Chapter 10: Opening up a new vista

3rd day morning

I woke up with the sound of heavy rain today and the chill created by the rain made me pull up the wolf fur I had been using as a blanket and snuggle in. Who doesn’t feel lazy on a rainy day? After an additional snooze of 30 minutes, I shrugged off the lethargy and enjoyed a coffee first this morning. Nothing like coffee to wake you up, plus I didn’t know if these precious coffee cups could be saved for later – what if I save one and couldn’t redeem it after novice period? That would be a huge loss – unimaginable.

With steady stream of rain falling through the gap in the walls and the partially open door (lock is broken) I tried to plan the day with both scenarios in mind – rain or no rain. I looked through my inventory to see if there was anything that could be used as a head cover? I have no crafting skills – who in the modern times thinks about weaving an umbrella when they are available at every 7 Eleven for 7 bucks. I know the mechanics of it and maybe able to pull together a rudimentary cover that will not close, but I didn’t feel inspired this morning to get into this sort of creative endeavor.

I finished my coffee, decided to go explore the novice area again – who knows mystery items may have been replenished and with not yet full inventory, more is better. If I get wet, I will just take a bath and head out to the forest when the rain stops. Not falling sick was at the top of the agenda. Feeling a lot better with a plan, I kept the still stinking bucket further outside the room in hope that the rain would wash away some of the stink and headed out.

The first stop was the same shop where this nonsense started 2 days ago – crap! It’s only been 2 days and yet it feels like years. The shop was still lit and empty and seemed as if it was one of those cultivators who remain dry even while standing in the rain, as if they are too good for the rainwater to touch their bodies. As I entered the shop, a sweet familiar fragrance drove my nostalgic heart to desperation. Why is this shop smelling like that bakery at the corner of my street in my previous life? My search soon revealed a small basket of pastries that had me drooling right on the spot. I bit into a croissant without even thinking about danger or poison and it was heaven, heavenly.

Though really tempted, I decided to save the rest of the four pastries and the basket for later – I don’t know who sent them for me, but they came from Earth and who knows when I will be able to get the second batch.

There was a total of 18 shops in this safe novice area and I had gone through all of them previous day. I still took the time to check all of them, with a certain anticipation. I found 1 soap (hurray!), 1 insect repellant, 1 Swiss army knife and the most important and precious find – bag of 1kg salt. Someone was listening to my prayers. It wasn’t a lot, but I wasn’t complaining and after finding salt I couldn’t help laughing out loud.

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By the time I circled back to my room, I looked like a dancing lunatic drowned rat, but I didn’t care. A quick bath (in a still slightly stinky bucket) I had 2 eggs and a piece of bread toasted over fire for breakfast (with salt) and decided to head out – rain or not. I could exercise but I had limited time and I needed to find opportunities to grow quickly.

Rain slowed down to a drizzle as I reached the spot where I had encountered rabbits the previous day and soon my clothes started drying out in the sun light. While walking and exploring the plants and bushes, I kept strategizing about how to tackle any more rabbits or monkeys that I may come across.

Over the next few hours, I killed 4 rabbits (200 EXP), 1 squirrel (35 EXP) and accidentally squashed 1 earthworm (15 EXP) and intentially squashed 5 (75 EXP) of them, why let go of free exp and finally levelled up. My slash worked 2 out of 5 times but the knife played an important role in final strike – I don’t know if it was because my prey was all small or I had a better hold of the knife. None of the animals resulted in loot, which disappointed me and question what was different about the wolf kept circling around in my head.

I trekked up to the top of the hill huffing and puffing and sat down to rest with some water and berries for a snack. The view was breathtaking and the panoramic view that opened in front of my eyes made me realize how large this area was and how small my exploration percentage has been. The hill that I was on was the smallest in the range of mountains extending across the valley, the lush pasture opened at the foothill with a shimmering blue lake running through the side. Further down were more mountains restricting access any further making me realize that if I wanted to see further ahead the only way would be to cross the valley and cut across the mountains.

The roars echoing out of the valley created a strange sort of consonance, as if letting me know that the dangers in front of me are far beyond my capabilities. I looked at the map fragment that I had opened before – it seems that the range of lit up area increased to cover this view. With a larger view available, I could see that the dungeon earlier marked was 2 hills down from the one I was at currently and didn’t require for me to go across. I think this area might be classified by levels and level 1 monsters occupying these smaller hills. There must be a water source for all these animals to thrive but wasn’t showing up in my map. I could get water at the room but it was a limited privilege so I needed something more real that could last longer and could be relied on.

After sitting there for a while and letting the roars wash over me, not intimidating me but making me realize the meagerness of my existence, I turned around and headed back for another round of exercises and dinner.