Chapter 5: Not My Groceries!!
The moment he hit the ground inside the dream, his whole body flinched in real life. His eyes immediately opened, wide-eyed.
He was now eighteen years old.
He woke groggy because it was already 10 a.m.
"Ugh… it's the same dream again. Since back then… why do I keep getting this dream anyway?"
He looked around, then stood up from the ground and opened the window to breathe in the fresh air. He stretched and yawned—until he inhaled something so awfully bad he couldn't even describe it.
It wasn't completely rotting, wasn't completely gas, but rather a mixture of something like rotten eggs, spoiled cabbage, rancid garlic, and a lingering note of burning rubber or plastic. And even more beyond that.
Immediately, a loud noise erupted outside.
Wei ran out and found Miwa wrestling with a huge monster that looked like a mutant skunk.
"HA! COME AT ME!" Miwa yelled.
Wei wasn't even surprised... This had been Miwa's daily routine for years. He wasn't bedazzled by it anymore.
"You're at it again…" Wei said flatly, sounding completely over it.
Miwa finally noticed him. "OHH! Wei! You're awake—come help me with this!"
"No thank you," Wei replied. "I don't wanna smell like any of that."
"Come on! If you take this down, I'll owe you a favor!"
Wei sighed deeply, already defeated. "Fine… keep your word, alright, Uncle?"
In a blur of motion, Wei appeared behind the monster and tried to kick it from the back. But the creature reacted fast—faster than expected—and immediately lifted its massive tail in preparation to unleash its stench.
Wei froze for half a second. He absolutely refused to smell like that!
He twisted mid-air, lunged onto the monster's back, and began relentlessly punching until its thick hide started to split open. The monster screamed in agonizing terror. Miwa just watched from the side, letting Wei handle it.
"Damn, this kid sure improved," Miwa muttered proudly.
The monster shrieked again. Wei finally stopped, flipped off its back, and intentionally let it escape instead of finishing it. He landed safely beside Miwa.
Miwa blinked. "HEY! Why'd you let it escape?!"
Wei shrugged. "We're not gonna eat its meat anyway. And if I kill it right in front of the house, I won't be able to stomach the smell for a week."
Miwa sighed. "Oh well… at least I got what I wanted."
He placed his hands on his hips, looking satisfied.
Wei then noticed a large missing patch of fur on the monster as it ran away limping, it's back facing them.
"No wonder it was hellbent on killing you, Miwa. You ripped off a huge patch of its fur!"
Miwa laughed. "Well, I wanted to make new clothes—the ones I saw from the travelers who accidentally wandered here yesterday!"
Wei stared. "Seriously…"
Miwa tossed him a handful of crystals he'd taken from the monster's burrow. "You can go to Pangenese City and check how much these are worth. Maybe we can buy food or items."
Wei perked up immediately. "OMG, yes."
Miwa chuckled. "You never learn, do you? Always so excited to go to the city." he rolled his eyes.
"It's because there's so many fun things there!" Wei argued.
"Yeah, yeah—don't go buying something useless again! Last time you bought something completely pointless. I should've hit you for it!"
"Hey! That was a cool toy… I mean, it shot water! It's good for—uhh—your skin!"
"Skin my ass," Miwa snorted. "You bought it just to annoy me! You kept shooting me with it whenever I was asleep!"
Wei burst into laughter. "Cause you kept opening your mouth when you snored. I just had to!"
Miwa groaned, clearly irritated. "Ugh, just go. Don't forget to wear the robe I made for you—and the scarf to mask your face."
"Yeah, yeah, got it," Wei said.
He added mischievously, "I'll try to buy something not entirely useless this time. No promises!"
He ran off as Miwa threw a stick at him. "You brat! You better not!"
Miwa's gaze lingered on Wei. He was still worried about him—because of the past. But ever since the people who wronged Wei had been punished, and since the two of them began using disguises, harassment had stopped. They could finally travel safely. Although they aren't still allowed to go work anywhere because they could get caught in any minute, it was still as better than the past.
Miwa returned to working on the monster fur.
Meanwhile, Wei practically skipped through the forest toward the city. His excitement was painfully obvious—enough that everyone in the city stared at him like he was weird.
After all, he was a 6'1ft tall dude walking like an overly enthusiastic 11-year-old heading to buy candy.
When he arrived at the shop where people exchanged goods for money, the rough-looking man behind with pocked face on the counter barked, "Next!"
Wei stepped up. "I'd like to sell this. How much do you think it'll sell for?"
He handed over the crystal.
The man's eyes widened—it was his first time seeing something like it. The crystal looked like blue ice fading into white, with white fog drifting around it and hints of gold swirling inside.
The man gulped. "Ahem… what if I give you 10 small pins?"
"Hey!" Wei snapped. "That's only enough for two simple meals! You're ripping me off. I can tell this crystal is worth a lot! If you're gonna fool me, I'll sell it somewhere else."
Wei turned to leave.
"Wait—! I'll offer more! Five medium pins!"
"I'm seriously leaving now."
"F-Fine!! Five-large pins!"
Wei smirked. "Finally, you're being reasonable."
He happily took the money and walked out, tossing it between his hands, humming as he thought about what he should buy next.
He went store to store—tasting free sample food, trying on clothes, and buying things Miwa needed. With his disguise, no one recognized him. (Luckily, but also because mostly the stores he went to were just small to mid-sized shops.)
Eventually he'd had enough fun for the day and headed home.
But on his way through the forest—almost near home—
he heard rushing steps, frantic rustling, and heavy thudding from the right side.
Then—
CRASH.
Rustling of leaves and grass, footsteps fast and panicked could be heard drawing closer and closer to him!
Wei froze, instincts sharpening.
Then someone burst out of the trees!
A boy—who looked the same age, same build as him, silver-haired and pale—stumbled into view, chest heaving like he'd outrun death itself. Their eyes met. Wei felt the raw fear radiating from him.
"RUN!" the boy screamed, voice cracking.
Wei blinked. "…Huh?"
"Was that for me?" he wondered.
Then the ground and trees exploded!
KRAAAGHK!
A massive predator tore through the trees like paper—towering, jaws dripping, eyes blazing red!
It was a monster! It's head in comparison was that of a Tiger, while it's body was that of an elephant, and it's got thick layer of pointy fur on it's neck on top like that or a Hyena's! It was an ender monster!
Time slowed as the monster and the stranger appeared before him.
Wei snapped back to reality just in time to avoid its attack. He rolled aside as its claw gouged the earth where he'd stood. The force of the impact knocked the silver-haired boy flat on his back.
"Right now? Seriously!?" Wei groaned.
He checked his shopping bags in a panic. "Damn it! I just bought these! I tried to buy useful things this time! Why do monsters keep showing up—did I miss a discount sale or something!?"
He wasn't even scared of the monster. He was scared his new stuff would get destroyed—especially the "cool" magic fire sword he bought.
(Total scam.)
Then he noticed the boy.
He lay helpless, clutching his side, trembling as the monster lunged at him.
"Crap. He's not gonna make it—"
The boy's eyes widened in terror.
'...Is this the end?' he thought.
"Mother… I'm sorry," he whispered, closing his eyes.
Wei didn't think. He moved.
Normally he would've used his fists or feet, but this time he wanted to try the cool sword.
"Let's see what you got! Don't fail me!"
The moment he wielded it, the sword grew—massive and blazing with fire.
The sword itself wasn't special, but a strong wielder made it powerful. It amplified its wielder's physical strength.
Wei felt the heat and power merging with him. "Holy shit—"
He grinned and then he only swung once.
The monster's head fell.
The enormous body staggered, then collapsed.
Wei panted—then immediately yelped.
"OW! HOT—HOT—MY SHIRT'S ON FIRE!"
He flailed wildly and tossed the glowing sword aside.
The silver-haired boy stared, horrified. This man had just killed a monster with one swing—and now he was panicking about his clothes...
A chill crawled down the boy's spine.
That grin…
Did he save me on purpose?
Or was I just in the way?
Wei then turned and started walking towards him.
The boy immediately tensed up, his heart pounding, preparing for
the worst—but Wei walked right past him.
And reached for—
"My goods!! Damnit—please be okay! Not damaged hopefully."
Then he knelt on the ground to check the goods inside the bag, one by one carefully. "Please be okay… please be okay… oh god Miwa's gonna kill me…"
The boy stared, speechless.
'...Is he serious right now?
He couldn't believe it, Wei's first priority wasn't him. It was his groceries! He didn't even ask if he was okay!
But then Wei finally glanced at him. "You're alive, right? Good. Try not to die again—these goods won't carry themselves."
A crooked grin.
The boy's throat tightened. Was that a joke? A threat?
Before he could say anything, his body gave out. He collapsed again.
Wei froze.
"Hey—! Hey! What—?! Get up!"
But the boy was too weak to move. Panic shot through Wei. He couldn't just leave someone to die on the path to their home.
So he dragged the stranger—and his precious goods—toward the hut.
The silver-haired boy's fading thoughts were simple: Whoever this person was—savior or threat—being alone in this forest was far worse.
He let himself be dragged.
Wei groaned internally the whole time.
'Ugh, Miwa's gonna yell at me… he'll think I brought home some city guy… Should I ditch him…? No, I can't do that—ugh seriously!'
His mind was in chaos (To be continued)