Why can't humans do it too?

[Go around this area along the seam at the edge, and remain silent until then.]

After a moment's thought, he made a decision. Sull used sign language to convey this message to his team members. Although taking a detour here would shorten the time it would take for the supplies they carried to last, Sull didn't want to take that unnecessary risk. His final words of advice were specifically emphasized to one particular guy.

The group of people were like silent ants, communicating briefly with each other only through silent gestures, constantly climbing and moving along the edge of this piece of land that seemed to be raised up. Apart from short meals and rests, they never stayed in one place for too long.

Although it sounded like a tough journey, it wasn't actually that tiring. The intense running and a lot of exercise caused them to sweat, which in turn increased their body odor. So, the group even felt a sense of calm during their trip – aside from everyone being on edge, this was a characteristic of venturing into areas frequented by orcs.

Suer once thought he would never return to this area, but shortly after that thought crossed his mind, he broke it, simply because he was more familiar with the place than the others in the settlement, and the resources in this area were indeed richer than in other places. But it was precisely because of this that those orcs had appeared here in the first place...

Standing at the entrance of this stone cave, Suer gazed quietly into the distance, even though he couldn't see what was there.

Chapter Five: The Cruel Environment

It's a pale yellow color, and each bite is filled with cream. The cake is crisp, sweet, and refreshing, soft and chewy, and the satisfaction brought by the sugar is clearly etched in my memory.

The endless black ash, blown up and falling back down, seemed to possess a kind of hypnotic magic, causing Suer, who was keeping watch at the door, to become dazed. The threads of memory involuntarily stretched towards the past, until they reached that dreamlike world...

'I really want to eat cream puffs...'

He shuddered as if he had been electrocuted. When he suddenly realized that such a thought had floated into his mind, Suer subconsciously pinched his thigh hard, an action that had long been a conditioned reflex.

Recalling the past is forbidden.

There was nothing there; everything outside the cave entrance remained dark and gloomy, both the sky and the ground.

"...It's been almost three years..."

Like a whisper, Suer felt a gentle pat on his shoulder.

Meeting Sull's gaze, Lennie shrugged, running his finger across his lips, promising he would never say anything out of line again.

With no intention of continuing the conversation with Lennie, Sue simply handed over the watch to Lennie and then went deep into the cave, where he curled up and lay down.

Yes, Suer, who had become completely adapted to life in this world, was an outsider to this world, a world that was as beautiful as paradise compared to this hellish world.

Before a campfire was lit, Suer gradually drifted off to sleep, resting his head on the stone that still exuded a chill even with a robe on it.

--------------

Only in written books and among the mouths of those who are still alive, it is said that in the most distant past, there seemed to have been something called "the sun" in this world.

The white flames emitted a blazing light, washing the sky into a clear, azure blue, bringing continuous light and heat to all life on earth, and awakening boundless vitality.

This was the only thing that Suer had frantically searched for and found that matched his past memories.

A legend like a myth.

Before this still-moving body lay only the occasional red moon in the sky, and the red sky—the light emanating from the earth burned to ashes by the great war between the gods and their creations, and from the starlight flowing through the sky, the light from the conflict that arose in the Elven Corridor, which dyed everything under the sky red, like fresh blood.

Besides this horrific sight, what was even more important and deadly for the remaining humans was the black ash that emitted a greenish glow as it fell from the red sky.

Falling like snowflakes, yet far more cruel than snowflakes.

The emerald green light was the glow of the 'elves' scattered across this planet who died after clashing with the ashes stirred up by this great war. Their mortal remains were extremely poisonous to most creatures, including humans—merely touching them would burn the skin, getting into the eyes would surely cause blindness, and swallowing them would even dissolve the internal organs.

It is precisely because of this cruelty that it is called black ash, which is a symbol of death, despite its beautiful emerald green light.

This information was gathered from the ruins of the forest elves. To humans, they couldn't even see what the so-called elves actually looked like or what their colors were.

It's just a piece of information that sounds useful but is actually completely useless—after all, who would want to wallow in such deadly filth?

Whether or not they knew this information, the only choice facing humanity on their expeditions was to avoid such a deadly storm.

"It should be over soon. Have some water, Sull," Leni said, handing his water bottle to Sull, who had been frowning and looking outside since yesterday. Leni, on the other hand, didn't seem worried at all.

The campfire crackled nearby, providing warmth for the group and heating up the food they carried.

Some wanted to remind a few people to conserve their water, but after opening their mouths, Suer didn't say anything, only raising his water bottle in response.

The azure vortex of light outside the cave had indeed shrunk somewhat. Although it looked very beautiful, behind this scene was the interaction of black ash with increased dust levels. Unlike ordinary black ash, if you encountered this, no matter what protective measures you took, the spirit remains contained in the black ash would penetrate the protective suit and contaminate the human body. Therefore, the only solution was to find a place to hide. This was the name of this unique celestial phenomenon – the Storm of Death.

It's very common, nothing unusual, and it doesn't last very long, sometimes a few hours, but never more than a day.

"Could it be some kind of terrifying group fighting again?"

"Who knows? Hopefully, the aftermath won't reach us."

"makes sense……"

Suer overheard his teammates whispering around the campfire. If there was any advantage to this celestial phenomenon, it was that they could use this time to light a fire and warm their cold and stiff hands and feet.

After all, even the most ferocious and reckless orcs wouldn't dare to go out in this kind of weather, and for a moment it became strangely safe.

"Speaking of which, Sur and Riku are really amazing. They are so young and already have such high intelligence."

"Yes, Liku goes without saying. When I first saw him in the village, he was only thirteen years old, right? He was already able to say those kinds of things back then. As a leader, he has been incredibly capable over the past few years. Only a few people have died in such a long time. This would have been unthinkable in the past."

"Sul is quite something too! He even found a way to grow mushrooms. It's unbelievable that you can grow food without soil. Without Suul, we probably would have had many people starve to death last year! Hey! Suul! Thank you!"

Perhaps they were a little too excited, because the second person even turned around and shouted at Suer.

"Haha, it's nothing, it's just what I should do. After all, I can't survive alone," Suer said with a smile to those who believed in him, even cracking a small joke.

To be honest, after escaping from there with Lennie, Credo, and a few others and joining this settlement, and after establishing his own prestige based on the bits and pieces of knowledge he vaguely remembered from that world, Sull truly understood what it meant for knowledge to be the greatest wealth.

But after this deadly storm passes, they should be getting there soon, right?

Thinking of this, the smile on Su'er's face gradually faded.

Chapter Six Ork

Unlike other expeditions, Su'er's team had only one goal: to find enough herbs for the settlement.

Their goal was clear: the human settlement where Sull and Lennie had once lived, which had now been destroyed. According to Sull's memory, the people of that settlement had planted some herbs in a place a little further away from the settlement where the black ash had not yet settled, but they did not have time to take them with them when they fled.

If it hadn't been ravaged by wild beasts in the past few years, there should be enough herbs for the entire settlement to last a long time. If cultivated properly, they might be able to grow new herbs in the new settlement, and then they wouldn't need to come to this hunting ground of the orcs anymore.

To be honest, it was a bit risky. Even though Suer had led teams to search for the necessary supplies for survival in this area several times before, this time they were going to go far too deep.

No matter the time, the places where orcs roam are always the most dangerous places. After all, races superior to orcs disdain to lay a hand on humans, whom they see as monkeys—except for a few bored individuals who like to pour water into ant holes.

The orcs are different. They are also troubled by food problems, but they still classify humans as a type of food. They are a race with enough motivation and motivation, plus their keen senses... it's a nightmare.

Even Suer himself was often surprised that he had managed to remain unharmed despite his numerous activities in the area.

To be frank, if it weren't for Credor's illness, he would never have chosen to lead the team into such a dangerous place—he really, really didn't want to see familiar faces buried in the earth again.

After lasting for almost a day, the azure vortex finally disappeared. Suer and his companions were not so lucky, as they happened to encounter a death storm that lasted for a relatively long time.

The campfire was quickly extinguished, and the group fled the cave that had just been warmed up as fast as they could. The temperature was unusual, and if they didn't escape quickly, some dangerous creature might come to investigate.

In fact, on their way to escape, Suer and his companions encountered such a guy.

Raising his hand to signal everyone to remain still and take cover, Suer pulled his hood down even further and cautiously peeked out from between the rocks—only peering through the narrow gap between the rocks and his hood.

He truly lived up to the description of being burly and strong. His massive muscles looked so powerful that they could punch Suer's head into his chest. Even his thinnest part, his ankles, was almost as thick as Suer's waist. He had green skin, ferocious fangs, and was wrapped in animal skins, adorned with the heads and teeth of unknown creatures as decorations.

With just one glance, Suer recognized what the group of creatures that had appeared before them were.

Orcs.

It can also be called ORK.

Just like the green-skinned race in a game from the world before Sull, they are synonymous with power.

However, it must be mentioned that although the so-called Orks can also be called beastmen, they are not beastmen, but rather members of the demon race.

According to what Suer learned from Riku, the orcs that the group had feared along the way did not look much different from humans, except for having furry animal ears and tails... Their strength also varied.

The orc race has never acknowledged humans as one of them, even when they are called monkeys.

For the races on this planet, what distinguishes them has never been their outward appearance, but rather the composition of their souls.

"Over there! Right there! I can smell it! There's food!"

"Roar! Orcs! There are more orcs! Kill!"

"Kill the orcs first!"

"Kill the orcs first! Fight! Slaughter! Blood!"

"Roar!"

"..."

Listening to the constant roars coming from the other side, Suer struggled to decipher the destination from the words of these Orks. It wasn't his fault; the Orks' language was just too difficult to understand, and the language of the demon race was indeed hard to comprehend. In any case, it seemed that some smoke was drifting out of the cave where Suer and the others had lit a fire earlier, and they were now approaching that place.

But... the beastmen?

Are there orcs around here?

Suer felt a sudden tightness in his chest—or did these orks think that the people who had lit the fire in the cave earlier were orcs?

Regardless, they must leave this place now.

This group of Orks made no attempt to conceal their presence and moved about here. Sur didn't believe that the Orc sentries would ignore their existence. At this moment, the closer they got, the more dangerous it would be.

For some reason, Suer suddenly felt a pang of regret—he shouldn't have been so soft-hearted as to agree to start a fire in the cave. Even if the temperature was low, allowing a fire in that situation was considered customary.

Even if the area outside the cave is a deadly storm where no living beings can survive.

This is hindsight thinking.

Perhaps Riku is right...