A heavy yawn escaped Nile's lips. He leaned his head back against the jagged surface of the boulder, his eyelids growing impossibly heavy. His body was practically begging for rest after enduring hours of exhausting labour.
After what felt like only a mere fraction of a second, his eyes snapped open in a sudden panic.
'Did I doze off? How long was I out?'
Nile took out the pocket watch and pressed it open.
Click.
He checked the hands under the dim moonlight. Only five minutes had passed. He let out a silent sigh of relief.
'Thank God!'
'It would have been a disaster if a monster had attacked us.'
Nile turned his head and looked at Yaichenba, who was sleeping like a log.
'What can I do to keep myself busy in the meantime so that I don't doze off?'
'Wait.. I forgot to check on it. I was interrupted before.'
The ethereal runic words appeared in front of Nile.
It read,
False Name: Clyde
True Name: Nile
He went still.
'Huhh?? Since when do I have a false name? And who the hell is Clyde?'
Age: 18
'That much, at least, is true.'
It was a small comfort knowing his age didn't mess up.
Chakra Core: Sealed
'Sealed'
'Wait, so I can unlock it in the future? Do I need some kind of key, or do I need to do something? But I still don't know what a Chakra Core is.'
The next line left him dumbfounded.
Attribute: [ Marked By ░░░░░░░░ ]
Panic and fear crept through his heart.
'Marked by?? Did I get marked by someone or something? Marked how? And what does it mean by marked'
Cold sweat broke out across his skin at the realization that someone or something had branded him without his knowledge.
Even with the fear, he continued to read,
[ Attribute Description ]
[ Marked By ░░░░░░░░ ]:You have been marked by ░░░░░░░░. With this mark, ░░░░░░░░ has claimed you.
'Fuck this is so creepy. Did I get prebooked by someone or something?'
A new line had materialized beneath the attribute block while he'd been staring at it.
[+] Items (New!)
Nile lifted his hand and tried to touch the Ethereal Runic word. Surprisingly, his hand passed through the ethereal runic words like it was smoke.
'I can't touch it. Then how do I see the items? Does it expand like on a computer?'
'Wait, if I can summon the system while I focus and think about it, then I can try the same method.'
Nile shifted his focus to the line he wanted to see and thought of what he wanted. Instantly, the Ethereal Runic words changed.
It read,
[-] Items (New!)
[An Apple]
'An apple? The name looks plain.'
A sudden realization flashed through his mind—he knew which apple it was talking about.
'Is it the apple which I found in the forest?'
The Ethereal Runic words changed again.
[-] Items (New!)
[An Apple]
Trait: Consumable
Description: There was an old, sick mother. One day while she was resting, an unknown visitor came to her yard. She walked out of her resting place. When she came out, she found that the unknown visitor was a small child who had gotten lost in her garden. The bad weather had turned the garden into a muddy mess, with small puddles scattered across it. She was shocked to find the child untouched by any dirt or mud. But an evil looking young man quickly came and took the child's hand and dragged the child out of the garden. The sick old mother couldn't do anything to save the child from being dragged away. With all the strength she had left, she plucked an apple from her garden and offered it to the child, wishing that it would keep him healthy and strong for the rest of his life.
Nile was left speechless by the description.
'This looks like more of a short story than a description.'
Nile took the apple out of his pocket and held it in his palm. He turned the apple around, his eyes examining every corner of the apple.
'Why such a dramatic story over an apple?'
Nile put the apple back in his pocket. The Etheral Runic words disappeared into thin air. A sigh escaped from his lips. The night was still dark, and he had a watch to keep.
Nile took off his boots and looked down at his feet. Blisters covered them, and blood had seeped through several cuts caused by the sharp objects he had unknowingly stepped on while walking barefoot all day after being captured by the bandits.
'It hurts so much. Thankfully, taking off my boots eased the pain a little, but every step still stings.'
Nile poured a small amount of water from his bottle over his feet to clean the wounds. He used only a little, unsure of how long it would take him to reach Renzhong. Then, he tore strips of cloth from his sleeve and wrapped them around his feet as makeshift bandages.
He spent the remaining time parsing the silent darkness of the woods, tracking the subtle sounds of rustling leaves and distant animal cries. His hand never left the hilt of his scavenged blade.
When the watch hands finally crawled to 3:45 AM, Nile let out a silent sigh and stood up, his joints popping from the chill. He walked over to the curled-up figure of the young merchant.
"Yaichenba," Nile muttered, giving the boy's shoulder a rough shake.
"Wake up. Your turn."
Yaichenba didn't even flinch. He merely let out a soft snore and turned onto his other side, pulling his arms tighter around himself.
"Hey. Wake up." Nile grabbed his shoulder firmly and gave him a violent shove.
"Mmm... five more minutes, Mother... I can't eat anymore..." Yaichenba mumbled incoherently.
Nile's brow twitched. He wasn't in the mood for morning gymnastics. He reached down, grabbed the leather water bladder from Yaichenba's belt, uncorked it, and poured a small, icy stream straight onto the boy's face.
"Ah! What the—! Flood! Monsters!" Yaichenba scrambled backwards like a cat who got watered, his eyes flying open as he wiped the cold water from his eyes. He glared up at Nile, sputtering in outrage. "Are you insane?! I was in the middle of a perfect dream!"
"Your watch," Nile said flatly, tossing the water bag back into his lap. "Two hours. If you fall asleep, we will be eaten. Keep your eyes open."
Yaichenba shivered from the cold water, rubbing his arms and grumbling under his breath. "You're such a psychopath, Nile. A complete savage. Fine, fine, I'm awake!"
Satisfied that the boy was sufficiently alert, Nile walked over to the boulder, sat down, and closed his eyes.
But Nile didn't actually sleep.
In a hostile, unknown world, leaving your life in the hands of a sheltered, naive rich kid who didn't even know how to loot a corpse was a dumb way to get yourself killed. Nile kept his ears straining against the silence. His eyes were closed, his body resting to alleviate the raw physical exhaustion of the day, but his consciousness remained entirely awake. Every time Yaichenba shifted, sighed, or threw a small pebble into the dark out of boredom, Nile's muscle memory flared, ready to draw his blade. It was an exhausting way to rest, but it was the only way to guarantee he'd see the morning.
"Hey... Nile. Nile, wake up. The sun is actually coming up."
A gentle nudge against his boot brought Nile back to full awareness. He opened his eyes without a hint of grogginess—he had been awake the entire time.
The night was finally breaking. A pale orange glow bled over the horizon, long shadows stretching through the trees of the Silver City territory.