Liam greeted a new day with the morning sun creeping through the trees which indicated that another day had begun, as he woke up feeling marginally more refreshed than the last time he acted awake. Despite that, he still experienced stiffness nagging in his back and lower body, remnants of the tiredness he'd felt still looming from yesterday. He raised up slowly with both hands supporting his hurting body; he scanned the forest that still looked dark, then took a deep breath in order to gain more oxygen.
Liam said one word, "System."
Then, just as the word was uttered, the air in front of him seemed to pulse slightly in response, and then a blue display appeared floating there where nothing had been moments ago. Its soft glow stood apart from the darkness of the forest around it, like an alien presence troubling that untamed place; the display was like a transparent screen full of neatly arranged alien symbols and writings. Everything is explained clearly, to the point Liam felt as though he was actually being shown instructions from a higher entity.
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AVATAR PROFILE
*hologram's body (items can be remove for preview)
[Name: Liam] [Race: Human] [Class: ?] [Level: 3] [Status: Unhinged] [Ages: 13] [Height: 147] [Weight: 33]
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RESOURCE STATISTIC
[Hit Points: |_____1/2|]
[Mana Points: |_____5/5|]
[Stamina Points: |_____2/4|]
[Experien Points: |_____2/40|]
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ATTRIBUTE STATISTICS
[Strength: |_____2/4|]
[Dexterity: |_____1/2|]
[Intelligence: |_____6/6|]
[Constitution: |_____1/2|]
[Strength: (+) or (-) = 4]
[Dexterity: (+) or (-) = 2]
[Intelligence: (+) or (-) = 6]
[Constitution: (+) or (-) = 2]
[Attribute Points: 0]
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—⟩
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SKILLS ACQUIRED
-PASSIVE SKILL-
[Farmer Ability LV 1]
[Language Ability LV 1]
-ACTIVE SKILL-
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Just like the quest he had received before, the blue panel again gave Liam a series of instructions. Liam, who received a quest to get out of the forest, was instructed to overcome basic problems; shelter, food, and clothing. His stomach had been empty since last night, and now he only had the last piece of bread that was already hard; with no other choice he ate the bread slowly, trying to taste each bite as if to prolong the temporary satiety.
With the lawyer in mind, he then decided to return to the river they had visited yesterday. The river is the center of everything, and water is the source of life that is consistently used. In addition, the lawyer judged that any search effort would be more efficient if it started from a point close to the water; after all they needed an anchor point so as not to get lost more severely in the forest. As such, their steps were once again directed towards the stream that meandered through tree after tree.
Time rolled on... The sunlight that had been shining only on the tops of the trees was now rising, indicating that the search had been going on for a while; they continued walking, with Liam washing his clothes only with a rinse of water without detergent. During that period, the lawyer who continued to analyze the situation discovered an odd fact; there were abnormal characteristics in this forest ecosystem. The animals living in it exhibit a much more aggressive behavior than normal animals; they are more than defensive, they also tend to be brutal, as if everything that moves is considered a threat. Even for an adult human, a single attack from these animals can mean death.
The most obvious example is the wild boar, an animal that on earth is usually only a moderate threat to farmers or forest walkers, but here it turns into a monster in real life. Its body is muscular in layers as if filled with excessive strength, like a steroid addict who has lost his mind. Around its lips grew a large, sharp, deadly-looking curved horn; right in the center of its forehead was another horn resembling that of a unicorn, long and hard, making it many times more deadly. The combination of bodily strength, running speed, and natural weaponry made it a creature that could tear a man apart with just one blow.
Despite all the strangeness, the animals and plants in the forest still retained a semblance of what they were on Earth. They were not entirely fantasy creatures, but rather extreme versions of what mutations could be. Lawyer, on the other hand, was busy taking meticulous notes, trying to compare every detail with previous knowledge in the modern world. To Liam, the appearance of the animals sent chills down his spine. They looked like the result of a failed experiment, or like ordinary animals that had been injected with something until they looked like the result of a crazy alchemy experiment.
With giant tree trunks towering like columns supporting the sky; their diameters were so large that if measured, they were almost as wide as a highway. At first glance, the trunks seemed safe to lean on or even as natural protection; but the Lawyer who had been contaminated by various souls felt that the existence of giant trees actually gave rise to a sense of uneasiness. There was a kind of instinct, a faint whisper from a consciousness tainted by many memories of other beings that made him uncomfortable lingering near those trees.
Creating a simple tent was actually a thought. But after considering Liam's condition which was still on the critical threshold, the idea seemed inefficient. Making a tent meant cutting branches, tying them up, or digging holes in the ground; all of which required energy, while Liam's stamina was currently very limited. While a tent could be an emergency option if things got really urgent, for now it was nothing more than a backup plan that was only taken when all other avenues were exhausted.
A more ideal option was a natural shelter, a small cave in a large rock; the size inside did not need to be large, in fact the narrower the better as long as it was enough to accommodate a child's body. The criteria for the cave are clear. First, it must be free of other inhabitants; no predators and no nests of dangerous animals. Secondly, the depth should not be excessive; a cave that is too deep could harbor toxic gases or ventilation problems, and it is tantamount to digging one's own grave. But if the cave is too shallow, the protection it provides is almost nonexistent; it is best to have a medium depth cave that is enough to keep the body temperature stable, protect the body from rain or night winds, while providing a sense of security from sudden attacks from predators.
The sun was slowly reaching its highest point when Liam and Lawyer finally found what they were looking for; after hours of tracing the banks of the river, examining every rock hollow, there were finally a few cave candidates that looked suitable. Out of all of them, some caves caught Lawyer's attention more than others, though they had to have one of the most ideal ones.
There were no signs of life inside, no foul odors, no bone remains, no animal waste; the air circulation felt quite good; there was a thin stream of wind coming out from inside, indicating the air inside could change steadily through small cracks. In addition, the cave is relatively safe from extreme temperature changes, not too deep to trap cold air but also not too open to let in the night breeze; with the surrounding rock feeling dry, there are no large cracks indicating landslide danger, and the floor is flat enough to lie on without too much modification.
The cave's biggest advantage is in its position. It lies directly beneath a high and deep rushing river, a cave that is more than adequate to protect itself from predators; the only way in is by climbing up a rock wall that resembles a mountain goat's narrow path. The path was not easy for an adult, but for Liam's small body it was a perfect fit. This unique position made the cave a kind of natural fortress, a safe haven in the middle of the savage forest.
The lawyer also weighed other factors further down the line. The cave appeared to be relatively stable against the threat of natural disasters; being at a certain height, it was unlikely that tides or floods from the river could reach it. The rock structure is solid and shows no sign of brittleness, reducing the risk of collapse during a small earthquake. All of this transforms the cave from merely a place to survive the night into a starting point for planning future strategies.