CHAPTER 86: THE REST OF THE WORLD IS LARGE (2).

The sun was descending when Garrick finally called for a halt.

The evening air was moist and carried the subtle scent of damp earth and rotting wood— a rather common theme in Malady’s Garden.

The breeze was chilly.

Nero sucked in a lungful of the chilly air and savored it.

They had been walking for hours in relative silence, broken only by the sound of boots squelching through the mud and the occasional rustle of something moving through the underbrush.

The black river flowed beside them, its putrid waters a constant reminder of here they were.

The dangerous wilderness. There was no illusion of safety in this place.

Nero’s legs ached a bit. The fight with the ghoul had taken more out of him than he’d realized. His arms still trembled slightly from maintaining control over Gungnir’s shifting weight.

And that wasn’t all.

He had come to the stark realization that he could only make use of about sixty percent of his total strength when he transformed back into his human forms.

His more nightmarish, monstrous form was far more powerful than his original, dainty, fair-skinned, youthful body. In a way, he was more comfortable in his monstrous body.

Turning back into a regular human felt like wearing a mask, or a false skin.

He was rather uncomfortable.

’I still have enough energy to last through the night.’

Since his Ein Sof needed to be replenished periodically, he couldn’t help but wonder what excuses he would have to make, slinking into the night to go hunt dangerous monsters to consume.

"We’ll camp here," Garrick announced as they came to a halt.

He glanced around for a moment before he gestured toward a small clearing tucked against a cluster of twisted trees.

"There. It’s good enough. Geor, check around."

The large man nodded and moved off without a word, his shield still strapped to his back.

Obed walked forward and dropped his pack with more force than necessary. He shot Nero a dark look before turning away to examine his short swords. One had a notch in the blade from where it had struck a Brandor’s skull.

Aisha sat down on a fallen log and stared at the empty sky. She let out a sigh.

Nero sat down on the log awkwardly.

He had not heard the girl say anything to him, eve though they were the closest in age.

Granted, he didn’t have anything to say to her as well.

In reality, he didn’t know what to say to anyone.

He’d traveled alone for weeks. The presence of other humans felt strange now. Almost foreign.

Curious, he decided to activate Heretic Eyes. The invisible streams of the energy that permeated everything became visible to him.

The strength of Ein Sof within everything was different. Because of this, the glow they all gave off was different.

Much to Nero’s surprise, the person with the largest reserves of Ein Sof was the girl seated beside him.

Noticing his gaze, she turned to face him.

She seemed to have recovered from her horrible state of mind. In her gaze, was suspicion and a slight look of disgust.

However, after looking at Nero more closely for the first time, a strange blush crept up her cheeks.

Seeing this, Nero could only chuckle nervously and turn away, embarrassed that she had caught him staring.

However, her gaze refused to leave him, making him even feel more awkward.

Garrick noticed this and gestured him over.

"Help me gather wood for the fire. We’ll need something to cook with."

Nero nodded and quickly followed Garrick into the tree line.

They walked for a bit before picking a spot. There, they worked in silence for a few minutes, collecting fallen branches and stripping bark from dead trees.

"You handled yourself well back there," Garrick said eventually. His tone was conversational but his eyes were sharp as they shifted to the item strapped to his back,

"That spear of yours. Where’d you get it?"

Nero paused. His eyes narrowed slightly, but he made the mental effort not to let it show.

After a moment of hesitation, he decided on a partial truth.

"I found it on my travels. In the ruins of an old settlement. I thought it was in good shape, so I decided to take it. It’s really nothing special."

Garrick raised an eyebrow. "Settlement?" He was silent for a moment, then he chuckled,

"Must’ve been some settlement, huh. That’s quality work right there. I can tell it’s enchanted too, from the look of it."

Nero’s interest perked up as he couldn’t help but ask,

"Are there a lot of enchanted weapons in Liedenstorm?"

Garrick’s brows furrowed,

"There are. But those things aren’t something us normal hunters can even dream of affording. And getting one from the church usually means something worse than a lifetime’s worth of servitude. No better than living like a dog."

He grimaced then shook his head before plastering in a smile,

"Of course, you can rest assured. The weapon rightfully belongs to you. I was just a bit curious."

Nero ran his fingers over the shaft of the spear.

What Garrick didn’t know, was that even amongst enchanted weapons, Gungnir was a few cuts above.

Nero muttered, "Is that so..."

"I also noticed it was quite effective in slaying the possessed. That’ll be useful in the City," Garrick said.

He hefted an armful of wood and started back toward camp.

"The city’s had problems with possessions lately. Too many Hunters going into the Garden and bringing the corruption back with them."

Nero followed. "How many Hunters are in Liedenstorm?"

Garrick’s brows scrunched together,

"Under the Church? Hundreds. Perhaps even thousands." Garrick’s expression was grim. "Most don’t last very long. The ones that do are either very good or very lucky. Most of the time, it’s both."

Nero nodded thoughtfully then asked,

"You said under the Church. What do you mean by that?"

Garrick raised a brow suspiciously again,

"You truly do not know?"

Nero nodded innocently,

"Of course I don’t."

Garrick sighed and explained further,

"The noble families all have Hunters working under them as well, independent of the guards they train and of course, the Knight Templars of the Church. Although their Hunters are much stronger than we are, having access to all the best resources, with some of them receiving the Seals without even joining a Templar Order."

Nero looked up. He could feel the indignation rippling off of Garrick in waves.

In the end, he could only shrug his shoulders.