The first day in another world was harder than he expected. Although the interdimensional farm gave hope for his future success. Was that enough?
Alex had this doubt creeping into his head once or twice while he trying to sleep. Nonetheless, all he could do was try to do better.
The next day, Alex woke up early. He swiftly plucked some ripe tomatoes from his interdimensional farm and sold them to the shop. He was slowly accumulating FP.
But a new problem cropped up while he was doing it. For each harvest, he had to disappear into the interdimensional farm for a couple of minutes. And doing that without anyone noticing was becoming a chore that he wished he could avoid.
He could buy an automatic harvester from the shop. But it requires him to level up his farm. And the only way of levelling up the farm is by buying more land to cultivate.
The investment required for that is too much for him to handle right now.
So, he missed some harvests. It made him sad to see the FP being lost. Time was money for him.
"Ding… Ding…" The sound of a bell woke Alex from his trance.
'It is time to kill or be killed. It is what is expected of me in this tribe.' He thought while walking to the centre of the camp.
The fresh meat or what you would call the next generation of great hunters were lining up before the tribal chief. The teenagers were ready to become adults. They were ready to hunt and show their worth.
Alex who saw this hid in an inconspicuous area. He didn't want to be noticed.
"Now that everyone is here. Let's choose who will be leading you." The tribal chief said while looking at the excited kids. freewe(b)novel.c(o)m
"Before you are the six leaders of the hunting party. Mani of the sword, Karal of the spear, Chiri of the axe, Thala of the hammer, Kan of the bow and Daya of the shield. Each specialised in using weapons. For today, they will be your leader. In the future, they might even become your masters. What you studied till now is only the tip of the iceberg. You have a lot more to learn and experience. Now, they will choose who will be going with them on the hunt." After saying that, the chief slowly moved back.
The first one to take a stand after the chief was Daya, the only female warrior among the leaders. She was muscular and tall devoid of any feminine charm of the modern people of Earth. She was different in the right sense to survive this harsh world. Her pronounced and well-defined muscles were perfect for smashing a person to bits. Yet she only held a shield in her hand and stood tall. (f)reewe(b)novel
"Those who bear shields shall follow me only if you have the conviction to protect." Saying those words, she stood still. As if she knew who will come to work under her.
Unknown to Alex, The team was already formed. This was just a formality to show who they are working under.
Swiftly the teens who were carrying shields moved to Daya's side.
'Then who should I follow? Mani? But I don't have a sword and I don't know if the original body was supposed to follow Mani. This is hard. If I really have a choice, I want to avoid every one of the six leaders. Not because I am lazy, but because it was better to learn before doing something. I have never hunted before in my entire. I am pretty sure that I will mess up if I act without thinking. Oh Crap! Don't place me under Mani, please god. Save me just once.'
While the teens selected a group based on their choice of weapons, Alex and a few others were left over.
Alex was thrilled to see it. He was not alone and there were others who didn't have a group. He could even see Mani avoiding his eyes when he looked at him.
Most teenagers would have taken offence when the kind uncle nearby didn't select him for their team. But Alex was different. He was not a teenager, much less stupid. He knew it was better to not go with Mani. This decision might just save his skin.
"Now the remaining kids will be sent to the support group. Your job is to dig pitfalls, create traps and help the injured. That's it for today. More instructions will be given by your leaders." The chief intervened once again at the end and send everyone remaining to the support group.
'If I am in a support group, where is the leader? There was no support group leader among the top six hunters in the tribe. Were we considered defective products by the tribe?' Alex thought. Even if they did so, Alex wouldn't have minded as long he could save himself from instant death.
But not everyone was like that. He could see some kids with scowls looking around to vent their anger. They were disappointed that they were not selected to be part of the real hunting group.
This wouldn't stop them from completing the coming-of-age ceremony. But this will surely decrease their status in the tribe. Hunters were pillars of the tribal society and they were said to be strong and brave. And they believed that they could be as strong and brave as them, yet they failed to even participate in the real hunt.
'Teenage blood boils with daydreams and superficial thoughts. And tribal society was no different. Everyone likes status, power and freedom. All three were denied to these kids. Who is so capable to manage and lead kids like them? I really want to see the supposed leader of the support group.' Alex curiously looked forward to meeting the group leader.
And he didn't have to wait long. A scrawny old man soon came in front of them. He looked old, very old in fact. Old enough to believe that he had one foot in the coffin already.
And he looked weak. Very weak.
A combination that basically makes anyone think of him as nothing more than a pushover. And the teenage kids were no different. They were so disappointed to see this old man that they were visibly frowning.
The disrespect was evident.
Alex was the only one who had no visible change in expression. He was perturbed by how others reacted. Judging a book by its cover was an age-old mistake that everyone makes. And this time it was the kids that made the mistake.
For Alex, it didn't matter how the old man looked. The skill, knowledge and experience he could provide were much more important than his looks. He was carefully observing the actions of the old man.
He wanted to know how this man will react to the disrespect the kids were showing. You can easily judge a person's character by looking at how he deals with the situation.
Alex wanted to make sure if it was worth enough to learn from this person or if it would be a waste of time. He didn't want to waste time which he lacks right now.
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