Reaching out Isaac took the closest book and examined it.

The tome was bound in a soft leather that seems to shimmer with a faint, ever-shifting iridescence. Its cover was adorn with intricate silver filigree that weaved into an intricate lattice of symbols, but not in any language he could understand or recognize.

Strange. He remembered Blockworld rather vividly, and could picture in his mind how the game normally looked. Looking around he saw rolling hills and grassy fields with all the detail you would expect from real life. Nothing like the 16 bit voxel style he normally associated with the game.

With a sigh and a shrug, he opened the book. The pages flashed with a bright light, causing him to see spots for a moment before his vision cleared. Another window was flowing in front of him, this time with a silver glow around it.

Trait Acquired: Inventory of the Crafty

At will, you can make any loose items you touch vanish into your inventory screen. Any item stored in your inventory will not encumber you in any way, and any item in the bottom row of your inventory can be summoned to hand at a thought.

Isaac blinked. He looked at the window for a while until it eventually faded away. He looked down at his hands, not really sure what to do until he tried to envision the inventory window. A large 4x9 grid appeared in front of him suddenly, causing him to yelp and step back. The window followed, matching his movements and staying in front of him.

"No way... This is crazy."

Above the grid was a 2x8 vertical grid, showing slots for Head, Body, Legs, Feet, and up to four Accessories. They were all empty, which lead him to believe that his clothes didn't count. Scratching his chin he looked around, eager to try out this new power. A nearby tree provided a branch, and once it was in his hand he mentally willed it into the grid. The branch vanished, and now one of the slots were occupied by a little cartoonish icon that said 'oak tree branch'.

"This is gonna be super useful. What else can these books do?"

Isaac grabbed another one of the floating books and opened it. This one behaved much as the previous one did, only this time the message was different.

Trait Acquired: Stamina of the Explorer

You gain godlike stamina. So long as you are well fed you can run, work, and fights for days. You also are able to shrug off damage far easier than normal. So long as the damage isn't fatal, you can recover with some food and a few moments of rest.

Well that was just downright busted. Isaac looked down at his hands and flexed his fingers. He didn't feel different... Although that being said he also didn't feel bad. He didn't have the normal exhaustion that came with day to day living, instead he felt like he'd had a good nights sleep.

Looking off into the distance he felt an urge to move come over him. His legs took a stance, shifting like a coiled spring. With a sudden burst of speed Isaac took off running, his arms pumping as air filled his lungs.

And he just ran. He ran until his chest burned and his legs ached. When he finally stopped he bent over, gasping for air but a smile on his face. This felt amazing. Even as he stood up he could feel the fatigue leaving his body.

Looking around he'd moved fairly far from where he'd started. He was surrounded by a forest, but the trees weren't so dense he couldn't see through them. In the distance was a large lake, and he was standing on top of a hill that jutted up from the bank. The trees around him served for a good bit of shade as he leaned against one.

An almost giddiness washed over him as he realized this was the only time in his life he'd ran that far and hard and not be in pain at the end of it. Even though he was out of breath now he felt his heart pounding and it filled him with a sense of excitement. Isaac ran his arm over his forehead, wiping away the sweat that had built up. This game was... amazing.

A thought struck him and he opened his inventory, pulling out the last book.

"Almost forgot about you. Let's see what you give me."

There was another flash, only instead of a window popping up, he saw that the book itself had changed. Instead of the soft brown leather it was a dark and chipped black. The band keeping it closed was a blood red, and there was gold filigree that depicted eyes glaring at him with a wicked smirk. After a moment's hesitation, he opened this book as well.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

A white window with glowing black borders appeared in front of him.

Item Received: Questing Book - Hardcore Rank

Description: By using this book you will be given guidance through the world, and rewards for completing quests. However the world will become dangerous. You will no longer respawn if you die, instead you will be sent back to your native realm and the Game will end.

Note: Failure to complete quests will result in a penalty.

Accept? Yes/No

Oh. Oh that was interesting. A little intimidating but Isaac couldn't shake the benifits of having a guide. The idea of dying wasn't particularly appealing, but if he did the Game would just end. No "if you die in the game you die in real life" nonsense. At least, he hoped that's how it would go. Before he lost his nerve, Isaac selected 'Yes' and watched as the window faded away and the book's pages began to glow. Text began to write itself onto the book in his hands.

Ongoing Quest: Learning the basics.

You're new to this world, so it's time to get prepared for anything that could happen. Complete these quests in order to better learn to survive.

Reward: ???

New Quest! Wood puncher.

Collect materials to be used for survival.

Progress: 1/5

Applicable materials: branches, ???, ???, ???

Reward: beginners toolkit.

Isaac looked at his inventory screen again. If the branch was one of the needed resources, he was curious what else would count. He wandered around for a bit, picking up other branches and any large rocks he might come across. It didn't take him long to have three branches, a small rock, and some tall grass bundles to complete the material requirements. He never found the final required material, but he didn't have a lot of time to think about it. His Questing Book appeared in front of him, the pages turning as a chiptune congrats sound sounded off.

Quest Complete!

Reward: Beginners Toolkit

Accept? Yes/No

Selecting yes caused a large box that looked like a white gift box with a red ribbon to appear. The box shuddered and the lid flew off, and a textbox appeared with pixelated confetti.

Wooden Axe, Wooden Pick, Wooden Shovel, and Wooden Hammer has been added to your Inventory!

Sure enough, four new items were now in his inventory. Isaac mentally moved the wooden axe to his hotbar and summoned it to his hand. It felt hefty, and he had to adjust his grip before he lifted the axe. The shaft was a smooth pale wood, and the axe head itself was a darker almost reddish color. It looked surprisingly sharp for a wooden tool. Isaac walked up to a nearby tree and started chopping. The first swing he nearly dropped the axe, the shock going up his arms instantly.

"Okay, okay, I get it, I'm out of shape." he muttered to himself. Or Cyoa, if she was listening. After a few attempts he managed to strike the tree and a chip flew off. With a renewed vigor he started chopping again, working through the bark of the tree. After a few moments, the tree fell with a mighty crash. A small silly part of him half expected the bottom part of the tree to pop out, and leave the rest of the tree floating in midair. It didn't.

After messing around and trying to fit the tree into his pockets, he realized that he had to chop the log up into sections for him to be able to add it to his inventory. So he got to work, segmenting the fallen tree and stripping away any branches while putting them into his inventory. After he finished he had a total of 8 Oak Logs and 12 Oak Branches.

"Okay so, I'm playing Wilderness Survival Simulator. What now?" He seriously hoped that was more to this than hard labor, that would be a very cruel joke. Almost in response his Quest Book opened again with another message.

New Quest! Home Sweet Hole.

Using your new tools, collect materials and build a place to sleep for the night.

Time Limit: Sundown

Reward: Beginners Lunchbox

It hadn't occurred to him until right then how hungry he was. Isaac quickly accepted the quest and got to work, using his tools to the best of his ability. It started with felling another tree, and another and another. As the sun began to set, he dug into the earth and mined at the stone, clearing out a small area next to the hill and even digging into it. He settled on bracing an entrance into the hill with stone and logs, the inside being a few steps down and into the earth. He couldn't do much in terms of a door, but thankfully the book didn't have too many qualms about it.

Quest Complete!

Reward: Beginners Lunchbox

3x Bread, 3x Apple, 3x Grilled Fish has been added to your Inventory!

"Heck yeah, I'm starving." digging into the food. The flavors were simple. The bread felt fresh, the fish still warm, and the apple was juicy. It was nothing crazy, but it honestly tasted like the best food he'd ever had in his life. Drinking from a small stream nearby he leaned against the outside of his hillside home and watched as the sun began to set.

"This might not be such a bad thing..." he mused to himself, leaning his head back and letting his eyes close.

In the distance, sharp brown eyes looked from a thick bush towards the hillside. The eyes watched the figure work, eat, then relax. They licked their lips, a feeling of anticipation burning inside of them as heat splashed against their cheeks. A faint crackling could be heard as they retreated from their observations.