Chapter 50: Village
A village might not mean much to Madeline, but both Mitch and Katherine were shocked when they saw this.
’Have the legio invented tribalism in just one month?’
"It would seem so."
Huts made out of sticks and animal hides were neatly arranged in a circle around a central pyre.
One hut in particular stood out from the rest.
It was made out of stones and logs in addition to fur and hide, clearly more luxurious than the other huts.
The leader’s hut.
Looking from the distance, Mitch saw some legio children running around while the adults did various other things. Some were building new huts while others were sitting next to large animal corpses.
Something they all had in common was their colorful attire, made of the same material covering their roofs.
It was worth noting that although Mitch was a scientist and a gamer, he was not a survival expert. He had no experience in how to light a fire with sticks or how to tan leather.
As such, he and Madeline had always been eating raw food while walking around in their birthday suits. Luckily, Katherine had been generous enough to give legios similar genitalia to humans. Mitch had no intention of procreating, but having his little member was a relief.
He had learned how to control his urges back on earth, and he would not let them make the situation between him and Madeline awkward.
But by Khad, did he miss having clothes that prevented his meat stick from swinging in the wind.
There was one more thing that this tribe seemed to have—weapons.
Whether made out of wood and stone or animal claws and teeth, they had something to kill their prey with.
Yet Mitch wasn’t worried.
He doubted that these tribesmen and women had any material that could pierce his Infused exoskeleton.
His spirit brimming with confidence, Mitch walked over the barren Saharan plateau towards the huts.
As he got closer, he saw that these people also had various cosmetic mutations.
Meaning he would fit right in.
He unfurled his black wings and kept approaching the villagers, who had started noticing him.
Some of them rapidly grabbed their spears and daggers and pointed them towards him, hissing and growling in an attempt to intimidate him.
Mitch looked over to Madeline, giving her the cue to start translating.
"They are asking who we are and where the rest of our group is," Madeline whispered.
He nodded. ’Truly, a species that rivals humans in intelligence. Their first instinct is not to welcome lost comrades but rather to be cynical about strangers and foreigners,’ Mitch thought with a tinge of sarcasm.
"Tell them we are warriors of another tribe and have come here to help them become stronger."
Madeline nodded and let out a sequence of hisses and growls of her own.
’How much Mynt will it take for me to bless myself with this?’ Mitch asked Katherine.
"... Too much. Just bear with it for now. Actually, teach them Inglish while you’re at it."
’Touche. It would be awkward for a Khad to not even be able to speak with his followers,’ Mitch nodded. ’Besides, didn’t God give language to his original creation in some Tellus mythology? That would be a great way to gather faith.’
Of course, it would take a while for them to understand, but Mitch had no doubt that they would learn rather quickly.
After all, this was where Madeline would start her conquest as the queen of this world. She is a walking, talking dictionary; learning a new language with her nearby would be easy.
The guards slowly lowered their weapons and let one person through, yet they remained on high alert.
With Madeline acting as a translator, the conversation was rather smooth.
"I am the war chief of the Mard tribe. Strangers, state your purpose," the presumed leader exclaimed.
"My name is Michael, firstborn son and archangel of the creator of the earth we walk, Khad Mitch. With me I have His future priestess, Madeline," Mitch responded, yet all he got in response was a confused stare.
"What were those three things you said that started with ’M’? And what is a ’name’?" Even while translating this, Madeline had a hard time keeping a straight face.
Suppressing a groan, Mitch started understanding how difficult convincing this village would be.
He adapted a famous story of creation from Tellus, explaining how Khad Mitch had created the sun and the world with all its animals and trees in less than a week.
Afterwards he told the chief that names were similar to titles, a way for a person to refer to another without them being present.
"By the way, what does ’Mard’ mean? I thought your tribe didn’t have names," Mitch asked.
"That is what we call our kind: Mard."
It hit Mitch that these legios didn’t know what their species was called.
"Khad Mitch has already named your kind ’legio’ when He created this world. You shall call yourself as such, unless you wish to defy His will," Mitch threatened.
Although what they called themselves might seem irrelevant, it actually held a significant historic purpose. Forgetting it might eventually lead to forgetting the reason they were created.
"Why should we follow what you say? You’re just a weakling that has not even gone to sleep. Meanwhile, I awoke from my slumber and became reborn. I am the strongest, and therefore it is you who shall follow what I say."
As he uttered that, Mitch noticed that the chief actually looked like a normal legio. Except for the fact that he had claws reminiscent of a lion’s coming out of his fingertips.
’So he is one of those that didn’t get killed while going through a mutation. Should I call him lucky or weak?’
Another thing that became apparent to Mitch during this month was that the time in hibernation for mutations varied based on two factors.
The first was how compatible it was. If more structures in the body were changed, then the mutation would take longer to perform.
The second was how strong the mutation was.
Mitch’s mutation was a bit weird but still abided by those rules.
He already had an exoskeleton, so the only thing needed was for the muscles to rearrange slightly. The mutation also had a cost, which was an increased consumption of stamina and energy.
As for those claws, they seemed to be among the most basic mutations available.
"So, if I whoop your ass, you will listen to me?" Mitch quite liked this system of electing a leader.
"Good luck with that. In my tribe, I am invincible."
That was all the confirmation he needed.
