!Achievement
The hygienic route
Wash yourself efficiently for the first time
10 XP
I bathed myself in the stream but without soap it was just to get the surface grime off. Still, my naked body in the water felt great. So soothing. The crystal stream felt icy and fresh, pricking my skin with goosebumps and the taste was clean and mineral filled.
I thoroughly washed the wound too, cleaning out the dirt from the night prior. The soil had helped stop the bleeding but I could imagine that keeping dirt in a wound wasn’t very sanitary.
I scrubbed my armpits with a smooth stone like it were a bar of soap while the rabbit watched by the stream bank, chewing absently on grass I’d laid out for it.
“You know, on my next level I could ask for some soap. That’d be nice. Assuming I get another wish at level 3. What do you think?”
Nose twitch.
Clothes already dried by the fire, putting them on sent soothing warmth across my body. The heat seeped down into my bones like it was warm butter and I was fresh bread.
“Ah.” Though it wasn’t anywhere as nice as back home, this place was growing on me. There was something about the smell of smoke from a fire, the chalky aroma, the soothing crunch of a crystalline stream and the happy chirp of birds made me feel uniquely whole.
“You know, it’ll take me three days to switch my class again, but I think I’m gonna go back to the hunter class for a bit, at least until I get my bearings. I felt like I understood the woods better that way. Don’t ask me to explain it. I have no idea how it works,” I rambled to Spot as I reapplied vines to the makeshift spear, readying myself for a hunt.
Class switched from Warrior to Hunter.
No free class change available. 35:59:59 until class change is available.
The day was spent gathering berries, scouting out new locations around my new camp and watching for goblins. There was a stream to the north, quite close, and a good set of berry bushes nearby. Luckily, no gob nests.
!Achievement
Honor Scout
Scout out your first location
10XP
Class option gained
Scout
"Scout? What is that?"
!Class information: Scout
The Scout class is an ace of geography, travel, and tracking. Scouts are speedy and stealthy all around survivalists with a wide variety of applications from military to civilian lifestyles. All skills pertaining to pathfinding and survivalism are buffed by this class. The scout also gains an attribute buff of [1] to stealth and speed available at level 2.
“Huh. Interesting. It seems you get rewarded for trying new things. Isn’t that neat, Spot?”
Stare
That evening I brought home my day’s takings, six fish in total, descaled them and cooked them.
“Some for tonight and some for tomorrow. Unlike you Spot, I have to think ahead about my meals. They don’t just grow out of the ground.”
Fish slain!
10XP
(X6)
And the days passed by in similar manner. Hunting, scouting, gathering. One day it rained pulsing sheets of water down on me and Spot. We both huddled under the safety of a large… oak, I think, and waited out the storm. When we returned to camp, it was miserably wet, sodden, and muddy. With a grimace, I threw a look at Spot.
“Well, my bedding’s ruined,” I sighed. Spot, fur matted by rain drops, kicked at its floppy ears to swipe out any remaining water.
“I guess we’re gonna have to fix this rain thing.” I set off to remake the camp.
Some ideas came to mind. First off, I raised my sleeping place with a dirt pallet a couple inches thick. This would keep water from pooling underneath the bedding. Digging dirt for the pallet was a pain as I had to scoop with my hands. After making a solid bed of dirt, I sat back exhausted.
“I think I’m going to ask for a shovel on my next level up, Spot.”
To keep the water out of my bed, I made a small roof by building branch supports and placing a layer of sticks on top. Then, finding some broad leaved foliage, I used ivy to wrap bundles of it together to make a roof.
The branches were a pain to get. I wasn’t strong enough to rip limbs off of trees any more so I had to resort to finding dead limbs on the ground, which also ate up my firewood. By the end, I’d used a lot of the nearby easy firewood, stuff that wasn’t twigs and sticks that would burn up in a matter of minutes.
“Hm. If I want to improve further, I’ll need some tools. Real tools. Not these tired hands. What do you think, Spot? Should I ask for a toolkit from Home Depot?”
Nose twitch.
When it was all said and done, my bed did look a lot dryer, but there was no way to tell without a bucket or something to pour water on it.
“I guess I’ll just have to wait for more rain.”
Luckily, I didn’t have to wait long. More rain came the next day. Fortunately, the roof held and my sleeping spot remained dry. Less fortunately, I had washed my clothes in the river after all the work the day prior and they hadn’t had time to dry. They hung on the end of two sticks by the campfire, sopping wet. Me and Spot sat huddled together under the roof of my bed, hiding until the rains ended. I’d never been so jealous of fur and I was not amused being naked for so long.
Another problem was, after it rained, the campfire was always soggy. It would take nearly a day to dry it all out again, so I took another day to mimic my sleeping spot, raising the fireplace with dirt and bolstering it with stone so it would drain off if it rained again.
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“Yeah, that should do it. What do you think, Spot?”
Spot mildly chewed on greenery, inspecting my work.
“That’s what I was thinking. Perfect. Now, I need another bath,” I said with a flat expression, inspecting my dirt colored clothes and fingernails.
!Achievements
Home improvements
Upgrade your camp to level 2
10 XP
“Nice!”
Level up!
Level 3 attained!
You have been granted one free class change
You have been granted one wish!
My heart fluttered when I saw the message.
“Another level! Only ninety six to go, Spot.” The level message was always exhilarating. “Hm. But now what do I ask for? There are so many things I need.”
I looked around the camp. It was a nice camp, but it was still a camp. The campfire was small and needed constant attention. My bed was soft enough but could be better. Everything was covered in a layer of soil and left over dew from morning. If I was going to improve it, I’d need tools.
One thing for certain, I was tired of collecting dead sticks.
“I wish for a wood axe,” I said confidently, snatching the idea as soon as it came to me. A nice hearty wood axe materialized in front of me, carrying my hands down with it when I caught it. “Oof. Heavy.”
It was plain but with a thick blade made of iron.
“Yeah,” I said nodding my head, “This was the right choice.”
I could’ve used a bow for hunting, even for fishing, but then I had to think about arrows. Would they come with it? How many? If I had to craft them myself I may as well forget it. And I hadn’t needed anything for my warrior class since I’d gotten it so a tool like this was surely perfect.
With it, I chopped at some tree limbs and built a large fire just for celebration that evening.
Bringing back a half dozen fish with me from the stream, I threw the day’s catch down in front of Spot who dashed away into the grass before realizing it was me causing all of the ruckus.
“Now I feel like a caveman, through and through. Fire is man’s best friend. Don’t let anyone tell you any differently.”
Fish slain! 10XP
(x6)
More days came and went. The routine grew stronger. Hunt for fish. Work on the camp. Scout. The forest was quite big and I was afraid I’d lose my way if I went too far, so instead I wandered in circles around the camp, each time going further and further away but never really going too far. One day, I planned to change my class to scout and just head out on one long adventure, but for now I was fine as I was, getting to know my little section of the forest.
And firewood was abundant.
“You know,” I said, slamming down on a half log with the axe, slicing it into quarters. It was hard labor, something my warrior class would have no problem doing, but I kept from changing classes again out of necessity, “I think I’m getting stronger from chopping all this wood.” I showed my muscles to Spot, rolling up a dirty shirt sleeve.
My arms had grown larger.
“That means my attributes aren’t totally tied to this weird thing in my head. I think it just gives me free stuff… as long as I make the right choices.” Chop! I stood up, my back aching, brow sweat glistening off of my forehead. I wiped it away.
“You know, I’m starting to appreciate this leveling thing. The old fashioned way sucks,” I said, picking up the axe and raising it over head.
Spot nuzzled around some berries I’d left in a pile, looking for the sweetest one, ignoring me entirely.
“My thoughts exactly.” Wack!
I chopped on tree limbs day after day, choosing new trees from time to time so I didn’t take too much from one tree. I used the limbs for firewood, hunting spears, and to expand my camp. My bedding area had doubled in size and I’d started even making walls for it with long twigs and thin branches. They were simple walls and I wasn’t really sure what the heck I was doing but without T.V. or the internet I had a lot of free time to try and fail.
The campfire eventually expanded into a large stone circle with a crude turning spit built overhead so I could cook more than one fish at a time. I even built a small berry chest so I didn’t have to go too far to find them for Spot. As I added thing after thing, I wondered if there was a carpenter class and when I would get it.
Now, when the rains came, I felt pretty secure in my tiny hut. I’d lay on the bed and watch the forest twitch with raindrops, feel the cool air as the water soaked away its heat. Spot had a place too, a little shelter I’d made with the shield and two sticks holding up one end. The little shelter was on an incline so it was safe in the rain too.
Spot had burrowed a little hole underneath themself to expand the place. As the rains passed by we sat in silence in our little shelters, safe and warm and watching the rains go.
Soon enough, fish made me sick eating it every day. My stomach grumbled louder and louder for more fresh meat. Every time I looked at Spot, though, I felt guilty, so I never acted on the desire. At least, that was until one day when I was chewing on a fish bone and decided that it just wasn’t good enough.
So, one day I went out on my own and for the first time skewered me some real meat. It was a small boar with tiny tusks, an easy catch. I would’ve felt bad for it too if I hadn’t been so hungry. Sneaking up on it was easy. It was the final strike that sucked.
The boar had been nibbling away in the grass, looking for snails or something in the under foliage. It was loudly snorting and tooting away so my footsteps were muzzled under the confusion. Step by step, I approached as quiet as a ghost. Then, I stood to strike, pausing with gritted teeth as my conscience held my blade captive. I wanted to say sorry before I struck but the noise was too risky. In the next moment, it was over.
Boar slain!
10XP
!Achievement
Hunt new game
10XP
Carrying the boar back home was a struggle but, eventually, I slumped it down in front of the campfire, proud and hungry.
“I’m back,” I said, “And hungry. I hope this goes better than last time with that possum.”
Nose twitch. I looked down at Spot, disapprovingly.
“What?”
Stare
“Oh, stop it. You’re exaggerating.”
Spot tugged on an ear absently and then smelled its belly.
“Cut it out. I can’t just eat leaves and twigs like you can. You’re overreacting,” I said, sitting back. I grabbed my spear and pulled off the sword. The metallic ring echoed through the campfire as I separated it from the spear shaft. “Ever heard of variety?”
The evening came and went and the sun fell behind the tree line. The fire lit the grove in warm colors, the smoky flavors of the meat disseminating into the forest. The spit had come in handy. I’d roasted the little sucker to perfection, stopping just when the skin was blackening and splitting open.
I pulled it off into the dirt and cut into it with the sword. Little chunks came off sweltering and sweating juicy fat that ran down my fingers. My mouth watered.
Taking that first bite, I thought I’d pass out. The flavor was so good. Spot watched from the other end of the fire, sniffing around in the dirt curiously.
“Oh. Yeah. That’s good. That’s really good,” I said to myself, savoring the meat. “I’ve never had boar before.”
Spot picked up the scent of something unfamiliar and followed it for a few hops before realizing it wasn’t worth the time and returning to the fire.
I watched Spot with softer eyes, feeling renewed guilt over eating the boar. After a moment of timidity, I summoned the courage to speak up.
“Listen, Spot. Sorry about how I acted earlier. You know, I was just so hungry. So sick of fish. Didn’t mean to take it out on you.”
Spot nibbled on a blade of grass before abandoning it. Too full.
I beat around the bush some more, not wanting to say what we were both thinking. Eventually, I had to bring it up.
“You know,” I started, picking boar out of my teeth, “This will never be you.” I gestured to the boar. “This was just a meal. Nothing serious.” Spot turned away from me looking for a new interesting smell’s source.
“You’re gonna have to get used to it. I will eat other meat. I have to, to survive. I hope you understand. Besides,” I raised my eyebrows, “It was just a boar. Can you imagine me being friends with a boar.” I chuckled discontentedly, disgusted at the thought.
“I’d never do that to you,” I reassured Spot.
Spot turned around, finally bored with the new scent.
“That’s right. Because we’re friends.” I chomped down on a new piece of boar meat, thinking about that. “Because we’re friends,” I echoed, liking the sound of that phrase.
The fire sputtered into the night sky.
