[Basic Campfire] = 6 Stones (Any, 0.75-1.5kg) + 3 Stick (Any, 0.15-0.2m) + Leaves (Any, 0.1-0.5kg) + 2 Flint (0.1-0.2kg)
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…The truck horn bellowed.
It happened in less than a second. Jay tilted his head as the multi-ton behemoth rushed right for him. The front grill opened, sharp and jagged like a shark’s mouth. Wheels hissed against the pavement as they raced his way, ready to swallow him whole. The headlamps watched on without care for the life they would soon claim.
All Jay could do in this final moment was turn and stare as the webcam tumbled from his hand. An unavoidable death barreled onward, gleefully salivating at the thought of running over his frail, supple body.
The truck whizzed by, missing him by inches.
Jay blinked, realizing he’d just been spared. He turned to face the receding vehicle and screamed. “Asshole!”
The truck disappeared around a corner without thought.
Man, that was a close one. He’d almost lost his life! To a truck, too. Could there have been a more uninteresting and generic way to die? Not for him.
No, if Jay Reis was going to leave this world, he’d rather go out with a bang…
* * *
Now we’re getting somewhere.
The Guide vibrated with this latest discovery, unlocking more recipes under the Crafting subsection. Jay looked over this addition and grinned.
[Basic Aloe Cream] = Aloe Vera (0.05-0.5kg) + Water (Fresh, 50-500mL) + [Bowl] (Any, 1L)
Just as he suspected, multiple actions were needed to progress through the Crafting tree. The first step required him to have previously crafted at least one item of the tier to open the path to the next node, but the node itself remained blocked until he discovered every ingredient.
Like trying to uncover the secrets to technological progress on his own, Jay had to learn about the materials he could use, along with the operation needed to manipulate them into the final product. The final result made the page spawn in the next node like a video game tech tree, and the Guide’s pages quickly exploded in size.
This latest recipe came from an Aloe Vera plant he’d spotted growing between some rocks. The instant he touched it, the Guide adjusted to compensate, scribbling descriptions and recipes with an invisible pencil. The Flora page gained a new entry and the Crafting page drew a line from the “Crude Tourniquet” entry under the medicine branch to where “Basic Aloe Cream” had materialized. Based on the full description, this could recover lost vitality if applied to Wounds.
Though there was a clear detriment. With both the cream and tourniquets, they were capped for benefits based on his maximum vitality. If he climbed above 40, he could no longer recover from them.
Then again, he still had no idea how to even do that.
Jay shrugged the thought off. After all this time in this dream without answers, he finally felt like he could see the path forth. The more materials he found, the more recipes he’d unlock, the better gear he’d make, and the more powerful he’d become. That was straightforward enough.
Already, he nearly quadrupled the entire Crafting subsection with all these different discoveries, clocking in at just shy of a hundred options total. Even knocking down a tree had earned him a massive boost, with the “crude” walls and roofs made of sticks and twine now having an advanced version appear after. He’d made a single panel of the crude as a test, immediately unlocking stronger versions made of logs instead.
And the sun wasn’t even a third of the way risen.
Jay almost hoped he wouldn’t wake up from this hallucination before the day ended. At the rate he was moving, that vined coyote wouldn’t stand a chance on their second bout.
The most significant boost would need to come from crafting better gear, however. The moment he’d unlocked wood, he gained armor and shield recipes at their most basic level. He could now fashion a “crude” kit woven from palm bark and reeds.
The wood even gave him access to more weapons. His crude axe and spear could now be upgraded into stone versions, with palm wood as the handle instead of a stick.
But that could still wait. With so much time left in the day, there was no telling how much more he could unlock or how quickly he could game this design if he spent more time discovering the depths of the Crafting tree. Jay rolled with the best when it came to speedruns, and his first streams exploded in popularity because of how well he could perform them without practice. Now that he understood the rules of this game better, nothing would stop him.
It was time to bring this competition up a notch.
* * *
Lush emerald thickets choked through the hills the farther from the coast one traveled. While the beach Jay started upon could be identified with its pale sand and dry, swaying reeds, the inland portion of this place quickly changed in climate. The palms towered into the sky, with vines thick as his fingers running along their lengths. The ground turned from sand to thickened mud, absorbing his bare feet slightly with each step. And though the coast was easy to navigate, this jungle was overrun with bushes and brambles as far as the eye could see.
Animals were also closer, though Jay couldn’t find any to save his life. Birds chirped far off, monkeys cackled in the trees, and distant bushes rustled before he could draw near. For all his effort in tracking one down, the animals were far quicker than him.
Jay wiped the sweat from his cheeks. Figuring out how hunting worked in this game would have to wait.
At least he’d been gathering more food. His cargo shorts were now stuffed with those edible red berries, or “lifeberries,” as he discovered through the entry in the Guide. They were supposed to be the easiest food to find in Annwyn but also the least nutritious, though he wasn’t sure how that affected things. Most of his pockets were stuffed with them, with an exception made for the flowers he happened upon, and a handful of those green “poisonberries” that gave him his poisoned Affliction.
That was another entry he should’ve read before tasting them to see what would happen. Apparently, poisonberries could be used for – to no one’s surprise – poison, and now “Basic Poison Grease” could be applied to his weapons if he sat down and made more than a spear.
Not that Jay had anything better than crude gear. Sure, he could craft some stone stuff, but he suspected they wouldn’t be much better than his current kit. What he needed was still out here, somewhere. He could feel it…
Light reflected off a nearby rock. Jay closed in and squinted. Though the color was dark as coal, the surface held a metallic sheen, distinctive from every other stone he’d encountered until now. He reached out and grabbed it.
Buzz.
Congratulations! You have discovered your first piece of flint. Through this extraordinary element, you will become unstoppable! Now, go on out and build yourself a [Basic Campfire], Expatriate.
New recipes available.
The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
Jay smirked. Not only had he gained access to another crafting branch, but already, new variants were available for some of his weapons and tools. Now, he could upgrade his crude axe, knife, and spear to flint variants adjacent to the stone versions. This was the breakthrough he needed!
Just need to get a fire going first. Jay quickly scavenged around for the rest of the required materials. Six rocks, three short sticks, and a bunch of leaves. The recipe also called for a second piece of flint, but now that he knew what it looked like, it did not take long to find.
Once everything lay available in front, that weird part of his brain began operating again. Jay had come to see that this strange behavior was part of the world’s laws. So long as his Guide contained the recipe, his body would act on its own accord, his fingers and hands moving about as they crafted the final product. Though this act was a little uncomfortable at first, now that he’d made so many bits and bobs, it was quickly becoming second nature.
So it became with this craft. Jay brushed the dust away, then tossed the six rocks into a circle to form a boundary. The sticks were placed in the shape of a miniature tepee, while the leaves were shoved beneath to work as tinder. He clasped the two pieces of flint and went to work.
Scrape. Scrape. Like nails against a chalkboard, the screech of flint chafing against itself sent a shiver down his spine. But no sparks appeared from this act. He endured the sensation a second time. Nothing.
Come on. This had to be the right method. The recipe was in the Guide, and his hands were moving on their own. What was Jay missing? He scraped again. Still nothing.
Push harder. He couldn’t half-ass things or leave this all to the magic of the Guide alone. It was all or nothing while he sat in the driver’s seat, just as before.
Jay took a deep breath and wrapped his hands tight around each piece of flint. With all the strength he could muster, he ground the flint together. The tiniest wisp of a spark flared out from the edge of the flint, floating in the air a beat before disappearing.
The campfire remained unlit.
Jay grinned, now sensing blood in the water. He repeated the same maneuver, once again pushing with all his might. Another spark raced into existence. This one made it another couple of inches before dissipating.
Undaunted, Jay continued. Little by little, he practiced this new technique. With each successful strike, another spark formed. Though most were clear failures, a few managed to grace the leaves before dying. Tiny cinders sprouted on arrival that stayed another second before fading out.
Keep going, he told himself. You’ve got this.
Jay hunched over, adjusting his stance to minimize the distance between the flint and the tinder. The sweat built anew, and his wrists started to ache, but still, he did not stop. Not when he was so close.
He clashed the flint together. A lone spark birthed into life from within the crevice of their combined pressure. It glided through the air before crashing into the pile of dried leaves. The spark fought tenaciously for its right to survive, and the pile bent to its whims. First, one leaf began to curl under a newfound flame, and then another, spreading out across the rest like an inferno across virgin land. Within moments of the spark landing, the entire pile had burst into life. The sticks became consumed seconds later, and the campfire grew in force.
Buzz.
Congratulations! You have created your first [Crafting Station]! These objects allow for the creation of more advanced recipes and provide a faster crafting speed than what can be performed by hand.
Cooking unlocked.
Level Up! Base Building 0 → 1
Crafted wall strength increased.
New recipes available.
He flipped to the Crafting page with glee.
[Basic Workbench] = 4 Wood (Any, 1m) + 3 Wood (Any, 0.8m) + 4 Wood (Any, 1.2m) + 8 Twine (Any, 0.2-0.25m) + 10 Twine (0.5-0.75m) + [Knife] (Any)
[Crude Tannery] = 7 Wood (Any, 1.8m) + 2 Twine (Any, 0.5m)
[Crude Loom] = 8 Wood (Any, 1.2m) + 30 Twine (Any, 1.1m)
[Drying Rack] = 4 Wood (Any, 1.5m) + Wood (Any, 2-2.4m) + 2 Twine (Any, 0.5m)
[Crude Furnace] = 50 Stone (Any, 0.3-0.4kg) + [Hammer] (Any)
Where to even begin? His eyes graced these new options and calculated the possibilities. Just the act of building his first fire gave him access to everything from advanced weapon manufacturing to drying meat on a rack. If only he could get some fresh meat to try.
But the day was still young, and Jay had all the time in the world to set up the infrastructure he needed. It wasn’t like anything would attack him during the day. Natura only showed up at night if the Guide’s information was to be tr–
Nearby brush rustled. A blood-curdling squeal boomed as the leaves got ripped from their branches.
Jay’s lips quivered. “You’ve got to be kidding me…”
The creature burst into view. Black fur tangled into matted tufts along a battle-scarred body. Steam flared out from an elongated snout as it took a breath, its tusks curling out like spears. Light danced along their alabaster surface, ready to claim its next victim.
Though he stood a full head taller, this black boar watched him without fear. Its beating eyes glared into Jay’s own, and another puff of steam drifted from its nostrils. It charged with a grunt.
Jay dove just in time. The boar rammed through the campfire without care, its construction evaporating into dust like every other tool upon breaking. He scrambled away as the boar turned for a second charge, once again avoiding a hit. Momentum took his enemy onward, sundering a boulder with a crack upon collision.
Jay gaped without words, too crippled by this monster’s power to do much else.
The black boar turned and launched into another attack. He leaped to safety, and his enemy’s feet tangled against a thicket of vines where it hit the edge of the clearing. It grunted and tried to rip free.
Quick. Get your weapons! This ambush had been too sudden to prepare for defense, but now that the boar was distracted, there’d be no better time to finish it off. Jay scooped up his crude spear with the reinforced handle and charged.
The black boar glanced over its shoulder and snarled. Jay drove his weapon into the creature’s chest with all his might, aiming for where the heart was supposed to be.
Snap.
Jay stared dumbstruck at the broken stick where his spear had once been. The stone tip poked out joylessly from the boar’s hide, failing to pierce more than an inch deep. The boar shrugged, and the spear disintegrated into dust.
Jay convulsed against a sudden backward kick, launching him behind like a ragdoll through the air, well over a dozen feet away. When his body finally struck the ground, his mouth filled with the taste of blood and dust.
The black boar ripped free from its restraints. With another grunt, it bolted forth for the killing blow.
Jay coughed for air, his ears ringing and limbs vibrating against this single attack. Any second now, his enemy would trample him.
Move, dammit. Move! Only by the grace of divinity did he roll in time, feeling the heat of his attacker’s body against his flesh as it roared past. Another tree shattered against its tusks.
Jay watched the black boar once again wrestle against unstable footing, wisps of hot air streaming from its snout. As it struggled to find purchase through the vines and brambles, Jay’s next best strategy came to mind. One that was guaranteed to work against this ruthless beast.
He ran.
As fast as his legs could carry, Jay sprinted in the direction he’d come. The tools he’d crafted no longer mattered, nor did he care about any materials he’d leave behind. Only his Guide remained on hand, still in the leather pouch he’d been given at the start. So long as he escaped this battle, he’d live to see the next.
But damn, did this hurt his pride as a gamer. Always there to dive in for the fight, always willing to struggle until the bitter end. If this place really was a drug-induced hallucination, then why did he feel so much pressure to turn and run away? It wasn’t like dying actually meant anything.
I’m just under-leveled, he told himself. Yeah, that was it. Nothing else. Losing a battle inside his imaginary game would hurt more than saving the real fight for later, and there was no telling how long it’d be until he woke up. For all he knew, this was a coma that could last weeks, if not months. No reason to fight every enemy at once. It was all a game, but games weren’t meant to be lost. Right?
Still though, as his legs tumbled through the jungle and the black boar’s squeals grew quieter, he knew how this would have to go down. He’d have to ensure that their situations were reversed when next they met.
Jay would become the predator, and not be the prey.