"Ah-h-h... Breeze" Asan muttered to himself as he walked down the road behind the group.
The strike team had divided the camp into specific areas of responsibility. Each member periodically had to move ahead of the main group by 50 meters to detect potential threats early on. At the moment, this was being done by Alice, who was third in line, followed by Asan. He found peace in such a march. Many people chatted about various topics. He heard conversations about games, life, food, everything and anything.
Some men started chatting with the women, asking if they needed help carrying their things or if they needed a rest. Everyone was carrying some kind of load. The men were mainly tasked with carrying water containers that the strike team had found in the morning, or sacks of grains.
Women, for the most part, were carrying everything else, whether it was utensils, backpacks, empty sacks, blankets, clothing, and so on.
Asan gave the compass he had found to the Geographer, who was greatly pleased, because thanks to this thing they would now definitely not get lost.
But throughout this entire journey, Asan found himself at peace. The wind was weak, so he didn't feel any cold. His face was washed by the dark red rays of the blood-red sky, and the stench had disappeared somewhere. They had moved away from Janschwalde by about two kilometers. On the left side, there was still burned forest, but on the right, only fields could be seen. In the distance on them were Ronnie, who paid little attention to the traveling group.
"Hey, loafer, your turn!" Asan heard from ahead.
Looking at the source of the sound, he saw Alice, who was walking over with a satisfied grin to take his place. Sure enough. Asan quickened his pace and passed the girl.
Passing by people, he faintly heard how many were still worrying about the upcoming expedition. There were also those who tried to calm such people, but Asan knew that this was unlikely to work.
You'll only be calm when you're dead. Especially in today's reality, when the world has spiraled into the most hellish mess. Overtaking a group of people, he started walking ahead, about 50 meters in front of the main group. Now he wasn't very comfortable. He could literally feel that his back was being consumed by many stares. He kept turning around and meeting these people with his gaze. They somehow immediately looked away when he looked at them.
Finally getting used to this feeling, the young man continued walking. Ahead, there was nothing but a long road. Except that the ground on the right side began to rise upward, starting to hide the road behind an odd little hill, like a wave.
The worst thing about such trips is boredom. Asan felt bored but was grateful for it. Who knows what people in the cities are feeling right now, they certainly aren't bored there, but would Asan swap places with them? Not on your life.
When you walk along an empty road, occasionally encountering burned-out cars, you can't help but invent stories in your head to avoid dying of boredom. Asan imagined himself in that very car. He's driving home from work to his beloved wife and two children, or how do they describe a happy family?
So. As he drove, his gaze fell on the sky, which suddenly collapsed on him. A huge hurricane, like death, was bearing down on him, wanting to engulf him in its swirling arms to tear apart the body of this unfortunate boy. And then the windshield is pierced by a transparent thread and a sign appears before his face.
"Okay, this isn't helping."
The boredom didn't decrease from this. The tablet… Right, he could explore the other functions of the system while he was walking. He still had to study what there was about martial arts and craftsmanship. Thinking about martial arts, a transparent tablet appeared before him, for some reason the crimson rays of light couldn't penetrate through it.
[Martial Arts (not enough skill points to view)].
"Ah, looks like I need a point to take a look" Asan grumbled unhappily upon seeing the red chain on the tablet that prohibited viewing what could be upgraded in the future.
But this also gave him some knowledge. For example, that it's better to study all branches before upgrading. This didn't work with magic, but he knew nothing about the rest. He was also interested in the craftsmanship branch. It would be cool if he could create huge machines or something like that.
Although being a blacksmith wasn't bad, he always wanted to create something like his own collection. After opening a branch of the craft, the situation didn't change much; everything was still closed there.
So he walked ahead of the entire group, thinking about various things. Gradually, houses began to appear ahead. They were solitary. The assault team quickly reacted and explored the houses, looking for something interesting. Thus Asan found himself some leather gloves that proudly fit on his hands.
After a couple of hours of walking, many were tired. The group moved very slowly, hopefully covering five to six kilometers in five to six hours. The problem was the large amount of gear, as well as… the elders and a woman with a child. She often asked them to stop because her child was hungry.
Well, as they say, no trip is perfect. In the end, they made their first stop.
They decided to set up camp around the fields since it had become unsafe to travel on the road. Crane spotted some creatures ahead of the group on the highway, crossing through the forest. That's why they chose the fields. The creatures would be visible from a distance there, and if one were to run out of the woods… It wouldn't end well.
Asan understood that if they encountered even a slightly stressful situation, the entire camp and trip would fall apart. Most of those in the camp were prone to panic, according to their conversations.
Sitting down on dry ground, the boy took a bottle of water out of his backpack and began to drink the precious liquid. He wasn't particularly hungry, but thirst was tormenting him. After taking three small sips to conserve water, the boy pulled his lips away from the bottle.
"Hey Asan, how are you?" Paul approached him to check on his friend's condition.
"I'm fine, I guess… Why do you ask?" Asan responded with surprise, also asking a question.
Paul uncomfortably scratched his head and clenched his jaw a couple of times.
"I see how enduring you are. In the end, everyone in the strike team is more or less ready to go on, but the others..."
Asan understood Paul's hint. After looking around the camp, he saw tired faces. They were not prepared to walk for so long. To be honest, even Asan was slightly tired. His legs throbbed with pain, but he didn't feel too much discomfort. It was a matter of habit; he was sure that over time, everyone would find it easier to move.
"In time, they will also become stronger. Eventually, many will have to discover the system themselves, otherwise they simply won't survive" Asan thought aloud.
Paul thoughtfully looked at the boy without saying anything. Asan didn't know if Paul agreed or had a different opinion, but at least he was honest. People started unpacking their things and taking out food.
The old man who had been making porridge started preparing food for the entire camp again. Since there were no longer any nearby woods, the wind grew stronger. It began to carry the smell of food around, and everyone in the camp started drooling.
This time, everyone will be eating buckwheat, and probably for dinner too. The first portion went to the strike team.
"Pure advantages, I tell you" Asan said, taking a wooden plate with a fork in his hand. He noticed a couple of glances from the people surrounding him but didn't pay them any mind.
He was sure that he would eventually get used to such things. Sitting down on the ground, the young man began to eat. The buckwheat wasn't particularly delicious, but it was quite edible. He would have given it a 6 out of 10 if he were a "taster" like Jacob.
Jacob…
"Tsk… Lost my appetite."
But still, he had to finish eating. Glancing at the group, he continued to assess the condition of the people, and it was interesting to observe them as well.
The women were dressed in light clothing, some of them were actually freezing. The men, on the other hand, wore sweaters or vests. Asan couldn't exactly remember what time of year it was before the lights went out. Unlike him, Laszlo approached people and introduced himself, wanting to get to know the camp from the inside.
Overall, the atmosphere was quite good, the general mood of the camp was above average.
"Whatcha sitting here alone for?" came a familiar female voice from behind.
"Just trying to stay away from nosy crows sticking their beaks where they don't belong" replied Asan, looking at Alice who was standing behind him.
"You watch yourself, those crows can give you a nasty peck if you talk like that. Anyway, I'm here on business. We've got a dangerous path ahead through the power station. Geographer said to warn everyone in the strike team about it" said the girl, folding her arms across her chest.
"Ah, got it, anything else?" Asan responded monotonously. She still didn't like his personality very much.
"No, nothing. Enjoy your solitude here. Maybe when you get tired of being alone, you'll start socializing" the girl snorted and left Asan, leaving him alone.
He still couldn't figure out what he had done to upset her so much. Better if she went to Laszlo instead of him. It was easier for Asan to stay behind and interact less with the others. He wasn't much of a talker, and certainly not someone who liked to play friend with every passerby like Laszlo.
Taking a deep sigh, the guy took out a bottle of water and remembered something. Immediately, a sign appeared before him.
[Health points 90/105]
"Hmm? Why isn't it... complete?" the boy thought in surprise, and then, putting two and two together, he understood everything.
His hands. His hands were still injured.
The claw holes of the creature were quite large, and an unpleasant tingling sensation spreading throughout his entire arm followed him all the way. Perhaps only when the wound fully healed would his Health points return to maximum.
Soon, the group began to regroup. From the looks on people's faces, it was clear that they had hardly rested at all, but no one could rest constantly.
Ahead, the entire group awaited an electric station, the path through which could be dangerous.