Chapter 38: Another Cave
The wind howled through the skeletal trees, offering the promise of a harsh winter to come. It was already cold enough at night for ice to form.
Two days had passed since their first encounter with the thorn birds, and now the entire party stood at the edge of the forest, gazing toward the distant overhang where shadows flickered against the snow-dusted stone.
Winter was coming. The air had turned brittle, each breath frosting in front of their faces. Billy flexed his hands, his strengthened body, now G3, resisting the cold better than before, but even so, the promise of deeper frost gnawed at him. Their camp had served them well enough, but it was little more than a cluster of tents and makeshift barriers. If the temperature dropped further, they’d need walls. A fire that wouldn’t die in the wind. Maybe even a cave.
They’d spent the last two days preparing and training.
Billy had worked on his cultivation with their help of Mia, his Sapia. He was finally making progress with the techniques. However, he wouldn't be able to fully understand them until he used them in battle.
He had also etched warding sigils around their camp—crude but effective, pulsing faintly with void mana to deter beasts and worse. And he was not the only one who had prepared. The others were also making progress with their training and professions. Lorna and Yuki had stitched together reinforced jackets and trousers lined with strips of metal. Su Li’s new bow rested across her back, its string taut, arrows fletched with the same crimson plumage that had nearly skewered them days prior. Trevor’s potions clinked in his pack—weak healing draughts, a rudimentary poison, all brewed from scavenged herbs and his basic kit.
"Mia," he said, voice low. "What can you tell me about this area?"
The orb pulsed, as if amused by his belated curiosity. "Hello, Billy. This region is designated GX5. Your camp is in GX3. You spawned in FX4, which should not have happened. You were supposed to be in FX5. Records indicate another group was assigned here, though I believe you killed them all."
A beat of silence. The wind whistled through the rocks.
"And the cave?" Billy pressed.
"That is sector GY5."
"Anything useful there?"
"Restricted data." A pause. "I am only allowed to tell you that areas containing numerical designations 1 or 7 typically include residential structures."
You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.
"A city?"
"Potentially. Or a village. Or ruins. The Admins are still constructing urban zones compatible with your species’… preferences."
"Of course they are," Billy muttered. "And the other races?”
"Restricted."
"Fantastic." He exhaled, watching his breath curl away. "So we’re going to be fighting over half-built towns while monsters pick us off."
Mia didn’t answer. She didn’t need to.
###
The rocks grew steeper as they climbed, the ground treacherous with patches of black ice. A few days ago, this would’ve been a death trap. Now, with their enhanced stats, they moved with cautious precision.
"Plan?" Lorna asked, her boots crunching over frost-rimed stone.
Billy scanned the cliffs ahead. The overhang loomed like a jagged mouth, darkness pooling beneath it. "We investigate. But you and Yuki hang back—cover us from here. Yuki’s our best shot, and you’re the best fighter if something does happen."
Lorna’s jaw tightened. "If there’s trouble inside, you’ll need me close."
"We’ll go slow. I will signal if we need you."
She didn’t look convinced, but she nodded, unslinging her trident.
Yuki took the bow and arrows from a reluctant Su Li.
The last stretch was the worst. The wind screamed against the cliffs, numbing the extremities. His constitution and strength the only thing keeping him moving forward. Trevor muttered a steady stream of curses behind him. Su Li moved like a shadow; her chain blades coiled tight, ready to lash out.
Then the cave mouth opened before them. It wasn’t just an overhang. The shadows deepened into a yawning passage, the air inside unnaturally still. Fetid and warm – a distinct contrast to the outside. The ground near the entrance carried traces of bones and feathers. The ground was unnaturally even, as if someone had swept the area.
And then Billy saw it, a smudged boot print.
Possibly human.
Someone had been here.
Recently.
###
Billy told Trevor and Su Li to wait at the entrance. He lit one of their crude torches and entered the cave, his warhammer in his other hand. The light reflected dimly off rough-cut walls. He jumped at shadows but kept moving forward. Noises echoed eerily in the caves.
His torch started to splutter as a warm wind blew from his right.
A faint click echoed from deeper in the cave.
Billy froze.
The sound came again. Not the skittering of claws or the drip of water.
He exhaled slowly, forcing his pulse to steady. The torch flickered again, and for a heartbeat, the darkness surged closer.
"Stop right there."
The words were rough, the voice harsh. A figure stepped into the edge of the torchlight—tall, gaunt, wrapped in layered hides stitched with thorn bird feathers. A jagged spear glinted.
Billy didn’t lower his hammer. "Who are you?"
The stranger’s lips peeled back in a grin. "Better question: what are you?"
“I’m Billy,” he said loudly. “Human, of course. English, to be more precise, if you must know.”
Behind him, the cave exhaled. Whispers, the scrape of steel. Shadows resolved into shapes: two more figures. They were smaller, slighter, armed with knives, their eyes reflecting the torchlight like a predator’s.
Billy started to slowly backstep. He hoped the others could hear this conversation
“Well, Billy, welcome to our hell.”
The man came closer. Billy could now see the man’s face, mottled with red and purple streaks. The eyes were black – pitched black.
