"Big Brother! Big Brother!"
"Haa, is it morning already?" Varian rubbed his eyes, unaccustomed to the weakness imposed on his body.
The sunlight seeped in through the straws of the hut and caused him to close his eyes on reflex.
His back ached due to the hard, cold floor he had to sleep on despite a futon or atleast an attempt of one.
The blanket was rough, prickly and the only thing it did was provide was some warmth in the biting cold.
Varian reluctantly opened his eyes, to see a young girl in animal skins standing in front of him with a runny nose and a big grin.
"Zenny?"
"Um! The morning feast is up! Come on after freshing up! I'll wait outside!" The waved her arms with an excited expression and walked out.
Varian stood up and pressed his aching shoulders.
'Fresh up?'
Without any thoughts, he flicked his fingers to create a mirror by manipulation of matter.
Nothing happened.
'Status'
[All Powers: Sealed
Time elapsed: 5 days.
Time left: 360 days.]
"Haa~"
Varian let out a sigh, forcing himself to accept the current situation.
A few minutes later, he went out of the thatchy hut to meet the little girl.
Zenny squatted under a tree nearby, drawing something on the soil with a small bone. Noticing his arrival, the girl jumped onto his feet and waved her hand.
Humming a song, she guided Varian through the unpaved roads, if they could even be called as such.
Varian's composed expression cracked as he stepped on the rough path on bad footwear made out of wood.
His feet ached with every step and the cold in the air continued to disturb him, despite him wearing three layers of animal skin, almost like a woolen coat, an incomparably luxury compared to the rest.
If his residence was crappy, then the huts on the way were way worse. Some of them looked very unstable, as if they'd collapse at any moment. Others were infested by too many insects. A few were half-collapsed already.
And every house was basically empty except for a bone spear or sword or wooden arrows.
A Futon and blanket woven from animal skin and hair?
Haa! Even half of the village combined wouldn't be able to afford such luxury.
"Greetings, Savior!"
"Morning, Savior!"
"Victory to you, Savior!"
The men and women dressed in animal skins greeted him with an enthusiastic, joyous expression. Their eyes were just short of glowing with all the reverence they showed. This wasn't a normal respect. This was borderline devotion.
Varian nodded lightly to their greetings but even that simple gesture widened their smiles and they joined him on the walk.
North of the village, a large bone pot—made from the remains of a giant dead beast the villagers accidentally discovered centuries ago—was being heated on a large fire.
More than a hundred men, women and children were waiting with a small wooden bowl.
"Savior!"
His arrival caused everyone's faces to brighten and the chief of the village, an old man with a hunched back called him with a kind smile.
"Here!"
He too out a pristine bow-shaped bowl made from half-meter long ivory bones.
Then, he generously poured him the soup from the pot with a ladle.
"…"
With seven servings, he filled the rather giant bowl, which was at least five times larger in capacity than the bowls everyone else carried.
And it's mostly chunks of meat compared to the soup. Rather than calling it a soup with meat, it'd be appropriate to term it as meat with some soup.
"Please recover soon!"
The chief smiled and gestured for the crowd to step forward.
The strongest men of the village, the hunters who hunted down this beast, were given a medium piece of meat along with two scoops of soup.
The young boys who were training under the men to be hunters were given a scoop of soup with one small piece of meat.
The men doing important jobs of the village, like the woodworker who made the bowls or the lumberjack who cut down the logs necessary for the walls of the houses.
They were served a single scoop without any meat.
Next were the women who were given half of the soup, barring the few pregnant women who were given three-fourths.
Finally, the young girls were given a quarter of the scoop.
Zenny licked the last traces of her bowl and rubbed her tummy. Like most young girls and boys, her ribs were visible due to how badly she was fed.
Varian silently finished his share of meal.
He tried to help them on the first day. But forget the village chief who made a face as if it was blasphemy and the villagers who started crying, even the children fell to their knees and banged their heads, as if taking a bit of soup from him was a grave crime.
After the meal, the villagers circled around him, dancing and singing of an ancient prophecy of their village.
"Savior! Our Savior that God has sent!"
"He will take us out of the wilderness!"
"To a place where wolves won't eat our children."
"And lions won't kill our hunters."
"A place where there is enough soup for everyone!"
"A piece of meat too!"
"Without disease!"
"Without death of infants!"
"A world where our houses are warm."
"There is no death."
"And no pain."
"The sun won't dry us anymore."
"The rain won't wet us any longer."
"We all wait and pray."
"For the."
"Perfect Paradise!"
The song ended on a high note.
And the villagers quickly went to their jobs. The men who could hunt went hunting, the women who had to take care of the domesticated hens went to the south. The children were either going hunting or learning knowledge from craftsmen or helping their mothers.
Varian sat alone, waving a goodbye to Zenny who left last with a cheerful expression.
"Bye bye! See you at dinner!"
Of course, there was no lunch.They couldn't afford to have one more meal. Not Varian though. He was given sumptous meals three times a day.
In the past five days, a child had already starved to death.
But no one seemed to bat an eyelid.
This was Aridam's test.
A village where he'd have to life for an entire year without any power and be treated as the savior of these people.
And then...kill them all.