Large grey clouds filled up most of the blue sky. It has to be somewhere in autumn, the orange leaves are a dead giveaway. I assume it's around one or two in the afternoon. Since my first encounter with the wolf, there haven't been any other dangerous creatures on my path so far. I just keep walking up stream at a steady pace. Lakes would be dangerous in a world with so many large creatures. I was told to kill these monsters; but with what? I'm no martial artist, I have no weapons training, and I haven't shot a gun in years.
"Focus." I told myself. This word would be my mantra. If I focus I'll survive. I've walked probably three or four kilometers and I'm still in these woods. The scenery around me hasn't been changing much. The sky. Look for smoke clouds from fires in the sky, where there's fire there's got to be humans. As I survey the sky I do notice a little gray trail of smoke going into the sky probably a half kilometer away, across the stream and into the woods. Wait, monsters could use fire too though right? Who knows what the rules are for this place. There's no certainty that the smoke isn't from some monster using fire. Could a monster like that really keep habitat in these woods though? It would certainly burn everything down.
It's do or die. I have to head for the smoke trail. I'll drink some water from this stream before I go. Who knows how long it'll be until I have access to water again, remember the basics of survival, Avery. Lots of trees all around this way. Most of them look so healthy, not many damaged branches. Hopefully this means there aren't any strong creatures around here. The chirping of birds was much louder under the trees, I can't be certain, but these were mostly regular birds, just like from home.
A small wooden cabin. A steady supply of grey smoke came from the chimney of this cabin. This has to be the home of a human, I don't believe monsters live in cabins and run the fires all day. The smell of cooking meat wafts through the air. All I can do is hope this resident is friendly. With a few steps towards the door I arrived and knocked. For a moment there was a bit of stirring within the cabin. The other side of the door was being unlocked and the door finally opened.
Weathered. This man had an extremely hardened face, it looks like he'd been through a lot of tough times in his life. Despite all this, as he stood in front of me I had to crane my neck low, the man couldn't be taller than 140cm. His larger than average nose was covered in scars and his grey facial hair covered what I could only assume was a large scowl.
"I thought I told you kids to leave me alone." The bitter old man said. His expression was more hostile than that of the wolf I fought off earlier.
"I don't mean to intrude upon you. I'm not from around here and need to get to the nearest town. I fear my life is in danger if I don't make my way to a town before sunset." I stared into the little old man's light brown eyes. I fidgeted with my hands inside my pockets while I awaited his response.
The man pointed his finger out the door for a few seconds and then closed it in my face. If everyone in this place is as rude as he is I might be screwed. Luckily I spotted a wood chopping axe laying at the side of his house. I'll be borrowing that for now, I'm sure he wouldn't mind. Running into monsters wouldn't be as terrible with this axe. Time to go the direction the man pointed me towards. In what I can assume was only a five minute walk I finally arrived at what was barely a village. I felt genuinely bad about taking the old man's axe now, but what's done is done. I dropped it off in a nearby bush so I could return it later.
Turning back towards the six or so cabins nestled in the woods. There was no one outside, there didn't seem to be any communal buildings. Small gardens outside of every house seemed to be enough to keep these people going. I approached the furthest house on the left, believing it to be the lucky house and knocked on the door. A moment later a beautiful woman greeted me at the door. Her appearance was mostly normal, but she had quite a cute face.
"You're not from around here, what's got you over here? Looking for monsters?" She leaned onto the door frame and crossed her arms. She was an average height for a girl, with a pleasant air around her.
"I am looking to gear up and become a monster killer. Is there a bigger town nearby?"
"Yes, in fact would you allow my daughter to join you to the town? She can show you the way. You just need to protect her, you can do that, right brave monster killer?" The woman smiled warmly towards me. I couldn't help but to blush a bit.
"Yes, of course I can protect her. I wouldn't be fit for the job if I couldn't do that." I gave the woman a wide grin. "I'm Avery. I'll escort your daughter safely for sure!"
"This is my protection? This guy looks weaker than I am, mother." A young woman appeared from inside the house. She had an extremely pale skin tone, with golden blonde hair that fell down to about her hips, it was still neat despite all this. She's a few centimeters taller than me, and I could make out her pointy ears nestled behind her hair. She wore a black dress that concealed most of her figure, but the dress had a low cut revealing a slight bit of her ample chest. She didn't have any armor or any weapons from what it appeared, but I knew she had some talent hidden away.
"Alissa, be kind. He only wants to get to town. It's time for you to go as well, your talents are wasted staying here. Maybe you'll like him as you travel and you'll start a group together? Best of luck to both of you. I love you honey." The older woman hugged her daughter and gave her a kiss on her forehead.
"You're right mom. I apologize, Avery. I'm sorry we got off on the wrong foot. It's wrong to judge people you've just met." Alissa bowed her head in apology to me. She clasped her hands together close to her chest.
I could hardly focus on her words as the textbox finally faded from my mind. "It's nice to meet you Alissa. Let's begin our journey."