Cole walked toward the light on the horizon, the same direction Sun Tie had taken earlier. The archer moved cautiously, carefully surveying his surroundings. He doubted anything could approach him without being heard, but in Cole's view, one could never be too careful.
The scent from the piece of cloth guided him. It was an odd sensation to follow someone's perfume, even stranger to see the smell in the air. Cole's [Tracking] skill allowed him to visualize the scents of whatever—or whomever—he needed to find. All he needed was a sample and the will to locate it. The skill didn't consume any mana, which he considered a plus.
As Cole walked, a small yellow light formed before his eyes, guiding him toward the destination. Occasionally, the light would disappear from his view; each time it did, he'd smell the cloth again to get back on track.
The kid is following the same trail as I am and probably has no idea. How did he receive the system news?
As the clock indicated 72 hours remaining, Cole received a message that jolted him awake, still in the camp.
Congratulations on surviving the first 48 hours in the new world. Healing is now less effective. Exercise caution—you may die if you are not careful. Continue your journey wisely.
The murmurs within the camp made Cole uneasy. Being around all those young people was starting to get to him. He wanted to stay close and offer help, but he knew they would come to rely on him, and that was risky. It was equally dangerous for Sun Tie to depend on him.
Ever since he woke up in the jungle, he had felt less pain, and with each level gained, he felt increasingly better about himself. It was almost as if he were thirty years old again. He'd feel fantastic if it weren't for the apocalyptic setting. However, none of these newfound physical improvements could mend what he felt deep inside his heart, and therein lay the danger of being around him.
Cole paused in his trek, crouching to the ground to take a sip of water from a small bottle he had filled at the camp.
[Water Bottle]
The simple message appeared before his eyes whenever he focused intently on his objective—an incredible feature that this new system had bestowed upon him. The archer took one final sip of water and surveyed his surroundings.
He could see human footprints leading forward, likely Sun Tie's, along with tracks from various animals that had traversed these paths in the last two days. Some marks were unsettling, but most were ordinary: wolves, foxes, rabbits, and other small creatures. One particular bear print made Cole shudder; he had no desire to encounter a bear, that much was certain.
Cole hoped to avoid running into Sun Tie in the woods. The former cop was undoubtedly displeased with how the young man had treated him, but Sun Tie was just a kid at the end of the day. You are just like him, Sun Tie…
The older man shook his head, dispelling these thoughts. Focus, Cole. Feeling secure, he resumed his walk, intent on covering as much ground as possible while the sun still shone. If what the woman had told him was true, the person he was tracking was likely either asleep or taking shelter.
His enemies preferred the night, as far as he knew. Weighing these thoughts, he opted not to use [Eagle's Eye]. The skill had too long of a cooldown to use whenever he felt uncertain. All he needed to do was keep moving; he'd find his target soon enough and head back to camp. After that, he could figure out his next move.
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Are you going to pull through, kid? I hope so. Once more, his mind veered toward Sun Tie's mission. Cole wasn't sure if he bought the young man's claim of winning his duel, but he didn’t doubt Sun Tie would keep trying to reclaim his peculiar abilities.
"Cultivation," Cole murmured under his breath, a smile borning at his lips as he picked up his pace and continued.
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[2 days, 20 hours, and 12 minutes.]
Cole was growing weary of the walk, his thoughts bringing nothing but doubts to his head. He considered preparing the jaguar leg he'd acquired for a meal but ultimately decided against it. He didn't want to light a fire in these woods, and deep down, he knew his sense of hunger was more a product of habit—his body adapted to receiving food every three or four hours.
His legs felt sore, much more so than before, likely due to the system's reduced healing effects starting to manifest. Deciding it was time for a break, he sat on a rock and took another sip of water. Scanning the ground for tracks, he saw multiple human footprints nearby.
The way the marks displayed themselves led him to believe there had been some kind of struggle or dance on the muddy ground—numerous footprints clustered together, creating an odd picture on the forest floor.
A surge of adrenaline quickened his heartbeat. Cole cast another cautious glance around his surroundings, half-expecting someone to leap out at him. His only company remained the ambient sounds of distant beasts, birds, and insects.
After a few minutes, Cole finally rose to his feet, his bow drawn and ready to fire at the slightest provocation, his knife secure on his belt. He analyzed the footprints. They were big, suggesting perhaps three men had been fighting here. Another set of older, smaller prints led in a different direction, likely belonging to a woman.
So there were three people, and then a woman left. Did another person join in afterward and start a fight? Could it have been Sun Tie? Or were there four of them, and they just clashed over some petty issue? People do stuff like that all the time. Heck, I was involved in something similar not too long ago. Maybe it's time to use [Eagle’s Eyes] and get some clarity.
With that thought, Cole activated [Eagle's Eyes]. Instantly, his vision expanded dramatically, making him feel like he could see for a mile in any direction. He scanned his surroundings and caught sight of various wildlife: a rabbit darting away, a pack of wolves taking a deer down to his left, and birds lifting off from the tree canopies. Despite the abundant animal activity, there was no sign of a single human being.
Whoever had fought here was long gone. Cole resumed his trek, following the direction indicated by the scent. Cole saw signs of extinguished fire all over the place, but nothing too big to be a proper fire in the woods. Nearby, he noticed a pair of footprints; the other two sets veered off in different directions.
"No one died, after all... but they took different paths. Strange," Cole muttered under his breath. Just then, he heard the rustling of leaves and branches overhead. As he looked up, he saw a hooded figure descending on him with a glinting dagger.
Cole did his best to dodge the attack, but despite his agility and the use of [Swift Strike], he couldn't entirely avoid the blade. The dagger slashed his right arm near the hand, eliciting a grunt of pain from him. He felt his body begin to heal, but the process was slower than before.
The attacker landed awkwardly on the ground, momentarily off-balance and within Cole's reach. Seizing the opportunity, Cole kicked the figure with all his might, sending it tumbling across the forest floor.
The enemy recovered more quickly this time, rolling into a standing position. Cole was primed and ready, his bow fully drawn. Though his right hand throbbed with pain as he pulled back the arrow, his grip was firm enough to hit the heart of the person in front of him if necessary.
"Stop this nonsense," he shouted, taking cautious steps backward to maximize the healing effect of every passing second. "If you lower your weapons, we can talk and sort this out.”
"The same way you sorted things out with my boys? Where are they?" came a feminine voice from behind the hood. Whoever this woman was, she was seething with anger.
"I have no idea what you're talking about. I was minding my own business."
"That's not how it looked."
"I was only investigating—"
"Investigating what? Are you some kind of pig? Should've guessed," she spat, revealing herself to be a mature woman, probably in her forties, with some missing teeth and a tired expression. To Cole's trained eyes, she looked like a junkie.
"I'm just looking for someone," Cole asserted.
"You found her, pig," the woman retorted. Her dagger flew from her hand faster than Cole could release his arrow. She was already running in his direction when he noticed the knife deep into his neck.