[Sleepgrease] = Essence (Mort, 50-500mL) + Digitalis (0.1-1kg) + Water (Fresh, 25-250mL) + [Cauldron] (Any, 2L, 325-340°K)
----------------------------------------
Death was in the air.
Jay could feel it as he stalked through the jungle, his softwood bow in hand. The sky held a firm royal blue. The sun shone with a calm midday lull. Lush mountains soared above mist-filled vales, their emerald peaks flecked with foam-crested waterfalls.
And yet, a certain easy unease had settled over this untamed land. Where once the cries of nature were plenty and bustling, the reeds and palms swayed quietly in the wind. No creatures disturbed the underbrush, nor did water splash to the sound of approaching or fleeing prey.
There was only this unexpected tranquility hanging over an otherwise chaotic world.
Somehow, that felt more dangerous than ever before.
Viktor’s first deadline was fast approaching, but despite this, Jay hadn’t seen another person since, nor any evidence of them. Only Kevin had come by a few times, but he seemed interested only in small talk and not the elephant in the room.
This peace was unnatural.
Whether or not anyone wanted to admit it, with Naomi’s group broken up, people were free to do whatever they wanted. And as she had explained before, that meant that there was nothing stopping them from killing rival Expats over the tiniest scrap of meat.
Sure, Jay could trust Kevin since they went back to Earth, but what about anyone else? What of Amadi? Hyuk? That woman whose name he never learned? What about all those others? Were they grinding in comfortable isolation, or were they sitting out in this very jungle, waiting for Jay to drop his guard?
I’m just overthinking it, he told himself. The day was quiet and no more. The important part was to keep a low profile and collect as many mats while they were still available.
Jay studied the small set of footprints in the mud.
Fresh.
He pulled out the Guide and compared the impressions with those in the Lexicon. After so much experience and research, the Fauna section had exploded into dozens of pages, each broken down by creature type and habit based on their power level.
One jumped out, a near identical scribble to that which lay in the mud.
Dire Boar (Level 27-30) – An unusually large boar with oversized tusks and keen senses. Known for charging through anything in its path.
Primary Biomes: Jungle, Plains.
Gestation Cycle: 7-14 days until respawn. Will despawn naturally in 21-30 days.
Daily Cycle: This monster will migrate in a circular pattern around the 1.5-2.5km2 location that it has taken as its home. Because of its omnivorous behavior, this creature will feast on anything in its path. It will then return to its nest at ~18:00-19:00 hours and sleep until 7:00 the next morning.
Attack Style: This monster will charge opponents as its main attack, using its large size to crush smaller foes. Tusk strikes will come from direct melee range if momentum cannot be gained, and kicks can occur when flanked. Because it equates size to strength, this monster can be scared off by creatures larger than itself.
Materials Gained: meat, bone, blood, hide, ivory.
Contains a monster core.
Jay grinned. No longer did he wander this woods aimlessly. Even though he had never fought a dire boar before or seen one up close, he’d killed the related black boars more times than he could count. This opened up research to be explored for its associated fauna page, and after spending enough time and monster cores expanding its Lexicon, similar monsters had their behaviors and patterns unlocked too.
Now, he could approach this new monster with a real plan instead of just making it up on the spot.
Jay stroked his chin. Based on the depths of the impressions, he’d wager that they were less than an hour old, and because the boar held a circular pattern, it would be some time before it reached this spot yet again.
It would also be moving away in a predictable pattern.
Jay considered the prospect. Yes, that would be better. Waiting for it to return would only encourage someone else to get to the kill first. He could make the necessary adjustments along the way.
Jay stalked through the jungle again, head on a swivel as he tracked the footprints.
Greases came first. Jay now had a cornucopia of basic options that upgraded from his previous Primal Age tier, having unlocked and researched Alchemy. But while there were myriad choices for different elemental types that stacked with the damage his weapons inflicted, he’d only delved into research for more conventional options that would serve in any real situation. Fire, poison, and sleep damage.
The latter was the most obvious here. If the dire boar relied on its momentum like its black boar cousin, then anything he could do to reduce its speed would significantly mitigate its damage output.
Jay slathered his silver-tipped arrows with his latest sleepgrease recipe. Iridescent light flickered against their coated surfaces.
Food came next. Because Cooking fell under a separate tree to Alchemy, there were all sorts of different buffs that could be applied, from temporarily boosting his vitality to perception, each lasting for several hours before fading. Jay kept a number of teas on hand for this purpose, almost always as a general movement speed boost to stack with the copper amulet he’d crafted after his elongated spelunking run. The meals were otherwise a waste, as any change in his diet offset the vitality he’d maximized.
Potions prep was the final step. After losing his Bag ‘a Mats to defeat the D-Rank leviathan, he might have lost the ability to store materials infinitely, but he’d gained bonus storage space by wearing a regular backpack again, his latest being able to hold almost eighty kilograms.
Though his choices here were just as limited, he’d made sure to get the essentials down, with health and sanity potions, a stamina booster, and one for movement speed. Unlike the meals, potion benefits were more potent but lasted for a much shorter time, akin to a temporary buff that would fade as soon as the fight ended. Something like night owl stood as an exception since it granted him a new power.
He shifted the stamina and movement speed potions to his toolbelt where they’d be easier to grab when the time came, putting his axe and knife away temporarily.
Avoiding the hits would be key to a clean kill.
A low growl flowed through the reeds ahead. With the power of his enhanced perception tea, he could identify the exact distance and direction it had come, far beyond the capabilities of any normal hunter. No more than a hundred yards away, north-by-northwest, behind that cluster of boulders.
He once again glanced around to see if anyone had followed him, but the jungle remained still.
Jay hunched lower and kept moving, his pig iron shoes sinking slightly into the mud. A gentle breeze flowed around his back.
And then he saw the dire boar. Colossal hooves pounded through the jungle floor. A thick hide rose and fell with each breath, mangy fur patched along its length. The whole monstrosity was the size of a bus, with a weight and girth to match.
Jay gleamed. He’d once killed a komodo dragon with gear that was half his current power level.
This creature? It would be easy.
He drew his softwood bow, now slightly chill to the touch with the socketed beryl gemstone that enhanced cold damage. His silver rings were infused with the same to stack the benefit, and with the power of a silver-tipped arrow with upscaled softwood shafts, frost began to cling to its edge the moment he placed them against the bow’s edge. The feathers were crisp and clean, pulled from his owlbear kill a few days back. The added “Stability+4” modifier provided more accuracy than regular arrows.
He slipped into [Sharpshooter], aiming to cripple it with the opening shot.
The gentle wind continued to blow from behind.
But as the dire boar’s body fell into greater focus, it didn’t saunter forth. Its snout suddenly twitched, huffing in fresh air between tusks that could tear a horse in two. With a snarl, it turned and stared, red beating eyes narrowing right into his own.
Jay gaped. What!? How!?
The dire boar charged with a roar.
And Jay panicked, firing a foot to the side of the knee he’d planned to hit. How the hell had this thing spotted him!?
There were only seconds to respond. Jay blinked through the shock and slipped into combat mode, running right for the beast. Before it could land its charge, he [Leaped] to safety. His body rocketed through the air, a mix of skill affinity and bonus movement speed synergizing to form an overpowered [Leap].
The dire boar made a slow turn, bulldozing through every single bush, tree, and rock along the way without losing the slightest bit of momentum. It faced his new spot and picked up its pace, faster than he could respond.
Jay [Leaped] again, now aiming sideways. The boar adjusted at once, only missing him by a few feet before rounding into another charge.
He gulped.
This might have been tougher than he first thought.
The two danced back and forth for some time, with Jay forced to [Leap] before it could hit. Both his bow skills were designed for slower engagements, and he lacked the innate talent to draw and fire an arrow quickly and accurately from his quiver. The longer the fight went on, the more his body began to slack. There wasn’t enough time to [Recover] against an enemy that never slowed down.
But then Jay found his opening. It was an unintended fake-out, where his leg slipped before the [Leap], and the landing occurred directly behind the boar instead of nearby.
He watched as it went into another turn, now more elongated than normal.
Jay immediately drew his bow and fired, aiming for its chest where the chance to hit was greatest. The power of the softwood and silver stacked with the beryl’s elemental cold damage, spreading ice tendrils along its torso.
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…While reducing its total speed.
The change was subtle but real, and Jay capitalized at once, using another [Leap] to land on its vulnerable flank. The dire boar curved again, but Jay managed to land another elemental blow, further reducing its power. A third [Leap] gave him the time to perform [Sharpshooter], and a single hit to the leg nearly immobilized it completely.
The dire boar yelped and hobbled, now unable to charge.
Jay grinned wide, knowing he had won.
It was an easy kill from there. The elemental damage might have only gone so far, but once its hide became pierced, the sleepgrease coursed through its veins, bringing its jog into a stumble.
Jay drew his sword, attacking the monster’s side where it had the weakest attacks. A mix of [Rend] and [Power Attack] was all he’d required to penetrate its hide.
The monstrous dire bear roared one last time and fell, with no more movement of note.
And Jay drew his knife, ready to finish what he’d started.
* * *
Two more kills came after that, both more straightforward. A giant anaconda was the first to fall, its colossal body too slow to chase him down. The other came from a baboon a few levels lower. That would have been a nightmare to kill, but once Jay lured it into an open field, it was as vulnerable to cold as anything else. From there, Jay murdered it with ease.
He carved into its flesh, his upscaled copper knife easily tearing through hardened flesh, through the softer organs beneath, and into the heart, where the true trophy lay.
The monster core.
He grinned, knowing how much this day had turned in his favor. His Inventory showed the full breakdown.
[Dire Boar Monster Core (level 28)] – The core of a dire boar that once patrolled a jungle.
[White Anaconda Monster Core (level 25)] The core of an anaconda who made its home in the trees.
[Baboon Elder Monster Core (level 21)] The core of a baboon, enhanced by age.
Not too bad. With a slight amount of research, Jay could finish “Treated Bow,” the Copper Age variant for his bows that would tap into the next tier. He’d already hit Bows 5 after hunting the week prior, which gave him the passive damage boost that let him kill at this level. And with the baboon core gained, not only would he earn another skill, but he would also get an additional passive.
Meanwhile, the anaconda and boar cores would go straight into his iron-plated coat, rounding out his defenses while granting an extra skill too.
Two skills in one day, and no one to tell him otherwise. Just when I thought I had to worry…
“Ah, Jay Reis, my friend!” Viktor’s thick Russian voice hailed, like a snake in the brush.
The blood froze in his veins. No, not now. Not here!
The bastard stood at the edge of the clearing, with his casual fishing vest and salt-and-pepper beard. He beamed.
“I see you have been busy,” he said. “That is quite the kill.”
“Only level 21,” Jay said firmly. “Barely worth the trouble.”
“How can you say that? It was creature with life, who you callously took down.” He scratched his back and looked around. “Was that all for show? No one is here to be impressed.” He smiled. “Except me, of course. You are good fighter, Jay.”
“You were watching?”
Viktor shrugged. “I was bored, and you are a fun, handsome man to see in action. Not like these other swine who prowl around these trees. No! There is a certain elegance to your moves that I just can’t take my eyes off.” He frowned. “But you made one critical mistake that nearly cost you your life today, Jay.”
“Huh?”
“The dire boar has a strong sense of smell. By approaching it from the direction of the wind, you surrendered the advantage you gained by following its tracks. Had you merely adjusted your course by another ninety degrees, I am certain that you would have won much more easily.”
The hairs rose on the back of his neck. Just how long had this guy been following him!?
Better yet…
“How come I didn’t see you coming?” Jay asked. “I buffed my perception before engaging.”
Viktor tsked. “Oh, my friend, do you trust these precious items you craft more than your own intuition? Even if we were of the same strength, you would never have been able to find me.”
“Oh yeah? Why’s that?”
He shrugged. “I am Spetsnaz, and you are untrained boy wandering in woods. It is no more difficult than that.”
Jay grit his teeth. Getting caught off guard was one thing, but it was not knowing what he could have possibly done differently that really bothered him. He’d moved quietly, he’d raised his perception, he’d maxed out his vitality to be at its highest possible strength. What else was left?
But Viktor strolled forth, still with that lazy grin of his. He put his arm around Jay’s shoulder and studied the dead baboon in uncomfortable silence.
“Isn’t it beautiful?” he asked.
Jay stepped aside. “What is?”
“The power. This creature believed that it would forever roam this land, and for much of its time, it did. But then you came along and cut its life short. It is now a pile of bones and meat to be done with whatever you wish. Do you not see the beauty in that?”
“That supposed to be some kind of lesson?”
“It is,” he continued. “Our world was much the same as this one. Nations, armies, people. It is all identical. The strong beat the weak into subjugation, and through that dynamic, they become stronger still. No one can threaten the powerful once they have control, and this makes them stronger still.”
Viktor yanked the monster cores from his hands and slipped them into his vest. The blood rose to Jay’s cheeks as he sat and watched it happen.
There was nothing else he could do.
And Viktor knew it.
“You see, Jay. Life is chaotic by design, but through the subjugation of the weak, stability is created. And with each conquest formed, their relationship becomes stronger and tighter. There is a certain quality to this to not be ignored. An…” he trailed off in thought.
“Elegance?” Jay filled in through clenched teeth.
“Correct. You are quick learner, Jay.”
“Your theory is bullshit though.”
That seemed to amuse him. “Oh?”
Jay grit his teeth. “Rome fell. Greece fell. China’s Great Wall fell. Hell, last I checked, your home country wasn’t doing so great either when we left Earth.”
“Neither was yours,” he countered
“Yep. America too. You talk about the beauty of power and subjugation, but frankly, that’s just the logic of bullies. All it does is make the world more chaotic, and in the end, most of those empires fell to someone else. Where’s the elegance in that?”
“Ah, but that is where the true beauty lies. Just as you take from this creature and I take from you, someday, someone else will take from me. It is as inevitable as the sun setting.” He stepped back and spread his arms wide, unarmed, even as Jay’s stolen pistol stood proudly on his waist. “Tell me, Jay. Is today the day for that? Do you wish to see your own inner beauty?”
Oh, how Jay wanted nothing more than to see that done. To knock this jackass on his back and get his hard day’s work returned. To remove the cloud hanging over all their heads.
But he couldn’t. Not now. Viktor was just playing mind games against him, showing him who the boss of this land was. If he behaved irrationally and attempted to bring him down a second time, it would either lead to nothing or his death. A lose-lose.
No, those cores were already gone.
Jay exhaled. “‘Rule 7. Viktor goes first.’”
Viktor mushed his hair. “Good. I am glad you remember.” He started to walk away.
Jay should have let go there, but his heart was racing and blood boiling, and he couldn’t watch a bully like Viktor succeed without the slightest bit of a fight.
“I will though,” Jay announced.
He paused. “Hm?”
“Not today, not tomorrow, but I’ll find a way to stop you, Viktor. No matter what it takes. What you’re doing isn’t right.”
To that, he merely tilted his head, the shadow over his bright blue eyes.
He gleamed. “I look forward to seeing your elegance come.”
Name: Jay Reis (Copper Age)
Vitality – 99/99
Hunger – 69/72
Thirst – 22/24
Fatigue – 45/48
Sanity – 84/100
Main Crafts: Alchemy 2, Armor Crafting 2, Base Building 3, Cooking 2, Jewelry 2, Medicine 2, Tailoring 2, Tool Crafting 3, Weapon Crafting 2.
Weapon Crafts: Axes 5, Bows 5, Clubs 5, Daggers 5, Spears 5, Swords 9.
Armor Crafts: Heavy Armor 5, Light Armor 5, Medium Armor 6, Shields 6.
Character Skills:
[Forbidden Knowledge]
Armor Skills:
Heavy Armor: [Push], [Stampede]
Medium Armor: [Recover], [Leap], [Waterform]
Light Armor: [Dash], [Feather Fall]
Shield: [Brace], [Track], [Break]
Weapon Skills:
Axes: [Chop], [Whirlwind]
Bows: [Sharpshooter], [Longshot]
Clubs: [Bash], [Paralyze]
Daggers: [Slice], [Flourish]
Spears: [Thrust], [Sweep]
Swords: [Power Attack], [Slash], [Rend], [Parry]
Armor:
[Pig Ironplated Hat] (Affinity+2), (Hardened+4), (Reinforced+1)
[Pig Ironplated Coat] (Affinity+2), (Hardened+4), (Reinforced+1)
[Pig Ironplated Leggings] (Affinity+2), (Hardened+4), (Reinforced+1)
[Pig Ironplated Shoes] (Affinity+2), (Hardened+4), (Reinforced+1)
[Pig Ironplated Gloves] (Affinity+2), (Hardened+4), (Reinforced+1)
[Silver Amulet]: Socketed with [Chipped Tourmaline] (Tempus)
[Silver Ring]: Socketed with [Chipped Beryl] (Frigus)
[Silver Ring]: Socketed with [Chipped Beryl] (Frigus)
Weapons:
[Pig Iron Sword+3] (Affinity+5), (Hardened+2), (Reinforced+2), (Stable+4)
[Wooden Bow+3] (Elemental), (Reinforced+2): Socketed with [Chipped Beryl] (Frigus)
[Basic Leather Quiver]: Contains 4 [Silver-tipped Arrows] (Elemental+2), (Stability+4)
Tools:
[Copper Knife+3]
[Copper Axe+3]
[Copper Hammer+3]
[Copper Pickaxe+3]
[Copper Shovel+3]
Boons:
[Minor (Speed)] (x3)