“Trees!” Civ exclaimed.

  Behind him was Luk, who relied on this spear to stand as he gradually dragged his feet to follow Civ. Hearing what Civ said, his mind quickly cleared, and he stood up properly.

  “Where?!” Luk squints his eyes. In the vast grassland, he also sees dark green leaves and noticeable leaf patterns.

  “Trees!” Luk also exclaimed as he pointed.

  They hurried to walk forward, but they stopped in their tracks.

  In front of them is another forest. But what stopped them in their tracks was a steep slope!

  ‘That is why we are not seeing anything earlier!’ Civ realized.

  Below them are the same type of trees. It was not as dense as the forest they were currently in. Civ and Luk sat at the edge of the slope. Civ handed Luk his waterskin again to drink. While Civ, on the other hand, looks at how they can walk down to the forest.

  Their water was only a quarter of Civ’s waterskin left. In order for them to refill, they need to find a water source here. Right now, they are four hours away from their source of water, and it will be impossible for them to refill.

  “Save your grapes Luk. We can use it to quench our thirst.” Civ right now regrets that they only harvested one cluster of grapes for each of them. Having extra grapes right now will significantly help their water issue. But it’s not the time to think about it.

  “Let’s go Luk.” Civ stood up and walked down the slope.

  But before Luk walked down, he noticed Civ was walking weirdly. He walks like he wants to stroll. Covering the whole slope for him.

  ‘Why walking like that. Isn’t it faster if we walk straight?’ Luk thinks to himself. He started walking in a straight line. But after every step, he felt someone was pushing him downward. Walking like this expends too much energy for him. Anytime soon, he felt that he would roll down this slope. His body is covered in sweat now. Gritting his teeth, he walked forward. But looking at Civ, a relaxed face and a calm face is what he saw. The way Civ walks was that he is walking to the furthest left, then to the furthest right. Even though Luk was already ahead of Civ, it seems that he was not bothered. Noticing the struggle from Luk, Civ advised.

  “If you do not want to get tired right away, follow the way I walk.” Civ continued walking at his own pace.

  In the middle of the slope, Luk listens to Civ’s advice. Walking from left to right.

  “Thi-this is easier compared to walking straight!” Luk exclaimed.

  Civ smiled. What Civ was doing was a switchback or zigzag walking. Walking on a straight line on a slope land will take a huge toll on your body, but also on your energy in stabilizing. Walking zigzag eliminates all of these issues and ensures the safety of your descent. They might be running out of time to find a shade, but Civ wants to make sure that they are safe first and foremost.

  “It is great that you are listening. Let’s safely go down.” Civ replied.

  They slowly but surely walk down the slope. From every step, Civ noticed some animal manure, mostly from deer.

  While going down, they start seeing the full picture of the forest. At the bottom of the slope, their eyes widened. The trees here. They are twice as high as the ones they have in the camp.

  “Whoah! These trees are too tall, Civ!” Luk looks up. His neck stretched as he tried to see the top.

  “Can you still continue Luk?” Civ asked.

  Luk's eyes are as clear as ever replied. “Do not worry about me Civ. Let’s explore this forest!”

  Seeing the big trees, a curiosity in Luk’s heart cannot contain his excitement. It gives him energy to move forward.

  Civ smiled but immediately went serious. “Luk, prepare your bow and arrow as we enter the forest.” He tugged one of the arrows from his spear and nocked it in his bow. Luk also followed. As Civ leads the way, they slowly walk into the tall forest.

  They silently walked inside. Civ tried his best to heighten all of his senses to make sure they are not walking into danger. After a couple of minutes of walking, Civ thinks this area is safe.

  “Luk, let’s stay here for a while. We need to take a rest.” Civ sat onto one of the fallen logs and grabbed his first dried meat for today. Luk did the same thing but sat down ground and leaned against one of the trees.

  “Civ, don’t you think we can find the giants today?” Luk asked.

  “I believe not. But we need to look for them.” Civ replied. Luk nodded and silently rested.

  As they eat, they drink. The water in Civ’s waterskin is almost empty now. Just enough to quench their thirst for one last time.

  ‘I hope we can find one here.’ Civ talked to himself while peeking in his waterskin.

  Civ closed his eyes. He tried to feel the environment.

  qhisssshhh

  Civ’s forehead curled. Is that? Civ focused on hearing the sound in that specific location.

  quisssshhh

  Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

  quissSHHHH

  QUISSSSHHH

  Civ opened his eyes and exclaimed. “A water source!” He excitedly ran toward the sound of running water. Luk, whose eyes were already closed, jolted at Civ’s voice. Seeing him running, Luk followed.

  “Hey Civ, wait for me,” Luk shouted as he ran to where Civ went.

  They ran south. As Civ came closer, the more it became clear. The sound is subtle, but it was noticeable from afar.

  When Civ arrived, a shiny structure was in front of him. It was a brook. A smaller river.

  As Luk arrived, he exclaimed. “Water!”

  They looked at each other and smiled. Both of them bend on one knee. With a scoop in their hands, they take a sip of water.

  PWeee

  PWeee

  PWeee

  An undesirable taste!

  “What kind of water is this?! I can’t describe the taste!” Luk stared at the water he scooped.

  Civ wiped his mouth with his forearm and stared blankly at the stream of water.

  ‘Salty!’

  Then his eyes sparked like the brightest star in the universe!

  Luk feels thirstier after taking a mouthful. But looking at the water running, this is better than nothing. He scoops another one.

  “Stop!” Civ holds Luk’s hand.

  “But I need to drink Civ!” Luk reasons out to Civ.

  “No! Don’t drink that water!” Civ insists on stopping Luk

  “Why?” Luk tried to take a sip again.

  “You’ll get thirstier when you drink here. Luk, this is not normal water!” Civ explained.

  Looking again at the water he scooped, he also noticed how thirsty he was after drinking.

  “A cursed water!” Luk threw the water in his hands.

  “Yes. We need to avoid drinking this water.” Civ was sad and excited at the same time.

  When he saw the density of the animal waste going here, it should have given him enough signs that this is possible.

  What did they discover? It was a salt spring.

  Realizing that there is a source in this place. Being around five to six hours away from the camp, made him feel exhilarated.

  ‘Hehehehe, with this, we can accelerate the improvements in the quality of life for my tribe!’

  Having this source, they will create wonders. It might also accelerate the building of a bigger tribe or population!

  But all of this will be useless if they don’t solve their short-term issue. A drinkable water source.

  Civ thought for a while and decided. ‘It’s worth a try.’

  “Luk, let’s follow where this water ends and see where this leads us.” Both of them followed the stream. Hopeful for a positive outcome.

  As they walk further into the deep forest, the edges of the stream have some of the white powder. Seeing this, Civ wants to taste it. But they need to secure a source of freshwater first. On the edges, they saw different types of footprints. Coming from deer and boar, but some of the footprints are unrecognizable.

  But one of the footprints stops Civ’s tracks. “Luk, give me a moment.”

  Civ looked down and bent on one knee. He touches the footprint, and he is sure it was the footprint of a four-legged predator!

  ‘As expected, there are other predators in this ecosystem.’ Civ has been questioning this for a while already, since coming to this world. The answer might be these footprints. Because this is where the food for them is!

  “Luk, please heighten your senses. We might need to fight later.” Civ reminded Luk. Luk answered with a nod.

  They continued their travel. Then, after a forty-five-minute walk.

  *Spalsh* Roar

  *Spalsh* Roar

  *Spalsh* Roar

  A river ahead of them was visible! Both of them ran towards the river.

  What they saw was a roaring river. Compared to the river in the camp, the water stream was running from right to left. The flow of the stream is much stronger here also.

  They started taking a scoop and tasting it, which cooled their senses.

  “A water!” Both of them exclaimed.

  After drinking a few scoops, their thirst was successfully quenched.

  “I thought we were going to travel without a water Civ.” Luk commented.

  “Right. If we haven’t seen that first water stream, we might not be able to find this river quickly.”

  In general, they will eventually find this. But it will be harder, like finding a needle in a haystack.

  They filled their waterskin full. Then sat in front of the river.

  Up in the sky, it turned orange already and is getting darker.

  “I think we stay here Civ. It’s already going dark.” Luk asked.

  “Right, we need to take a rest already. It’s been a long day for us.” Civ commented.

  “Please get some firewood around the area. Let’s make a campfire.” Civ starts to prepare for a flat surface and picks up his drywood that he tied to his spear.

  After Luk gathered enough firewood to start a fire, he started to make an ember.

  As the night falls, the surroundings feel a bit colder. Having the campfire in front of them helps them keep warm.

  Luk wants to talk to Civ. But, being tired from the travel, he immediately fell asleep after lying down. A loud snore was filling the nearby trees around them. Having his own time, Civ looked up to the sky to appreciate the stars as he planned for their travel tomorrow. In the middle of planning, Civ blurted.

  “How was the camp today?” Civ lay down also as he fell asleep.

  Back at the camp, Vel and the rest of the crafting team were busy. The firewood team was also busy collecting as much wood as they could.

  In the morning, after Civ left, Vel checked the three animal skins they soaked in the basin with lye solution. Seeing that there are some of the parts where the hair is detaching, Vel's heart races fast.

  ‘This should be ready by tomorrow!’ Vel confirmed.

  For the rest of the day, Vel busied himself working on the clothes. He was instructed by Civ to make for the Shaman Mashu and the Tribe leader Kirvah. When afternoon came, Vel handed it to them at the Shaman’s hut.

  “Tribe leader, Shaman. Please see your clothes.” Vel handed them their tunic and leggings.

  Wearing them made both of them surprised.

  “This feels more comfortable and not itchy compared to the dried animal skin!” Shaman Mashu commented.

  “This is a great covering Vel. Thank you for making it for us!” Kivrah tapped Vel’s shoulder and laughed.

  “Hahaha when the other boars start appearing again. We can start making these kinds of clothes for our tribesmen.” Kivrah continued.

  Vel silently smiled and was happy that they were satisfied with the clothes he made. He excused himself and left for the day to rest. Preparing for what he needed to do tomorrow.

  The night comes, and the cold night starts to cover the tribe.

  At the Shaman’s hut, Kivrah's face was all red. With a trembling voice, he asked the Shaman.

  “What is the meaning of this Shaman?!!!”