With less than six days to go until the tutorial’s third phase, Nick shifted his focus from intensive training to beginning his final preparations, although he still spent several hours every day developing his skills and attributes.

When he stopped by the obelisk, he was pleased to learn that he had leveled after his latest fight and had made some progress with his skills as well.

Congratulations. You have accumulated enough experience to reach Level [6].

You have one free attribute point awaiting allocation at your discretion.

Through use, you have improved the following skills:

Size Up has increased from [7] to [8].

Wand has increased from [3] to [4].

After a moment of deliberation, Nick decided to spend his free point on Dexterity. He had barely been able to keep up with the spider’s movements, which had nearly cost him his head. Additionally, he needed to be able to strike and parry with greater speed and precision if he wanted to bring out his sword’s full potential.

He signaled his intentions and then sat down, riding out a wave of vertigo before rising to his feet once more. He spent part of an hour training, enjoying the improvements to his balance and coordination, before moving on to his next objective.

With the threat of invading spiders behind him, Nick was ready to initiate the next stage of his plans, mapping out the rest of the island. He needed to scout the center of the isle, but there was a problem. His model of the lurk’s behavior was still incomplete. He had several key details that he needed to nail down over the next few days before he was willing to enter the highlands, where he believed the beast was laired.

While he pondered the matter, he decided that his hiding skills had improved enough to take a lesser risk today. He was ready to explore the final portion of the forest that was still a blank spot on his mental map—the northern strip of woods over on the far side of the mountain that dominated the middle of the island.

Up to this point, Nick had scouted only a small fraction of that side of the Searing Isle. The view from the great tree was obstructed by the volcano, and the northmost strip of beach had been barred by churning rivers of lava. However, the molten stone had emerged from channels threaded throughout the bedrock rather than pouring down the mountainside. The forest itself was clear of the telltale signs of smoke created by the molten flows.

There were other reasons that he had yet to set foot into the northern forest as well. In part because it was an inconvenient distance from the obelisk and his primary source of water. But mostly because it was close to the area where Nick had nearly stumbled into the lurk’s ambush of the tribe, back on his first day on the island. That didn’t mean he was uninterested in surveying the region, as it was surely home to additional resources as well as the likely hiding place of another valuable Exploration Reward Chest.

After tracking its movements for weeks, Nick now knew that the lurk could strike anywhere. Thus, the northern forest no longer felt more dangerous than anywhere else on the island. In addition to scouring the region for resources, he wanted to find out what lived in that section of the woods. He needed to devise plans ahead of time in case he was forced to battle another dangerous species during the tutorial’s final phase.

Even more importantly, he wanted to open every reward chest that he could get his hands on. He needed to add to his collection of gear if he wanted to survive, and every chest he had found so far had bolstered his odds of living through the tutorial.

One possibility was the chest he had found sitting in the lava field, although he knew that he had made the right decision by leaving well enough alone when he first found it. While the pull of greed was a powerful incentive, Nick couldn’t make use of whatever was inside the copper container if he died while retrieving it. Attempting to cross the lava field would have been a reckless gamble, especially with no shoes on his feet.

He was considering going back for it now, but the sharks were patrolling the water in even greater numbers than before. Not to mention the thing in the sea, which he had spotted several times over the last few days. He was reluctant to waste too much time and energy on a copper chest because Nick had his heart set on silver and gold. There should still be plenty of superior chests to find, since he had only explored roughly a third of the island by this point.

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His destination decided, he left his obelisk in high spirits, heading northeast so that he would come out along the coast near the border of the ravenous creepers’ territory. He planned to circle around the coastline as he made his way north, taking advantage of the strip of land the swordclaws had stolen from the killer vines.

With 90 percent of his attention focused on his surroundings and the other 10 percent enjoying the fantasy of opening an endless procession of reward chests, Nick made his way to the coast. After emerging from the woods, he skirted the perimeter of the island, keeping an eye out for any stray creeper vines along his path. He walked along a waterline that had once belonged to the shrooms and vines before the advance of the crabs had driven them deeper into the forest.

The sun was high overhead by the time that Nick found himself standing near the northern edge of the shroom’s territory. He judged his location from the giant mushroom’s position and the angle of the mountain, measured against his view of the nearby island.

At this point, he stopped in a small clearing to eat lunch, prepared himself mentally, and then crept his way beneath the canopy, entering uncharted territory for the first time in over a week. He didn’t intend to linger long, although he expected his outing to take most of the day.

Nick’s first order of business was to identify the dominant species in the region, then devise a strategy for how he could safely avoid them. He would also determine the best means of confronting the beasts if he were left with no other choice. His secondary objective was to uncover any useful resources that were not readily available elsewhere on the isle, as well as pick out any unusual terrain where another Exploration Reward Chest might be concealed.

Although nowhere on the Searing Isle was safe, Nick’s adrenaline started to flow as he stepped out of his comfort zone and into terra incognita, on alert for anything that might try to end his life.

After another hour of hiking, the terrain began to change. The dominant species of tall, stout trees gave way to a shorter variety with glossy red branches that swept all the way back down to the ground, like unruly braids of hair. The undergrowth transitioned from bush and brush to sweeping ferns striped with vibrant shades of yellow and orange. It appeared that unlike the rest of the woodland strata, the north side of the island constituted a unique and separate biome, leaving Nick with no idea what to expect when he ventured deeper in.

After thinking the matter over, he decided to explore just a bit further. He had yet to uncover any trace of the dominant species, and, in addition to novel threats, a new biome meant new resources. Resources that could expand his toolkit and grant him new options to survive the tutorial’s dangers.

Fifteen minutes later, his foot came down with a wet splat… then sank another six inches into the soft mud before he recovered his balance and retreated to firmer ground. He took a long look around, trying to find a path around the cloying mud. But the layer of muck only grew deeper from this point. Nick tried walking along its perimeter for another ten minutes, but only mud and more mud awaited him, although he could see broad pools of water reflecting the sunlight further to the north.

He eventually found a break in the tree line that let him take a gander at the terrain ahead. “Well shit.” He sighed in disappointment. Although he had indeed discovered a novel biome, it was one that was utterly unsuited to further exploration.

At this point, Nick had to accept that he could go no further; that it was time to turn around and head back to his little corner of the southern forest. The reason for his decision was simple. In the end, this portion of the island did not contain the woodlands that he had expected. It was filled with what appeared to be a tropical swamp instead.

Nick cast his gaze out over the mangrove-like trees that stretched toward the horizon, between which radiant patches of blue and white were visible, pools of water reflecting the sky above like polished mirrors. The humidity was noticeably higher here, causing him to sweat despite the cool breeze blowing in from the ocean. He could feel the moisture encasing his skin and in the air he drew into his lungs.

The aroma of the swamp carried a cloying sweetness that he could not readily identify, punctuated by the occasional wisp of rot. Making the iffy situation even sketchier, he could hear the furious buzzing of insects nearby. He could already tell that various creepy crawlies would be everywhere, thanks to the copious volume of open water. Nick had been lucky that there weren’t many bugs elsewhere on the island, and he had no desire to get up close and personal with the local fauna.

The lemurs could probably adapt to living in this environment, as they preferred to stay off the ground, keeping to the trees whenever possible. But for Nick, the terrain was simply awful—a veritable death trap that he had no intention of stepping within. The land itself was treacherous. Hidden pockets of deep mud were scattered throughout the shallow water. He would have to slow down to a crawl if he wanted to survey the region, and he would be next to helpless while he did.

Any creature native to the marshlands would be able to ambush and pursue him effortlessly, and he would be hard-pressed to defend himself on the semi-solid ground. Nick shuddered as he imagined encountering whatever resided deeper within the swamp. Alligators, snakes, the lurk. Any of these could end him with ease, and out here, none of his tricks would be able to save him.

He shivered as he imagined being forced into such an encounter, walking out of the area as quickly as he could. On his way, he passed by more of the bamboo-like plants growing throughout the region. Having some on hand had already proven useful. So, following that train of thought, Nick stopped to pick out a few choice pieces and put them into his pack, then hurried on his way.

The chops of his sword masked the rumble of thunder in the distance.