Seth couldn’t believe how things had gone from so peaceful to so terrifying in such a short amount of time. Literally less than 10 minutes ago he’d been having a relaxed conversation with essentially a god of the new world he now found himself on and then the moment the god leaves and he’s ready to begin learning how to use his new powers, he starts hearing growls. At first Seth had thought his ears had been playing tricks on him but that quickly turned out to not be the case as in what felt like moments he’d found quite possibly the largest bear he’d ever seen in his life bearing down on him, ready to maul him to shreds like beef jerky.
From the first skype alone he’d barely survive, only able to escape thanks to the massive red robes the previous owner of his new body had been wearing. Without a second thought Seth had thrown it in the face of the beast and when his luck won out he’d run as fast as he possibly could while the monster bear behind him was distracted with trying to remove the heavy pile of cloth from its face. Unfortunately, Seth’s running didn’t seem to amount to much as this new body of his wasn’t the most active kind of person as after only a few minutes he’d already found himself winded from the effort of running.
Of course I couldn’t have gotten the body of a professional athlete, it had to be a pampered prince who can’t even run for his life.
Even as he complained, his body screaming with the desire to rest, Seth forced himself to keep going as adrenaline had his heart pumping like a war drum in his ears to the point it was all he could hear. That is until he heard the telltale roar of the monster bear finally freeing itself and immediately giving chase. Not giving himself the chance to look back, Seth didn’t believe for a second he could outrun the creature. He’d seen videos of bears running and he doubted the one chasing after him would be any different in that regard.
Desperate for any means to escape with his life, Seth finally noticed something. A nearby cave, one small enough enough the bear would have no chance of possibly getting to him. At the very least, Seth hoped that was the case as he shifted his course. By the time he was a few yards away from it, he could feel the breath of the massive beast chasing after him on the back of his neck. It was now or never and Seth knew he only had one chance.
Gathering every bit of remaining strength he had left in his body, he launched himself towards the entrance of the cave. Hitting the stone floor rougher than he would have liked, Seth ignored what pain sprouted from his attempt and scrambled deeper into the hole as fast as his body would let him. As fate would have it, just in time as he felt the entire cave shift from a massive impact from the outside. Hearing another monstrous roar behind him, Seth finally looked back and realized he had been so wrong in his assumptions.
While the beast was bear-like in its appearance, there were a number of features such as strange bone-like protrusions, crimson red eyes, and its fur being as black as night itself. Whatever this creature was, Seth found himself further fearing for his life as he backed as far into the cave as he possibly could, unable to look away as the bear stalked the outside entrance of the cave that was luckily too small for it to get through. With it being so small though, Seth doubted he could ever stand fully upright though he doubted it mattered much if he could never leave.
As time passed though, the bear seemed to get the idea that Seth wouldn’t be leaving his shelter and seemed to wander off. Seth didn’t trust the situation to be safe, for all he knew it was smart enough to wait just out of sight and make an attempt for him the moment he stuck his head out.
What am I supposed to do now? I’m stuck here and I have nothing to protect myself with.
It would be in this moment as his heart beat finally settled that the adrenaline of the last few minutes would finally wear off leaving Seth to feel the full effect of what he’d done to his body. Barely able to sit up now, he could only groan in pain before noticing a wet spot on his leg. Looking down, he noticed that he’d cut his leg at some point and it was bleeding rather heavily. Nearly panicking, at the sight of his own blood, Seth forced himself to calm down. Panicking wouldn’t save him after all and he knew that. He had to be calm and he had to be collected.
With that in mind, Seth carefully sat up and checked his leg. Feeling it carefully, he didn’t feel anything out of place or broken suggesting it was just as bad as it looked, a simple yet still rather large cut. With that in mind, he did the only thing he could think of and began tearing at his pants. Removing just enough cloth to turn the pants kegs into shorts, his attire now looked a bit lopsided but Seth didn’t care, he had to keep himself safe and healthy.
Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.
Alright, I’ve got some cloth to work with. It’s not perfect but I can use this and hopefully make some bandages.
Suddenly, a screen would appear much like they had when the god being from before had been around.
[Scrap Cloth Bandages]
[Scrap Cloth: 1/1 units]
[Success Chance: 100%]
[Begin Crafting: Y/N?]
Without even thinking, Seth pressed yes and in moments a flash of light would emanate from his hands. The cloth he had been holding which seemed to have been silk had transformed, now instead of holding a wad of the thin material, he found himself holding a roll of cloth made from much thicker material. Taking only a moment to appreciate what had just happened, Seth went to work wrapping the newly created bandage around his leg and finally stemming the bleeding. He would have liked to have cleaned it off as well but without any water that wasn’t likely to happen.
Now safe for the most part and no longer worrying about bleeding, Seth found himself smiling. It wasn’t in the manner he had been hoping for, but he’d figured out at least the first step in using his new power. That just left the question of what he should do next.
So I’m stuck in a cave, there’s a man-eating bear monster outside, and it looks like the realm of power is taking the form of some kind of crafting system. That means I need materials but the only thing I have access to is the clothes on my back and the rock around me. I wonder, could I possibly make stone tools?
[Stone Pickaxe]
[Stone: 0/3 units]
[Wood: 0/2 units]
[Fibers: 0/2 units]
[Success Chance: 0%]
[Stone Axe]
[Stone: 0/2 units]
[Wood: 0/2 units]
[Fibers: 0/2 units]
[Success Chance: 0%]
[Stone Sword]
[Stone: 0/2 units]
[Wood: 0/1 units]
[Fibers: 0/1 units]
[Success Chance: 0%]
Seeing three new screens appear, each one listing different forms of stone tools and their cost, Seth realized he’d need to be specific in the future unless he wanted dozens to hundreds of possible recipes popping. Aside from that though, it seemed as though his power worked in a semi-intuitive manner. If he couldn’t build it, the recipes didn’t offer the chance of crafting. Seth was a bit curious about the success chance however as it seemed to suggest that there would be other factors involved besides just having the materials needed on hand.
It looks like this power seems to almost work like a sandbox-survival game. Find the materials, make tools, get higher tier resources and then from there keep on going till the end game. I suppose outside of video games though, there is no end game.
Keeping this knowledge in mind, Seth tried to think back to the few times he’d played sandbox-survival games before and how the progress of things usually went. From what he could remember, most games of that type typically had you either using your fists or random rocks as your first tier of collecting resources. Not exactly feeling keen on punching trees and rocks, Seth instead looked around his cave seeing if he could find a rock instead. Sure enough, there were a handful, each of them of varying sizes.
Picking up the largest of the bunch, Seth couldn’t help feeling a little stupid for what he was about to do. With as big of a swing as he could manage, Seth banged the rock in his hand into the floor of the cave and the moment he made contact he was rewarded with for his efforts as a new screen appeared. Filled with glee at the sight of progress, that glee quickly dissipated upon the sight of what the screen had to say to him.
[Stone: +0.01 unit]
Of course it’s not that easy.
With that being his last thought on the matter, Seth tried to make himself comfortable. He had a long evening ahead of him if he planned to get anything substantial done before the day was over.
***
Hours passed as Seth continued banging his rock against the stone surrounding him, now holding a much larger stone ball that apparently consisted of a single unit of perfectly polished stone, at least perfectly polished when he’d started. By now, having spent so long banging on all the stones around him, the ball had gained a number of diviets and chips like anything would be after having been banged against stone for hours on end. To Seth, it was worth it though as in the hours he’d worked, he’d collected well over 100 units of stone and had even made the floor of the cave he was taking shelter in low enough so he could properly stand up. Now covered in stone dust and sweat though, Seth found himself tired beyond belief and wanted to rest, yet at the same time he couldn’t help wondering if something could possibly sneak into his cave during the night.
It was here had gained a rather interesting idea as he made his way over to the entrance of the cave. Looking over the dimensions, what little he could make out in the dim moonlight, Seth concentrated on what exactly he wanted to make and sure enough a screen he could read with complete clarity appeared.
[Small Stone Wall]
[Stone: 150/20 units]
[Success Chance: 60%]
[Begin Crafting: Y/N?]
Just like Seth had expected, the chance of success depended on having the right tools and the proper materials. While 60% chance wasn’t the best odds in Seth’s mind, they were better than nothing and he had plenty of stones to try again with. Thankfully though,that didn’t need to be the case as the moment he pressed yes, his hand held out towards the cave entrance, the glow of light appeared and the hole he had been so worried about was finally sealed, though rather poorly as many cracks could and holes could be seen around his creation.
At least I don’t have to worry about suffocation. I just hope nothing dangerous is small enough to actually get in now.
Knowing there really wasn;t much more he could do about the matter, having done his absolute best considering what he had to work with, Seth made his way back into the main area of the cave and did his best to try and get comfortable for the night. Sleep, unfortunately, did not come easy. Seth just hoped that wouldn’t be the case forever.