Chapter 49 Alive And Well

The festival's atmosphere changed completely. Those orcs more concerned about watching the fights were now angry, staring at the watch tower where the horn sound came from.

"Someone is trying to escape. Who is it? The newcomers?" one of the orcs said.

Before long, each capable orc moved toward the area that Damian and the others were using to escape, and with their more than-capable bodies, it wasn't hard to chase them.

"Damian, what should we do?" Serana asked as she ran alongside the others.

Damian was immersed in his thinking, and before he could try anything, Druvana was already making her own moves.

"Leave this to me," Druvana said.

The confident tone relieved everyone, thinking she would find a way out of the situation. Druvana cut her left wrist with a tiny dagger hidden under her sleeve and chanted things in an unknown language to the others.

"They are there! Everyone, chase them!"

While Damian and the others were running away from the orc village, passing through the desert area, the orcs quickly chased behind them, screaming and looking like starved beasts.

"Eat this! Bloody Swamp!!!" Druvana yelled as she turned around to face the orcs.

She placed her palm on the ground, and a massive area in front of her turned into a red-colored swamp! The desert sand was no more, and the swamp made it impossible for the orcs to continue.

They cursed the humans — no one understood, but it was clear by their facial expressions — yet despite the nasty words, the orcs could not follow them.

The swamp Druvana cast using one of the many spells she knew was more than enough to deal with the orcs.

"We did it! That was freaking awesome!" Damian said, acknowledging Druvana's feat.

-Druvana: "Damian is praising me. Does it mean I am better than Serana? It must be. I knew it initially, but hearing it from his mouth is good. Calm down, Druvana. You cannot act like this in front of him!"

"It was just a basic spell, but I guess it is impressive for you," Druvana said.

Damian was not hurt by that sentence. He was, in fact, smiling, as he knew she was just a yandere, but one that would succumb to his charm one day.

Leslie, who was in the front, said, "I know where the portal to the first floor is, you wanna come?"

That was precisely what Damian, Serana, and Druvana wanted, so they nodded and let the three humans lead the way, hoping they would not mess things up.

While the two men were in front, Hazel, the red-haired girl in the cells with them, was running close to Serana and Druvana.

She felt safer near the other girls, and Damian could see that, so he said nothing about it.

"This desert area is a harsh one. Is the portal inside this desert? Please, say no," Damian asked.

Leslie's face twisted as he said, "unfortunately, it is inside the desert. But we will make it, I am certain of it."

The desert was the worst of all the environments Damian had ever faced and was freaking hot during the day, yet the situation was worse when night came!

"This place is freezing!"

They stopped near a rocky area, like a wall with a roof to cover their head. That was the best place they found to make a campfire and rest.

They couldn't keep moving without resting, and traveling during the night was an invitation for beasts to come and attack them.

Leslie and Tyler quickly made a campfire, warming the rest of the group with the flames and making the cold night more bearable. The only problem was the food, which was not abundant in the desert.

Damian wanted to be helpful, so he said, "I will hunt."

He left the camping area, trying to find anything eatable.

"What can I find here? Snakes? Lizards?"

The coldness of the night made Damian shiver, but the Invisibility Cloak did a great job keeping him warm.

Sand, rocks, and cactuses. These were the things Damian could see, thanks to the shining moon, which made the night less dark, or else he would see nothing.

After roaming around the surrounding area where they were camping, Damian found his first prey: a lizard.

It was pretty big, meaning it would have a decent amount of meat for the group — the lizard was also weak, as it was a normal creature and not a powerful monster.

Damian pointed his palm toward the lizard, making it fly toward his hand. He also snapped the lizard's neck during it, all using his mind powers. Everything happened fast, and the lizard had a painless death.

That was only the first creature to fall by his hands. Damian grabbed two more lizards and one snake. He knew everyone was hungry after that chase.

"I am not forgetting about you, Serana."

Serana would not eat the meat but drink the blood. Fortunately, Damian still had the bamboo cup he used to store water, and now he could use it to store blood!

No one would see the item as he put it inside his spatial ring.

"All done."

The amount of blood was not ideal — Damian lost some of it while bleeding the creatures — but considering the number of lizards he had, it should be enough for Serana.

When Damian returned to the camping area and they saw all the lizards he had, they rejoiced, "Damian, you are freaking awesome. How did you hunt those creatures so easily?" Leslie asked.

"That's a hunter's secret. Help me clean them," Damian said.

Leslie and Tyler came to help him clean the lizards, but as Damian was about to clean it together, Hazel, who did not speak a word, grabbed his arm and said, "c-can I clean them?"

She wanted to be helpful, just like everyone else, and Damian found no reason to refuse, "sure. Take my dagger. Thanks for the help, Hazel."

While the three were busy with that, Damian called Serana to meet outside the camp area.

"Here, take it," Damian said as he tossed the bamboo cup to her filled with blood.

Serana's two fangs appeared as she smiled, "thanks, Damian. I thought you would forget about me."

"Never."

"You can return first."

Damian understood she did not want anyone to see it, so he returned to the camp.

They ate the lizards and the snake, chatting around the campfire until everyone fell asleep.

Unknown sounds woke Damian during the night.

"Nooo!"