Astel grabbed a hold of the animal's hide, getting ready to separate it from its original owner. His hand sank deep into the thick wool, and as it did, he noticed something.
Warmth.
It was completely dry and protected from the outside influences.
He smiled—or tried to—but his face was frozen all over.
He knew that the other him would appreciate the way these beasts evolved. But he cared for only one thing… how they taste.
He thought that since they lived in such cold conditions, their bodies would be full of fat. He also thought about their unique digestion system, which—if what he thought was correct—would change the texture of the meat.
Pushing these thoughts aside, he summoned his spear and shortened it to its limits as usual. He then began to make precise cuts along the skin, often feeling for obvious bones or meat sticking out.
When he was done, he was left with a large, uneven sheet of bloody animal hide.
Slowly, dark red translucent crystals began forming on its surface, as if warning him of the surrounding temperature.
Working fast, he began taking off as much good-looking meat and fat as possible.
His blade slid along the marble-like bones, producing an uncomfortable sound.
'What the hell are these bones made of?' he thought with a sour expression.
When he was done, he placed everything on the now-frozen hide. He stood over the pile of meat and fat and looked over to the corpse, which was now mostly just bones.
He thought for a moment before caving in and deciding to take a piece of bone.
First, he tried grabbing one of the curved ribs and breaking it with his hands, but it didn't budge. Failing, he raised his weapon into the air and brought it down, hoping to break a piece off. The blade cut through it easily.
It seemed to—at least. A large part of combat is the micromanagement of muscles, which he couldn't do yet. But he was able to feel slight twitches that normal people would struggle with.
Right when the blade met the bone, it stopped for a split moment, as if pushing through a thin layer of mud.
Naturally, this made Astel curious. Was that a special property of the bone, or was it something else?
He bent down and picked up the small piece, inspecting it closely. The cut wasn't fully clean; it was less of a cut and more of a break. A mostly clean one, but the texture was rugged and rough. The edges were also slightly chipped.
Around him, the snowy haze grew thicker once again. Running out of time, he stuffed the piece of bone into his pocket—where it lay along with the metal whistle and the now cold rock.
He took the rock out thinking about the warmth it provided him not that long ago and threw it behind him.
He returned to the rest of the animal and worked quickly. He cut a long strip of hide to use as a string. Then, he folded the skin over the meat and tied it using the makeshift string.
He grabbed the large sack and held it over his shoulder, pulling it behind him as he walked back to the temporary shelter.
'Which way did I come from again?'
He looked around, confused. His footsteps from before were already gone.
He estimated the way from how the corpse fell to the ground and started walking.
After walking for hours. His stomach was growling, and the bone-chilling wind assaulted his body. He couldn't remember the last time he ate properly.
Thinking for a moment, he stopped and let go of the sack.
He untied the string and stared at the raw meat.
It looked the exact same as when he took it off the monster—as if the cold couldn't touch it.
This gave him an idea.
Forgetting about his hunger, he summoned the spear and cut off a piece of the hide—just enough to cover his body. With a swift motion, he quickly threw it over himself.
He felt the weight of it pressing down on his shoulders. The inside was still wet and slimy, making the whole thing slide off his body. He pressed harder, holding it up with his diminishing strength.
Suddenly, the cold wasn't so unbearable. The bone-piercing wind couldn't penetrate the woolly hide.
He let out a deep breath, watching white smoke escape from his mouth. A warm feeling took over his body.
He stood there for a while, enjoying the fact that he wasn't freezing anymore. Remembering something, he snapped back to reality. He wasn't safe yet.
After quickly scanning his surroundings, he grabbed hold of the rest of the hide with the meat in one hand, his other holding his woolly cape, and continued walking.
*
Far away, hidden beneath the snow inside a heated wooden shack, Sev searched through a pile of things, looking for anything helpful. He found a few pieces of spare warm clothes. He turned and handed them over to Max while looking at a few shivering people and nodding his head.
When Max left with the clothes, Sev found himself staring at the door, thinking.
'It's been a while, but he's still not back… Was it maybe too much for him? The storms here can be quite deadly.'
He shook his head. 'No, if he can't handle a little wind, then he wouldn't be useful anyway.'
His thoughts turned to the mountains. 'I really hoped he would be the one.'
"-ev."
A quiet voice snuck into his thoughts.
"Sev."
The voice was louder this time, waking him up from his trance-like state. He saw Max standing before him, calling out his name.
"Sev!"
He shook his head. "Yes?"
"Finally! I was calling out to you like crazy," Max said, slightly annoyed.
"Did something happen?" Sev scanned the inside of the small cabin, not seeing anything.
"I just wanted to ask—how do you think Astel is doing? He's been gone for a long time."
Sev's expression lightened. "He's probably fine. That kid is quite strong."
He paused for a moment. "By the way, where did you find him right before we left the camp?"
Max was stunned by the sudden question.
Quickly pulling himself together, he answered, "He was looking for that thing that was following us."
Sev was silent, as if waiting for him to continue.
"Actually, he also found a ruin."
Sev frowned slightly. "A ruin, huh."
Max's head hung low. "Yeah, another one… This one kept mentioning a god… or gods."
Sev raised his head, looking at the ceiling, his gaze aimed at the sky. "What have these gods ever done for us," he mumbled under his breath.
His frown turned into a smile. An idea appeared in his head, 'That kid… so he's interested in ruins.'
He looked back at Max, who had already raised his head, and placed his hand on it. "Thanks. I can always rely on you," he said while petting him.
For a moment it was quiet. Only the faint sound of the wind howling could be heard.
Then, as if from nowhere, the door swung open.
The cold, harsh wind immediately snuffed out the barely burning flame, covering the inside of the shack in darkness once more.
Everyone's eyes shot toward the outside.
A large dark figure appeared from the thick white haze. Towering over the entrance.
It looked truly menacing—so much so that even Sev's heart skipped a beat.
The figure moved, slowly stepping into the shack, dragging something behind it.