That morning I woke up feeling refreshed, full of energy, and half submerged in the river. That's right, it rose in the night and slowly wrapped it's disgusting tendrils around me as if to swallow me into its murky depths.

It was a humbling moment. I woke up to the sound of yipping from my fox comrade Kitsu and the water had already risen past my ears. Another hour and I'd probably have been happily snoozing while the heavy current carried me to my untimely death.

I scurried back to the safety of dry land after grabbing my stuff from the water.

I looked at the white fox with a look of thanks and tossed her a piece of fish from my bag. The fish I'd left on to smoke... well dry out over the fire had turned out alright. Not what I was expecting, it probably needed salt or something. I wasn't very knowledgeable about the whole process. I reorganized my now wet tools, all of which were an unnatural hue of blue. I'd need to do something about that. Couldn't carry around a bunch of stuff that made me stand out so much, so I needed to do a little experimentation. Especially now that I'd gotten a lot better at the whole using this magical pen thing.

I took out my trusty pen and held it up to the air like a conductor's wand. I could give things textures, consistencies, and even properties like flammable. I'd try color today. I started drawing just a rectangle in the air. I wanted to try making a sheet of printer paper. I drew my rectangle, and held the image of the paper I wanted, and concentrated specifically on the color white. Hopefully that would do something. The lines flashed blue and the object filled itself in. It was a pale white like I'd seen in my head. Now I had printer paper. I could draw on it, but it was a satisfying proof of concept.

Here's a little bit of a note about the pen works that I'd learned while I was drawing things up. There's defaults for everything. The default material is string. Non flammable string to be more specific. It didn't have much of a 'cost' so to speak. Editing those properties, though, had a cost. Especially making it flammable. I'd felt a noticeable drain whilst making my magical firewood the night before, and I hadn't made much of it. Just a few bricks to keep the fire burning hot while I gathered sticks and branches to build my fire. Making something more durable was costly as well. Especially something light and durable. The pots I'd made felt like they were made of lead, and now I had color. It didn't seem to drain an awful lot, which I was thankful for, but I wondered if more complex textures would up the cost. Like wood grain for magical logs if I were to build a cabin. The cost of things would have to be something I'd micromanage because although I felt that strange energy getting more abundant it was still finite. I couldn't afford to use it all up frivolously and end up in a tight spot either. That's what I thought when I looked at the paper sitting in front of me and thought of my next ambition. -- Building a boat.

I wanted to sail down this river in style, but I needed something tough, durable, preferably lightweight, and also buoyant. My magical goods didn't follow the laws of density when it came to floating. If I didn't think about it floating when I made it, it would sink. Everything I had right now sank. I even found the smoldering remains of the few lightweight bricks I'd made to burn sitting under the water beside me when I'd woke up. They were one of the things I made sure to grab before scrambling out of the water. They were expensive after all. I didn't need to draw the raft though. I could use mother nature. I had an incredibly precise cutting instrument to boot. I did decide to draw out the base for my little boat though. I wanted it to be extra durable, and extra buoyant so I didn't get sucked under the current.

My plan was to make a log raft. Something simple that I could make with my relatively limited technical prowess. I decided to draw myself some reliable floaters as a base. That way I'd have something to hold on to if my raft decided to come apart in the river. I drew them up while my foxy friend Kitsu watched in interest. I was beginning to think there was a little something more to that fox than met the eye. She watched a little too intently, or maybe 5 days without human company was already starting to make my imagination act up.

I tried to make my base floaters look like wooden planks, but the color didn't seem quite right. It was still better than blue though, these could pass as natural under minimal scrutiny. I made the planks a little longer than myself. I didn't really have a good reason for doing it. I just liked the idea of being able to lay back on my raft and look up at the sky. Like in Huckleberry Finn.

That thought was followed by the idea of making a barge out of these log rafts and becoming a river merchant. I really considered it until I considered that I'd need to come back up stream. That put a damper on things. I had to reach a village first though. So it was time to cut down a few trees, and hopefully ones that were smaller than the one I'd cut down outside the cave.

"I wonder if I could lay one of those trees across the river and make a bridge" I said idly clicking my pen and strolling into the forest.

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A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

He was making more stuff. The fox thought to herself as she followed the man into the forest. He easily felled the trees here. Just one slash from his mighty instrument was all it took to slice through even the thickest trucks. It was even done cleanly! The fox gasped watching the man work. Perhaps he would teach her to have such precise control of her abilities! It was such a shame that he couldn't understand her. She'd met other human cultivators who could, but this man seemed completely oblivious to her words. Yet he responded to her little yips and growls, but he'd only toss her a piece of the man's dried fish when she got his attention.

How vexing it was! He was clearly skilled with Qi. He'd even been able to suck the spirit from his prey in the river. Perhaps she wasn't trying hard enough. She'd just try again. She approached the man and conjured up all of her Qi and attempted to communicate with him once more.

"Hello Human cultivator! This one admires your technique greatly." She said, stepping in front of him as he dragged another log from the forest. He gave a startled look and glanced around before his eyes settled on her.

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Did that fox just talk to me? Actually. It wasn't really talking. Telepathy? Did she call me a cultivator? Oh gods. I could already hear someone later on telling me I'm courting death for scuffing their shoes in a crowded street. It'll happen. Wait for it.

I smiled at Kitsu. Sheepishly I might add.

"Kitsu? You could speak this whole time?" I replied looking down at the white fox who sat proudly in front of me. I decided to repay her compliment in kind. "And thank you. I admire your fur. It's white like virgin snow." I added making my reply as poetic as possible. It just felt right. Kitsu seemed to appreciate it. She puffed up her chest and swished her tail around happily.

"You have a good eye, human! No wonder you're able to hew these mighty logs with such ease. My fur is the envy of many. For both its luster and superb softness." The fox gloated proudly to him while wrapping her tail around her body. "And this name Ki Zu? I accept it!"

She was so smug I wanted to try petting her tail now. It did look quite soft, probably warm too. She'd make for a fine pillow, or even a scarf.

"Well Kitsu, you can call me Les- uhh Lei Renshu." Why a fake name? Because I could. I could be whoever I wanted here. So the Benevolent Lei Renshu it was. I smiled to myself as I appreciated my new name. Meanwhile the fox nodded thoughtfully.

"I see. What a good name. Master Lei. I wish to follow you further. I'm interested in your technique. How do you cut the wood so clearly? How do you make these strange objects of Qi?" The fox asked while looking at the pen in my hand and sniffing the air curiously. Unfortunately those were hard questions to answer. I knew better how the cutting worked after chopping down some trees, but creating objects? I could feel a little of that Qi move and surround the area, but I don't think the entire object was made of it. Perhaps it pulled materials out of the air to generate a shape. In that case it was almost like alchemy.

For cutting though, the Qi formed on the path the ink took then pushed itself through the object absorbing any material in the way. It was like using a ton of tiny black holes to absorb matter only for the black holes to collapse instantly when the job was finished. The process probably released a bunch of energy, but I didn't have a way to measure that.

"It's hard to explain, but to cut. Try pushing your Qi through the object and surround everything in the way with your Qi to absorb it." I clumsily explained to the Fox who gave me a bemused expression before glancing at a nearby tree.

"Thank you for your lesson. This Ki Zu will show you results soon enough. I'll bring you more logs than you can count. Be sure of it!" The fox proclaimed and then a white aura began to form around the trunk of the tree. It flickered slightly before quickly dissipating. It seemed she would have problems.

"If you figure it out , don't cut too many. We already have enough logs to make the boat. We'll be able to head down the river soon. Maybe we'll find a town." I said dragging a log behind me. I guess I'd gotten notably stronger, as the long didn't feel as heavy as I thought it should have.

With all my logs and my base all set up I drew out a ton of rope and the real work began. Picking up the logs. Holding them in place while I tried to tie them to the base. Realizing after half an hour of struggling that I could cut notches into the logs to make them settle onto the base without rolling. Then tying and retying the rope over and over again. It was already dark by the time I finished tying everything together. I was hungry, thirsty, and once again drenched in sweat. I bit the bullet and took a dip in the river to wash off the three day layer of sweat. It was incredibly refreshing. I even drew up some new clothes. I made them the same color as the burlap clothes I'd been wearing when I came here. It didn't stand out. Then I started my fire. It was quicker this time. I'd learned a lot after failing miserably yesterday.

I decided to make a fish soup using the dried fish and the fish head. It wasn't very good. I was expecting a rich umami but all I got was slightly fishy water. I probably should have cooked it longer, but I was both hungry and tired at that point.

After my meal Kitsu finally showed back up again. She looked tired, and also defeated. Her ears were droopy and her tail drug along the ground as she walked. I felt bad for her, but I was glad she hadn't cut down half the forest. I tossed her some dry fish, and put a fresh bowl of clean water on the ground.

"There's always tomorrow Kitsu." I said to my forlorn friend. She gave me a pensive glance and lapped at the water I'd set out. "These things don't happen quickly. You'll figure it out." I reassured and stood up stretching out.

"Thank you Master Lei. I'll consider your words and be patient. I'm afraid I only made meager progress today. I was only able to scratch the trees with my Qi. I could accomplish more with my claws and teeth." Kitsu reported taking her fish into her mouth and gulping down half of it.

"Good work. Tomorrow we'll be leaving this place though. I finished our boat. I just need to make some oars for us tomorrow then we can head down river. I'm looking for towns. I need supplies." I said, but I didn't have any money. Maybe I could make some more clothes and sell them. Or some cups or something. I could make fire bricks while we travelled too. They burned much longer than the logs around the forest did. That might appeal to a blacksmith or something. They also burned really hot. Maybe I could make them black and sell them as a Qi infused coal or something. The people would love that.

I nodded making my decision and laid back in my hovel. I decided not to sleep on the river bank this time. I didn't know if Kitsu would be generous enough to cover for my mistakes two days in a row. Speaking of Kitsu, she looked at me from outside. I scooted over and patted the area beside me. She looked at me for several seconds, as if considering before eventually deciding to lie down on the ground.

"Suit yourself." I murmured and closed my eyes. The day's fatigue caught up with me all at once and I passed out almost instantly. Tomorrow will be a new day. Tomorrow we'll set sail.