Nick woke up four hours later feeling remarkably refreshed, ready to face the day with fresh eyes and a clear head. Or the early morning in this case, since it hadn’t been too long since he had fallen asleep.
His enhanced Survivor trait was supercharging his productivity by adding extra hours to his daily routine. Nick suspected that before long, he wouldn’t be able to remember how he had gotten by without it. By now, he was immensely glad that he had taken advantage of the opportunity to bind the trait to his bloodline, even if he wasn’t sure exactly what a bloodline was just yet.
Nick had a lot that he needed to accomplish over the next three days. Every hour in this safe space was a precious resource, a valuable opportunity that he had no intention of squandering. Before he jumped into the thick of things, he walked downstairs and headed into the kitchen, praying that what he was hoping to find would be waiting there to greet him.
He moved over to the counter and picked up the canister with the spigot, excitement surging through him as he judged its weight in his hand. When he pulled off the top and looked inside, he broke into a broad grin. Just as he was hoping, a fresh pot of coffee had been brewing while he slept. It was still hot and ready to drink, restocked by the incredibly convenient magic governing the high-quality safe room.
Nick grabbed a mug and poured himself a steaming cup of caffeinated bliss, savoring the heady aroma before taking his first sip. He drank half of it down in one go before walking over to his toolbelt and opening the smallest pocket. He fished out his crab-claw straight razor and then headed into the bathroom.
The last time he had used the device to shave, he had given himself one hell of a case of razor burn. Luckily, he now had access to a variety of ointments that he could use to lubricate the blade. Nick proceeded to shave, then rinsed off the lather in the sink, enjoying the sensation of his fingertips running across his bare cheeks and lips. His stomach grumbled, requesting some breakfast, so he decided to plan out the rest of his day over a plate of whatever he found inside the magical refrigerator.
Since his ponderings left his body free to perform simple tasks, he decided to make himself a proper breakfast for the first time in over a month. He stretched out his back, then walked over to the fridge, hoping that it had switched to breakfast automatically. When he opened the door and looked inside, Nick sighed in satisfaction, because he found all the makings of a classic breakfast.
He left the door cracked open to make sure that the contents wouldn’t change, deciding that his first objective was to analyze everything that had happened to him, from the start of the tutorial until now. From waking up on the beach, to his desperate battle in the arena. While Nick critiqued the various strategies he had employed and the choices he had made, he opened a cabinet and poked around at the cookware inside.
As he analyzed his early days on the Searing Isle, he filled up a pitcher from the sink, poured himself a glass of water, picked up a metal pan, then walked back over to the refrigerator. He opened the stone door wide and removed a thick slab of bacon, half a dozen eggs, and a pair of shiny red apples. Proper Earth apples, not some weird alien variety.
By this time, his review had moved on to his various close calls in the tutorial dungeon. His battle with the leeches, the horrific encounter with the parasite controlling the ratmen zombies, and his pyrrhic victory over the foreman Trell, who had gifted him with the blade he now wielded.
He picked up the pan and moved it over to the cooking surfaces spread out along the countertop. He touched the gem to activate the closest burner, and after a bit of experimentation, figured out how to set the output to medium heat. By now, Nick had finished recounting his battle with the bonecruncher pack and shifted to his various encounters with the furry dinosaur he had named the lurk.
He was pleased with the strategy he had concocted for dealing with the pack and his performance in executing it. Overall, he had handled himself well in his contest with the ferocious hyena-boars, efficiently using the tools at his disposal to forge a trap that had been surprisingly effective. His ambush had allowed him to slaughter the superior predators, breaking their cohesion and disrupting their ability to fight as a group. However, his run-ins with the lurk had been far too reckless. Nick had emerged unscathed by the narrowest of margins.
Now that the pan was nice and hot, he separated the bacon and set the pieces inside, savoring the delectable aroma and the visceral sizzle of frying fat. He polished off one of the apples, then went to work preparing his eggs, using the hot grease filling the bottom of the pan.
Seven minutes later, everything was ready, and Nick’s recap was winding down. He had arrived at the spectacular climax of the tutorial’s final phase. A six-way battle on the mountainside as the island sank into the sea. He was satisfied with his performance during those trying days. While not everything had gone according to plan, his calculations and preparations had boosted his odds of survival.
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That left him with two final topics to mull over as he wolfed down his hot bacon and eggs. The first was one that left him with far more questions than answers. The Mad God had been waiting for Nick in the safe room he had emerged into after stepping through the portal. He still had no real read on the insane deity. Which made sense, as the incomprehensibly powerful entity was so far beyond Nick’s understanding that he couldn’t even begin to guess as to Taltos’s motivation and intent.
He was certain, however, that some of Taltos’s mannerisms were merely an act, although his cruelty was all too real. After Taltos’s appearance, Nick had decided to accept his bargain, resulting in the desperate battle in the Grand Arena of Papillion, where he had won the right to upgrade his class by two rarities at once.
Nick let out a sorrowful sigh as he recalled the gruesome deaths of Kevin and James. He imagined the horror that Julie must have felt on waking up alone, wondering about the fate of her missing friends. They were only the most recent losses that he had experienced, and he was left with the grim realization that there were certain to be more in the grueling days ahead. As the survivors of the human race fought for the fate of their future and their world.
He took a moment to grieve for Angie, his best friend and occasional lover, who had been erased from his life when the System came to Earth. Wiping the tears away with the corner of his sleeve, he prayed that his parents and brother were ok, as well as his friends and extended family. Nick knew that statistically, only a fraction of them would have survived the shroud of annihilation and the tutorial that followed, but he refused to let go of hope.
He vowed to do whatever he could to find them when he made it back to Earth. But if that was going to happen, Nick needed to endure Taltos’s latest challenge first. With his resolve firm and a goal clear in his mind, he was ready to roll up his sleeves and get to work. The clock was ticking, and he needed to use every minute he had left to increase his odds once he set foot onto Blackmist Bog.
After finishing his pitcher of water, he was ready to contemplate his plans for the day. He needed to revise some of his older strategies, incorporating the use of his wand and new spell. He decided that it could wait until later. He had some time-sensitive tests that he wanted to run first, involving his new flask of restoration. Before he could begin, he needed to deplete some of his stamina and mana. Before he got to the heavy lifting, he figured that he might as well take care of a few quick chores. Top of the list being his laundry.
His new coveralls were still fairly clean. They were a bit sweaty, but he could wait until tomorrow to wash them. His shirt and bathrobe on the other hand, were filthy, not to mention his pack, gloves, shoes, and weapons. Fortunately, his belt, jacket, and cloak were in pristine condition, thanks to their self-maintenance modifications. Nick would give the rest a thorough cleaning before he left the safe room, but he wanted to wash his shirt and bathrobe now, so that he could wear them over the next few days.
He walked over to his pile of gear, opening the flap on his magic pack to remove the robe from inside. He held up his bathrobe in front of his eyes, a bit sad at the sight that met his gaze. The once velvety fabric was now threadbare, ragged with tears and covered in countless stains that would never wash out.
Although it took up a bit of room in his pack, Nick decided to hold onto the robe as a memento rather than throwing it out. Not only was it the only remaining object from his old life and world, it was a symbol of everything that he had gone through during the tutorial. Those desperate days trying to survive while learning the rules of his new existence. “Thanks for everything, old friend.”
He grabbed his shirt from the pile before heading back into the kitchen, then turned the faucet and waited until the water ran hot. He gently washed both garments in the sink, working in a few drops of soap, rinsing them clean, then wringing them out by hand. While his hands were busy, Nick tried holding his breath to test out how his enhanced Survivor trait synergized with his recent improvements to his toughness.
It was amazing that he could now hold his breath for in between three and four minutes, a tangible reminder of his new magic-filled reality. When he was finished, he hung his shirt and robe out to dry by draping them over a chair in front of the window, where the sunlight could warm them over the next few hours.
By now, dawn was breaking over the infinite cloudscape below, a bit late in the morning due to his incredible elevation. The giant windows must have featured some manner of auto-tinting, because he was able to watch the sunrise without having to squint or hold up his hand. Glorious. Before he got started on today’s experiment, Nick walked over to where he had laid out his toolbelt and took a close look at his new flask of restoration.
He noticed immediately that the elixir was almost ready for consumption. The flask was now filled with fluid, which had materialized while he slept and seemed to be slowly darkening, picking up a reddish tint. Nick was curious, so he tried to open the cap to sniff at the contents. To his surprise, the lid was impossible to remove no matter how much force he used. Not even a wiggle. It must stay sealed until it’s ready to be quaffed. It shouldn’t take much longer, judging from the description I read in the treasure vault.
With that out of the way, he was ready to begin. His plan was to push himself hard. First training with his sword to deplete his stamina, then doing the same with his spells to bottom out his mana pool. Then he would be ready to find out what the flask could do firsthand. First things first. It’s time to burn off some stamina and train up your new sword skill.
Nick walked over to his pile of gear, picked up the blade, then moved into the corner of the suite designed for working out, ready to make the most out of his day and practice the art of war.