The night passed with relative ease, or at least it should have been easy. Alec remained still, his eyes squeezed shut, acutely aware of the woman's presence in the cave. He could hear her breathing, hear the occasional shift of her body against stone, hear the crackling of the fire.
But then the storm came.
It started as a low howl outside the cave entrance, growing steadily louder until it sounded like the world itself was screaming. The wind tore through the opening with savage force, and the fire—that small comfort in the darkness—sputtered and died, plunging them into absolute blackness.
The suffocating air slipped through every crack and crevice, bringing with it a cold so intense it felt like knives against exposed skin. The temperature plummeted. Alec could hear the woman shift, likely pulling her meager clothing tighter around herself, trying to preserve what little body heat she had.
But Alec? Alec slept like a baby.
His Temperature Regulation skill kept him perfectly comfortable, maintaining his body at an ideal temperature regardless of the arctic hell raging around them. He snored peacefully, completely unaware of the deadly blizzard that should have killed him within minutes.
This world only respected the strong. That was the fundamental law of survival here. Weak women—without exceptional physical prowess—were left to die. And this was exactly what the woman expected to do with Alec.
He'd survived the Aurora Shrine when he should have frozen to death. That alone suggested he might have some value. But the blizzard would be the real test. If he survived this, then perhaps he was worth bringing back to the tribe.
She woke first as the storm began to subside, her body stiff and cold despite her incredible constitution. She turned to look at where Alec lay, expecting to see his body already in a state of rigor mortis—frozen solid, another casualty of this brutal world.
But to her utmost surprise, he wasn't dead.
The person she expected to be a corpse was sprawled across the cave floor awkwardly, one arm flung over his head, one leg bent at an odd angle. And he was snoring. Loudly. Like a sociopath who didn't have a care in the world.
The lady tilted her head in confusion, her brow furrowing.
She'd seen people with higher cold resistance than most. Warriors who could tolerate freezing temperatures for hours. But no one could sleep through a blizzard that intense and wake up looking... comfortable. Refreshed, even.
Without thinking too much about it—because overthinking wasn't really her style—she made a decision. This strange person had value. Whether it was some trick or an innate resistance she didn't understand, it didn't matter. Value was value.
She walked over, grabbed the sleeping Alec, and threw him over her shoulder like a sack of grain.
Alec was still mid-snore when this happened. "Hnnnnrrrrgh—WHAT THE FUCK?!"
His eyes flew open from the sudden movement, and he screamed at the top of his lungs. One second he'd been in the middle of a dream about... something he couldn't quite remember, and the next he was dangling upside down, staring at a muscular back and a very prominent rear end.
"PUT ME DOWN! PUT ME DOWN!"
But the woman didn't respond. Didn't even acknowledge his screaming. She just started walking, her stride long and purposeful.
Alec flailed for a moment, then froze as memory crashed back. "Oh. Right. The tiger-killing woman. The one who could probably snap me in half without breaking a sweat."
He saw how she had killed a literal monster with a single spear thrust. One strike. Perfect placement. Instant death.
"Yeah, pissing her off is probably not the best idea."
He kept quiet after that, his mind racing. Truth be told, he had no idea how he would survive in this world on his own. Giant birds, sabre-tooth tigers, freezing blizzards—everything here was designed to kill him. At least with this woman, he had some protection. Even if she was kidnapping him.
She took him and left the area, her feet crunching through fresh snow. Alec hung there awkwardly, trying to find a comfortable position over her shoulder. He glanced at the corner of his vision where the system interface lingered and focused on it.
[Temperature Regulation]
[Duration: 10:53:21]
Ten hours and change left. Alec heaved a sigh of relief. That was enough time to... what? Figure out where they were going? Find another sign-in spot? Not freeze to death?
"If that shrine was a sign-in spot, it would be the only way for me to reacquire this skill."
The thought made his stomach clench. He needed to get back there eventually, or he'd be vulnerable again. But right now, he had no choice but to go wherever this woman was taking him.
Alec took a deep breath, trying to calm his nerves. That's when he noticed the sky darkening above them.
The bird. That massive, prehistoric nightmare bird from earlier. It was circling again, its enormous shadow sweeping across the snow.
Alec froze, his entire body going rigid. "Oh god. Oh god, she's using me as bait. She's going to feed me to that thing!"
Alec feared for the worse because why not?
It made perfect sense. Carry the weak one out into the open, let the bird come for easy prey, then strike while it was distracted. Use him as a sacrifice for animal hide.
He looked down—well, up from his current position—and his eyes caught the top of her cleavage. Her breasts swayed slightly with each step, and despite his terror, Alec found himself wondering what they would feel like to touch. They looked so fucking soft, so perfect.
"Focus, you idiot! You're about to be bird food!"
But then... nothing happened.
The bird kept circling, but it wasn't descending. It wasn't attacking. It just flew overhead, watching, waiting.
"Was it scared of this woman?"
That was possible, right? After all, animals did experience fear. And if this bird had any intelligence at all, if it had ever witnessed this woman hunting, it would know she was dangerous. Maybe it had seen her kill beasts upon beasts. Maybe it had learned to keep its distance from certain prey.
Alec sighed, some of the tension leaving his body. But as soon as he relaxed, new problems made themselves known.
His body was sore. Every muscle ached from yesterday's panicked running. His feet—his poor, abused feet—had blisters on top of blisters from sprinting barefoot through snow and ice. And he was hungry. So desperately hungry. When was the last time he'd eaten? Back in his old life? Before he died?
"How long can a person survive without food? Three weeks? Three days? I can't remember."
They had ventured into a warmer climate now, though "warmer" was relative. The snow was thinner here, with patches of brown earth showing through. The trees were less skeletal, with some actually showing signs of green. The temperature had risen from "instant death" to merely "deeply unpleasant."
And then it happened again.
[Ding!]
Alec's eyes widened as the cyan screen appeared in his peripheral vision.
[Sign-in location detected nearby!]
[Distance: 347 meters]
[Direction: Northeast]
A small arrow appeared, pointing off to the right of their current path. Another sign-in spot. Another chance at a new skill which could prove helpful in this new environment they were entering.
Alec's mind raced. He needed that skill. Whatever it was, it could mean the difference between life and death. But how could he convince this woman to take him there? She didn't speak—at least, not to him. She just carried him like cargo, apparently taking him somewhere specific.
"I need to get to that sign-in spot. But how?"
He cleared his throat. "Um. Hey. Hello?"
No response. She just kept walking, her pace never faltering.
"Listen, I know you can probably understand me, and I really, really need to go in that direction." He pointed toward where the system indicated. "It's important. Very important." Still nothing. Just the steady crunch of her footsteps.
Alec groaned. This was going to be harder than he thought.