The first day went pretty well. If I were to exclude my constant worry about the people I knew in Hogar, but there was little I could do about them. Only praying for their well-being.

  As for the travel, we encountered no undead during the day. We didn’t even see one from a distance. The thick green vegetation posed no problem and the air was fresh, sometimes with the scent of the grass we were stepping on and at others with the aroma of the flowers along the way.

  The wild nature was so beautiful, so colourful, so fresh! If it weren’t for the undead, I’d have loved to explore and see newer sides of nature.

  The few animals we met ran when they noticed us. The noisy bugs were an exception.

  Everything was calm. Even the sky was sunny with a few clouds here and there. However, there was a light wind.

  Occasionally, we were so bored that we started to have small talk. There was simply nothing happening and not everyone enjoyed sightseeing in the endless nature.

  The only exception to this light and sunny mood was Raven. He rarely uttered anything during the day and wasn’t a fan of the endless greenery, always keeping an eye out for the smallest noise and movement in the bushes.

  Lily and Roosevelt were also all ears and eyes on the surroundings, but they weren’t shy from conversing with anyone – excluding him.

  We took a small lunch break and continued moving until we called it a day.

  As for our night stay, we had some clashing opinions.

  When the sun’s rays were a reddish hue, we started to prepare the camp for the night.

  There weren’t many well-protected places or ones that could hide us well, but we lacked the feeling of danger today. Therefore, we decided to camp in the open. Not that there was much of a choice.

  We didn’t have to do too much for the camp: just lighting a campfire, finding dry sticks to keep it lit until sunrise and reading our sleeping bags.

  This was how we camped since our arrival on the Continent.

  “How do you usually camp?” Raven asked when we decided on the place for the camp.

  “We find a suitable location for shelter or just ready our sleeping bags on the ground,” Leo replied.

  “Is that all?”

  “Of course not. We make fire and have someone stay guard,” Rich added.

  “I see. Have you ever tried sleeping in a tree?”

  “No, why would we?”

  “Want to try it?”

  “No, why would we?”

  Raven opened his mouth to say something, but didn’t. He just made a sigh.

  Despite Rich being one of the more reasonable people from my group, he can be a pain to deal with.

  Raven understood that fast, so he tried to go past him by speaking with me. In the end, my decision was the final one.

  “Feel free to sleep wherever you want,” he replied, his expression dissatisfied and looked in my direction, “Mary, you are going to sleep with me.”

  “WHAT?!” Leo screamed what I wanted to.

  “Keep it down or do you want to attract zombies? What I mean is she will go to sleep in that tree over there with me. What did your pervy minds think of?” he said flatly.

  Well, the first thing that came to my mind when you said it like you did was quite lewd.

  “I get why you’d tell us to be silent, but why sleep in the tree?” I inquired.

  “When you sleep, you are at your most vulnerable to a zombie attacking you. As there is no horde in close proximity, sleeping on the ground is not that bad as long as we have someone staying guard.”

  “Then what’s the problem doing so now?” Rich asked him, but I felt he intended to mock him.

  “There is a more suitable place to do so. We can just sleep on the ground, as you would have done, with no cover. What I dislike about it? Zombies could come from all sides! But I bet that is not something you would want, would you?”

  “We’ve managed so far.”

  “I am just telling you. Feel free to do as you wish.”

  “Then what about the tree?” Leo interrupted them.

  “As for the more suitable place – sleeping in the tree, as long as it is strong, you could get up on its branches and sleep soundly. Most zombies will not be able to get up to you. Trees will become harder to use as we go on. If you do decide to use them, say so. I will do so tonight.”

  “Won’t being in a tree make us easier to detect?” I asked further.

  “It will all depend on the tree and number of people, but even if we were detected, it should not be a problem.”

  “Why would sleeping in a tree later be a problem then?”

  “Right now, the worst we should be encountering would be Runners. As we progress, we will hide from hordes and we do not want to be stuck in a tree. We would be as good as dead if spotted while in a tree if a horde were nearby. That is when you leave alone the Stalkers that come out at night.”

  “Is there anything else you want to add?” Lily asked when she realised I had no more questions.

  “Humans tend to cut most vegetation around the border zones and in close proximity to the settlements to make spotting zombies easier. Or when there is a need for wood. As long as there are no zombies that can get to us, shoot us down or outright uproot the tree, the worst that can happen to us is falling off or having some zombies waiting downwards when we wake up.”

  “Are you telling us this is one of the few opportunities we can try sleeping in a tree?” she continued.

  “You may say so. Note that it is not comfortable.”

  “Leo and I have some experience travelling in the wild. We know how to camp more or less,” Rich said.

  “By the looks of it, you travelled with lots of people. Probably also used tents and made huge bonfires, set traps and took a long time to set the camp.”

  “How did you know?” Leo asked with a puzzled expression.

  “Because the way he described camping only works for a group of many people. Travelling with a large group makes you easier to discover, which makes stealth harder to achieve. The larger the group, the harder it is for them to hide, which could lead to discarding the stealth aspect. If said group was confident in their strength, they would not hide at all and just kill zombies on their way. It works in zones with low levels of danger and the best it can do is to clear the strangles by gathering them to yourselves. It also helps nearby settlements. Unless you have an army. Then it becomes interesting.”

  “What about our situation then?” I inquired.

  “Group of six. Small number. The zone we are in right now should be, at the very least, ‘medium’ risk and likely becoming ‘high’ soon. We should use places for camping where we would be hard to find in the near future. Now it is whatever, but later on this might cost us.”

  He gave his advice and looked at me. His eyes gazing at mine.

  It was up to me to make the decision. I asked my friends for their opinion.

  “How do you all feel about what Raven said thus far?”

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  “Don’t like it,” Leo was the first to disagree.

  “Same,” Rich seconded.

  Both of you would be the opposition to whatever he says, wouldn’t you?

  “He did have a point. I’d like to try it at least once before judging it,” Roosevelt agreed.

  “Might as well try it and then decide which is preferable,” Lily agreed.

  “I’d also like to try it,” I was also in.

  With a majority vote, we decided to sleep in the trees.

  “You really want to?” Raven asked.

  “Yes,” I confirmed.

  “Then you better dress up well. The night up in a tree can be cold. Especially if there is wind.”

  “Got it. Anything else?”

  “I will tell you the basics of sleeping up there. If there is wind, you try to be on a lower branch. When selecting a branch, choose strong ones. Preferably, one person per branch. If you think you may fall during the night, tie yourself with a rope to the tree.”

  “What about wild animals?” Rich asked.

  “Nothing too dangerous can find us in a tree. If you are in danger, you should wake up by yourself. That was how I have managed thus far.”

  “…”

  “Anyway, I will show you in advance what to do. No night watch is needed for today.”

  He started to explain and we listened to his instructions.

  After he was done explaining, he asked us something.

  “Since there are no questions, I will ask.”

  I thought he’d ask us to see what we learned, but I was wrong.

  “How do you take care of the… relief? What rules have you established?”

  While moving, we’d get a small break, hide somewhere and do these needs.

  “We’ve decided to defecate not closer than 40 feet to our camp. For safety reasons, two people should go. One to do the business and the other to keep watch,” Roosevelt replied.

  Yes, we decided so since our first night on this Continent. Facing an undead with your trousers down wouldn’t have been pleasant.

  I’d always go with Lily, be it day or night. She was the only other girl. However, I wouldn’t mind a boy keeping watch if I really needed to go. I wouldn’t feel pleasant, but just not looking at me was enough.

  “I see.”

  “Also, you can use a burning stick as a torch or flashlight,” I added.

  “Noted.”

  We made a fire, cooked some non-mercenary provisions and so on.

  When it was time to call it a night, we put sticks in the fire and started climbing. Most of us had little to no problems with what he had explained. Even I found climbing a tree easy. I was the last one to do so, but still.

  We used two trees overall. Lily and I went to the one Raven picked, while the others were on the one next to ours. I had Raven help me by tying me to the tree.

  “Do not tie yourselves too tightly. Could do more harm than help,” he added at some point.

  This was the first time I slept in a tree. I was a bit excited for some reason.

  The night sky was clear, lacking even the tiniest cloud. I could see countless shining stars and the half-moon. The view was beautiful.

  A total contrast to the rainy weather just a few days ago, where the night sky was covered completely.

  The wind was quite chilly. Luckily, I was defended from it by the tree.

  The small wildlife and the campfire were the only things making noise. The crickets were the ones making the most sounds.

  We made the fire just in case.

  “What do you think happened in the settlement for that man to come with so many soldiers?” I asked Raven.

  “Beats me. As long as they were not there for me, I could not care.”

  “Is there a reason for them to look for you?”

  “Who knows? He may have wanted me to help his granddaughter have children or the sort.”

  “Fine. Don’t tell me if you don’t want to. I know they wouldn’t have let us go if you had done something. I’m worried about the people I know in there.”

  “What for? Do you have relatives in there?”

  “No.”

  “Do you have a lover in there?”

  “No!”

  “Then, did you meet a friend from long ago?”

  “No, I wouldn’t say.”

  “Then why would you care what happens with the people in there? It only makes you worse at what you are doing.”

  “Uhum. You are right. If they had put themselves in a mess, they should solve it themselves.”

  “It can be said as such, yes.”

  I have no time to worry about them, about her. I was in quite the mess myself. After all this is over and if we were to meet in the future, I’d love to know what happened.

  “Goodnight, Lily, Raven.”

  “Night,” they replied.

  The following day, I was awakened by subtle sounds and an awful smell. Did someone do their business under the tree? That would be disgusting!

  I rubbed my sleepy eyes to wake up and look beneath me.

  On the ground, five Walkers were loitering under the tree. I got shivers and awoke instantly.

  It was just the beginning of the second day of the journey and I was already glad to have Raven with us.

  While I was checking the conditions of the other team members, I realised I was tied to the tree and couldn’t move well.

  Still, I was able to see most of my teammates.

  Rich and Leo both had gobsmacked expressions when they woke up, while Roosevelt immediately untied himself, prepared for combat and looked at the surroundings.

  Lily was the most interesting among us, as her head was dangling from a tree branch. The rope saved her life!

  As for Raven…

  “Are you awake, Raven?”

  No reply.

  “Raven?”

  Still nothing.

  He was sleeping like a baby, not caring about the undead below.

  I tried to wake him up.

  “Hey, wake up. We have enemies,” I whispered.

  “Five more minutes…” he replied, half asleep.

  I thought of a way to wake him up.

  After recalling all I knew about him, I decided to use the “magic word”.

  “Contract~” I said, slightly playful.

  He woke instantly.

  “Yes, my lady?” he asked.

  “We have company. We should take care of them. Also, untie me.”

  He gave a flat look downwards and spoke while yawning.

  “Walkers. Five in total. They are yet to notice us. If you order us to engage, we should do so in melee. That is my proposal. Your orders?”

  “I’ll listen to you.”

  “Give me a sec. I will free you up. Though, I wonder what Lily had dreamed about to see her in such a position.”

  “Dunno. Ask her if you dare.”

  “Not happening. Wake her up,” he replied as the rope was untied.

  I woke Lily. She needed a second to realise what was happening, both her position and the thread beneath us.

  She got on the branch and untied herself with great agility and strength. Her movements were gracious and full of confidence.

  “My head’s a bit dizzy. But, don’t worry, I’m ready for the fight,” she replied.

  I had my arm in the air and gave the orders to the members

  Meanwhile, the undead stayed beneath us, but have yet to notice us.

  The basic types of undead, such as Walkers and Runners, rely on sound, eyesight, orders from Rulers or their instinct to take any action.

  We used our advantage to take them out from behind before they noticed us. Or above, to be precise.

  It went without problems as we had both the element of surprise and a height advantage.

  Leo and Rich tried to climb down before engaging, whereas Roosevelt and Raven jumped and squashed the heads of the undead they landed on. Lily was the only one gracious, jumping on lower branches, until she silently stepped on the ground behind an undead and stabbed its head from behind.

  The last two undead attacked Roosevelt and Raven, but they dispatched their attacker effortlessly.

  Roosevelt dodged the attack and slashed the neck, whereas Raven kicked the ankle, breaking it and breaking the adversary’s neck with its feet when it fell on the ground.

  Meanwhile, the other two boys climbed down and I watched from above.

  The undead didn’t even have the time to understand what hit them before they were on the ground, lifeless!

  I started climbing down myself. I thought after yesterday’s climb it would have been easy, but the situation became like with cats – they could climb up well, but going down was another thing.

  I lost my foothold and was falling. It wasn’t high from the ground, maybe six feet at most. Therefore, the fall wasn’t going to harm me that much. It was more embarrassing than anything.

  Luckily, Raven caught me. He held me like a princess, but his cold stare showed annoyance.

  “You can drop me,” I said and regretted it the next moment.

  “As you wish, my lady.”

  Why drop me on the ground like this? What was with you?!

  I stared at him with a hurt expression, showing slight annoyance.

  “Would you have preferred the fall from the tree?”

  “Fine, sorry, my bad. Thanks for the help.”

  Sulking doesn’t work on him.

  After the “fight”, we started preparing to leave.

  Raven was the only one doing his own thing, however. Cleaning his bloodied feet on a dead undead was more important than getting ready to leave.

  Well, he only had a backpack with him, so telling him to help wouldn’t have done much.

  “I don’t want to sleep in a tree anymore,” Leo lamented, interrupting my thoughts.

  “Yes, I feel stiff,” Lily added while stretching.

  Yes, now that they reminded me, it wasn’t pleasant to sleep in a tree. My shoulders, back, legs and butt feel stiff. We wouldn’t be repeating it. Still, it was a valuable experience.

  Our breakfast was the notoriously tasteless Mercenary food. Yummy! The minimal amount we needed to eat a block per day was two, but preferably three times.

  I always considered whether to start a diet when eating one. I was too used to good cuisine. Even the guild’s cooking was better than this. Even the texture was strange.

  After we were done eating, it was time for hygiene.

  I stretched to relax my body and after doing so, I decided to brush my teeth as it was the minimum we had to do.

  All of my friends also knew that hygiene was of the utmost importance.

  I searched my backpack.

  “What are you intending to do with the brush in your hand?” Raven asked me.

  “Brush? You mean the toothbrush?” I replied.

  “Brush, toothbrush – it has brush in it, no?”

  It sure did, but they were two different words and objects.

  “She got it out while trying to get something out of her backpack, don’t mind it,” Lily intervened.

  “Yes, there is no way our leader would waste water like that. If we were near a river or lake, we all would have cleaned ourselves to extend,” Rich added in my “defence”.

  “I see. If it was like you said, then good,” Raven replied.

  “What are you taking us for? Only an idiot would waste water! Am I right, fellas? Haha…”

  It was obvious that Leo was the other one who thought as I did. His forceful laughter and a drop of sweat on the forehead proved it.

  Roosevelt was the only one who didn’t join in.

  “I’m an idiot then,” I said with annoyance.

  Their sharp remarks hurt me.

  All looked at me.

  “What?” Leo asked with a pale complexion.

  “I thought of brushing my teeth. You implied that doing so was dumb. Therefore, I’m an idiot. Is there something I got wrong?” I continued while pouting slightly.

  “No, no! You got it wrong! We meant that…” Rich tried to do something, but Raven didn’t allow him.

  “Yes, it seemed like you and I were the only morons. I – for thinking they would waste water. You – for wanting to waste water.”

  “Whatever. Let’s go! We have a long road ahead of us!” I tried to change the subject.

  “Not before I lecture you.”

  “What!” I exclaimed.

  “In short, food is lighter and thus can be carried more easily. On the other hand, water is heavier and is the hardest thing to manage. Sure, after the Mercenary food got improvements, you do not need to drink water after every bite, but additional liquids are needed.”

  “If I say I’m sorry, would you let me go?” I begged.

  “I’m done scolding you. Hope the other idiot also noted it,” he said while looking at Leo.

  Sigh. I still have much to learn.

  Our journey continued.

  For a while, we hardly had any obstacles.

  We usually evaded fights, but if we had to engage in them, we often didn’t use firearms.

  We had some close calls with small patrolling hordes.

  He advised me to stay away from them as we’d “probably die”, as he said so.