I comprehended my course of action, glancing through the special quest presented by the system. The circumstances were too dire for both me and the tribe to remain idle like this.
I attempted to rise from the uncomfortable surface, but the pain surged through my upper body before I could manage to do so.
The subtle movement sent waves of agony rippling through my frame as if the very fibres of my being were aflame. With each heartbeat, a throb of discomfort pulsed through me, a relentless reminder of the violence this body had endured.
'Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit!'
Gritting my teeth and clenching my hands tightly, I closed my eyes, my facial features contracting in response to the agony.
I let out a grunt, the sound resonating loudly enough to reach beyond the confines of the peculiar shed where I found myself.
"Chief, you're awake," a voice said, reaching my ears during my efforts to manage the pain. The tone exuded energy and enthusiasm for something.
'Um, someone's here, and what's with these unfamiliar sounds?' The voice sounded odd, unlike anything I had heard before, yet…
'I can understand it.' It was peculiar; dialects that I couldn't have imagined existed were now not only audible but also understandable to me.
Amidst the residual pain, I glimpsed someone standing to my left, though I couldn't discern their facial features. The individual had just entered and hurriedly departed, creating a commotion outside. Moments later, I heard noises from the exterior, and swiftly, a group of individuals rushed towards my location.
It all unfolded rapidly; within seconds, an individual stood before me—a male and evidently others who came with him stood outside. Among them was the child, who had dashed back to summon the others.
I felt the man's gaze. I rolled my eyes to look at him, but the pain was more than enough for me to not be able to focus properly.
The man's intense gaze landed on my face, and he furrowed his brows and, in a low but audible voice, demanded, "Kantra, bring me water."
A demand-accepting voice came from outside.
Tap! Tap!
The man walked towards me and sat on the uncomfortable surface, on which I lay.
"You don't have to worry about a thing; I'm taking care of it; you just rest and be healthy again." The lone man spoke in hushed tones, seemingly mindful of my condition and keeping his voice low so as not to startle me.
He continued, "We found the magical herb; it's a matter of time before that old hag makes the medicine for you." Though he spoke in a muffled tone, the anger, pain, and sorrow in his voice were palpable.
I think I recognise this voice.
Not me, but the body recognised this, and as the man spoke the next words, these words were what made me sure who this person was.
"Sky, you hear me; you don't have to worry about a thing, so just rest. I will take care of everything. We are patrolling and doing everything. Just rest. It will not even take you one day, so just rest properly one day and you will be fine."
There was only one individual who called him Sky, his pet name, and that individual was his most loyal and trusted companion. Skylar Reings's best friend, Alcatraz Calibre.
Fighting through the intense pain that was continuously making me squint my eyes, I looked at him, my gaze oozing with unwavering strength and determination.
I had a plan.
A plan that would allow me and this tribe to survive.
The first objective in that plan was to rekindle the diminishing flame within every barbarian's heart so that they could fight with all their might and bring out a result in which no one died on our side, but we eliminated all our enemies.
But the problem was that all of the remaining barbarians were on their last straw; their strength was far less than that of their enemies, and that was unsettling.
For that, I had to appear strong—stronger than ever. Ever Skylar Reigns appeared to all of them.
My gaze flickered, but I locked eyes with him and spoke.
"Li-"
Or so I thought I could.
Duck!
Even my voice was cracking up like crazy, and I couldn't even speak properly.
"Shhh! Don't strain yourself."
'Dumbass, it's not like I love to go through this hell-like pain, but I have to, to be able to see another day. I want to live; I don't want to die.' I rambled in my mind.
'Shit, it would be too late if things proceeded like this.'
This was concerning.
I didn't know how much I could trust their patrolling and shit, but what if even if we were alert, that didn't matter in front of large numbers.
Shit! Shit! Can't give up!
I again opened my mouth to speak, and again, some jebrish sound came out of my mouth that was neither English nor the language barbarians spoke.
Alcatraz looked at me and shook his head. It seemed as if he was familiar with this kind of attitude from Skylar, and so he brought his ears closer to my mouth.
'Um?!'
I was surprised, to say the least.
"Now try speaking slowly."
This was my chance.
Chance to proceed with my plan.
But what I was going to say to him was some YouTube motivation shit.
That was like a few minutes long, but looking at this, I only had one chance.
One chance to set the gears of Alcatraz at their peak and make him work full speed.
What should I say?
There wasn't anything like that.
Not Knowing what to say, I skimmed through Skylar Reigns's memory in quick succession, trying to find that one useful thing that would be the ignition to the massive flame I wanted to set a light.
'Ahh!'
'This is it!'
I didn't just find any normal ignition source, but a thick torch.
"I me-t-" He patiently listened to my crooked, broken voice and continued nodding after each word I spoke.
"The M-AKE-R!"
He kept nodding after every word I completed.
However, it was at that moment...
He stood straight.
I could see it.
His facial expression changed as if he couldn't even perceive what I had just said. His deep, dark pupils were shaking as he comprehended what I had just said.
"Y-y-you..." His shaking pupils were looking at me, and the more he kept looking at me, the more violently they shook.
Thud!
He finally fell on his buttocks, where he had sat earlier.
However, his disbelief didn't last longer as he fell. He woke from his stupor and jolted up straight.
For the first time, I could discern his appearance: his short, raven-black hair, his chiselled features, and his youthful countenance. Like Skylar, he was nineteen years old. Standing tall, he seemed to exceed six feet, adorned in the attire of a warrior. His biceps, visibly toned and hardened, protruded powerfully from his vest.
He fixed his gaze on me with unwavering intensity, his pupils which had trembled mere moments ago now radiated a sense of joy and hope. Seeking affirmation, he posed the question, "Sky, is that accurate?"
For him, this confirmation wasn't just a simple confirmation. It was the hope they all needed the most at this moment.
I rolled my eyes in the gesture of yes.
"Dammed the world!" He cursed out loud, not as carefully beside me as he was earlier, and literally all the hairs on his body stood straight; he was getting the goosebumps of his life.
"Wait, I'll make sure that old hag works fast," he said, and he sprinted out.
I could then hear a loud declaration and, after that, an eruption of loud cheers.
That worked.
The Barbarians didn't believe in gods but in an entity known as the Maker.
There was a legend that every barbarian kid was told about how many times in history they were on the verge of extermination and there was then suddenly an individual who was blessed by this Maker and was able to turn the tides and make sure the tribe survived.
As I learned about this in Skylar Reigns's memory, this seemed very strange.
'Did those individuals have systems too?'
'The Maker, if this legend is correct, and if those individuals also had systems, then was this Maker entity the system provider?'
The more I understood about this world and the system, the stranger I found it; however, I didn't put my mind to thinking about this, as this would only result in me wasting my time and energy on a subject that wouldn't provide any help in the survival at the moment.
Approximately half an hour later.
I looked at the three individuals standing in front of me, one of whom was Alcatraz.
Another was the girl Skylar had protected, and Skylar got injured in the process and died.
However, the last one was the odd one out.
'The hell?'
If my eyes were playing tricks on me, I closed and opened them in succession.
'What the duck!'
Is this for real?
