Chapter 14: A Growing Civilization (2)
Michael led the hunting group through the dense vegetation of the forest. They had passed both of the wood gathering groups and one of the fruit gathering groups. As usual, all the Lizardmen assigned to the groups showed their respects when he passed by them. The group continued to head deeper into the forest to give enough space between them and the other groups to prevent any accidents.
Soon enough, they began to spot some little creatures through bushes and leaves of trees. Squirrels peeked their heads out of their holes before retreating back. They only sensed one thing - new predators.
~Rustle~
A nearby cluster of bushes began to rustle as the Lizardmen passed it by. Michael raised his hand, making them all stop. He had already sensed the creature a while back, opting to wait for it to show itself first. The covering suddenly burst open as a large boar came barreling out! With pitch black tusks and small, beady eyes, the boar charged at them without hesitation. Michael took a pose as information on the creature passed through his mind's eye from Mee.
[Obsidian Boar]
-Rank - E - Middle
-Growth Stage - 2/3
-Overall Energy Level - 320
-Rank Elevation Impossible.
-Special Properties - {Obsidian Hide}
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The shiny hide of the boar was part of its special property. Its extremely hardy skin gave it an excellent defense that was able to withstand a few hits from a D ranked creature. Michael knew that and knew that there was no way to easily penetrate its hide without proper weapons.
The moment the boar got close enough, Michael also lunged at it. He wrapped his lean, but strong arms around its neck and tied his tail around its torso. He then flipped with it, slamming it into the ground before tightening his limbs around it. The boar squealed in agony as its inside were being crushed by Michael's superior strength. Soon enough, the struggling died down and the cloud of dust that had risen up slowly cleared out.
The other Lizardmen watched on with wide eyes, momentarily dazed. Their leader had just downed a powerful beast in matter or moments! And he did so with surprising ease before any of them could properly react. After all, they hadn't gotten used to all of the new changes in their bodies from a few days ago.
After a few more moments had passed, Michael finally gave the boar one last squeeze before letting go. He stood up while patting down his body.
"Well, that was easy. Next is your turn." He pointed his thumb over his shoulder. "You should know, these bad boys never travel alone." As soon as he finished speaking, the ground beneath their feet began rumbling. The Lizardmen were all alarmed, but Michael calmed them quickly.
"Calm down, just keep your cool and follow your instincts!" Just then, the surrounding bushes erupted, giving way to a dozen angry Obsidian Boars.
...
Some hours later...
Michael arrived with the other Lizardmen in his group at the entrance to the cavern where their territory was located. He held a dead boar over his shoulder, along with the nine other Lizardmen who were assigned to the hunting group. The other groups of Lizardmen were walking around with twigs and branches while some were heaping up various kinds of fruit. in a corner of the cavern. In the center of the wide, open area, a small fire had been lit up. The area was relatively drier than other areas, s the fire wasn't affected. It would probably have been better if a pit was dug, but the earth was far to hardy for such a project at this point in time. Milizaus stood by the fire, directing the actions of everyone.
Thud!
The Lizardmen all threw off the bodies of the dead boars onto the floor. Other Lizardmen gathered around to take a look at the kill that the men had brought in.
"Okay!" Michael clapped his scaly hands together to get the attention of the surrounding Lizardmen focused on him. When he was satisfied with their focus, he then began explaining how they would prepare the flesh of the Obsidian Boars. Although their hides were hardy, they were not impenetrable.
Michael dug a sharp claw into the boar's side after applying a decent amount of force. When he was killing it, he didn't have the luxury of time so he had to resort to strangling the creature to death. Now though, he was free to take hit time.
He slowly but surely skinned the boar, slicing the meat into thinner strips whenever convenient. Soon enough, these strips of meat were skewered on some thin twigs in order to prepare them over the fire. Since they didn't have access to prepared spices, they would have to make do without.
The tantalizing aroma soon began to pas through the nostrils of the curious Lizardmen. Most of them began to drool and make animalistic noises as they had never perceived something that resonated so well with their bellies.
Even Milizaus who had kept composed all this while began to falter in his firm façade. The elderly Lizardman began to stare hungrily at a thick and juicy looking slab of meat that was roasting over the fire.
"L-leader." A little child couldn't help but call out.
"Don't worry, it's almost ready." Michael smiled at the child and patted the spot beside him. His five guards sat right behind him while the remaining population sat around him in a large circle. The little Lizardman sat beside Michael hesitantly. Soon, the tension in his little shoulders drained away as his mind was captured by the aroma of cooked meat.
Michael used his claw to slice of a tiny portion of meat from a large section before presenting it to the boy.
"Here, take a bite." He smiled. The little boy eagerly gobbled up the piece of meat before freezing up for a moment.
"Ahhhh!" Tears burst out of the child's eyes. "It's... It's-it's so..."
"Delicious." Michael finished the sentence for him. The little child nodded vigorously, making Michael laugh out loud. He then waved over to the five drooling guards behind him. After they all had a taste and were in similar stupefied states as the child, Michael finally declared the food ready to be eaten by all!
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
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Nilo_A Thank you for reading 'Digitized: The Reincarnation Project'. If you wish to support my work, please don't hesitate to vote your power stone, leave a comment, leave a review, and share!
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