[Wooden Stake] = Wood (Any, 0.75-2.3m) + [Knife] (Any)
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The black boar snarled, puffing more steam free.
This was its territory, after all. No one could come through here without running into it, so it strutted about without fear. Whatever few creatures might try to do the black boar harm, it would simply trample through them with its devastating tusks.
The boar peered into the distance and saw a human target sitting on a branch above. It recognized its prey on sight. This was the same human as the day before.
With another grunt, the black boar initiated a charge.
Jay kept his body still in the branch, his flint spear in hand. If this was going to work, he’d have to be perfect. Anything less would spell his death. He’d barely survived their first bout, and that was before his diet dropped his vitality, and he lost all his armor.
The black boar barreled onward, knowing that a tall tree would not protect its victim from a direct slam. With a roar, it leapt through the bushes between.
Only to screech in terror as it flew into a wall of wooden stakes. The boar’s legs flipped pitifully the other way, but its greatest strength now worked against it. The overpowering momentum the boar used to kill its enemies brought it straight into Jay’s traps at full speed. Its vicious grunts turned into painful squeals as the wood punctured its chest.
Jay jumped out of the tree.
The black boar watched him in its final moment. It knew that it had lost. That it had been outsmarted. That it was no longer the king of this land.
The flint spear pierced through its skull.
Jay exhaled, feeling that tinge of victory yet again. It had taken hours to plan this trap, but the results would be worth it in the end. With the black boar out of the way, the area was clear for his new base camp. This location had a cluster of good materials, after all, and there was a river overflowing with clean water nearby.
Plus, he’d also earned that other prize. Jay drew his flint knife and went to work. With the black boar dead, the hide was easy to tear through, as were the muscles, the bones, and the punctured organs beneath. Like everything else, Jay had gained the magical knowledge of how to skin an animal properly the moment he’d crafted a flint knife, all the way into the base of its heart…
There we are. He yanked the object free. Light slithered across an iridescent surface, opaque yet shiny against a shifting shell. Though the sphere was no thicker than his thumb, an ethereal essence swirled within, thick and radiating, like pure purple energy turned into smoke.
Buzz.
Congratulations! You have gained your first [Monster Core]. Infuse this spiritual power into your weapons and armor to raise your Crafting level, allowing you to unlock their full potential!
For every five levels of an F-Rank [Monster Core], another tier of infusion is added to the resulting craft.
New recipes available.
Every five monster levels slain gives a new level up for me. Got it.
The Inventory page confirmed the loot, now showing a “Black Boar Monster Core (level 3)” in his hand slot, with the description beside.
Jay grinned. It was time to give himself a fresh start.
After last night’s battle, Jay lost everything except his flint spear and stone axe. His armor had been shattered, his workbenches destroyed, and his clothing torn to shreds. But with the dead boar besides and an area untapped of resources, getting the ball rolling again proved half as simple. Within the hour, he built up a fresh campfire, some skewers to hold boar meat in place, and a replacement workbench, all set up near the rim of a cliff that would be easiest to defend. Beads of sweat wouldn’t stop forming from all the sweltering heat, but with a cold river nearby, he could easily undo the damage to his thirst.
Yesterday’s mistakes could not be repeated again.
Jay looked at the monster core on the basic workbench and considered his options again. There were no doubt other creatures to hunt in the area, and some would contain cores of their own. If he wanted to maximize his odds for survival, then today would have to be about collecting as many as possible. That spike trap trick might work again, but there was no telling what other types of enemies he’d face. If he planned to survive, he would need to think longer term than just the next fight.
He gripped his flint spear. This weapon gave him a solid reach and didn’t obstruct his movement. If he kept to open spaces, his proficiency would only grow better from here.
There were other variants to consider with stone and bone tips, but they did not bode well after testing. The stone spear had more durability at the cost of damage, while the bone spear inflicted more damage at the cost of durability. Meanwhile, the flint spear had better armor penetration than both, and suffered no durability cost.
Jay grunted, knowing he did not have time to waste. His head was barely above water as is.
He placed the monster core beside his spear and unwound the vine binding. With the flint tip exposed, he put the monster core down and slammed his newly-crafted stone hammer.
Hit. Hit. Hit.
Each strike from the hammer melded the monster core deeper until it disappeared inside the flint spearhead entirely. Bright specks of its purple essence flared along the rim of the completed spear, tightening it and forming a sharper edge than he’d seen with any he’d crafted before.
Buzz.
Level Up! Spears 1 → 2
New Skill available.
Congratulations! You have unlocked your first weapon Skill, Expatriate. Please select from the available options to acquire your new Skill!
He found the option under a new tab in the Lexicon, aptly named “Skills,” with a subcategory for spears.
[Thrust, Basic] – Thrust your spear with all your might, delivering precise damage.
[Sweep, Basic] – Swing your spearhead into a wide arc, inflicting area damage to any within range.
[Throw, Basic] – Launch your weapon, maximizing its damage output in a single ranged hit.
Jay frowned. As far as skills went, these weren’t very original or interesting. They seemed to be on par with what he could do already. How was he supposed to pick one, anyway?
You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.
He tapped the page, weighing the options.
Two of the options vanished, leaving only [Thrust]. Jay paled. Shit.
Buzz.
He didn’t need to go back to see what had just happened.
Congratulations! You have selected [Thrust, Basic]. Your enemies will be powerless against this almighty Skill!
Sure enough, he’d mistakenly selected the [Thrust] option, and there was no going back.
Well, might as well figure out how it works. Jay pulled his new spear from the table, now named “Flint Spear+1” on the Inventory page. He raised it up and aimed for a branch on a nearby tree, wondering how this was supposed to work.
The spear lurched forth, a dull thump reverberating through the air as it tore through the tree. The branch shattered out where it had been hit, exactly where he’d planned…
Jay gaped. “Whoa.”
Back in high school, he’d had a good friend who constantly got into fights. The guy was really big into mixed martial arts too. He used to repeat a line from his favorite martial artist. I fear not the man who has practiced ten thousand kicks once, he’d say, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick ten thousand times. As Jay studied the upgraded spear along with its [Thrust], he recognized the power gained. The mere act of selecting this skill had earned him the equivalent benefit of practicing a thrust ten thousand times. He could now do this perfect [Thrust] to near-perfection.
All that power for the basic version? Jay [Thrust] again as a test. The air boomed where the spearhead tore through. A third [Thrust], this time against the tree’s truck itself. A fissure cracked open on hit, and the entire tree resounded from the shock. He went to [Thrust] again but nearly fell flat. His body was suddenly drained, and his muscles had tensed up.
So, there was a limit to this new power. By drawing upon the strength of his skills, Jay could only [Thrust] so much in rapid succession before needing a break. He’d have to be strategic with using this ability in a fight. Perhaps aiming only for kill shots.
The edges had also cracked after the direct hit against the tree. This application no doubt expended more durability than normal, and would not make for a better tool to cut down trees than his stone axe.
But still, no one could deny the power gained. With this new strength, collecting monster cores could only get easier. Jay looked around the sprawling jungle with a grin.
It was time to hunt.
* * *
The giant Tasmanian devil hissed, revealing a mouth of jagged fangs. Light glinted off its surface under a midday sun. It rose onto its hind legs, shaggy fur pierced in a dozen places, and blood-stained claws raised to launch another set of attacks.
[Thrust].
The flint spearhead ripped straight through the soft skin of the neck. The Tasmanian devil’s eyes curled inward, and it fell with a thump.
Jay gasped for air. That was another close call. His replacement palm bark armor broke halfway through the fight, and this enemy moved quicker than he’d expected. Were it not for the extra vitality he’d gained after eating the cooked boar meat, he might not have survived this fight. Who could’ve expected this asshole to start throwing rocks halfway through? The wound on his head would have to be treated before long.
But Jay had won, and now, he could cut this devil up for everything it was worth.
He drew his bone knife and began the process again. Slicing away the hide, trimming the meat, removing the organs, and of course, digging into its heart for the monster core. He frowned upon consulting the Guide.
Still only level 4? Upon finally getting his Stats settled, Jay had gone to lengths to get a handle on how this world worked. From what he could infer, there were multiple islands of varying “Rank” scattered throughout Annwyn, with lower letters on the alphabet corresponding to higher difficulties. Currently, he was on an F-Rank island, which had the lowest level of enemies. But levels seemed to vary wildly, and the hardest enemy he had defeated until now was only level 4… Still below what he’d need to unlock his next tier of weapon infusion.
Meanwhile, there was a boss for the area. An entry had been put in after happening upon some dung.
Jaguar (level 19) – A spotted predator that stalks through thick jungles on F-Rank islands, lying in wait until delivering stealth attacks against weaker foes.
Contains a monster core.
Research still available.
He’d found the remains of a black boar nearby, torn completely to shreds, heart eaten and all. Based on the claw marks against a nearby tree, the monster that murdered the boar had nails several inches thick. He’d even seen a shattered boulder with matching claw marks, no doubt from his new jaguar friend.
Yeah, that part of the island was getting ignored for a while. Jay played enough of these games to know not to blindly attack the highest-leveled enemy.
Still, that left him grinding hard with the options available. This oversized Tasmanian devil was his fourth win now. With each successful kill, he collected another core, but more importantly, he also gained access to various new materials. The black boar’s hide had been too damaged during the fight to use for anything, but its bones could be fashioned into new tools and armor.
A black mamba gave him a pelt that could be used as a waterskin, and a prairie dog’s hide was currently curing into leather back home. Its fur could also be used for armor. Thankfully, he’d fought enough vined coyotes to dispose of that last enemy with ease.
Then there was the meat itself. Just as the Guide promised, eating this creature’s meat not only made him stronger, but faster and harder too. As the Tasmanian devil meat sizzled against his latest campfire, he once again consulted his Stats.
Name: Jay Reis (Primal Age)
Vitality – 24/24
Hunger – 68/72 (Parasite)
Thirst – 18/24 (Sweltering)
Fatigue – 32/40 (Poorly Rested)
Sanity – 87/100
The one silver lining of his parasite was that it consumed food in his belly at an accelerated rate, which flushed out the lower-quality lifeberries and let him replace them with high-nutrition animal meat. Already, he felt more healthy than ever before. Like his high school athlete days, except in his lazier early-twenties body. Who needs exercise when you can chomp on a snake instead?
He gripped the monster core. The mystical energy swirled within, ready to be harnessed for his next piece of gear.
If only these buffs could stack. As Jay had come to realize, gear could hold no more than a single monster core at any given time, meaning that the only way to level further was to kill a higher-tiered monster. This unlocked more levels for his equipment, which in turn granted him access to better buffs and skills. So long as he monitored his Stats in the meantime, there was no telling how strong he’d become.
The sun continued to dip, and Jay collected the last materials from the corpse of the dead Tasmanian devil. The bundle of supplies went into his crude backpack – though that was hardly the best term for this piece of crap. Fashioned from sticks and some recently discovered hemp, the damn thing could barely hold more than fifteen pounds without risking a break, so it was better for large amounts of lightweight goods instead of smaller, heavier objects. He tossed some hide inside and left the bones to jiggle in the waistline of his cargo shorts. The remaining meat would have to get tossed for lack of storage.
At least he’d uncovered the hemp. It worked like an upgraded version of twine, similar to flint for his tools.
Jay made the hike back home, ignoring the sweltering heat of the sun. He must have been quite the sight right now. Shirtless, sunburned, his hair a tangle, and his body mashed up with a mix of blood and grime. Were he still on Earth, he’d look like a savage beast about now.
But he wasn’t on Earth, so that did not matter.
Need to win this next fight easily, he reminded himself. Now that it was in the latter half of the day, he needed to prioritize leveling up his gear with the cores he’d collected. That would maximize his progression and give him the best chance to survive the night.
As he reached an open plateau, he looked down the jungle and studied the beach below. Fort Knox still stood proudly where he left it.
It had seemed so vast and powerful when he first created it, but Natura had breached those walls without breaking a sweat. With time running low and his new base still in a bare-bones state, it begged an important question.
What would Natura send for him next?