Maxi dreamed of nothing that night—or rather, what seemed like nothing—because when he woke up, he forgot all about what he may have dreamt about.
"AAAAAAAH!" Maxi whined as he felt his body being as cold as ice.
"Why is it so cold?" Maxi asked, rubbing his back and arms while he shivered.
"It's because you slept on the cold ground, you idiot," Tengen explained. "The ground absorbs cold the same way it absorbs lightning, so of course it would be even colder than the air itself since it accumulates cold over time."
Maxi smirked slightly while still shivering. "Did you learn that from your grandpa?"
Tengen nodded. "First spiral of hell, yeah! How did you know?"
Maxi shrugged. "Just seems like information you wouldn't willingly want to know."
Tengen smirked and shook his head. "Dang right. I told you before, I hate and love that old bastard. And while we're in the wild, we're going to be following his rules on how to survive—since they're some pretty gosh-dang good rules."
Maxi nodded while still rubbing himself for warmth. "Okay, let's hear the rules then."
Tengen started to raise his fingers. "First rule—we can be hungry, we can sleep on the floor, and we can be cold, but we're only doing one of those at a time." He raised a second finger. "Second rule—we only hunt when we need to, not when we want to." He raised a third finger. "Third—when hunting, if we can, we kill in one strike, giving the animal a swift death. If we can't kill it in one strike, we kill it as quickly as possible. But all that goes out the window if the animal decides to fight back. If it wants to act like a warrior, it deserves to die like one."
He raised a fourth finger. "Final rule—we do not sleep in the darkness. If it's night, then we must have some kind of light. You got that?"
Maxi nodded.
(Noted.)
Maxi asked, "So what are we doing today?"
Tengen got up and stretched. "Not much, if at all, to be honest. I'm going hunting for that predator that lives here so we don't have to deal with it later in the future."
Maxi chuckled. "The future? Since when did you start worrying about the future? Isn't procrastinating more your style?"
Tengen chuckled. "Oh, don't you worry—it still is. But hunting is an exception, especially since… never mind. You being here wouldn't have changed anything. Just know that hunting is the only exception."
Maxi nodded. "Wait, didn't you say that you only hunt when we need to, not when we want to?"
Tengen nodded with a smirk. "That rule only applies when hunting for food. I'm not hunting for food—I'm hunting to kill, to kill alone."
Maxi smiled awkwardly and swallowed at Tengen's menacing words. "Okay."
Tengen's eyes then slightly widened. "Oh yeah, your task for the day is to just find more firewood. Also, find a river, collect its water, boil it, and find some mash mushrooms. If you do find a river, there should be some wet branches nearby, and specifically some orange-blackish colored mushrooms growing on the branches. If you see any other colored mushrooms, don't even look at them. And watch out—because as soon as you take those mushrooms, run back to this camp immediately. Those mushrooms send out smells that attract some unwanted animal attention, okay? You got it, right?"
Maxi nodded. "All that information has been noted. Don't worry, I'll have it all done by today."
Tengen nodded. "That's all. Good luck with your mission."
Maxi nodded. "And good luck with yours."
Tengen smirked. "Why do I need luck when I got skill? With my skill, even the most luckiest man alive wouldn't be able to compare to me."
Tengen then extended his hand as all the red stars surrounding their camp flew into his palm like a flock going to their shepherd.
Each red star stacked and fused until there was one big, bright red star.
Tengen smirked as he clenched his hand.
Then, in a flash, he appeared in the air just above the trees.
He vanished in another flash, leaving behind a red trail of light along with the sound of the air being pierced through and the leaves rubbing against each other like glass.
Maxi sighed as he felt the breeze slightly push his hair.
He opened up his suitcase and grabbed a comb along with new clothes. He changed out of his old ones and combed his hair.
He put all his clothes in a neat pile.
Maxi then took a breath as he waited for a while, just enjoying the breeze and the sound of the grass rustling.
It moved like waves, the light barely managing to enter, bouncing off its long weeds like glass.
The scene was quite peaceful—almost enough to make Maxi forget he was in a forest where anything could happen to him.
After a good few minutes, Maxi felt it was about time to get his tasks done.
So he got up, dusted his pants off, and went in search of a river.
Maxi had already taken note of the entire area that he could see.
He looked at his mental map but didn't notice anything that could help him look for a river.
But Maxi still nodded and thought, (This mental map really works well.)
He ended up walking over the sprawling giant roots of the trees, nearly tripping over them.
But Maxi continued his search, noticing a few more things than before—like how there were more bugs on the trees than on the ground, which seemed a little odd, but he didn't question it.
Nor did he question the strange patterns on the trees that seemed to be the perfect shape for animals to climb onto.
(I hope that information isn't useful for the future.)
(Noted.)
Maxi walked even longer, the wind seemingly his only friend in this great adventure as it played with his hair and whispered sweet nothings in his ear.
Having walked for quite a while, Maxi decided to switch directions.
And that seemed to do the trick—as he soon after heard flowing water, and he followed the sound until he found it.
A flowing, lively, bubbling river filled with fish.
Weird fish—but that meant little to nothing, because to Maxi, everything was weird.
He was still fairly new to the world, especially to its wilds and nature.
Maxi sighed with a smile. (Finally. Now to collect some water… Wait, didn't Tengen say to bring a pot? I didn't bring a pot. Did he bring a pot? He probably brought the pot. Now where did he put the pot? Because I didn't notice it.)
Maxi sighed. (That means I have to go back to camp—but I guess I can look for those mushrooms before I go back.)
He then looked for the orange and black mushrooms Tengen talked about, and with the hints Tengen left him, Maxi was able to find them quite easily on the tree branches that managed to plant themselves near the river, as well as on the roots of the trees closest to the river.
(Seems like these mushrooms quite like growing near rivers—or maybe just water in general.)
Maxi picked as many as he could, but as soon as they detached from where they once were, they released orange spores that smelled like fish and steamed vegetables.
(That doesn't smell half that bad,) Maxi thought.
Using his mental map, Maxi found his way back to the camp. He dropped off the mushrooms and looked for the pot—and found it pretty easily.
It seemed like Tengen's big, brawny body was hiding it the same way a wall would.
Maxi sighed. "That's why I couldn't see it. Tengen, that brick wall was hiding it."
He struggled a little before picking it up with both hands.
(What the hell is this made out of—titanium?) Maxi thought, his arms slightly shaking.
He managed to make the long venture to the river with the help of his handy-dandy mental map.
Maxi dropped the pot with a sigh. (That wasn't as exhausting as it was supposed to be, but hey—that's what he does.)
He managed to put the pot in the water and struggled within an inch of his life to pull it out again, barely managing not to drop it, but finally got it onto the soft, safe land.
(God, why did he give me such a strength-heavy job?) Maxi thought, slightly panting.
(I should—) Maxi breathed out a huge sigh. (I should take a few more mushrooms just in case.)
Maxi collected a few more mushrooms—they still released the same orange spores.
Knowing he couldn't carry the pot anymore, Maxi dragged it slowly and carefully due to the giant roots of the trees. Eventually, he managed to arrive back at the campsite.
Maxi slumped to the ground, tired.
(I still have to collect those sticks for the fire. I should get to it.)
He got up and went to search for sticks and branches, which he found easily again—now knowing where they could be found, and also thanks to his mental map.
Maxi returned to camp after a few minutes with some sticks and branches for the fire.
He then lay on the ground, his legs aching ever so slightly.
Maxi sat and enjoyed the cold breeze as he had before.
Then he heard rustling.
He looked over and saw the waves of the long grass being disturbed by a figure.
Maxi smiled slightly. (That must be Tengen. I guess he's back from his hunt.)
Maxi waved. "Hey, Tengen! You back from your hunt?"
But Maxi was met with silence.
A sudden feeling of unspeakable dread and fear hit him.
(Tengen wouldn't stay quiet. He's loud and proud—and he's not that short. He's way taller than the grass.) Maxi thought.
In an instant, Maxi rolled back and quickly opened his suitcase, turning to the side where his weapons were.
He pulled out his bow and as many arrows as he could.
Maxi closed the suitcase and rolled back again.
He prepared to get into a shooting stance, but from the corner of his eye, he saw the expressionless mask beside him.
In a quick decision, he decided to put it on.
He barely managed to pick up an arrow and get into a stance.
"Hold it!" Maxi said as sternly as he could, slightly shaking.
The movement did not stop.
"I said hold it right there!" Maxi shouted, using his voice to steady himself.
The movement stopped for a second.
"Now identify yourself," Maxi said in a calmer tone, still keeping that same sternness.
He shifted his leg slightly to get more comfortable.
Instead of a response, the stranger answered with movement.
Maxi pulled back his bow, ready to fire.
The stranger moved to the eroded ground of the camp, revealing himself.
He was a sheep thing.
Maxi looked at the animal as he lowered his bow and sighed.
The sheep thing sniffed the air as it looked around.
Maxi stared at it—it had a huge clump of wool that seemed to flow on its own, and big yellow horns that spiraled in on themselves twice before opening at the ends like trumpets.
(It doesn't look dangerous, and its horns aren't even facing forward—they're facing sideways… but why is it here?) Maxi thought.
"Umm, hey," Maxi said awkwardly, not knowing what to do, even waving slightly.
The sheep-like animal looked toward him, sniffing.
As it did, its eyes closed and it started to kick off the ground slightly with its legs, one by one.
(What is it doing now? Is it preparing to jump? Do sheep—wait, do sheep things jump?) Maxi thought.
BANG!
Maxi spat out as the air was knocked straight out of his lungs, sent flying through the air, still feeling the hard, brand-like patterns of horns against his chest.
His back hit a root as pain spread through it like vines.
He felt the air push past his face as he ascended—then descended just as fast, crashing to the ground with a hard thud as something fractured within.
With half closed pain-filled eyes, Maxi looked at the sheep-like creature as it kicked the ground, preparing to jump and dash at him again.
(I guess I got my answer,) Maxi thought, spitting onto the ground.