- Sky -

He started looking over the features again. He still needed a mission, and he wanted to explore the rewards some more. The missions were fairly straight-forward. For his first mission he wanted to choose something easy that wouldn't take long, so he could make sure he understood the process. He didn't know enough about herbs to take the herb gathering missions, and the escort missions sounded time consuming. That left him with beast hunting. Since he'd done it before on training missions, he felt comfortable with it. None of the beast hunting missions available to him paid well, except those that required a large group. He thought he might be able to get a large enough group together if he needed to, but that would also take too long, which would defeat the purpose of trying to take a quick and easy mission. Instead he found one that suggested a three person minimum at his level, hunting a flying grizzly that had been harassing some of the mortal farmers that lived in the sect. A single flying grizzly should be no problem for three foundation level cultivators, and especially not for Sky. When he chose the mission, it moved itself into a new heading that read [ongoing]. Then Sky realized something. Could he bypass the desk-worker at the mission hall this way? It seemed like he could. He'd just have to complete the mission to find out. It wasn't like he needed to, but he could see the benefit of not having to have his entire party present to choose a mission.

Splitting his attention, he also went over the rewards. Going back to the cultivation point rewards, he started with the lowest tier. The items were low value, and not particularly interesting, but included things like a unique flavor of rock candy not sold in stores, or stretchy sticky hands that, according to the description, would stick to smooth surfaces, or a friend's face for a few seconds. The list was uninteresting, but 100 contribution points wasn't a big achievement, so that wasn't surprising. He selected the rock candy, and it immediately appeared in his storage, along with a message from COMS, [MMM! Tasty! We hope you enjoy your selection!]. He took out the green candy, then moved on to the next reward. 1,000 contribution points was still not a lot, and the rewards were proportional. From this list he chose something called "Palambra's Glass." The description said, [See yourself in a whole new light!]. He wasn't sure what that meant, but it was the most curious item on the list. It moved into his storage, with another message, [Get a look at you! You will never go out with messy hair again!].

He pulled the Palambra's Glass from his inventory, and saw that it appeared to be a full length mirror. After inspecting it, he couldn't find anything special about it, and felt disappointed. He hadn't expected much, but also hadn't expected a mirror. He stuck his tongues out. They were all green from the candy, which made him laugh. Then he had a moment of curiosity, seeing all three boys standing next to each other. In just a few years, they would look as identical as they felt, and he wondered how they would look. Sam had pinkish-white skin, blonde hair, and blue eyes. Kyle had russet brown skin, hazel eyes, and red-black hair with a perpetual cowlick. Yuma's skin was more a golden brown, he had bluish-black hair, and his amber eyes had epicanthal folds that gave them an almond shape. He wondered, if he jumped into a pot, and someone stirred him with a magic spoon, how would he turn out? More importantly, he wondered what he should do with the mirror? He could see himself through his own eyes, so it was rather useless. He considered gifting it to one of his friends. Maybe Ava would like it for her new house. He decided he'd ask her later if she wanted it, and he stuck it back in his storage ring.

At 10,000, the prizes started to be more interesting. Looking through, he saw [Red Bicycle: A transportation device gaining popularity in the central plains. You can outrun it, but can you pop a wheelie?] That was strange, but he'd learned his lesson with the mirror. He wouldn't pick something just because it sounded interesting. There were well-made pocket knives, and cheap swords. There were clothing sets, survival packages with travel rations and other necessities, basic pills, furniture items, and decorations. He settled on a large canvas tent. If he was going to be travelling more in the future, he would need camping gear. What made this tent stand out from one he could've bought from a vendor, was the [Upgradable] tag in its description.

[Camping Tent: This is a COMS special item: Upgradable. Has four walls, a roof, and floor. Keeps out bugs, wind, and rain.] When he selected it, the follow up message said, [What a great find! Look for the new Gear icon on your main page for more information.]

He navigated back out to the main menu, where he saw [Gear] listed under the other options. He selected the option, and saw that [Camping Tent] was the only item. He selected it, and the same description came up, but there was also an icon that read [Upgrade? Yes/No]. He selected [Yes], and a new message appeared. [You have an upgrade available. Would you like to add (Vanity Mirror) to your Camping Tent? Yes/No] He selected [No], then navigated back to the rewards screen. While he was curious how the mirror would be incorporated into the tent, he really wasn't interested in keeping the mirror.

Under the 100,000 contribution point milestone rewards, the available items were significantly more luxurious. There were weapons of moderate quality, luxury furniture, better pills, a storage ring, and a flying jade disc. When he read the description on the storage ring, he felt a brief pang of regret. [Storage Ring: Low capacity storage space 5x5x5 feet. COMS compatible: can increase RINGS storage volume.] So he could improve his storage capacity by adding more storage rings to his RINGS. Yuma's parents had been wealthy, so Yuma had medium to large capacity storage rings in his room, but he hadn't been wearing any when he'd lost consciousness. It was a shame, but his current storage capacity was 15 feet to a side, so he had room for everything he needed right now. He was torn between a weapon and the flying disc, but the description sold him on the disc. It was another [Upgradable] item.

[Flying Jade Disc: This is a COMS special item: Upgradable. It flies! Room for up to three adults of average size.] He chose it, and when it moved to his storage, a new message appeared, [Whether by luck or by design, this another great find! Congratulations!]

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

He spent the rest of the afternoon combing through the rewards, until dinner time. When he was done he had three new moderate quality swords, sleeping bags, futons to keep them off the floor, and a survival kit. The survival kit included one year's worth of travel rations, fire stones, protective formation stones with instructions, food preservation equipment, lightweight dishes and utensils for cooking, and a five gallon water storage container. He found two more storage rings, as well a communication crystal, and a scrying crystal, all of which had [COMS compatible] in their descriptions. He ended up converting the remaining rewards into contribution points, which gave a decent boost to his current savings. He went back to the [Gear] screen and saw that he had new upgrades available for his tent.

[You have multiple upgrades available. Review options? Yes/No] He selected [Yes].

[It's bigger on the inside! Permanently increase the inner dimensions of your Camping Tent. This upgrade requires at least one dimension or space altering artifact of any size. Select this upgrade? Yes/No.]

[The floor is lava! Sleep in luxury with this upgrade to your sleeping space. This upgrade requires at least one mattress-type item, and at least one blanket-type item. Select this upgrade? Yes/No.]

[Nothing but the Kitchen Sink! The first step to having an indoor kitchen, important for hygiene and hydration. This upgrade requires at least one gallon of water storage. Select this upgrade? Yes/No.]

[Coyote's Gift! Coyote worked hard to bring fire to the first people, and now you can have it indoors for heating, cooking, and aesthetics. This upgrade requires at least one of any fire starting device. Select this upgrade? Yes/No.]

[Eat your leftovers! Food storage is a logistical necessity for long-term survival. This upgrade requires at least 10lbs of non-perishable food stuffs and either one storage device of any size, or the It's bigger on the inside! upgrade. Select this upgrade? Yes/No?]

[Get off my lawn! You'll never be bothered by unwanted visitors again. This upgrade requires the complete components of any protective formation. Select this upgrade? Yes/No.]

He selected [Yes] for each one, but made sure to only use one of his new storage rings, saving the other for the RINGS storage upgrade. A new slew of messages greeted him for each upgrade.

[Congratulations! You've taken the first step toward camping like a cultivator. New upgrades have been unlocked.] He thought that last sentence was odd, since he couldn't see new upgrades, but he decided not to dwell on it.

[First a bed, next a bedroom. Sleeping isn't as easy as closing your eyes. Keep a look-out for more upgrades to increase your progress.] Progress toward what? A full bedroom inside his tent? Well, he wouldn't complain about a bigger sleeping space.

[The sink is the center-point of any decent kitchen, but you barely got your feet wet. Keep a look-out for more upgrades to increase your progress.]

[Fire is only the beginning. Heating, cooking, or just for staring at. You are one step closer to making a kitchen. Multiple progression paths available, so keep a look-out for more upgrades to increase your progress.]

[It will not preserve your food, but it will keep it safe from pests, and hidden from view. Now that you have a pantry, you can choose the kitchen upgrade, but you can still look for new uprgades for your food storage.]

[Increased security is never a bad decision. You could do better, though. Keep an eye out for more upgrades to improve your security.]

[Kitchen upgrade available. Select this upgrade? Yes/No} He chose [Yes] and read the final message. [You have your first new room, and arguably its the most important. This is the most rudimentary of kitchens, but you can cook, wash dishes, and keep your food safe.]

He was looking forward to inspecting his new tent, with all these upgrades, but it would have to wait until he left for his mission, so he set about upgrading his RINGS. He started with the storage upgrade, which added an additional 5 feet to each side, giving him a total of 20 by 20 by 20 feet, or a total volume of 8,000 cubic feet. Next he added the communication crystal. He watched it morph into a blue line next to the purple on his jade RINGS.

[New features available! You may now speak with anyone, as long as they have their own communication crystal, you know their communication signature, and they are within range of the nearest communication array network. The mission hall communications crystal has been automatically added to your database. You may now use the Verbal Reports feature to remotely deliver your verbal mission reports to the mission hall.]

There was nothing unexpected with that update, but he did have a new [Communications] tab on his main menu. Next he added the yellow scrying crystal, watching as it, too added itself to the colorful circles on his RINGS. When it set itself into the jade, the yellow began to blend with the blue of the communications crystal, creating a green line between them. With his Sight, it looked like water colors mixing together on the sphere of chi around his fingers. The golden sphere now had swirls of purple, blue, green, and sunshine yellow dancing around on its surface. The unfinished rainbow made him wonder if there were more upgrades, or if the color combination was a coincidence.

[Even more features available! You are on a roll today! You may now access the Map. It will display areas you have previously explored.]

[New synergy detected! Two of your RINGS upgrades have merged to give you new features. You can now use navigational guidance, as well as a mini-map feature. Choose a mission or location on your map to begin guidance. The mini-map can be toggled on and off, and it can be moved to a position of comfort in your visual field. Check out your new Settings to explore more features.]

Opening the map, he saw the majority of the district around his dorm, with paths branching off toward the spirit gate, and the flight pavilion. Toying with the map, he found he could zoom in and out. He zoomed out until he could see the forest, then more until he saw Sam and Kyle's home town, and more still until he saw where Yuma grew up, far to the South. The distance between the sect and the cult was nebulous, likely because Yuma had been unconscious for the voyage, but it was still obvious that it would be a long flight between them.

Setting the map aside for now, he went to [Missions] and selected the bear hunt from [Ongoing]. Now there was a [navigate] option next to the mission. He selected it and an arrow appeared in his vision pointing in the direction of the farms adjoining the forest. There was also a number displayed, [319 miles]. Perhaps that was the distance to his destination.

He made up his mind. Now that he had navigation guidance, and a tent to stay the night in, he didn't need to wait. He'd leave straight after dinner.