Nick woke up before dawn, busy tweaking his stratagems before he even opened his eyes. When he went to stoke his campfire, he found a pleasant surprise waiting for him. The tribe had dropped off a handful of berries and a pair of small crabs.
Nodding his thanks to his furry benefactors, Nick enjoyed a breakfast that was vastly more palatable than filling his belly with day-old lizard steak, intending to repay the favor during the tutorial’s final phase. He had a long list of goals that he wanted to complete in the day and a half he had left, the first of which was to find out what had happened to the lurk after its battle with the giant mushroom.
Having nearly lost his life twice there already, Nick was never going anywhere near the bone-studded clearing again. Instead, he started walking toward the only place on the island where he could examine the killer shroom’s domain from a safe distance, the top of the great tree.
As Nick made his way across the forest floor, grateful not to have to forage until he was ready to find dinner, he stopped to collect any fallen branches that were straight, relatively dry, and about twice as thick as his thumbs. He shaved off the smaller twigs along the sides, relieved to find that while they still had a bit of bend, the spears were solid enough to drive into the ground without cracking. He sharpened the tips to points with his dagger, then did some crosshatching across the other end to give the crude weapons a bit of grip.
Nick had filled his pack to the point that it was getting hard to carry by the time he arrived at the glade that was home to the colossal tree. He was satisfied with his haul, although it was only a fraction of the arsenal that he hoped to craft over the next thirty-odd hours. He hung his pack from one of the lowest branches and got busy climbing, marveling that an ascent that had required a herculean effort just a few weeks ago was now just a modest workout, thanks to his increased attributes.
Nick scampered up the great tree, the only place where he could get a good look at the base of the giant mushroom other than the clearing where it resided. After reaching the top and stopping to admire the view, he took out his spyglass and peered down at the predatory fungus, hoping to see the lurk’s corpse laid out beside it, or perhaps a gigantic bulge along its creamy white stalk. But as he had expected, the lurk was nowhere to be found. There were fresh gouges scored across the clearing and he spotted a few massive chunks missing from the mushroom’s stalk. Evidence that a brutal battle had taken place after Nick made good on his escape.
As the lurk had been able to shake off the effects of both pollen and spore within a few short minutes, and the creeper vines were insufficient to bind a beast of its size, neither of the alien predators was well suited to finish off the other. It seemed that the lurk had withdrawn after working out some of its frustration. Nick only hoped that the shaggy monstrosity had been wounded in the process.
Other than the spider colony, the lurk was the greatest threat to his survival during the tutorial’s final days. Hopefully, his risky encounter had bolstered his odds in addition to granting him his first spell. Either way, he suspected that he would find out what had happened to the lurk before long.
Just before he turned to leave, Nick was treated to a sight beyond his expectations. Because that was when the great mushroom started to shudder. Its speckled red cap folded down like an umbrella collapsing, crimson gills drawing tight around the stalk. Then the entire shroom began sinking into the ground. Disappearing into the soil like someone slipping into a bath. Five minutes later, the colossal fungus was completely submerged, only a fresh pile of disturbed dirt revealing that it had stood within the glade to begin with.
Huh. Must be how the big bastard survives being underwater. Nick wondered how the island’s other plants and animals endured its submersion cycle, before dismissing it as a mystery beyond his ability to solve. Just one more facet to the alien planet that he hadn't seen coming.
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After climbing back down, Nick carried his load of spears over to his cave, then set out to make another half-dozen batches. Late in the afternoon, he dropped off the final set, bringing the total to nearly one hundred. After carefully inspecting each weapon, improving their tips and grips while tossing out some inferior specimens, he had seventy-six crude spears finished. Not bad for a day’s effort, if he did say so himself.
He spent the rest of the day hunting down as many swordclaws and komos as he could, running more tests on mana dart as he went. After firing the first pair of darts, Nick walked over to the obelisk, marking the time by looking at the timer listed on the quest’s description. Now he just needed to empty his mana pool by casting the third spell and he could measure how long it took his energetic reservoir to refill enough to fire off a fresh dart.
Nick confirmed that mana dart was able to inflict raw damage by flinging the final spell at one of the stinging butterflies infesting the overgrowth around the spring. He was pleased to discover that the dart killed the insect in a single shot. Afterwards, Nick dried out the massive mound of meat he had gathered by draping it across the top of the black stone edifice. He remained in the area while continuing with his daily routine, trying to summon a fresh dart every few minutes. At last, seven and a half hours later, it finally worked, allowing him to draw some conclusions about the dynamics of his new ability.
Three dart limit. Eight-hour cooldown until a charge can be used again. He still had a long list of questions, but Nick had learned enough about his spell to know that it would be invaluable in combat. Over the days ahead, he would integrate what he had discovered and incorporate the spell into his arsenal of tactics. Eventually, he would devise further experiments to learn more about mana dart and magic in general, but right now, he had other pressing matters to attend to.
Nick took stock of his progress while walking back to his cave. After making a few more weapons along the way, he had crafted roughly one hundred and twenty-five spears and prepared a fat pile of meat. He hoped to have enough time tomorrow morning to fashion around thirty crude clubs and make a final foraging run, gathering up all the berries and mushrooms that he could find.
These were far more supplies than Nick needed, but the provisions weren’t just for him. He intended to partner with the lemur tribe during the climax of the tutorial. Keeping as many of them alive as possible was vital to his own survival. Unfortunately, he had only been able to find eight relatively intact coconut husks to date, as most of the palms were now below the waves, but they let him add a bit of water to his stockpile in addition to what he could carry in his pack.
Throughout the day, the tribe stopped by to say hello from time to time. While they seemed curious as to what he was up to, Nick was unable to communicate his intentions well enough to solicit their aid. He would have to trust the lemurs’ instincts when they arrived on scene and pray that he had predicted how the clever beasts would react accurately enough to follow through with his plans.
Nick had been hoping to raise his strength and toughness another point in the little time he had left, but his other preparations had burned through all of his energy. With any luck, they would tick up shortly after the fighting began. Using the last hour of daylight remaining, he began transporting all the supplies to the highlands, where he expected a massive battle to take place as soon as the ocean started to rise.
It was an exhausting effort, but Nick didn’t have time to take it easy. When he finished dropping off the food and weapons, he started piling up every rock he could find in the highlands, placing half of them on the hilltop he had chosen to fortify, and the others on the flat area halfway up the hillside. He wished that there was more he could do, but with the limited resources and tools at his disposal, this was everything that Nick could manage by himself.
After making a final inspection of the hillside, he returned to his cave and packed up his personal supplies, bidding farewell to his hard-won shelter, as this would be the last night that he called the cavern home. He spent the evening reminiscing on his experiences on the isle, and preparing himself for the challenges that would come with the rising sun. Fortunately, the phase timer wouldn’t hit zero until late afternoon. Nick had plenty of time in the morning to carry a few final loads up to the highlands without having to rush.
It took him quite a while to fall asleep, head filled with strategies and the anticipation of a life and death struggle to come. Eventually, the land of dreams opened its doors, and Nick drifted off with plans still whirling madly within his brain.