When Hilam and the rest saw the supplies disappear, they panicked.
"Don't space out. Let's go."
Kyran's snapped them out of their panicked state. They all turned to him and found he was already a few steps away.
"Wait!" Hilam called hurriedly. "The supplies have been—!"
"Secured," Kyran replied without looking back. "Let's move. If possible, I'd like to get out of the forest before night falls."
They all looked at each other dumbfoundedly after hearing Kyran confirm that the supplies were secured. They did not even see him move or feel any fluctuations in the air if he used a device to take the supplies.
"H-He has a point," Yalen said and resolutely followed Kyran. She still did not know how he took all those supplies, but if they kept mulling over it and wasting their time, they would be unable to find a place to stay before night falls.
The forest was not a good place to rest because of all the ferocious beasts.
Seeing that Yalen chose to believe Kyran, the rest also followed.
Kyran intentionally slowed his steps to wait for the others.
The old man noticing this, smiled knowingly and remarked, 'Is this supposed to be the character you are playing now? A rude Imon-spawn who actually is very nice?'
Kyran did not respond. He was in 'character,' yes, but he did not have such a complicated idea for Nar's character. The only reason he slowed down was because he did not want any of them to fall behind and get in trouble with the ferocious beasts. They were not aware of his ability and its range of influence. If they left that range, the ferocious beasts lurking close to the periphery would surely pounce on them.
Kyran did not want to deal with the aftermath if one of them were killed.
The old man knew this, of course. But he said those things to tease him. He realized everything he was told about him was true. No wonder that person looked up to him.
Kyran journeyed with the Eidums in silence. Nevertheless, he could hear them whispering amongst themselves and even understand some of the things they discussed.
To his surprise, they mostly talked about whether he was truly an Imon-spawn.
According to them, the records said Imon-spawns looked beast-like with a complete being's stature. But the more they looked at Kyran, the more they felt he was a more complete being except for his dark hair.
They then began to discuss the Howling Pass.
When that place was brought up, Kyran was interested. He did not think showing up in front of them would not cause any confusion because of the 'complete beings' in Howling Pass.
If those people came from the Human plane, it would be impossible for everyone who had entered the rift going to Somuli to have similar features with the complete beings.
In Kyran's opinion, their dark hair and eyes could be considered an 'Anathema' or an illness. If not, wouldn't that mean all complete beings in Howling Pass could be considered 'Imon's spawns'?
While thinking this, they did start to consider Kyran's hair and eyes were caused by an illness. But the moment this thought was brought up, they all looked worried.
They were worried that they might catch his illness!
Kyran's brow twitched at the absurd things he heard from them. There was actually more.
For example, he might be a product of an Imon-spawn and a complete being with an Anathema. Or that he might be like Imon, known as a failure among the beast-like because he looked similar to a complete being except for his hair and eyes.
The more Kyran listened to their nonsense, the more he realized how naive they were. It made him wonder how they managed to survive up till now.
After a while, they finally reached a clearing. They searched for a good resting spot and found one near a river.
Hilam and the other men set up a tent while the women prepared food.
While doing this, they were once more sent into a dilemma. The portion of their food was only enough for them. They did not have any spare to share with Kyran.
Seeing their troubled look, Kyran sighed and intentionally announced he would hunt his own food.
When they heard that, they all sighed in relief.
But before Kyran could leave, Hilam stopped him and asked sternly, "Leave the supplies behind."
Yalen and the rest were surprised after hearing his demand.
"Hilam, that is rude," Yalen reprimanded.
"No, he is right," one of them agreed with Hilam's actions. "We did agree to trust him, but there is a limit to how much we could do so."
"But..." Yalen looked at Soria as if asking for her assistance. But the latter shook her head and said, "I will agree to them this time, Lady Yalen."
Kyran was amused at their discussion. He initially believed Hilam was the leader. But when Yalen spoke up, and the rest listened, he began to think she was the real leader.
Looking at them now, Kyran more or less figured out that Hilam was the leader and Yalen only had a higher position among them.
No.
Rather than a higher position, it was more like a higher 'social status.'
Being a healer could be the reason for this or her family background.
Putting aside his thoughts, Kyran shrugged, and the supplies appeared out of nowhere.
"That's fine with me," he said, addressing Hilam's concern. "If the ferocious beasts twenty meters to the right noticed I am gone, feel free to defend the supplies with your lives."
All of them paled at his words.
"Y-You're lying!" Hilam yelled angrily.
Kyran shrugged, "You'll know soon enough if I am lying. You don't really think we are lucky because we did not encounter any ferocious beast. You probably heard the rules of the forest before: The stronger one rules over the weak."
With that, he left without turning back.
"W-What are we going to do?" The Eidum, who agreed with Hilam, immediately asked.
"You just have to do something that will get us in trouble!" Yalen glared at Hilam.
Hilam sighed, "You are trusting him way too much. Besides, defending is easier than fighting the ferocious beasts head-on."
After saying that, he instructed the rest to set traps and place spells around them.
Kyran watched them on top of a tree. Hunting was only an excuse, and he was not really planning to leave them by themselves.
He only wanted to prevent any bad blood between him and Hilam from escalating.
In the first place, was there even a bad blood between them?
Apart from that, he wanted to know how they survived up till now. Seeing the traps and spells placed around their tents, he realized that they were knowledgeable on how to survive in the wilderness. The only problem was they had little experience applying it in real life.
'I know what you are thinking,' the old man suddenly said after seeing what was happening outside from the orb.
'I already know you can read minds, old man.'
'They are all good students, you know,' the old man continued, ignoring Kyran's remark. 'Although our Abbey specializes in learning Healing magic, we hired instructors that could truly teach them how to fight and survive.'
'I see that,' Kyran replied. 'They only lack experience.'
'Yes,' the old man agreed with a sigh. 'Unfortunately, our Abbey is not allowed to conduct outdoor activities.'
'Why?'
'The Nobles are afraid we are preparing for something.'
Kyran frowned. He knew too well the feeling of being suppressed by other factions because they feared your clan was up to something.
'That is not the case, of course. Even if we train our apprentices the art of combat, we only want them to learn how to defend themselves.'
'Even if you think that way, others will not see it like that.'
'Yes, which is why they lack practical experience.'
'This is a good chance,' Kyran told the old man.
The old man chuckled, 'Is it?'
'At least I am here to watch over them,' Kyran said. 'What? You did not think I would leave them alone, right?'
'Ahahaha. Not at all,' the old man replied goodnaturedly. 'I just found it ironic that you think it is a good chance knowing full well what awaits them in the borders.'
Kyran fell silent. He did not think the old man would think that way.
'I agreed to help. You don't have to worry about that.'
'True. But after you've accomplished what you came here for...'
Kyran sighed inwardly. This was one of the things he hated when he entered a plane during his training.
Whenever he got involved in the matters of that plane, he could not shake off the feeling of wanting to ensure their problems were resolved before he left. That had been the case when he took the Solum Tribe with him.
'Let's talk about that after we get to the border,' Kyran said, avoiding the topic for now.
The old man knew it was not that the latter was unwilling to help but that he could not make any promises until he found the person he was searching for.
'Alright. Don't worry. I know you will find what you seek soon.'
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