Tanuki woke up screaming. He trashed around until his feet found the ground and he finally stood up.
A calm breeze rushed through the land, barely rattling the grass.
He was back on the field.
“What the hell was that dream all about?” But no answer came. He was truly alone.
Even the corpses were gone, but their presence still emanated from the Gaia Core.
The crystal appeared as though it had grown a little since yesterday. Tanuki got close and saw his reflection. He was bruised, his arm slightly wounded, the hoodie torn, and his face dirty. He had not realized that the monsters hurt him. Adrenaline killed all the pain.
The sight of his wrecked state left him proud in some odd way. He gave it his best performance and won. So, he smiled.
[ Your Gaia Core has levelled up ! ]
[ LvL 0. ] – > [ LvL 1.]
[ You have gained 3 Expansion Points ! ]
[ Research panel has been unlocked ! ]
[ You have levelled up ! ]
[ LvL 1. ] –> [ LvL 2. ]
[ You have gained ‘Wave 1 Rewards Box’ ! ]
A new tab appeared in the menu, [Research]. Opening it revealed a new interface and the fate of the corpses. Since they were not of this realm, some unseen force erased them from existence.
“Like white blood cells, it killed the intruders.”
However, the Gaia Core syphoned their essence and stored it in the research tab. Here, Tanuki could set the Gaia Core to break down the corpses to find new technologies, abilities, and other things miscellaneous.
‘Giant Husk Centipede’ and ‘Soulless Husk’. The former was of a higher level, but Tanuki chose the Soulless Husk instead, hoping that it might research faster. He was proven right. The Gaia Core declared it would take just two hours, which left Tanuki with enough time to expand his realm.
Before that though, he checked when the next wave would start.
The time was [6:58].
The next wave began at [18:00].
Relief crashed down upon his body like a waterfall, as he still had plenty of time to prepare.
Thus, the [Expansion] menu was opened. He had three points to spend on expanding, though there were not a lot of options. He could place three kinds of tiles. Fields, forests, and hills. Fields cost one expansion point to place, while forests and hills cost two. This was understandable, as forests bore wood and hills bore ores.
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Since he had yet to gather materials to craft items, he chose to place a forest to the north of the Gaia Core. This cost him two expansion points and he still had one. He used that to place a field east of the Gaia Core, which in turn expanded the road by one tile. His reasoning was the longer the road, the longer it takes for enemies to arrive at the Gaia Core, giving him more time to barrage them with ranged attacks before they get close. Now, he just needed to have an actual ranged weapon.
With the placement confirmed, Tanuki turned around just in time to see as blocks rained from the sky. Some were green, some were brown, all pretty colourful. They looked like building blocks until all were in place, at which they rendered like video game assets and became real.
A forest and a field have been added to Tanuki’s realm.
The field resembled that of the Gaia Core. It had no important features besides the road. The forest was more interesting.
All grids were about twenty meters in length and width, which Tanuki thought was large, but in reality, it was barely big enough to bear resources. The forest highlighted this perfectly, albeit Tanuki had to admit, it was enough for now.
The grid held about twenty-five trees tightly scattered throughout the tile. They were generic in appearance as if the idea of trees were pulled from the human consciousness and made real. They were not tall, perhaps even a little small.
As Tanuki walked into the forest, small bushes revealed themselves. He was pleased to find a rare tree had also spawned inside the forest, bearing apples. The juicy red orbs seduced his appetite, and for the first time in this world, he felt a desire to eat and drink. Thankfully, there were enough fruits to satisfy both of those needs.
Though he was disappointed with the lack of expansion points and the lack of tile diversity, Tanuki concluded this to be a success. There was wood to be worked and tools to be made. That was all he needed for now.
Putting other rewards to the side, he began the tiresome work of gathering materials. This meant picking up twigs, digging up pebbles and stones, and putting anything useful near the Gaia Core.
His first plan was to craft a base set of items; most importantly, an axe. If he could chop down those trees, the wood could be used to create traps, barricades, and better tools.
He made five expeditions into the forest, and on the sixth, a notification appeared in the corner of his eye.
[ Research complete. ]
Tanuki made his way to the crystal with the materials and after placing them, he turned his attention to the [Research] tab.
[ ‘Soulless Husk’ research complete ! ]
[ New Unlocks : ]
[ > Ritual: ‘Conjure Soulless Husk’ ]
Tanuki swiped the notification away and chose the giant husk centipede to be researched.
Then, a new notification greeted him.
[ ‘Spellbook’ unlocked in the Inventory ! ]
His face lit up with a smile.
“Spells?”
He opened the inventory interface to see a new button appeared in the top right corner, displaying a small book. Choosing it revealed a completely new tab that featured two sections, spells and rituals.
He had only one ritual to cast.
[ ‘Conjure Soulless Husk’ ]
[ Requirements: ]
[ 200x blades of grass ]
[ 20x twigs ]
[ 1x Minor Healing Potion ]
[ Method: Draw a rectangle in the dust, then draw a circle over it. Draw a human figure in the middle with two poses. One pose shall show the human standing with legs closed and arms outstretched. The other shall show the human with legs spread and arms in the sky. All limbs should end touching one of two shapes. Align the twigs and grass alongside the drawing, pour a healing potion onto the shapes, and let the liquid traverse through the veins. ]
Tanuki was confused by the wall of text and considered it might not be worth all that effort. However, the ritual’s description immediately changed his heart.
[ Description: Summon a soulless husk. It can do basic tasks, such as gather materials and carry items. The soulless husk is capable of combat, but its low constitution and strength make it a better servant. ]