329 Chapter 329: Caves of Ice (2/2)
”That's right.” Pearl Pang nodded in agreement. ”This much is nothing!”
Despite our optimism, the Frost Fiend's meat was not palatable. It might seem strange, eating monster meat and all that, but we didn't have much of a choice. Monster meat, fortunately, was edible, and was even a delicacy in the Amazerian Empire and Zurium Empire, where tribal warriors often went out to hunt monsters and bring them back for gigantic, celebratory feasts in their villages or towns. It was pretty much a fun festival.
Unlike the empires, the Global Federation relied more on domesticated animals that had continued to survive through millennia, rearing livestock within the safe territories of their domains in specially protected farms. The main population tended to eat meat butchered from such livestock, and even kept normal ”pets” that were descended and almost identical to dog and cat breeds of my previous timeline. Obviously it wasn't just dogs and cats, but other domesticated animals too, such as rabbits, parrots, fish, terrapins, etc.
I glanced outside of the cave, pondering deeply. What did that mean for all the other creatures living in the wilderness, outside the territory of man?
I wasn't sure, but from what I had read…they had evolved. While monsters were entities from another dimension that surely dwelled in a different form or shape in their original homes, when they crossed over, they took on very familiar shapes, that resembling the terrestrial animals that inhabited Earth. Scientists speculated that the monsters had almost certainly replaced the majority of the biosphere and species that once lived in or world, taking their place entirely and creating the new ecosystem. Either that, or the animals had mutated and evolved into monsters, probably from ingesting monster carcasses or whatnot.
Whatever the case, it remained a hotly contested scientific debate in academic circles. I wasn't sure. Perhaps it was both. It didn't really matter to me, other than I needed to watch out for monsters and ensure they didn't sneak up on us. As such, after our dinner, I raised my hand.
”I'll keep watch. I'll take the first shift.”
”Okay.” Harrison nodded. ”I'll be counting on you then.”
”You sure?” Yue Chu asked, concerned. ”You need the rest as much as we do.”
”Are you volunteering to take the first shift then?” Craig asked him slyly, and he spluttered.
”Uh, well…I'll take the next shift.”
”I'll take the third shift then.” Harrison, as always, was the responsible leader. ”We'll be taking two-hour shifts, if that's all right with you. I suggest we move out at six in the morning. That should give everyone eight hours of sleep, and those on guard duty about six hours of rest. Is that fair?”
”Yeah!” Everyone echoed.
”I'll take the last shift,” Bu Fan said, much to everyone's surprise. He shrugged when he saw everyone staring at him. ”What? I'm part of the team. I'm not a slacker, it's only natural that I do my part.”
”We'll be counting on you then.” Harrison smiled, and then nodded at me and Yue Chu. ”You guys too. Thanks for volunteering.”
”We'll cover tomorrow's shifts,” Craig spoke up, determined not to lose. Theodore and Cody nodded in agreement.
”Sure. We'll talk about that when tomorrow comes.”
While everyone went to sleep, I sat by the fire and stared out of the cave. Raising a hand, I summoned a couple of Corvus and mentally instructed them to fly out to serve as sentries. Before readers could complain in the comments, I had to remind them that summoning would not work if I was asleep. The moment I fell asleep, my Constellation spirits and whatever Soul Beast I summoned would automatically disappear. You couldn't throw a punch or kick when you were asleep, right? You couldn't run while you were asleep, right? Similarly, maintaining the existence of a Soul Beast required conscious effort and will. You couldn't just summon one and expected it to remain flying around while you went to sleep. Reality was never so convenient.
I probably drifted off – not exactly asleep, but just lost in my thoughts. Thinking of my next move, of the enemies I had to face, and all that. This was only the first day, so I wasn't expecting the Assassins to show up just yet, but I knew we had to be vigilant.
”Another two weeks of this, huh?” I grumbled, staring absently into the flames. Reaching for a twig, I fed it into the fire, and then stretched my hands out to enjoy the warmth. Suppressing a shiver, I sighed. ”I can't wait.”
Minnesotan or not (well, as much as you could call a foreign resident living in Minnesota for a few years a Minnesotan), I still wasn't a fan of the cold. That said, this was a lot better than dehydrating in the Tallarab Desert.
”Richie, it's my turn now.”
At some point, Yue Chu stirred and woke up, crawling out of his sleeping bag and looking at me bleary-eyed.
”Go get some rest. We have another long day tomorrow.”
”Right.” I was exhausted by now, and could feel myself drifting off. Dismissing my two Corvus, who saw nothing but a few monsters here and there – fortunately, they slinked away into the distance rather than choose to approach the cave, I then rose shakily to my feet. I wasn't going to be pretentious like Wang Zhong and pull that whole BS of tempering my own body or claiming that my large volume of mana allowed me to quickly recover and thus I didn't need rest or I wasn't affected by exhaustion. I wasn't a God Mode Mary Sue, after all. I was only human, and thus I was still vulnerable to human frailties.
”Anything interesting happen?” Yue Chu asked as I staggered past him. I shook my head and suppressed a yawn.
”Nope. Nothing.”
”Eh? No academy lost their badge signal? Nobody got eliminated?”
”How the fuck would I know?” I snapped irritably, probably still cranky from my drowsiness. ”Do you think the TOs are going to broadcast the elimination of a team to all the other teams? What would be the point? They want to keep us on our toes. If we know that the majority of teams had been eliminated, it will only breed complacency. Besides, what benefit would there be if we know who was eliminated? We're not supposed to look for them and rescue them unless absolutely necessary, and they will tell us if that's the case. All it does is bring humiliation to those teams. Best to let them bow out insconspiciously without announcing it to the whole world.”
”Eh? But Battle Frenzy did it…”
”WHO CARES ABOUT BATTLE FRENZY?! This is our own story!”
”Right, right. Sorry. Anyway, stop shouting. Everyone else is still sleeping.” Yue Chu looked at me apologetically. ”You get some rest too.”
”Yeah, sorry.” Too weary to muster another retort, I crawled into my sleeping bag and immediately fell asleep.