We ventured deeper into the forest while staying vigilant to more surprise attacks. We didn't end up getting attacked again but the stress from being on guard the entire time began to wear on us.
The older guy who took lead started to plan for a night of camping. He accepted the reality that we might not be able to find the exit portal tonight, and that we might be staying here overnight.
We found a river and decided to set up our camp on a hill that overlooked the river. Our camp wasn't really a camp and more of just a flat space where we decided to set up.
As the sky started to turn a hue of orange a group was put together to go back and gather the wolf corpses to eat.
I wasn't a part of the group that went back and was instead asked to stay to defend the camp. My performance earlier didn't go unnoticed and my value as a combat force was established.
Although my crossbow didn't do much damage on it's own but paired with my ability to hit enemies consistently made it invaluable.
I sat in a tree overlooking all the slopes of the hill. There were people busy gathering wood for a fire. We didn't have an axe or anything to chop wood so they walked around pulling branches off trees or picking up loose branches from the ground.
One member of our group had been an outdoorsman enthusiast so he knew how to make simple fires and other things that were necessary for our survival.
He used a dagger another member had to fashion some branches to grill meat. Some stones were set up and were heated over a fire for bigger pieces of meat.
We didn't have any way to boil water so he made simple stone and sand water filters. It would take a while for really clean water but no one wanted to take the risk yet by drinking river water.
I sat in silent contemplation as I stood watch.
Telling people what my talent was exactly wasn't a good idea in my opinion. While it might mean that I would get a priority to items it might also make me a target for exploitation. I wasn't confident in my ability to defend myself right now so I decided I would just tell people my talent gave me a bit of luck.
I was considered 'lucky' to have gotten a crossbow that helped me aim along with the bolts magically returning to my quiver after a short period. So I would let them keep thinking that.
While I was thinking of those things I saw the group in charge of collecting to wolf corpses running up the hill frantically.
It didn't make sense for them to be running just for the fun of it so I quickly stood up and shouted to the rest of the group.
"THE WOLF COLLECTING GROUP IS RUNNING TOWARDS US! GET READY!"
People quickly dropped what they were doing and summoned their weapons.
It had only been a few hours since our first fight but everyone had realized that a moment of carelessness could be the end of their lives.
I stayed in the tree while they approached. Our group formed a defensive line and people became tense.
I continued watching and saw that the group was running from another pack of wolves. I let the camp know what to expect before I turned and began to fire at the wolves.
Since they were running headfirst in my direction my first bolt burrowed itself straight into the skull of one of the wolves and it collapsed like a puppet with it's strings cut.
The other wolves ignored their fallen pack member and continued chasing the humans with their backs turned towards them.
They made their way to the top of the hill and stumbled behind the protective line we had set up. The wolves crashed against the frontline but this time the outcome was different from the first fight.
Six men with shields intercepted the wolves. While they were pushed back a couple feet they stayed upright. A powerful shove from the line sent the wolves back a few feet, but the counterattack followed right after.
Three spears shot past the shields. Two impaling two of the wolves while the four other wolves backed away while snarling their teeth. However the arrows quickly followed up on the uninjured our and they were quickly dealt with with a rotation of shield bashes followed by spears.
I had managed to get enough exp to hit level two.
With anticipation I quickly opened the menu while the camp started to tend to the wounded and move the corpses I read my rewards.
[Reached Level 2!]
[+5 Attribute Points]
[100 gold gained.]
'Attribute points... I wonder what direction I should take myself?'
It was an important thing to think about but I didn't have to spend too long on it right now.
Strength was tempting but I wasn't capable of fighting on the frontlines nor was I brave enough. Constitution was a similar situation. I thought it was valuable but I would rather just avoid getting hurt in the first place.
Agility would make me physically faster and improve reaction time. Dexterity allowed me to handle things with better precision.
After that were the two attributes that dealt with magic. I would be willing to invest in those stats later but right now I had no need. Intelligence improves your handle over magic and the control you have over magic. Wisdom increases your control over mana. Your mana reserves grow and your efficiency with magic improves.
The final two were interesting but I couldn't put points into them even if I wanted to. They were two attributes that couldn't be improved with AP.
Charm increased the strength of your mental magic. This type of magic was used to beguile enemies and turn them into temporary allies through illusions or hallucinations.
Luck was... Well it was Luck. It made sense that I couldn't increase it so easily with a level up but I still think I wouldn't invest blindly into it even if I could.
I decided that the most important thing for me right now was Agility and Dexterity.
I put 3 points into my Agility and the other 2 into my Dexterity. I wanted to move faster and I didn't want to have to rely on making every weapon automatically hit their targets.
I had a feeling that would only be helpful on enemies that were Ordinary. Someone who could easily block my attacks or neutralize them would be able to defeat me. It was better to use my talent to strengthen my firepower.
I immediately felt a feeling of clarity in my senses, like my sinuses got cleared up or I had fully woken up from a groggy state.
I liked the feeling but I didn't exactly feel stronger in any sense.
I pulled myself out of my thoughts as the archer from earlier came to relieve me of my guard duty. She waited for me to climb down from the tree in silence as she watched me.
I felt different climbing down the tree though. It felt like my body moved more like how I wanted it to.
I was feeling pretty good about myself as I landed on the ground but the girl soon crushed that confidence. She scaled the tree in half the time it took me to get down. Kicking gracefully off the branches and twisting just enough to get to the top without stopping.
She grinned slightly and yelled down to me.
"You're not the only one who leveled up."
My lips slowly pressed into a line and I turned to walk away without falling for her taunt. I made my way towards the center of the camp where the group was in a heated discussion.
"It should be given to whoever found it!"
"That's selfish! Think about it, we should send people who aren't very useful in combat out first like women and children!"
"You're only saying that because you're a woman! If you don't help during the fights you don't have any claim over the keys!"
Someone noticed me approaching and walked over to me.
"What's going on?"
I asked while standing a few feet away from the edge of the crowd.
"While you were still on watch someone said they had found a key to the exit portal. A bunch of people are arguing it should be distributed in a fair manner of finders keepers but another group is arguing it should be shared with people who can't fight properly so that they are sent to safety."
I nodded while watching the conversation from a distance. I didn't care how they handled this situation because if I found a key I just wouldn't tell anyone I had it.
This didn't mean I was planning to abandon them the moment I found one but I wasn't going to tell them I had one.
After a long debate the older man in the suit finally spoke up.
"I think it's right that whoever got the key should be allowed to keep them... However, I also think that we can't afford to be divided right now and if people who can fight keep leaving one by one we will essentially be leaving the others to die."
At that the arguments stopped since the man pointed out the problem in both arguments.
The man took a deep breath.
"Let me hold on to the key. Once we collect a few we can figure out who is non-vital to our survival here. Maybe in the meantime we can try to get as comfortable as possible and maybe people will be willing to stay until we can all get out."
It was a weak attempt to console everyone's worries but because everyone was in such low spirits the prospect of hope was enough to motivate them.
Everyone went back to what they were doing while the old man started to talk to people to calm them down and keep them feeling motivated.
He had a warm smile on his face and he had a presence that helped calm people.
After a bland meal of cooked meat and a surprisingly peaceful night's sleep morning came.
And the man was gone.