Chapter 5: The Next Day

  The night passed uneventfully, which bothered Jack more than if something had happened. Honestly, after all the warnings P.A.T.C.H. and Jasper had given him about how dangerous everything was going to be, he found the peacefulness to be disturbing. They had made it seem like every day was going to be a struggle to survive. Jack was by no means comfortable, but things didn’t seem too bad. The jungle was quite nice and beautiful to behold most of the time.

  Still, there wasn’t anything else to do but get stronger, and Jack wasn’t planning on spending the rest of his life here. He had to find a way to get back to his family, who were probably worried sick about him. He wouldn’t be surprised if they had thought he died in that car crash. But P.A.T.C.H. had hinted that there might be a way back to Earth in the future, but only if he managed to get strong enough. With that in mind, Jack brought up his System information with a thought.

  *Name: Jack Masters Level: 1    Experience: 80%*

  Class: ? Path: ?

  Health: 140 Stamina: 147 Mana: 164

  Strength(Str): 2

  Dexterity(Dex): 3

  Constitution(Con): 4

  Intelligence(Int): 5

  Wisdom(Wis): 4

  Charisma(Char): 3

  Perception(Perc): 5

  Luck: 0

  “Okay, my stats improved a little bit over the course of yesterday, so I can improve them myself,” Jack said. “My worst stats are strength, dexterity, and charisma which make sense, but I need to work on improving them today. I should be able to at least improve my strength and dexterity. First, I need food, and I need to look around and get familiar with this place.”

  “If this is like a game, then I need to treat it like one…to an extent,” Jack said. “I need to grind.” He was referring to an old video gaming terminology where you performed relatively minor tasks but repeated them many times over. It was helpful to level or improve something like a stat or ability but was usually very boring.

  First, after making sure he was alone, as far as he could tell, Jack got on the ground and started doing push-ups. He kept doing them until he couldn’t do any more, and then switched to Sit-ups, then squats. He used rocks from the river as weights for lifting and kept cycling between the exercises. It wasn’t long before every muscle started to scream in protest, and a new message came up.

  +1 Str.

  Jack lay panting afterwards. “All that for a single point?” Jack was able to take note that his stamina value slowly disappeared over the course of the workout, but now that he was resting it was coming back, and his exhaustion was going away as well.

  “That’s good to know,” Jack said. “Need to keep an eye on that, can’t let it get too low right now.” Jack got up and picked up his spear. “Need to get some food next.” Taking off his clothes and wading back out into the stream, he spent the rest of the morning fishing. Eight fish later, Jack pulled himself out of the water and received a new System Message.

  *Skill gained: Focused Strike (Beginner)*

  You have learned the value of patience with your strikes

  Increased accuracy and reduced stamina usage when you take a moment to plan your strikes

  Jack was excited by the new skill. It was the first skill he could use in a fight, and it would make his strikes more likely to hit. Jack lit another fire once he had recovered and started to roast the fish like he did before, letting the fire warm him as they cooked. By the time the fish were done, Jack had already gotten dressed and was preparing his bag and spear for the trek ahead. He ate only two of the fish, leaving the remaining six to stay in his bag. Strangely, even after putting the fish in the bag and examining it, the newly found storage remained clean and free of smell.

  Seeing his growing skill list, the gamer completionist in him started to awaken. There was something satisfying about seeing himself get better at something, and now he had an interface to quantify and monitor his progression. Still there was much concerning him, such as how increasing his skills increased his understanding and ability in those skills. Right now, there was only a small increase, but Jack was already noting a clearer understanding in those areas. Jack’s Fishing Skill was clear proof of that. While he fished, Jack noticed his hands moving, somehow knowing where to strike to grab the fish he was focusing on.

  Jack put this thought in the back of his mind. “Something to pursue another time,” he muttered. “Right now, it’s about surviving, and I’ll need more skills to do that.” Jack pulled up his interface and reviewed his skills again. Right now, it appeared that he was going down a mostly non-combat path. However, skills would only be created through actions, but punching a tree for an hour in the hopes of gaining some kind of striking, or attack skill of any kind only left Jack with sore and throbbing hands. He had to use his Heal spell to recover from that experiment. One thing he did get out of the experiment was learning he didn’t have to say the spell to use it, focusing on the spell with the intent to use was enough to cast it.

  “I’m missing something about this System,” Jack said, trying to think through it. “There must be another factor that is needed for this. Maybe the System doesn’t believe in loopholes or grind farming your way to the top? That can’t be it, how would you progress if you can’t grind? Oh, I got new quests. When did that happen?”

  *Quest: Moving on up!*

  Timed: 1 week

  -Reach Level 2

  Reward: Determined by actions (???)

  *Quest: Second step*

  -Acquire a Combat or Profession Class

  The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

  Reward: Class based equipment or item

  *Quest: Survive!*

  Duration: 2 weeks

  -Don’t Die

  -Kill 10 creatures 0/10

  -Gain 5 more skills 2/5

  Reward: Determined by actions (???)

  “Basically, level up, don’t die, and get a class,” Jack said, simplifying them for himself. “Two have a time limit as well. I should be close to leveling up. Yep, eighty percent to my next level. Killing ten creatures might get me there and allow me to complete both, but that reward based on actions makes me think that depending on how I go about it will have a pretty big impact. Luckily, the fish didn’t count. Wonder why that is.”

  With that in mind, Jack trekked down the river, staying as close to the bank as he was able to. He wanted to find something that might help him. Perhaps a town or other humans, but after wandering for several hours, Jack found neither. He kept an eye out for anything useful and creatures that he might be able to hunt. He found several strange plants that bore fruits that Jack had never seen before. Whenever he found a new fruit, he would stop and gather some of them to try later. For now, he placed them in his bag.

  It was mid-day before Jack came across the first animal he had seen since starting his trek. It was a pitch-black creature that looked like a mix between a rat and a squirrel and was a little larger than a basketball. It hadn’t noticed Jack yet and Jack immediately crouched so he could watch the creature. It was busy digging in the dirt, looking for something or burying something, Jack couldn’t tell which.

  Moving slowly and watching his steps carefully, Jack approached the creature. When he was just a couple of meters away, Jack took aim with his spear. Lining up his shot, Jack let the spear fly out toward the creature. It passed through the air silently before hitting the creature squarely on the back.

  *Skill gained: Stealth (Beginner)*

  You have proven able to go unnoticed by those around you.

  Decrease detection when actively trying to conceal your presence.

  *Skill gained: Sneak Attack (Beginner)*

  Why face your opponent in honorable combat? Winning is all that truly matters.

  Increased chance to land critical strikes when attacking creatures unaware of you.

  *You have sneak attacked Umbral Skee*

  “Oh Shit,” Jack said now realizing the problem with using his only weapon as a throwing object. The creature Jack now knew was an Umbral Skee locked eyes with Jack and made a beeline for him. It ran at him faster than Jack could react and smashed into his chest, knocking him to the ground. System messages started popping up again, but Jack immediately shut them down with a thought.

  Jack got up fast, immediately casting his Heal spell and looking to find where the Umbral Skee went. It didn’t go far. Instead, it was watching Jack, baring its very sharp teeth and claws. It lunged at Jack, and he dove to the side, falling to the ground. The moment he got back up, he scrambled for the spear, not wanting to get near those claws. The clittering of the Umbral Skee was his only indication of it coming up behind him. Jack picked up the spear and did a full one-eighty, leveling the spear directly behind him just in time to face another of the Umbral Skee’s attacks, causing it to impale itself on the spear.

  And just like that, as fast as the fight had started, it had come to an end. The whole conflict maybe lasted a few seconds, but Jack’s heart was pounding. Pulling the Umbral Skee off his spear and making sure that there was nothing else around him, Jack started to pull up his System messages.

  +1 Dex.

  *Umbral Skee deals 20 damage to Jack Masters*

  Jack immediately turned the combat log off. He didn’t need a step-by-step breakdown of what had happened. It would still record, and Jack could pull it up if he desired, but he didn’t want those notifications now.

  *Skill gained: Dodge (Beginner)*

  Things are usually better, for you, when you don’t stand in front of them.

  Increase chance to dodge an attack you can see.

  *Skill gained: Spear Proficiency (Beginner)*

  A thousand steps stand between a novice and a master. Welcome to step one.

  Increased control and skill when using a spear.

  *You have defeated the Umbral Skee*

  - Experience gained

  *Would you like to loot Umbral Skee?*

  Jack let out a small whistle. Apparently, fighting was great for gaining new skills. With one fight he had already met the requirements for his ‘Survive” quest of gaining five new skills. The last message surprised Jack. He didn’t think there would be a looting feature.

  “It actually is like a game. I must be dead or dreaming, this is too weird.” But the message stayed. “Yes,” Jack said confirming the message.

  Immediately the Skee disintegrated into black smoke leaving nothing behind. Jack thought there would be something left in its place, but instead he felt a new weight appear in his bag. Opening his bag, Jack saw two new items waiting for him. He took them out, looking them over.

  *You have looted Umbral Skee meat*

  *You have looted Umbral Skee fur*

  “I really need to find other humans,” Jack muttered. “I’m going to go mad otherwise, if I’m not already.” Placing his new items back into his bag, Jack decided to head back to what he was referring to as ‘Base Camp’ at this point. Jack wanted to make the camp better.

  Jack was halfway back by his estimate when he heard something new. It sounded like cracking branches and fighting coming from further in the Jungle. Jack knew he should hide and wait until the sound stopped. All the common sense that he possessed told him to do just that, but ultimately his curiosity won out. It could be other people and that was worth the risk.

  Cautiously, Jack made his way towards the sounds which by then had started getting louder and started to escalate in frequency. It sounded like there was a fight happening. It didn’t take long for Jack to locate the source. He hid himself among a thick grouping of vines and bushes as he watched the creatures fight.

  The first creature was something that Jack recognized. It was a large black snake of some kind. It reminded Jack of some B-films he had seen about a giant snake terrorizing a small town. It was definitely large enough to fit the role of those films. The second creature looked like a gorilla, if gorillas had four arms and three purple eyes, and there fur were a combination of brown and green. It also wore a belts strapped around its waist and arms and a bag attached to it. It held a Morningstar in one of its hands as it faced off against the giant snake.

  As Jack watched, the gorilla-creature pulled several rocks from the bag and threw them with tremendous force at the snake. The snake managed to dodge two of the rocks but took one into its side. The snake launched itself at the gorilla-creature with a speed that surprised Jack. It attacked the gorilla-creature with repeated strikes, finally managing to latch itself onto one of the gorilla’s arms on the fourth strike. Jack could see vapors of green and black start to rise from the bite of the snake. The gorilla let out a howl of pain and proceeded to smash the snake with its other hands, but the snake wouldn’t let go. Instead, it started to wrap its body around the gorilla. In desperation, the gorilla slammed the morning star down on top of the snake’s head.

  The snake went limp immediately. The gorilla-creature pulled the snake’s mouth and fangs from its arm and Jack could see that the gorilla’s arm was blackened and several sizes smaller than it had been.

  Jack let out a soft gasp at the grisly sight before he could stop himself. The gorilla-creature stopped what it was doing and turned to face directly where Jack was hiding. For a moment Jack and the gorilla-creature stared at each other. The creature let out a roar and started running at Jack. He almost turned and ran, knowing that it was too late, but before he could get his body to move, another black snake, much larger than the previous one, dropped down in between Jack and the gorilla-creature and with one quick motion picked up the gorilla-creature, swallowing it whole and then slithered away just as fast.

  Jack could hear it passing through the forest, as more branches broke but the sounds were becoming more distant with each passing second. Jack stood there, afraid to move a muscle. The Jungle suddenly felt much more dangerous, and he was afraid of coming across either of those creatures again.

  The day was starting to darken when Jack finally built up the courage to move again. Now being even more cautious, Jack paid more attention to hiding as he moved. He didn’t want to be seen by anything in this Jungle. It took longer, but Jack eventually made it back to Base Camp shortly before night set in.

  Alone once again in his hut, Jack took the time to think over his scenario. One thing was certain. He needed to get stronger.