Chapter 21 (1/2)

To Randidly’s dismay, when he returned to the cabin and the field, the punk kid was not alone. He was facing off against an asian girl who looked to be around 17, and a chubby looking teen standing next to her. Those two were both glowering at the punk.

“Back off Tera.” The punk spat. “This is me and my buddy’s spot. We will kick your ass if you hang around.”

Tera, the girl, snorted. “Oh please. I saw you steal that claw off a dead wolverine. You probably haven’t even figured out skill levels and path points yet, huh? You little pussy.”

“Fucking bitch…!” The punk said, spitting at the ground and getting red faced.

At around that moment, the three teens noticed Randidly standing there. He supposed, from the way their eyes widened, he struck quite a figure, standing with a spear in his hand, looking completely pristine.

But his weapon was soaked in blood.

Randidly coughed quietly, and walked past the group, sitting back in the spot among his fields. The punk kid hurried over pleased, but Randidly hissed at him, noticing his path.

“Wait.” Randidly said, and then got up and drew lines in the ground with the butt of his spear around the spots where his seeds were planted. The punk kid stumbled back out of the way. “Don’t walk here.”

Then he placed his spear back into his bag and sat down in his spot. Only then did he noticed the shocked looks they were giving him. Ah, the satchel.

He studiously closed his eyes and ignored them. Tera and her follower were engaged in a heated whisper discussion, and the punk kid was loitering around Randidly, looking unbelievably smug for someone who had just gotten yelled at for walking.

Sighing, Randidly slipped back into meditation and root manipulation, while simultaneously activating Iron Skin. Raising skill, he had discovered, was about difficulty, and the stress, but it was also about familiarity and control. Even if the skill level didn’t necessarily improve, just increasing the usage efficiency would…

“Hey.”

The girl spoke, interrupting Randidly’s train of thought. He opened his eyes and glared at her, which caused her to stumble as she approached, but then her mouth firmed into a line and she walked forward.

“Hey, you. You are strong. How did you do it?”

Randidly inwardly sighed, but the punk answered for him?

“Heh, you want to talk to one of my minions? You will need to go through me first. And make sure you don’t walk on our spots.” The punk kid puffed up self importantly, gesturing to the areas Randidly had outlined on the ground.

Tera just gave him a look. “...You must be joking. You are saying that YOU are in charge? You pissed your bed until you were-”

“No, he is. Talk to him.” Randidly said, feeling suddenly inspired. Leaving now would be annoying, because it would waste all of his seeds. But continually interacting with people who came to him would also be tiring. Having this punk stay here and hold the base while Randidly searched for rare mobs would kill two birds with one stone.