Chapter 58 - Oddness

In the end, Zaos's words haven't been enough to make the other two relax or fall asleep. At least for a while, though. Zaos wanted to assume the first turns of the guard duty since those two really needed to rest, but in the end, they stayed awake while he took a quick nap.

Although Zaos cleaned the place he decided to sleep, he still left some pebbles there to prevent himself from relaxing too much. Thanks to that, he woke up several times and checked things with the other boys. They managed to fight off the powerful wave of sleep until around midnight, but after that, they began to sleep while holding their knees. When they finally lost the battle against the sleep, Zaos was already up and stretching his body.

"All right, let's keep my mind busy until morning," Zaos muttered.

Zaos opened his bag and then took out a box in which he used to store the plants he obtained along the day. Before doing anything with them, Zaos picked his encyclopedia and checked if he didn't make any mistakes.

"Oh, yeah," Zaos smiled. "This one is good for stomach aches, and this one is good to make food spicier. As for this… this is good for men who have problems down there? Some people might find it weird if they see a nine years old boy with this."

For several reasons, Zaos was checking his thing with his back pointed to the campfire. The first reason was because he didn't want to show to others what he was doing, and the second one was because the light of the fire would obstruct his vision. That would give a chance for some unexpected visitors to approach the camp by using the campfire.

Regardless, while making sure to keep his ears and eyes wide open in case someone decides to approach from any direction, Zaos picked some stones and big leaves of plants. After that, he began to smash the medicinal plants that he got. When the plants turned into some kind of ointment, Zaos heard that voice.

Your Alchemy has reached level 01.

"I knew it," Zaos clenched his right fist and then said.

Zaos checked, and he saw that Alchemy increased his mana, magic, and resistance. It was a bit weird that Alchemy was related to magic, but in the end, that worked well for Zaos. He could make his stamina last longer thanks to his willpower alone. Still, he couldn't do anything aside from use Meditation to increase the amount of time he can practice his magic.

"We are bound to pass by some villages along the way, so I can sell this kind of thing there," Zaos nodded to himself. "While selling the plants is also possible, I need to increase the Alchemy level."

Suddenly, Zaos heard the sound of two soldiers walking nearby. In the end, they didn't come to check what Zaos was doing. They just passed between Zaos's campfire and the next one and disappeared in the darkness of the night. It looked like they wanted to wet the plants in the vicinity, and having watched their back would help prevent problems. However, after a while, Zaos noticed that they were taking their sweet time.

"Maybe one of them is actually taking a dump, or something…" Zaos frowned.

In the end, they only returned after three hours… their stomach was really upset… Such thoughts disappeared from Zaos's head when he noticed that three soldiers appeared. Moreover, they were following the same route as the other two. Unfortunately, Zaos didn't take a good look at their faces, so it was hard to be sure if they were bandits or if the soldiers were trying to disqualify some of the kids. Without any other choice, Zaos got up and then unsheathed his sword.

"Lieutenant Elius, can you come here for a second, please?" Zaos asked.

Zaos raised his voice, so many of the people who were awake heard him and others woke up. If that was a test, he wouldn't fail just because he didn't want to wake up others, and if that wasn't, it would be better if the sleepyheads got up. The three soldiers stopped when they saw Zaos walking them, and Elius, who was lying on the ground, got up, showing a face of a few friends. He seemed more pissed than usual.

"You… what are you doing with your sword unsheathed and in front of my men?" Elius asked.

"Sir, two of them left a few hours ago," Zaos said. "I find it weird that three of them returned, sir."

"Are you saying there is an infiltrator among them?" Elius asked. "Can you prove that? Do you recognize the two that left?"

"No, sir," Zaos replied.

"Oh, you can't?" Elius frowned. "But I do, I recognize my men and those three works for me."

"Is that so?" Zaos asked. "Well, sir, give me the order and I will return to my post, but I want to hear an explanation as to why two left and but three returned."

"Explanation? A newcomer to the army wants an explanation from his direct superior?" Elius's face was starting to get redder. "You don't know that people like you and me take a piss and take a dumb now and then? Do you want me to explain that?"

"No, sir," Zaos said. "I know the exact procedure; I do that regularly too."

"If you know, then shut up and put away your sword," Elius said and then turned around.

"Only after you confirm that this is not a test, sir," Zaos said.

"Are you disobeying my orders, you little shit?" Elius approached and stared Zaos down.

"No, sir," Zaos said. "I am obeying your orders to prevent unexpected visitors. Now, what are you doing, sir? Are you trying to bullshit me by making a commotion or are you desperate to make me fail here?"

At that point in time, the whole camp was already awake and watching the situation unfold. In the distance, Drannor was facepalming. It looked like Zaos picked the worst time to be as straight-faced as his father.