After we spent dozens of hours moving through the grass field without seeing the end of this annoying place, we decided to take a break and recover our energy after all those battles against the monsters... especially since it was daytime up there.
It turned out that the daytime here was even more unbearable than in the Crouching Desert because of the high humidity.
So here I was now, standing and staring at the small flame rising before me, the heat coming from it warming my body while some white smoke rose upward and escaped through the temporary chimney Elliot had made in this small underground room.
At the same time, a strong smell spread through the entire room... I would not say it was great, but it was not unbearable either.
Just a little bad.
It came from the pieces of meat hanging on the skewers above the quiet fire while they slowly cooked.
But even after I added some spices, you still could not call it appetizing just from smelling it, let alone tasting it.
I stayed there staring at the skewers that were almost done while listening to the others talking behind me.
"Is he really planning to eat that?" Leona’s quiet voice echoed while Izel added,
"Let him do what he wants, we are paying him anyway for what he provides." She meant the food boxes I sold them.
After I offered them to eat this, most of them refused, except for Kyle, who did not show any clear acceptance or refusal.
I reached out and held one of the skewers, bringing it closer to me while looking at the well-cooked pieces of meat on it and the juice dripping from them. I smelled it again before turning around to find them staring at me, except for Kyle, who was focused on repairing some damaged arrows.
I smiled in amusement while raising the skewer toward them.
"So who wants the honor of trying it first?"
Leona lowered her head while pretending to do something with her hands under the table, avoiding my gaze, while Ellen simply ignored me as she rested her head on her hand and stared at the map she had asked me for earlier, her black hair falling downward.
As for Izel, a disgusted expression appeared on her face.
"You can have all the honor to yourself as you always do."
I shook my head at her sarcastic words while pointing at Elliot.
"Unfortunately, I also do not want to take this great opportunity, but perhaps someone else does."
Elliot raised an eyebrow in clear refusal that allowed no argument.
"Forget it, I am not trying that first." From his tone, it was obvious that he would not do it no matter what I said.
So I simply shrugged at his refusal while bringing the skewer to my mouth without hesitation, biting the top piece of meat and putting it into my mouth while chewing.
The taste of the meat spread through my mouth along with the juice and the faint flavor of the salt I had added.
For a moment, I almost frowned at the strange taste of this meat. It was like eating... well, I did not really know what it was like.
It left a bitter and unbearable taste in my mouth, and I even felt some numbness in my tongue.
"Mmmm." I made some sounds while pretending that I liked it as I swallowed the piece without hesitation.
The others stared at me, waiting for the result, while I nodded with feigned satisfaction.
"It tastes great, unlike its smell."
That seemed to surprise them a little, and their expressions showed some curiosity.
"Really?" Elliot asked while I nodded and approached him, holding out the skewer to him.
"Try it yourself."
He took the skewer without hesitation while looking at me before taking a quick bite.
A few moments passed as he chewed that meat, only for him to frown as if he did not understand something, then his expression quickly changed into disgust before he turned his head away from us and spat it out.
"Pff... how do you call this delicious, what the hell?"
I shrugged as I turned around and went back to the grill.
"It seemed fine to me. Maybe the problem is your taste... and it would not have been fair if I were the only one to try it."
I looked at the meat that was still over the fire while muttering,
"That failed, unfortunately."
Maybe I should try another type of monster...
Well, I was sure we would meet many different kinds in the future.
...
The loud rustling of the falling grass echoed while Elliot and I cut and carved a path ahead of us.
"Hot... too hot." The complaints echoed continuously from behind me, but they were not without reason anyway.
I looked at the clear blue sky above us and the hot sunlight falling on our bodies, making the weather unbearable.
And if that was not enough, the humidity in this place was ridiculous to the point that I was sweating just from walking and swinging my sword.
Elliot breathed out in annoyance beside me while cutting through a mass of grass.
"Were we not taught that the Earth’s environment was natural and easy?"
I replied while swinging my sword,
"That was hundreds of years ago, do you think it would stay that way after all this time?"
Leona came closer from behind us, joining the conversation.
"Speaking of studying, maybe Professor Rowan would have been very happy to be here."
"Yeah, he is an old man obsessed with the past," Elliot added.
Leona nodded as she continued,
"This situation would be like a wish being fulfilled for him."
"Personally, I am ready to switch with him and fulfill his great wish." Izel mocked from behind while I listened to them talking about the history professor.
Remembering the Axis, the exam period should have already ended, marking the end of the first semester. I smiled at the thought as I spoke.
"Well, think about the positive side, we did not have to take the theoretical exams."
Elliot shook his head.
"Maybe you are the only one happy about that here."
But Izel interrupted him.
"No, he has a point."
Leona let out a slightly astonished sound filled with amusement.
"Wow, Izel agrees with Caius... oooh." But before she could finish, Izel’s elbow struck her in the ribs, making her let out a surprised sound while Izel clicked her tongue.
"You can stop there, Leona."
But the latter smiled in amusement while placing her hand where Izel’s elbow had hit her.
"Alright... alright, just do not get angry. That was a little painful."
She continued,
"Anyway, speaking of exams, that means the first semester has already ended, which means we are supposed to be on vacation now."
Izel shook her head.
"Well, I would have preferred going home and to some beautiful and comfortable places instead of being here while being chased by insects the size of a human head."
Elliot cut through the grass before him, his voice sounding slightly sad.
"I wonder what happened in the Axis. Did they replace us with other people... and also, did they discover how we disappeared, or did they classify us as a group of dead people?"
Everyone fell silent for a few moments before I spoke.
"I do not think they will discover that we reached the Cradle of the Shard, but they will not classify us as dead this quickly either... maybe that will happen after a few months if we do not return."
Silence returned after I said that while we continued moving forward.
Until I finally felt something change.
It was not monsters or anything like that, but apparently this field of grass had finally ended.
And the farther we moved, the more I felt large structures entering my senses.
It did not take long before they began to appear before us as the density of the grass lessened.
Ellen approached me while holding the map in her hand, her calm voice echoing beside me.
"The map says there was a fortified city ahead of us."
I nodded at her words.
"It seems so, I can feel some large structures."
The grass quickly ended, and we emerged from it, leaving behind the long path we had carved through the past days.
"This looks like an old fortress." Leona let out a small sound of amazement beside me while staring ahead.
There, some distance away from us, the remains of a long wall rose, blocking the road before us.
Beneath the midday sun, you could see large pieces the size of houses missing from it and scattered across the area before it, while plants climbed over its dark surface with their green leaves as if they wanted to devour it.
And there, through the missing sections, you could see what remained of the structures that had collapsed centuries ago and had long since become forgotten.