After walking for half an hour without any monsters trying to eat them, Fay felt glad for the first time in what must've been months.
Back on Earth, he had always needed to look over his shoulder.
Constantly on alert.
He hated doing this.
Just like any other child, he just wanted to have fun, to make friends.
Maybe even go to what they called school—something he had only ever read about in books.
He was self-taught, so the harder-to-read stuff wasn't his strength.
But he loved learning.
That was where most of his survival skills had come from.
So far, the grasslands ahead looked safe.
Wide open, gentle wind, and in the distance, actual animals.
The sight stunned them both.
Herbivores, he remembered seeing that word.
Grass-eating animals that usually didn't show up where predators roamed.
If they were out and about, walking freely, then maybe he and his sister were fine.
At least if they stayed near the large herds.
Some of the beasts even looked like the extinct animals called elephants.
They had long ears, huge bodies, and a swinging trunk—just like he'd seen in the books.
Except these ones were different.
Their backs were lined with thick, dangerous-looking spikes, and their tails ended in a stone-like shape that reminded him of a wrecking ball.
They looked so cool. Like a mix between a dinosaur and an elephant.
But it also made him wary, creatures didn't just grow weapons just to look impressive.
Something out there hunted even them.
They seemed to live peacefully with the small critters around him, though.
The small deer-like creatures with short horns that looked like goats.
It almost seemed like they were back on Earth, in a continent called Africa, where many creatures used to live—only that some of the creatures here had some variations to them.
For now, getting closer to the herd of animals was their best option.
He also needed to learn how to hunt them, and for that, he would need to learn their habits.
He planned to kill one of the small deer… the word antelope suddenly entered his mind, a creature mentioned in that book.
He almost salivated, thinking how good they would taste.
"What do you think, Mira? Do you want to live here? So many animals we can eat forever… and so much green grass, long and healthy, maybe we can plant seeds. I still have a few of those seeds I kept from the fruits in the garden."
Fay asked his sister and saw how a smile formed on her lips, raising her slightly chubby cheeks.
Just this gave him the motivation to start crafting a spear and go out to begin hunting, even the large elephant, to feed her.
"Yes! Live here, want lots of food… meat. Lots of meat!"
Mira knew they had to kill to eat.
She had long gotten used to the idea—she even saw it as something natural.
Fay had to teach her that.
He hated the idea at first, but then he taught her the value of life and to be grateful for each kill.
Even if he had to treat each creature he had killed previously as an enemy.
For now, though, they kept going forward—
That is, until the grass became so long it nearly hid even Fay underneath.
He liked this somewhat.
But it also brought its own dangers.
He was still wary about what hunted the large creature that needed even plates of armor to protect itself.
The deep grass could be where it was hiding.
And it was exactly as he had thought.
Suddenly, a large cat burst out of the grass and ran towards one of the ugly deer.
It looked strange, though.
It seemed to block the light around it, and the area around two meters was filled with darkness.
The only thing visible was its blue spots that seemed to glow in the dark.
But this creature's strange skills—or magic—did not stop there.
Not only did the cat seem to bring darkness around with him, but whatever those spots were doing, it caused the deer to weaken quickly, almost like a poison spreading through the air.
Soon, the hunt was over.
The deer collapsed within seconds, and the large cat casually dragged its kill toward a nearby tree, its glowing spots still shimmering faintly in the grass.
A leopard?
Fay had no words.
He thought fighting off oversized, mindless dogs had been bad enough—now he was seeing magical creatures using unknown powers to hunt effortlessly.
The deer hadn't even resisted.
It didn't struggle; it only slightly attempted to flee after the initial chase.
That gave him some hope—at least some of the animals here were still just normal creatures.
He crouched low and waited. Only when the cat was fully gone did he dare move again.
"I think we'll be safe... the creatures are back to acting normally," Fay whispered to Mira as he kept scanning the area.
But the path ahead felt more dangerous than ever, and they needed shelter, and fast.
Fay also needed to hunt soon—he hadn't eaten properly or slept well in nearly two days.
His body ached, and his vision even blurred at times.
He was already on the verge of collapse.
"There, that tall tree," he said, pointing toward it in the distance.
"Let's climb it. You'll need to stay up there while I go get food, alright?"
The tree looked thin—probably too narrow for a large predator to climb—but it was tall enough to keep them hidden and out of reach.
That was good enough.
"Aww... I don't want to be tree again... I want my box," Mira cried out, her voice tinged with frustration and the edge of a pout.
"Sorry, but the box is gone."
Fay said, squeezing her hand gently.
"But I'll make you a new one, okay? I promise…"
She didn't argue after that. They both knew they had to keep moving.
They hurried toward the tree.
Fay's mind was already racing with what he needed to do next.
First, get Mira safe, then craft a weapon.
Nothing fancy—just a simple wooden spear.
Twenty minutes later, they finally reached the tree.
Fay immediately started helping Mira climb, pushing her up carefully, making sure she got a good grip on the bark.
They didn't have much.
Only their clothes and two thin belts.
Fay tied the belts together, creating a makeshift strap to keep his sister from falling off while he hunted and tied her to a sturdy branch.
"Now stay here and watch me bring food, okay?"
Mira kept silent and pouted, but nodded in the end.
"Don't get hurt! Promise okay?"
She held out her pinky.
"Okay, promise."
Fay held out his hand and interlocked it for a few seconds, and jumped down.
Then he pulled out the blade from his pocket.
It was crude—a jagged piece of sharpened metal.
An old saw blade, dulled with age but still usable for carving.
He had long learned how important it was to keep tools like this hidden.
He then got to work and made a spear from the straightest branch he could find; he would not fail this time, unlike the time with the dog.