As the golden letters faded from the sky overhead the sounds of the forest rushed in to surround Xavier once again. Along with those sounds came a new noise, one that rose the hair on the back of his neck in a primal fashion…. howls. The woods behind him echoed with a howl and answering call back. The sound grew louder as if whatever was making the din was drawing closer to where he stood.
Frantically, Xavier rushed to the cliff edge desperate to find a way down and away from whatever was making the noise. Spotting a small ledge several feet below he quickly lowered himself over the edge and stretched his feet toward the outcropping as he did so the first of the beasts broke free of the tree line. It had a shape like a wolf but had scales over part of its body. Blood-red eyes locked on his as it caught sight of him, and it raised its head to unleash another howl. More cries answered from the woods and before Xavier could find purchase for his feet several more of the creatures joined the first. Fanning out they stalked slowly toward their prey their cries going silent as they moved in for the kill.
Xavier looked down once again seeing his feet were still several feet away from the outcropping he had spotted. Glancing back up to the beasts moving towards him he closed his eyes and whispered. “Danu, if you are watching this is a hell of a place you dropped me in.” Then he let go, hoping to land on the ledge. His feet caught the edge of it, and it sent him tumbling head over feet down the side of the cliff. Several hard crashes later he noticed a small trio of bars in the upper left of his vision, a red bar that was getting smaller with each crash, a green bar hovered beneath that and finally a blue bar sat at the bottom of the trio. He quickly realized that these were like in most games probably his health, stamina, and... mana? The concept fled as quickly as it came due to his situation but was something he would have to review if he survived long enough to do so.
He finally crashed to a stop against a solid tree trunk at the bottom of the cliff. Looking up he caught the eyes of the beasts as they looked over the edge at him before they vanished back beyond the lip of the cliff and the hew of their howls filled the air once again. Groaning he struggled to his feet and winced as everything hurt to move. Looking at the red bar once again he noticed that about half of it was now missing.
“At least I didn’t break anything.” He said to himself then quieted as he listened to the howls once again. They had changed in tenor and tone reminding him of the old documentaries he used to let play in the background while he was coding the realization settling in coldly. They were hunting him. Turning he limped off into the woods moving away from the water to try and find an escape from the creatures.
The woods flashed beside him as he ran, twisting and dodging through the trees. His fear drove his battered body to move faster. His breath started coming labored as time drew on and he noticed his green bar sinking rapidly. Slowing to a walk he tried to catch his breath, and the bar started to refill. He still heard the howls every so often in the distance, but they didn’t seem like they were coming closer anymore. Hopefully, he had lost them but his confidence in that was not high. They were at least canine seeming they likely could track him by scent if they found his path.
Sitting down finally he gasped while his body calmed. The adrenaline from his frantic flight still pumping in his veins and lending a slightly red tint to his eyesight. After a few minutes, the tinge to his vision faded and his breath calmed enough that he could look about once more calmly and rationally. He realized that if he was going to survive it would take more than just knowing how to build a fire and cook. He at least needed a weapon. “Games always made it so easy. You would start with at least a dagger,” he thought to himself as he started to walk slowly searching through the detritus of the forest floor.
“Ok, Danu said this would be game-like. I need to start thinking like that.” He thought back to the wolf-like creatures and their chase of him. “Game-LIKE” he emphasized to himself, “I really don’t want to die my first day. I don’t know if it's game over after that or not.”
It didn’t take too long before he found a longer branch that was fairly straight and another sharp-edged rock. Sitting in the dirt he started to work the end of the stick with the rock until it had developed a relatively sharp point. As he finished, he got a new chime sound in his head followed by a prompt.
Congratulations! You have learned a new skill – Woodworking level 1. Though done with the most basic of tools you have crafted your first woodworked piece. The intricacies of whirl and knot have opened your eyes to the capabilities of wood. +2% to crafted items. +2% to crafted wooden weapon damage.
You have discovered: Rough Wooden Spear
Item Class: Common
Item Quality: Poor
Durability: 10/10
Damage: 1 – 4 Piercing
Traits: Pride of the footman, the noble spear has broken many a charge and pierced many a heart. This basic wooden spear was crafted from a carved tree branch and lacks true weapon capabilities but hey at least you have something.
“Wait was that prompt snarky?” Xavier thought to himself. Shaking his head he dismissed the thought and rose hefting the spear to get a feel for it. “Not sure how it will help against those wolf things, but I feel better.”
He turned and continued down the small path he had been following. His senses were on high alert still wary after the fright from earlier. Unconsciously, he tried to move quieter and avoid stepping on branches and leaves that scattered over the path. Several miles later he managed to spot a small rabbit sitting in the middle of the path chewing on some grass. Seeing the creature his stomach rumbled quietly reminding him he hadn’t eaten in hours. Hefting the spear he held his breath as he moved slowly closer until he felt like he could hit the rabbit and then threw the spear. To his great surprise and luck, it flew true piercing the creature and killing it in a single blow.
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Ding!
You have slain a level 1 rabbit. +10 Experience.
He stared at the prompt in his vision. He had killed it. Wait, he had killed it! Other than fishing he had never killed something in his entire life. Meat was easy to get from the store and he had usually gotten that pre-prepared anyway. He moved over to where the small furry form lay and retrieved his spear.
You have discovered: Rough Wooden Spear
Item Class: Common
Item Quality: Poor
Durability: 8/10
Damage: 1 – 4 Piercing
Traits: Pride of the footman, the noble spear has broken many a charge and pierced many a heart. This basic wooden spear was crafted from a carved tree branch and lacks true weapon capabilities but hey at least you have something.
Staring at the dead animal for a little while he bit back his feelings and picked it up. The coppery tang of blood filled the air as it got closer to his nose and the soft pat pat pat of it dripping to the dirt hung heavy over the path.
“Now what do I do with it?” He thought to himself. Again, he thought back to how easy the games made it and sighed that he would need to figure out how to skin and prep the meat if he wanted to eat it instead of automatically getting the fur and meat just from clicking a button.
He looked up at the sky noticing how it was starting to slowly darken and figured it would be ideal to find a place to camp for the night and figure out how to make the rabbit into a meal. It was only a short distance down the path where it came near another small stream. “Another or the same one?” He pondered then mentally shrugged. It didn’t matter it was water and there was room on the bank. Setting his spear and the rabbit down he set about making a fire pit once again. It came faster due to his new survival skill and he was soon sitting beside a small cheerily burning fire.
He pulled the rabbit closer and studied it noticing a faint grey line in the fur. Turning the carcass back and forth the line shifted with the limbs and torso but didn’t shift like it should have if it was part of the fur. Realization slowly dawned on him. It was a guide! It must have been from the survival skill as well showing him where to cut to skin the creature. “Well, that’s convenient. Now I just need a knife.”
He searched about yet again, realizing maybe he should keep the next sharp rock he could find. He took his time in this search until finally, he found a small flat stone that could fit in his palm and a larger rock. He finally remembered a video he had seen about making a survival knife by breaking off the edges of a stone with another one. It was easier said than done however, of course it was, the guy who had made the video had obviously done it repeatedly to not make a fool of himself when posting a video. It took several times of hitting the small rock with the larger one to create a crack and with a snap… break it in two.
“Dammit.” Xavier cursed aloud and tossed the broken piece to the ground before rising to search for another rock. It took longer but he found another one he thought would work well and sat down to make another attempt at making the knife.
Clack, clack, snap. The edge of the stone fractured leaving a wickedly sharp edge that cut his thumb when he tested it leaving a small drop of blood to drip to the ground and another chime in his mind.
Congratulations! You have learned a new skill – Crafting level 1. Every tool and item in this world is made by something. You now join the ranks of those crafters. Will you stall with the most basic of tools or will you rise to craft wonderous pieces of jewelry and tools that will shape the world? +2% to crafted items. +2% to crafted tools.
You have discovered: Crude Stone Blade
Item Class: Common
Item Quality: Trash
Durability: 5/5
Damage: 1 – 2 Slashing
Traits: Useless as more than a simple tool this stone knife can provide at least the most basic of cutting.
He picked the rabbit's body back up and looked again for the faint lines that he had noticed earlier. Carefully dragging his new knife along them he started to work with the body cleaning it and peeling the hide off the carcass until he received another set of prompts.
You have discovered: Tattered Rabbit Hide
Item Class: Common
Item Quality: Trash
Durability: 5/5
Traits: A worn and damaged hide found from skinning a rabbit.
You have discovered: Skinned Rabbit Carcass
Ingredient Class: Common
Item Quality: Raw
Durability: 5/5
Traits: A small, skinned rabbit. Perfect for stews, roasting, or grilling.
Sighing in satisfaction he retrieved his spear and spitted the carcass on it before he held it over the flame. The low skill he had in cooking helped guide him in preventing it from charring but nothing more than that. It took a while, but he was rewarded with a new prompt while he watched the meat cook.
You have discovered a new dish: Slow Roasted Rabbit (Whole)
Dish Rarity: Common
Dish Quality: Edible
Traits: This whole rabbit was slowly roasted over an open flame. The lack of seasonings leaves it with a gamey and stringy flavor but overall, it is wholesome and filling. Having successfully created this dish you retain the knowledge on how to recreate it with reduced failure. Chance to cook +1%
He carefully pulled the rabbit from the spear, burning his fingers in the process and coating them in hot dripping grease. He licked the drops from his digits and grinned. The taste was pleasurable, having never had rabbit before he did not know what to expect. He settled down leaning his back against a tree and enjoying his dinner while the sun settled into the distance. To his surprise it wasn’t a single moon that slowly crept into the night sky but three of them. A deep red globe, a bright blue globe, and a mellow yellow globe. “Huh,” He thought to himself. “Seems I have a lot to learn about this world.”
He carefully added some more wood to his little fire and then pulled his spear to his side as he made himself comfortable to sleep. Hopefully, the fire would keep anything wild away from him because he was exhausted. He had survived his first day, however, a new start in a new world and a new life. Things were looking up and already he was feeling more alive than he had ever felt back on Earth.