The dull grey light filtering through the massive forest canopy was slowly shifting into a deep bruised purple by the time Dustin finally opened his eyes.
He lay flat on his back against the hard wooden floor of the tree hollow. His muscles were stiff and his torn hands throbbed with a dull ache from his brutal climb earlier that morning. He stared up at the curved wooden ceiling of his natural cave and took a slow breath. He had successfully slept through the most chaotic and deadly hours of the survival tutorial.
Then a loud and demanding noise broke the silence of his small sanctuary.
Grrrrr.
The sound came from deep within his own stomach. The physical hunger was intense and sharp. He had not eaten anything since the stale pizza the day before the Convergence dragged him into this nightmare. His efficient energy management philosophy relied heavily on staying horizontal but a starving body eventually forced movement.
He sat up and stretched his sore shoulders.
"Now I have to get something to eat first," Dustin muttered to himself.
He crawled over to the rough lip of the hollow and looked down at the dark forest floor fifteen meters below. Going down would be significantly easier on his lungs than climbing up but it still required effort. He swung his bare legs over the edge and carefully found his first foothold.
He descended the massive charcoal trunk with slow and deliberate movements. His twelve points of agility kept his balance steady as he navigated the thick wooden knots. His feet finally hit the soft damp earth and he immediately focused his mind.
His eighteen meter perception bubble flared to life.
The invisible spherical radar pushed outward through the dense brush. He mapped the immediate area and confirmed there were no giant armored centipedes or snake tailed insects waiting to ambush him. He pulled the rusted iron dagger from the waistband of his ruined pajama pants and began walking.
The alien forest was already transitioning into its nocturnal phase. Strange bioluminescent plants were beginning to cast faint blue and green glows across the rotting logs. Dustin moved slowly through the thick ferns and paid close attention to the local flora.
He spotted a cluster of bright orange mushrooms growing near a twisted root. He focused his eyes on the fungi and waited for the system to provide relevant data. A small blue text box flickered into existence.
[ Rot Spore Mushroom ]
[ Highly Toxic - Consumption will lead to rapid internal bleeding. ]
Dustin stepped carefully around the dangerous root. Further down the path he found a bush covered in small glowing red berries. He stared at the fruit but the system provided zero information. The screen remained blank.
'If the system refuses to identify it then eating it is a massive gamble,' Dustin reasoned internally. 'Getting violently sick out here means vomiting. Vomiting burns precious calories and the smell attracts predators. I am not eating mystery berries.'
He kept walking through the darkening woods. He altered his path and pushed his way through a thick curtain of hanging vines.
He found a wide and fast moving river cutting directly through the dense vegetation. The water was crystal clear and looked incredibly refreshing. However the muddy banks of the river were swarming with local wildlife.
Dustin crouched behind a large mossy rock and observed the creatures from the safety of his perception bubble.
A large amphibian with six sprawling legs and skin that resembled wet grey clay was dragging itself out of the water. The system identified it as a Level 3 Mud Crawler. A few meters away a long fish with jagged protruding teeth and dark black scales was thrashing violently in the shallows. The system tagged it as a Level 5 Spine Fin.
The creatures were grotesque and covered in thick layers of foul smelling slime.
'They look disgusting,' Dustin concluded with a grimace. 'I am definitely not eating those things. I still have basic dietary standards.'
He backed away from the river bank and continued his search parallel to the running water. He needed to find something that looked vaguely terrestrial and less like a sewer monster. He walked for another twenty minutes while his stamina slowly drained. His legs were starting to feel heavy when his mental radar suddenly pinged.
A small lifeform was resting in a patch of tall silver grass just ten meters ahead.
Dustin stopped moving and lowered his center of gravity. He peered through the thick silver stalks and spotted the target. It was a rabbit. The creature possessed snow white fur but its fluffy tail was a vibrant shade of bright yellow. As the animal turned its head to chew on a thick blade of grass Dustin noticed that its large eyes were constantly shifting through a vibrant spectrum of rainbow colors.
He focused his gaze and brought up the system information.
[ White Fur Rabbit ]
[ Level 1 ]
[ A passive herbivore. Its meat is considered highly delicious and provides a permanent one point stamina boost upon consumption. ]
Dustin stopped breathing for a second. He stared at the floating blue text to make sure his tired eyes were not deceiving him. The creature was not just a source of calories. It was a literal stat boosting consumable item.
'Sorry buddy but you have to go in my stomach,' Dustin thought quietly.
His grip tightened on the rough leather handle of his dull dagger. He activated his twelve points of agility and began to creep forward. He moved with a surprising fluid grace. His high perception stat allowed him to see every single dry leaf and brittle twig on the forest floor. He placed his bare feet with surgical precision to ensure he made zero noise.
He closed the distance from ten meters to three meters without the rabbit ever stopping its meal.
He took one final silent step and lunged.
The rainbow eyed rabbit sensed the sudden violent movement and its powerful hind legs tensed to spring away. Dustin was faster. He thrust the rusted iron blade forward with all of his pathetic four points of strength. The dull metal tore through the white fur and pierced the small chest of the animal.
A burst of bright yellowish blood sprayed across the silver grass. The rabbit let out a short squeak and then went completely limp.
Dustin exhaled a long breath and wiped a few drops of the strange yellow blood from his hands. He grabbed the dead creature by its long ears and lifted it up. It was heavy and the meat felt dense.
Before heading back he found a massive hollowed out nut shell lying near a large tree. The shell was the size of a modern football helmet and felt as hard as ceramics. He carefully washed the dirt out of it at the river and filled it to the brim with fresh water.
"Now I just need to find some dry twigs to ignite a fire," Dustin said to himself as he adjusted his heavy load.
He gathered a large handful of dead brown moss and several brittle branches on his slow walk back to his massive charcoal tree. The sky above the canopy was now fully dark and the strange nocturnal noises of the alien forest were growing louder. He needed to be back in his elevated cave before the real predators started their nightly hunts.
Several miles away on the opposite side of the dense localized training zone the atmosphere was vastly different.
The large rocky clearing was illuminated by several large roaring bonfires. A group of exhausted survivors were moving quickly around the camp. They were carrying heavy stones and dragging thick logs to reinforce a crude defensive wall.
Near the center of the camp a massive man with thick arms and a heavy dark beard wiped sweat from his dirty forehead. He stepped back and admired a newly constructed wooden cabin. The structure was rough and basic but it had solid walls and a sturdy slanted roof.
"House three is finally completed," the large man said proudly to a woman standing beside him.
The woman held a short wooden spear and nodded in deep appreciation. She looked at the sturdy cabin and then back at the massive builder.
"Yes it is very easy with your special crafting class," the woman replied warmly. "Having real shelter changes everything. Now the main hunters group should also be coming back soon. They promised to bring us enough meat to last for days."
The quiet hum of the busy camp was suddenly shattered by a loud and frantic voice coming from the treeline.
"What happened out there," a man shouted in alarm.
"Where are the others," another survivor yelled as they dropped a bundle of firewood.
The large builder and the woman rushed toward the edge of the camp. The heavy brush parted and Andrew stumbled into the light of the bonfires.
The charismatic Warrior leader looked terrible. His grey athletic shirt was torn in multiple places and dark red blood stained his muscular arms. He was breathing heavily and his eyes were wide with residual panic. He carried the massive carcass of a beast over his broad shoulders.
Andrew walked to the center of the clearing and slammed the heavy body onto the dirt. It was a Level 7 Spotted Deer. The animal had dark green spots along its flanks and two massive jagged horns protruding from its skull.
The survivors gathered around their leader but the usual cheers of victory were entirely absent.
Andrew looked at the frightened faces of his followers. He spoke in a low and sorrowful voice that carried across the silent camp.
"After we successfully hunted the low level animals for our food supply we ventured slightly deeper into the woods," Andrew explained grimly. "We found a strange structure built into the side of a rocky hill. It looked like an old stone cave with an arched entrance. Jance asked us to let him go inside and scout it for supplies. We agreed to wait outside."
A tense silence hung in the humid air as the bonfire popped and hissed.
"Just after Jance crossed the threshold a massive stone slab dropped from the ceiling," Andrew continued. "The door closed permanently. We spent hours hitting the stone with our swords and our clubs but we could not do anything to open it. It is sealed tight. We finally decided to head back to the camp so we could formulate a better rescue plan with the proper tools."
An older woman in her late sixties pushed her way aggressively through the gathered crowd. Her face was pale and her hands were shaking violently.
"What happened then," the older woman interrupted with rising panic. "Where is my son."
Andrew looked down at the dirt. He gripped the hilt of his massive iron broadsword until his knuckles turned pure white.
"On the way back to the camp we were ambushed," Andrew said. His voice cracked slightly under the heavy emotional weight. "It was a Level 40 beast. It moved faster than we could track. We lost seven of our men before we managed to escape."
The camp erupted into horrified screams and loud weeping. The older woman collapsed onto her knees in the dirt and wailed into her hands. The false sense of safety they had built over the last twelve hours was instantly destroyed.
The brutal reality of the system was laid bare. Building houses and gathering in large noisy groups did not make them safe. It simply gave the predators a centralized location to find their next meal.
Dustin sat cross legged on the wooden floor of his high tree cave.
He held a dry stick in his hands and rubbed the tip furiously against a flat piece of dry bark. A tiny pile of crushed brown moss sat nearby waiting for a spark. His arms were burning with exhaustion and a thick layer of sweat coated his face.
He dropped the stick and let out a long frustrated groan.
"It is way too easy in the video games to ignite fires," Dustin complained tiredly to the dead rabbit resting near his knees. "I just press a button and the campfire spawns. Here I have been doing this for almost half an hour and still just the smoke is coming out. No sparks."
His hands were blistered and his stamina was severely depleted. He stared at the dark hollow and realized he was going to freeze during the night if he did not get a heat source going.
He opened his digital system window and swiped past his status screen. He hoped that the magical interface had a basic survival shop or an inventory tab that contained a simple fire ignition equipment kit. He scrolled through the menus but stopped when a backlog of unread notifications flashed in the corner of his vision.
[ Notice: Killed a Level 1 species. ]
[ Level 2 reached. ]
[ Stamina +1 ]
[ Agility +1 ]
[ Strength +1 ]
[ Vitality +2 ]
Dustin stared at the green text and felt a sudden rush of genuine relief.
"I reached level two," Dustin said with a tired smile. "I finally got some extra stamina and vitality."
The system had rewarded him for his stealthy kill. The numbers were still pathetically low compared to a real combat class but the percentage increase was massive for his weak body. He felt a small wave of fresh energy wash over his tired muscles as the system updated his physical form.
He searched the digital interface one last time. He confirmed with deep disappointment that there were zero fire starting tools hidden in his menus. The system demanded manual labor.
Dustin sighed and picked the dry stick back up. He positioned it over the bark and started rubbing his hands together again.
It took another thirty grueling minutes of friction before a tiny glowing orange ember finally caught in the dry brown moss. He blew on it gently and fed it the smallest dry twigs he had gathered. The ember grew into a small flickering flame that cast long dancing shadows across the curved wooden walls of his hollow.
He grabbed his rusted iron dagger and pulled the dead rabbit closer to the fire.
Skinning the animal with a dull blade was a messy and highly unpleasant task. He ruined large portions of the meat as he hacked away the white fur. He managed to separate the edible muscle from the bones and tossed the bloody remains out of the hollow so the smell would not linger in his cave.
He used the water he had brought up in the large ceramic nut shell to carefully wash the yellowish blood off the raw meat. He skewered the clean portions on a green stick and held them over the small fire.
The fat from the meat dripped into the flames and produced a loud hiss. A rich and savory aroma quickly filled the small wooden space. Dustin watched the meat turn a deep golden brown and his mouth watered aggressively. He waited until the outside was slightly charred before pulling the stick away from the heat.
He blew on the hot meat for a few seconds and then took a massive bite.
The flavor exploded across his tongue. It was incredibly tender and rich with a taste that sat somewhere between premium beef and wild game. It was easily the best bite of food he had eaten in months. He devoured the entire skewer in less than two minutes. He licked the grease off his fingers and let out a long satisfied sigh.
A small digital screen flickered to life right next to the campfire.
[ Item consumed: White Fur Rabbit Meat ]
[ Effect Applied: Permanent Stamina +1 ]
Dustin smiled and leaned back against the solid wooden wall of his cave. His gas tank had effectively doubled in a single evening just by killing a harmless glowing bunny. His lazy survival strategy was proving to be highly effective. He was warm and he was fed and he was safely hidden fifteen meters above the ground.
He closed his eyes and prepared to sleep through his second day in the alien forest.