Charles Strong: "One fart from this guy can snap a sapling in half. Imagine that aimed at a person! They'd be blown to kingdom come! That's insane!"
Stan Strong: "Your gift is definitely more powerful than mine!"
Lee Lightman: "Man, I wish I had a gift that badass."
Lou Yang: "This gift is seriously strong, yeah, but the drawbacks are pretty obvious. Every time I let one rip, my pants explode. I'm still flashing my bare ass to the world right now."
Everyone: "...."
Eddie Drumpf: "Here's a tip: next time you need to fart, just take off your pants first."
Lou Yang: "That's not a bad idea, but it's kind of embarrassing."
Eddie Drumpf: "Better than shredding your pants and mooning everyone, don't you think?"
Lou Yang: "Fair enough."
Hank Fowler, after taking this all in, couldn't help but ask, "So, uh, quick question for the group: how do you actually, you know, use a gift?"
Sue Lynn: "You don't know?"
Hank Fowler: "Nope, not a clue."
Sue Lynn: "There are tons of guides on the World Channel, including ones on how to use your gifts."
Hank Fowler: "Sweet, thanks. I'll check it out later."
Wally Cox: "No need for that. I can tell you right now. Using a gift is simple, just use your mind. But here's the catch: using your gift drains your mental energy. The stronger the gift, the more energy it sucks up. Run out of mental juice, and you're out of luck, gift-wise."
Hank Fowler: "Got it, thanks for the heads-up!"
Finishing the conversation, Hank Fowler closed the game interface and focused intently on the wound on his hand. With a thought, a milky white light seeped out, flowing into the injury.
A cool, soothing sensation spread through the wound, incredibly comfortable.
Then, before his very eyes, the wound began to heal at an accelerated rate.
In the blink of an eye, it was completely healed, not even a scar remained.
"Holy crap, that's amazing!" Hank Fowler exclaimed, quickly treating the wound on his calf as well.
After taking care of that, he opened his character stats.
Using gifts drained mental energy.
He'd just healed himself twice; how much energy did that cost him?
He needed to know.
Character Panel:
Survivor: Hank Fowler
Find this and other great novels on the author's preferred platform. Support original creators!
Zone: 10001
Level: 1
Experience: 17/100
Physique: 8
Strength: 8
Agility: 10
Defense: 5
Mental Energy: 11/7 (Recovering: 1 point per hour)
Gift: Healing
"Not bad," Hank Fowler muttered thoughtfully.
Using his healing gift twice had drained 4 points of mental energy, which was perfectly acceptable.
Plus, mental energy regenerated automatically, so he didn't have to worry about running out permanently.
Just as Hank Fowler was about to close the stats panel, he noticed that his experience points had increased by 17.
What the hell?
He hadn't done anything!
How did his experience go up?
Hank Fowler thought for a moment, then suddenly remembered the two beetles and the dozen or so locusts he'd killed earlier. Added up, that was about seventeen.
So, killing one gave him 1 experience point?
If he killed 83 more, could he level up to 2?
Hank Fowler felt a surge of excitement, itching to rush into the tall grass and wipe out the locusts.
But after a moment's thought, he decided against it.
With his current strength, taking on that many locusts was unrealistic. The price would likely be too high.
Besides, at this stage, his priority was gathering food.
Once he had a decent stockpile, he could think about other things.
A little later, Hank Fowler scarfed down a bread roll and half a bottle of water to replenish his stamina, then headed out.
He'd just opened the gate when the wooden fence's voice echoed in his mind, "Hey, human, don't play favorites!"
Hank Fowler was taken aback, "What's that supposed to mean, Fency?"
The wooden fence: "You're feeding Thatchy all that grass, but what about me? I need some wood."
"What do you need wood for?" Hank Fowler asked, confused.
The wooden fence replied matter-of-factly, "To level up, obviously!"
Hank Fowler's eyes flickered, "You can level up too?"
The wooden fence: "Thatchy can level up, so of course, I can too."
A grin spread across Hank Fowler's face, "Beg me!"
The wooden fence: "...."
After a moment of stunned silence, the wooden fence huffed, "We're a team now! If I get stronger, I can protect you better! Don't you get that? And you want me to beg? What the hell is wrong with you?"
Hank Fowler considered this, realizing Fency had a point. He nodded, "Alright, I can get you some wood. But the problem is, I don't have an ax, so I can't chop down any trees."
The wooden fence: "You have that shovel, right? You can use that to chop trees. It'll just take a bit longer."
The entrenching tool: "I'm for digging holes, not for cutting grass or chopping trees! Can you guys show me a little respect? Has anyone considered my feelings?"
The wooden fence: "Think about the bigger picture, will you? Don't sweat the small stuff."
The entrenching tool: "Oh, you're all about the big picture, huh? Then why don't you go chop the damn trees?"
The wooden fence: "We each have our specialties! My job is to protect our home! You want me to chop trees? Are you brain-dead? You're acting like a complete moron!"
The entrenching tool: "...."
Hank Fowler coughed, "Alright, alright, we're all on the same team here. No need to fight over little things. Let's all be a bit more mature about this."
The wooden fence: "Fine, for your sake, I'll let it go with Digger this time."
The entrenching tool: "You son of a..."
Hank Fowler shook his head, deciding to drop it, and headed towards the beach.
The beach was a dangerous place, he could even lose his life there.
But compared to other areas, the beach likely had more food, so he decided to take a gamble.
He hadn't gone far when a woman's voice called out, "Hank Fowler!"
Hank Fowler stopped and turned to see a petite girl with curly blonde hair, about 5'3", bounding towards him.
It was Luna Lovelace!
"Need something?" Hank Fowler asked with a smile.
"Zara Vance wants you to come to a meeting," Luna Lovelace replied, a cute, dimpled smile on her face.
"Not interested!" Hank Fowler declined immediately.
A meeting? What a waste of time!
He'd rather be gathering food.
"I really think you should go. This meeting is about resource allocation, and they're also going to elect a leader," Luna Lovelace said earnestly.
"Electing a leader?" Hank Fowler's mind started racing.
The leader would be in charge of resource allocation, which meant they'd definitely get a bigger share.
He had to get that position.
"Fine, I'll go with you," Hank Fowler nodded.
The two then headed off in a certain direction.
Five minutes later, they arrived at a large tree.
This was where Luna Lovelace and the other two had set up their shelter.