought him in, a willowy guy with coal-black hair and dark brown eyes that seemed to move without sound.

Chuck realized the guy must have purposefully stepped on the branch to see what sort of reaction he got out of him.

Then there was Bargo, a larger man with a shaved head. The vulgar mage was named Ricardo. And finally the quiet Sha-la-hasha, the spear wielder that everyone just called Sha, a tall man with green eyes and dirty blond hair in a ponytail down his back. All of these men looked like people you wouldn't want to mess with. So it was surprising when they took him into their camp.

Some attempts were made to communicate with him but their language was odd. Or at least odd to Chuck and he was having a hard time with it.

"Well, Chuck doesn't appear to be addled, odd as his name is. Wonder where he came from."

"Think he could be any help?" Bargo asked.

"Who knows. He has magic, can't say about his skills with a blade. Mellas, go spar with the kid, and let's see what he is capable of."

Mellas grumbled but got up. He kicked Chuck's foot to get his attention and waved for him to follow.

Chuck followed Mellas to an area relatively clear of stumps, unsure what the man wanted. He watched as the man tapped his hilt and pointed to him. Does he want me to draw my weapon? Slowly he drew the sword while watching Mellas's reaction. The man nodded, drawing his own blade. Then he motioned Chuck forward with his hand.

'Hopefully, I'm not reading this wrong, looks like he wants to spar.'

He took a deep breath and pulled up the information that the skill provided. He adjusted his grip on the sword and moved forward. Mellas just smiled. Chuck lunged forward but pulled up enough to not hit the man. He shouldn't have worried. The man knocked Chuck's sword away with a flick, causing him to drop it. His hand felt numb from the impact.

Chuck heard the rest of the group laughing and went to pick up his sword. Their little sparing session went on for another ten minutes before Mellas held up his hand and put his sword away. He walked back towards the fire, some of the men still chuckling at how bad I was with a blade.

"Good gods," Erwin said, "Who gave this unskilled child a sword. I'm surprised he didn't chop his fingers off."

Mellas grunted, "It appears he only has a basic blade skill, seems like he has it decently leveled though. Knows the forms and how to hold a blade... don't think he's ever actually practiced with one before though."

Erwin turned towards Mellas, "Why do you think that?"

Mellas held up his hands, palms towards Erwin, "Soft hands, like a lady."

That got another round of laughs from the group.

It was easy enough for Chuck to pick up on the visual clues of their conversation, he looked at his sore hands. They were unblemished other than the start of some blisters from holding the sword. He sighed, they were making fun of his soft hands, weren't they.

Erwin scratched his beard, "If we're going to keep the kid with us, might as well give him some training. Otherwise, he is just going to be a liability."

Erwin liked the kid, he wasn't sure why. Maybe it was that lost puppy look Chuck seemed to have, or maybe the fact that he grew up an orphan and alone. Despite his dangerous appearance, he was a gentle soul at heart, always trying to help children in need. Most of his money went to the orphanage back in Brightwater. Since he grew up with little, he needed little to survive. He wasn't one for extraneous gear or items like some adventurers were. Sure it was nice to find treasure, but what use was that for someone like him. He was traveling most of the time and would continue to do so until his body wouldn't allow it or some creature claimed his life.

Erwin stood up and walked over to Chuck, putting his arm around his shoulder, "Today is your lucky day my friend. You get to train."

Chuck wasn't sure he liked the look Erwin gave him or the accompanying smiles of the other men.

Chuck was right. After Erwin showed him some simple sword forms he expected Chuck to repeat them. Chuck did as he asked, stopping after he did one. He watched Erwin rub his face in consternation before he held out his hand, one finger up. Then Erwin went through the form again. He put two fingers up and did it twice. Then he pointed to him and held up ten fingers, flashing them five times.

Chuck sighed but got back to practicing the sword form. He only had to do it fifty times. He stopped at twenty-eight to change a skill over because ice arrow had finished level four. Erwin clapped his hands to get his attention. Chuck looked over and Erwin flashed his hands five times again.

"Oh come on, I gotta start over?"

Erwin didn't know what the kid said but he knew backtalk when he saw it. He added another five to Chuck's reps. It would be an important lesson for the kid to learn.

Chuck started over. His muscles were sore from the repeated moves. His movements were improving though, so there was that. He noticed that at least one member wandered off for an hour or so to scout the woods around the camp. By the end of his training, Chuck was exhausted. His hands were raw from holding the sword for hours and his muscles were on fire from the unexpected use. He decided to collapse on his bedroll, he figured it was safe enough. If these men wanted to harm him they would have done so by now.

He was asleep even before the chuckles subsided.

"Bit hard on the kid weren't you?"

"Nah," Erwin replied, "I would have let him stop after he finished fifty total, but the kid seemed driven. I honestly didn't expect him to be able to complete all of them. Anyway, we should hit the roll, got an early day tomorrow."

Erwin kicked Sha's foot, "Sha, you got first watch."

Sha grunted and stood up to stretch, grabbing his spear from the ground and heading off to patrol around the camp. This was mostly goblin territory but you never know if something more dangerous would come by.

***

The beast was closing in on its target, it only stopped to snack on some tasty morsels left along the water. It would have stayed to bask in the warmth if the sun wasn't already setting. It gave a great sniff and reoriented on its target. It was close.