Slowly, Scott's eyes opened to the soft pink sand before him. The fire he had built last night had petered out, and left a small pile of embers and ash behind. He sat up, rubbed the sleep from his eyes, and began what he figured would be come a daily ritual in the coming days.
His stomach protested at that thought. Not just because of the hunger, but that this was now... life. This is what he signed up for. But there would be time to reflect on that later.
Name: Scott Lvl: 1 HP: 8/12 MP: 1/1 Str: 7 Int: 10 Dex: 14 Wil: 6 Con: 12 Mag: 0 Status: Hunger, Thirst
Hunger: You need to eat something to sustain yourself. Will develop into Starvation after: 16 hours, 33 minutes
Thirst: You need to drink water to sustain yourself. Will develop into Dehydration after: 14 hours, 11 minutes
Ah. Of course the Thirst status would on-set while he was sleeping... but at least he seemed to have some more time today. Scott started drawing up the to-do list for today. He needed to fill his new canteen and visit the watering hole, do some scouting for new food sources, and do some more crafting. That last one was a bit of a stretch goal, but he couldn't afford to keep sleeping on the beach. It was only luck that the beach had been a safe refuge... and that it hadn't rained. Getting off of the ground, Scott prepared his inventory, slung his sling over his head, and grasped one of the new stone-head spears.
Inventory: 3/3 Slots
Shia Berries x 21
Primitive Spear
Primitive Spear
Equipment:
Branch Canteen (0/50)
Primitive Spear
DP: 0/10
T-Shirt
Pants (Damaged)
Inventory +2
Oh. That's a new screen. He's gonna need to take better care of his pants, it seemed. And maybe learn how to sew on more pockets... He also had to wonder what DP stood for. Danger Points? Damage Power? Wait, maybe this works like the status screen... "What is DP?"
Development Points:
The longer a weapon is used, the more familiarity you develop with it and the more you can understand it's nuances, earning DP.
So, it's weapon experience. The description was still pretty lacking on the details of what higher DP levels do for him, but it's a start.
Enough distractions, though. It's time to check the first item off the list.
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It still caused his nerves to fray, but Scott had grown acclimated to the sounds the forest made. Either that, or he was too distracted by his stomach to focus. Either way, he did his best to enjoy the ambiance. Ignoring the situation, the environment was rather beautiful. The weather was calm, the trees swayed quietly as small birds fluttered from tree to tree. Small... birds...
Food source acquired. They flew quietly, and seemed to gather from the shia bushes around him... Scott retreated and knelt near a bush, doing his best to remain as still as possible. This would be an incredibly crude, desperate attempt at hunting, but if it worked... he would be able to put off eating nausea-inducing food for some time.
Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.
... what was he doing. What are the odds that a bird will land near enough for him to spear one AND that he would actually land the jab AND that he would be able to preserve enough to be able to cook this evening? His instincts and his rationality fought back and forth in his head, debating taking the slim gamble for some better food versus focusing and coming back to it later. Eventually, rationale won out as he decided the odds of him being ambushed by a bush-panther were higher than his odds of spearing a target the size and speed of a sparrow.
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The spring quietly trickled into the brook ahead of him. Eager to avoid a third confrontation in a row, Scott had veered a bit more to what would traditionally be labeled East based on the sun overhead and was further down the stream. It had some algae at some points, and it definitely wasn't the type of water he was used to getting from the tap, but it was water. He drank deep.
Status lost: Thirst
And then he dipped his canteen into the brook, letting it fill with water. This would probably be enough to save him a trip tomorrow to the brook. Hopefully by then he would have some sort of base of operations sorted out where he could reasonably save water. Still, objective one complete. And, it seemed by avoiding the source of the brook he had avoided an ambush. Maybe that creature's territory didn't extend this far downstream? But surely there was more than just that one on the island? Either way, he was safe and had water. Little victories.
Next on the list of objectives for the day was food. Now that he could fall back from this area, he could more seriously consider those birds he had seen before. Scott had some ideas for traps that were a mix of things he had seen online supplemented by the Crafting II skill, but that would mean waiting, and time was rather short. Not that there wasn't food in the event that the traps didn't yield quick returns, but it definitely wasn't the ideal scenario. He decided on giving the ambush strategy an honest attempt, and if his first attack looked completely hopeless, he would settle for trying to trap a bird. Scott picked out a berry bush that was comfortably close to some more dense underbrush that he could leap out from. Then he waited. And waited.
Minutes passed.
Some birds would fly by, settling on a nearby branch or singing colorful songs to each other. Scott took the chance to get a closer appreciation of their look. They were small, plump little things. Some of them were decorated in bright orange feathers that could NOT have been helpful for hiding in a green landscape like this one. Their beaks were short and stout, and eyes surrounded with a black blotch. Nothing super unremarkable stood out about them however. They came and went, and for all Scott followed them he couldn't see any nests around, which meant no eggs unfortunately.
Then, against the odds, a bird landing on the bush nearest to him, going to pluck for a berry.
Activated: Dilation
Hopefully he won't regret this. With time moving at a near standstill he thrust the spear forward, using his quickened perception to alter the path of the attack as the bird's wings began to bat up and off the branch. And before the skill could even expire, he had driven the spear into the bird's chest. The spear functioned as a bludgeoning weapon and puncturing weapon in near equal parts, send blood squirting and sending the small bird flying off the branch and into the soil.
"That skill is SO useful."
Quickly, Scott gathered his hunt and made off into the brush before the commotion attracted anything to the area.
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Settling down at his... outpost? Base? Really it was more of a spot in the sand where he left things at the moment, but it was a point of reference near a well known area. Either way, he set to work with plenty of daylight to work with. The dread task of starting a fire only took an hour this time, but Scott still felt like he was doing something wrong. There IS some technique to this, and furiously rubbing two sticks together with his hands had to be near the bottom of the tier list when it came to fire-starting. Arson techniques aside, it was time to figure out how to cook a bird. Scott scraped off some bark and rinsed it off in the sea water, using it as the best approximation he had at the time of a platter or cutting board.
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It was a butcher job, no pun intended, but after some work Scott was left with some loose meat he had managed to separate from skin, feathers, insides, the works. Scott was very thankful that he didn't have a weak stomach. Going over to the campfire, he skewered some of the meat and put it over and began to cook. He felt a bit awkward just... waiting and not having anything to actively do besides wait for the first time in awhile. He checked his status screen while the meat cooked.
Name: Scott Lvl: 1 -> 2 HP: 8/12 MP: 0/1 Str: 7 Int: 10 Dex: 14 Wil: 6 Con: 12 Mag: 0 Status: Hunger Level Up Available! Pick class to advance
"YES!" He exclaimed, raising his arms to the sky, before realizing what he had done and placing the meat back over the flame. "What are my options?"
Class Description Wanderer A jack of all trades, the Wanderer dabbles in combat, creation, and conjuring in equal measure. The road is demanding, after all. Skill/Ability gains will change depending on what induces level up. Survivalist The wilderness can be a dangerous place, but not for a Survivalist. Skilled in living off the land, the Survivalist uses traps, archery, and superior knowledge of the environs to get ahead in life and battle. Barbarian A Barbarian is a hardy character, wading into combat with adrenaline pumping and ripping enemies limb from limb. Outside the battlefield, the Barbarian is just as capable. Wrestling predators, withstanding toxins, weathering blizzards and sandstorms alike, the Barbarian is endurance epitomized.
That was... quite the strange assortment of options.