Chapter 37: Into the Northern Fog

Noah crouched at the entrance of his cave, securing the last of his gear. The sun was already climbing over the horizon, bathing the forest in golden light. After the previous day's revelations and his significant power boost from consuming the cores, he felt ready to tackle whatever lay ahead.

His goal was clear: the northern location marked on the map he had found during his second search of the research facility. Whatever was there had been important enough to highlight, and with Valerie still missing, this lead was the best shot he had at finding her—or at least understanding the truth behind the strange artifacts and this fractured world.

Noah tightened the straps of his pack, ensuring his blade and supplies were within easy reach. The forest could be treacherous, but with his heightened stats, he moved with a newfound confidence. He set out, the crunch of leaves and twigs underfoot the only sound as he left his temporary home behind.

The journey started uneventfully, the forest gradually giving way to rockier terrain. Noah moved with purpose, scanning his surroundings for any sign of danger. Low-level aberrations appeared occasionally, their twisted forms lurking in the underbrush, but they posed little threat.

With his increased strength and agility, he dispatched them almost casually. A flick of his blade here, an Energy Missile there, and the aberrations fell before they could even react.

"Almost too easy," Noah muttered as he wiped his blade clean on a patch of moss. He couldn't afford to grow complacent, though. The northern terrain was unfamiliar, and the map gave no indication of what dangers might lie ahead.

As he climbed higher into the foothills, the air grew cooler, and a faint mist began to cling to the ground. By the time he reached the entrance to a narrow gorge, the mist had thickened into a dense fog that obscured everything more than a few meters ahead.

The gorge was narrow, its rocky walls rising high on either side and shrouded in swirling mist. Noah hesitated at the entrance, his instincts on edge. The fog made it hard to see, and the confined space would limit his mobility if he were ambushed.

But there was no other path forward, and the map indicated that this was the quickest route to his destination. He tightened his grip on his blade and stepped into the fog.

The silence was oppressive, broken only by the occasional drip of water from the rocks above. Every sound was amplified, the crunch of Noah's boots on gravel echoing through the gorge. He moved cautiously, his senses sharp, scanning the shadows for any sign of movement.

It wasn't long before he encountered his first aberration. A low-level creature emerged from the mist, its distorted form lurching toward him with a guttural hiss.

Noah dispatched it with ease, his blade cutting through its neck in a single, fluid motion. The creature collapsed, its body dissolving into black ichor that seeped into the ground.

"Barely worth the effort," Noah muttered, stepping over the remains.

He continued deeper into the gorge, encountering more low-level aberrations as he went. They came in ones and twos, their attacks clumsy and predictable. Noah handled them without breaking a sweat, his enhanced stats and refined combat skills making short work of the creatures.

As Noah approached a bend in the gorge, he felt a sudden shift in the air. The oppressive silence was broken by a low, guttural growl that reverberated through the fog.

He stopped, his eyes narrowing as a larger figure emerged from the mist. The creature was a mid-level aberration, its hulking form covered in jagged, chitinous armor. It moved with a deliberate, almost predatory gait, its glowing red eyes locked onto Noah.

Noah didn't wait for it to make the first move. With a flick of his wrist, he summoned an Energy Missile and launched it at the creature's chest. The projectile struck true, exploding in a burst of energy that staggered the aberration but didn't bring it down.

The creature roared and charged, its claws raking through the air. But Noah was ready. He sidestepped the attack with ease, his agility allowing him to move faster than the aberration could track.

A quick slash of his blade opened a deep gash in the creature's side, black ichor spilling onto the ground. The aberration lashed out again, but Noah danced out of range, following up with another Energy Missile that struck the creature in the head.

This time, it collapsed with a wet thud, its body twitching before going still.

Noah stood over the corpse, catching his breath. The fight had been brief but intense, a stark reminder of how dangerous even mid-level aberrations could be.

"Not bad," he said to himself, inspecting the core he had retrieved from the creature. It was smaller than the mutant cores he had consumed but still radiated a faint, pulsing energy. He slipped it into his pack and moved on.

The gorge eventually gave way to a small, rocky plateau. The fog thinned as the sun dipped below the horizon, casting the world in shades of deep blue and gray. Noah knew it wasn't safe to travel at night, especially in unfamiliar territory.

He found a sheltered spot beneath an overhang, its rocky walls providing some protection from the elements. Setting down his pack, he built a small fire using the dry kindling he had collected earlier.

As the flames flickered, Noah leaned back against the wall and stared into the distance. The day had been productive, but the journey ahead was still uncertain.

The marked location on the map was closer now, but the questions it represented loomed larger in his mind. What would he find there? Another abandoned facility? Answers about the artifact and the aberrations? Or perhaps something entirely unexpected?

Noah shook his head, pushing the thoughts aside. He would deal with whatever came his way, just as he always had. For now, he needed rest.

As the fire crackled softly, Noah closed his eyes, the weight of the day's journey pulling him into a light but restless sleep.

End of Chapter 37