Shadow Slave novel Chapter 2148

"You are completely crazy. Insane. Psycho. A raving lunatic… a madman!"

Jest was muttering curses as he stood on the shore of a beautiful lake, while the young knight just listened nonchalantly. Behind them, a few dozen bloodied, terrified Sleepers were busy toppling the trees.

The young knight was still clean and handsome, even if his polished armor had a dozen dents by now. He had fought and killed more monsters than anyone else, but still managed to look valiant and unperturbed despite that.

The past few days had not been kind to them.

Initially, there had indeed been a large group of Sleepers who banded together after finding themselves in the dreadful forest — almost a hundred of them, with new survivors joining every day. A considerable force even during the end of times… or so they had thought.

The Sleepers had established a camp on the shore of the river — far enough from the trees to have time to react when the forest monsters attacked, but also far enough from the water to defend themselves against the aquatic abominations. They worked together to survive, unsure where they were and what the future held.

However, Jest had become a pariah once again… and that was despite his positive attitude and disarming sense of humor. Strength was the only virtue in the world that had gone insane, and he had none.

Worse than that, he reeked. Everyone seemed to have some kind of Memory, be it armor or enchanted garments, to cover themselves… but he only had his crudely made poncho. So, people tended to avoid him.

Because of the smell. Not because of the jokes, of course.

Everyone except for the infuriating knight, that was.

Jest had even asked him about it.

"Listen, dimples… how come you keep bothering me? My Aspect is useless, you know. I also don't have any Memories."

But the knight only chuckled.

"Exactly."

He glanced at the rest of the Sleepers.

"Everyone here has fought hard to survive. During the Nightmare, after the Nightmare, and here as well… while having powerful Aspects and deadly Memories. But wouldn't a person who has neither have fought the hardest?"

The knight shook his head.

"Don't take me for a fool. I am not talking to you because I am gracious and kind. I am talking to you because I think you are strong, and I need strong comrades to survive."

Jest shook his head in amazement.

"Wow. Who would have thought? There's actually brains in that handsome head..."

The young knight raised an eyebrow.

"Thank you? But also, was that ever in doubt?"

Jest shrugged.

"Ah, don't take it personally! It's just that you are so calm and upbeat all the time that I thought there's a screw or two… or a dozen… loose in your head."

The knight looked at him strangely, then shook his head in amusement.

"No, but… of all people…"

Jest did not quite catch the meaning.

In any case, that was how they ended up as comrades.

By now, Jest wasn't wearing a filthy poncho anymore. The knight had a strange Aspect that allowed him to craft all kinds of things, so he had fashioned a set of clothes for Jest, as well as a proper wooden spear, a bow, and a quiver of arrows.

Being able to summon magical flames or possessing tremendous strength seemed like the kind of Aspects people would want to have, but that ability to craft things had actually earned the young knight more respect and reputation than his armor, his sword, and his uncanny ability to kill monsters.

Although Sleepers possessed Memories, few had many of them. So, everyone needed something to make up for the equipment they had left in the real world.

That was how the knight had become one of the leaders of the group, and Jest was catapulted to the very height of social hierarchy as his friend.

Holding onto a golden thigh was a pleasant way to live.

Not that everything went well for him and the other Sleepers.

The forest was immeasurably dangerous, and the river was as well. Many of them had died while fighting the monsters…

But actually, the humans were just as dangerous themselves.

The same thing that was happening in the real world continued to happen here. Out there… people were scared, traumatized, hopeless, and unable to recognize the world that had changed in an instant. Naturally, many strange ideas were sprouting from the rich soul of fear and despair.

There were cruel warlords, roving gangs of marauders who had lost all remains of humanity, broken fragments of local governments that were slowly descending into appalling lunacies, and weird cults that were perhaps the most sinister, eerie, and harmful of them all.

Here as well… not all of the Sleepers were quite sane, and even less were entirely benevolent.

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