Michael became excited. Part of the reason why he wanted to relocate to the Parched Lands was because of the potentially talented monsters that he could come across. Ever since he discovered he could awaken their talent, a whole new realm of possibilities entered his mind.
People overlooked monsters and beasts as nothing more than instinctual creatures with no potential. But ever since he met Fudge, he realized that monsters were as talented as humans!
So, he welcomed this sudden encounter.
He stopped his automobile and immediately got out to observe his surroundings.
From his perspective, there was not a single piece of living being anywhere he looked. There was just an endless wasteland of cracked soil and the occasional tumbleweed that rolled in the distance.
Skills didn’t lie, so Michael knew that there was a living being somewhere here, but he just couldn’t see them through normal means.
He used his Supreme Skill: Mana Gathering to maximize his sensitivity in mana, allowing him to see and feel everything that his eyes could not see.
Earth mana was the most abundant, followed by Air and Fire. As expected, he didn’t find much Water mana in the ground except for thin clouds in the sky.
But as he narrowed his eyes, upon the small mounds of sand and soil, he saw a collection of Light mana, something that only living beings emitted.
Strangely enough, the Light mana in those figures were starting to fade, blinking in and out of existence as if they were about to expire and turn into Dark mana, which only the dead emitted.
They were running out of time. He had to act now.
Michael’s body immediately started to glow a silver light, with Air mana gathering at his feet and propelling him into the sky, reaching speeds faster than his automobile.
With this 3-star spell [Burst Fly], he was able to reach the dying figures just in time.
Upon landing, Michael set his eyes on a small group of animals that resembled primates back in his previous life. They lay on the ground huddled together, with their chests heaving for air. Their breaths became shallower and shallower each time.
Michael raised his hand and looked up at the skies. Right now, the only thing that was going to save them was an injection of Light mana into their bodies.
Usually, he would see an abundance of Light mana everywhere through the trees, grass, and nature in the surroundings. But this place had none of that.
So, his only source of Light mana was the sun.
He stared at the great big ball of fire and grabbed it in his hands. Suddenly, visible light blobs floated down from the skies and gathered at his palms.
Then, he shoved the Light mana into the dying animals, infusing them with life!
Slowly, the primates’ breathing got better and better, with the pained expressions on their faces disappearing into relief.
They were fine for now, but this was only a temporary solution.
With the three-star spell [Medical Inspect], he found out that these animals needed water and food.
So, he brought them back to his automobile and drove them back to his house.
…
…
…
Michael observed the primates who were slowly awakening from unconsciousness.
ChatJK2, what kind of creatures are they?
Before Michael left, his father gave him a complete bestiary of all the known beasts, monsters, and demi-humans populating the Parched Lands. So, ChatJK2 had no trouble identifying the creatures.
[According to the bestiary, they are a species called Mankeys. They are the weakest species in the entire territory of the Parched Lands, and possibly the entire world.
They do not have any special characteristics or traits that help them survive the harsh environment of the Parched Lands. The only reason why their species has survived to this day is because of the unity within their kind.]
[Mankeys]
— Species: Yellow Mankeys
— Type: Demi-human
— Difficulty: ★
— Element: none
Michael observed the Mankeys and found that they had vaguely human-like faces, similar to Neanderthals back in his previous world.
Their entire body was covered in stained, yellow fur, including parts of their faces. They also had a tail on their backs, which was why Michael thought they were primates when he first saw them.
Michael waited for the Yellow Mankeys to regain consciousness. He already fed them food and water a while ago, so they were close to waking up.
After a few minutes, the five Mankeys slowly opened their eyes one by one.
Their eyes showed confusion as they came to grips with their current situation. They patted their bodies, surprised as to how they survived the intense heat of the sun.
Then, they looked around at their new and strange environment until they saw Michael looking over at them.
These creatures weren’t stupid. They knew that they should have died in the heat of the desert, but were somehow saved by this benevolent being.
The five Yellow Mankeys immediately bowed to him, showing their deference to the one that saved them.
“Thank…you…!”
“We beg…for mercy!”
“Indebted…we are…of you!”
They were demi-humans, which meant that they were capable of speaking the human language, albeit a little slower and simpler than five-year-old humans. Still, this made communicating much easier.
“It’s fine. I couldn’t let you guys die in the heat of the sun, could I? By the way, what were you doing in the middle of the desert?” he asked them.
The five Mankeys all kneeled in front of Michael and explained, with a limited vocabulary, about the circumstances that led them to a near-death experience.
From what Michael understood, it seemed that they journeyed out of their village and into the desert in search of food and water.
But unfortunately, the heat of the sun coupled with the lack of water in their bodies, became far too much to bear. They lost their strength and ended up disoriented in the desert.
They wandered around until finally, they succumbed to the conditions.
“We thank…benevolent being…but…we must go…”
“Yes…yes…we must find…water for village…”
Michael walked over to his kitchen island and turned the lever on his sink, allowing the water to flow freely into a wooden cup in his hands.
“If it’s water you want, then you can take it with you,” he said with the most casual voice.
The five Mankeys all had wide eyes as they looked at the precious, life-saving water flowing like rain from that strange metal thing.
“Wa—water…water!”
“Oh!….Oh!…water!”
Tears flowed from the Mankeys eyes. They had searched far and wide through the desert to find water. They would have never thought they would see so much water flowing from a strange metal thing.
“Please…benevolent being…we offer our lives…for water!”
“We will sacrifice…our lives…in exchange for water!”
Michael waved off their seriousness. “Please, there’s no need for that. You can take all the water you want for free. Oh, and I have some fruit and dried meat here with me, would you like some of that too?”