“So you’ve got a level? Right now?” I wonder.

  “Apparently.” He answers already busy, dived in his stats panel.

  “So what was…”

  “Fifty five.” He answers right away, before I even finish.

  “Uhm, so it’s possible we can level up by working out? Or more probably you’ve left something hurt and alive and it bled out now?” I speculate.

  “No, I don’t think I’ve left anything unfinished. So far I made around a thousand pushups, so I give it a credit.” He answers with certainty.

  Damn, I should slack no more and repeat. Hitting seventy soon is what makes me closer to the Old traveler statue which I’m not ready to fight yet and god knows how powerful the sleeping ape is.

  “Mike, what about the beast?” I ask the crouching man in the nearby bushes.

  “It seems that it's still sleeping.” He answers still focused.

  Looking a bit around I shake a bit as I spot Nat near the river, washing her hair.

  Ugh I look away right away.

  Checking back on Mike I crack a smile. You dirty perv, so you're watching both of them, I bet.

  “Did you see what level it was?” I ask for some details.

  “Nah, it's required to be spotted and aggroed by it to reveal more info, you know that.”

  “You want to take it out like the rest, and leave only the crumbles for us eh?” He pokes me.

  “Come on man. Isn't it time to bury the hatchet? You know I took all of the bosses by accident. The wizard, you aggroed him.

  Rhinoceros was shot by Harald's sniper rifle and the snail..”

  “I know, I know. And you will take this one with the help of us and then by accident finish it? The system is unfair! Rewards should be distributed by the damage not by who makes the last hit.”

  He finally speaks out about what concerns him the most.

  “I know man, I know.”

  I sigh, not knowing what to say.

  “What about the gear you brought?” I ask him to steer away from the conversation.

  “It's worthless. All of it.”

  “I found out in the morning, it seems that something smashed it and krooked all the metal.” He tells his observations.

  “By something, you mean something with big hands?” I ask, nodding up, pointing my nose at the beast's location.

  “Exactly.” He answers.

  The woman is done cleaning herself from the dried blood and mud, so now it's my turn.

  She greets me good morning on the way as we miss each other. I smile awkwardly and notice her perfect skin and a few freckles on her small nose.

  When I feel alone and away from Mike's gaze I start my basic hygiene including a mild bath, despite the fact that I'm mostly clean and refreshed; recently born. The water is cold and refreshing, the morning breeze gives me a feeling of cleanliness and the sun shines brightly illuminating the valley.

  Picturesque formation beneath me almost calls for exploration and has this vacation place vibe, besides knowing there is a beast somewhere down there.

  If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

  “Now let's start with the best part.”

  “Inventory!”

  *Plop, clang*

  The metal gauntlets covered in tar fall from my grip right in the water.

  They are so heavy the stream does not move them a bit, filling them with water the excess water is already coloured in black, carrying away the tar and burnt pieces of cloth and flesh.

  Grabbing some sharp pebble from the river I start to grind the insides of my gauntlets.

  I’m not paying attention to not scratch the metal as it is a regular steel, nothing fancy, and I’d rather have it scratched like an old pan than having to smell the well-done human steak for the rest of the time I will have my armor equipped.

  Next in the row is the second biggest part of an armor; the greaves. I’m not sure what the rest of the thing called, but a smile appears on my face as I remember the word. I’m sure I’ve seen it in one of the RPGs I used to play.

  But these are somehow too large tho, covering the full leg, from the thigh to the heel. And the boots themselves go even over that for the double ankle protection.

  “Nice!” I say to myself.

  My sneakers are begging for that.

  “Yuck!” As I start to clean the greaves I notice a few pieces of skin which have melted together with the inner clothing layer.

  Disgusted a lot I scrub it quickly away and watch the stream taking it away from me fast.

  “Good, this will do.” I move the greaves away at the sunny spot to dry out first. Gauntlets can dry out on the run but not the bottom parts.

  Now the most important part; the boots.

  *Inhale*

  “Please, don’t be a piece of the foot or some toes inside.” I beg the thing as I bend the scaled tip with my hand trying to wiggle out the possible remains.

  “Phew.” Nothing but an ash.

  I brush and rinse both of the boots in the clear water and measure them against my feet afterwards.

  “Great, great!” I was a bit afraid that despite his height he could’ve smaller feet, or large enough just to fit barefoot in a sock.

  I’m more than lucky. Most of the time, the events I imagine in my head are never fulfilled, but this will do!

  My whole sneaker will fit inside tightly, giving me both the protection of a medieval knight and the comfortability of a modern shoewear.

  I put the pair in the sunny spot and move for the largest part; the cuirass.

  This thing is heavy! Heavy enough that my Focus auto activates when I try to lift it and dip it into the water.

  Before even starting to scrub, I know this will sit in my inventory. Not that Harald's bulletproof vest is lighter and definitely more comfortable. I’m sure it will withstand more impact and most importantly, it will not fall off from me.

  The leather strips holding it together tightly are burnt and thus I won’t be able to wear this and I'm okay with it.

  Gauntlets, boots and leg protection is all I need now.

  A few more scratches and I’m soon more than ready to try it finally on.

  I should do it here, all alone.

  First the greaves.

  I could’ve been taller, but I’m glad they fit mostly fine. My legs slide in with an ease while I hold onto the nearby bamboo stick.

  “Perfect!” I say to myself inserting my foot in the metal boot.

  My sneaker slides in and the soon I step with the full weight I know it is perfect–exactly as I imagined.

  Gauntlets on for a quick grip test with my weapon.

  First I look at my hand from close proximity waving my fingers, closing and opening my fist as the scales move in a rhythm.

  “Beautiful!”

  Grasping the organic handle with a fair amount of strength I can feel the metal scales almost burying itselves in.

  “Mmm, I wonder if it can hold my Focus compressed a bit better.” I immediately start to wonder as I’m out of reach of the group, in privacy.

  Looking up in the bamboo trees a crazy idea sparks; maybe I can jump up a bit higher than normal if the compression works, if not I can still use my Hardening to help it a bit. Then up there I can grab and hold onto the bamboo and slide down like a firefighter down the metal pole. My gauntlets should protect my hands from the friction, and if even not I can still use my hardening.

  Justifying my decision, confident with double assurance I squat right away.

  “One, two, three, four..” I can feel the muscle getting heavy resistance against the metal greaves.

  “Release.”

  *Fwoosh* *Metal parts creaking against each other*

  I launch myself up in the air, gazing at the bamboo pole readying for a grip.

  *Powerful grab*

  “Ah fuck!”

  “Tschk!”

  My calves, my private parts! My eyes got big and I forgot that metal contraption like that can pinch my skin. Holding myself tight to not scream and draw the attention to me I continue my stupid action.

  Nevermind.

  Holding tightly I release the grip a bit and let myself slide in.

  The metal gauntlets are successfully peeling off the bamboo and shaving the joints of it too, while I slide down.

  *Thud*

  Landing with my heavy boots in the moist soil I relocate quickly near the river, clean my green gauntlets by dipping my hands in the water, cooling and rubbing my pinched thighs.

  “Dumbass!” I scoff.

  It’s time for a return and finally visiting a possible village that might be not so far from us. In the meantime we can plan the assault of the ape, if only we knew its level.

  I know what Mike mentioned and a spark ignites in my eyes at just the thought of it.

  “There is a way to find out!” I whisper to myself.

  Crouching behind the bamboo cluster in my shiny metal armored bottom half, bulletproof vest and my left gauntlet, I gaze down at the beautiful scenery where the river flows down the canyon and continues into the forest and meadows filled open plain. The sun shines brightly over the blue sky with some fat and fluffy white clouds.

  *Snap*

  My fingers call for the fluffy companion.

  *Poof*

  “Heyy.” I whisper, patting him with my right hand.

  “Listen, that massive monkey you’ve scouted for us yesterday. What it's the level? Any weapon, or any closer info?” I continue whispering, eyeing in the distance at the group.

  “Gorilla big.”

  “Gorilla evil.”

  The cat responds.

  “And its level?” I whisper again.

  “Meow.” He meows and by his expression I know he has no idea. Of course not, he did not aggro the thing.

  “I know I’m asking too much, don’t tell Astrid that I asked, but can you somehow find out? You know, maybe poke it a bit?” I ask.

  The cat mindlessly strides like a bolt towards the canyon.