The saying was actually: where there is smoke, there is fire, and where there is fire, there is civilization—but Nathan wasn't so sure about civilization. He just needed to make contact with other humans.

The smoke was coming from within the forest, which meant if he wanted to find out what was causing it, he'd have to abandon his exploration for a later date—something Nathan had no qualms doing.

He had a dead bird in one hand and a sword in the other. Now more than ever, he needed fire. He couldn't make one from scratch as there were no matches or lighter on him. He'd watched a couple of survival videos purely by accident, but all they said about fire was to use the sun and a magnifying glass to start one.

Of course, there was another way which involved rubbing two stones together, but he wasn't that desperate—yet. Nathan began his walk into the forest, noticing a few animals here and there. Nothing major, just rabbits, hares, and frogs—those kinds of things.

They all looked a little different, and as much as Nathan was curious, he wanted to avoid another pelican situation, so he avoided them like the plague. Glancing up as he walked, trying to keep the haze of smoke in his line of sight.

He twisted and turned as he walked, multiple trees seeming to block his advancement, but he just skirted around them, making sure to keep course. His eyes began to water the closer he got to the source of the smoke.

The first thing that should've tipped Nathan off as he got closer to the source was the noises. They weren't human, but Nathan was too far out and way too hungry to care about details like that.

Some fire to roast this bad boy.

He salivated at the thought. Hopefully, it wouldn't be long now before he could tear into good food—boy, was he famished. He was so lost in thought that he didn't register when he stepped into a clearing.

What he did register, though, was getting caught in a trap.

Snap.

"Oofff," Nathan breathed, his feet seemingly falling through the ground he thought was solid.

A crude albeit effective trap had been used to capture him: the traditional deep hole with sticks for support at the top and leaves to hide the trap. Nathan almost cursed himself. The snap of the dry twigs had been loud enough to probably inform whoever had placed them that something had been caught, unless whoever or whatever had placed them was as absent-minded as him.

Note to self: next time pay attention when scouting.

He couldn't blame his sloppiness on his hunger—yeah, he was hungry, but still. Nathan contemplated his options. The hole wasn't wide, just deep. His sword and the bird had fallen into the pit with him, so at least that gave him two options.

He could, in theory, wedge himself between the walls, both of his legs on one side and his hands on the other side, and make his way out of the hole. The other, less stressful option was that he could wait to find out what placed the trap.

Yeah, I'll sort myself out.

The second was definitely not the way to go, considering the fact that the pit could've been made by anything. Sure, it was a human-like 'invention,' but it wasn't something that Nathan felt he'd be comfortable with—staying in the pit and waiting for whoever or whatever would be at the other side.

No thanks.

The question that remained was how exactly was he going to carry his sword and the bird with him out of the pit. All four of his limbs would be busy.

After a few moments of contemplating the issue, he decided that he'd leave the bird in the hole while he put the hilt of his sword in his mouth as he made his way out.

Easy peasy.

The climb was anything but—Nathan persevered. It was a plan that worked quickly and efficiently, with him getting out of the pit within two to four minutes. He rolled across the open dirt, careful not to stab himself, removed the sword from his mouth, and just lay there breathing heavily.

Nathan had barely caught his breath when he began hearing footsteps heading towards his direction. He scrambled up quickly, taking his sword with him as he sought a place to hide and still have a good view of the pit.

Nathan crouched behind a tree he'd chosen as a hiding spot, making sure to discreetly keep an eye on whatever or whoever was approaching. He crossed his fingers, hoping it'd be human.

It wasn't. Nathan's vision was filled with creatures with familiar features—imps. There were five imps in total, all the same size as the former ones. One of them let out a screech while pointing towards the pit.

Nathan focused on the screeching imp, hoping that he'd finally gotten to see a Master Imp.

A blue screen showed its details:

Imp (Lesser Demon)

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Level 4

Nathan almost let out a disappointed sigh but held himself. He scanned the other four: three were level three imps, and the last one was a level two imp.

Which meant the level four imp was their leader. His guess got confirmed when the imp screeched again before pointing at the level two imp and pointing at the pit.

The level two imp jumped into the pit, probably as tired of the higher level imp's screeches as Nathan was. The imp made its way out less than a minute later with Nathan's bird in tow. The leader poked and prodded the dead bird with a clawed finger as though it expected a bird with no neck and half of its left wing missing to come back to life.

The leader grabbed the dead bird before letting out a couple more screeches. Nathan didn't understand imp screeches, but watching the other imps get to work was all he needed to know that the leader had ordered them to redo the illusion of solid ground.

Nathan watched as the imps gathered twigs and leaves, tensing whenever one of the imps looked or walked towards his hiding spot. He watched them begin placing the twigs atop one another before covering them with leaves. If Nathan hadn't watched it happen, he wouldn't have been able to tell that there was a pit there.

Smart.

The darned things were smart, or at least their leader was. He'd assumed that they were brainless creatures, but it seemed like they had enough sense to lay traps.

As soon as the other imps were done with the pit, the level four imp let out a short screech before turning its back and heading the way they came, the others following in tow.

If Nathan was going to attack, it had to be now. He believed he could take out two before the rest realized what was going on, and even then, he highly doubted that they'd be a match for him. He'd really hate to lose that bird.

Nathan got ready to attack but paused before he could burst out of his location. What if these imps could lead him to the source of fire? No doubt the smoke was coming from their camp, and if it was just these five in the camp, he could take them out—element of surprise or no element of surprise.

With a plan in mind, Nathan began creeping up on the imps, following them at a distance. He had to skirt around the area where he believed the pit was; they'd done such a good job he had a hard time pinpointing the exact place it was.

Higher perception should solve that.

Nathan didn't increase the stat though—it wasn't that important at the moment. He continued to tail the imps, occasionally looking up at the sky to confirm if he was right about his suspicion. He was. The imps seemed to be headed in the direction of the smoke, and Nathan couldn't help but smile at his on-the-spot plan.

Overcome and adapt.

Words one of the old drug dealers had told him when he'd asked what to do if a drop was a setup.

"Overcome and adapt."

A crucial skill —one that Nathan had kept on having to use in his daily life even up till today. He stared straight ahead; the imps seemed to be a quiet bunch. No screeches had passed between the group since leaving the location of the pit. The surrounding area was worn out like it was a well-used path. Nathan had few spots to hide but he made do with what he did have—trees. He used the trees as cover, going from tree to tree as he continued following the imps.

The place had been cleared of the unnatural grass that covered the other places he'd seen since he appeared in this damned place. Who would've thought that imps were one to take environmental sanitation that seriously?

Pfft.

Nathan had grown tired of trailing the imps and was already considering killing them and going straight to the camp himself, as that would be quicker than staying behind these slowpokes all day. Nathan was ready to dash when he saw it.

Civilization—just not the one he'd been hoping to see. Lots and lots of imps dominated a large clearing. The huge trees that he associated with the forest had been cut down; terrible-looking mud houses had been constructed using the wood from the trees as support.

That can't be all the logs.

Nathan glanced around the open space dominated by imps, and he saw a couple of walls being constructed. The reason he hadn't seen it before was probably because the imps had followed the back road into the camp. While chopped logs were being used to build lots and lots of walls, three sides looked quarter-way done while the side he was approaching from had no wall being built. Instead, they had guards stationed around the area.

Nathan whistled. The imps gathered there would probably exceed thirty in number, and he had no doubt that a couple of them would still be inside the shelters.

The group of imps seemed to have finally made it to the guards stationed at the wall-less section. A couple of screeches were exchanged, with the leader of the group he'd followed raising the dead bird to a guard imp who collected it.

The group turned back and started heading towards Nathan's direction. A myriad of possibilities flashed throughout Nathan's mind on what would happen to him if he was caught at the outskirts of the camp.

He'd nearly been overrun by eleven level one imps; how exactly would he go toe-to-toe with the thirty-plus imps in the camp? This seemed like a job suited for a rogue or a ranger—heck, a mage would have a field day with this. All of those archetypes could attack from afar. The rogue might have to be up close, but it seemed like even that wouldn't stop someone with that archetype from excelling in this scenario.

The imps he'd followed had started getting closer, and Nathan hoped for all he was worth that he didn't get caught.

That would be bad.

Very bad. He stood sideways, trying to make himself as small as possible. The tree looked large enough to cover his frame; he just hoped that he wouldn't suffer any mishaps.

The imps reached his position. Nathan held his blade at the ready; at any moment, he'd be ready to defend himself from any attack. He stayed still and quiet, waiting as they passed his position.

Just as he was ready to let out a sigh of relief, the lead imp stopped and sniffed the air. Nathan almost groaned.

Don't tell me these things have dog noses.

He didn't get to find out as the guard imps let out what seemed like an impatient screech, and the lead imp's wings seemed to sag as he continued his walk alongside his squad.

Hierarchy was a bitch.

Soon they were long gone, and Nathan's gaze returned back to the imp camp.

Now, how am I going to deal with th—

Imp Camp discovered.

New quest.

Eradicate the Mayhem of Imps.

Active Quests:

1. Slay 35 imps (12/35)

2. Slay 5 Master Imps (0/5)

3. Conquer a dungeon (0/1)

4. Eradicate the Mayhem of Imps. (0/1)

Special Quests: N/A

Locked till level 50.

You've got to be shitting me!