I did not immediately return to the house after leaving the forest, rather aiming for the brook far upstream to avoid the corpses which were sure to have gotten even worse. The bed of the stream was rocky and I searched for any that were loose, careful not to slip as I leaped across multiple times during my search.
"Can you pick this one up?" I asked directing the cube to a rather pointy rock that was embedded in the ground underwater but was somewhat loose.
The glow started by surrounding the rock in question but soon expanded out to the surrounding water, seemingly attempting to follow it as it flowed past but dimming past a certain distance.
'This is troublesome. At least I now roughly know how large an area it can absorb.'
I dipped my toe into the water but after finding it not too unpleasantly cold I carefully stepped in and started to dig at the gravel surrounding the rock. Now regretting not taking along at least the shovel from the farming implements back at the house, I briefly considered going back for them but did not want to run the risk of running into the werewolf without self-defense measures. While the idea seemed good in my head, seeing the rocks that I managed to find they seemed wholly insufficient to slay the beast. At the very least I had seen that it will back off when injured so this might give me another chance at surviving an encounter.
I had initially planned to set out the moment the sun set but a combination of a few factors made me hesitate. Firstly and most obvious was the time lost while I was hunting in what I will call a blood frenzy. I do not know how long it took but just that fact alone made me realize I would lose just as much time if not more every time I had to find a source of blood and I did not yet know the frequency at which I had to feed. Another contributing factor was that there were other dangers out there aside from the werewolf such as that overly aggressive horned rabbit and at the very least here I knew what the danger was. The longer I stay in an area the better I will know where it is dangerous and what is safe. At the very least with my seemingly waking trance, I could watch out for the werewolf meaning I only needed a deterrent. Solving the issue of self-defense will also most likely keep me safe from anything I might find whenever I do set out.
To be perfectly honest though, I was absolutely terrified of being caught out in the sun. If I had to choose a way to go, I would rather it be by werewolf than having my flesh melted off. I in no way wanted to go anywhere without knowing for sure there was a safe haven against the sun waiting for me. I had to figure out a way to keep track of time during the night so I could explore for the first half and use the remaining to return. If only the cube had a clock...
I stopped digging as an idea occurred to me and turned to the cube.
"Hey, can you accurately keep track of how long the night is?"
Rather than a flash, it answered by presenting me with a small holographic screen.
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Calibrating Time... Please wait till the beginning of the next day cycle.
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"You. Are. Awesome!" A big grin spread on my face as one of my biggest issues has been solved just like that. "You really deserve a name. What do you think?"
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Hypercube Designation: UNSET
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"Oh boy, the pressure is on. I never named anyone before, or, well, I guess I have named things like my plushies when I was young, but I like to think of you as something more. Definitely deserving of a name better than Snuggles, but that stupid monkey toy does at least live up to its name." It still felt a little weird to be holding a conversation with the cube, it being rather one-sided, but finally having an outlet to simply just talk felt nice.
I went back to slowly shoveling the gravel away while considering what would be appropriate to call it. I imagined various scenarios of me using different names, occasionally sounding to me like variations between commanding a dog or signaling a butler when calling up its various features in my mind. After going over many that all felt a little off, one idea ended up standing out, although was maybe a little too on the nose.
"What do you think of the name Qubit?" I asked while looking up in curiosity if it would give any sort of reaction and what followed was a rapid double blink and an already updated screen.
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Hypercube Designation: Qubit
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Glad to see that it has already taken to its new name, I felt the rock I had been working on shift and dug my hands under it to lift.
"Alright Qubit, let's try it again," I told it as I deposited the heavy rock onto the dry bank and watched it successfully disappear in a glow of white. "A few more and then we can test if it works while hunting some hares."
After collecting a nice round ten of the pointiest, largest rocks I could find, letting my fingers recover rapidly in between excavations, I dried my feet and hands on one of the spare shirts in the inventory before tossing it back in and stepped away from the stream.
"How high up can you float from the ground?"
In response, the map window opened up in front of me, showing me a three-dimensional view of the surrounding landscape with a humanoid figure matching the health indicator in the center indicating my position. A red sphere centered on me and an indicator displaying the radius to be forty feet. I was confused as to why its range seemed to be dependent on me but had no reason to doubt it.
"Can you drop all of the rocks at once?"
It blinked in the negative and my heart sank as my plan of burying the werewolf under a pile of rocks came crashing down. It should still be a viable weapon however and I had to test the specs of what it could accomplish, getting Qubit to drop and collect the rocks as fast as possible, testing its maneuverability and speed as well as the rate at which it could dispense items. It required some setting up and was rather obvious when you knew what to look out for but who would expect a rock to fall from the sky. It would work best as a surprise attack and quickly following up on it, but that was only in theory. It was time to test it in action.
Returning to the forest and beginning my hunt for hares, I soon discovered that the fundamental issue of my newfound tactic was that it required stealth. Surprisingly, the glow of the cube was never the issue but rather by the time I saw them, the hares would have already both seen and heard me. I practiced moving quietly as much as I could but ultimately figured that the best way was to follow as far behind Qubit as possible as it led the way high above among the branches, possessing some method of spotting them. It seemed like going beyond the forty-foot range forced Qubit to return to me.
Finally seeing one without being noticed, I stopped and stood stock-still while observing Qubit hovering into place. The hare was engrossed in munching on grass, providing a perfect opportunity to finally test the effectiveness of the tactical rock drop. Watching the rock start to materialize with the now-familiar soft glow, I held my breath in anticipation of gravity finally taking hold once it fully manifested. The hare never saw it coming, or at the very least could not react in time, as the rock slammed into its back with the pointed end facing downwards, causing a duller thud than expected as well as blood to spray out from the impact before falling over to the side. The hare was crushed in half and I let out a silent cheer while running up to it, satisfied with the potential of my new weapon and ecstatic to have a method of hunting.
My mood, however, dropped as fast and hard as the rock upon approaching the body of the hare that was shockingly still alive despite having its spine crushed and indented inward. Seeing it still spasm and in obviously incredible pain, I felt cruel and horrible, quickly rushing forward to snap its neck. Holding its soft head in my hands, it felt so delicate, reminding me of the petting zoos I used to visit while babysitting my cousin. Alice would have been absolutely horrified if she saw this and I chastised myself for my earlier celebration on successfully scoring a kill. Unlike the horned rabbit, the hare had neither attacked me nor had the means to defend itself. Even with blood in my sight, I had lost all my already meager appetite and stood back up, walking over to a nearby tree. I lashed out in frustration, punching the trunk and wincing hard at the pain stinging at my knuckles. I lowered my head and leaned it on the rough bark, closing my eyes and taking deep breaths as I flexed my hand, feeling the pain slowly recede until eventually it was gone. Opening my eyes, the only signs left of me having injured my fist were the pinkish regrown skin and flakes of dried blood. The constant weariness, fear, anxiety, and all other kinds of emotions that have been swirling within me since first waking up in the accursed place were taking their toll on me, and I just felt tired. I wanted to go home, see my friends and family, eat proper food, lay down in my own bed, and sleep. Actually sleep. This is only the second night and I felt more exhausted than ever before, fighting to survive instead of going to classes, studying, and doing whatever dumb shit college students do. I wondered if my life will ever get back to that normalcy, as even something so simple as going outside during the day is now impossible.
"Qubit, collect the rock and the hare, we are done for the night. I need to rest."
Waiting a moment before standing up straight, I peeked over at where the hare's half-crushed body used to be and felt relieved to not have to see that horrible sight again for the time being.