Status. Status. Status. Status. Status. Status. Status. Status. Status. Status. Status. Status. Status. Status. Status. Status. Status. Status. Status. Status. Status. Status. Practicing the first night, I didn't get it at all. Status status status, but my mind was abuzz with new plans and how I was going to fit them into my earlier plans to not starve. Plan A: Don't Starve or Die of Exposure. Plan B: Be a Hero. Plan C: Let me explain...
Labyrinth entrances like the one in the park would be popping up all over the world for the next ten years, each one containing an underground "safe zone" and a portal to the labyrinth proper, all full of scary monsters and valuable treasures. Why would I want treasures when I literally own the entire world? All in due time, dear reader.
The way I see it, the buildings themselves are treasures. They're sturdy and require no maintenance. The outsides gently repel wild animals so I'll never have to worry about bears moving in. The insides maintain low moisture in the air, a constant cool temperature, and hinder the growth of harmful bacteria. Lance gave me some examples, like you can't use the safe zone to brew alcohol or make cheese. It's not forbidden or anything, it just won't work. You can store cheese just fine, store anything you like but it might dry out so coat your cheese wheel in wax and like that. Books? Yes, he said, you can store books. He'd seen such things but was reluctant to lead the conversation or go into too much detail. Privacy concerns, I guess?
I'd been looking for a secure place to store food, books, tools, anything that would get ruined as Nature takes over their safe havens. I'll need sturdy shelves and stackable storage containers. I'll also have to move tons of material all by myself but I can prioritize which books I need to save. Books about wilderness survival, gardening, a couple good sets of encyclopedias, and one of those big dictionaries in case I need to look something up twenty years from now.
Shelf stable food items should keep beyond their expiration dates when stored in the safe zone. Water should keep from turning brackish, this much Lance was willing to confirm.
This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
As for treasures found beyond the portal, Lance himself was an example. Again he was sparse on the details, but there's millions of copies of Lance running around the multiverse as he fills his bodyguard role on all the copies of Earth. Some are stronger and some are weaker, and the one I have here with me? The very weakest possible, with two ways to get stronger. The best way is to find more Lance cards and merge them. He can also get stronger by fighting monsters in the dungeon, but his progress this way will be slow, much slower than for me.
Other possible treasures include weapons that are highly effective against monsters, anti-monster weapons. Elixirs that promote healing, or cure poison and disease. Wonderous artifacts. Various metal coins.
And then there's the darker side. Dungeons form with an expiration date. If they're not cleared within twenty years of appearing, their safe zones can decay and the monsters start pouring out into the world. When that happens, the only safe place to be is in a safe zone of a cleared, or tamed dungeon. All you have to do to clear a dungeon is descend to the lowest level and defeat the dungeon boss monster, and then you well and truly own it.
I've taken a few martial arts classes over the years, even if the last one was a lot of years ago. Better add martial arts books to my stockpile plans, and track down a punching bag to see if I still remember how to throw a punch.
After a good night's sleep and running errands all over town, I settled down enough to make Status work for the first time, and here's what I found.
Year 2 Month 3 Day 17
Name: Eric
Class: Beginner
Level: 1
Age: 9 (57)
HP: 17 / 17 (18)
MP: 15 / 15 (16)
SP: 0
Strength: D 9 (10) + 5 14
Agility: D 9 (10) + 0 9
Smarts: D 9 (10) + 6 15
Stamina: D 9 (10) + 8 17
Skills
Status, Storage (0), Karate (0), Judo (0), TaiChi (0), Swords (0), Farming Plants (1)
Farming Plants (1): 732/2000
That's a lot of zeros. Lance confirmed that it was probably due to lack of practice, and I'd swear he clucked his tongue but he declined to comment when pressed. He does that a lot.
My status date tells me that I'm missing about seven weeks, which is why Spring seemed to start so early. I guess local time was set to make my rebirthday January 1.