We finished our beer and decided to go around and search for other worthy allies. After lookin' for a while, we noticed that people were mostly just panicked messes. Not people I'd want havin' my back. It seemed useless to try to find allies at this point, but it was still early days, once the shit hits the fan we’d see who had grit. The system didn't seem kind enough to provide food or shelter; me and Wiesner could be useful right now, like huntin' for food. These people would be starvin' before long.
“A good hot meal might calm these people down,” I said. “What do you say to a bit of huntin'?”
Wiesner nodded, unsheathin' his axe-hammer and glancin' fondly at it, “Let's do it. I can't wait to test out…, shit, I've got to come up with a good name for my weapon.”
Every good weapon deserved a name I figured. “I'll put on my thinkin' cap. Gotta come up with somethin' for mine too.”
Me and Wiesner legged it away from the crowd deeper into the forest. Rememberin' my skills I activated Sense Life and the forest came to life around me, glowin' softly with a variety of hues. After 5 minutes or so we got a system message warnin' us that we were leavin' the safe zone. We ignored it, continuin' on. Here and there smaller clusters of mushrooms at the edges of the giant mushroom forest looked like they could be used as steps to access the larger network of shroom caps. I figured from up there we might be able to get the drop on prey more easily so I suggested it. Wiesner agreed and we jumped up the stair steppin', ascendin' mushrooms until we were on top of the canopy. The caps were tough and hard as a pine-knot and often connected at their edges. We continued on for a while, occasionally peakin' over the edges until I spotted a huge, bright source of life. It was hidden in the bushes, slowly makin' its way through. Not very quietly I might add. As it exited the bushes my mouth started salivatin'. It was a giant boar the size of a Volkswagen. Two sets of tusks jutted out from its mouth and it had six eyes. But pig was pig and we were about to grill that bitch. Wiesner noticed it almost as quickly as I did even without my special sight. We talked and came up with a strategy. Pretty simple really, jump from the top of the canopy, 75 ft up, attack the hell out of it until it died. I knew my bones would hold up, but I was worried about Wiesner’s safety, so I whispered my concern to him. He shrugged and assured me he'd be fine with his skills. I’d have to ask him about his class when I got a chance.
We stalked slowly towards the edge of a cap along the boar's path and waited for it to approach. I quietly unsheathed my greatsword. The moment it was below us I didn't hesitate, I plotted my trajectory and stepped off the edge, plungin' towards its neck, aimin' to lop its head off. Wiesner was fallin' right beside me, weapon in hand, axe side facin' down. It seemed he was aimin' for its torso near the heart and lungs. I fell short by a bit, I felt the greatsword nick the spine, and I sliced through half the boar’s neck before I slammed into the ground and rolled under its neck, endin' up stoppin' my roll with my face in the dirt. I wish I could say the roll was on purpose, but nope, it just happened that way. I avoided most of the pig’s arterial spray though, so I was happy about that. Climbin' to my feet, I spun around. Wiesner was on the beast’s back, clingin' onto its bristled-fur with one hand and doin' his best to hammer its skull into a different shape.
Despite the boar’s neck wound releasin' gouts of blood with every heartbeat and whatever wound Wiesner had initially inflicted, it still had some fight left. It spun around, tryin' to buck Wiesner off. When it eyed me, it stopped spinnin' and charged. I dashed behind the nearest shroom trunk, it was twice as thick as my body but the boar blasted through it like it was cardboard and continued after me unfazed, it lowered its tusks to gore me just before reachin' me. I jumped. I didn’t expect to jump so high, doubly so when takin' into account my 380 lb body. I soared over the boar, ten-feet high in the air. My landin' behind the beast wasn’t graceful, but I kept my feet. I lunged and scored a deep wound on its hindleg before it could turn for another charge. I noticed it was weakenin' and slowin' down. A crimson glow sprung up around the boar, its speed picked up and I noticed the wound wasn't bleedin' as fast. It must have been some kind of berserk ability, a healin' ability or a combination of the two. We needed to end this fast. I ran up with my sword angled to slide through its ribs and stabbed it with all my might. My great sword penetrated up to the hilt. Certain I hit either the lungs or heart I jerked it out and backed off quickly as the boar spun to face me. Wiesner gave up on knockin' the hard-headed thing out and started choppin' at its neck. That seemed to be more successful as the blood loss picked up significantly. It started runnin' after me, this time much slower. I was able to bob and weave around the mushroom trunks to avoid it. As soon as the crimson glow around the boar faded the beast collapsed. I noticed a couple notifications pop up. I checked the first one out.
[Rank F Crimson Boar has been slain. 1 year, 4 months life force gained. Current life force: 1,001 years 4 months.]
These pigs lived for a good while if that was 1% of their lifespan. It was still goin' to take a damn long time to build up life force at this rate though. I needed to figure out how to get more life out of these beasties. My skill said that it was possible. The second notification did not disappoint me.
[Harvest Potential has detected 2 abilities that can be harvested. If you harvest an ability from a corpse you can still create a blood clone out of it, however, your clone will no longer have access to it.]
Furious Dash: You charge ahead regardless of what stands in front of you, be it a dozen men, a wall, tree or a mountain. Making it through these obstacles is another matter. Boosts your maximum running speed by 300% for 10 seconds or until you reach your target, whichever is shorter. Cooldown: 20 seconds after effect ends.
Crimson Rage: You enter a berserk fury, increasing strength by 50% and health regeneration doubles. Pain tolerance is vastly increased. Duration: 1 minute. Cooldown: 59 minutes.
Would you like to harvest one of these abilities? Yes/No.]
As I already had Battle Form as a berserk ability, even though it was costly in life, I ruled out Crimson Rage. Furious Dash had more utility. 20 seconds out of every minute I could be runnin' at 300% speed. I was never a math whiz but I was pretty sure overall that was somethin' like a 100% speed boost if I needed to travel distances fast. I selected it mentally and clicked yes.
[Ability gained: Furious Dash.]
“Holy shit,” Wiesner exclaimed. “ I just gained three levels off that.”
“Nice man. How many stats per level?”
“Five to Strength and Constitution, three to Dexterity, Agility, Willpower and Perception.”
I mentally sighed, that likely put him well ahead of me in physical stats and Perception. But I would figure out how to suck these beasties dry, err, that didn't sound quite right in my head. I’d figure out how to fully drain these beasties of Life Force and my stats would skyrocket. Thinkin' back to when the boar died, I noticed its once bright life force slowly floatin' away. Perhaps if I could somehow trap it I could keep more of it.
“One of the drawbacks of being an alien is I don't have access to a class. My racial abilities are powerful, but I need to kill beasties in order to harvest their life force. The more life I harvest, the more powerful I get. One of my abilities lets me do this.” I grinned and reached over to touch the beast. It disappeared into my storage.
Wiesner gawked at me for a second. “I was wonderin' how we're goin' to get this big bastard back to camp. I have an inventory but it's limited to 10 items of a weight that I could carry myself. Well, thirteen now that I gained three levels..”
“Better than a backpack.” I replied. I remembered my blood clone ability. The boar would make a good meat-shield clone. If we could find more edible critters then I could use this body for a clone. I swapped the corpse over from my P.D.S. to my Bone Vault where it would be preserved for that purpose. I decided to go ahead and infuse it with my energy so it would be ready to summon. I could sense that it would require right at an hour to infuse. “Let's keep goin'. A lot of mouths to feed. One pig ain't goin' to cut it.”
Wiesner nodded. We returned to the shroom canopy and continued huntin'. We ran across two more boars and took them down. I took the head clean off of one with a canopy dive. The second one was a bit messier but faster than our first kill. Returnin' to the canopy, it was an hour before we ran into our next potential menu item. It was almost invisible when motionless in the sunny meadow below a gap in the canopy, its chameleon-like scales reflected the colors around it, causin' it to blend in. It blazed with life to my Sense Life ability. The sight of this creature sent fingers of chilled fear runnin' down my spine. Its eyes were closed, it appeared to be dozin' in the sun. Rememberin' my general skill inspect, I used it on the creature.
[Peak Rank D Miniboss: Opalescent Forest Drake.]
The beastie was huge, at least 40 ft long nose-to-tail with huge wings tucked against its sides. I looked over at Wiesner, he was lookin' over at me with a reluctant expression on his face. I had a feelin' I could take this bastard down on my own if I dug into my toolkit deep enough. “How about you let me take care of this one?” I asked, hopin' to keep Wiesner safe.
“We should go back,” Wiesner said. “Fairly sure this monster is meant to be attacked by a group or our whole force in order to kill it. We're nowhere near ready to take this thing on.”
“I don't know how to show you my skills. But I'm damn near unkillable. I think I can take this bastard down. I want to give it a shot at least. If I get ate I'll just cut my way out of its stomach and run to the safe zone.” A thought occurred to me as I finished speakin', perhaps the best way to kill such a large creature would be from the inside. “Look, I've got a plan. I just need you to stay up here safe and sound while I take down this beastie.”
Wiesner didn't look convinced. “You sure about this?”
I nodded confidently. “If things go south just run to the safe zone.”
I couldn’t lie to myself, I felt like I could accidentally soil my pants at any moment as I stalked around the edge of the canopy of shrooms to get closer to the drake. The closest edge was 30 feet away from it. The shroom cap was roughly 65 feet high, even without a runnin' start I could easily jump and arc down to the beast. Before I jumped I opened up the stats tab and pumped my 5 free points into agility, I needed all the speed I could get. I activated Battle Form before makin' my leap, energy surged into my body, I gripped my greataxe with redoubled strength, time seemed to slow and I processed my fall and trajectory with greater clarity. The miniboss must’ve sensed me as I neared, it jerked awake, lookin' up at me in alarm. I still scored a solid hit on its neck but the scales were tough as hell, I didn’t even scratch them. The drake’s head would dwarf a refrigerator. It turned, snappin' at me, jaws lined with dagger-length black teeth. I activated Furious Dash and ran in front of the monster, stoppin' just outside its reach. Its head tracked my movements, glarin' at me with eyes full of rage. It took in a huge breath and released a jet of liquid flame. I dodged right and ran at the drake, as its jet ceased its mouth slowly closed. I jumped inside just in time and dove for its throat. The lingerin' heat scorched my flesh anywhere I touched the drake. It tried spittin' me out, shovin' me with its tongue. I clung on to the tongue, fightin' my way to the back of its throat. My leg got bit once, huge teeth grindin’ on my calf bones, but my bones endured the miniboss’s incredible bite-force. I’d dropped my sword before jumpin' so I used Battle Form’s bone morph function, focusin' on growin' sword-like projections of obsidian-hued bone out of my spine, elbows and fingers to lodge me in place and hopefully pierce its brain. It happened easier than I thought it would, but the pain was immense. The blades I shot out of my spine were the longest and dug into the drake’s soft palate. Hot blood splashed down on me. The beast thrashed and inhaled as if to release more fire. I willed the blades to grow and dig deeper. Finally I pierced some barrier, diggin' into the brain. I branched the tip of the swords out like the roots of a tree and then slowly stirred. The miniboss thrashed a bit more, then stilled. I willed the blades to reabsorb into my body, then struggled to free myself from the beast’s maw. I was covered in steamin' blood, sensin' its compatibility, I cleansed myself by pullin' it into my Bone Vault. Battle Form was nearly at its end, the remainder of the life energy it had drawn healed the bone-deep bite wound in my calf and my various burns. Thinkin' of the huge amount of life force that must have powered this miniboss, I quickly came up with an idea. I pushed life force out of my bone vault, fillin' my body. I sent it out of my body and tried to form a huge energetic net around the drake. My grasp on the energy was tenuous once outside of my body, but I held on with an iron will. Sensin' the drake’s energy startin' to disperse, I tried to grab hold of it, pullin' it into myself like a conveyor belt. The foreign energy seemed to have a will of its own, I fought it with every scrap of my Willpower. Slowly I reeled it in, much was lost but as I pulled the last of the energy into me I knew I had accomplished somethin' significant.
[Peak Rank D Miniboss: Opalescent Forest Drake, has been slain. 300 years, 8 months life force gained with an efficiency of 10 percent Life Drain. Current life force: 1,305 years 10 months.]
It took a second for the math to add up, but then I saw the notifications from the other two slain boars and I nodded. I immediately pulled the boar I’d placed in my Bone Vault out and replaced it with the drake. It was goin' to be a badass clone once I boosted my stats. A loot-chest spawned in front of me, made out of some sort of black wood tinged with ornate silver accents. A system notification popped up.
[Harvest Potential has detected five abilities that can be harvested. If you harvest an ability from a corpse you can still create a blood clone out of it, however, your clone will no longer have access to it.]
The message continued, listin' Fire Affinity, Drake’s Breath, Tail-Whip, Talon Strike and Dragon’s Pounce. Besides Fire Affinity, which greatly intrigued me, none of the options seemed an upgrade to Furious Dash. Plus, I’d still be benefitin' from them via my clone and takin' Fire Affinity would hamstring it.
Weisner dropped down from the canopy, an ethereal shield surroundin' him popped as he landed with a slight stumble, , absorbin' damage I supposed. He whistled at the chest and then laughed at me, “I thought you were a goner for a minute you crazy bastard.”
Laughin' with him released some of the tension from the fight. “I expected gettin' chewed on a bit maybe, but not the burns. That was the worst. All good now though. How about we check out this loot.”
[For defeating a miniboss well above your rank, rewards have been boosted. For defeating a miniboss solo, rewards have been boosted. For being the first person from your world to kill a miniboss, rewards have been boosted.]
I opened the chest. Five coins floated inside, slowly spinnin'. In the bottom of the chest lay a bag of coins from the look of it. I grabbed the first floatin' coin, it looked like a hologram with a 3D image of a black sword inside it.
[Loot-coin. Can be unpacked to receive the full item. Unpacking cannot be reversed.
Blackened Greatsword of the Opalescent Drake.
Item grade: Epic. Rank D. Evolving. Bindable.
Item description: A sword constructed from the still-living horn of an ancient drake. Its soul was sealed within, making this weapon extremely durable with the ability to regenerate itself when fed life force from enemies or the owner. The sword feasts on your slain enemies, gaining power to fuel its evolution.
The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
Item stats: +10 to Strength, Constitution, Agility, Dexterity, Perception, Willpower and Soul. +10% to total Strength, Constitution, Agility, Dexterity, Perception, Willpower and Soul. +10% to Physical and Magical protection.
Ability: Opalescent Aura: The scales of an Opalescent Drake shimmer around you, blending you into your surroundings for a short while, allowing you to strike from an unseen angle or flee should the battle not be going in your favor. Camouflage duration: 10 seconds. Cooldown: 20 seconds after effect ends.
Passive Ability: Desperate Hunger: This weapon has a 10%(+1% per 10 Fantasy stat the wielder has) chance on a successful strike to grant the wielder the Desperate Hunger of a starving Drake, boosting all damage by +30% for 6 seconds.
Passive Ability: Blackened Strike: This weapon has a 10%(+1% per 10 Fantasy stat the wielder has) chance on a successful strike to channel the death energy of the greatsword, unleashing a devastating strike that deals death and gravity damage equal to the wielder’s current Strength multiplied by their Fantasy stat. Enemies hit by this attack are also afflicted with a curse, reducing their defense and lowering their damage by 25% for 10 seconds.
I unpacked it, eager to get a look at it. The coin poofed, the greatsword appearin’ in its place, hoverin' in midair. I grabbed its handle, pullin' it free from its scale-patterned sheath. The blade was bone-white, easily six-feet in length and as wide as my hands' length, its twin edges lined with razor-sharp, blackened serrations. The black-bone crossguard looked thick and sturdy. Givin' it a few test swings, I was surprised to find it heavier than my metal greatsword. I figured bone would be lighter. I slung the sheaths’ leather shoulder strap over my head and arm before sheathin' the blade. It was time for more loot. A feverish glint of excitement entered my features as I eyed the next closest loot-coin. Ignorin' the unimportant parts, I read the item description.
[Portable Dungeon: Drake Nesting Grounds.
Item Grade: Mythic. Rank SS. Bindable.
Item description: The Portable Dungeon: Drake Nesting Grounds is a Mythic artifact, coveted by adventurers and dungeon masters alike. This mystical item allows the user to summon a portal to a fully-fledged dungeon environment, teeming with drakes and their treasures. The dungeon is a sprawling network of caverns, lava flows, and ancient ruins, providing both a formidable challenge and unparalleled rewards.
Item Stats: Binding this item to your soul adds the following stats: +20% to all stats. +20% to all resistances.
Activation: A drop of the user’s blood binds the item to their soul. Another drop summons a portal to the dungeon. This item drops after permanent death. Dungeon difficulty can be set from rank F to SS with rewards that scale with difficulty. You respawn after death in this dungeon, so challenge yourself, but choose wisely as you only get one chance for you and your allies per week.
Duration: 24 hours or until the dungeon is cleared.
Cooldown: 7 days from moment of activation. Cooldown can be reduced via an injection of lifeforce.
Environment: Volcanic caverns with lava rivers, obsidian formations, and drake nests.
Enemies: Various drake species (Fire Drakes, Lava Drakes, and Elder Drakes).
Boss: Ancient Drake Matriarch.
Special Features:
Dynamic Terrain: Shifting lava flows and collapsing tunnels.
Environmental Hazards: Lava geysers, falling stalactites, and toxic fumes.
Hidden Chambers: Secret rooms with additional loot and lore.
Loot Table:
Item Tiers. Items. Drop Rate.
Common: Drake Scales, Obsidian Shards, Minor Healing Potions 50%
Uncommon: Drake Claws, Fire Resistance Potions, Lesser Mana Crystals 30%
Rare: Drakebone Armor, Lava-forged Weapons, Greater Healing Potions 15%
Epic: Drakefire Amulet, Volcanic Ring, Elder Drake’s Fang 4%
Legendary: Matriarch’s Heart, Lava Drake’s Egg, Obsidian Greatsword 0.9%
Mythic: Heart of the Ancient Drake, Eternal Flame Core, Drake Matriarch’s Crown 0.1%]
I hurriedly unpacked the item, it turned into a small idol in the shape of a stout drake, sittin' with its tail curled tightly around it. “Holy shit, we’ve hit the motherlode,” I said, holdin' out the item to Weisner to inspect. I nicked the back of my hand with my knife and let a drop of blood touch the idol. My stats surged after I got a notification of a successful bind.
Weisner whistled, “No death in the dungeon is great. Gotta wonder if permanent dungeons are like that.”
I gave a noncommittal shrug, “Guess we’ll find out one day.” A blinkin' notification from earlier caught my eye.
[Title gained: Punching Above Your Weight. Effects: +2 to all stats. +2% to all stats with a minimum gain of +1 at 1%+. For each rank a soloed slain boss or miniboss was above you, this title gains +1 and +1% to all stats. Solo further bosses or minibosses above your rank to increase the stat gains. Title maximum: +25 to all stats, +25% to all stats.]
The title boosts were minor now, but would be huge in the long run. As much as I was enjoyin' fightin' with Weisner by my side, I’d have to go huntin' on my own at times to max it out. Movin' on to the third loot-coin, a giddy chuckle escaped me.
[Opalescent Forest Drake Hooded Cloak.
Item Grade: Epic. Bindable.
Item Description: The Opalescent Drake’s Wing Hooded Cloak is a magnificent piece of equipment crafted from the wings of the Opalescent Forest Drake. The cloak shimmers with an iridescent glow, reflecting the colors of the forest and the drake’s natural habitat. Lightweight yet incredibly durable, it offers both protection and utility to its wearer.
Item Stats: +10 to Strength, Constitution, Agility, Dexterity, Perception, Willpower and Fantasy.
Ability: Glide: The cloak can be infused with mana or life force, causing it to cling to the wearer’s back, arms and legs, expanding out and lending the cloak the appearance of drake wings and a limited flight ability, allowing you to glide through the air, reducing fall damage and allowing for strategic positioning in combat or exploration. Effect duration: Channeled. Mana or life cost: 3 units per second.
Passive Ability: Camouflage: When motionless, the cloak adapts to the surrounding environment, providing enhanced stealth, making it harder for enemies to detect the wearer.]
Unpackin' it, I tried it on. It shimmered dimly with the various colors of the forest around me like leaves on a tree blown by the wind. The cloak had a silver clasp I secured on my chest, holdin' it in place. A hood lay folded back on my shoulders. My stats climbed again. Between the stats and percentages added from the greatsword, dungeon idol and the cloak I felt a massive difference in power. As happy as I was to be gearin' up, I kind of hoped somethin' I didn’t need dropped so I could pass it to boost Weisner. I snagged the fourth loot-coin and inspected it. A wide grin stretched my face.
[Dragon Maw Halberd.
Item Grade: Epic. Grade D. Nigh-Indestructible. Evolving. Bindable.
Item Description: The Dragon Maw Halberd is a fearsome weapon, crafted from the bones, scales and jawbones of an ancient dragon. Its blade is etched with the image of a hellish maw of a dragon. The shaft is reinforced with dragon sinew, making it both flexible and incredibly strong.
Item Stats: +10 to Strength, Constitution, Agility, Dexterity, Perception, Willpower and Fantasy. +10% to total Strength, Constitution, Agility, Dexterity, Perception, Willpower and Fantasy.
Ability: Dragon’s Breath: Unleash a torrent of fire in a 40-foot cone, dealing Fire Damage-per-second equal to the wielder's Luck stat multiplied by their Fantasy stat to all enemies caught in the effect. Cooldown: 5 minutes. Slaying an enemy with this weapon lowers the cooldown by 1 minute.
Ability: Dragon’s Scales: Grants the wielder a layered shield that absorbs 5 attacks or spells for 1 minute. Cooldown: 4 minutes.
Passive Ability: Maw of Destruction: Every strike has a 10%(+1% per 10 current Fantasy the wielder has) chance to summon a Phantom Dragon Skull, the phantom bites the target, dealing damage equal to the wielder's Strength multiplied by their Fantasy stat and reduces the enemy’s actionspeed and defense by 30% for 12 seconds.
Passive Ability: Dragon’s Fury: When the wielder’s health drops below 40%, the halberd’s power surges, adding 25% more damage dealt and reducing damage taken by 75% for 10 seconds. Charges: 2. Gains 1 charge per 10 minutes.]
I tossed the loot-coin to Wiesner. His eyes grew big as saucers.
“You sure man?” Wiesner asked, unpackin' the weapon and holdin' it reverently before I could reply. “This thing is insane. The defensive abilities will damn near turn me into a tank class for a bit.”
“If we're goin' to survive this we need to get powerful as fast as we can, any way we can. The next miniboss or boss might not allow for any cheese-mechanics with my OP toolkit.” I turned and grabbed the last loot-coin.
[Tier 1 Town Building Plan.
Item Grade: Common(Upgraded to Epic). Consumable.
Item Description: This consumable item allows you to choose a site for a town, the system will build common grade housing and utility buildings(upgraded to Epic due to your heroic deeds in the miniboss encounter) using locally sourced materials.
Town Size: Ideal for populations of up to 2000 people.
Included structures: Fortified perimeter wall. Barracks. Town Hall. Adventurer’s Guild Hall. Auction House. Teleportation Hall. Arena/Outdoor Theater. Marketplace. Communal housing units (20x units, 100 citizen capacity for each unit). Communal feasting lodge 1x. Communal bathhouse 10x.
Construction time: 12 hours. System construction generates a dense mana-field which may draw in beasts and monsters that feed on mana. Town must be defended during the building process.
Ownership: The person who places this town will own it and receive a 5% tax for all goods purchased or sold within its walls. Housing units can be rented or sold. Lots for shops and vendor stalls can also be rented or sold.]
I tossed the loot-coin into my P.D.S.. That’d be handy real soon. I also grabbed the sack of coins from the loot chest and the chest disappeared. Turns out the sack could be unpacked as well so I did.
[You gained 10,000 Champion Points. You gained 1000 gold.]
I checked my currency tab, both were listed. I focused on Champion Points, hopin' for more info.
[Champion points are a special system currency used to build or upgrade housing units as well as purchase items from the system shop.]
“Pretty good haul so far,” I said. “How about we circle back and see how folks are doin'? Wouldn’t hurt to look for a place to drop this town on the way back. Ideally near a natural water source.”
“I thought I heard runnin' water on the way here.”
I checked on my marinatin' drake clone, Damnit, still needed forty-minutes or so until I could summon it. Would’ve been badass to fly back to the group mounted on its back, scare the shit out of them. Ha! I’d make time for that. Flyin' would make findin' an ideal spot for the town much easier too. If we didn’t have any luck on the walk back, we’d try flyin' later.
On the return journey we paused where Wiesner thought he previously heard water. Sure enough we heard a trickle off to the right. Turned out to be a river, kinda on the smallish side, but it had good flow, sections of rapids and plenty of deep pockets where bigger fish often enjoyed hangin out. I’d have to see if the system shop had a fishin' pole, if not, I’d make one somehow. Craftin' bone fishin' hooks might be doable in my Bone Vault. I’d have to experiment and see what was possible. We drank our fill at the river's edge. I reached a hand into its cool surface and sucked about two thousand gallons into my inventory. Tryin' to think ahead, we collected a huge amount of firewood on our way back to the group as well as a huge boulder that I altered in my Bone Vault. The spatial storage didn’t seem to want to allow it in as it wasn’t genetically compatible, but I willed it inside and the space obeyed. It was difficult to alter the stone accordin' to my will, but it did work, slowly formin' a hole in the top that I whittled into a cavity until the boulder was hollowed out and shaped like a crude, squat, ten-feet wide stone gourd that stood eight-feet high at the top. Wiesner waited patiently after I explained what I was doin'. I left the walls of the boulder-gourd a foot thick on all sides, I drilled four pinky-sized holes near the bottom before movin' the giant construct over to my P.D.S.. I ejected the excavated stone powder into a massive pile beside us. All-in-all, the process took about half an hour.
It appeared that most, if not all of the thousand people had assembled when we got back. They were listenin' to a man standin' on a fifteen-feet tall shroom cap. He looked like the grandstandin' political type. He must’ve been usin' a voice amplifyin' ability because his voice easily drowned out the mumblings of the crowd. "We need to organize and assign tasks to those who are qualified to do them. We need food, water, shelter! We need fighters to join into a unified force! The system said we have 24 hours. That’s not enough time to build solid fortifications, but we have to do what we can, while we can.” The speaker noticed us returnin' from the forest and paused his speech. “You two! Have you come back from beyond the safe zone?”
I looked over at Wiesner, he looked at me with a raised brow. “Uh, yeah!” I hollered back to the man.
“What’s it like out there? A couple other groups went out to hunt and ‘level up’. They aren’t back yet.”
I wasn’t much for public speakin' so I kept it short, “Well, we killed some thousand pound pigs and a big ass lizard. That’s all we saw besides forest and a river. I have water if anyone needs it, and food!” Excited voices rang out in the crowd, eager for some semblance of normalcy.
I immediately dropped a large amount of firewood and used my new greatsword’s Drake’s Breath ability, channelin' a trickle of mana into it, thinkin' it’d be just enough to start the wood on fire. A mini-flamethrower jet of liquid fire shot out of the sword tip, causin' a gout of flame to erupt skywards as it hit the woodpile. “Also,” I yelled, feelin' like I had to so everyone could hear me. “We’re about to cook up some pigs! If anyone wants to help, feel free!”
“Let's help these two get some food cooked so everybody can eat folks!” the speaker shouted. “Everything we need to do will be easier with a full belly.”
Butcherin' a boar in my Bone Vault was a piece of cake after alterin' the boulder. I shoved a boar in and focused on guttin' it. Its belly split open, spillin' the innards out. I kept the good organ meats(offal), as well as the skin, meat and bones. The discarded bits such as the stomach, intestines, bladder and other odds and ends I set my Bone Vault to automatically convert into fully compatible biomass in case I needed to heal myself or a clone. I finished butcherin' the beast within minutes, even breakin' the meat down into individual flintstones-sized pork chops and ribs, bacon strips the size of the paddle my dad used to whoop my ass with, massive tenderloins and ground meat usin' the tougher portions from the body. I saved all the fat, it could be used for many things like cookin' grease, candles, lubricant, boilin' oil pots to dump on enemies in a battle, etc.
Over a dozen people wandered over wantin' to help. Me and Wiesner started four more fires, dumpin' a bunch of firewood nearby to be used as needed and passed out tons of meat. More people came to help and soon we had racks of meat roastin' near the flame. Skewers of varyin' cuts of meat were propped up or being held over the fire. Someone fashioned a huge rotisserie over one fire and I managed to get a whole boar onto it. It was nearly impossible to turn though, so I ended up takin' it down and butcherin' it like I did the first.
An older gentle-natured lady asked me where the water was. I’d all but forgotten about it. I asked her to follow me. I looked around and found a three-feet high rocky bump on the ground and placed the stone water gourd on top, it wasn’t perfectly level or evenly supported but I was mostly certain it wouldn’t roll away and kill someone. Next, I found a small saplin' and made four plugs for the holes in the boulder and then filled it up. The plugs leaked a bit, but held. I pulled one free, drinkin' a bit before repluggin' it. The plugs would need to be replaced periodically, but all this was temporary. We’d have a functional town soon.
Two hours later everyone was fed, watered, and I still had one boar left. I was itchin' to summon my drake clone, but after everyone had calmed down from a full stomach I really didn't want to freak them out just yet. For now it might be best that they not know what was out there. Soon though, reality would have to slap them in the face.
The speaker from earlier eventually made his way over with a skewer of meat in his hand, he looked a bit nervous for some reason. He walked up to me and Wiesner and cleared his throat uncomfortably, “Hello gentlemen. I just wanted to introduce myself. My name is Wallace Bingham, former mayor of a small town in Oklahoma you've probably never heard of.” Wallace held out his hand in greetin’.
We introduced ourselves, returnin' his firm handshake with one of our own.
“So tell me fellas,” Wallace said. “How bad is it out there, really?”
“Well, we killed a forty foot long drake miniboss earlier. Now it's fightin' on our side as a blood clone so that's good. Also, we looted an item that allows us to build a fortified town anywhere suitable. That should help us out if we can find a strategic placement for it. Me and Wiesner were thinkin' about takin' my drake clone for a quick flight to find an ideal spot for it.”
Wallace's expression grew excited, appearin' to consider the new information carefully. “Mind if I come with you two? I'm not fond of heights but I know quite a bit about town and city planning. I won't tell you what to do with the item you earned, but if you're open to suggestions I'd love to help.”
This Wallace character didn't seem too bad, for a politician. Me and Wiesner glanced at each other, he shrugged. I shrugged in return, “I reckon that'll be fine. I haven't flown on my clone yet. So I can't guarantee you a comfortable or safe ride. So heads up. Hold on tight.”
“I’m going to go talk to a couple people that I think are capable of holding things down while we’re gone,” Wallace stated. I grunted and he walked off.