While walking back to his cave, Nate decided that he would investigate the smoke. From his best guess, the source of the smoke would be about a week's travel from his cave. Thinking of the possibility of meeting other people, Nate couldn't really contain his enthusiasm as he repacked his backpack for a trip.

His eagerness didn't completely override his caution, however. The danger of a week of travel away from his cave would be dangerous in itself. But he understood that there could still be dangers in meeting new people. He had lucked out by not being forced to work in the mines. If there were people out there, he wasn’t sure what sort of people they would be. Regardless, Nate wouldn't forget the trickery and forcefulness that almost made him into a permanent laborer in the mines.

So as he packed up some supplies, he was certain to bring an appropriate amount of weapons and a few of the other protective items he had put together. Most of these makeshift weapons were quite simple and small. For example, he had a small bag of metal and bone shaving to toss in the eyes of a beast, a small sack of poisonous berries to smear on arrows, and some sharpened spikes made from hard beast claws to be used to assemble a spiked trap. All of his little inventions had been tested over the months he had been in the wilderness, so he knew he could rely on them if necessary.

Other than the several small safety items he had tucked away, his bow and arrows were strapped to the outside of his pack. He also packed some of his supply of dried foods. He doubted that he wouldn’t be able to find something along the way, but it was always better to be prepared.

With his preparations complete, Nate put a few fortifications in place within the cave and spent the night resting.

Early the next morning, he didn't want to waste time so he left on his journey as soon as the woods were light enough. Nate didn’t notice that the load in his backpack was slightly heavier than usual. He just trudged off in the direction of the smoke with his back on his back, his spear in his hand and his knife at his hip. He was excited to be going on an adventure.

*******************

After about six hours of travel, Nate had reached the limits of his usual hunting area. The thick woods made it very hard to determine the direction he was traveling with respect to his sketched map. The only thing that offered a bit of assurance was the few rays of sunshine that peeked through trees occasionally. By factoring in the angle of the sun rays, Nate could guess the position of the sun and orient himself. The only time this method was difficult to use was when the sun was directly overhead, but that only forced him to take a rest.

Using the pause as a chance to take a break, Nate found a good covered resting area and started to absorb the beast core from the insect he had killed the day before. Since the trip would take a while, he would use any opportunity to preserve his strength.

He expected to travel for another 6 hours then find a tree cubbyhole to sleep in for the night.

*****************

Nate traveled for two more days without any major issue.

On his third day, he encountered a very large beast that he had never seen before. Thankfully, the beast appeared to be sleeping and didn't notice his presence. His Identify skill could only tell him it was an Opossum, but couldn't tell him anything else. He had even gained a few skill levels when avoiding the creature.

After that incident, Nate's speed slowed down a bit as he realized he was probably being careless moving so quickly. But all in all, his travel went very well over the next couple of days. He even managed to kill a few lower-level beasts to build a supply of beast cores.

************

A week into his travel, he could only guess that he should be nearing his target. Nate had trouble pinpointing the location using a poorly drawn map, no navigation tools, and no real knowledge on how to travel. Nate wondered circles around the area for two whole days before an abnormal whistling noise caught his attention.

Following the sound, he found an open clearing void of trees. He also found what appeared to be the remains of some sort of outpost facility. At least that is what he thought. He had never seen an outpost before. The smoke had long since died off and the whistling sound seemed to be produced wind blowing across some jagged metal opening in one of the nearby buildings.

The overall facility wasn't extremely big, but it consisted of about eight structures located in a crescent shape with a large cleared space near the center. The facility clearly had enough room for multiple people. The damage was quite extensive, but most of the buildings were still standing. Nate could also see machinery and other items scattered across the entire area. Some of the broken pieces looked similar to some defensive weapons Nate had seen being assembled back in the factories. Turrets, he remembered they were called.

It was a lot to take in, but the sight caused Nate to instantly go on the defensive. He hid his body amongst the growth on the forest floor. His instant fear was that whatever did the damage to this place was still around.

He laid motionless under cover extending his senses out as much as possible and analyzing the situation. His focus on the scene was spread out to the limit. His eyes roamed the landscape and his ears listened for any sound out of the ordinary.

[‘Duality’ has increased to Level 9]

The alert didn't even draw Nate's attention from the ruin in front of him. From what he could see, Nate didn’t believe that the damage to the facility was caused by a beast. It appeared that the damage was caused by human weapons. A beast couldn’t have destroyed the weapon turrets without there being blood or something on the ground. But the only sign was some smaller craters that looked to be caused by impacts.

Almost an hour went by with nothing happening. No movement. No sounds but the whistling of the broken metal building cladding. Nate had grown puzzled. For such damage, there was no sight of blood or bodies anywhere. Where are the people?

The only way to find out was to get closer and take a better look. Just because the facility seemed deserted, Nate still remained cautious. He crept toward the group of damaged buildings as silently as possible. His passive skill [Silent Presence] showing its effect by the soundless steps he took.

He soon reached a point where the ground cover disappeared completely. If Nate continued to move forward, he would have no choice but to put himself out in the open. This area seemed to be designed this way. From the platforms that once held the weapon turrets, someone would be able to see the entire facility. Nate glanced up at the platform. No people. Nothing that appeared to be weapons.

Nate hesitated for only a moment before readying his spear and rushing towards the structure. As soon as he surveyed the area he just traveled. No movement. No abnormal sounds.

This smaller building was mostly intact with the exception of the half missing roof and various holes and protrusions in the metal building exterior. Nate could see an opening large enough to climb through in the side of the structure. While his nervousness over the possible danger had held most of his thoughts, he also had a bit of excitement. While his survival in the wilds was somewhat stable, he could definitely use more supplies. He also had hopes of finding information to fill his knowledge gaps. Even if there were no people present, maybe he could find some books to provide some more guidance in developing skills and leveling.

Nate moved into the building as silently as possible. The opening in the metal was just big enough to fit himself and his pack if he ducked down low enough. He really wanted to look around inside this place.

Coming into a dark room his eyes instantly adjusted due to his [Dark Vision] skill. The room was a wreck but Nate could make out the remains of a bed and a few belongings scattered about the floor. Nate instantly got excited seeing the items on the broken floor amongst some debris.

"Pants," he said growing increasingly keyed up. He immediately grabbed the few articles of clothing and stuffed them into his pack. He was completely out of clothes and had resorted to patching his remain sets with the skins of beasts. He really wanted some new material to wear. Noise.

Nate instantly forgot about the clothes and went on high alert. He flipped his pack onto his back and moved towards the room's door. His spear was at the ready in case something came through the doorway, but there were no other noises.

Nate moved to the door and peeked through the doorway. It was an empty hallway with no danger in sight. Nate moved down the hall.

He couldn't get distracted with all of the supplies strewn about. He knew his best option was to investigate as much of the facility as possible, pick up any exceptional items, and make note of the rest. He could always come back again.

Nate moved through the hallway and arrived at another room. Why are there no bodies? The thought in the back of his mind rang as the destruction inside of the building reminded him of the wrecked transport when he crashed into the wilderness. Everyone had died except him.

For the remainder of the day, he walked around the entire facility and found nothing. No people. No bodies. No books. Just a broken facility that appeared to be bedrooms and living spaces for the occupants. Of course, general supplies were plentiful in the personnel quarters. Nate found everything from scissors to medical ointments. Nate could tell that people had been here recently from the general condition of the supplies. Where did they all go?

With that question lingering in his mind, Nate continued to roam around the facility. Despite all his worries, he did not encounter any dangers.

************

Nate completed a tour of the complex during the remainder of the day. The buildings seemed to be some sort of facility for testing something. There were bedrooms, there was a mess hall, and there was some sort of testing room. He didn't understand the specifics but Nate could tell the building was for some type of testing because of the broken equipment that was inside.

Nate had seen similar equipment once when he worked in the factory in Newcomb City. He had been told by a supervisor to bring an assembled weapon to quality control testing. The broken machines he had found in the busted building were almost identical.

Although he didn’t encounter any danger, Nate realized he had a major problem. He had found more supplies than he had room in his backpack. He had even found other backpacks in the facility, but it didn't do him any good. He could only carry so many things back to his cave.

After some consideration, Nate decided to fill up the five other backpacks he had found and to stash them away for a return visit or two. He remembered how the transport had been destroyed and worried if something similar would happen to this place. His best option was to move some good items out of this place to save them for later.

He spent the rest of the day sorting through things room by room and filling the packs. He had found an entire pile of pants and quickly realized his stupidity of loading the first he had seen into his backpack with greed. He had found way more stuff than he could use, but he still sorted through it all trying to find some hidden gems.

When done filling the backpacks, Nate brought them away from the facility and stowed them away in a small tree hollow a few hundred yards into the woods. He made sure to only pack up supplies that wouldn't attract beasts. No food. He didn't know how frequent he could return for the supplies so he made certain that the packs would stay safe in the hollow of the tree.

Before Nate realized it, the day was gone and the night was approaching. Considering the possibilities, Nate decided to sleep in the woods.

Given his experience, it didn't take him long to find a cozy space in the side of a tree. He went to sleep with nothing on his mind but the excitement from the day. Tomorrow, he would make another visit to the facility as a last check for the good stuff. Then, he would head back to this cave with some of his goods.

*****************

The next morning, Nate made one last visit to the buildings before leaving. He doubted that he would find anything interesting, but he couldn’t resist making another visit.

He performed a sweep of each room but didn’t find that he had missed anything important. Just as he was about to leave he got an anxious feeling that something wasn’t right. His senses went on high alert.

[‘Survivor’s Awareness’ has increased to Level 19]

“Something’s wrong,” Nate thought as he moved over to peek out of a hole in the wall. He could see a fair portion of the area. He had only experienced this sort of anxiety when a dangerous beast was nearby. But he couldn’t see anything. Leave. As soon as the thought hit Nate, so did an arrow to his shoulder. The impact sent Nate facefirst on the ground. He tried to push himself up to turn toward the danger, but his right arm didn’t have a lot of strength and the pain from moving was intense. Nate glanced at his shoulder. An arrowhead was poking out the front of his body.

[You have been affected by ‘Bleeding’ status]

[Your health will decline at a rate of 1 for every 2 minutes until ‘Bleeding’ status is removed]

[‘Calm Survivor’ class effects are active. All Stats are doubled. All experience earned is doubled.]

[‘Pain Resistance’ has increased to Level 17]

[‘Bleeding Resistance’ has increased to Level 9]

Fuck.

Nate stopped trying to see what was behind him and began to crawl forward through the opening in the wall. It was the quickest way to escape. Bows were a long-range weapon, maybe he has a moment to get away. If something attacked him from behind then he could use the wall as protection. Then, if something pursued it would have to come at him through the hole. That was the time to attack.

[‘Calm Survivor’ has increased to Level 19]

The alerts continued to echo as Nate felt an impact on his head and everything went dark.