I looked at everyone as they took a moment to rest. They may have leveled up and regained their stamina and mana but mental fatigue would still catch up to them so rest was just as important.
We all decided to take a twenty minute break before moving on to the next part of town.
Time passed.
It felt like it passed too quickly as well or was that just the perception of time when we hunted…or should I say the others hunted with me and Jordan barely having to take part.
The hunt continued after the rest and gradually everyone began to grow in strength. We also got treasures too, it was just disappointing that most of them were rare grade daggers which most of the people in our group used as well as a few rare swords and various other weapons such as a small spiked mace and large war hammer, there were even a pair of scimitars. So far there was only a single skill scroll that Dulton had gained.
A skill called
.The rare grade sword went to Dulton, Mordecai took the spiked mace, Nale took the scimitars and Rina opted for the dagger which meant that she would dual wield them. As for the others who didn't have weapons…Lydia simply took a dagger but it was clear that she would be focusing on her magic skills and summoning more than anything. Same thing went for Veronica who didn't even take any weapons.
As for the treasures that we didn't need we would bring them back with us to Camp White and hand them over to the mayor after all they would need as much melee gear as they could.
We packed them into a sack that we found and carried it with us as we went along.
The day felt short as the sun set to the west of what was left of York Town, bathing the world in a reddish hue that would soon turn into darkness. The group decided it was time for everyone to return. They were all in high spirits and had grown more confident.
"Ah even though we worked the entire day I've never felt so refreshed" Dulton said as he wrapped his arm around Nale's neck.
The young man in question could only chuckle nervously as this was the first time Dulton had acted like this.
"I can't wait to return so that we can eat. I'm starving" Grem rubbed a hand on his stomach as if to console his empty stomach. "Still if a little hunger is what it takes to get stronger then I would do this again"
"Then you wouldn't mind doing this again tomorrow huh" Clara's eyes beamed as she said this
"Well…" Grem scratched his head awkwardly. The man clearly had second thoughts about staying another whole day without anything to eat.
"Enough fooling around let's just get back as soon as we can!" Conrad who was standing a bit further away from the group said with a scowl on his face. "I need to wash this blood out of my hair"
I couldn't help but give him a look but otherwise I didn't say anything. I felt like I would be opening a whole other can of worms, but he had a point though. We needed to take baths to get rid of this stench of blood that was undoubtably covering every one the same before meeting with Jordan's mother back at the house.
Before we left Jordan had taken a brief moment to talk to her about wanting to meet everyone. He would probably go to her house to pick her up.
…
The walk back to the camp didn't take more than an hour and by the time we reached its gates, the sun had set and the sky was covered in a veil of darkness.
Approaching the gates that led to the camp there were two guards standing in position. I quickly recognized them. It was Jeoffrey and Xander.
Jeoffrey seemed to be doing better than I thought. He had small bruises on his arms and part of his face but it wasn't nearly as bad. He had his spear to his back while Xander the nervous young man who's personality seemed to change whenever he drew his blades still had his twin katanas on either side of his waist.
"Glad to see you out of bed" Jordan smiled at the older man.
A vein seemed to be just about ready to pop at the side of Jeoffrey's head. For a second, I thought the man was about to explode but with a deep slow breath he managed to hold himself back and even smiled back at him.
"Yes wouldn't want you feeling guilty if I died right?" Jeoffrey said, a stiff smile on his face and invisible sparks seemed to fly between the two for a moment.
"Right anyway don't forget we have something else to attend to, Jordan?" I reminded him quickly deescalating the situation.
It seemed to do the trick. He backed off and said:
"Right"
I offered a smile and a nod to Xander who nodded back and the group passed.
Entering the walls of the camp, I couldn't help but relax. The tension I didn't even know was in my body leaving me immediately.
'Never thought this place would feel like home'
I had grown somewhat attached to this place. I didn't want anything bad to happen to it and the people that now called this place home even if it was only temporary.
'That's why we need to defeat the 'Lurker' before things get out of hand'
"Let me take the treasures to my uncle" Conrad's voice distracted me from my thoughts.
I nodded. "Sure"
Conrad took the sack that was filled with different treasures. He said goodbye to every one and then he was off to see his uncle.
Jordan left too to see his mother and probably take a bath. Everyone agreed to meet at our house when Jordan's mom came to visit.
The walk back to our house was silent. We arrived at our respective houses and soon the group split. The girls went to their house and the boys went into ours.
…
It took a while but after several minutes of waiting for our turn to use the bathroom everyone had taken the much needed bath to wash away today's sweat and blood.
After taking a bath it stood in my room water dripping off my body. I couldn't help but check myself out in the mirror.
'Holy crap is that really me?' I thought in wonder as I looked at my body.
It had changed a lot. Of course given everything that I had gone through it was supposed to change but this…it felt unreal.
I fleshed my arms a bit and looked at my biceps contract under the pressure. Veins snaked up my arms, travelling all the way down my side where my chest muscles had solidified and finally they faded off just before reaching my stomach which was packed with rock hard six pack abs.
That wasn't the only thing though…I could feel my body more clearly than I had ever had. The way my muscles interacted and moved with the rest of my body was seamless. It was smooth and purposeful it was…the perfect body.
Slight scars riddled my arm and part of my chest, gifts from the Monsoon Eagle and the Dire wolf. I didn't mind them though, in fact…
I couldn't help but feel giddy inside.
Who the heck didn't like the thoughts of having abs?
I was half tempted to do some more muscle flexes in the mirror but I decided against it. There was no point. There also wasn't time. It wouldn't be long before aunt Grace arrived with Jordan so I had better get dressed.
I didn't have a lot of clothes after the apocalypse but I did have a change of clothes at least.
I put on the white shirt as well as the cargo pants that I got from the Tiger Gang base. Then I pulled on the [Full Coat] and left [Black Salamander] on my bed.
'Okay that should do'
With that I headed downstairs and I could already hear several voices I could recognize as I made my way down to the living room.
I found the group sitting in the couches while chatting casually. The girls were also here too.
Every one was refreshed and relaxed. The atmosphere was nice too.
At that moment the front door opened, prompting every one to look in that direction.
"Hey guys hope we're not too late are we?" Jordan said opening the door wide and then stepping back out to pick up something from the floor.
While he did this, Aunt Grace took a step and with a smile she greeted everyone:
"Hello everyone, my name is Grace Murrey I'm Jordan's mother"
Aunt Grace's face had regained its healthy color which was good considering that the day before she had been pale and looked tired.
I smiled and walk to greet her with a hug. "Glad you could make it. Come on let me introduce everyone"
I gently pulled her towards a empty seat. And then point at the group.
"From the left we have Veronica, Lydia, Nale…"
The introductions took a while but I managed to introduce every person in the room. When I was done aunt Grace stood up and took a small bow to the group.
"Thank you every one for taking care of these two boys this whole time. I know they can be a handful sometimes so truly thank you from the bottom of my heart" she said with a smile.
"You don't have to thank us ma'am. It isn't necessary and besides Huey saved my life twice as well so there isn't really any need to thank us at all" Lydia said in a flustered voice.
"No no please…I insist"
At that point Jordan came in carrying three large containers stacked on one another. He came into the living room and placed them on the table in the middle of the room.
Aunt Grace approached them and then she opened the first container.
"I made dinner for everyone as my thank you" she opened the first container with a smooth motion.
The first thing I noticed was the steam that rose showing that it was still warm. The second thing was the tantalizing smell. Whatever it was the aunt Grace had made was sure to be delicious.
Everyone could see what she had brought. It was filled with steamy noodles. The scent of spices was heavy but it wasn't something that anyone would hate at all. In fact they only made me want to devour them all the more.
She opened up the second container.
This one had meat stew. And just as with the noodles, it smelled wonderful. And warm too…
For a moment everyone's eyes were glued to the two containers. There was a silence in the room one filled with anticipation.
"Do you guys have plates and forks?" she asked.
Grem was the first to react. He stood and then he ran as though the end of the world depended on it. Using his high agility to get to the kitchen. One second he was there sitting in the couch across from aunt Grace and the next he was a man running with everything he got.
I stared bewildered. Mouth hanging open when the man returned exactly five seconds later with a handful of plates.
'Woah. I know the man said he was hungry but still'
Aunt Grace served the food from the two containers with a smile on her face but she never opened the third container.
Before long I had a plate of food in my hand same as everyone else. We ate and chatted.
The food was delicious and fulfilling at the same time. It made my nerves relax and for a moment I forgot about everything.
'Yeah this is nice. Maybe I should allow myself a break just for tonight'
Time flowed a bit too quickly and by the time everyone was satisfied with the meal. It was deep in the night. It wasn't midnight yet but it was deep in the night that most of the camp was asleep.
Everyone wish each other a good night and rose to got to bed.
"Auntie can sleep with us tonight right?" Lydia asked when it was time for the girls to return to their house.
Jordan would have to escort his mother to her house but the guy was sleep and knocked out as a log on the couch. I wanted to wake him up since I didn't really know where her house was and asking her for directions was sure to take a while too.
I looked at Jordan's mother too
'She looks tired. I don't think it would be good for her to move around a lot after she worked hard in preparing dinner too'
"Take good care of her okay?" I said softer than I had intended.
Lydia looked in my eyes for a moment. I felt my heart skip a beat staring in those emerald irises.
What was it about those eyes that seemed to pull me in every time I looked at them. I didn't know. It was all a mystery and one that I thought I would solve if I kept looked at them.
The first time I had looked into them was a few weeks ago. I was standing in line trying to submit a class assignment which had been nothing but an empty piece of paper too. I had been so out of it during class that I didn't even notice the assignment written on the board.
Back then I had been doing as I usually did. Staring at what I thought was simply a pretty girl's figure 'subtly' only to get caught by her.
Luckily she never reported me back then but still. The color of her eyes had reminded me of the shining eyes of the serpent that had been haunting me in my nightmares. Back then they had scared me but after that encounter with the demon Charlotte in the woods by the carnival park, I had been finding them more and more attractive.
Like when you have a taste of something that you didn't understand and then you find out that it was nice and intoxicating kind of like a drug; I found myself getting addicted to looking at them, studying them and focusing on them.
As long as I could still keep looking at them then nothing else mattered.
"I will don't worry about that" Lydia's voice pulled me out of my loo.
I must have been out of it for a few seconds. I coughed and then I smiled and nodded and turned to aunt Grace.
"Would you mind staying the night with the girls auntie?" I asked her and she accepted easily.
The girls left together with aunt Grace and soon the living room was empty as everyone left leaving only me and Jordan would was laying on the ground asleep and out of it.
I looked at him for a moment
'Yeah I'm not carrying you all the way to your room you big oof. Good night'
I locked up the front door turned off the lights and then made my way upstairs to my room. I laid in my bed, feeling the soft covers and closed my eyes.
'I wonder what was in that third container though'
And then I slept.