Max was almost about to leave the campsite with the map clutched in his hand, when he noticed the knife and the flint lying on the ground next to the now dwindling fire.
He then considered the alembic.
There were a few things that weren’t in his inventory that he would probably want to take with him, but he had no more space.
He opened his inventory and took a close look at what was in each slot.
1. Imanthia x8
2. Silvershroom x3
3. Mooncap x5
4. Tarramon x6
5. Skewered hornback meat
6. Arrows x7
7. Sunfire dandelion
8. Emberbloom
9. Teasil
10. Regenis potion x 3
11. Bow
12. Bedroll
Nearly 60% of it was taken up with the various plants and herbs he had stockpiled when gathering ingredients for the potions. They were all needed for brewing more of the potions he had already brewed, though he hadn’t stocked up on any chokra, and none of it would be useful in the slightest without the alembic or the knife and flint.
Since Max had already brewed three regenis potions, he decided to discard the ingredients needed for brewing more of those, those being the sunfire dandelions, the emberblooms, and the teasil. That freed up slots 7, 8, and 9.
Leaving the discarded flowers and herbs on the ground, Max went over to the knife and the flint and placed them in slots 7 and 8. Then he unhooked the alembic and placed it in slot 9.
If nothing else, he at least now had just about what he needed to start another fire and brew another parasillin potion should he need to do so. He didn’t have room for the tripod, or any more empty potion bottles, but maybe he could make a makeshift tripod or something else to suspend the alembic, and he could always use one of the empty regenis bottles to store a new potion if he had consumed them.
Lastly, he picked up one of the empty water canteens and kept it clutched in his left hand. He had no inventory space for it, but there was nothing stopping him from carrying it.
Using the map to guide him, Max finally left the camp behind and ventured into the thick of the forest, heading north.
As he trod the spongy ground, he couldn’t help but admire the vastness and the raw beauty of the place.
Though the forest was dense, thin sunbeams were filtering through the latticework of leaves above Max, casting ever-shifting patterns of light and shadow over him as he walked, and the fauna seemed to become ever more vibrant and colourful the further he ventured.
The air also seemed to be getting richer with an earthy scent of damp moss and decaying leaves that reminded Max of his childhood with James, though mixed with new, dizzying natural scents that he couldn’t place.
Max hoped they weren’t the scents of hostile beasts.
It certainly sounded like there were creatures around; ever present was the ambience of distant birds chirruping, and a myriad of unseen insects clicking and buzzing, but he was lucky enough not to have come across another hornback or anything worse. At least not yet.
It once again hit Max how bizarre this entire situation was. Was he really in a world that ran on a system of videogame-like mechanics? Was this world even real?
Though he struggled to believe so, there was nothing artificial about his surroundings; the forest oozed an authenticity and history that could only have developed over centuries of existence. If it was indeed real, how long had this place existed?
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Max had a few moments of brief panic as he traversed the forest, ready to pull the bow or the knife from his inventory, but he was fortunate enough to find that each growl he heard was the guttural croak of a harmless toad hopping away, and each high-pitched battle-cry just the squawk of an innocent bird disturbed from its perch.
Around an hour and a half into Max’s trek (at least what he estimated was an hour and a half, given that he wasn’t wearing a watch, and didn’t seem to have his phone) a distant murmur reached his ears. At first, the sound was faint; a whisper amidst the bustle of nature that surrounded him. But as he pressed onward, it became clear that it was the tranquil trickling of running water, growing in volume and becoming more distinct with each of his steps.
Max quickened his pace, following the gushing sound as it grew louder. He could almost taste the moisture in the air as he got closer.
Pushing through the last of the thick forest, the foliage began to thin, revealing glimpses of shimmering light, and then the forest canopy completely opened up, unveiling a sunlit narrow.
There it was; the river Max had sought; a wide, sparkling ribbon of crystal-clear water, weaving through the forest.
Max dropped to his knees and cupped the water, forming a small pool in his hands.
It was strange; he felt thirsty, but in an indulgent way, as if water was somehow a luxury rather than a necessity in this world.
He briefly considered if it would be safe to drink without boiling it first. He didn’t want any more parasites in his body, but it looked clearer and cleaner than any water he had ever seen in his life.
He was about to let the water cupped in his palms drop back into the river, but his fears were allayed when text appeared above it that read:
Alryn River Water
Purity: Safe
The system hadn’t lied to him about anything yet, so he had no reason not to believe it.
He drank, feeling the refreshing liquid cool his throat and stomach. It was the purest, most refreshing thing he had ever tasted; flavourless, and yet somehow vibrant with its myriad of minerals at the same time.
He wondered if food worked the same way. He felt hungry, there was no doubt about that, although, again, there was a slight discrepancy to the way this hunger felt in comparison to what he had been used to all his life; as if eating might raise his mood and spirit, but not be essential for him to survive.
He once again considered how health really worked in this world.
It seemed his entire lifeline was determined by a HP level as opposed to the working of his internal organs. Could someone simply exist in this world on healing potions alone? Or if they never took any damage of any kind, not need anything at all?
Max knew he had a lot a learn; and hopefully when he found civilisation he would get the answers to a lot of those questions. But right now, the thought of eating something was as tantalising as ever.
Max opened his inventory and eyed the slab of hornback meat skewered on the horn. He pulled it out and rotated it; it looked as fresh as the moment it had popped out of the beast’s vanished carcass, and mighty delicious.
Before long, Max had gathered another round of dry kindling and a bunch of firewood, and had used the knife and flint to get his second fire of the day going.
He was quite impressed with himself. Before today he had only started a couple of fires in his youth, but he had evidently watched so many survival reality TV shows over the years that he had picked up a few tips and knew how to get one going with ease.
As the fire grew stronger, Max found a couple of sturdy branches with Y-shaped forks in them, carved the base of each into a sharp point, then drove them down into the earth at the perimeter on opposite sides of the blaze, leaving a little room so that they didn’t go up in flame.
Max then placed the horn with the meat skewered on it into the crochets, and stepped back to admire his handiwork.
He watched with a satisfied smile as the meat began to sizzle and hiss, giving off an unfamiliar but enticing aroma. The dancing flames underneath it seared its surface, sealing in the meat’s succulent juices.
Max couldn’t wait to tuck into it, and knowing that he had been the one to slay the brutish animal whose flesh it was only added to its appeal.
But it seemed Max wasn’t the only one who was chomping at the bit for a taste.
The sizzling smell had attracted some attention.
Landing in the branches of nearby trees were three vicious-looking vulture-like birds with red, beady eyes and scrawny black feathers.
Max pulled the knife out of his inventory and wrapped his fingers around the hilt, feeling adrenaline begin to course through his veins once again.
He knew he should have been frightened; heck, the old him would have been. But in seeing the hostile creatures lock their gaze onto his supper, his thoughts excitedly went to the different ways in which he could take them out, and the loot they might drop.
Max realised in that moment that he wasn’t just ready for another battle.
He was hungry for one.