Adrin's return wasn’t a huge surprise to the guards, well, not until they saw the bundles of meat he was carrying along. Their mouths hanging open, and before long, were salivating from the smell alone.

Despite the fact, he was still told to wait outside and wait for the village head. None of them dared to make their own decision either to let him in or not.

This was what these people were, a bunch of people who didn’t dare to take risks. He wouldn’t judge how people live their lives, but this was why they were here, in the fringe of society, where nothing hardly changed. They would live and die here, living in boring, mediocre lives.

“So, you are back,” said Ismal.

Hands crossed, the village head was doing his best to keep his facade intact. The man was both cruel and smart enough to make decisions, the only reason he had become the leader. He looked more like a bandit leader than a village head.

“Yes, and as promised,” Adrin handed over two healthy bundles of meat to the old man. “That should be enough, right?”

Ismal took a sniff, “these are groundhogs’?”

Adrin had to give it to him. The old man knew his meat. A few other people arrived in a hurry after the village head, and among them were Marla with her friend and Emi. Unlike the men, they were full of smiles when they saw him.

“How did you alone kill one of these?” Ismal questioned him.

Adrin shrugged, “I’m a good shot?”

He couldn’t really say he had an excellent shot with the help of [Aim Assist].

Normally, it would already be difficult to find the creature, let alone hit it in between branches or foliages. One missed shot would alarm the huge creature and who knew what would happen next. They could disappear into the ground in seconds or turn aggressive.

At least, from what he had heard along the years. The old man also would have tried to peel the skill out of his skin if he knew about the skill.

Adrin could easily deduct that from the memories which didn’t make any sense to him at the time. Ismal used to argue with other men in the village over skills. He used to call out anyone he suspected to hide a skill from him and did whatever he could to get what he wanted.

Nothing worth more than unique skills for these people. Any worthy skills were kept secret within each family so their worth wouldn’t fade away. It was to a point almost like a family heirloom.

“You must be terribly lucky,” the old man concluded but his eyes said otherwise. “He can go in,” he said to the guards.

“But you said-”

“I know what I’ve said, Koma,” the man hissed. “But the hunter’s favor is our sacred tradition.”

Adrin noticed that the other young man was eying at Emi as he complained. The old man might have promised something along the line, but knowing the father, he doubted the village head would follow through.

But being best by using his own rules would really piss a guy off.

It was the same in any world.

Adrin walked past the men and towards Marla and her friend Jena. He handed two of the last three bundles to her and probably her good friend and neighbor. They were no strangers. The two families loved to share even if the other was kind of cold to him and his mother.

“Tell Tilly and Hana to enjoy them, no favors needed,” Adrin said before turning to Emi. “This is yours,” he handed over the last bundle.

“But this is too much,” Emi said while her hands were gripping tight on several kilos of cooked meat.

“I won’t have survived this long without both of your help,” Adrin said to both of them. “This is my way of saying thank you. Share them if you want,” he shrugged.

Besides, he couldn’t possibly finish even one portion on his own. He would do nothing but eat for two days in a row or the meat would go bad. Maybe he should try smoking the meat next time so it would last longer.

“Thanks, Adrin,” the girl kissed his cheek before running off.

She was probably going to give the meat to someone she thought was in need. Adrin was glad the girl didn’t take after her father.

“Come and sleepover tonight,” Marla said with pink cheeks. “Tilly will be happy to have you over,” the woman used her daughter as an excuse.

“I’ll think about it,” Adrin replied and the woman pouted.

Marla’s good friend pulled her away before she could try to convince him. Adrin knew that he probably wouldn't be able to sleep if he went over to her house. She could become his assurance if anyone wanted to try anything while he slept, so it wasn’t all bad.

He sighed before heading home, he probably still would sleep over her place because of his paranoia. The men were giving him death stares. If a look could kill, they would have killed him a few times over already.

Adrin sighed again, it would be probably safer whether he liked it or not. At this point, living in his treehouse would probably be the best bet. He would have to finish it first, complete with a warning system or something.

The first thing he noticed when he arrived home was his missing fishing spear. Someone had entered his shack and took it, they probably had checked everything for clues or whatever. He had nothing else in the shack so there wasn’t any clear sign of search other than footsteps.

Lots of footsteps.

Adrin lit up his fireplace before he rested on his bed. He tossed and turned a few times, unable to sleep. The door was locked but he still couldn’t help it to feel uneasy.

What if some idiot tried something while he was asleep or meditating? Desperation would drive a man to the edge before committing something unthinkable. Then the village head could wash his hand and put the blame on the man.

After a few more tosses and turns, Adrin finally decided to take Marla’s offer. He was at the door when someone knocked.

“It’s me, Emi,” the girl whispered through the door.

Adrin opened the door and the girl rushed in for a hug. The hug turned into a kiss before she pushed him away.

“Father’s home tonight,” she said.

“Then I’ll teach you how to use the stone tomorrow,” Adrin said.

“You should sleep over Marla’s,” the girl quietly said. “Koma looked really pissed, I’m afraid-”

“I will,” he cut her off. “You should be going.”

The girl nodded and kissed his cheek one last time before running off again. Emi didn’t make a sound as she slipped into the darkness.

A few minutes later, Marla greeted him in her nightgown at the backdoor.

She hurried him inside before closing the door after checking the outside. The woman had the same idea as Emi and they were probably right about it.

Tilly was already asleep by the time he arrived. She should be after eating a filling meal so the cute girl wasn’t there to greet him.

Marla pushed him to the bathroom before she joined him moments later. Only a small towel covered her luscious body. There was nothing left to say to each other as they shared a bucket of water and the same wet towel.

Marla simply bent over to the walls and pitched her ass up when he got hard. The woman almost cried when he slid into her depth. There was a mark on her large bottom, but it was lost in the back of his mind as he enjoyed her warmth.

Emi’s innocent playfulness might be cute, but the lady’s thirst was just something else. She didn’t shy from enjoying the plows and asking for more. The woman was hell-bent to keep his seed and she was overjoyed when he burst deep in her. They didn’t even put anything on as she dragged him into the only other bedroom in the house.

This bed was softer and easier to his back. She didn’t have to wait long before she was able to ride herself insane. As in the old world, women seemed to love this position.

Adrin couldn’t do anything about it, but the neighbors probably had heard her lewd screams that night. His spirit told him that the woman probably hadn’t had it for quite some time based on her demeanor in bed. The sexy mother probably had denied quite a few favors.

Adrin fell asleep in her comforting warm chest after almost the whole night claiming his hunter’s favor. He might be completely drained, but he was a lot safer at least.