Mark climbed out of bed, even though he would have preferred to stay there. He was still tired; yesterday had taken a lot out of him.
When he climbed out of the lean-to, Ava was there bouncing up and down, eager to tell him something. “I leveled up yesterday. I tried to tell you last night, but you came into camp and just fell asleep.”
Mark said, “That’s great, Ava. What did you get?”
Ava eagerly explained Animal Sense and demonstrated that she could feel a hungry bird in a nearby tree and sense the stalker’s boredom. Mark suggested that she give the stalker a name. Ava sat in her chair, talking to it and trying different names.
Mark made some breakfast and then sat at his crafting table to think. Yesterday had been a busy day. He had scouted more of the eastern area, especially where he found the boar, and identified a strong path for a new trap line running from just east of camp up toward the north. He built a much bigger, better-designed trap able to catch much larger animals. Best of all, he caught the boar and leveled up. Things were looking up. But it was now time to assign his stats and pick his skill.
Bringing up his current stats, he looked at them and thought about what his needs were. Yesterday, when killing the boar, he struggled to kill it even though it was wounded and trapped. He was also extremely tired after the full ordeal. With that in mind, he added two points to strength and one to vitality. The last two he placed into perception, which remained his focus for finding, trapping, and understanding his place in this world. With that done, he brought up his current stats to review them.
[Stats]
Strength: 8Agility: 7Vitality: 14Intelligence: 14Perception: 21
◈ ◈ ◈
Mark then brought up the skill selection screen.
[Skill Selection]
Choose One
Advanced Trap Mechanics Level 1
Allows:
Improve trigger reliability.Build more complex trap mechanisms.Reduce trap failures against larger creatures.
Territorial Awareness Level 1
Allows:
Recognize patterns of creature movement within familiar territory.Better identify areas of activity, danger, and stability.Notice subtle environmental changes while exploring.
Adaptive Combat Level 1
Allows:
Switch between weapons and tactics more effectively.Recover more quickly when a plan fails.Better adapt during unpredictable encounters.
◈ ◈ ◈
He read through each option more than once, weighing how they would help him and Ava stay alive. All of them would help him meet his goals and keep both of them safer. This decision was harder than his last skill choice. He needed all of them but could only have one of them. He first eliminated the combat one. He was weak at combat, but combat was not his plan, and he needed the other two choices more.
He finally settled on Territorial Awareness, because running from that huge creature had caused him to nearly die when he ran straight into the boar. He needed to be more aware of what was out there and how the system divided the land into different areas. When he finally selected the skill, the UI updated.
[Skill Acquired]
Territorial Awareness Level 1
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Allows:
Detect patterns of creature movement within familiar territory.
Better recognize areas of frequent activity and danger.
Notice subtle environmental changes within controlled regions.
◈ ◈ ◈
After he read through the updated description, he knew he had made the right choice. Mark closed his UI and stood up. He then received another system message.
[Territorial Threshold Reached]
You have demonstrated sustained survival within a defined area.
Current Status: Unstable
Recommendation: Establish a controlled base of operations.
Benefits:
Increased efficiency within territoryImproved resource stabilityEnhanced system interaction
Warning: Unstructured survival will result in diminishing returns.
Progression requires development.
◈ ◈ ◈
Mark said, “Okay, I think that was a hint if I have ever seen one.”
Ava turned around and asked, “What was a hint?”
Mark said, “Oh, sorry. I also leveled up yesterday and just got done assigning my stats and picking my skill.”
Ava said, “Oh, cool, congrats! What’s your skill?”
Mark said, “It’s called territorial awareness, and I just got a system message saying I have met a threshold, and to increase it, I need to establish a base of operations.”
Ava asked, “Are we moving then?”
Mark said, “No, but I do think that I need to rebuild this camp. When I put up my lean-to originally, it was just short-term survival. It’s time to build a more permanent camp.”
Cora then said, “You’re building a permanent camp?”
Mark spun around to find Cora standing behind him, casually eating berries. “Yes, I selected a new skill.” Before he could finish his sentence, Cora said, “Yeah, I heard.”
Behind him, Ava spoke. “Oh, can I help? That sounds fun.”
Mark said, “For now I just need to plan. The best way you can help is to keep checking the traps.” With that said, Ava got the stalker out of the cage, and it followed her out of camp as Ava headed off to check the traps for the day.
Mark said, “That’s so strange that it just follows her.” Mark spent the next few hours walking around the camp, studying the layout and thinking through how he could reshape it into something more permanent.
Ava walked back into camp and said, “I named it.”
Mark looked at her. “You named it?”
Ava nodded, a little more firmly this time. “Bramble.” She said it like that settled the matter.
Mark looked at the stalker and then back at her. “Bramble. It fits.”
Ava said, “It liked it.”
Mark started clearing bushes, small trees, and rocks from the uneven camp. Ava watched as he worked. “Can I help?”
Mark pointed to the cut brush and small trees. “Gather all this and put it in the pile just inside the forest.”
Ava helped move the lighter debris and smaller rocks, then took a spare shovel and helped level the area. They continued the work until the whole area was cleared. Mark then picked up one of the larger boulders and moved it closer to the edge of the forest. Mark drove stakes into the ground to mark six future shelters around the central fire, along with dedicated areas for crafting, cooking, firewood, tools, food, and materials.
Ava said, “You look like you’re preparing to house an army.”
Mark said, “I have learned that it’s better to prepare ahead. Can you start moving items to the areas I pointed out?”
Ava said, “I guess, but I’m getting tired.”
Mark laughed. “Kids, you want to help when it looks fun but are tired when it starts feeling like work. I am going to go gather materials so I can build the first two shelters. You can stay here with Bramble while I’m gone.” Mark then headed into the woods, looking for materials to build his new shelters.
Mark gathered forked poles, crossbeams, branches, cord, and hides for two stronger A-frame shelters. After gathering the materials, he returned to camp and raised the first frame. He dug holes for the upright poles, strengthened them with stones, set the crossbeam on top, and tied everything securely with cords reinforced by the sinew he had collected.
He evenly spaced poles down each side of the frame, then covered the sides and rear with limbs and branches to shelter it from wind and rain. The last thing he added was a hide door for privacy.
Ava walked over and checked out the new shelter. “I like it. It has way more room than the lean-to and looks sturdier. Can I help make mine?”
Mark said, “Sure, pick a spot. Remember we need room for Bramble’s cage also.”
Ava walked around looking at the marked-out spots. After reviewing each of them, she finally picked one. “This one.”
Mark laughed as they were all the same size, and she had spent so much time picking just the right one. They then proceeded to build hers just like his but a little shorter, as the second set of poles he found was a little shorter.
Mark said, “Okay, for tonight you will need to use the bed I made for the lean-to, but over the next few days I will make some more furniture for your A-frame, including a new bed a little more off the ground and a storage box and chair for inside of it. If you think of anything else you might need, let me know. I think I am going to go check the traps east of camp where the higher-level animals are before bedtime.”
“That’s a good idea,” Ava said. “I think I will check the traps also. Bramble wants to go run around some.”
Mark said, “Just make sure you’re home before dark.”
That evening, Mark checked the stronger eastern trapline. It was producing larger animals, including a stoneback porcupine and an adult brush stalker. He collected the useful materials but decided not to mention the stalker to Ava.