Frank woke up. The others were still sleeping. He let them. They deserved some rest. He got ready, and made himself a meal. The last of the ration packs he'd brought along. He knew the group could make it back in a day now. All of them had improved their physical stats to the point where they could keep a steady march going for quite a while. The several hours of training would help them more than having a meal on the way back would. There would still be food in town.

He took the time before his three companions woke up to consider what he would do when he got back. Resupply, first. Track down some bicycles. There hadn't been a bike shop in such a small town, but perhaps there were some individuals who'd had a solid road or mountain bike. They were the single best method of travel while you could still safely use the roads, provided you had one that could handle your strength. Eventually their usefulness had declined, as the roads decayed and were taken over, and the bikes themselves rusted with age and exposure. Roads in the desert lasted for years, but without maintenance, the mixture of high rainfall and significant seasonal swings in temperature was destructive to the ones here.

If he could, he'd find a bike trailer. Not exactly common. For a couple years when he'd first been surviving, they'd been worth a high quality piece of equipment all on their own. Thankfully he'd thought about it before he left. Walking had been the only viable form of transport for years, so it'd slipped his mind. With a bike, he could make it to Seattle in two days.

That realization made him feel a lot better. He'd still stop if the system had placed anything along the way, but it'd be a much easier journey.

Maria woke up first, among the three. She did not look at all happy. Frank had kept the potion he'd found a secret, to avoid pulling the rug from under her again, but now that they were leaving, he had no reason to hide it, unless he planned to make a liar of himself. He looked through his pack, finding the potion.

He showed it to her. "Found this. Since we are leaving, we can use it on your father if necessary."

She had just sat up, and upon registering what Frank had said, and what he was holding, her entire body went stiff, and she stared intently at it. Then, tension fell fell away, and she inelegantly put her hands on her face and started crying.

That woke up the other two, who groggily sat up, keying in first on the crying form of Maria, then swiveling to look at Frank. Bill immediately realized what was up, but it took Rina a moment. She looked at Frank with confusion, concern, and consternation, until he shook the health potion he was holding. Then awareness dawned on her, and her face morphed into one of undisguised happiness.

Frank waited for Maria to gather herself together, then addressed everyone. "We'll be heading back to town once you are all ready to go. There's no rush though. Since we aren't doing any more exploration here, there's no need to manage time until we go outside. Have something to eat, stretch, whatever it is."

Frank, for his part, started thinking over the specifics of what he wanted to write down and give to others. They'd be back in town with access to paper soon enough. Better to have a firm idea before hand.

While he ordered his thoughts on that subject, the others ate, packed, and relaxed. Only when they'd all done everything they needed and started to look around like they wanted something to do, did Frank stand.

"Alright, lets go. We'll head back the way we came. We are all stronger than before, so I think we can handle this in one go, lets try and hit the top of the hill before evening, so we can reach the town before dark." Frank told them. "I'll meet you all outside."

He appeared outside, the others simultaneously arriving with him. His sword and shield were strapped to his pack, instead of in his hands or on the ground nearby. Not having a weapon in hand after days was a weird feeling, simultaneously relaxing him and making him wary. He led the way, out of the ruined temple, into the woods.

"It's so good to be back in the sun." Rina said. "Being in the dungeon is so eerie. And having to go outside just long enough to remember the sun is there sucked."

"It wasn't all bad." Bill said. "The fact that everything disappears if you leave meant going to the bathroom was pretty straightforward."

"It wasn't while you were unconscious." Maria said deadpan.

The group started hiking in earnest. Frank set a very fast pace, fast enough that idle chatter died away pretty quickly. Soon there was just the rhythmic in and out of each person breathing, and then gradually, the return of the normal sounds of the woods, as they got further from the dungeon.

The start of the hill marked the beginning of the struggle for the other three. Frank had better stats, and more experience dealing with hardship, and his boots were equipment, which meant they fit perfectly. The others were not so fortunate. Maria managed to keep up with only some trouble, her obvious experience hiking helping. Bill and Rina were not so fortunate.

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Frank pushed them though. Once they crested the top of the hill the hardest part would be over. They would have time for a short rest, then it was downhill. He wanted to get back to town before it turned dark.

When they crested the hill, it was mid afternoon, the peak of the day. This late in autumn, it was pleasantly warm, though it wouldn’t last through evening. Frank called for everyone to stop.

“Break for half an hour.” He told the other three.

Rina and Bill sat down immediately, breathing heavily. Bill would be fine in a little bit, but Frank didn’t actually know how much Rina had put into her vitality. She might have a rough time on the back half. Maria seemed fine in comparison, sweaty but not exhausted.

Frank sat down, his pack beside him. He rested his legs, but didn’t relax like the others did. Not finding anything on the way in didn’t guarantee the same on the way back, so he kept vigilant. This soon paid off, as after only a few minutes resting on the hilltop, he heard the sound of something moving through brush.

Frank carefully pulled his sword and shield off the back of his pack. The rope holding them in place had been tied so they could be removed upwards, but would sit in place otherwise. He got to his feet, armed, and looked towards the direction of the sound. He motioned to the other three, a pantomine of hiding the best he could do without making sound in the moment. The need to have mutually understood signals flitted across his mind, but he stayed focused.

The meaning of his gesture, fortunately, was grasped, and the three all moved together, away from where Frank was looking. It was too far inland for truly massive conifer trees, but there were a few large enough to hide behind. They took their packs with them, which made a bit of noise, but was probably the smarter decision.

The sound got closer, and Frank carefully took his pack, retreating behind a large rock, but deliberately leaving his knife on the ground in front. The sound got closer, as Frank peered from the side of the rock, face obscured by a tuft of grass. As it approached, it clarified into two sets of footsteps, both hard soled.

Frank subconsciously gripped his sword more tightly. The minute it took for the sounds to get close enough that the makers became visible was a kind of tension he’d not felt for a while. Two figures came into, walking onto the scene.

Skinwalker

Level 9

Skinwalker

Level 6

Frank’s whole body tensed when he saw the two figures and the status given to them. Each of them looked like humans. Both were male, white, with slightly rounded faces, a bit of stubble, a slight paunch. They looked the part of nondescript office workers entering middle age, struggling with several days of travel in the woods. Their slacks and button ups were dirty and torn, sweat stains prominent under each arm. They were covered in minor scratches. Both their faces showed obvious fatigue.

He had a sinking feeling as he looked at them. Especially because one of them was level nine. He watched as they arrived where everyone had just been sitting. Both of them looked around, as if they were aware there had been people here. The level six skinwalker spied the knife. It pointed to it, but made no sound. The higher leveled of the pair had been facing the opposite direction, both of the knife and it’s companion, but when the other one started pointing, it immediately spun about.

Frank carefully hid himself more thoroughly, no longer looking. He instead listened to the sound of footsteps approaching. They stopped, on the other side of the rock. When he heard the sound of metal touching stone, he moved.

Frank sprang over the rock at the skinwalker closest to him. It was bent down, but as Frank moved it reacted near instantly, whipping the buck knife it had just picked up towards Frank’s stomach. It was the kind of decisive blow that, backed with the strength Frank knew it had, could have been disastrous. Fortunately, Frank had a shield.

He blocked the knife thrust as he bowled into it, shield forward, knocking it over and falling on top. His excess fat was a boon this time, as the additional weight helped him pin the thing down whilst he attempted to kill it. His sword bit into its neck after a moment of fumbling, and the creature started spasming.

Frank moved as soon as he’d made that blow, clambering off his now dying enemy, readying himself for the other one to follow up. Nothing came, and as Frank got to his feet and took a defensive stance, he saw the figure of the other skinwalker fleeing rapidly through the trees.

Skinwalker (Level 9) defeated. Frank awarded 5125 EXP.

Bill, Maria, and Rina all came out of hiding. Bill had a look of absolute disgust on his face.

“What the fuck was that? You just killed someone! The other dude had a message, not him!”

Maria and Rina looked at Bill with confusion. Frank explained.

“That’s because your knowledge isn’t high enough. Skinwalkers only get a system prompt if your knowledge is higher than their level.” Frank said.

Bill still looked horrified, but upon the body starting to turn into motes of blue light, his face softened.

“What the fuck? So could anyone secretly be an enemy?” Bill asked, immediately realizing the potential problem.

“Yes and no. The system has given you all experience in messages we’ve all seen. Therefore none of us are skinwalkers. The system never lies. It just doesn’t always give you information.” Frank said, as he grabbed his pack and slung it back on. “But I’ll have to explain this later. We do not want to be here any more. We need to get back to town, as quickly as possible, and leave as soon as feasible. We travel quickly, no talking. I’ll detail the situation once we are safely in a building.”

Frank immediately started moving. Everyone hastened to follow. Obvious questions remained unanswered, and Frank knew that it would stress the other three. However, he didn’t want to run into any more skinwalkers, so being relatively quiet was imperative. He led them down hill, detouring regularly to avoid underbrush and litter that would make excessive noise.