{DAY 3}

“I looked her up and down and said ‘Girl you looking fine’~” I sang to myself in order to stave off any sense of boredom as I worked on a big pot made of clay “And then she went and pulled out a penis twice the size of mine~”

“I think that's finished…” Murmuring to myself, I stop humming, wiping away some sweat before standing up and admiring it from afar “Not too shabby if I do say so myself!”

It looked atrocious

But it also looked like it worked, so there's that

I had a huge pile of sticks next to it, a new pile I had gathered earlier this morning with the express purpose of burning to fire up my new pot

This one's gonna take a while…

The big pot was a little above my knees in height, so it could hold a lot

“Once I finish this, Craftsmanship will come in clutch and speed up any more of these…” Taking my torch, I light up the pile as it burns with an intensity much greater than my other fire

The fire was powerful, rising up to around my belly button easily, though it'll probably take a lot of wood to continue burning…

This one I had placed a little closer to the river, just in case I even needed to put it out in an emergency

I feel a shiver run down my back when the sound of a low, prolonged growl pierced my ears

I turn my head to the origin of the sound, to see two green orbs in the shadows, hidden from direct view

I could vaguely make out the shape of a wolf, but it seemed more angular…?

I held the torch out in my hand as the heat of the blazing fire behind me causes sweat to run down my back

If it pounces me, then I doubt I could hold onto my torch for a counter attack…

The thought made me a little more than scared, as I pull one of the few emergency ropes I had tied around my waist and wrap it around both my hand and the branch to stop it from escaping my grip

The wolf had made a few steps forwards and snarled at me, now devoid of any shade, I could make out exactly what the creature was

It was a wolf, I knew that, but it looked to be… Made of sticks?

How does that work…? Is it camouflage of some kind?

Whatever, I've got an advantage here

All beings have an instinctive fear of fire, and I can use this to ward away the canine

Holding the torch out in front of me was kind of tiring, especially right after I just finished moving around a shit ton of clay in order to build that pot

I can't drop it though

The moment I do, I’m dead

Waving the torch in front of me, I take a few small steps forwards

Showing your not scared will make them think you're also a predator, and considering how this one seems to be alone, they wouldn't risk fighting me

Thank god I made myself tall, the size difference between us definitely helped.

Though if it was as strong as an Earth wolf then it would absolutely demolish me. It was probably about my height if it were on its hindlegs, but I only looked bigger simply because I'm bipedal

No matter what, this is a wild animal, abuse the instincts that are instilled in its head to your own advantage

The wolf got lower to the ground, and seemed to be preparing a pounce

I took a deep breath and reflexively moved my foot back, before I was reminded by the presence of the fire with a small scathing burn

I grit my teeth at my idiocy and immediately flinch a bit, though I try to keep a level head as my foot returns to its original position faster than I could even register

Surprisingly, even though it burned, it didn't feel as if I just stepped a bit too close to an open flame, more like I accidentally put my foot on a radiator for too long

Is that the Endurance or the adrenaline?

Maybe a mix of both if I'm honest

But I just thought of an idea…

if I can get the wolf to accidentally jump straight into the fire I could quite possibly kill them

Maybe I should've put that Bonus Point in reflex…

The entirety of my being was thinking one word

“Survive”

I could run away, but the second I do it would easily outpace me, the only option I can think of right now is to stand my ground

I saw a small twitch in its leg as I preemptively jump to the side, as the wooden creature lands straight onto the fire

Surprisingly enough, the creature was caught ablaze… It's not camouflage, it's LITERALLY made of wood…

Why did it catch fire so fast? Unless it was covered in lighter fluid, it should've taken a little longer than instantaneously

Even more, the heat of the flame seemed to increase ten times over. It felt as it I was even in the proximity of it, my skin would melt off into a drippy goo

I mean I get the fire was hot, but it wasn't THAT hot

And what's more, the fire wasn't normal…

It glowed a bright, blazing green

Copper sulfate maybe…?

Whatever, no time to think!

The wolf howls in pain in the flame as it tries to make its way to the water, however I dash forwards and swing the branch as hard as I could at its muzzle, keeping it away from the river

The beast seemed to be quite fragile, as its jaw flies off, still on fire

I need to take care of that soon so as not to cause a forest fire…

Wait what? The second the wolf’s jaw was removed it began acting like a regular fire, Heck, it died down at a surprisingly fast rate

Come on Victor! Later! Think about it later when you're not in danger!

Holding the torch with both hands, I swing yet again, taking advantage of its weakness and taking it apart, piece by piece. Strike by strike

After an unspecified amount of time, I stopped swinging

My chest heaved with every breath, as my grip loosened from the branch, it still stuck to my hand because of the rope

I fell back onto my ass. Right now I felt a thousand times more tired than I was any of the past two nights combined…

I was still hyper aware of the location of the wolf's pieces. I watched as they lay still…

NOT!

Soon after it had been disassembled, and entirely stopped being on fire, the pieces began to rustle, before being dragged together

The eyes of the creature began to shine a dim green yet again

My own eyes widen as I bite down on the rope keeping my hand to the torch and throw it into the fire

This creature has already proven to be supernatural in essence with how it's moving despite all the pieces just loosely being stuck together

And the existence of magic is already confirmed through the “Magical Precision” and “Magical Power” Stats!

If the pieces are trying to come back together, that only means that it's trying to revive itself somehow!

With both hands free, I scrambled forwards and picked up as many pieces as I could, deliberately leaving around about half on the ground

Ripping another one of the plentiful ropes off my waist, I tie the sticks to the tree

With my back to the sticks, I scour the ground, seeing as the other pieces begin to mysteriously slide their way over to the rest, and the ones stuck to the tree try to break through their holds

I pick up any of the pieces that scuttle their way over, before getting all of them, tieing them to another tree a good distance away

I watch as the dismembered wooden wolf tries to recombine in vain

“I can't believe I just did that…”

*DING*

[Level Up! 2 —> 6]

Wait, why did I level up…?

Can I also gain EXP from fighting? That makes sense…

Wait a second it might just be from me learning though…

Within this encounter, I learned about a predator within the forest, that the predator was made of a type of magic wood that burned green, and that said predator could quite possibly rebuild themselves after being torn apart…

Fighting is learning… good to know

I mean I was gonna do this anyway, but this gives me an even bigger reason to dissect this beast…

How does this reassembling thing work anyway?

Magic would be the easy answer, but it may be a little deeper than that

And my gut is telling me it's related to its eyes

After all, they started glowing again when it started to reform…

Walking over to the tree with the top half of the wolf’s head, I reach inside the eye socket, searching for… Something. I'm not quite sure at the moment

My hands feel something squishy and spherical

I pluck it out and observe it, a small amount of resistance stopping me from doing so

I frown and pull a little harder, hearing a quiet snap before I pulled it out into my palm

From the looks of it, it was a gemstone…?

It shone and was transparent like one…

No, it's squishy so it's organic… But it also had a texture akin to wooden planks…

Interesting

“I'm assuming it's an eye but, how did it manage to glow?” I murmur to myself, before taking out my stone knife from my waist-ropes

It sliced through it like jelly, which is surprising considering this knife is barely even considered sharp

The insides didn't show anything new

I did however hear a quiet howl from the tree as the sticks began to shudder, still attempting to escape but now very obviously much weaker

“So this is its…? I guess heart would be the best word…” I thought aloud, walking back and reaching in the other socket, pulling out the other green orb

I cut into this one too, as the pieces stop moving entirely

[Level Up! 6 —> 8]

So I DO get levels for killing things

Okay, so either I need to learn a shit ton more, or kill a shit ton more

I mean I'm fine with killing but only if they attack me first

Or aren't sentient

Right now learning is the only thing I can do

And hey, I'm already Level 8

Which means I should probably check my stats and such

[Name: Darwin
Level: 8
Race: Human
Class: Scholar - Learning = EXP

-Stats

Strength: 4 —> 6
Agility: 1 —> 4
Dexterity: 2 —> 9
Endurance: 5 —> 10
Reflex: 1 —> 3
Intelligence: 6 —> 13
Comprehension: 7 —> 14
Magical Precision: N/A
Magical Power: N/A

Bonus Points: 6

-Skills

[UNIQUE - Genius: 200% Learning Speed + EXP Gain]

[UNIQUE - Unforgettable: What was once learned cannot be unlearned]

[Craftsmanship: Allows the user to speed up the creation of items and structures they have already made by 200%]

Skill Points: 6*]

First I should probably even out my stats a bit

Normally I go for all in builds when I play RPGs, but it's way too risky when I can't just save scum…

I raise both Reflex and Agility up to 7

Now skills…

I wonder what's available after such eventful days

[Available Skills: Observation, Survivalism, Enhanced Senses, Pragmatism, Danger Detection, Spatial Awareness, Mark Territory]

Okay…

7 Skills, 6 Skill Points…

First of all, I'm going to invest a Skill Point into Craftsmanship, after all it's been a much better skill than I initially presumed

[Craftsmanship: Allows the user to speed up the creation of items and structures they have already made by 200%. All items you've previously made have a 100% success rate of being crafted]

Now THAT’S what I’m talking about!

Now for my new skills…

Observation is a must have

Survivalism is still vague, but I've got points to spare so might as well get it

Danger Detection or Enhanced Senses…

I think Danger Detection has more use at the moment

Pragmatism sounds promising

And my last skill will be…

Mark Territory?

Maybe… But if it's a skill that forces me to piss where I want to claim I'm going to kill myself

Whilst this IS an RPG, it seems more like a clusterfuck of a bunch of different genres

There's a chance it may contain civilisation simulator elements as well, and this could the beginnings of it. Also, you normally get bonuses when within your own territory, right? Home field advantage and all that

Plus, again, I've got points to spare

Not really but whatever

I took the skills and looked through their effects

[Observation: Gives you a short description of anything you want by using your own knowledge]

Eh…?

So I basically don't get any new information…?

Isn't that really shitty?

Stop. You've done this before, it's probably going to be unexpectedly useful, like Craftsmanship

[Survivalism: 200% Crafting speed for items if you use tools you've made yourself]

I probably should've picked this one with my first level up

Because in my shoes, this is basically just a plain 200% increase in everything's crafting speed

It's fine, what's done is done. If it stacks with Craftsmanship, then would my crafting speed be 400% faster…?

[Danger Detection: Gives you a subtle instinctual warning whenever your life is threatened]

Amazing. Yes please. Why can't every skill be like this?

The fact that it says subtle makes me doubt it a bit, but as long as I stay vigilant, it'll be alright

[Pragmatism: Removes all pain and emotions once a day for 1 minute, allowing you to think clearly without distractions]

Good! Great, even. Pain and emotions can be a horrible inhibitor in combat scenarios

I know that from the wolf I killed. If it launched itself at me instead of the water I would've most definitely died

Also, thrice in the fight I got distracted by questions due to my curiosity. If I was facing a more competent enemy, they would've taken advantage of those moments when I lost focus in order to end my life…

[Mark Territory: Select a small area as your “Territory”. Animals with territorial instinct such as wolves, will avoid entering this area. You will always know where your territory is]

Nice~

I don't know what to say other than… Nice~

Let's start with Mark Territory

Now… How do I activate skills?

“Mark Territory…?”

[Set Starting Coordinates]

Okay, that actually worked…

I moved myself a little into the forest, near the edges of where I would consider my home base

“Here?”

[Set End Coordinates]

I walked myself over to the other end

I looked behind me to see a green square behind me, it's top right corner located where I was previously standing mere moments ago, it's bottom left corner where I was currently

I keep walking. After a few more steps, the square turned red

So this is the size limit of my territory?

I moved back to where I was before, and the square turned green yet again

The territory only spanned from the start of the forest to the river, but I made sure it encompassed my fire, house and resource pools

“Here”

I was fine with it.

If I level up the skill I could probably make it bigger, but I'm fine with just this

Because the second effect of the skill was more important to me

It's now physically impossible for me to get lost from home base… Hooray!

Now I can venture deeper into the forest without fear

Which is an incredible development, since more than anything I need to search for a certain type of rock

Rather, a certain metal with a certain property

One that's imperative to the creation of Iron

That being… Magnets!

“Now that I can find my way back, I can safely search for anything I need. And if I'm really lucky, I'll find a friendly civilization that'll accept me…” I sit myself down, my legs crossed beneath me as I bite my thumb and frown. My eyes seemed to drift towards the remnants of the previously living magic wood wolf

Eventually my curiosity gets the best of me

But first I should finish what I was doing before before I was interrupted

That being putting this big ass pot over a fire to finish it off!

I take a deep breath, before heading to the pot and lifting

I strained as hard as I could

But it seems I didn't need to, I only had to use around half of my full power to pick it up off the ground

I guess that's what a strength increase does to you…

Right now I assume my physical stats are about the same as an adult male who semi-frequently visits the gym

I place it above the flame

“This one's gonna take about 12 hours… but thanks to Survivalism, those 12 hours are split into 6!” still a long time, but more bearable

I was making this as a sort of backpack anyway. If there's one thing I'm lacking, it's materials

If I find some sea water I can get seashells and create Calcium Carbonate, which will lead to soap and mortar. Both incredibly useful and one of them needed for iron making

But…

Now for something I'm actually excited for!

I have a completely new species right in front of me

And even more than that, it’s also magic!

I wonder how its insides look…

Is it made entirely of wood? Or is it just an exoskeleton of some kind?

Picking up a piece, from what I could tell something akin to a femur

I've got a few pieces so I can afford to be rough

Using my knee, I snap the stick in half

Or I would've

“¡JODER!” I swear, falling backwards and holding onto my lower thigh

The stick was much harder than I initially expected

It felt like a solid piece of iron

The throbbing begins to weaken slightly as I take a breath. Taking a nearby heavy looking rock, I lift it up and smash it into the centre of the stick

There was no damage

Taking a few more breaths, I begin doing as cavemen do, and smashed

It took me a few minutes before even something akin to a crack appeared

A small chunk flew off

Instantly, the smell of rotting meat caused me to gag and lurch over

It hasn't been dead long enough for it to rot this bad…

Which means this meat inside has been dead WAY before I killed the beast...

“So it's not a beast…” My eyes light up and look inside, seeing a thin, bony leg. Wolf leg. Regular wolf

There was grey fur, thin and sparse like the head of an old man

Taking a smaller, regular stick, I poke the skin and the smell grows even stronger

*COUGH COUGH*

I quickly pinch my nose, trying to impede the pungent stench as best I could

That small poke was enough to absolutely shred the skin

My mind races through hundreds of ideas and theories as to why this was the case, before I landed on a single one

“A parasite…?” I mumble, my voice a bit nasally from me defending my olfactory senses

“My current theory is that this is some sort of magic parasite that encases wolves in some sort of magically enhanced or petrified wood before using the corpse as a host…” It was a barebones theory

Really barebones, it didn't explain why the torso was made of a collection of sticks and not just one big piece of wood, but, again, it was my best theory

Whatever. I wish I had a microscope or a few more tools… or a few hundred more samples…

Or I could watch how one of these creatures are born, or whatever the equivalent would be for such a being…

I stare at the corpse for a few moments. My nose had finally acclimated to the smell and I felt my eyes soften a bit

Digging a small hole, just big enough for the rotting flesh stick, I place it in there and bury it

Getting on my knees and face the carcass, putting my palms together, closing my eyes

“Paz a su alma… ” I put my hands together for a short prayer upon its soul

At least the manners my abuela drilled into me haven't eroded since I came here

*DING*

[Level Up! 8 —> 9]

I ignore the notification, before getting up and ordering my thoughts

I've got a few hours of daylight left, maybe 5 or 6? By the time I go to bed the big ass pot should be ready for me to use

Next thing to do is check my trap!

And maybe set up a few more deeper in the forest

Now that I don't have to be worried about getting lost, I'm much more free

“Now that I think about it, I'm just as swamped in work as I was back on Earth…” I speak absentmindedly, shivering slightly from a rather cold breeze “... I miss L.A…”

Taking my arm and stretching it across my chest

“Huh…?” I realise that my arm was stupidly flexible

Reaching down, I managed to touch my toes, and even further. My entire palm was place on the ground with my legs completely straight before I felt even the slightest bit strained

I didn't realise a Dexterity boost would make me this flexible…

This is good though! It's stupidly easy to roll your ankle and incapacitate your walking ability, this'll help fight against that from happening!

After completing the stretch, Ilifted myself up and let out a breath

It was as if decades of pain and stiffness were released in an instant

If I was any less of a manly man, I would've moaned

WHICH I DEFINITELY DIDN'T AND IF ANYBODY TOLD YOU I DID, THEY'RE LYING

I begin my trip over to the trap. I had semi-memorised where I had put it

Took me a bit of searching, and almost accidentally triggering it a few times, to find where I put it though

I didn't really expect anything to be caught in it

And, yep, nothing

This time I ventured a little deeper into the forest

The mushrooms hadn't been touched so that's a good sign that my trap isn't ineffective

It took a few hours but I sporadically placed down more tension traps, each with a few mushrooms

But as I was walking back, a certain mushroom caught my eye

It was a mushroom looking mushroom. Like, if I had told you to imagine a mushroom, this is what you would think of

A pointed orangish cap that turned brown the lower you got, and a thick white stem

“Psilocybe Semilanceata…” I stood up and began walking away “Edible but most definitely NOT useful…”

Maybe after I had a house, a stable source of food, and somebody to try it with, I would be the tiniest bit inclined but at the moment I'm not even gonna touch it…

I stop walking and turn back, plucking it from the ground

“But then again… Who says I have to be the one to ingest it…?” One thing I realised from my encounter with the wood parasite, is that a variety of unknown, magical species lived in this forest. And I probably look like a tasty snack for all them

Humans weren't born with claws or sharp teeth

What we did have, however, is ingenuity

And I’m pretty sure I could coat some weapons in this to give me an edge during a fight. But I'll have to concentrate it's juices, because right now it would take about 30ish minutes for the plant to kick in, and that's a stupidly unreasonable amount of time whilst fighting

Either way, it's probably gonna come in handy

Walking out of the forest, I find that I still had daylight to burn

“There isn't really anything to do…” I say, looking back at the collection of dead parasite

I should probably put that away for when I can do some in depth research

I looked down next to the fire, where I had placed one of the green hemispheres

I an instant, a tingling sensation scattered across my back, as the hairs on my nape raised themselves to the sky

I didn't quite realise it at first, but as I stepped away from the camp to put away the Psilocybe Semilanceata I had gathered, I felt it physically weaken, which alerted me of it's presence

I took a few more steps, dropping the mushrooms, before backtracking

Playing a game of hot and cold, I managed to pinpoint where exactly the feeling was coming from

“Huh…?” The closer I walked, the more intense the feeling was, but it’s peak was only as strong as a small nagging feeling

I picked up the eyeballs, the origin of the feeling, and then it left. Like a mirage

“What the…” My eyes widened, “Danger Detection?”

I brought the orbs closer to the fire and feeling came back

Well now that I think about it, the parasite died after having its eyes removed and cut

Is it possible that it's some kind of battery? I mean that's what would make the most sense

If that's the truth, that'd also explain the green fire

If I’m right then that means the energy within these balls flowed through the body of the creature. If we consider how the fire got put out when the pieces were removed, maybe the sticks are naturally inflammable, but the energy from these eyes are what made it catch on fire

If it caught on fire so fast just from the energy being flowed through, I can only imagine what would've happened if the source of the energy was put in fire

Probably a life threatening explosion judging from how my Danger Sense reacted…

So I've basically got a can full of butane in the palms of my hand

It might be weaker though considering how it's cut in half, I'm assuming the energy is leaking out from it at the moment…

“This… could be amazing…” My brain starts to swirl with ideas

Charcoal, at best, can only burn at around 700 degrees, but iron needs a minimum of 1500 degrees to melt. However if I use this, I may be able to artificially increase the heat of the flame to get myself some iron tools…

I place both halves of the eyeballs in my tent carefully

Trying not to startle them and somehow give myself an early death

“Status”

I won't bore you with information you already know, but the level up had turned my Intelligence from 13 to 16, and my Comprehension from 14 to 17

My stats were starting to look quite nice…

I'll add another Stat to Endurance because, well, you can never go wrong with more Endurance

I watched as the number rose from 10 to 11

“First time in a while that I've had… Free time…” I look over the forest and roll up my imaginary sleeves “Might as well stock up on food and materials”

And so I did just that

Wood, mushrooms, vines and my greatest discovery, BERRIES!

“Rubus chamaemorus” I say, washing one of them and raising them up to my eye “Also known as Cloudberries”

It was a sunset like fruit, with a yellow-to-orange gradient and a resemblance to raspberries, which made sense considering they’re both from the same genus (that being Rubus)

I plopped one of them into my mouth. It was soft, juicy, and fairly tart. It's taste is best described as a mix between raspberries and red currants, with a hint of floral sweetness

All in all, yummers

And good for you too!

“Cloudberries are high in vitamin C, providing 176% of your daily needs in 3.5 ounces, or 100 grams for those who don't use freedom units. They’re also high in ellagitannins, which are powerful antioxidants that can help protect your cells from free radical damage” I said, placing another one in my mouth, relishing the sweetness. It was softer than a raspberry, and fitted my taste more “What’s more, according to animal and test-tube studies, ellagitannins may have anticancer effects, boost your immune system, and fight inflammation”

I had finished up with all my time

It's night, and that pot should be done by now

I only had a handful of Cloudberries, so I just decided to enjoy it, savouring each one until I was done

I wasn't really all that hungry, but a hearty mushroom meal will help me sleep easier

Taking a bowl of river water, I poured it over the fire with the pot, now letting it cool

I filled it with more water, placing it above the fire to boil, taking a skewer, cooking it and scarfing it down

Afterwards, I lay inside my shelter and fall asleep

Author's Note

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEXTRA long chapter to make up for the fact I didn't post for a few days

ALSO SOUTH KOREA ENTERED MARTIAL LAW!? AND THEN EXITED IT!? FIVE HOURS AFTER!?

Bro this is wild 😭

By the way Y'all wanna know what's wild? The headteacher of a school in my city was revealed to a be a disciple of Diddy. And that same day my old English teacher was caught by a student smoking weed with his goth girlfriend out in city centre. Bro December is only 7 days long and it's still one of the craziest months this year...

2025 will be my year fr