Summoned with an SSS-Rank Portal Skill

Chapter 147 Night Surprise

It was very easy to hunt with Stuart's help. He could sense any creature with ease. It was better than Asura, who could also already sense mana from afar.

With that, William hunted about 5 small rabbits. He believed that it would be more than enough to feed him, and of course, Stuart.

"You eat meat too? How different," he said, "you're a strange rat."

"Kid, I'm a magical rat. Stop calling me a rat like I'm a common rat," Stuart complained.

William just laughed at him. After hunting the rabbits, they returned to the place they would use as a base to spend the night.

"Let's take this opportunity to collect things to make the fire," William said, "can you light the fire with your magic?"

"Yes, I can."

Stuart was very useful indeed. They walked through the forest and picked up wood, stones and also vegetation that would serve as fuel to make the fire.

With everything in hand, they returned to the place where they would spend the night, and began to make the fire, which took a few minutes. With Stuart's help, it was easy to light the fire without any problems, which made everything much easier.

The part that took a little longer was removing the skin and inedible parts of the rabbits. William had to do this alone, since Stuart had no way to help anyway.

He threw the remains away from the camp — afraid it might attract creatures — and then cooked the rabbits in the fire.

The smell was delicious. Much of that was precisely because William was quite hungry. Hunger ended up being the best seasoning in situations like that.

They tasted the rabbits around the campfire, and incredibly, Stuart ate an entire rabbit!

It was simply frightening to see that harmless little rat eat a rabbit that was bigger than him.

"I need energy to keep my magic powerful," Stuart said, "and meat is tastier so I prefer to eat."

William shook his head, "relax, I didn't even say anything."

"For now…"

After eating, they kept the fire burning to ward off any animals that might appear during the night, and also to warm their bodies.

Stuart used his magic to camouflage William, that is, it was impossible to find him there. William was calm about this because he already knew very well how good Stuart's camouflage magic was.

'I don't think any beast will be able to find us,' he thought.

William lay down in a hidden and soft corner — the vegetation turned the place into a makeshift bed — and then he slept.

During the night, however, something happened. It was around 3 am when William woke up to the sound of voices.

When he looked around him, he saw 3 people around the fire he had made the other night. These 3 people didn't seem to be bandits or anything, but adventurers who saw the fire there and decided to use it.

"How strange to have a fire like this in the middle of nowhere but with no one here," one of them said.

"On the other hand, I feel that there is someone here!" a blonde woman replied.

William didn't know whether to talk to them, or to stay there. Would they be scared if he appeared out of nowhere?

Before acting, William listened to what they were saying, and also felt their power level. It was nothing special. The blonde woman who had spoken was quite strong, but William was still confident that he would win if he used all his strength.

In the end, he heard something that made him sure that maybe it would be a good idea to talk to that group of adventurers.

The reason for this was that they talked about the carriage they were using, which would certainly be much better than having to travel around on foot.

'Would they let me go with them? At least for a while...' thought William.

The possibility of getting a ride was something that excited him, so he decided to show himself. His body slowly materialized, and the 3 adventurers jumped in fright when they saw him.

"Calm down, relax," William said, "I woke up with you 3 talking near my fire…"

The 3 adventurers gradually recovered from the scare, and then one of them spoke, "We're sorry. We'll get out of here and leave. We didn't know you were here."

"Don't go. You can use it. I promise I'm not a forest maniac... I can even help you with camouflage to get a good night's sleep."

William had no idea if they would accept or not. What kept them there was the cold of the night. It was simply impossible to stay away from a fire.

"Well, we'll stay here then…" a man with short hair said.

After the 3 had calmed down a bit, William took the opportunity to talk to them and try to find out more about each one.

He wasn't so interested in knowing each person's personal life — that didn't matter much to him. What he really wanted to know was where they were going, and what their goal was.

Knowing this, he could find a way to try to be useful and get a ride in their caravan.

"I'm Louise, this is my brother Alfred, and my friend Karla. We are going towards the central region of the continent," Louise said, and then added with a smile, "my brother got a place in the army! Well, actually he's going to try, but it's almost certain that he will."

That was great for William. He was also heading to the central part of the continent - the dreaded desert - so he could get a ride with them.

Of course, before that, he introduced himself.

"My story is a little strange," he said, "I lived on an island, and during one of my boat adventures I ended up shipwrecked. I was found by some fishermen who took me to Saltwind."

"Saltwind, I've heard of that village," Karla said.

"Yes, it's not too far from here. Anyway, it's my first time on dry land here on the continent, and I'm heading towards the central part too, as it's the best place to find ways to make some money. I'm out of money, out of a ship and out of a crew. And honestly, maybe I'd rather build a life here, and not be stuck on the oceans again."

William told the whole story — which was partly true — and tried to sound as truthful as possible. From the look of the adventurers, they seemed to have believed the things he said.

"We can give you a ride," Louise said, "it's better to travel as a team than alone. There are dangerous parts on these roads, and we can protect you!"

"That would be great! I'm not very good at combat. But I have this magical friend of mine here who is very useful," William said.

Stuart came out of his pocket, and the two girls loved him.

"How cute! What's his name?" Karla asked.

Stuart then said, "Stuart."

Everyone was silent when they heard that. It was very rare for a magical beast to speak. William was afraid that they would suspect him of having a beast like that, but the reaction was actually the opposite.

Louise picked up Stuart and gave him a hug, "so cute! He talks!"

William could only notice how Louise was squeezing Stuart to her chest.

'Lucky bastard rat...' he thought.

They talked for a bit, but everyone there wanted to rest. During the journey, it was common for one of them to act as a lookout while two slept, meaning there was always one person who was much more tired.

However, with William and Stuart, things changed! Stuart used his camouflage magic on all of them, and with that, they could sleep peacefully.

The 3 adventurers passed out. They slept for a long time, waking up only around noon. It was the first time in a long time that they had a good night's sleep.

William, on the other hand, woke up earlier and rekindled the fire, ensuring it would keep burning through the morning. He also hunted down another creature for them to eat.

Not just meat. He also picked several fruits. Most he had never seen in his life, and was hoping the 3 adventurers could tell him if they were poisonous or not.

Louise was the first to wake up. When she realized how late it was, she was startled.

"My god, we slept for a long time!" she said.

William laughed, "actually, you were the one who slept the least. Your brother and your friend are still snoring over there."

"And good morning. Want something to eat?" William asked.

"Yes, please."

"Do you know which of these are edible?"

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Louise saw several scattered fruits that William had collected in the morning. Luckily for them, they were all edible, and quite good actually.

"You picked all this up in the morning? You're skilled," Louise praised him.

William pointed to a creature that was dead, "not only that, but I hunted these animals too."

She was genuinely impressed by William's skills, and was wondering who he really was.