The Rise Of A Tribal Deadbeat - Chapter 84

“Why am I back in the desert?” Zok mumbled as he looked around himself.

He was back in the desert alright, but he didn’t have any recollection of how he got there. None whatsoever. On top of that, he was all alone… consumed by the vastness of the place. This was even more peculiar since he wasn’t foolish enough to go somewhere as dangerous as the desert without the help of his pets and Shira.

However, as he began thinking about it more and more, he started to forget about… everything. It started with his adventure of the cold lands, then he forgot about Cero, Shira… and even Kaira. As he forgot about them, the scenery around him changed as well.

The desert slowly transformed into the settlement Zok grew up on. But this time, the behaviour of everyone around him was different. They no longer saw him as a burden but with respectful eyes. There was no sign of the shamans or his father.

Everyone was happy just like he was. Everything was back to being as it was supposed to be. Everything… but why did he feel as if he had been wronged in some way? It was a weird feeling like he was angry at something but he had no idea why.

‘What am I forgetting?’

Just then, he saw someone walking towards him. He looked at the man, but couldn’t make out the face of the person. However, as the man got closer to him, a feeling of uneasiness shrouded him. something about the man, made his body scream to run away.

Suddenly the man’s fists burst into blue flames and memories of the past came flooding into his mind. Zok remembered everything now. How he was betrayed by the shamans and everyone else around him.

But before he could do anything… the man punched him right in the abdomen as he was once again flung away… into darkness.

***

Zok woke with a start. He was drenched in his sweat, panting as if he had raced against a Tulak. He frantically looked around the dark cave he was in. There was hot water flowing next to him, making a small pool.

‘It was… a dream?’

A dream… that was Zok’s initial thought when he realised he was back in Sofina’s cave. But he had no idea how he got there. The last thing he remembered was fighting the weird shaman and how he was defeated… again.

He touched the place where Naalnish’s punch had hit him and he ended up wincing in pain. Zok didn’t know how much time had passed since he was back in the cave. But judging for the pain he was feeling, it shouldn’t have been more than a couple of days.

“So you’re up?” Sofina’s voice echoed through the cave as she materialised in front of him, “A miraculous recovery speed. Maybe I should use you for some research purposes.”

“As big of an opportunity it might be, I think I’ll pass.” Zok said and got back to his feet after much struggle, “Argh… this pain’s a bitch!”

“You should be glad that you can feel anything after the state you were in,” Sofina said with a tinge of sadness in her voice, “Your outside appearance might have looked alright, but your insides were a complete mess. Whatever technique you got hit with, was not a simple one. It could have possibly killed you if it wasn’t for your allies.”

Zok didn’t know what to say. He simply kept staring at his clenched hands. He was frustrated that even after going through all that pain and misery, he was still weak… weak enough to be taken down by a single punch.

Sofina could sense how he was feeling. Anyone else in his place would be feeling the same. He had gotten one chance at getting retribution and he couldn’t do it. To top it all off, he was stronger than the person who defeated him… which added even more salt to his injury.

Zok was used to defeating stronger enemies. But after being defeated by someone who was supposedly weaker than him, he learnt an important lesson. No matter who his opponent might be, never underestimate them based on the probability of winning.

Because even if someone had a 1% chance of winning a battle, that insignificant 1% could still cause his defeat or death. This time he got lucky that Cero, Kaira and Shira helped him before things got out of hand. But they might not be able to do the same again.

While Zok was lost in his train of thoughts, Sofina called the rest of them in. All three of them were happy to see Zok being up and about. Kaira and Cero could not stop themselves from licking Zok’s face while Shira hugged him so tight, his wounds started hurting all over again. But despite all that… he felt happy?

“Zok, listen very carefully to what I’m about to say.” Sofina interrupted their little reunion, “You have been unconscious for three days, and it is safe to assume that within those three days, the shamans as you call them, have already been informed about your whereabouts.”

Zok nodded his head. He knew what Sofina was implying. He had messed up the shamanka’s life and plans quite a few times. There was no way she was going to let go of an opportunity like this to get rid of him.

Also, none of them was strong enough to hold them off, let alone defeat them. If the Shamanka went all out, Zok was confident that he would be killed off for sure and others will join him as well.

The choice was clear… they had to leave the wilderness behind. At least temporarily. Staying behind after being discovered by his enemies was like courting death. The only question was… where the hell would they go.

“Don’t worry, I have already figured it all out.” Sofina said with a smile on her face, “This is going to be my last favour for a while, so don’t die on me. Okay?”

She snapped her fingers and a weird space opened in front of them along with a book. Zok looked at the book in his hands and he knew it wasn’t an ordinary book just after a glance.

__

Item: Book Of Master Tamer

Type: Storage Space

Rarity: Epic

Effect(s):

• Grant the user the ability to store tamed creatures in a subspace away from gawking eyes of others.

• The stored beasts would have their stats increased by 5%.

• Up to 5 beasts can be stored in this subspace regardless of their shape, size, or biome.

__

“This…”

“The portal will lead you as far away from here as possible. But this is the limit of my abilities. As for the book, I think you already know how to use it.”

“Thank you… I will remember this-”

“Yeah yeah, just get going already..” Sofina cut him off and disappeared into thin air.