He took around forty minutes to follow the tracks back to the ogre’s base. A quarter of the easily visible tracks were a straight line to where he crashed. The remaining amount was of it wandering around. Michael was worried about a second ogre but was happy to see only one set of fresh tracks coming out of the open shallow cave.
Peering into the darkness, Michael was surprised that he could see clearly all the way to the back of the cave with no issue. Much of it was grayscaled, but the closer the darkness got to the light, the colors became apparent.
“Damn, I got great eyesight now.” He was happy with the new discovery.
He didn’t want to go into the cave as the smell was even worse than the ogre. Michael could see two sources, one being a rotting bone pile, the other being the thing’s shit corner. But he had to go in as he saw several things that looked like a chest and other items.
Taking a deep breath of fresh air, he ran in while holding his breath. Michael grabbed the trunk and loudly dragged it to the exit.
Once out, he let the air out of his lungs and sucked in a few fresh bits of air since he put some extra distance from the cave.
Getting himself ready once more, he ran inside, grabbed some more things, and ran back out.
Repeating his trips, he pulled all the useful things out of the cave, even finding a sword near the bone pile.
Much of the items reeked of ogre shit, but he found the trunk was still locked, which made him hopeful that the contents did not smell.
Not too far from the cave was a tiny waterfall and pool of water at the bottom. The water was murky, making Michael think the ogre might have pissed in the water. The ridge from which the water ran down was only twelve feet up. Michael didn’t think he could jump all the way up, but from the fight earlier, he figured he might be able to get halfway.
Michael jumped with all his strength, finding a spot with good-looking handholds, clearing just above halfway. He missed his grab and landed crouching, his wings slowing his fall.
Jumping a couple more times, he finally got a good hold and climbed the remaining distance. Checking the small river, the water was nice and clear.
“Awesome. Shower time.”
Moving over to the edge, he was hesitant to jump off but decided to have a little faith in his new body. After practicing working his wings a little bit, he took a deep breath. Michael jumped off with his wings spread wide. To his surprise, he lazily glided down to the ground. Since he was not good at controlling his wings yet, he was nearly twenty feet away from the waterfall area.
Walking back to the pool of water, he carefully made his way to the waterfall using the various stones near the back of the pool.
“Cold!” Michael cried out as the water hit his body.
Since he didn’t have any soap or a bath loofa, he had to rely on his hands and a lot of water.
After what felt like hours, Michael stepped out of the waterfall and was finally rinsed off all the blood, leaves, and dirt. His skin was no longer his original human pale and was a deep reddish tan, but he liked the new look.
“Hmm?” Michael noticed a small cave entrance behind the waterfall with his ability to see into the dark.
The entrance was low, around four and a half feet tall. Michael figured out how to somewhat furl his wings closer to his body, so he collapsed them as much as he could before entering. Stepping inside, he cautiously followed the tunnel until it opened to a decent cave. The ceiling seemed to have a low-level glow to it. Focusing on it, Michael got an answer.
Starlight Moss. A rare moss that is difficult to cultivate as it requires a high mana environment. If adequately processed with other ingredients, it can create mid-level elixirs. Slightly sweet flavor. Restores a moderate amount of mana on consumption.
“Oh! Other ingredients!” He excitedly said.
Unknown.
“Oh, come on! Fine. Let’s navigate to the elixir.” Michael tried.
Elixirs are strong restorative potions and are challenging to make as the ingredients are rare. Even watered-down low-level elixirs can heal severe wounds. The highest-level elixirs are capable of bringing a person back from the dead when administered within an hour of death. The body must be somewhat intact.
“What the hell, info screen? You can tell me that but not the ingredients? I call bullshit. Ingredients!”
Any of the foods or substances that are combined to make a particular dish or potion.
“Hah, hah, very funny. Just give the definition of what an ingredient is. Stupid info screen….” Michael bitterly mumbled.
Picking a bit from the wall, he found the description was correct. It was a bit ashy in texture but had a mild sweetness like honey.
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Deciding to make the location his survival base, he headed back to where the trunk and loot were.
Besides the trunk, he got a shield, a dagger, several scraps of clothing, metal bracers, boots too small for him, and only one usable pack. Michael had no intentions of wearing any of the items he could until he rinsed them off as much as possible.
“Let’s see.” Michael focused on the various pieces of armor and weapons.
Magic Sword of Slowness (Damaged) (Poorly maintained):
Attack: 6 (-3) (-2)
Type: Slash/Stab
Effect(s): Reduces the victim’s speed by 0.5% per attack.
Magic Metal Bracers of Strength (Damaged) (Poorly maintained)
Defense: 4 (-2) (-1)
Type: Bludgeon/Stab/Slash/Pierce
Effect(s): Raises strength rank by 2 (-1)
Magic Dagger of Sparks (Damaged) (Poorly maintained)
Attack: 4 (-2) (-1)
Type: Stab/Slash
Effect(s): Able to produce sparks of fire from the tip if pommel is struck (60% chance of failure)
Magic Shield of Defense (Heavily Damaged) (Direly maintained)
Defense: 6 (-5) (-4)
Type: Bludgeon/Stab/Slash/Pierce
Effect(s): Increases wielder’s defense rank by 2 (-3)
Magic Pack of Carrying (Lightly Damaged)
Effect(s): Holding rank 3. Repair rank 1. Cleaning rank 2
“Whoa! Holding rank 3!”
An item enchantment that increases the number of items a container can hold depending on the rank. Current rank: 3. Volume increase by a multiplier of 3.
Michael then checked the two other enchantments.
An item enchantment that repairs the item using ambient mana in the surrounding area. Applying mana directly will speed up the repair. Current rank: 1. Item will repair 2% every 8 hours.
An item enchantment that cleans an item using ambient mana in the surrounding area. If applied to a container, objects placed inside will be cleaned. Current rank: 2. Item will clean 25% every 4 hours.
“Oh. Thank Go-… Er… Well, I am a demon. So, uh, thanks, Satan?” Michael finished while scratching his head. He stopped himself from thanking God as he didn’t want any credit possibly going to the garbage goddess.
Opening the pack, he found several items inside. One of them looked like a sleeping bag but was reduced to a third of the size of a normal one. Grabbing and pulling it out of the pack, the sleeping bag magically increased in size until it returned to normal.
“That is so cool! Thank Satan!” Michael laughed.
Reaching in again, he pulled out a bag that was taking up a third of the space.
Magic Sack of Preservation
Effect(s): Preservation rank 3.
An item enchantment that preserves the quality of what is applied to using ambient mana in the surrounding area. If applied to a container, objects placed inside will be preserved. Current rank: 3. Item will deteriorate at 1/30 the standard rate.
“Hail Satan!” Michael joked to himself. “So, if it takes a day for an item to rot, this will make it last thirty. This is so awesome.” He said as he found foodstuff inside the sack.
“I guess whoever this was must have been a strong adventurer if they existed. Poor guy got turned into ogre shit. Hold on, what about the trunk?”
Magic Noble Trunk of Holding
Effect(s): Holding rank 5. Cleaning rank 6. Preserve rank 6. Repair rank 5. Shielding rank 5.
“Dafuq?” Michael was stunned. He wondered if, going by the name, the trunk belonged to some noble. Michael focused on Noble.
Nobles are high-ranking aristocrats in the world. They are responsible for looking after land assigned to them by their ruler. Wealth, prestige, honor, and dignity are paramount to nobles, sometimes leading to altercations if one of them is challenged.
Not seeing anything else he could learn, he checked the higher-ranked items he already knew of. Rank five holding multiplied the volume by 10. Rank 6 cleaning would be 100% clean every hour. Preserve rank 6 would keep items fresh for 150 times the rot rate. Repair rank 6 would fix the trunk 50% every 2 hours. The last enchantment was new to him.
An item enchantment that absorbs surrounding ambient mana to maintain a protective barrier around the item. Applying Slash/Stab/Pierce weapons will lessen weapon ability as the rank increases. Current Rank: 5. Durability: 997/1000. Recharge 10 points every 30 minutes.
“Must have been when I dragged out. But that means it will be a pain in the ass to open. I doubt there would be a key in there, but maybe Mr. Adventurer had a lock pick kit?” Michael dug into the pack to check the remaining items.
He found another preserving bag exactly like the earlier one, but it was empty. Michael assumed it was for storing caught game or monster parts for proof. He was assuming a lot, using his knowledge from things he had read before. Michael had nothing to go on because the garbage goddess satellite dropped him into the world without a parachute or an explanation.
Michael found a few pouches with essential survival tools like a saw, stakes, a heavy hatchet, what looked to be a flint rod, and a canteen. He hoped to find a potion but was disappointed in the end.
There was also a journal in the pack, but he put it aside for later since he found he could read it in darkness.
The last pouch had the item he hoped for, a lock pick kit. He had no experience in lock picking but had a decent idea of how to do it. Michael had nothing better to do than survive for now, so he figured he would try to open the trunk.
The last items in the pack were a package of clean clothing with a few pairs of underwear, socks, and a cloak.
Michael held up the underwear, stretching the band. “Huh… didn’t think I would find boxers like ones from home in a world of monsters. Is this polyester?” He tried to find a label, but only a fancy ‘OWP’ label was on it.
He tried the pants on, only to find they were just a bit too tight. If he continued to lose weight like before, he might be able to fit in them in a month or two.
The shirt seemed big enough, but because of his wings, he could not put it on.
Michael tried flexing his back muscles, various moves or stances, and a handful of commands to get them to put away, but he had no luck.
Using a set of scissors from the survival pouch, he cut a hole in the back midway up and between the shoulders, leaving the collar of the button-up shirt intact. After adjusting the hole size a few times, he stepped into the hole and pulled it up until he could pull the collar over his head. Sadly, the shirt was much like the pants, just a tad bit too small, so he could not button it around his belly.
“Better than nothing.” Michael shrugged as he picked up the cloak.
Adjusting and tying the cloak around his waist using a thin rope, he finally had his private bits covered.
Taking up the pair of boots, he decided to try to make them work by opening up the toe end and heel to make them into sandals. Michael had to make quite a few adjustments over the course of an hour and was able to get them to work. His toes hung over the edge of the sole, but they would work for him for now.
Looking up at the sky, it was apparent that night was approaching. The only reason he noticed was that many of the colors around him were dulling, some becoming grayscaled. It was something Michael was going to have to get used to.
Stuffing everything back into the pack, along with all the smelly loot, Michael headed into the waterfall cave while dragging the trunk with him.