Cold. Too cold. And this feeling. What is this thing over me? It is heavy and gives shivers down my spine.

 

I moved my arm, and a chunk slid from the snow tower stacked over me. "So, that's where all that cold and weight comes from." I pushed myself and got up, and the rest of the snow fell. "My clothes got covered in snow, and I think my sock is frozen but had worse."

 

Perhaps a small fire will fix all my problems. I began moving towards my shelter. I have some wood left I can light on fire, and my wallet still has a couple of bucks ready to be used as kindling.

 

I moved inside and grabbed some wood. They are still unchopped. How bothersome. Thankfully, I have a large log I can use to cut others and an ax I can use to cut wood. Now, I shouldn't wait anymore if I want my clothes unfrozen.

 

I dropped the woods outside and began grabbing them one by one and cutting them with a single strike of my ax. Weird to think I managed to survive that cold. All my clothes are almost frozen, damn it. I doubt I will be able to remove all that blood from them. Still, nagging wouldn't help, not even a bit. I should go back to work.

 

You either work to survive, give everything you got to your last breath to every single drop of blood flowing through your veins, or die, perhaps even worse, live to feel your loss. At least, that's what I learned in my fifteen years of experience.

 

I saw many soldiers, some more skillful than me, some smarter, and I saw them die just because they didn't have the power to grasp and do everything for victory.

It was me who won in the end. I survived the war, didn't I? I saw countless battles, yet it wasn't me who lost. Then what drove me to give all I had for victory?

 

Is it revenge, patriotism, maybe hatred, maybe none, just sheer lust for blood and death? Now, I don't have a country to go to. I have no one to hate nor someone to take revenge from as I had before. Neither do I have a war to fight, so why do I try to survive?

 

I crouched and placed my axe on the ground. What am I fighting for, a country perhaps millions of light years away from this one? What is the reason I am trying to survive in this place? The war ended, and all the heroes praised are now veterans, on earth or hell. Is all that worth it? A dark past with the blood of thousands on it. Is such life worth going through? I ask myself, do I deserve to live, or perhaps ask this better to myself, do I believe I am worth giving all I can do to see another day?

 

These thoughts are too much for a mind that's supposed to survive. If I drown myself too much in them, I might lose my will to live. But if I don't think, why do I even live? Maybe I will learn the answer to this question one day, but to see that day, I must survive.

 

I got up and grabbed my ax meanwhile. I still have wood to cut and meat to control. I hope I managed to smoke that meat well enough. I doubt wolf meat will taste good, but it is better than a handful of toxic berries.

                                                         *****

 

Meat got smoked, maybe not flawlessly, but good enough to reserve it for a week in this cold and look at the coincidence. I am hungry. I will find an answer to if wolf meat tastes good or not.

 

I placed some wood and things like leaves and money in a somewhat dry area and lit them on fire. The weather is clear today, a good sign for the fire. While wood burns, I opened a small smoking tent made from wolfskin, grabbed some meat, skewered it with a wooden stick soaked in water, and placed it near the fire. I made something like support using rocks, so I am not obligated to hold the meat, but I should turn it around now and then.

 

"New quest." Voice broke the silence.

 

A new quest? I hope it's not something urgent. My plate is full of all these corpses scattered in my front yard. If I let them stay there, they most likely draw scavengers or predators to my home.

 

"Say what you have to say. I won't be able to do it anyway." I start turning the skewers since one side is already heated enough.

 

"Point of interest is nearby for a better chance of survival User must go there at the first opportunity."

 

"Okay, let me finish heating this first, at least. I look at what I can do afterward." This thing, and this world itself, I have a hard time understanding any of it, but I suppose no one in their rightful mind questions walking skeletons.

 

I took some quick bites and finished my meal in a blink of an eye, it is not healthy for one to eat this fast, but daylight is precious, and I have a long to-do list today.

 

Now, time for tasks. The first one is checking goblin corpses. That big one was carrying something. Maybe I can use it. The second one is carrying these corpses away. I can only hope something big eats them without leaving a trace, and lastly, checking this point of interest.

 

I start by checking on the big guy, because others only have small spears that won't be usefull to me, but this large basket, I wonder what this one has since the big guy was pretty careful while carrying it.

 

I moved towards the basket. It got covered in snow while waiting outside, but what isn't around this place? I pushed the snow away from its top and opened the cover at the top. No luck identifying what is inside since it full. Maybe I should drag it to my cave and dump things inside to the ground. Yeah, I think I should.

 

So I did, dragged the basket to my shelter, and dropped everything in it: Jewelry, books, tools, some small boxes, some pans, a dutch oven, and lots of bottles filled with different colored liquids. I wonder who these creatures stole these from, or better not knowing it.

 

I quickly packed items back into the basket and dragged them into a dark corner of the cave, I am still busy, and those are very stealable.

 

Now, back to goblin corpses, I doubt they carry valuable stuff, so better to stack them up somewhere far. If I had an open place, I could even burn them, but small predators and alike will do for now.

 

And now, back to my job.

 

A short time after it. I dragged corpses away and collected all the stuff I threw to goblins last night. Now, I think I have spear time for Voice. "Point of interest. How can I go there."

 

"Southeast of here."

 

Good, only answers, just as I like.

 

If I see the vendor I bought this lighter from one day, I will tip some generous amounts for this product. This little compass is saving my life here. Without it, who knows what I would do to find my location?

 

                                             ******

 

After a calm trip through the forest, I found the point of interest. It is a wagon, the kind drawn by horses. It is quiet big too, but this is not important than the fact that there are humans around the wagon, well, remains. That means there is civilization nearby, maybe not advanced enough, but the simple life of a farmer or hunter. Now that I can settle for considering my situation.

 

I moved towards the wagon. My first move was to check if any of the bodies were alive, but no luck. Even the ones in best conditions got maules, and became compelty unrecognizable. They all are dead, at least for a day, saying that by the amount snow on them. They are all looted too.

 

I moved towards the wagon and opened it. There were half-eaten corpses and forcefully opened, then emptied luggage inside. "Shit." I quickly shut the door and turned towards the front of the vehicle. Nothing there too.

 

"Halt!" I heard a voice. "Don't you dare to move one more step?" And a cough, a painful one, followed these words. A survivor!

 

I quickly rushed to the other side of the wagon and saw a man sitting on the ground. He gave his back to the wagon.

 

"Translation Activated." Voice talked. And I trust it.

 

"I mean no harm, but you don't look good. What happened here, friend."

 

"A human, you don't look like a bandit too, fuck. Goblins, a small horde of it, at least a hundred of them with some fucking hobs. If I were you, I would escape here fast as I could. Some of them might return for a snack."

 

"Hundreds of them. I only saw five. Only with one hob."

 

"Hah, so what you did do."

 

"Killed them all."

 

"I admire your strength. Hey, you don't have anything to drink with you? Huh?"

 

I looked at my bag. "Just water."

 

"That's not a drink. Anything strong like some cheap sailor drink." The man was barely talking and coughing some blood when he finished his sentences, poor bastard.

 

"Sorry, none. I wish I had some too, but please keep your strength. I can drag you to a safe place and perhaps treat you, and then we can find a drink." I cannot let the first human I saw die.

 

"No! I see those savages kill my men, daughter and wife, then eat them alive! This life. I don't want it anymore. I want my last moments to be next to this vehicle, next to the grave of my loved ones. Plus, I am too far gone anyways."

 

I can't say anything. This man lost the battle, and it's his choice to stop. Then I can only respect him. "Okay, I respect your choice, but you said hundreds of them, right? I've been in this forest for a week but only saw five."

 

"Damn, you are one lucky bastard then," He coughed more blood. "Now, if you don't have any more questions, I will take a short nap here."

 

"Please! I grabbed the man by his shoulders. "Closest human settlement where it is."

 

The man looked at me with dead eyes and began falling. I only heard a faint squint. "I answer that after I take a little nap."

 

He is dead. I controlled his pulse and breath, but nothing. I hit the wagon with my fist. "Damn it! Damn you who locked me here! Wanna have fun with me? Good, I will have fun." I got up.

 

But suddenly, a supernatural object stopped me. It is a square screen, half transparent, flying through the air and blue. There is something written on it.

 

[New Quest: Hunt.]

 

And Voice started to talk. "To gain an escape chance, the User must kill four specific monsters residing in this forest."

 

I smiled. "It is on then."