44 44: Start of the Training

The night had arrived. The moon in the dark sky illuminated the ground. Acting as the sole source of light, the moonlight provided the creatures below a solace from the darkness that threatened to devour everything.

In the river after the Forest of Death, also known as the Sasmuan River. One would see a flickering orange light. Zooming in, the silhouette of eight people grilling a fish in the bonfire could be seen.

Dunn, holding a makeshift grill using green branches from a non-toxic tree. He began to season fish with herbs, oil, and salt. Caleb wondered how the hunting party had salt in the first place when they were far from the city.

It turned out that, In some wilderness areas around them, they found natural salt deposits on rocks or in caves in one of their travels. These deposits can be scraped off and collected. And when they found salt-rich rocks, they broke them into smaller pieces using tools like stones or a makeshift hammer. Lastly, once they have collected salt rocks, they grind or crush them into finer granules using stones. Yeah, it was that simple... According to Dunn, at least.

"Guys, you can dig in now. But be careful, it's hot." Dunn removed the fish from the makeshift grills and put them on a large banana leaf for plating.

Most of the plants in this world were similar to Earth except for some other ones that Caleb couldn't identify. But that doesn't mean they don't exist on Earth. It may be that he was just unfamiliar with them. After all, there are thousands or even hundreds of thousands of varieties of plants.

GRGHHH!!

Suddenly, the sound of stomach growling broke the silence of the night. Jin, Fushigiro, Tamasai, Caleb, Dunn, Miles, and Athena simultaneously turned their head at the culprit. There, Rina was touching her stomach with red cheeks.

"Uhm... Don't be shy. You can get yours first." Caleb said.

Rina glared at Caleb for a second, then hesitantly reached for one of the grilled fish. It has an attractive golden to brownish color on the outside. Prominent grill marks and charred lines on its surface, give it a visually appealing, slightly caramelized appearance. The fish's skin, if left on during grilling, has become crispy and browned. When Rina bit the fish, the members saw the flesh inside appear flaky and opaque.

Swallowing his saliva, Caleb eyed the slightly glossy appearance on the surface of the fish. He felt his tongue began to water involuntarily. With an instinctive sniff, a mouthwatering aroma that is both smoky and savory reaches his nose.

'Damn!' Caleb didn't hold back any longer. As he was about to take one and reach for one of the grilled fish in the banana leaf, his hand grabbed another hand. When he looked whose hand it was, he saw Athena looking at him speechlessly. Caleb immediately removed his hand and said reluctantly. "Okay, ladies first."

"How gentlemanly." Athena teased. Then she took the fish and gobbled it whole under Caleb's astonished eyes.

'Hey, aren't you afraid of Pinbones!?'

For some reason, Caleb felt his throat hurt just watching Athena swallow the whole thing without caring about the sharp rib bones and spine bones of the fish.

Just like that, each member ate with enjoyment whilst also informing Caleb about the arrangements for his training for the whole month.

First of all, Miles and Rica would train him for a week. Miles would train him about the three important core parts of combat. Mainly; Intent, Repetition, and Experience. Those three are more concepts, but once a person understands the three, it would be the thing that would separate him from mundane fighters. He would also teach him sword moves. Yeah, he chose the sword as his main weapon. Though, it was just temporary since he would travel to a lot of worlds in the future. One weapon isn't his limit, right? He has all the energy to do it. Time wasn't something he lacked. He was eternal, after all. So there's no rush for him to learn about other weapons.

Rina, on the other hand, would be the one that would fight him. One battle is better than hundreds of training sessions. It was the battle that would help him to incorporate theory and things he learned into his fighting style and truly convert it to combat power.

'I wonder, what are the three concepts the bastard would teach me.'

Just like that, the hunting party finished eating. One by one, they began to choose their comfortable spot. Rina and Athena opened the backpacks they had carried. Then they put down six pillows and a square-shaped brownish carpet with a length of four meters and six meters in width. It was enough for all of them.

Caleb took one of the pillows unceremoniously and laid down with his face now facing the dark sky. The starry sky managed to take his breath for a second.

The arrangement of the sleep was clear from the start. Most of the members began to sleep. Except for Dunn and Miles, who were responsible for the watch. Every three hours, someone would replace them. Luckily, they didn't include him, thus allowing him to have a long uninterrupted sleep. With that, Caleb felt the tiredness of the day catch up to him, and his mind started to become less active.

...

Caleb woke up as the first ray of sun hit his face. When he stood up, he saw Rina and Miles already waiting for him in the open field. A yawn escaped from Caleb's mouth and he unconsciously stretched his sore arms and back in a straight line.

'Why are they so early?'

"Johan, come here. Today, you're in our care." Miles said tiredly while looking at Caleb with his tired eyes. Two dark heavy eye bags could be seen just underneath them. "Are you ready?"

Caleb walked to them and gave Miles an apologetic expression. "Can I wash my face first?"

Rina smiled. Unlike Miles, she looks as refreshed as a fully bloomed-sunflower. Her usual indifferent expression was replaced with serenity.

'Someone was fully rested.'

Miles nodded his head without looking at him and said impatiently.

"Go on... Make it quick. I want to sleep again after this."