The light of dawn partially passed through the cave entrance, illuminating only the first few meters of the interior while the rest remained submerged in the cold darkness of stone.
For the first time since arriving in that world, they had slept through the night without the wind cutting against their bodies.
The ground was still hard.
The environment still felt strange.
But now… it felt safe.
As they rested, unusual thoughts crossed some of their minds. Ariana's image still lingered vividly in their memories. Some wondered if she truly continued watching everything from the sky. Others kept thinking about the words she had spoken before leaving.
If they called out to her… would she really hear them?
Noah was the first to leave the cave.
The cold morning wind immediately struck his face, causing his hair to sway lightly as he looked over the landscape before him. The sun was beginning to rise over the horizon, spreading light across the vast field covered in tall grass and small flowers, while the nearby forest remained silent beside the mountain.
It was a beautiful sight.
But Noah no longer looked at the world with simple curiosity.
Now, he was thinking about survival.
They needed to adapt to this new location.
Little by little, the others also began to wake up and leave the cave. They briefly discussed what each of them would do that day.
In the end, they decided to split up.
Some would search for fruit.
Others would explore the area around the mountain.
And some would remain near the cave gathering wood and useful stones.
Before they left, Noah looked at everyone seriously.
"Don't go too far."
The group immediately understood why.
After everything that had happened, none of them still considered that place truly safe.
Rosy took some of the fruit they had gathered the previous day and began organizing it in one corner of the cave, separating the ones that were still good from those that were already becoming too bruised. For the first time, they were no longer simply carrying food around with them.
Now they were beginning to store it.
After finishing, Rosy left the cave once again. Kayn decided to accompany her. Besides searching for more fruit, the two also intended to find a closer water source and, if possible, hunt a small animal along the way.
Meanwhile, Akile chose to explore the area around the mountain alone.
As he walked across the rocky field near the cave, he began noticing something useful scattered across the ground. There were many different kinds of stones, some naturally sharp, others broken into extremely cutting shapes.
Perfect for hunting.
Akile crouched down and started collecting several of them. Using a piece of rabbit hide, he improvised something similar to a small pouch, placing the stones inside before tying it around his waist.
That would make future hunts much easier.
Near the cave, only Noah and Steh had remained behind.
Steh sat near the entrance, lightly hugging her arms while the cold morning wind partially entered the cave's interior.
"It's still cold…" she murmured.
Even though it was far more comfortable than sleeping in the middle of the forest, the wind still managed to pass through the cave entrance during most of the night.
Noah silently observed the entrance for a few seconds.
Then an idea appeared in his mind.
"Maybe we can close part of this off."
Steh immediately looked up.
"Close it?"
Noah nodded while studying the rocks around the entrance.
"Not completely. But maybe we can use branches, stones… something to stop so much wind from getting in."
High above the skies, Ariana watched everything.
Her gaze followed each of them individually, noticing small changes happening almost constantly. The way they were beginning to divide tasks, think before acting, and modify the environment around them made something slowly grow inside her.
Expectation.
They were evolving quickly.
Too quickly.
And now, for the first time, they were beginning to create a home.
The thought made Ariana eager to discover just how far humans could go.
Near the cave, Noah and Steh began putting the idea into practice. The two spent most of the day gathering large branches near the forest, along with stones, dry leaves, and wet.
The final result was far from beautiful.
But it worked.
With effort, they built something that could almost be called a wall. Branches were woven together and secured between stones while mud and leaves filled the empty spaces. They blocked most of the cave entrance, leaving only an opening large enough for the group to enter and leave without difficulty.
When they finished, Steh immediately noticed the difference.
The wind no longer passed through the cave the same way.
Meanwhile, Akile finally returned from his exploration.
As soon as he entered the cave, he opened the improvised pouch tied to his waist and dumped the various sharp stones he had found onto the ground.
The others immediately approached to look.
Akile grabbed an apple from the stored fruit and ran one of the stones across it.
The fruit was sliced easily.
Noah's eyes narrowed slightly.
That was useful.
Far more useful than simply using random stones.
Steh then picked up a sturdier branch near the newly built wall. Next, she chose one of the sharpest stones Akile had found and began attaching it to the tip of the wood using leather straps and braided dry grass.
It took several minutes.
But in the end… it worked.
Akile took the object from her hands and observed it silently.
The stone attached to the tip completely changed the weapon's reach and efficiency.
"This…" he murmured.
It looked interesting.
High above the skies, Ariana watched the scene carefully.
Then she slowly murmured:
"A spear…"
The next instant—
Ding!
[Civilization Progress: Paleolithic]
[Spear Created]
[Human Steh has received the title: "Initiator of Eras"]
[Initiator of Eras: The holder of this title possesses slightly enhanced perception of the surrounding world.]
[Stone Spear]
[Durability: 1]
[Damage: 4]
[Magic: 0]
[Description: Created by Steh, one of the first humans, marking the beginning of the Paleolithic Era.]
A sequence of blue notifications immediately filled Ariana's vision.
Her eyes widened slightly.
Until that moment, she had no idea that the System itself would react to the advancement of human civilization.