While Ryan was freezing to death, the system hurried to inform him.
[ The Aptitude Is Defined According To Your Character's Race. Races From Warm Regions Perform Better In Their Natural Habitat Or Similar Environments. Variations May Occur Within The Same Race Due To Mutations Or External Influences. ]
Ryan cursed the system, quickly guessing what that meant.
[ Venturing Into A Location Without The Required Aptitude Will Result In Rapid Weakening And Even The Nullification Of Stats, Followed By Death; This Is The Case For Rank G Aptitude. ]
"And what is my aptitude?!" Ryan muttered between heavy breaths.
[ Your Cold Aptitude Is Rank: G ]
[ This Is The Lowest Possible Rank. ]
Ignoring the glacial howls that muffled his curses, Ryan used his feet to reach the edge of the door then dragged and kicked it shut, finally blocking the freezing winds that threatened to take his life. He slowly calmed his breathing and finally sighed, staring at the ceiling.
"I think I understand what happened here now…" he murmured before calmly getting up. There was no reason for him to rush at that moment. There was simply no way for him to leave.
Ryan once again analyzed the cabin around him, the slaves and the fireplace. This time, trying to understand his situation instead of hastily escaping. His eyes studied every minute detail with eagerness.
The many spider webs quickly caught his attention, as did the cracked window he hadn't noticed the first time. Ryan slowly walked to a desk and rubbed his index finger against it. His finger came away covered in dirt.
"An old and cozy cabin in the middle of the mountains…" Ryan murmured before opening a few drawers. Various supplies were stored there. Walking back to the desk, he opened another drawer and found some books. He opened one and tried to read, but soon dropped it accidentally while clutching his own head, teeth clenched.
"Damn…" he cursed again. "This language is strange, and yet I can read it. But it feels so weird… it hurts to understand it." He shook his head a few times and grabbed the book again. This time, he was prepared for the painful impact of reading and forced himself to ignore the piercing pain.
Finally, with a sigh, he put the book back and concluded, "This cabin belonged to a man who must have died somewhere in the mountains, from some kind of accident. The cabin has been abandoned with his belongings ever since… blankets and various supplies are plentiful here. It's a lost sanctuary in the mountains that brings salvation to whoever finds it…" Making a mental note, Ryan set that aside for now.
Once again, he looked around, and his eyes soon fell on the slaves. Slowly, he approached them and knelt down, using one knee for support. His hand moved toward the hooded slave's neck, trying to check for vital signs.
Before long, Ryan nodded in satisfaction, then removed the slave's clothes without any delicacy to confirm other things. His hands roamed over the slave's bare skin without the slightest hesitation, wandering through areas that would certainly raise suspicion. Shortly after, he nodded again, satisfied, and repeated the process with another slave.
After some examination, he concluded, "They aren't slaves, or rather, they were about to become slaves, considering they have no whip marks or anything similar. No signs of abuse either. From what I can infer, they are free tribal youths who were recently captured, and judging by their exotic traits, they must be worth quite a lot…"
Ryan continued staring at their exotic features… tails and furry ears, similar to those of dogs, but more fierce and untamed…like wolves.
All of them had these fierce, furry traits, along with sharp teeth and broad nails that could easily rival primitive knives. Their faces and limbs resembled those of ordinary people… or at least something close to that… but clearly different. The wolf aspect was too dominant and ever-present, impossible to ignore.
"Beast-people…" Ryan didn't know how to feel about it. Their appearance was too peculiar to be described in words. Simply calling them ugly wouldn't do it justice. They were anomalous in a disturbing way…almost human, but not human. Ryan didn't feel comfortable around them; on the contrary, he felt extremely alert.
At the same time… Ryan had ignored his own furry ears and the tail swaying behind him along with his thoughts. Even his lips were still bleeding from when he accidentally bit them plus his tongue while approaching the door during the blizzard.
An ordinary person wouldn't injure themselves so easily with their own teeth, but Ryan now had fangs…
He shook his head, focusing on the main topic again. "They are the same race as me, so they also don't have Cold Aptitude. As a result… they're on the brink of death."
Ryan confirmed it dozens of times, but the vital signs of each of them were extremely weak, with some already dead, there was no saving them. Exposure to the cold was fatal for people like him, even when wearing heavy coats. And considering they had to climb this entire mountain, it was only natural they would die.
In fact, they could only have made it this far thanks to the captor and some item he had related to that. Otherwise, they would have died much earlier. "Which means the captor has some item that can help me…"
Ryan sighed, confirming the condition of each of the remaining survivors. "Now it makes sense… the captor wasn't afraid to leave them here because he knows they can't go anywhere…" Ryan pressed his finger against the neck of another hooded slave. But this time, his eyes widened in surprise, and a smile spread across his face. "that is, unless…"
This one's heartbeat was weak, but notably stronger than the others. The extremities were slightly warmer, though still bluish, and the breathing was faint but more stable, it was bad, but not as bad.
"Excellent…" Ryan immediately grabbed the axe and used its blade to cut the ropes binding this slave, freeing him. Then, carefully, he lifted the body in a bridal carry and, making his way through the others, carried him to the fireplace, where he gently laid him down at a safe distance.
Ryan then grabbed a blanket and a pillow and gave them to the slave, making sure he was as comfortable as possible. After a few minutes, he checked the vital signs again anxiously. "Let's see… yes! He's getting stronger… it's slow, but steady." Ryan laughed, pleased.
Up to that point, some slaves near the fire had simply failed to recover from hypothermia, even when exposed to warmth. They showed no improvement or reaction, no matter what was done.
But this slave showed improvement, even if slight.
The meaning was clear: this one had a Higher Cold Aptitude.
Ryan needed help to get out of there, and this was the only one with real chances of recovery, and of helping him. So he focused all his efforts on aiding him.
Seeing that he was improving, Ryan quickly ran to the cabinets and began opening them in search of supplies. He soon found some jars of lentils and salt. Grabbing everything, along with a metal pot, he began cooking the ingredients with water he had found in a container.
Time passed quickly inside the game, and soon Ryan served the improvised soup in a bowl. He knelt beside the slave and gently shook him while using the smell of the food to rouse him, the reaction was immediate.
The slave coughed weakly and tried to sit up, disoriented. "Hey, easy. Easy. It's okay. I'm here." Ryan supported him as he slowly sat up. The hooded slave nodded, breathing weakly, clearly short of air, and then slightly lifted his gaze to meet the eyes of the one helping him.
At that moment, Ryan only noticed, once again, just how exhausted he was.
"Here, eat." Ryan handed him the soup. The slave nodded silently and reached for the bowl, but Ryan noticed his hands were pale and trembling. Even so, the slave grabbed the bowl and lifted it, the liquid inside sloshing like a tsunami, threatening to spill at any moment.
And then it did.
"Ah…" the slave exclaimed as the bowl fell to the ground, spilling the nutritious liquid. He then lowered his head in shame, gripping the blanket tightly."Sorry... i didn't mean to..."
"No, that's my fault… don't worry about it…" Ryan said, serving him again. Then he knelt beside him and this time raised a spoon. "I know this is embarrassing… but we don't have many options here… so say 'ah.'"
The slave swallowed dryly, clearly embarrassed, but without better options, he soon opened his mouth and accepted the help. "Ah~"