Far away in the distance, a pillar of smoke was starting to slowly rise up. Elias squinted his eyes, but whatever was happening there was happening too far away for him to make out any significant detail. His eyesight has noticeably improved after a breakthrough, but it was far from stuff like "seeing ant's feelers from a mile". It was somewhere on the level of just a step beyond what Elias felt was perfect eyesight of a healthy human.
Looking at the smoke, Elias first thought that somebody might be camping, but from the looks of it, the pillar of smoke did not look like a campfire smoke, it looked way more chaotic. The place from where smoke was coming was on the southern side of the mountain base, while the village was to the north, so it was unlikely that someone from the tribe was there. On the other hand, Elias did not know much about the settlements around here, so he wasn't sure if there were plausible cause for this someone being not from the Fierce Tiger Tribe. It could be enemies looking to attack the tribe, but a troop would likely need way more fires than one, plus giving away your position when you are basically on your enemies backyard was at least stupid.
After carefully deliberating for several seconds, Elias came to a conclusion.
*It won't hurt checking it out. I can try out my new abilities as well.*
Elias focused on the strand of energy in his abdomen. After trying for some time, he got a grasp on how to direct it, but it was far from total control. However it was enough to figure out how to boost his speed. Elias started running and to his surprise, he gradually reached the speed that was roughly twice his usual running speed. He felt like he was wind itself.
As Elias was approaching the exit of the valley, he started to make out hints of shouting coming from the direction of the smoke plume. Something was happening there for sure, and this something was unlikely to be peaceful. Elias stopped for a moment, but still decided to check it out. If he was going to live on this mountain, he needed to have some knowledge of what is happening, as well as "if" and "how" this something could affect him. The last thing he wanted was to wake up to being surrounded by some kind of danger with limited options for a retreat.
However, Elias wasn't the one to just throw all the caution to the wind.
*System, you listed visual combat aid as an available function, right?*
[Ding!]
[Correct, Combat Visual Aid is available.]
*Do I have enough to activate it?*
[Warning! Without proper training, Combat Visual Aid will be of limited use. Host is advised to train in systematic martial arts first.]
*I have no time for that. Can you activate it now?*
[Ding!]
[Activation of the Combat Visual Aid function will take 120 seconds and 174 units of cultivation base. Proceed?]
*Yes!*
Elias looked at his remaining cultivation base. Ever since he has managed to integrate the ideas of breathing technique into his unconscious breathing, the counter was always slowly rising up. Even if he would not bother to sit down and execute breathing exercises, he would still slowly accumulate the energy. It was a lot faster when he focused on it, but now he realized that he needed more. He had to solve his body's inability to process the herbs, because from now on, the system would not be the only one who spends the energy! His sprint right now has cost him some cultivation base. Consumption looked to be in line with his Internal Energy stat. He would spend roughly one unit of cultivation base for one second of using his internal energy to boost his speed. That meant the stronger he was, the higher his energy consumption would be. At some point, his breathing techniques won't be able to support his spending.
Thankfully, Elias spent last night accumulating his cultivation base, so he had enough energy capacity to sustain over fifteen minutes of uninterrupted usage. Combined with how his reserves were constantly replenished bit by bit by his breathing, Elias was confident in his ability to escape if he met someone above his punching weight.
Judging by the smoke plume, he was still around a kilometer away, so he got back to running. With his current strength and reflexes, such a distance would be easy to traverse. He kept dodging the vegetation on his way there, and when he travelled roughly half of the distance, he heard someone rushing towards him.
Just a couple of seconds later, he saw a young man running in his direction. Young man revealed a surprised expression when he saw Elias, but he didn't stop.
"Friend, run!"
It was clear that he was starting to get exhausted, so he did not open his mouth anymore. He was focused on keeping his speed, and just a moment later, Elias saw why. A big wolf that was just under a meter in height jumped out of bushes.
"Don't just stand there, run!"
Young man shouted again, but Elias did not retreat. Instead, he started to move towards them! The young man was dazed by his sudden action, so he panicked a little when Elias moved past him. He turned around only to see Elias execute a turn kick towards the wolf. Fueled by strength that surpassed normal humans by almost two and a half times, it sent the wolf flying towards the rock nearby. Instead of waiting to see if the wolf is dead or alive, Elias rushed towards it and brought an axe kick down on its neck.
Crack!
The wolf was dead for sure.
Young man stood there and watched Elias with astonishment, and a hint of hope in his expression. He scrambled towards him.
Elias, on the other hand, was absorbed in his own thoughts.
*Combat visual aid is sure good.*
When Elias heard about it for the first time, he imagined it would be something like a visual interface that fills his eyes with a bunch of blue lines that would tell him what to avoid or something like that, and he was afraid of it cluttering his vision instead. However what he got was better.
Instead of obstructing his view, the system would add a few markers to his vision. They would show danger vectors and opportunities to strike, as well as where his current strike would land. It was thanks to these things he, someone without any martial arts experience, was able to deal with the wolf so cleanly.
A voice has suddenly torn his attention from his thoughts.
"Young warrior, you must help me! My father is in danger! His caravan is besieged by the wolves!"
This voice obviously came from the young man that was being chased.
Elias turned around. Only now he had an opportunity to take a good look at this young man. He was quite tall, and despite being covered in dirt, it was clear that his skin was of someone who led a relatively cushioned life. His clothes were of way better quality than Elias's. In fact, even tribal elders were unlikely to wear something of this quality. Moreover, his clothes were dyed. It was the first time Elias saw dyed clothes in this world, but it was enough to make Elias ecstatic. Because if there are dyes and caravans, that means there is organized trade. And if there is organized trade, there are cities! The prospect of a civilized society was rather appealing in Elias's eyes, plus entering with a caravan would make things easier. He looked the young man in the eyes.
"If your father's caravan is surrounded by wolves, how did you break free?"
Elias wasn't really suspecting the young man, but being cautious wouldn't hurt.
"I walked away to take a leak when wolves attacked. I could only run. I remembered that there should be a tribe living nearby, so I decided to go there and look for help."
What he said made some sense, so Elias chose to believe him.
"Alright, show me the way. But if the situation is too desperate, I won't risk my life."
Young man nodded and both of them started to move in the direction of the smoke.
"Young warrior, what is your name?"
Young man was clearly out of breath, but still kept running and talking. Elias didn't know what to think about it, whether to admire his willpower, or question his foolishness. After thinking for a moment, he was about to answer, but…
AWOOOOOOOOO!
"Let's not waste any time."
A minute later, they arrived on a cliff overlooking a clearing. Right in the middle of this clearing was a caravan. There were four carriages turned over and arranged as a makeshift wall that protected two dozen people, half of them wounded. It was easy enough to deduce that when they stopped for a rest, they were attacked by a pack of wolves the moment they turned their backs.
Elias looked over a pack of wolves that was split in two. The bigger ones, likely adults were trying to attack the gaps between the carriages, while smaller ones, probably younger generation, observed from the safety of the tree line. One of the wolves stood out. It was taller than others roughly by fifteen centimeters, and clearly was the one which coordinated the attack, the pack leader.
And right now the pack leader was looking at a human that has appeared right on top of the cliff...