Huxley reappeared exactly where he was when he left the game the day before, crouched in front of his campfire. The flames had dwindled to a few dim coals peeking out from under a pile of grey ash, barely shedding any light, let alone heat.
Hux stood, stretched, and filled his lungs with fragrant, smoky air under his own power. He hoped he would never get used to this and take it for granted. He shivered from the early-morning chill, but kicked some dirt over his smoldering coals and started off towards the river.
Dew glistened from every leaf, but his cloak kept him dry as he pushed through the undergrowth. It got thicker the closer he came to the water, but he had no trouble slipping past the brambles and vines.
When he got to the river’s edge, he crouched down, cupped some water in his hands, and brought it to his lips. If this was real life, he would have hesitated to drink from an unknown river, but here…
The water was as refreshing as he could have asked for, carrying a slight mineral taste, and it was as cold as the rockies.
A snap and a rustle from the far bank caught Huxley’s attention and he went stone-still. Only seconds later, a deer pushed its nose through the ferns and lowered its head to drink from the far side of the river while Hux watched silently. More deer approached the water and started drinking.
The peace, beauty, and serenity ended abruptly as something launched itself from the water at one of the deer. At first, Hux expected to see something like an alligator, but he didn’t see anything in the water at all. The other deer bounded off into the forest, snorting in fear, white tails held high while the unlucky one struggled against the river itself as the water wrapped around its head and front legs, dragging it forward.
Then a nameplate faded into view next to the glob of water attacking the deer.
Lv6 Beast
(???/??? HP)
Increase the level of your woodcraft skill for more information
The… thing, continued hauling on the deer, pulling it fully into the river. A flailing hoof or two splashed out of the surface a few times, but it wasn’t long before the river went still and calm again.
You have discovered a strength of Lv6 Beast
Exceptional camouflage
+6% progress towards Novice Woodcraft Lv6
(86%)
Hux quietly retreated from the water’s edge, fading back into the forest. Some mysteries were better left alone and he had plans that didn’t involve getting into a fight with a river. Setting off upstream again, he resolved to be more alert and cautious. There was no knowing what kinds of threats he might run into out here, and in addition to the unappealing penalty of getting sent back to the Ancient Harbor if he died, Pauline let him in on the little fact that dying would result in a one-hour lockout period that would keep him from entering the game. For most players, the lockout period was an inconvenience. For Hux, it would be more like torture.
Huxley avoided all the wildlife he could, making decent time now that his endurance was two times higher than when he started playing. The animals got stranger and more dangerous as he delved deeper into the forest, the levels on their nameplates steadily growing higher, though there were still plenty of lower level prey animals scurrying around in the underbrush and flitting through the air overhead.
He wasn’t able to avoid every threat though. The nameplates didn’t appear until after Hux noticed the animals and some of them were very good at hiding in plain sight. One of those animals dropped out of the branches without warning and wrapped around his neck and shoulders, hissing and biting. Its dusky green scales were hard to make out in the gloom but its white fangs flashed and so did those annoying damage notifications.
You take 8 piercing damage x2 from Lv7 Beast
(-3 from armor x2)
Sneak Attack: +50% damage!
Venomous bite inflicts poison: -1 HP every 2 seconds for 10 minutes
HP: 85/100
Hux got his hands on the snake’s neck, just under its head. He strained to hold it back long enough to grab his skinning knife and jam it up under the snake’s jaw, but the knife just skipped off of the animals thick scales. Then the snake started to squeeze, tightening around Huxley’s neck and chest.
You take 11 constricting damage from Lv7 Beast
(Cloth armor does not prevent constricting damage)
You have been constricted: -1 SP every second until released
HP: 73/100
SP: 41/200
The damned thing was powerful. It might as well have been made from steel cables and it was slowly slipping out of Huxley’s grip, bringing those fangs closer inch-by-inch. It didn’t help that the snake dropped on him when his stamina was already low. At least his arms were still free, but the effort from holding those fangs back was eating into his remaining stamina, and it was dropping much faster than it could regenerate even with 20 points in endurance, so Hux let go.
The snake’s head darted in for another bite. Huxley tried to stab his knife into that open mouth but the snake was lightning-quick and easily avoided the blade, sinking its fangs into Hux’s shoulder.
Already down to nearly half of his total hp, and losing more every second, Huxley’s limited options flashed through his mind in an eyeblink. His axe was useless when fighting something that got in so close, and his dinky knife wasn’t any good either. His bow wouldn’t be any help even if he had it strung… but…
Hux yanked an arrow from his quiver and jammed it into one of the snake’s eyes. It couldn’t get its fangs out of him quickly enough to dodge, and the shaft sank into the animal’s skull with only token resistance. It was a perfect fit.
The snake didn’t like that, but it didn’t drop dead either. It hissed like a punctured tire and leapt off of Hux, slithering away with surprising speed, but it got stuck as the arrow jutting out of its eye caught on some bushes.
Not one to let an enemy escape only to come back later, Hux whipped his axe up overhead, and then brought it down hard enough to cut clean through the snake and bite into the roots beneath it. That didn’t happen though, and the axe only cut a red line across the snake’s back.
It coiled into a hissing, spitting ball. Then it sprang forward in a blur, but Hux was ready for it now, and this time it didn’t see the knife in its blindspot. The blade sank deeply into its soft pink palate and it died instantly. Though the attack let the snake sink its fangs into Huxley’s unprotected hands at the same time.
You have slain a Lv7 Creeper Snake
(0/50HP, 4 armor)
+ 60 exp
(125/300 to Level 3)
+7% progress towards Novice Woodcraft Lv6 (93%)
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One of the notifications didn’t disappear along with the others. It lingered in front of him, flashing a sickly green every couple of seconds.
You are Poisoned
-3 HP every 2 seconds
9 minutes and 58 seconds remaining
HP: 39/100
The timer counted down another couple of seconds before flashing again as Hux lost three more HPs. At this rate it would kill him in seconds. It was a good thing he came prepared.
Slipping his fingers under his belt, he reached for the bundle of greenthread stored there, but only found a patch of stringy, smelly, goop.
Greenthread
(Spoiled)
Consuming spoiled plants may cause a disease
Spoiled plants may be used as fertilizer
“Oh crap,” Huxley muttered.
He spent a few more precious seconds staring at the slimy strands of rivergrass before tearing off through the woods. Crashing through the undergrowth, racing the poison in his veins. He didn’t care what might hear him now. Huxley reached the riverbank and dove in headfirst, scanning the riverbed frantically, letting the current carry him downriver. Several seconds passed, each one stretched out beyond all reason. Then he saw it. A patch of bright-green grass rippled in the current.
Lv1 Greenthread
(potency: 1)
Consuming this plant will reduce ongoing poison damage by [Potency]
Consuming this plant may cause excessive urination leading to dehydration
Hux began stuffing the plants into his mouth immediately and the flashing notification changed almost as quickly.
You are poisoned
-2 HP every 2 seconds
9 minutes and 36 seconds remaining
HP: 7/100
After eating a few more handfuls of the stringy river-grass the poison effect faded away completley, leaving Hux with just four HP remaining. As he was leaving the water though, he stepped into something slimy and slipped. He grabbed onto a sapling for support and looked back.
Lv6 River Slime
(???/??? HP)
Strength: Exceptional camouflage
Increase the level of your Woodcraft skill for more information
Hux’s eyes went wide as the patch of slime oozed around his foot and pulled him towards the river. That foot slid back on the slimy rocks and the monster surged forward like a gelatinous wave to grab his other foot. Huxley hooked an elbow around the small tree and clasped his wrists tightly. With such a secure grip, he wasn’t so easy to dislodge from the shore, but it was a near thing.
He struggled with the slime for close to half a minute, his stamina bar nearing empty before the slime’s grip slackened and he managed to pull free, stumbling up the river bank and out of reach. Hux struggled into the forest again, heart pounding, and chest heaving.
He smiled, buzzing with adrenaline. Then he frowned. Then he fumbled with the buttons on his pants. A few frantic seconds later he let loose with a powerful stream and a satisfied sigh.
When he finished dealing with the side effect of the greenthread, he checked his minimized notifications.
You have discovered a strength of Creeper Snakes
Long-lasting poison
+7% progress towards Novice Woodcraft Lv6 (100%)
Congratulations! Your Unique Skill: Woodcraft, has leveled up!
Novice, Level 6
Identify woodland plants and animals up to level 6
Preserve 60% of a plant’s effects when harvesting
+30% Potency of any plants you cultivate
+30% growth-rate of plants and animals in your domain
You have discovered a weakness of River Slimes
Tires rapidly when not submerged
+5% progress towards Novice Woodcraft Lv7 (5%)
You have singlehandedly defeated an opponent 5 levels stronger than you and survived!
You have earned the title: Giant Slayer I
+1 Strength per level of difference when fighting opponents above your level
Defeat an opponent at least 10 levels stronger than you to advance this title
You are Dehydrated!
Rank: 2
-20% agility, intelligence, and wisdom
Huxley’s mouth went dry and he felt suddenly sluggish. Dehydrated and low on both health and stamina, only then did he realize that he left his axe somewhere upstream. The delay grated at him, but he stayed put until his stamina could recover, and then he started searching for Holy Basil as he carefully worked his way back upstream.
You are Hungry!
-10% strength, endurance, and constitution
The medicinal plants made Huxley’s stomach start growling and his maximum sp decreased by 20 while his max health dropped by 10, though that didn’t matter when he only had 18 left.
When he found a line of trampled undergrowth, he followed it back to his axe, lying next to the dead snake. Several foxes were already tearing at the remains, and with so little health remaining, Hux didn’t want to take any chances so he waited until they finished their meal, fought over the scraps, and left.
He retrieved his axe and continued on his way. He wouldn’t have minded turning that snake into a belt, but the foxes mangled its skin and besides, he already wasted enough time on the damn thing.
Paying closer attention to the creeping vines hanging from branches overhead, he continued upriver. He was able to slowly heal himself as he went, only stopping long enough to pick some fruit and slake his thirst in a small muddy stream feeding into the river.
As the sky began to darken, Huxley finally found what he was looking for, a dead end.
Standing near the river’s edge, but not too close, Huxley stared at the majestic scene. The river split, curving around a sizable island, but behind and above the trees choking that island he saw a wall of white. An enormous waterfall filled the air with a rumble like rolling thunder that Hux felt in his bones. Three separate rivers had cut deep ravines into the high plateau in the distance, sending their contents gushing out of the rock wall to combine before pouring down a second, shorter cliff in one much wider torrent. Mist sprayed high into the air, capturing the orange glow of evening and spreading it out over the entire valley. It was perfect.
Huxley wanted to get as far away from all those crazy players as he could before setting down his roots, but he also didn’t want to go past the point where he could use the river for transport. With no roads in or out of the forest, it would be his only way to trade for goods that he couldn’t make for himself out in the wilderness.
The island was just icing on the cake. Establishing his base there should help to keep things like wolves out, and it should make it easier to defend against players too. The only problem was the high cliffs in the distance. If an enemy positioned artillery up there he would be in real trouble, but he just couldn’t resist the tempting image of kicking back on the shore and fishing the day away.
There was one small issue though. The island appeared to be infested. Tiny squawking, gabbling figures covered the shore, stabbing sharpened sticks into the water. Whenever one managed to spear a fish they held it overhead, dancing and gabbling at the others. Sometimes a river-slime would grab onto one of their sticks and pull it into the water, producing even more gabbling, but it never reduced their enthusiasm for fishing for very long.
The child-sized creatures were bald, with pale skin, thin limbs, bulging black eyes, and wide, lipless mouths that constantly displayed their needle-like teeth.
Troglodyte Fisher Lv4
(20/20 HP)
Strength: Tribal
Increase the level of your Woodcraft skill for more information
There wasn’t enough time left in the day to evict them from Huxley’s prospective home, so he retreated into the woods, set up camp, and started preparing for battle.