Theo froze on the spot.
He finally got his hands on the tools he needed to harvest a proper amount of the basic resources without putting his hands at risk of heavy strain and potential injury. Yet, as he stared at the system prompt, he couldn't help but grit his teeth in frustration over his own inadequacy.
'I was so focused on this task at hand that it completely flew over my head that my system wasn't as simple as being a replica of that blocky game!'
Gritting his teeth in silent frustration, Theo stashed his new tools back into his inventory, only to whip out a shovel and then, following the tried and tested rule of never digging directly under one's own feet, dug out a new hole to hide in.
Only when he dropped down and safely secured the entrance by blocking it off with a block of earth from his inventory did he allow himself to relax a bit, stash his shovel, and whip out the main window of his system instead.
[Ultimate Crafting System]
Subroutines:
- Blocky System: level 2 (+1% on every progress tick, -10% progress tick delay)
[Basic Player Status]
XXX
- Player: Theo (Theodore Evilbane)
- Status: Player (Banished Prince)
- Level: 1
- Abilities: N/A
XXX
[Basic Player Ability Shop]
Available subroutines:
Survival interface (30 points)
- Material Scanner (80 points)
- Item Customizer (300 points)
- Blueprint Integration (2000 points)
(More subroutines can be unlocked by raising the player's personal level!)
Available abilities:
- Threat Detection (Foreign Subroutine - May unlock new subroutines!) (50 points)
- Basic Inspection (Foreign Subroutine - May unlock new subroutines!) (100 points)
- Compass (50 points)
- Defense boost (100 points)
- Attack boost (100 points)
'Woah…' Taken aback, Theo felt like retreating a step to take a better, broader look at all the possible options that he foolishly missed up until now… But in the tiny, narrow hole he was hiding in, there was no room for him to move almost at all.
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Still, after scanning through all the options, Theo realized his choices were far more limited than what the system actually offered.
'Right now, threat detection is an absolute priority,' he quickly concluded, wishing for nothing more than to be spared the humiliation of crawling on the ground in fear of something dangerous lurking nearby. 'But with that, I'm only left with just fifty-five points to spend, huh?'
Theo's initial choice only further decreased his options. Yet, in the end, this only allowed him to make his decision all the easier.
"I guess that's the best combination," Theo muttered to himself before clearing his throat and sighing away.
'System, I wish to unlock the survival interface.'
There was no grand fanfare or fireworks going off to celebrate the evolution of Theo's system.
Heck, even if there were, as he hid in a hole like some sort of rat, he wouldn't be able to see it even if it actually happened.
Still…
As the new subroutine integrated into his system, Theo's vision blurred for a second, only to then quickly clear up, leaving him with three new elements that he was more than just familiar with.
First, a hunger and thirst meter, currently still pretty much topped off, with markers designated as 'alarming' and 'dangerous' as the meter would drop down, all the way to 'Lethal' at its very bottom.
'Good,' Theo sighed out, more than happy with what seemed like a pretty ordinary and ultimately useless ability.
As a human, he could feel his hunger and thirst all on his own, needing no help from the system to realize it. But, at the same time, his body would give him cravings based on his usual routine rather than the actual state of things.
'Stranded out in the unknown, it's actually good to have an objective view of where I stand on those two critically important aspects,' he thought, his heart filling with relief as the coins he spent didn't turn into a waste.
Yet, it was the third element of the interface that now appeared in Theo's vision that truly made his first purchase show its worth.
[Forest Outskirts - Safe Zone]
At the very top of Theo's vision, this simple line of text gave him the one piece of information he was in dire need of.
And while 'safe zone' didn't necessarily mean an absolute lack of dangers… At the very least, it was unlikely for some end-game, powerful monsters to just wander off to this place.
"Still, that's not enough," Theo muttered to himself as he quickly moved on and proceeded with his next, even more important purchase.
'I wish to buy the threat detection ability,' he thought.
[Foreign subroutine ability detected!]
[Foreign subroutine requirements are too high!]
[Integrating the ability into an existing subroutine!]
[Your Survival Interface is now updated!]
As soon as this prompt appeared, a new piece of the interface now emerged at the bottom center of Theo's vision.
[Threat level - No threats detected]
[Forest Outskirts - Safe Zone] > [Forest Outskirts - Safe Zone (fake)(Miyazaki's Snicker) - Within Range of Oilrat (level 147) patrol route!]