Two weeks had passed since the wyvern incident.
Alto and I continued our journey further south and did not encounter any other monsters or humans.
Alto taught me the skills to survive on a journey without the help of any technology. He taught me how to fish using nets, how to set up a tent without magic, how to light a fire, what sort of firewood to collect, and about some of the poisonous flora in the region. He also taught me how to use a sword. But the sword that he used was a bit too small for my hands.
In return, I taught him how to play games from Earth, like Rock-Paper-Scissors. However, I won all the games I played with him. Alto blamed me for using tricks, but it was probably because of my [Luck] skill. I taught him basic scientific knowledge, information such as how fish can breathe underwater, how plants bear fruits, basic math, and the like. That was the best I could offer. Even though I was an engineering student in a prestigious institution on Earth, I had no way or resources to teach him anything more important.
By teaching each other, helping each other, and journeying as companions, I felt that Alto and I had formed a strong friendship
'I'm sorry, Alto, this is the best I can teach you for now.' I said.
'No worries, mister, even what you've taught me so far. It's very enlightening. My mind can barely keep up. I'm very excited about what more I can learn from you.'
'Well, the Magis Kingdom must have some resources for me to teach you more,' I said
'I'm looking forward to it,' He replied.
Suddenly, something like a gust of wind swung past between me and Alto
'MISTER GET DOWN,' Alto yelled
'What, what is it?'
'It's...It's the Kluxian soldiers. They just shot an arrow at us' Alto stammered
I looked in front of me, to see an arrow dug into the ground a few meters in front of me
'Run, mister. I'll hold them back,' said Alto, drawing out his sword
'Alto, we have to run together,' I said, 'Please.'
'Mister, if we both run, they'll catch up to us. I'll need to distract them. Don't worry, I have a plan to escape them.'
I knew Alto was lying. But at that moment, I felt nothing but fear. My desire to live drove me on. I pushed my feet from the ground and sprinted as hard as I could.
I kept running and running, on and on, harder than I had ever done in my life. I kept running until I felt my lungs were gonna drop. Even then, I continued running, running for dear life. Finally, I found a tall and wide section of grass. It was dense and thick. I jumped into the field and rolled over. As I started catching my breath. I felt my heart beating; at the time, I felt it would spring out from my chest. My vision, which had blurred from the running, started to clear, and I started to feel pain in the sole of my foot. As soon as my thoughts began to recollect, tears dropped down my cheeks.
I started crying, and I cried hard. Alto was my one and only friend in this world. And I had left him to die. I felt terrible at the moment, a mix of shame, guilt, and the lingering fear that remained. I felt angry at myself for being unable to do anything by myself, I felt angry for being scared, for being selfish, for being helpless.
I spent the next hour or so silently crying, hoping the soldiers earlier, had not caught up to me. After a few minutes, I finally gathered the courage to poke my head over the grass. As I lifted my head up, I saw in front of me nothing but the grassland stretching out in front of me
A sense of relief and hope filled my mind, Maybe Alto had defeated the two soldiers?
'Found you~! 'A chilly voice whispered behind my neck. I screamed and turned around to see the two soldiers in front of me. The horses, however, were not present.
The soldiers had a golden eagle crest carved into their breastplates. One of the soldiers had a helmet that reminded me of an ancient Roman "Galea".
The soldier who had said it, his face plastered with a sly smile, looked at me. He scanned my face and clothes, then said, 'Hmm, you're not from around here, are you? What are you? A spy? I assume since you were with that one-eyed beast, you're from the Northern Kingdoms?'
I looked at his face. He had purple hair. The nose, sharp and long, was the highlight of his face. His mouth, scarred and dry, hung over a disfigured chin that reminded me of a Habsburg jaw.'
'No, no, I'm not,' I answered.
'You vermin! You dare look at Sir Claudius' face while talking to him? I should kill you right now for your impertinence.' Yelled the other soldier. This one was a woman. Although her face was mostly covered by her Galea-like helmet, she had let her curly brown hair down. She had a strong and high-pitched voice. She stood behind the person she addressed as "Sir Claudius"
'It's Ok, Eli,' replied Claudius
I prostrated, looked down at the ground, and pleaded, ' I'm sorry for my mistake, Sir Claudius. I am not from these parts and thus, I do not know the customs of this place.'
'Very well, foreigner, who are you then? Answer me.' Demanded the knight named Claudius
'I... I do not think you will believe me, sir.'
'You're really testing my patience, dear foreigner. Answer me quickly, or I will give you the honor of separating your neck from your head myself.'
'Before I answer, Sir Claudius. May I ask what happened to my companion?'
'Oh, the cyclops, huh? He's dead. His body is probably being sent to the capital. Now answer me, quick!'
Deep down, I had known that Alto was dead. But I didn't want to believe it. At the moment, I felt my temples heat up, there was a pain in my chest, and I felt as if I was suffocating on my breath. A wave of anger rose from the deepest parts of my viscera. I, at the very least, had to avenge Alto.
I jumped up from my prostrated position, I clenched my fist mid-air as I swung back my right arm and launched it right into Claudius' face.
[Smack]
Claudius did not move. My fist had clearly landed on his cheek, but he did not show any reaction to it.
'YOU DARE!?' The soldier named Eli approached me.
'It's ok, Eli'
[Thwak]
As I saw his hand moving(I could barely see it), I felt a strong force hit the top of my head. I felt dizzy and nauseous, accompanied by pain. My ears were ringing, and my consciousness was fading. I felt as if my skull had split into two, and my brain was bleeding.
'No, don't kill him, Eli. We don't really get foreigners around this part. We need to interrogate him and present him to the Emperor.'
I heard those words as my eyes shut.