[Crude Javelin] = Wood (Hard, 0.9-1.1m) + Flint (0.3-0.45kg) + Twine (Hemp, 0.3-0.35m) + [Knife] (Any) + [Workbench] (Any)

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It was almost time.

Jay knew that as he marched back home, the sun pressing relentlessly down on its late-afternoon descent. The bag of loot weighed heavily on his hand. He wiped the sweat from his brow.

The cairn had collapsed soon after Jay killed the satyr boss. As the Guide explained, without the protection of the cairn’s Guardian, the magic faded, and the dungeon fell apart. Even the ladder’s mind-altering trap had lessened in intensity, though he still carried a torch as he climbed to keep the fell whispering at bay. He had plenty of time fortunately, so Jay was able to leave without issue, claiming as much loot as possible along the way. Only the satyr needed to be rushed, but he harvested a level 13 core from it before the end.

A quick power nap helped Jay recover his lost fatigue, and now he was walking back to base camp to fill in the appropriate core upgrades. By his count, he had a dozen +1 cores, four +2, and a single +3. That, combined with his spear and the pistol he’d looted, Jay would never be more powerful than now.

Tonight was the night he’d defeat Natura’s army, whatever the cost.

A voice buzzed through the trees ahead, too low to be comprehensible. Jay stiffened and raised his shield in instinct, but the sound melded into a warmer cadence seconds later. It took a moment to realize that this wasn’t like the entity that attacked him in the cairn. The closer the voice drew, the more apparent a new truth became.

Someone was singing out here?

Yes, there was no mistaking it. The unintelligible murmuring had a whimsical vibe could not be denied, and the longer it went on, the more clear it was that a man was singing a song nearby. With all the caution that Jay could muster, he crept slowly for the source, keeping low in the underbrush.

The man’s voice echoed closer, and Jay could make out some of the words.

“…Our love we cannot hide,” the man sang. “Our hearts are open wide…”

Jay pushed more reeds aside. His scalemail boots sunk slightly into the jungle mud as he moved closer still. He made sure to avoid stepping on any twigs or branches, lest he be heard. The hardwood shaft of his spear was cool to the touch, should Jay need it.

And the man ahead continued without fear.

“…We know how hard you try,” he went. “Whether you win or lose, it’s you that we choose!”

Jay pushed through more reeds. His jaw dropped at the vision in front.

This guy could not have been more than a few inches taller than him, but where Jay was fully armored to protect himself, the other man wore no more than loincloth above leather boots and fingerless gloves. He was otherwise naked, with tattoos running along his chest, and a face covered with blue and black war paint where it wasn’t bursting with long orange hair and a shaggy beard. A giant axe rocked side to side from a holster strapped to his back, with a golden blade that could cleave a person in half.

But it was the komodo dragon he dragged by the tail that made Jay nearly lose his balance altogether. Though this man chanted his tune without the slightest care in the world, the dead behemoth crunched through the branches and rocks as though it was no more than a sack of rice.

Just how strong was this guy?

“…Arsenal, we’re on your side!” he roared. “Our love, we cannot hide! Our hearts, are open wide… For nobody else, but you!”

Only now did Jay recognize this voice. He’d heard it before on the radio.

Desmond suddenly paused, his bulbous nose wrinkling. Before Jay could make a move, his target had his axe out and pointed forth, right at him.

“Oy!” he called out. “Who’s out there?”

Jay fumbled without words.

“Come out, you cunt!” Desmond continued. “Don’t think I can’t smell your sweaty arse in there!”

Jay took a step into the open. There was no use hiding from someone of his power level.

Desmond squinted. “And who the fuck is this then?”

He raised his hands. “It’s me, Jay.”

“Bloody hell, the newbie? And here, we thought you was dead, we did.”

“Nope. Still here.”

He holstered his axe and waved him forth. “Well, don’t just stand there. Come on over, and let’s have a look at ya!”

Jay breathed easy. He might have been avoiding people, but as long as they weren’t hostile, no harm could come from it.

Desmond went to the nearest log and quickly cleaned it up while muttering obscenities to himself, as though Jay was company that he’d forgotten.

“There you are,” he said. “Have a seat, little one.”

Jay found his spot. Desmond sat across, dragging the dead komodo dragon a few feet further to use its head as a chair. The elongated tongue sprawled out as he flopped atop.

The two sat in silence for a bit, embracing the quiet of the late afternoon day. This was perhaps the first time Jay had met someone else out here who either wasn’t yelling at him or punching him out.

He didn’t mind.

The sun beat down above. Jay took out his waterskin and sipped more of his lifeberry tea. Desmond brought out his own canteen, this one made of a hardened leather and twice the size as his. Blue-tinted liquid flowed down his beard as he guzzled it down. The burp that followed practically shook the ground beneath.

Jay couldn’t help but chuckle. The other man beamed.

“What were you singing before, Desmond?” Jay asked.

He rubbed his scraggly beard. “Oh, nothing to concern yourself with. Just an old tune from back home.”

“Back home,” Jay repeated. “You miss it?”

“Sometimes, aye. Annwyn has a way of making you forget the important bits at times, but then you see that small little something that brings back a jolly ‘ole time, and next thing you know, you’re bawling like a child.”

Jay nodded. “I know what you mean.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Do you, now? And how long have you been here?”

His cheeks reddened. “It’s been a rough couple of weeks, okay?”

“A rough couple of weeks?” Desmond scoffed, incredulous. “I’ll have you know that I’ve been here for over three months, you wanker!”

“Hey, it’s not a competition.”

“That’s just the sort of thing that someone says when they’re losing.”

He grimaced.

Desmond yawned. “Oh, don’t give me that look, Jay. You made it this far, didn’t ya? That’s got to be worth something.”

“I don’t know… I thought I was starting to handle things well, but when my first week ended, the night became harder than I thought, and I haven’t caught up since. I’m not sure how much longer I can do this.”

He frowned. “Heard from Naomi that you’re missing a core. That true?”

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

“Yep. I still don’t get how it all works, but I used to play a lot of games on Earth, so I know a debuff when I see one. Things shouldn’t be this difficult. And yet, they are for me. Not like for the rest of you.”

He stroked his beard. “What makes you think it’s so easy for the rest of us?”

“Well, for starters, you’re walking around the jungle half-naked.”

Desmond scoffed. “Speak for yourself, lad.” He nudged to Jay’s legs. His sunburned legs remained exposed below his ripped cargo shorts where the lizardscale leggings had been trashed during the last fight. Despite the rest of his heavy armor, his thighs remained bare.

Jay chewed his lips, suddenly embarrassed. “Touché. Something like that happen to you?”

He chuckled. “Nah. Just felt like letting the body breathe on a pleasant day.”

“Are you saying that you killed that thing without armor?”

Flies buzzed about the dead komodo’s corpse, as if in agreement.

“Don’t mind him. He’s just some low-Rank trash that I only got because the meat ain’t half-bad. Though maybe not so easy for you.” He rubbed the back of his head and winced. “Yeah, you’d best stay away from the likes of him for a while.”

Now, it was Jay’s turn to grin. “Where do you think I got this armor from?”

“Felled a T-4, did you? Not so bad for a rookie.”

“What does ‘T-4’ mean? I heard Naomi use the same term before.”

“Right, you’re still a fresh laddie. It is short for ‘Tier-4,’ meaning what infusion level your stuff becomes when infused.”

Buzz.

He winced. Probably not that bad. Like Sayid explained, intent and value mattered with Rule 5 breaks, and this was low enough stakes on both fronts.

Jay considered the name. “Isn’t it just easier to go by level? The Guide makes the distinction pretty clear.”

“Aye, but that only works at Primal Age. The further it gets, the muddier it becomes. Next thing you know, you’re fighting a level 1,893 bastard and not sure where it stands.”

“Wait… It goes that high?”

Desmond shrugged. “I don’t know, maybe. Never seen more than a couple hundred, but it wouldn’t surprise me if that cunt of a leviathan is around there. Nasty fucker, he is. You make sure to not build a raft anytime soon.”

And I’ve been struggling against level 10 enemies… “I can’t believe this place is so… Big.”

“And it’s even bigger than you think,” Desmond agreed.

“Not like it matters. At the rate things are going, I don’t know if I’ll win tonight. If only I’d known about upgrading mats yesterday, I might have won last night and been able to sleep, for real.”

“There’s always tonight.”

“No, there’s only tonight.” Jay sighed. “I’ve let my Stats get too low from lack of sleep, and my fatigue will hit zero well before the sun rises. Unless I’m able to win in a fight, it’ll be over for me.”

Desmond raised an eyebrow. “So this is it for you then, is it? No longer fight-or-flight, but win-or-die?”

“Pretty much.”

Jay had been thinking about it all day. His maximum fatigue kept ticking down by the day, and he only had eight points left in the total pool. With each instance of being “Poorly Rested,” he lost another eight, all the way until this point. Even if it didn’t escalate further tomorrow and kill him outright, he’d never have enough to survive a full night by running away. Natura’s army would make sure of it.

So now, his life was back to a razor’s edge, just as it had been since the start. Except, this time, there’d be no “Will To Live” boost to save the day. He would either be able to win with his own grit, or he’d never see tomorrow.

Jay took another swig from his waterskin. Though the taste of lifeberries was sweet against his tongue, the slight boost in sanity only made his circumstances that much more clear. And more stark.

But Desmond only smiled. “You’re gonna make it, kid.”

“What makes you say that?”

“Lemme tell you a little story from when I first got here…” He took a drink from his own flask and stared into the horizon. “Woke up in the tutorial island, bare ass naked. Thought it was all an alcohol-induced nightmare, I did. Didn’t want to think I’d really gone and died. So I said ‘sod it,’ bucked the Guide’s words, and spent the next week fishing, eating, sunbathing, and trying to get a good wank in. Most of it was a right ‘ole laugh, but I couldn’t quite do the wanking bit. Part of Annwyn’s laws, we reckon.

“Anyway, you might have missed it, but the tutorial island doesn’t hide Natura forever. It only makes it harder for the cunt to find us.” He held up a finger. “One week. That’s all it protects you for. Sure enough, when it came time for me to piss off to the mainland, the night came for me like a beast. Just like you, I’d cocked it up something fierce and didn’t stand a chance.”

Jay leaned in. “How’d you get out of it.”

“Played the game, same as everyone else.” He stroked his weapon. “The one trick I picked up on the tutorial was axe crafting. Made a whole bunch of ‘em to see how good I’d get at throwing ‘em about. So, after a couple days of running and screaming, I decided to use the one skill I’d gained. Didn’t know how durability or half the mechanics worked, so I made a hundred crude axes to prepare.”

His eyes went ablaze. “Oh, what a proper battle that was. Nothing like getting in a scrap at the pub. With no more than my field filled with axes, I swung until they broke, I threw them until they broke, and I kept going at the cunts until there was nothing left to hit. Got knackered like nobody’s business, but in the end, they was dead, but I still stood.

“And you want to know the true bollocks, Jay? I didn’t feel that need to wank no more after that night. Not when I’d uncovered something better. Nothing compares with putting your life on the line and coming out on top. That is the sort of talk that’d get me sectioned back home, but not here.” He chuckled. “No, no. On Annwyn, we are finally free to become the nutters we are inside.”

He turned to Jay, his blue eyes fevered. “Embrace the madness, fam. Sanity’s just a number here. It don’t mean nothing more than that. Regardless of what monsters come at night, you’ll always be able to get stronger than them. That’s what makes us so special. We get better while they stay the same. Break out of that prison you call a mind, and you’ll find your solution, soon enough.”

Jay nodded in silence. He hadn’t really thought of things this way, but this was the pep talk he needed.

Annwyn truly was insane. A world with video game mechanics, with monsters that stalked him by the night, and others he hunted by the day to craft into better gear. Fight after fight, climbing for the sake of survival, with no explanation at hand other than an irreversible death on failure. Why not embrace the lunacy? Moping around would get him nothing.

“Thanks, Desmond,” Jay said. “That means a lot. More than you can know.”

“Aye, laddie.” He glanced off into the horizon. “Thinking it might be time for us to call this day.”

“Yeah, I think it might be.”

“Oh well, looks like we’ll have to have another chat like this a different day. See you then!”

Jay smiled, enjoying the confidence in his voice when he said they’d speak another day. For perhaps the first time since arriving, he felt certain that time would come.

On that thought, Desmond stood and started walking away, once again dragging the dead komodo dragon through the jungle while he trilled into another performance.

“Arsenal, we’re on your side!” he sang. “Our love, we cannot hide! Our hearts, are open wide! For nobody else, but you…!”

He wandered off, into the jungle to prepare for the night’s battle.

And Jay turned the other way, ready to win his own fight.

Name: Jay Reis (Primal Age)

Vitality – 33/37 (Wounded+2 (Treated+2), Burned (Treated))

Hunger – 64/72

Thirst – 17/24 (Sweltering)

Fatigue – 6/8 (Poorly Rested+4, Stimmed)

Sanity – 76/100

Main Crafts: Armor Crafting 1, Base Building 1, Cooking 0, Medicine 0, Tailoring 1, Tool Crafting 1, Weapon Crafting 2.

Weapon Crafts: Axes 0, Bows 3, Spears 5.

Armor Crafts: Heavy Armor 2, Light Armor 2, Medium Armor 0, Shields 2.

Armor Skills:

Heavy Armor: [Push]

Light Armor: [Dash]

Shield: [Brace]

Weapon Skills:

Bows: [Sharpshooter]

Spears: [Thrust], [Sweep]

Armor:

[Lizardscale Helmet] (Hardened+1)

[Lizardscale Chestpiece] (Hardened+1)

[Lizardscale Boots] (Hardened+1)

[Lizardscale Gauntlets] (Hardened+1)

[Scaled Roundshield] (Hardened+1)

Weapons:

[Flint Spear+4] (Reinforced), (Hardened)

[Flint Spear+2]

[Wooden Bow+2]

[Crude Quiver]: Contains 20 [Flinthead Arrows]

[9mm Semi-Automatic Pistol] (Accurate+2), (Quick): Contains 10 [9mm Cartridge] (JHP)

Tools:

[Flint Knife]

[Stone Axe]

[Stone Hammer]