Why can't humans do it too?

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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."

"That's true..."

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...

He gritted his teeth, not uttering his regret. After watching the group of Orks shouting and talking to each other as they walked away, Sull quickly shrank back and signaled the others to follow him closely.

They crawled along the back of the rocks, clad in animal skins, on all fours, carefully trying not to make a sound. Not only Suer, but the others also realized the seriousness of the situation, and their movements became much faster.

This silent journey continued for a long time. Apart from the inexplicable panic and loneliness, the only thing that could make them feel fortunate was that they were not attacked by anything until they reached their destination. The only price they had to pay was their limbs and bodies that were once again cold and stiff.

“Shall we go take a look over there?” Lennie asked, gesturing in sign language as he pointed in the direction of the settlement they had escaped from three years ago.

“There’s no need,” Su’er rejected the suggestion without even thinking. “After the orcs looted the place, there shouldn’t be anything usable left. Let’s just go to where the herbs were planted.”

After realizing that she might have made a bad decision, Suer was in a bad mood for the rest of the journey and had no time to indulge her emotions.

That's far too extravagant.

"Get the herbs as soon as possible and return as soon as possible," Suer said, glancing back at his teammates who were waiting for orders.

"Yes."

Chapter Seven: Moment & Choice

One, two, three...

The situation was much better than Suer had expected. Due to the planting and concealment conditions, the herb-growing site chosen by Suer's former settlement was indeed difficult to discover. What was most gratifying was that this hopeful place was not found even after the orcs destroyed the settlement, and it was also very fortunate that it was not affected by a casual attack from those races that had the power to change the surface of the planet.

Even if he couldn't remember all the types of herbs that humans had discovered so far, Sull had already seen quite a few herbs that could be effective for Credo's condition.

"Try to keep the root system intact, and speed things up a bit," Suer urged again in a low voice as he quickly dug into the ground with his dagger.

He didn't know if it was that decision in the cave that he didn't know whether to call it a mistake, but for a long time afterward, he always had a sense of urgency and panic that kept his heart in his throat.

It was as if something was silently watching them from beyond the reach of their five senses.

And the worst part is that this vague feeling might actually be true.

There really is something watching them.

It was as if some invisible rope was gradually tightening in the air, and Su Er was endlessly torn between two decisions—to leave now, or to dig up a few more herbs before leaving.

The lives of everyone were in his hands. His decision would determine whether they survived this expedition. Should he trust his instincts or not? In the midst of this panic, Su'er's hand gripping the dagger trembled slightly.

"Everyone... pack the herbs and evacuate immediately."

Taking a deep breath, Suer gave the order.

Over the past three years, a considerable amount of herbs have grown, but less than a third have been collected. Suer's sudden decision at this moment caused his team members to look up in astonishment.

"But, but here there is still—"

"immediately!"

Abruptly interrupting the man, Suer took the lead and wrapped the already dug-up herbs in a small piece of cloth.

No more questions were raised. Although great doubts remained in their hearts, everyone immediately obeyed Suer's orders, quickly packing up the herbs they had collected and preparing to leave.

However, the heaviness in Su'er's heart showed no sign of dissipating. He watched his teammates tidy themselves up in just a few seconds, watched them quickly clean up the traces they had left behind, watched them reluctantly glance at the two-thirds of the herbs that hadn't yet been dug up, until—

"Oh? Why are you in such a hurry to leave?"