Crisis in the Dark

Gner finally managed to straighten up, then said, "I have this strange feeling that they'll cause you trouble someday. Remember, this is a prophecy from Gner."

Kronos hurriedly covered Gner's mouth. "Don't jinx it! If they really do cause me trouble, it won't be anything small. Take that prophecy back, please. I'd really appreciate it."

Since they had been in a hurry, neither of them had eaten lunch. They took this opportunity to rest and have something to eat.

Unlike on Damir Island, where they had only had bread, they now had bread and cured meat as well as fruit and vegetables. Their packs were just a little heavier for it.

But the food made them happy. After a hearty meal, Kronos declared that he felt alive again and could easily keep walking all afternoon.

The road ahead, however, taught him what it meant to be young, naive, and ignorant.

Never mind an entire afternoon-Kronos did not even last an hour and a half before his legs felt as though they were filled with lead, each one heavy enough to crush a mountain.

At that point, Kronos clearly realized that they would only make it halfway to the second village before dark. There was no chance of completing the day's plan.

Gner alone showed just how exhausting the journey was. At first, he had chattered nonstop, teaching Kronos about wilderness survival. Later, he only spoke when he considered something important. By now, he had gone almost an hour without saying a word.

The two kept walking and stopping until sunset, covering nearly half the distance between the villages.

Kronos had thought they could go a little farther, since it was not completely dark yet.

But Gner stopped him and decided to make camp where they were. They could not simply pitch a tent anywhere; a campsite had to meet quite a few requirements.

They had a suitable spot right here. If they went farther and could not find another one like it, they would be in trouble once darkness fell completely.

Kronos trusted Gner's wilderness experience, so he did not object. They made camp immediately.

To reduce their load, Gner had only bought a one-person tent. Since they would be sleeping out in the wilderness, someone had to keep watch anyway. One would stand guard while the other slept, so why buy two tents? Neither of them was that fussy.

Kronos did not know how to pitch a tent, so he obediently sat to one side and watched Gner do it. If he lacked knowledge, he would learn. He believed that after watching once, he would be able to pitch it himself next time.

By the time the tent was fully pitched, the sky was growing dim, and the temperature had dropped with the setting sun. They lit a campfire, bringing warmth back to their surroundings.

There was little to do out in the mountains, so they planned to take turns resting after dinner.

Now that they had a fire, there was no need to eat their limited supply of cured meat. Without another word, Gner slipped into the woods and returned less than twenty minutes later carrying two adorable little animals.

It was quite a feat on Gner's part. The sun had completely set, yet he had still managed to catch prey so efficiently.

Kronos did not know much about these little animals and could not tell exactly what the two creatures were.

"Gner, what are these? How come I've never seen them before?" Kronos understood one principle very well: if he did not know, he should ask.

Gner was removing the fur from the two adorable little animals. Without looking up, he said, "No idea. Never seen them before. Maybe they're native to this island. At least, I've never seen them on Damir Island. All I can say for certain is that these little things aren't poisonous. As for anything else, we'll just have to find out ourselves."

Once they had been skinned and washed, the two adorable little animals were set over the fire. Gner had even brought seasonings, which he sprinkled lightly over them.

From that day onward, Kronos added another piece of information to his store of knowledge: "Tiana Island has a small animal a little over half a meter long, with brown fur, pale red eyes, and a quiet cry. It looks very cute, resembles a fox, and tastes absolutely delicious."

After dinner, Kronos entered the tent first. Gner would keep watch for the first half of the night, and Kronos would take over in the early morning.

Afraid that a poor night's rest would affect the next day's journey, Kronos took out his "miracle medicine"-a sleeping potion-and drained it in one gulp.

It had worked quite well last time. Five or six hours of sleep had been as good as eight. Once he returned to Backlund, Kronos would have to buy more from that Apothecary.

Kronos drifted peacefully off to sleep, while Gner sat quietly beside the tent. He appeared to be staring at the campfire, but in truth, he never relaxed his vigilance for a moment.

That was what keeping watch really meant. People who knew nothing about it might think all they had to do was sit there, but keeping a proper watch was mentally exhausting. If circumstances allowed, it was best not to do it alone.

Things were fine just after nightfall, but as the night deepened, Gner began hearing frequent noises around him. After all, nighttime belonged to these animals.

Fortunately, they had a campfire. Otherwise, Gner would have faced one problem after another all night.

A little after one, Kronos woke naturally. He had left a suggestion in his own spirituality, believing that otherwise Gner would not wake him. His guess was right: Gner thought sleeping for two or three hours near dawn would be enough.

After crawling out of the tent, Kronos saw Gner gazing at the fire in front of him. On closer inspection, however, his eyes were bloodshot. No wonder-he had gone nearly twenty hours without rest.

"Go get some sleep. How can you possibly keep this up?" Kronos patted Gner's shoulder, signaling that he should leave things to him.

Gner did not really trust Kronos's ability to keep watch, but he was struggling to hold out himself.

"All right. Stay focused. This is the deepest part of the night. Get through these next two hours, and the animals that hunt at night will gradually start retreating," Gner cautioned.

Kronos knew Gner was worried about leaving him in charge, so he listened carefully before saying, "Don't worry."

In the end, Gner could no longer hold out. Taking the potion Kronos gave him, he entered the tent to rest.

Kronos copied Gner, sitting in front of the campfire and staring quietly into it.

Unfortunately, Kronos lacked Gner's skill. Gner had only appeared to be staring at the fire while actually watching and listening in every direction. Kronos appeared to be staring at the fire, but in truth, his mind had gone completely blank. Even actually watching the fire would have been better.

It was not that Kronos had ignored Gner's advice. Rather, no one could do such a tedious task well without training.

When people did nothing at all, it did not take long for them to start spacing out.

What Kronos did not know was that a pair of eyes filled with malice was fixed on him from the darkness nearby.

Those eyes had actually been there for a long time, even while Gner was sitting there. But Black Panther had recognized Gner's vigilance, leaving him no chance to creep close.

Still, he was patient. Without Gner knowing, he had remained in a standoff with him for one hour, then two, then three.

Even then, he had found no opening in Gner's defenses. But an unexpected surprise had arrived: someone whose defenses were full of holes.

At first, he had not dared trust it. The previous human had been so alert. How had he suddenly been replaced by such a useless fool?

But after observing for more than an hour, he was certain. This new human really was a useless fool!

Who knew how Kronos would react if he learned that he had been judged that way?

None of that mattered now. What mattered was that Black Panther slowly began to move, every step silent as he crept toward Kronos.

Once he drew a little closer, the firelight fell across his body, revealing his appearance. He was a black panther, his black fur patterned with gray markings.

His greedy eyes remained fixed on Kronos's back. Perhaps he really had been hungry for a long time, for drool streamed from the corners of his mouth.

Black Panther had approached prepared to risk everything. He had considered that this human might be pretending to be useless to lure him into attacking, or that he might be discovered on the way over and face a fierce fight.

What he truly had not expected was to close within two meters without this useless fool noticing anything at all.

After creeping forward a few more steps, Black Panther felt he could already smell the delicious scent coming from the human before him. His excitement became impossible to contain, and in a moment of carelessness, a sound rumbled from deep within his chest.

Felines had a particular trait: their lungs were exceptionally powerful, and they regularly made rumbling sounds. Someone had even invented a breathing technique based on this, the so-called Tiger and Leopard Thunder.

And since leopards were included in its name, that naturally reflected their outstanding ability in this regard.

As Kronos sat in a daze, he suddenly heard what sounded like muffled thunder behind him. He snapped awake, looked back, and nearly had his soul frightened out of him.

The instant Black Panther made that sound, he realized something was wrong. He immediately lunged, opening his jaws to bite straight at Kronos's head. When Kronos turned, he found himself staring directly into a gaping, blood-red maw.

By then, it was too late for Kronos to do anything. Fortunately, he still retained enough reason to know that nothing he did could change the outcome. Kronos closed his eyes.

The next moment, an extremely bloody scene unfolded. Black Panther crushed Kronos's head in a single bite, and blood gushed out.