Smoke

Breathing heavily, Lucius managed to get off the bear, leaving the sword still lodged in its back. He was too tired to pull it out at the moment. "Talon, check the surrounding area, be careful," he instructed, sitting down next to the bear and leaning his back against it for support.

"It's pretty big, and it has nice fur," Lily commented, running her hand along the bear's fur.

"Yeah, it will make a nice carpet," Kevin joked, also tired as he sat down.

Lucius knew they needed to gather wood and make a campfire for the night. He pointed towards a nearby cave in the distance. "That cave should be the safest place now. With that bear in it, probably nothing else will come near," he suggested.

"Sounds like a plan," Kevin nodded in agreement.

"Lily, help Kevin make a campfire, and take a torch to check the cave. If it's safe, we'll stay there tonight," Lucius instructed, taking out the map to study their location. According to the map, they should have crossed a river and then come across a pointy rock and some huts.

As he pondered, Talon approached them and mentioned, "Over there is a big rock, and it's pointy. Its height is taller than the forest."

Listening to Talon and looking at the map, Lucius realized they were getting closer to the huts. Struggling to stand up, he made his way to where the campfire was being prepared and sat down.

The light was fading quickly, and darkness was almost upon them. With a bear at level 5 in the vicinity, Lucius knew it would be risky to stay outside once it was fully dark. Thankfully, Kevin and Lily returned from their exploration of the cave, and Kevin confirmed, "Clear."

"Let's go," Talon helped Lucius to stand, and together, they all headed towards the cave to seek refuge for the night.

The opening of the cave was about four meters tall, large enough to allow the massive bear to move in and out comfortably. The exterior of the cave was composed of rough, weathered rocks, giving it a natural camouflage that blended seamlessly with the surrounding environment.

As one ventured further inside, the cave's interior gradually expanded, revealing a spacious chamber. The walls were damp and coated with layers of moss and lichen, evidence of the cave's long existence. The air inside was cool and musty, carrying the earthy scent of the forest.

In the chamber, Kevin held some kind of fruit, looking at it with interest. "Look at this, Lucius," he said, throwing the fruit towards him.

Talon caught it and examined it, puzzled by the design of the fruit. "This is not a book," he remarked before passing it to Lucius.

As Lucius held the fruit, a system prompt appeared, revealing it to be a skill called "Skinclad." Lucius continued to inspect it before saying, "The system did mention that skills could be found in various places and shapes." He then tossed the fruit back to Kevin.

''Did you find anything else?'' Lucius asked, hoping for a few more fruits.

''Sadly no, only this was worth it in that pile of items. It seems the bear had two of these, and it consumed one,'' Kevin replied, not sure.

"You should use this, it's useless for Talon. I got one, and I don't think Lily wants a 'hardened body'," Lucius suggested. Lily nodded in agreement with a smile.

Kevin understood the need to increase his own strength, so he consumed the fruit, and it vanished.

"Try activating the skill," Lucius instructed, and everyone watched Kevin with anticipation.

Kevin closed his eyes, trying to activate the skill. For a few seconds, everything seemed fine, with the skin on his body growing stronger as the power surged through him. He could feel the resilience, and to his astonishment, the outside layer of his skin took on a soft, grey metallic colour.

"I guess you also can't use it freely because of the requirement to be level 5," Lucius muttered, observing Kevin lying on the floor.

''Move the campfire inside the cave so we don't give away our location. Talon, take the first night shift; I will take the second, and Kevin, the third,'' Lucius instructed, summoning some pieces of cloth to use as makeshift bedding before closing his eyes to get some sleep.

Kevin followed suit, resting his head against the cave wall, while Lily made do with some pieces of clothes she had carried as bedding. Talon moved the campfire inside the cave and then positioned himself near the entrance, keeping watch for a few hours without anything eventful happening until it was Lucius's turn to take over the watch.

Walking silently to Lucius, Talon lightly woke him up and helped him sit at the cave entrance. ''You will be alright?'' Talon asked before returning to sleep.

''Yeah go rest I have slept enough I just need time to heal now'' Nodding to him Lucius closed his eyes in a meditation stance with the ears wide open relaxing and keeping an eye on the cave door every now and then until it was Kevin's time.

Thanking Kevin for helping him back to the resting place, Lucius slept until morning, knowing that today they would head towards the pointy rock and, hopefully, find out what awaited them at the hut. However, he already had a feeling about what they might discover...

The next morning, they woke up feeling the tiredness in them vanish. They had a good sleep, and nothing eventful happened during the night. After making breakfast with some fruits and boar meat, it almost seemed like eggs and bacon, they felt nourished and ready for the day ahead. The food was a bit heavy for the morning, but considering the calories they would burn, it was more suitable.

They checked their weapons for any damage and then went outside the cave to the bear's body. Talon had pulled it near the cave the previous night when he brought in the campfire. Now, it was time to skin the bear and save the fur, as it might come in handy. Using the sword, Lucius skillfully skinned the bear, also saving some of the bones and meat for later use.

Afterwards, they went to the river to clean the blood off their weapons and freshen up. They had a drink from the river and followed Talon towards the pointy rock he had seen earlier. Soon, they were able to see it from the forest – a rock-like mountain hill that was without a doubt the landmark on the map.

As they got closer to the pointy rock, they started to tense up, expecting to encounter goblins. To their surprise, nothing happened. When they reached the hill, they looked around, trying to spot any signs of activity. It was then that Lily's voice was heard.

''Over there,'' she pointed in the distance at a cloud that looked like smoke. Upon focusing, they realized it could be coming from the 'huts' marked on the map.

''Humans?'' Kevin looked at Lucius, who had the map out.

Shaking his head, Lucius replied, ''No, it should be the 'huts' on this map here,'' pointing to the corresponding area.

''We should check it out,'' Lucius voiced his opinion.

''I second it,'' Lily lifted her hand in agreement.

''I don't think it's a good idea,'' Talon expressed his concerns.

Lucius nodded, understanding that it indeed might not be a good idea to rush into the unknown. He then turned to look at Kevin, who was considering both perspectives.

''We should check it out, Talon. Even if it's goblins, we don't have to engage. We need to start getting answers about this place,'' Kevin explained to Talon.

''Then let's go,'' Lucius took the lead, and the others followed, ready to learn what was happening in this mysterious land.