"Gale?" said Rachel. "I thought you left us."
Gale loosened the grip on his saber. He pointed to the smoked meat and pile of spears he'd made.
Rachel turned her attention to it, smiling softly. "You've been busy."
She stepped closer, and he noticed the small leaf sack hung at her waist. The smell hit his nose immediately. Inside the sack were the forest mango heart looking fruits, the same ones he ate at the dining table with them.
He nodded, not knowing how to reply to her. The comfort of working in silence was long gone now that she had walked in.
Rachel bent down to grab a spear, running her fingers along the shaft and then touching the sharp point.
"These are amazing," she said. "Did you make them for us?"
It's not like he wanted to make those spears for them, Gale wanted to say, but couldn't. He was just not used to doing anything for anyone. He had no idea how to even convey that.
Again, he nodded.
"Then we'll be able to defend ourselves better and have more chance at surviving, right?" Rachel said.
Surviving. Of course it was for surviving. What else was it for? Everything in this world was for survival. For him. And now for them too.
"Everyone's getting together to eat," Rachel said. "Wanna come to eat together? "
Gale was about to shake his head, hesitating. He put the sabre down, then went to the pile of spears he had made. Without saying anything, he wrapped them up in a leather hide sack made from the same beasts he killed.
Rachel watched him work, still smiling.
"I thought you might do that," she said.
She untied the leaf sack and held it out. "Here. You can't always just have meat. Fruits are healthy."
Gale paused like a deer in front of headlights. He stared at her hand, holding the sack of fruits to him.
"Take it," Rachel said. "You need to eat something besides meat."
Gale put down the sack of spears. She probably wouldn't leave until he took the fruits from her. He gave her one nod, and then took the leaf sack of fruits from her hand, cursing inwardly at his own social ineptitude.
Rachel's smile went wider. "You can come to our camp anytime, Gale. If you want to talk, you can talk to me. If you wanna play with the children, you can just go in. Ok?"
"...Ok," Gale managed to say.
Rachel took the spears, surprisingly hoisting them up onto her shoulders.
"Thanks for caring," she said. "This'll definitely help us in surviving this cruel place."
Gale nodded.
"I'll see you later, right?" she asked.
He just nodded again.
"Alright, that settles it then. Don't push yourself too much. And definitely, I'll see you later," Rachel said.
Gale watched her drop down and walk back to the inners of the camp walls.
He sat at the base of the tree, leaning his back against the trunk. He stared at the spot where she'd disappeared. A weird sort of knot formed in his chest he wasn't sure of.
He took a fruit out of the sack she gave him. He bit into it, and the sweetness spread over his mouth. It was a warm welcome after only having eaten meat jerky for a while. He took another one, and another one… until he finished all of them.
Gale stood back up, back to business. The camp needed more weapons. More armour. Anything to protect against the dangers that lurked in the depths of the shadows of the unforgiving forest of doom to the mundanes, he thought stupidly.
He headed back to the forest, and the familiar terrain settled into his view again. Breath of the Void captured and fed him every detail that he looked for, signs of any beast passing by.
Something moved. Gale froze, pressing against a massive tree trunk. He focused on the clearing ahead.
Another forest beast appeared, its huge body making everything else look small.
Gale sized up his target. It was bigger than the one he met earlier, with thick hide covered in battle scars. Bigger prey meant bigger bones. The beast was perfect for armour.
He got ready to attack, circling quietly to get downwind. The beast kept moving through the clearing, not noticing him.
Gale pounced at the beast, aiming for the beast's back leg. The sabre cut deep, the creature howling in pain. He immediately stepped back before it could kick back at him.
The beast turned toward him, pouncing. He activated distort. Light refracted around him. The forest beast missed the swipe of its claws, then lashed out at the multiple refractions of Gale's form.
Gale took his chance and lunged. He pushed essence into his fingertips onto the tip of the saber. Focused Phase Touch was ready. He dove right into the beast's heart. Then, with a quick twist of the hilt, the beast shuddered and fell with a thud.
The rush of adrenaline faded. He knelt by the body, quickly taking out the skinning and butchering bone knife.
He imagined Rachel's face as he worked through the beast. Would she have smiled more at him? Would Ollie and Annett be thankful to him for giving them more stuff, gifts that would let them survive a little bit better in this hellhole?
He pushed those thoughts away and focused on the job. The forest was getting darker. The eclipse was soon to be below the tree line. He needed to get back fast just as a precaution.
His hands moved faster, cutting meat and hide. Just thinking about arming the people who needed it made him work faster.
He kept thinking about the people who needed these supplies. But he also kept checking for threats.
Bushes rustled behind him. Immediately, he spun around, bloody sabre slashing through the air. He knew the predators wanted to scavenge his kill. Unlucky for them, this was his, and now they were going to be part of the loot.
The unlucky beast that pounced on him had its underbelly slashed open in one quick motion. Others behind it waited, eyeing the prize. And behind those were more behind.
Another one pounced at him.
Slash.
One leg sliced off. It kept going. Another one from the back lunged.
Stab with focused Phase Touch.
It dropped to the ground with its brain matter spilling.
There were too many of them, but he knew he could take them even if his back was pressed against the wall.
For the first time since getting in to this hellhole of a world, Gale had somewhere to go back to. Someone waiting for him.
Did the orphanage staff ever care about him when he came back too late from reading books at the park? No. They didn't.
They all shrugged him off. Dismissed him.
And now, someone was scared he'd left them. That was enough reason.
The beast jumped, claws out. Gale moved smoothly, spinning and slashing at the beast's throat. It tried to growl, yet only gurgles could be heard.
Gale pounced at another of the beast. Focused Phase Touch sabre's tip right at the back of its neck. Dropped.
More beasts came from the bushes, drawn by the smell of blood and the promise of an easy meal. Gale smiled as he faced them. The feeling of pure raw survival and going back to the place that was close to home kept him going.
He ducked and spun, his blade always moving. Each hit found its target, cutting open flesh and cutting off limbs. The beasts howled in pain, some gurgled themselves to death.
As he fought, a new thought hit Gale. His Phase Touch worked well on a single point of his weapon. But what if he could spread it? Why limit it to just one spot when he could use it on the whole edge? There was no way this skill was that simple. He was just being simple minded.
The idea grew stronger with each second. Gale focused, pushing his essence into the sabre. A headache started to form at the back of his left eye. The pain hurt, yet it excited him of the potential for what he was about to accomplish.
The dark glow at the tip that ate at the light spread downwards into the blade, covering the whole edge of the blade with its eerie glow.
[Your Phase Touch increased in proficiency...]
He swung at the nearest beast right away. The sabre passed through its body like it wasn't there, cutting it cleanly in half. The two pieces of meat fell with a thud to the ground.
The rest of the beasts froze in their tracks. Instincts warned them that the monster in front of them was no longer just an easy meal. They watched him carefully, even with numbers, they dropped low, showing the confidence that had dropped.
Gale stood tall, holding his sabre as the glow ate the remainders of the blue light that fell from the canopy. He stared each beast down, daring them to attack.
There were tens of beasts that had him surrounded, yet silence befell the forest. Without a sound, the beasts ran back into the shadows. Soon, their footsteps faded into the distance, leaving Gale alone with the dead bodies.
The adrenaline wore off, and his mind became clear. He put his sabre up to his face, watching the glow that ran along the edge of the sabre. The possibilities with this were endless, not just for killing, but also for crafting tools.
Gale dropped down to cut up the dead beasts that lay on the floor. The familiar routine calmed him after the intensity of facing multiple beasts at once.
He'd gotten strong. In fact, he felt it himself. There was no need to back down to the herd of beasts.
One by one, he sorted the meat and bones again. This time, the job came quicker as the extreme sharpness of the knife, enhanced by Phase Touch, let him cut freely.
Maybe it was too much, though. The four heavy sacks finally took a toll on his muscles as he headed to the camp. The way to the camp was completely quiet. No beast dared to attack him this time. But he knew they were watching.
Keep watching. You're the ones running from me now. Not like before.
The smile on his face never faded. He imagined the whole camp equipped with the gear he made. He moved quickly even with the load on his shoulders.
Once he got back to his abode, he planned what to craft first. The most effective would be anything that would cover the torso. For tools that'll make life easier, knives. For weapons, spears and maybe swords would be best.
Gale glanced at the camp, then decided that armour should be made first. He put down the sack in his staging area and got to work.
He spotted Rachel standing at the edge of the camp. He couldn't read her expression. They made eye contact for a second before he looked away.
And just as he thought, the focused Phase Touch on the edge did wonders for crafting. Instead of trying to scrape rock with a wooden chisel, it felt more like working butter with a heated butter knife. The cuts came in much cleaner than before. Crafting actually became fun.
Gale spread out Breath of the Void just in case something came up behind him. He wasn't in the inner walls, after all. Yet that soon proved to be distracting. He picked up the chatter from the camp. Leaves above rustled overhead from the wind. And worst of all, someone had splattered fruit all over the dining area of the camp.
Goddamn, what a waste.
He took Breath of the Void back and just focused. He would hear the rustle of leaves around him before a beast strikes at him anyways.
The outside world soon faded away as he got into the flow of working through the bones. Time blurred, marked only by each piece of bone he finished.
A finished breastplate took shape. Gale held it up to check it in the dim light. It would protect against normal claws and teeth. It was also flexible enough to move freely in.
He put the breastplate down and picked up a long, sturdy bone. This would become a spear with a tip sharp enough to pierce beast hide.
The pile of finished items grew steadily. Breastplates, spears, knives, helmets, and arm guards littered the staging area of his workplace. The thought of being left alone or wanting to be alone became part of the back of his mind as he continued working.