Adam woke at 6:00am exactly again. There must be something in the way the system worked that caused this to happen. Not sensing anything new from his status and already having tasks for the day he woke, stretched and left the tent. Another chilly morning greeted him but was easily ignored as he warmed up for his pre-breakfast jog.

Adam was aiming to reach the coast today; which felt an exciting concept for some reason. Heading out of camp towards the river; then cutting back to the orchard for his morning fruit gathering he carried on up through the foothills to a new area he was informed was Mountain, base - low threat, level 1. There being little in the way of a view; Adam decided a little climb before continuing towards the coast was in order. He found a suitable area that led up into the mountains themselves and started his ascent. Before long he started to feel a pressure in his head; different from a headache but unpleasant still. Not knowing where this was coming from he activated Inspect to try to work it out. Concentrating harder he could sense that the system was trying to tell him something about the area; but on checking he was still at the base of the mountain. There was a change though. Mountain, base - medium threat, level 1.

Adam stopped walking up the incline. His view was not great and something had caused threat level to increase to medium. Not knowing if this something was ahead or behind Adam just froze for a second. He had left his staff back at camp; finding it harder to run while holding it and sure he wouldn't need it where he was going. How had he become overconfident and foolish in just a couple of days. Skill Point check = 3. So not enough to activate stealth. Damn.

Seeing a small clearing ahead where he would have a better view of his surroundings Adam headed forward rather than back. He would prefer to see what was causing the threat rather than be ambushed - he had always hated horror films for the same reason. Just put a big scary monster in front of him so he could get on with it rather than hide them under things.

With Inspect activated just in case it would help identify the threat Adam felt the pressure increase as he continued. Petrified that something was about to jump out at him with every step; Adam almost missed it as Inspect updated the area to Mountain, slope - medium threat, level 4-6. This update came at the same time as Adam had reached the clearing and was looking around frantically for any danger. Without seeing the monsters he had conjured in his head and realising the danger was just in the area itself Adam turned and sprinted back down the way he had come.

The pressure eased as he ran fading completely by the time he returned to the point he had chosen to begin his climb. He didn't truly feel safe again until he was back in camp; abandoning the remainer of his planned run for now. The run back gave him some time to think. As the adrenaline left his body his initial panic was slowly replaced with logical thinking. He had been warned when he entered a more dangerous area. Well actually warned before he entered. He hadn't really noticed before; but all the areas other than the forest had all been level 1 so far. Slowing to a walk and concentrating as he reached the edge of the foothills he could sense that he was coming to the edge of the area with Inspect.

With a couple of piles of rocks and some pacing towards and away from camp Adam determined that the transition zone was about a hundred paces across. Fifty steps after Inspect changed to camp he could still feel he was near the edge of the foothills and vice versa on walking the other way. Adam checked his map and by zooming in could see dotted lines that showed the edge of the areas. He looked at the mountain region and could see the dotted line where the Mountain, base turned to slope. He mentally added in the same transition zone of fifty steps to warn him where the threat level would increase. For completeness he did the same where the forest level changed.

Relieved that he could avoid a similar situation in the future Adam decided to take a break from exploring and complete his fence. He noticed the improvements to his stamina as he worked and that it was having less impact on his regen. It was just after midday by the time he had finished so he gave himself an hour's rest before making a plan for the rest of the day.

Adam felt awkward running with his staff in his hand. He had tried placing it behind him between the straps on his back but this was clumbersome and the staff kept falling out. He headed back towards the mountains worried that a mental block to returning would develop if he didn't return. When he arrived at the base of the mountain he headed East towards the coast rather than braving another trip up higher. The edge where the mountain met the foothills was initially a gradual rocky climb up towards a plateau visible in the near distance. It was this slope that Adam had partly explored earlier in the day. As he headed East towards the coast the slope from the foothills became steeper and steeper until Adam was running alongside the base of a cliff rather than a slope up which he could climb the mountains.

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Utilising his swerving running technique from before to cover more ground Adam was almost at the first of the caves before he saw them cut away into the cliff-edge. He stopped a good fifty paces away and carefully used Inspect to check he was not approaching a new area. Nothing registered so he headed closer. Confident he couldn't detect any danger he peered into the cave. The sunlight didn't penetrate very far into the cave making Adam reluctant to go any deeper. Instead he walked along next to the cliff feeling for any change in his area perception by pulsing Inspect every minute or so. 

He passed several more caves with no change until an obviously larger cave entrance gave him a different impression. The entrance to this larger cave was twenty to thirty paces across and a similar height at its centre. The warm afternoon sun at his back emboldened Adam to step towards the cave. As he crossed the threshold he held Inspect and was informed the new area was Mine, entrance - low threat, level 2. As he was turning to leave a glint caught his eye from a little further in the cave.

Adam was disappointed when Inspect revealed Flint. At least that was until he read the description a second time. Flint - Can be used for stone tools and starting fires with pyrite. Adam had no idea what pyrite was; but using Inspect on rock after rock eventually he hit the jackpot. Pyrite - A raw iron ore, can be smelted to produce Iron. After a precautionary look around he darted in to the cave and collected a couple of pieces alongside the flint. 

The cliff continued with a few more dotted caves that Adam refused to explore despite the fact they didn't register as dangerous on his senses. It didn't take long for the rock and grass underfoot to change to sand and as he crested the first of the dunes the salty air of the sea hit him along with a gentle breeze. Waves crashed into the base of the cliff that was now hundreds of metres high. At its base a surrounding of sharp rocks spearing their way out of the sea slowly gave way to a sandy beach further down the coast. While he was very tempted to explore further a glance at his watch stopped Adam from wandering down to the shore. Goal achieved he instead turned and started his run back to camp.

The run back took Adam across the Southern edge of the grasslands. Inspect revealed a few shrubs and bushes that held little interest other than. Cotton - Produces a soft fibre that can be woven for clothes. As well as clothes, Adam was sure he had seen a documentary once where cotton had been used to help start a fire. It certainly wouldn't hurt to try. Bypassing camp to head to the stream in the forest and collect some nuts meant that dusk was near approaching as he returned to camp.  

A side trip to follow the trail of nut shells and make a new pile of rocks and food for the vermite meant the sun was setting as Adam filled the gap in the outer fence. He had firewood collected already and a few practice strikes of the flint and pyrite produced some satisfying sparks. Using the cotton, slivers of wood and bark as kindling Adam made a small pile in the firepit before striking the flint down next to it. It took a while and some adjustment of materials but eventually a spark became a glow and smoke. On the first attempt Adam ended up blowing out the ember rather than coaxing it into a fire but he persevered and eventually a flame took hold. 

As the fire started a wind blew through the camp to put it out. This jolted Adam out of the concentrated state he had been in to realise it was now fully dark and only the stars and moon were providing any light. Person got his attention before he had too long to dwell on the fact that his fire was out already. Adam got the message and checked on the quests he had been working on through the day. 

Quests Complete? Exp

Work out where I am

-continue exploring area

64% 40 Find out where the vermite come from 23% 25

Make camp more secure

-Complete outer fence

100% 10* Start a fire 100% 15* Collect Y/N 25

If the system was happy - so was he. Adam collected the experience. 

While it was hard to secure his inner fence without daylight Adam made sure to do so before getting into his tent. Once laid back in his blanket he opened his skill menu and levelled Inspect. 

Skill List Level Level up (exp) Cost Description Inspect 3 80 0.025 mps

Allows [Inspection] of objects (including plant life) and system.

Increasing level gives additional information where available.

Inspecting the skill gave him no extra detail. Adam eyed the experience for his exploring task. Tomorrow, he thought, smiling to himself.