Code Collector

Pop. Pop. Pop.

Allen was turning the laddle on the soup while Bernard was hammering down wood. The boy couldn't exactly call it as "chopping" down, because both ends of the warhammer were flat surfaces.

Yet, one strike from the hammer and the wood would split into pieces. This would make Allen flinch every time he hears the cracking sound, realizing that Bernard wasn't giving all his strength when they were fighting.

"If he used his entire damage points, what would've become of me?" Allen asked himself, shivering at the thought.

"Do you need anything more?" Bernard asked while placing the wood he just cut into the bottom of the firepit.

"Yes," Allen sighed. "How come you have all these cooking equipment when you can't cook?"

"I had to at least show my parents that I can survive on my own," Bernard said with a pout. "Even when I have ascended, I'm still under them."

"Your parents must be Hunters too," Allen guessed, but received a shaking of the head in return.

"They're just regular humans. But since I'm not old enough, they handle my finances–"

Bernard stopped for a moment. His eyes widened, looking like he just said something he shouldn't have.

"Aren't you old enough already?" Allen askes suspiciously. He didn't want to dwell on Bernard's state, but his curiosity got the best of him. Bernard sighed in defeat. "My parents have a tradition that adulthood is at thirty. It's been like that in my family for generations."

With the suspicions still lingering in his mind, Allen just nodded. Something about Bernard's reaction earlier made it clear that this wasn't the actual reason.

Whatever it may be, he will know once he meets this man as The Wandering Trader. The thought of knowing what Bernard was hiding was exciting him slightly. Now he knew what Shawn was feeling.

Not a couple of moments later, Allen finished the stew. He called for Bernard to eat and the man took a pair of mittens and carried the cauldron of stew. "Come follow me."

Allen didn't know the reason why they have to change places. It was still noon and it didn't showed any sign that it would rain soon.

"Where are we going?" Allen asked.

"Just somewhere," Bernard responded.

They walked silently for a couple more minutes until Allen saw a white stone path. He narrowed his eyes and followed the direction of the stone, raising his head and gasped when he saw a small cottage in the middle of a clearing.

Everything looked so magical, straight out of fairy tale. The entire clearing was filled with trimmed grass and flowers, surrounded by an electric fence that was as taller the trees themselves.

It will take you about four stepping stones from the electric fence. These first four were stuck to the surrounding trees, from its roots to the leaves up above.

"These keep the wild beasts from my garden," Bernard said. He put the cauldron down and gripped a branch. He then twisted the branch that made the gate of the electric fence slide to the side.

"Wow," Allen whispered. "This is amazing."

"Right?" Bernard chuckled. "I made this for a year. Every single thing here was handcrafted by yours truly."

Just when Allen was about to think that Bernard only got this through his money, he was proven wrong. It did look like an amateur made everything since not all parts of this small private paradise was perfect.

Compared to him, Bernard was resourceful and he had a mind thag was focused in the future. Just by looking at everything in the clearing, it was obvious that Bernard didn't have a regular mindset. He was a goal driven person.

"Compared to my camp, this is nothing," Allen gasped.

"That's the thing," Bernard said. "I don't see this as my camp. I treat this as my home, my own place."

Then, the thought hit him. Allen narrowed his eyes and pursed his lips. "Why did you let me sleep in that nest if you have this cottage?"

"I like to impress people," Bernard grinned. "Pretty childish of me, but that's what I am. It's how I roll."

Allen only chuckled and nodded. They continued walking down the stone path until they arrived at the cottage. It was a long journey from the fence to the wooden cottage. The clearing was huge.

"Err, welcome, I guess," Bernard said. He opened the door and welcomed Allen in, the boy gasping after he saw the interiors of the cottage.

It looked like it was one of the cottages ripped out from a magazine. Although it wasn't perfect to every single measurement, it was obvious that Bernard put a lot of effort in this.

Everything inside was wooden. The walls were made of logs stacked on top of each other and was tied with thick twines. The colums were made of thicker logs that were connected to the walls with holes that fit every other stacked log.

The roof of the cottage was made from lumbers that were attached together. Allen was yet to know how they were connected, but he was guessing it had to do something with the exposed beams that ran from one side of the room to the other.

The only stone thing in the cottage was the fireplace. It was made of stones that seemed to be cemented with clay, forming a fireplace that ran up to the ceiling.

"This place is awesome," Allen grinned. "And it has rooms?"

"Of course," Bernard said proudly. "I didn't use up a year of effort to make this and settle on just a room."

Allen grinned. "How about we eat now? I'm getting kind of hungry."

"Hey," Bernard narrowed his eyes. "I'm the master here. And I say, we should eat."

While Allen was eating with Bernard in the latter's cottage, a certai Hunter woke up. The nurses were running around him, the man baffled as to why he was in a room filled with white everything.

"He's awake!" the nurse yellee. "Gary is awake!"