by Tim Moon
Chuckling at his clumsiness, Jaron stood and wiped the water from his face. He posed again and waited.
Jaron quickly found that stabbing directly at the fish didn’t work. The way water refracted light affected his aim, so he tried several adjustments. Stabbing slightly higher or lower, or even ahead of the fish failed to earn him a kill. In each case, the fish eluded him. Unless he was mistaken, several fish appeared to swim within reach just to mock him. Jaron was sure of it.
“Fuck you, assholes,” Jaron muttered.
On the plus side, he received yet another notification.
Congratulations! You have attempted to spearfish. Although you failed horribly, doing so unlocked the life skill Fishing and the sub-skill Spearfishing. You have progressed 1% through level 1 of Fishing and 1% through level 1 of Spearfishing. Reward: 10 XP Note: Your sub-skill rank cannot exceed the rank of the parent skill. Continue honing your skills to reach your true potential.
Two hours later, with nothing to show for the effort other than the new skill, Jaron decided to relax with a swim. He tossed the spear onto the shore and began swimming to the other side of the deep pool. The water felt great, but after only a few laps back and forth he was out of breath. Jaron stood in waist deep water to catch his breath. He glanced at his stamina bar which was just under 30% and saw it tick up as he recovered.
Congratulations! You proved you can swim. Doing so has unlocked the skill Athletics. You have progressed 10% through level 1 of Athletics. Reward: 50 XP Continue honing your skills to reach your true potential.
The sun warmed him as he waited and enjoyed his surroundings. A large bird swooped overhead and circled the pool once, perhaps gauging the threat he posed. After a warbling call and flap of its wings, the bird disappeared over the treetops.
When his stamina recovered, Jaron slid back into the water. Curiosity drove him towards the waterfall to inspect the cliff face. Games often had cool hidden places and behind the waterfall was a prime location. Jaron hoped that was where he’d find his starting gear.
The roar of the waterfall grew as he crossed the pool. Mist billowed away from the crashing water, and he was careful not to swim too close. The powerful force of the falling water could probably knock him out or push him underwater and pin his body against a rock.
Instead, Jaron swam wide and pulled himself onto a small ledge a dozen feet away. The stone was damp from the mist rolling off the water. Moss grew in craggy corners and under overhangs. Vines clung to the near vertical wall with flowers blossoming further up near the summit.
Climbing along the slick rocks was challenging, but Jaron was determined. He inched along the ledge until he was behind the curtain of water, where he inspected the cliff for a hidden cave. Jaron even went so far as to press his hands against the rock to be sure there wasn’t an illusion spell concealing an entrance. He pulled and pressed odd lumps in the rock, hoping for a secret latch. There was nothing. His inner gamer had fun trying despite the effort failing to pay off.
Jaron swam back to shore to dry off. He still needed food, drink and shelter, so he collected his spear and ventured into the forest. Without a more compelling physical feature in sight, he chose to follow the stream. He never strayed too far into the thick forest, always keeping the water in visual range.
As the old saying went, follow water downstream to civilization. Or something.
4
Gorgeous forest flanked both sides of the stream as Jaron walked. Some of the trees were bigger than anything he had seen so far in Drezkarn or real life. Dark stringy moss hung from their branches like clumps of discarded hair. The occasional purple-leafed trees along the stream and vibrant wildflower patches added contrasting dashes of color to an otherwise normal forest.
Jaron spotted a few more birds but no other animals, which annoyed him. He wanted to finish his first quest and more importantly, settle his growling stomach. He even stopped at places where the stream pooled to try his hand at spearfishing again. Luck was not on his side and given that he only had 10 points in the attribute that wasn’t likely to change anytime soon.
Several uneventful hours passed. Jaron began to sing songs to entertain himself. He had largely given up on the idea of hunting given the lack of wildlife so he wasn’t concerned that his singing would scare them off, which it surely would if any had been nearby. It did beg the question of how he could remember lyrics from songs but could not recall where he was from.
Jaron halted abruptly when he came to a split in the stream. One part branched off to the west while the other one continued south. Or at least those were the directions Jaron assigned to the stream even though he had no idea if it was accurate. The south branch looked more promising so that’s the one he followed. It also had the side benefit of being sloped downhill ever so slightly.
Hunger continued to gnaw at his stomach, growing more insistent as time passed. The sun was almost overhead and if this place was anything like Earth, that meant it was almost noon. Given the warm weather, the season could be anything from late spring to early autumn. Jaron decided to guestimate the remaining daylight conservatively and budgeted for an estimated six or seven hours before he would start looking for shelter. That way he could finish it and be settled in before it grew dusky.
Lost in his thoughts, Jaron nearly strolled past a large bush with grape-sized berries on it. After a double take, he stopped dead in his tracks, salivating as he stared at them with wide eyes. They looked like blue raspberries and hundreds of them adorned the bush.
He threw his hands up and shouted, “Jackpot!”
Jaron reached in to pluck one of the berries. His hand jerked back, and he hissed in pain when a thorn poked his finger. The long, thin thorns were difficult to see amongst the leaves and stems. Jaron tried again more carefully and managed to free one of the berries from its thorny home. He almost popped it in his mouth when a red flag went up in his mind.
Despite his hunger, Jaron realized eating strange fruit, especially berries, could lead to a painful death. Rather than risk unnecessary suffering, he implemented training he had received from somewhere… His parents? Perhaps. His memory remained foggy; he couldn’t even remember what his parents looked like.
Jaron shook his head at the disconcerting thought, and instantly regretted it. A stabbing pain in his temples radiated behind his eyes again, just as it had near the waterfall. Rubbing his temple with one hand helped a little. Jaron took a deep breath as the pain slowly receded until he was able to focus on the potential new food source.
There was a protocol to follow for testing unknown berries, but not all of it came to mind. First, he plucked a leaf. Another thorn scored a hit, much to his chagrin. The dark green leaf itself was smooth and free of the prickly spines that protruded from the stems and around the fruit itself. He held the leaf to the inside of his elbow and waited. Several minutes later, he removed the leaf and inspected his skin for signs of irritation. There was no redness or swelling so he moved on to the next step that he remembered.
Squishing the berry between his fingers, Jaron wiped some of the juice on his lips. As with the leaf, he would wait to see if there was any swelling or irritation.
With nothing else to do while he waited, Jaron wandered around the immediate area, watching for wildlife on the off chance he could score a kill. The fruit would be tasty if it proved safe, but nicely roasted meat was what he really craved.
Jaron happened to glance down and notice the juice stains on his fingers.
This will not be a good look if the juice doesn’t wash off my lips, Jaron thought, thankful that he was alone. He rinsed his hands in the stream and let out a sigh of relief when all traces of the berry juice washed away.
After an estimated ten minutes passed, Jaron smacked his lips together. Everything felt fine, so he ran a finger over his lips to check for swelling. Still, nothing appeared to be amiss.
In the absence of side effects, Jaron licked the dried juice from his lips, effectively moving to the ne
xt step. There was a rush of sweetness with a mildly tart aftertaste. The best equivalent he could come up with was a cherry. Hunger reared its greedy head and it was all Jaron could do not to pick every berry he could find and eat the whole lot.
Exercising restraint with even more time to kill, Jaron decided to test his abilities which were all 10, except charisma. Stupid loincloth. He decided to start with they physical attributes like strength, endurance, agility and dexterity. It might not be the smartest thing since he didn’t have food or water and he wasn’t guaranteed to be able to eat the berries after exercising, but whatever. He rationalized that he had to test his limits in case he was attacked by an animal or he had to hunt one down.
Jaron jogged in place for a couple of minutes to warm up when jumping jacks proved to be too… floppy. Damn loincloth.
Limbering up with a few simple stretches, Jaron felt good. He bent over to touch his toes, feeling a nice stretch in his hamstrings, and noticed that he fell short of touching them by several inches. So, poor range of motion was one limit to his low dexterity score.
Push-ups were little better. He eked out twelve before his arms trembled so much that he nearly collapsed on the ground. He dropped to a knee, sweating and gasping. It was pathetic.
That’s what 10 points in strength gets you, he thought. Weak sauce.
Being so feeble, Jaron almost felt grateful the forest seemed to be devoid of life.
With a rough idea of his abilities now, Jaron went through a basic calisthenic workout. The results continued to be disappointing. Almost fifteen squats and his thighs burned and twitched as if he climbed a mountain, he failed to do even one pull-up, and a mere 18 sit-ups had him gasping for air.
Jaron had a long way to go. He doubted he could even run 2-miles at a slow jog. Starting with 10 ability points across the board felt like starting as a couch potato. How was he going to defend himself out here? Shaking his head, Jaron somehow knew the scores didn’t reflect his abilities in real life.
Thank goodness his scores weren’t any lower. Even a 10-intelligence-point dummy like Jaron knew he had to improve to survive, much less thrive in this game. And he would.
As if sensing his resolve, a notification screen appeared.
Congratulations! You have completed a fitness routine and taken a step towards improving your physical attributes. You have progressed 10% through level 1 of Athletics. Continue honing your skills to reach your true potential.
Well, that was something, Jaron thought as he wiped sweat from his temple. He couldn’t hide a satisfied grin. As soon as he dismissed the screen, another appeared.
Huzzah! Your self-discipline and hard work has paid off. You have gained a bonus of +1 Strength and +1 Endurance. Remember, health and fitness are a lifestyle. Stay on your current path and great things are possible.
Now that is how it’s done! The ability points were totally worth the struggle and it felt good to see progress. Jaron understood that skills and stat points wouldn’t always be earned so quickly, but it motivated him to keep working hard. The introduction screen he’d received suggested a lot of unrest in the kingdom of Galyntor. He would have to be prepared. More than that, Jaron the fire of ambition burning in his chest. He would become a beast, a champion — a legend.
Ego-stroking ended abruptly when his stomach groaned loud enough to scare a bird perched on a nearby branch. It squawked at him as it flew away, casting a baleful glance in his direction. He needed food. The bird gave him an idea that should have come to him long before.
“Fuckin’ 10-point dummy,” Jaron muttered.
Looking up, he surveyed the trees. The largest ones reached dizzying heights. His heart fluttered at the thought of climbing them, but if he did then he might be able to spot a settlement. Jaron leaned his spear against a rock near the stream and picked a good climbing tree.
After a few failed starts, he shimmied up a trunk, scraping his chest and thighs along the way. A few hit points disappeared but he pushed on, undeterred. Once he had a branch to hold onto things were much easier and he quickly climbed far above the forest floor. The height made his stomach drop but there was no stopping now. When he broke through the main canopy, his eyes widened at the view.
“Whoa,” he muttered to himself. The forest stretched in all directions, broken only by sharp, craggy mountains. His shoulders slumped and he cursed. There was no sign of civilization. What had he expected to see, a skyscraper?
Jaron watched carefully in each direction hoping for any sign of humanity. Smoke was a real possibility, but most medieval-style buildings were not very tall. Any smoke produced by small fireplaces would likely dissipate in the forest canopy, rendering it invisible at a distance. Especially if the hypothetical smoke came from a single home or small village. It was still early in the day, so people might not have lit their fires for him to even have a chance at seeing smoke.
Fighting off a creeping sense of isolation and hopelessness, Jaron reminded himself that there could be villages tucked into the forest that he simply couldn’t see. That was possible. Was it probable?
Jaron bit the inside of his cheek as he considered his options. If there was a small village nearby, it would be impossible to find from this viewpoint since there were no obvious paths or clearings cut out of the forest. With a sigh, Jaron climbed down and resigned himself to walking. Lots and lots of walking. There was a silver lining though.
Congratulations! Gaining higher ground is an age-old strategy, making climbing an important aspect of your Athletics skill. You have gained 10% progress in Athletics. Continue honing your skills to reach your true potential.
Climbing the tree sapped Jaron’s strength and dashed his hopes of finding civilization anytime soon. The berry juice he licked from his lips still hadn’t shown any side effects and he was growing impatient. He needed sustenance, now.
Jaron rushed to the bush and picked several berries, pricking his fingers on the evil thorns. He scanned the fruit for bugs or blemishes and then popped one in his mouth. The flavor explosion and thirst-quenching juice was too much. Jaron scarfed the entire handful. He chewed as he continued picking and eating the fruit for several long minutes.
Chewing a mouthful of fruit, Jaron backed away from the bush, wincing in pain. Hunger had overridden caution as he picked the berries, and he came away with what felt like a thousand cuts. His fingers were on fire. The damn thorns on these things were insane!
Juice dripped down his chin from eating so quickly. He had to pace himself and honestly, it wasn’t going to be enough. Fruit just wasn’t very filling. But there was no way he was going to reach back in there for more.
Jaron stopped, wiping his chin clean with the back of his hand and went to the stream to rinse off. The cold water eased the pain where the thorns had punctured his fingers, wrists and palms. Worst acupuncture ever.
The stubborn angel on his shoulder made itself known, whispering that even if the berries were safe, Jaron wasn’t sure how his body would react to them. They were so good though! He had eaten a decent amount though and decided he could hold off. He could carefully pick more berries the next day and take some for a tiny snack during his trek.
Jaron briefly thought of taking off his loincloth to hold a more sizable harvest for his travels. He tossed that idea away quickly. Eating anything that had essentially been tea-bagged and tainted by—well, his taint—just didn’t appeal to him. And getting a bug bite on his nethers wasn’t appealing either. What little protection the garment gave him was appreciated. Carrying the little blue berries by hand would have to do.
Jaron decided to push on for a couple of hours before searching for a place to make camp. He retrieved his spear and continued the trek downstream, hoping against all odds that he would find a sign of civilization.
5
Within an hour, Jaron began to regret eating what he now referred to as blue demon berries. His stomach roiled as though two anacondas were in an epic battle to the death. Jaron’s pace had slowed to a cra
wl.
The cramps made Jaron’s knees buckle and he staggered to the side, collapsing against a tree as he retched the meager contents of his stomach at the same time as his bowels violently evacuated. The hot mess burst from his loincloth and trailed down his legs. A foul odor engulfed him, causing him to gag even more.
Jaron’s body beaded with sweat, streams already trickling down his back and forehead. The sudden rush of illness was quite simply, astonishing. Given the initial safety tests he’d done, some sign of danger should have presented itself.
Jaron groaned as he wondered if his ability to notice any danger was thwarted by his low ability scores.
Damn this place, he though. Deep down he really knew it was his own fault though. Wild berries were always going to be a coin toss. He may as well have drunk straight out of the stream too.
A green skull with its tongue sticking out appeared in the top right of his vision. When he focused on the skull a tool tip appeared that said:
Status Effect: You have Severe Dysentery. Due to this you are also dehydrated. You require medical attention. You suffer -1 Health and Stamina per second for the duration of your illness.
Oh, I require medical attention? Thanks, Captain Obvious. Jaron groaned again and crawled away from his mess. He collapsed on the ground a few feet away, exhausted.
The last part of the notification worried him since his max health and stamina were low at only 100 points each and he had no idea about his regeneration rate. He watched as the colored bars indicating his health and stamina flickered and went down ever so slightly as the penalty was applied. Although his body felt like death, he was relieved that he apparently generated enough health and stamina to counteract the drain. If the illness worsened it could become a problem though, so Jaron made a mental note to keep an eye on the penalty.