Kaelen woke up to the sound of something scratching the outside of his log-hut.
He blinked. "If that's Goblin-Pantsless again, I swear I'm gonna throw a rock right into his—"
He crawled out, squinting at the noise. It wasn't the goblin.
It was a fox. With three eyes. Glowing eyes.
It hissed at him like a possessed cat and bolted into the bushes.
Kaelen just stood there, half-awake, rubbing his face.
"Yep. Totally normal morning. Three-eyed foxes. What's next, flying squirrels that insult my haircut?"
[New Quest: Survival Basics]
Build: Weapon (0/1)
Survive for 3 Days (2/3)
Kill a Monster (0/1)
Reward: Basic Cooking Skill, Small Loot Bag
"Kill a monster?" Kaelen frowned. "I can barely kill time."
As if on cue—
[Crafting Unlocked!]
You can now combine junk to make slightly less junk!
[New Recipe Unlocked: Crude Stone Knife]
Stick + Sharp Rock + Vine = Very sad knife
"Perfect," Kaelen muttered. "Just what I need—DIY disappointment."
But he was actually excited.
He had vines left over from when he tried to make a "door" (which was currently being used as a bed). A stick was easy. The hard part was finding a rock that met the system's ridiculous standard for "sharp."
Thirty minutes later, covered in dirt and scratches, Kaelen held up the ingredients.
He sat by his hut and began assembling the knife. The vine snapped halfway through.
He gritted his teeth. "You better work or I'll invent fire just to burn you."
On the third attempt, the pieces finally held together.
[Item Crafted: Crude Stone Knife]
Durability: 12/30. Damage: Slightly annoying.
+Crafting Skill Acquired (Lv. 1)
+New Recipe Discovered: Basic Spear
Stick + Knife + Vine = pointy stick of dreams
Kaelen held up the knife like a trophy. "I am now... Tool Guy."
From the tree above, the squirrel snorted. "That's not a knife. That's a broken tooth on a stick."
"I will eat you."
"You wish, rock boy."
He ignored it. Kinda. "Time to make a spear."
He broke a stick.
He stabbed himself with the knife by accident.
The vine kept slipping.
It was like the universe was laughing.
But eventually—after two hours, a lot of swearing, and yelling at a bird—he had it.
[Item Crafted: Basic Spear]
Durability: 22/40. Reach: Decent. Pride: Mildly restored.
He spun the spear around, nearly hitting himself again. "Okay. Not a weapon master yet."
[You have met crafting quota for Quest: Survival Basics.]
[Progress: 2/3 tasks complete.]
Kaelen felt... proud. He had tools now. Not great ones, but better than using his hands.
His stomach growled. Right. Food.
He tried hunting.
Saw a rabbit.
Stepped on a twig.
The rabbit vanished like a ninja.
[Stealth: 0]
He threw the spear. It missed and landed in a bush. The bush cursed at him.
"What did you just say?" Kaelen blinked.
A voice hissed back, "I'm a bush imp, you clod. You just hit my house!"
"Sorry—wait, imp?"
A tiny green creature hopped out. It had leaves for eyebrows and a bad attitude.
"You throwing junk now, human?"
Kaelen raised his knife, heart pounding. "I don't want to fight you but—"
[New Enemy: Bush Imp – Level 1]
It lunged.
Kaelen panicked, swung wildly, and accidentally bonked it on the head with the flat of his knife.
The imp froze.
Then flopped over.
Dead.
Silence.
[Monster Killed: Bush Imp (Lv. 1)]
+5 EXP.
+Small Loot Bag Obtained.
[Quest Complete: Survival Basics!]
Reward: Basic Cooking (Lv. 1), Loot Bag, System Favor +1
Kaelen dropped to his knees. "I just... won. I actually won!"
He opened the loot bag.
Inside: one silver coin, a mushroom, and... a recipe scroll?
He read it.
[Recipe Learned: Fire Pit (Small)]
"YES!" he shouted. "Fire. Warmth. Cooked food! Take that, nature!"
The squirrel clapped from the tree. "Congrats. You killed a bush gnome and got a soup rock."
Kaelen flipped it off.
That night, he set up a tiny campfire using the new recipe. Roasted a mushroom. Burned it.
Still ate it.
He leaned back against his hut, chewing the weirdest dinner of his life.
Somehow, he felt... accomplished.
He wasn't strong. He wasn't smart. He had no cheat skills.
But he was surviving.
And in this world, that was already a big win.
Kaelen stared at the stars.
"Tomorrow," he said, "I build something big. Like a chair."