Mark slowly walked back to camp. He had a lot on his mind. He needed to improve. He sat down in his chair to think and made a mental list of items he could improve. Better traps, upgrade the camp, explore more of the area, and control what was his. Whatever left those tracks, he needed to build bigger, better, and stronger traps. He decided to improve his traps first. He would need more tools and better wood. He was depending on broken limbs and low-quality materials; he needed an axe.
Mark located a flat rock, not too thin and not too thick. He finally found one that he liked, which might work. Pulling out another rock, he started to chip the edge. He went slowly; he was not trying for razor sharp. He was looking for durability. Once it was finished, he started looking for a good handle. It needed to be sturdy but not too thick. Taking out some fiber cord, he lashed the rock securely to his handle. He made sure it was tight with no wobble. He then received a system message.
[New Craft Discovered: Stone Axe]
This was not just a tool; it changed what he could build. With his axe in hand, he walked into the forest. He gathered wood as he checked his traps. He found a small dead tree that he would have ignored before. But now, with the axe, he could cut it into lengths and split them to make better firewood. As he gathered new materials, he thought of the uses. He could improve his camp and make more tools now. Then, while checking another trap, he found something new.
[Brush Hen — Level 1]
He was getting pretty good at this. As he continued, he found a level 2 squirrel in another trap. Just as he killed it, he got another system message.
[Level Up]
Character: Mark
Level: 3
+5 Stat Points
◈ ◈ ◈
Mark stopped when he remembered that he had forgotten to spend his stat points the last time he leveled. He opened the system window again to verify. They were still there; he had forgotten to use the previous level’s stat points, and he now had 10 he needed to use. That would have helped a lot. Mark looked over his stat points, thinking over what he needed.
After thinking about it, he added four to perception, then added three to intelligence. For the remaining three, he was not sure what he wanted. Finally, he quickly added two to vitality, as health was always a good thing, and added the last to agility.
[Stat Allocation]
Strength: 6Agility: 7 (+1)Vitality: 12 (+2)Intelligence: 12 (+3)Perception: 16 (+4)Points Remaining: 0
◈ ◈ ◈
While looking over his stats, he received another system message.
[System Notice]
Targets significantly below your level will yield reduced experience.
◈ ◈ ◈
Then another system message appeared.
[Skill Increased]
Trapping Level 2
New Capabilities:
Improve trap concealment.Increase trap reliability.Recognize better locations for trap placement.
◈ ◈ ◈
[Skill Increased]
Primitive Crafting Level 2
New Capabilities:
Improve the durability of basic equipment.Better shape natural materials for construction.Reduce material waste while crafting.
◈ ◈ ◈
[Skill Increased]
Rapid Assessment Level 2
New Capabilities:
Identify structural weaknesses more quickly.Better recognize useful natural resources.Prioritize improvements more effectively.
◈ ◈ ◈
[Locked Feature: Territory Control]
That was a lot more than he had thought he would get. He should have added his stats earlier; it would have made things much easier. He then focused on the last message, and then it expanded, giving more details.
[Feature Locked]
Territory Control
Requirements:
Establish a stable campMaintain an active trap network
Status: Locked
◈ ◈ ◈
“Wow, with these new skills I can see more.” He needed to redesign his whole trap system. Better placement and new designs would take time. As he walked back to camp, he noticed more. That branch could be used to make better and stronger arrows. Then he found the perfect rock. It could be used, and he could make a shovel with it. As he walked back, his eyes were opened to possibilities.
As he was walking, his eyes were drawn to a patch of vegetation. What was that? He had seen it before but never really noticed it. But now he could see it was some type of root vegetable. The root was showing just above the ground. How had he missed that before? He dug some of them up, and they looked something like a carrot. Just not the right color. But he could tell it was edible.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
He then came across a trap with a level 1 field mouse. He collected it, but he did not get any XP. Then he remembered the message. Level 1 was trivial; now he would get no XP. But he did loot the meat and hide. When he returned to camp, he sat down on his chair. He could feel that it was not quite right. Even the chair could be made better. Looking over at his lean-to, he decided that would be the next improvement.
He started by clearing everything away. Then he pulled out the rock he had set aside for a shovel and looked it over. He could taper the end to a point. Not sharp but enough that it would bite into the earth. He took his axe out and found just the right piece of wood to construct the handle. As he started to trim the handle, he found it easier than before to craft.
The skill upgrade was making a huge difference. His hands instinctively knew what to do. Pulling out some fiber cord, he bound the handle to the shovel head. It felt right in his hands. Then he received a new system message.
[New Craft Discovered: Stone Shovel]
Crafting was starting to feel natural. Shovel in hand, he walked over to where his shelter had been. The ground was uneven. He could fix that; he started moving dirt around and leveled it out. This time he made the spot bigger. He needed more room. Pulling out some wood, he started to cut it and form it. He wanted this shelter to last.
Using long branches, he built the frame. Tying it tightly with fiber cord, he wanted it to be stronger this time. He made some stakes and pounded them deep in the ground. Using his cord, he bound the frame to the stakes. His new structure looked like a five-sided hut missing one wall, which was the door.
Moving back outside, he admired what he had made. Mark pressed against one of the walls. It did not shift. He then pressed harder, and it stood solid. That was much better. He then received a new system message.
[New Craft Discovered: Secured Lean-To]
Looking toward the setting sun, it was time to test this out. Lying down on his bed, he brought back up his status.
[Locked Feature: Territory Control]
Mark frowned. What did that mean? Outside, something moved in the distance. He didn’t go to look, not this time.
* * *
Mark woke up feeling great. He felt warmer and safer than the day before and not nearly as sore as he had been the previous few days. It was a great payoff for upgrading his lean-to. The camp felt different. Not the shelter or the fire, but the whole area. He felt like he could feel more. Something had changed. He pulled up his status. His eyes focused on the last line.
[Territory Control]
He focused on that line, and then it expanded.
[Territory Control]
Zone: Unnamed Forest Sector
Status: Partial Control
Control Level: 32%
◈ ◈ ◈
Mark stared at it. Control. What did that mean? He looked around his camp, at the shelter and the fire. He then looked into the trees towards the traps he had set. This was his, or at least it could be. He walked into the forest with new eyes; he could see things he had missed in the past. He picked up a trap and turned it over in his hands. One of the cords was loose. There was a warped branch out of place. It would still catch something, maybe. But not well.
With his new insights, he repaired or improved each of his existing traps. He was able to find more of the carrot-type vegetables. Berry bushes he had missed before. He expanded the area he had used in the past. He found an area where animals came to dig and feed. Kneeling down, he brushed away some of the dirt with his fingers. There was a root thicker than the others. It was rough and knotted. He pulled on it gently.
It did not move. Of course, it would not be that easy. He dug around it more carefully, loosening the soil before pulling again. This time it came free. He turned it over in his hand. Heavier than the others. He glanced around the area and found more disturbed ground. More signs of digging. The animals came here for this. He held it in his hand. For lack of a better word, it was a potato, or at least that was what he planned to call it.
He paused at the edge of the stream, watching the water flow. This section moved faster and was also narrower. The current pulled tighter between two of the rocks. That was different; he crouched down and studied the flow.
The smaller trap he had built would not work here; it was too weak and open. He picked up a few stones and set them in place. Not blocking the water but guiding it, forcing it to flow inward. He shaped the flow into the path he wanted. He then found another rock and moved it. Then another; the current narrowed and focused on the spot where he wanted it to flow. Finally, he set the final piece into place and stepped back. The structure looked crude, but the water moved through it exactly how he wanted it to. That was enough. Then he received a system message.
[New Craft Discovered: Improved Fish Trap]
Mark then turned back to the forest. As he moved, he spread his traps farther apart. He did not want to overhunt a single area. The area covered by his traps had nearly tripled. He continued forward through the trees. Something had changed; he could feel it. The forest felt different, not just unfamiliar but wrong. He slowed, looking around. The ground looked the same. The trees hadn’t changed. But something in the back of his mind just didn’t line up.
He kept looking around, not being able to figure out what had changed. His hand tightened on his bow. Then he finally realized what it was. This area was not his. Then he received a system message.
[Notice]
You are leaving your controlled area
◈ ◈ ◈
Mark then realized there was a boundary. Mark took one more look around and then headed back into his area. After a few steps, he realized it felt right again. If he stood here, it was his. He turned around again and walked toward the border. The feeling returned. Past this point was not his.
Finally, back in his area, he continued to place and adjust traps. Then he found them again. The heavier tracks like last night. They went right through the middle of one of his snare traps. It had not tripped, but it was completely destroyed. He followed the tracks into the forest.
They did not wind through the trees but followed a set path, as if there were a purpose. He could sense that it had territory of its own. But this was his area. He had continued expanding his control; he looked at his status.
[Zone Status]
Control Level: 38%
◈ ◈ ◈
He was making some progress. But he still could not exactly figure out what gave him control. He looked toward his camp and his new traps. His movement through the forest. Did it all count or only some of it? He adjusted one of his traps and checked the status again, but there was no change. He continued to the next trap and tightened the cord and reset the tension. Then he checked it again; still nothing changed. Whatever was required, he had not yet done enough.
He stepped back and looked wider. Not just one trap but also the area. He moved three in a line, adjusting the spacing. Closed a gap he hadn’t noticed before. Then checked again. The number had gone up. It was not just fixing things; it was connecting them. Improvements meant control. He continued to look for and fix issues. Small adjustments here and there, and he found it again. More tracks like before.
This time he followed them farther into the forest. These were fresher. They looked like they had been left only moments ago. Then the forest went quiet. Not silent but wrong. Then he heard something. At first he could not tell what, and then a branch snapped. He slowed down and ducked under cover. Then he saw it, thick hide, layered like bark in texture. It blended into the forest. If Mark had not seen it move, he might have missed it.
It stopped and turned, looking back in Mark’s direction. He froze, trying not to make a sound. He didn’t even breathe, trying to remain as still and quiet as possible. Finally, it turned its head back and continued on its path. Not long after, it passed one of his newly placed traps. It stopped and looked at it, then made a snort and just ripped through it. The trap did not slow it down at all.
Mark stopped trailing it. That thing had a path, and it didn’t care about anything in its way. He looked at the ground, and then the forest around him. He really did not have anything that could stop that thing. He opened up his zone status again.
[Zone Status]
Control Level: 34%
◈ ◈ ◈
The number had dropped. That thing was pushing him back. Mark decided it would eventually come down to him or the beast. Mark slowed as his camp came back into view. It looked the same: the shelter, the fire, and the cleared ground. But it did not feel the same. Before it had been a place to survive. Now it felt like something he had built. Something he wanted to hold onto. He stepped inside the edge of it and paused. The feeling settled in again. It was familiar, and for now he controlled it. This was the center. And the forest didn’t feel empty anymore. It was now contested. This was not his area yet. But it would be.