Tatehan wore his backpack, his footsteps light as he walked away from the line of boulders he currently stood beside.
He took careful steps, walking cautiously as he inched toward the other set of boulders. The sky was bright with light, and his shadow, as usual, fell at a strange angle as he moved cautiously.
The place was dry and deserted, and as he looked back toward where he had come from—where he had killed the knight bruteneck and gained their armor—he couldn't help but wonder if their corpses were still on the ground.
He decided other brutenecks would probably come and feed on the dead bodies. After his encounter with the first brutenecks back at the spaceship, he had wondered what they ate.
In this side of Mars, he was sure there was no edible vegetation or lesser creatures that the monsters could hunt and kill, so it came down to one thing...
When he had hidden behind a boulder and used his gravitational powers to kill some brutenecks, he had seen a carapace bruteneck trudge toward the corpses and start eating them.
So that would be the answer. They ate each other. Cannibalism, but well, they had no choice. It wasn't like there was anything else to eat on this godforsaken planet anyway.
He walked at a normal pace toward the boulders. He saw no use in running, it wasn't like he was in a hurry. He had even wanted to sneak up on whatever left the hammer there, not just walk up to it plainly.
The place would have been windless save for a soft breeze like a zephyr.
As he neared the boulders, he couldn't help (again) but notice the dryness of this place. If he hadn't taken water and food supplies before leaving the spaceship, he would have died of thirst long ago.
Thirst, because he could at least survive hunger for a few days, relying on anything edible, but without water he was nothing.
Just a few steps from the boulder, Tatehan was tempted to summon his armor or his rock sword, you know, take whatever was coming his way by surprise.
But he relaxed because he didn't hear any noise. He hesitated for some time, thinking the monster was waiting for him to come closer before it struck.
Monster?
Why did he always think it was a monster? It could be a human too, for all he knew. A sensible human with a dagger in hand, waiting for him to come closer so he or she could strike.
But Tatehan was fast. Very fast. He had an enhanced body.
Wait, didn't all humans on Mars have the same? All humans on Mars had enhanced bodies, which made them fast and strong, so his unique new body, though incredible, was normal here.
Tatehan found it ironic. People on Earth would have traded anything in the world for this, but here it was normal. It was like breathing or taking a walk or napping.
Having a superhuman type of body was normal here.
Tatehan went forward without summoning any weapon as he got between the boulders. But he was prepared for anything. His hands were wide open, ready to summon his rock sword at any moment if a foul monster, or rather, a cunning human, was to come at him.
But then, nothing happened. He saw no one. No one at all. The place was empty apart from him.
He looked at the spot where he had left the hammer before, and to his surprise, it was gone.
He panicked instantly, unconsciously summoning his rock sword and gripping it tightly. His senses were on high alert, ready to finish off any foul being who intended to stand in his way.
Even a small touch, like a pin prick on his back, and he would be turning without thinking, aiming his sword at the attacker's head.
If the person or monster dodged, it would save its head (that's if it had one). But if it didn't, then the head would be falling clean to the ground.
But then, none of that happened.
Tatehan could almost feel himself hyperventilating. It was one thing to fight a monster face-to-face, but it was another thing entirely, really different, to fight something that wouldn't confront you directly.
A backstabber.
He could already feel the dagger ripping through his back, tearing his veins and dropping him to his knees.
He quickly turned and swiped his sword.
Whish!
Nothing happened. He saw no one.
Tatehan decided to scan the area. Perhaps whatever or whoever had taken the hammer did so this morning.
Or was it in the night? No, it had to be this morning. If it was in the night, then he was certain he would have gotten attacked, or the creature, or human maybe, would have smelled the bread and jam in his bag.
And so Tatehan moved, light on his feet, around the boulders, scanning to see if he would spot any monster or creature.
He searched for some time but saw nothing. Not that there were many places to search anyway. The only place was the line of boulders, that was all. It wasn't like there were caves around or places where the monster or creature or human would hide.
After seeing no sign of any creature, he decided to check for the hammer. Perhaps the wind had pushed it away or something. Stupid thought, but well, nothing was exactly stupid to think about on this planet.
He searched all the boulders, around every one, trying to see if he would find anything.
After seeing nothing, he stood with his hands on his hips, his face etched in confusion.
'Crazy planet. What had I been thinking when I thought I'd find something? Of course, seeing nothing only means that... Damn! This just makes this harder.'
Being so alone had made Tatehan start talking to himself, not aloud, but in his mind.
He decided he would begin his journey.
The spaceship's AI said it should take him fifteen hours in total to reach the mauler. Now he'd spent a whole day's worth of hours, plus the time he used to sleep?
Damn, he was slow. He'd have to be faster and avoid unnecessary distractions like this one.
He crouched, scooped Martian sand in his hands, and let it drift with the wind.
But then something caught his attention. On the ground where he had just scooped the sand, he saw a footprint.
A footprint?