Cheat Awakening

"Grahk? Who'y? Mean take land? Filth our wa'ra?"

"What? What did you say?" As he saw the big man's expression darken after receiving no reply, Myne couldn't help but ask, his face full of confusion, he really couldn't understand what he was trying to say.

"Bind! Drag to Grar! He say, do with fool!" The long-bearded man didn't repeat himself. Instead, he ordered his men and kicked his wolf's flank to turn around and head back towards the village.

Before Myne could fully understand what was happening, he saw two men quickly dismount their wolves, hemp ropes in hand, and approached him with unfriendly expressions. Not wanting to escalate the situation, Myne decided to comply and see what these muscular weirdos were up to. After all, he could always escape with his portal skill if things went south.

Myne was easily tied up and forced to walk towards their village without resistance. While everyone else rode wolves, giving him a prisoner-like feeling.

Although these muscular men looked strange and didn't seem very intelligent, they were well-trained. None of them spoke along the way, and they all maintained a vigilant watch, if Myne dared to make any unnecessary move, he would surely lose his head.

The village wasn't far from the stream, and after a short walk, they reached the village entrance, where the small wolf squad captain stood with another middle-aged man. This man was heavily tattooed, his body covered in strange patterns, as well as three large tattoos of a bear, a wolf, and an eagle, which alone took up 60% of his body.

Standing at a towering height of three meters, the man had long brown hair tied in a braid that reached his buttocks and a thick beard that fell to his collarbone. His super muscular frame made Myne's thigh look thin compared to his biceps. He carried a massive double-handed battle axe on his back and wore leather pants with a wrap of unknown monster skin around his waist.

When Myne was brought before him, the man said nothing. Instead, he grabbed Myne by the neck, lifted him off the ground, and brought him face-to-face. His piercing gaze was so intense that anyone with a weak heart might have wet themselves.

Myne, however, remained calm, knowing this was just a clone. He stared back, curious about the man's intentions.

"Not bat! Weak hum'n! Throw to Old Grar! He crush!" After staring at Myne for a few seconds, the big guy tossed him to the ground, barked an order, and walked into the village without a second glance, clearly declaring a false alarm.

While Myne cursed the giant—who seemed to be some kind of chief—under his breath, one of the men who had tied him up showed a sliver of kindness. He helped Myne stand before slapping the back of his head and gesturing for him to walk into the village.

With a vicious look at the man who dared to slap him, Myne decided to get revenge before leaving. After all, It is okay for the chief to bully him, since he has the capital to do it, but a henchman? He moved forward, entering the village of these half-naked, hairy giants.

The village was as simple as it appeared from the outside, with no apparent changes. It was just slightly cleaner than expected. Children ran about causing havoc, while women in short clothes prepared food on stone stoves outside their homes.

Some men were intensely training, which looked more like a public beating, with experienced fighters hammering younger ones using wooden swords or sticks. A group of people dismantled animal carcasses, removing usable parts, and creating a bloody scene. Nearby, others worked on making clothes and other essentials from the leather.

Three broad-chested uncles with slightly reddish skin were hammering iron continuously, crafting weapons while shouting loudly to hype themselves up.

Everyone in the village seemed to work tirelessly, contributing to its development. No one was wasting time indulging in pleasures, holding women in their arms, drinking excessively, or causing trouble like a spoiled young master.

If it weren't for the lack of women to his liking or any decent, forget decent even basic entertainment facilities, Myne might have considered this simple and hardworking lifestyle quite appealing.

"Old Grar, Grar give weak hum'n to you. End him!"

After a while, Myne was dragged to a small wooden house. It looked more refined compared to the crude huts surrounding it. The house had a small garden with a 1.5-meter tall tree at its centre, surrounded by colourful flowers.

An old man height similar to that of a 3-meter-tall giant before, stood outside, his short white hair, a big beard and a long bigoted, framing his face. Like everyone else, he had a super muscular body, marked with scars of battle that defied the erosion of time.

His tattoos were equally impressive: a bird releasing thunder, a giant wielding a war hammer, and a strange panther-like creature with a lynx's head, goat-like horns, and fleshy wings on its back. This creature, in particular, didn't seem normal no matter how one looked at it.

But compared to the other men, who all wore serious expressions all the time as if they were in a warzone, this old man had a peaceful and calm expression, like a kind-hearted grandpa next door.
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The henchman didn't enter the boundary of the house but pushed Myne inside, speaking respectfully with his head bowed and one arm crossed over his chest. Clearly, this grandpa held a high status in the village.

The old man turned around upon hearing the voice and looked at Myne with great interest. Then, he spoke to the henchman with a smile, "Oh, hum'n? Long time since I've seen one. Thanks. Leave now. I'll deal with him!"

The henchman didn't say anything, just nodded to the old man, turned around, and left the way he came.

"Sigh, these people are still as innocent as children," The old man suddenly spoke in Myne's language, catching him off guard. Myne was ready to argue with the old man to make him understand, but he hadn't expected the other party to be a big boss.

"Don't be surprised. In my long life, I've dealt with all kinds of people, and humans have taken up the majority. Knowing their language isn't a big deal," The old man rolled his eyes at Myne's surprised expression and untied him.

"Water or drink?" He asked casually, walking towards the house.

"If it's a fruit drink, then okay. Otherwise, water... Thanks for the hostility, by the way," Myne was very open-minded and quickly adapted to the situation. He carelessly followed the old man into the house as if he were with his own grandpa, not a stranger who was tasked to deal with him—which in the barbarian dictionary means, interrogate and dig out any useful information if he had any before feeding his body to wolves..

"Kazrak! Bring one mug of your fruit wine, and my favourite one... I haven't introduced myself, have I? I'm Tharnak Bloodhowl, a retired old man, spending the rest of my days gardening. The little guy who will come out from the kitchen soon is my grandson, Kazrak. What about you?" After entering the house, the old man named Tharnak shouted before giving a brief introduction about himself and his soon-to-appear grandson.

The house was simple but cozy, filled with trophies of strange monster body parts and weird-looking shiny weapons. There were two long wooden couches with fur mattresses, a wooden table in the middle, a kitchen to the left, and four rooms divided into two sections in front. A small bookshelf with about thirty leather-bound books stood to the right.

Hearing Tharnak's question, Myne, who had been observing the house and admiring the trophies, came back to his senses and quickly replied.

"Myne, Myne Fortuna... An adventurer? Actually, I don't have any proper occupation yet. Most of the time, I either wander around for fun or help my queen mother-in-law deal with the kingdom's mess. But after my clan officially begins, I might start taking things seriously... maybe!" He shrugged, not very confident about his claim of taking things seriously. If nothing extraordinary happened, he would probably continue to be a womanizer, always on the lookout for potential targets everywhere.

"I see. So, which world did you come from, and what is your purpose in invading our territory? And please don't lie to me. I have dozens of ways to confirm whether you're honest or talking nonsense," Tharnak sat down on the couch and asked Myne with a faint smile.

Myne didn't take Tharnak's threat seriously at all. He walked over to a giant, two-meter-long battle axe with a golden handle. He tried to lift it, but it felt rooted to the ground. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't even move it an inch, let alone lift it.

"Sigh, how the hell do you guys use such heavy weapons?" He complained, sitting down opposite Tharnak with an annoyed expression. "And how did you figure out I'm from another world?"

"There are no humans left in my world, and the ones in those bastard bats world aren't having a good life. People like you, full of optimism, positivity and full of vitality, are as rare as the Blood King there. So naturally, the answer was obvious."

"What happened to humans in your world? How could a race like ours, no different from cockroaches, disappear?" Before Tharnak could repeat his question, Myne continued testing the waters, trying to extract as much information as possible.

Tharnak, seeming very patient, didn't mind chatting with Myne at all. Just as he was about to answer, a young man, a few years older than Myne, wearing leather pants and an apron over his bare upper body, his hair messy, hurriedly walked out from the kitchen. He placed a wooden tray with two mugs on the table and quickly returned to the kitchen without saying a word.