Devon watched them go. The figures moving down the slope got smaller and smaller, steadily moving away from the mouth of the cave. Occasionally, one of them would flinch, their bodies giving a quick jump as some sound—a branch snapping, maybe—startled them.
He simply observed, not feeling the slightest urge to go after them, not even a little bit. They must be going for supplies, maybe food, he thought, chewing on his lip.
But why only five people? Out of twenty three total, that's wild.
It made no sense. He shook his head slowly. If only five of them went down, they would barely stand a chance if they ran into even one normal, run of the mill Skeleton with its basic, human level strength. That was just a dumb risk.
But still, he didn't want to help them, and honestly, he wouldn't. Raline was the only reason he hadn't already ditched this whole mess and the cave they were hiding in. His entire focus was her.
Suddenly, Bony, the skeletal horse, lifted its skull, its empty eye sockets pointing toward Devon. The bony snout faced him for a beat, a silent, unnerving look.
Then, with a soft clack of bone, it lowered its head again, settling back down. Sleeping, maybe? It didn't matter, Devon knew, undead didn't need food, sleep, or rest.
"You are seriously one weird ass bone horse, bro," Devon mumbled, giving a slight shake of his head. He got up and moved to the extinguished campfire, crouching down. He had put the fire out earlier to save the meager supply of wood.
He reached for the longsword he had pried from the Skeleton Commander. He pulled the blade out, studying it closely.
The hilt was bound in a high quality leather, clearly superior to anything he'd seen lately, and the scabbard was just as fine.
The blade itself had faint engravings near the crossguard. Below the carving, inscribed in a language he didn't recognize but understood instinctively, were the words "Caldemor," which translated to, "The Great and Unyielding."
Devon's brow furrowed, a slight wrinkle appearing between his eyes. He glanced up at Bony. Maybe that commander guy was a knight or something when he was alive...
Shrugging away the thought, he slid the sword back into its. He placed the weapon beside him, then leaned back against the rough, cold stone of the cave wall and closed his eyes.
He didn't feel physically tired, probably thanks to the effects of the Anubis power coursing through him. But mentally, he was drained. Now, with the short reprieve, he felt a slight relaxation settle in.
He scanned the entire area once more with his passive Death Sight, his awareness reaching about two hundred meters out. So far, he detected no undead auras, except for the single, familiar one beside him, belonging to Bony.
It was strange, genuinely weird. Why were there absolutely no Skeletons in this mountain range, yet Newark had been suddenly crawling with them?
And the thing that made him most confused—if they were newly raised, why did they all carry swords, shields, and spears, like the long dead folks from the medieval era?
"Or maybe... they only got woken up after we moved to this mountain range?" he muttered, his eyes still closed, focusing on his Death Sight.
He was confident the people who'd gone down the mountain were safe. There wasn't a single undead aura within his two hundred meter radius. He tracked their auras, noticing they were still moving away, slowly. He finally opened his eyes, staring blankly at the cave wall.
One thing about getting this Anubis System genuinely pissed him off. His Death Sight was a passive skill. That meant he could never switch it off.
"...And that means I have to constantly see everyone's aura, even when I'm trying to sleep," he hissed, a wave of pure annoyance washing over him. "This is, like, so unbelievably annoying. Frickin' mid feature."
He used to fantasize about getting powers like the ones in LitRPG comics or novels. The main characters always seemed so cool, and most ended up living the good life.
The images of those protagonists fighting bad guys had always given him a thrill. But the whole harem thing, having a dozen girls follow them around... hmm, he really had to think twice about that.
Having too many women in your life would cause too much drama, too many problems. He knew that much from his friends who had multiple wives, sometimes with "side chicks" thrown in.
How much money they had to spend on them? Devon didn't even want to calculate.
One girl is enough, honestly. As long as she's hot and the beauty lasts forever...
That thought process stayed with him. Besides, he needed to take care of and look out for Raline.
Who would even want to be with him right now? Though he was sure his face was above average, most of the women he knew weren't as beautiful as his younger sister.
Let people call him whatever—a sister complex, whatever. But it was the truth. Raline was genuinely better, both in terms of looks and personality, than all of them.
"Haish," he sighed.
Devon closed his eyes again, trying hard to force himself to sleep. His thoughts spun around how he would get clean water and food.
He had to leave the cave eventually, even if it meant carrying Raline again. 'Hopefully, I can find something soon...'
Before long, his mental exhaustion finally overpowered his non stop, overthinking mind, and he fell asleep.
Devon woke up when he felt a small, familiar aura shift near him. He blinked his eyes open, finding Raline already awake. She was setting up dinner.
Confused, he squinted toward the mouth of the cave. Twilight was already dimming the sky, which meant he had slept for about three to four hours.
He just kept his eyes open, feeling the stiffness and aches in his body as he watched his sister place cans of red beans over a small fire. Her face looked calm, but she kept stealing glances toward Bony.
He closed his eyes, using his Death Sight to count the auras inside the cave. All twenty three were back. The five who had gone out had returned.
'Hmm... at least I know for sure now that there are no Skeletons down here.'
But the feeling of unease wouldn't leave him. He remained deeply suspicious of the too quiet, too calm situation outside.
Suddenly, Raline let out a small, sharp yelp, and Devon instantly sat bolt upright. "What is it?"
She didn't answer. Her eyes were fixed on the skeletal horse. Bony had suddenly woken up from its slumber, stretching its body as if trying to loosen its bones.
"Sigh..."
Devon let out a breath, relieved that it was only Bony causing the alarm. Raline looked at him sheepishly.
"...You're awake, Dev?" she asked, trying to divert his attention. Devon nodded, letting out a small laugh.
"You need to chill. I told you Bony's on our side now, but you're still freaked out," he chuckled, shaking his head gently.
Raline gave him a glare, and he was about to tease his sister some more, when his Death Sight suddenly caught something outside.
The sky was growing dark, and Devon watched as the auras of the undead began to tear themselves free from the surrounding rocks and trees.