The Lost Super-Hero

Chapter 13 - Sharing is Caring

The following day, Nolen woke up. Draga was awake and practicing her swings despite her weapon not being in good shape.

"You are already up? What time is it? "Nolen said as he peeked out of the teepee hut.

Draga nodded and acknowledged Nolen's presence.

"Okay, I'll get up then and see what I can do about your weapons," Nolen said after seeing how broken they were.

"It's fine. You don't have to," Draga said with a tone of hesitation in her voice.

Nolen ignored her and began working on her weapon.

"I made some food," Draga said.

She seemed to have gotten up early and cooked a meal from her rations for the both of them.

"Thank you, it looks good; let me help you get it," Nolen said after seeing Draga struggle a bit due to her wound, which was still healing.

He got up from where he was sitting, got a bowl, and then brought food for two.

The food looked like porridge but had some ingredients he needed to recognize. Romy had already scanned the meal to ensure Nolen could eat it and confirmed that nothing toxic could harm him.

He gave Darga her bowl and then went to get the things he needed to repair. He ate his share while working on her weapons.

Draga gave him a look of curiosity and watched him work on her gear and weapons the whole time.

Nolen looked around and couldn't find a few things he needed. He needed an excuse to leave to transport a few things from the ship without Draga noticing.

He wanted to keep a few things to himself, just in case.

"I'll be back. I'm going to gather some more materials for your weapons. Take this for now," he said, then handed her his Leiomano axe before he left.

Nolen left the camp zone and entered the forest, walking towards where he had been before.

"Romy, I will search for materials to fix the weapons and armor. Where should I go?"

"All right, we should head west. I have scanned the area, and many dangerous animals seem around. However, the western area is the safest place I could find. Please be extra careful, as it appears that you have attracted them due to the fight," Romy responded.

Nolen looked around the area for anything that might threaten him. He saw several red dots in the distance and tried to figure out what they were. He started to head in the direction of the red dots. 

Upon closer inspection, he could discern the shapes of the red dots. He stumbled upon a group of lizards similar in size to a large dog. These lizards seemed to move in packs, and upon closer examination, he noticed that they had short, pointed snouts and beady eyes. The giant lizard in the pack was only about half the size of the others. He immediately recognized them as the same species of lizard. After scanning them, Nolen received a notification.

"They seem to be red lizard-type monsters, and they seem to be a threat, but they are also a good source of meat."

He followed the lizards until he realized they were approaching the area where he saw the female orc. He decided to hunt them since he already knew the terrain.

After observing his targets for some time, he waited for only two to remain, with two others in front. He seized the opportunity and launched a surprise attack on the one at the back, using his sword to take out the two targets with a single, swift strike. 

He swiftly attacked the remaining two from behind, delivering a fatal blow.

He dragged the bodies away and left them near the shelter. Along the way, he teleported a few more things from Andromeda to his backpack.

"I'm back, and I got some food. We can cook this," Nolen said while carrying his kills, one on each shoulder and the rest he was dragging along.

He carried the lizards to the side near the shelter. He tidied up and then started to process his catch,

"Why did you do that? It was fine for me to eat just the rations," Draga responded.

"No, it's fine. We are eating this. I also got a few materials to fix your armor and weapons."

After processing his catch, he took a few things from his backpack.

"I have this leather here. I don't know what animal it comes from, but we can use this to repair your armor. Are you fine with this?"

"Yes, this should work. I'm unfamiliar with animal leather, but it is a good type of leather. It can be made into armor. But it's not a lot. Is it enough for my entire armor set?"

"No, it's not. Good thing I have a lot more here, and this should be enough to fix your armor." Nolen then brought out more. Enough to fix Draga's armor."

He handed her the leather. She examined it for a while and looked at Nolen.

"Can you really use this to fix my gear?"

"Yes, I will," Nolen said and got started on it.

It took him a little while to finish processing the leather. He handed it to Draga to examine, and he immediately started working on her armor and weapons.

After a while, he finished fixing her armor. It looked better, and he added an ability now.

From what he could tell, it became a low-grade artifact when he scanned the armor. He put the items he didn't use in the bag and handed Draga the armor with the axe and shield.

"Here you go, try them out."

"Thank you," she said and did so.

"Is it good?"

"Yes, it is, it feels great."

"How is it for you?"

"I can move a little better, and it's much lighter."

She looked like she had gained some strength.

"You look different now," Nolen said as he examined her.

"It's the armor," she responded and smiled a little.

"All right, it's your turn now. What do I need to know?" Nolen said that as if to chase away an idea and quickly started asking questions.

Draga explained all she knew about her tribe, the place she lived in, Desolateland, and the burning lands where they were currently.

Nolen learned that there are no tribes in this area, and the nearest tribe is the Bloodfang tribe, where Draga was from a few days' journey away. She also said she had been here before but was a child with her father.

After a lengthy discussion, Nolen understood what to do.

"I see. That's great. Now, you must show me the way to your tribe. Let's go now," Nolen said excitedly. The few weeks of isolation have already taken its toll on him.

"We can't go now; I will need to heal first. I still haven't finished healing from my previous injuries. I won't be able to return for some time; I still need to prove myself."

"Okay, that's fine. I understand, so let me help you then. What do we need to do?" Nolen asked, slightly disappointed in his tone, but he didn't show it.

"I need to hunt a Bloodfang. A creature that my tribe is named after. Legend has it that the first chief hunted the creature by himself and proved to our gods that he was worthy to lead the orcs. But that was long ago when the orc tribes were one."

Nolen nodded and responded.

"So, it's a giant lizard that lives here?"

"Yes, they are like the ones you killed. They're called Bloodfang lizards. They are larger, more powerful, and more skillful than the ones you killed earlier. My father has challenged me to prove myself to our tribe. I want to demonstrate to the tribe that I am worthy to join the ranks of warriors, and for that, we need to hunt a Bloodfang to earn my place."

Nolen nodded and agreed.

"Okay, then let's do this. When do we start?"

"Now is good."