[Flint Pickaxe] = 2 Flint (Any, 1-1.5kg) + 1 Wood (Any, 0.25-0.35m) + Twine (Any, 0.15-0.2m) + [Knife] (Flint) + [Workbench] (Any)
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The manifestations roared.
Jay [Thrust], cleaving through the nearest clay gorilla’s mouth. It collapsed without a word, only to be replaced by another pair. With a [Push], he forced his way to a better position, interposing them between himself and the edge of the ridge. A second [Push] sent them tumbling altogether. The gorilla monsters fell with a scream.
Jay gasped for air, his energy almost depleted. So many tough ones tonight. Natura had brought out the big guns, purging its entire army of any weakling he could dispose of with ease, and supplementing its ranks with nothing less than medium-tiered monsters. Clay gorillas and verdant wolves flooded the field as the easier mobs, with granite bears as their officers. The giant "mossmoose” did not make its return this evening, but it didn’t need to. The granite bears were powerful enough on their own. More than one grouped together forced him into a constant retreat.
A verdant wolf dove, and Jay barely dodged in time. His lizardscale armor hissed against the attack, and blood welled through the seams where exposed. It couldn’t take many more of these hits without breaking. His spear was cracked along the hilt, not doing much better.
Need to change tactics. Jay holstered his best weapon and switched to his new one, the leather-wrapped hilt rough against his calloused hands.
The monsters charged anew, but Jay had already raised his shield to [Track]. With the power of his stance at play, he easily deflected the hits while following it with a [Slash]. Green eyes dimmed where heads became severed. Monster ichor exploded out.
On and on, the battle continued, with Jay swapping between his spear and sword as he took out the weaker mobs, using a mix of [Stampede] and [Push] to keep distance healthy while following with weapon skills to quickly finish them off.
It wasn’t a complete rout. The longer they attacked, the more worn down he became. He lost half his armor set before the end, and his sword was not far behind. Were it not for the power of his +4 spear, he would have been forced to abandon his base completely. The last clay gorillas fell with a [Sweep] from his spear, and Jay almost breathed in relief.
But then the bears came.
There were four of them, all clustered together as they’d been from the start, slowly limbering his way without a care in the world. Whatever spike traps they walked into shattered on touch, and his palisade walls fell quickly to their overpowered might. Only through natural defenses could he buy himself time, but they were quick enough when they wanted to be, and he could not keep them at bay forever.
What few flinthead arrows he launched clattered harmlessly against their rock-like chassis. Jay reached for his spear, only to remember that it was far too weak. He grit his teeth. How was he going to beat these guys?
Slowly and carefully. Jay retreated further into the jungle, where he kept his workbench hidden. Before the bears could close in, he quickly repaired his spear to full. The workbench shattered moments later as he flew back to safety.
Jay breathed deep, shield raised as he prepared for the next onslaught. The granite bear squad limbered forth, calm as the morning breeze.
He [Thrust]. The nearest bear’s shoulder cracked where the speartip cut thr–
Snap.
Jay coughed up blood as his chest armor finally broke. He glanced behind to see another claw coming straight down.
[Push].
Snap.
His ears heard nothing but ringing where the second bear flanked him, swiping in his blind spot. The last slashed through his shoulder. He screamed in pain, and a fresh Wound formed.
The bears lunged down as one. Jay rolled just before they hit.
[Thrust]. [Br–
The shockwave knocked him from behind, even as his shield deflected the blow in front. Agony tore through his hips where another bear struck him. He struggled to his feet, legs twitching in shock. Again, Jay limped to safety, gasping for air.
The bears continued to march forth, nice and steady.
And Jay realized the trap that had been set for him this evening. By setting up an army of medium-strength monsters, a group of fodder rushed straight at him to wear his weapons and armor down. Once he was able to take his fight to the bears, he was operating at half-strength, and they had grouped together. No longer was it a manageable fight.
He’d been outsmarted.
A bear smashed the ground, perhaps ten feet away. Now without armor, the force alone was enough to knock him down. His teeth clattered as another earthquake was launched his way. And a third after that. They have range too? He couldn’t tell if the pop that rang out came from his head smashing against a rock, or another broken bone. Either way, his body could not take much more abuse.
He rolled to his feet, wheezing in pain. His spear rocked in shaking hands.
The granite bears pushed on without mercy. Their paws stomped the mud in tandem.
His vision blurred, the walls were closing in, and it wasn’t lost on Jay that he had one clear way out of this unwinnable fight. As much as he hated to use this tool yet again, there was no way out of where this would go. Another hit might be one too many.
He reached into his cargo shorts, glad to see this tool had not been lost. The bear monsters got within ten feet again.
Jay took aim with his 9mm semi-automatic pistol.
The first shot rang true. The night sky flashed brighter than daytime as the 9mm cartridge shot forth, an incandescent tsunami of concentrated force against otherwise fragile constructs. This bullet found its mark by torching through the first bear’s granite hide, disintegrating the soft heart beneath before shattering out the other stone side, followed by repeating the same technique for the bear behind, disintegrating its flesh with only a slight loss in momentum, eviscerating the joints that connected it from the shoulder to the neck, demolishing its back muscles fused with granite, and finally pushed through the jungle behind, destroying trees and boulders alike as the shot whizzed off to nowhere. The two bears fell as one, and a smoldering path formed in their wake.
The second shot did not go as well. The surviving monsters split apart before Jay could take aim, so only one bear took the brunt of the damage. The jacketed hollow-point 9mm round still claimed its victim with ease, zipping through the open air, the space where the granite bear’s head occupied, and off into the stars without slowing down a beat. A volcano of flaming monster ichor mixed stone erupted from the manifestation’s neck in a display that would have been comical, were circumstances different.
The last granite bear stood on its hind legs and puffed its chest, its hardened cheeks bending into a smirk. Jay blinked through the pain and aimed, his muscles twitching in rage. So much more was spoken between the two.
The bear knew it had won this battle, even if the fight itself was lost. Natura had composed a strategy that Jay could not beat, and it relished in the chance to gloat. By creating a situation in which he could not win by combat alone, Jay had no choice but to expend precious ammunition from his pistol. Ammunition that could not be replaced. Once he finished off this final bear, he’d be down to a measly five rounds.
And Natura would bring these granite bears back again. And again. And again.
Jay smote his foe. The bear’s mocking face vanished under a veil of gore-coated rocks, but the image remained for moments later.
All the way until Jay collapsed, too weak from his injuries to do anything else…
* * *
Faraway crickets chirped as Jay groaned in pain. The red planet beamed high above, casting its fell light onto the shadowy plains beneath. Jay tried to bat away this night-time sun, but the act proved insufficient. His arm was too sleepy.
No, it wasn’t just from him waking up. His arm was paralyzed.
His heart skipped a beat. Jay rolled in place, but most of his limbs dragged uselessly behind. Only one hand had any degree of motion. The other quaked without control, leaving tiny dribbles in the pool of coagulated blood that had formed beneath his chest.
Jay exhaled, only to choke on his own bile. His eyes traced the bloody mess his body had leaked out, spreading out several feet away before spilling into one of the fissures that the bears left behind with their power attacks.
Just how much had he been bleeding out!?
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And more was still coming, gushing from his chest and leeching his life force. These weren’t just regular injuries that covered his body, after all. They were Wounds, and Jay didn’t need to see the Guide to remember how they worked. The more Wounds he gained, the lower his vitality recovered until it entered the negative.
Then, his health would tick down. Lower and lower.
Until it hit zero.
Jay squirmed, his body so weak. More blood splattered as his muscles twisted into an injured joint. He didn’t even have the strength to cry out. Not against this.
He eyed his hardwood log base, with the easy access workbench, along with the first aid kit he’d looted from the cairn that would restore his vitality to full. He stared deep, as if to will the kit to come closer on its own.
No solution. He would have to pull himself from this mess.
Just get to the nearest bush. That was all he needed. A tangle of twine wrapped around a stick, and he could stop the blood loss in its tracks. His vitality was still low enough.
If only he could make it that far. The more he squirmed, the more the viscera flowed free. Jay gasped for air, feeling his strength down to the dregs.
His vision blurred. The walls closed in anew. Jay knew that this time, he wouldn’t wake up a second time. Not from this.
Move! You have to! This wasn’t the first time his life had been on a razor’s edge, but he’d be damned if he let it become his last. After everything he’d done the week before to claw his way from the brink, to die after a single botched fight would be absurd. Unthinkable, even!
Jay grit his teeth and pushed with all his might, only one arm and leg at his disposal as the rest of his body dragged uselessly behind. He could see it. An ordinary bushel of hemp. The moment he tied the crude tourniquets around his Wounds, the bleeding would stop, and his death would be averted. He only needed to make it to that one fucking bush.
It was almost within arm’s reach. A little further, and he would be there. All those over one bad night. A single moment of complacency, and Jay had allowed himself to be put in this spot yet again.
But he would not let it end him.
He reached the bush, ripped off leaves, scooped a stick off the ground, and went to craft, made more awkward by having only a single working hand.
Just like every other setback, Jay would find a way to gain more than he’d lose from this moment. He’d forever remember what went wrong. Not playing the fight less aggressively. Or maybe not carrying first aid on hand. Or maybe just straying too far from home. Most realistically, some combination of them all. It didn’t matter. So long as he grew from his failures, he’d never become weaker.
Not everything had to be about his gear and skills. His knowledge grew above all else.
The first crude tourniquet snapped in place, forming around his most minor Wound. Immediately, Jay breathed easy, feeling the drop in weakness lessen.
But it was not enough. It took another agonizing minute of desperate crafting to get the second tourniquet in place, and another after that to close the third wound, strategically wrapped around his smallest injuries to minimize material cost.
He collapsed once finished, nearly losing consciousness again. Had he wasted any more time, it would have been over.
And yet, it wasn’t. As his wounds became treated and his vitality slowly ticked back up, Jay had but one thought left.
Not tonight.
* * *
Rays of early morning sun cut through swaying jungle palms. The roaring waterfall continued to pour crystalline sheets over the inland cave, just in eyeshot of the hardwood cabin by the lake nearby.
Jay hunched over his research table inside, his skin pale as he dug through the Crafting tree for his next necessary project.
Crafting – Swords
Research Requirements: Examine crafted [Hardwood Sword] for required length of time and/or expend desired material into table’s board to reduce maximum time.
Pending Research:
Identify Modifiers: 5-20 hours, or Wood (Hard, 200-300kg) + Twine (Any, 50-75kg) + Bone (50-75kg)
Unlock Heavy Sword Sub-Craft: 5-20 hours, or Wood (Hard, 250-375kg) + Twine (Any, 50-75kg) + Bone (75-90kg)
Unlock Curved Sword Sub-Craft: 4-16 hours, or Wood (Hard, 250-375kg) + Twine (Any, 50-75kg) + Bone (75-90kg)
Unlock Straight Sword Sub-Craft: 4-16 hours, or Wood (Hard, 250-375kg) + Twine (Any, 50-75kg) + Bone (75-90kg)
Unlock Piercing Sword Sub-Craft: 5-20 hours, or Wood (Hard, 250-375kg) + Twine (Any, 50-75kg) + Bone (75-90kg)
Unlock Copper Sword: 30-90 hours, or Wood (Any, 4000-6000kg) + Twine (Any, 500-750kg) + Copper (Bar, 2500-3750kg)
There was more to it, of course. Each of the main weapon branches split off into their own Sub-Crafts. Spears led to Javelins and Pikes. Bows split off into Shortbows and Longbows. Axes had branches for Battle-axes and Hand Axes. Clubs could become Quarterstaffs or Greatclubs. Daggers even had groups for Throwing Knives or those meant for Parrying.
And this could go even further as tech and levels went up, presumably into more complex weapon Sub-Crafts, each with their own advantages and disadvantages.
But only option mattered right now.
Research Selected…
Time Requirement rolled (Core Modifier: None).
Resource Expense rolled (Core Modifier: None).
Research Now Available.
Jay leaned forward as the board changed again.
Crafting – Swords
Current Research: Unlock Copper Sword
Time Remaining: 74 hours, 32 minutes
Resources Expended: 0/5248.9kg Wood (Any), 0/524.2kg Twine (Any), 0/2624.3kg Copper (Bar).
He winced. A bad roll on the timing. Much more than he would’ve liked. Even with the time reduction he’d get from mats, it could still take more than a day.
Oh, how Jay wished he had a core.
But as he looked more closely, he considered that it was not necessary. The material rolls ended up decent for him, with copper and twine on the lower end. Yes, the more he thought it through, the more he realized that this could be brute-forced, so long as he put in the work and spent his time and energy efficiently.
Jay left the research table and went through his storage containers for some new mats. His workbench sat nearby, ready for use.
This was a quick craft that he’d been neglecting for ages, almost never needing more than what could be gathered by hand. He simply took a length of hardwood and affixed two pieces of flint on the top like an upside U, using his flint knife to trim them down for a smooth handle and sharp points. The hemp was quickly wrapped around the flint blocks to lock them in place, and his stone hammer knocked an extra +2 monster core to give it an added kick.
Jay blew off the sawdust from his final creation. The flint pickaxe glittered in the morning light, ready for use.
Jay beamed. Time for some mining!
Name: Jay Reis (Primal Age)
Vitality – 38/38
Hunger – 44/72
Thirst – 16/24
Fatigue – 10/24
Sanity – 80/100
Main Crafts: Armor Crafting 2, Base Building 2, Cooking 0, Medicine 0, Tailoring 1, Tool Crafting 1, Weapon Crafting 2.
Weapon Crafts: Axes 0, Bows 4, Clubs 0, Daggers 0, Spears 5, Swords 5.
Armor Crafts: Heavy Armor 5, Light Armor 2, Medium Armor 0, Shields 4.
Armor Skills:
Heavy Armor: [Push], [Stampede]
Light Armor: [Dash]
Shield: [Brace], [Track]
Weapon Skills:
Bows: [Sharpshooter], [Longshot]
Spears: [Thrust], [Sweep]
Swords: [Power Attack], [Slash]
Armor:
[Lizardscale Helmet+2] (Hardened+1)
[Lizardscale Chestpiece+4] (Hardened+1)
[Lizardscale Leggings+2] (Hardened+1)
[Lizardscale Boots+1] (Hardened+1)
[Lizardscale Gauntlets+1] (Hardened+1)
[Scaled Roundshield+3] (Hardened+1)
Weapons:
[Hardwood Sword+3] (Reinforced+1), (Stable+1)
[Flint Spear+4] (Hardened), (Reinforced)
[Wooden Bow+3]
[Basic Leather Quiver]: Contains 20 [Flinthead Arrows]
[9mm Semi-Automatic Pistol] (Accurate+2, Quick): Contains 5 [9mm Cartridge] (JHP)
Tools:
[Flint Knife+1]
[Stone Axe+1]
[Stone Hammer+1]
[Flint Pickaxe+2]