The night grew cold.
Fane had discarded his cloak, having used it earlier to cover the dead man while the survivors figured out what to do with the body. He felt some loss leaving that cloak behind. It was one of the first things he aquired here and it had seen all his experiences thus far. Though, he had to admit, it was in rough shape anyways.
Fane opened his inventory and scrolled through it.
...
[ Combat Boots ]
[ Medipack x2 ]
[ Tourniquet x5 ]
[ T1 Resource ]
[ T1 Resource ]
[ T1 Resource ]
...
He sighed when he hit the resource section of his inventory. Kelliora's government rarely let him enter the labyrinth, so he didn't have many resources to begin with.
They typically looked like little glass beads containing a small light of a random color. The higher tier resources were a bit larger and contained a brighter light with a more vibrant color, but he hadn't seen too many of those.
Fane had found a good number of T2 resources and a couple of T3 resources, but hadn't yet had the opportunity to find anything better. So far, everything he had found ranged from the size of pearls to the size of chicken eggs.
He scrolled through the T1 resources until he found one with a glow so dim that he couldn't make out its color. Upon selecting it, a new prompt came up with a few options for what he could do with it.
[ Consume ]
[ Generate Item ]
[ Research ]
Fane chose [ Generate Item ] without even glancing at the other options.
The AI read his mind and instantly drafted a few options for the item he wanted, a few images of different cloak designs filling the holographic panel before his eyes.
Normally the AI would have included more suggested improvements for whatever item Fane had in mind, but it seemed there were only a few basic options within the capabilities of the T1, so not much appeared. Though it didn't matter too much since he just wanted something warm and low profile.
Fane selected a simple option for a gray cloak and adjusted its color down to a deep black before hitting [ Confirm ].
Nothing super flashy happened. Instead, a new inventory slot lit up with a dimmed image of the cloak. A timer hovered over the slot, showing how long it would take to generate. In this case, he only needed to wait 3 minutes and 45 seconds. He suspected it was due to this item being made only of cloth. Regardless, low tier materials could generate simple items quickly. By comparison, it took the better part of a day and a T3 resource to generate his helmet.
In no time, Fane had a new cloak wrapped around his shoulders. It was warm and had a similar cut to the original. Though it wasn't anything incredible, he already felt an attachment to it. This time, he planned to take better care of it to make it last longer.
Satisfied with his new cloak, he began his preparations to sleep.
First, he set up a primitive tripwire alarm outside the cave using web-wire and a handful of bells. Then he closed off the entrance of the cave, pulling the camouflaged net closed like a set of curtains. He had worked some local vegetation into the net, hoping it would help obscure the cave's entrance.
He then retrieved a cot and a pillow from his inventory, took off his helmet and boots, then laid down to rest. Today had been exhausting. It only took him a few brief moments to fall asleep.
...
*jingle*
Fane's eyes snapped open, but he didn't move from his position.
He earlier removed his helmet and boots to sleep, but had kept everything else on. His armor was specifically generated with the intent to provide decent protection while remaining quiet to move in, but it wasn't perfectly silent. If he were to move now, in the silence of this cave, he would be heard and lose the element of surprise.
As quietly as possible, Fane accessed the spatial inventory and retrieved his rifle. He rested it along his body and moved it to point past his feet, towards the entrance of the cave. Then he waited for the intruder to appear.
Several minutes passed, yet nothing happened...
Maybe it was just a small animal that ran past? No, the web-wire was sticky so the bells would have been stuck to the animal as it left. Perhaps a branch or twig fell from the net which concealed the entrance, landing on the tripwire? Possibly... Maybe it was nothing.
No, thinking that way was dangerous. It was possible someone was just outside, waiting for something. Now was the worst time to let down his guard.
The silence continued a few more minutes until Fane had an idea.
He held the rifle steady, resting it on the inside of his knee while he rolled noisily onto his side. The cot creaked as he adjusted his position and he began to breathe as if he were sleeping, but his aim stayed trained on the cave's entrance. After a while, he imitated a light snore. He pretended to sleep in an attempt to lure the intruder in.
It wasn't long until he saw movement.
The camoflauged net covering the entrance wavered as someone pushed it aside and peeked in. The intruder looked around, taking note of the snoring man before pushing their way into the cave.
Without his helmet, Fane couldn't see well through the darkness. How dangerous was this outsider? Were they a native, or an otherworlder like him? Were they alone? What were the chances they weren't an enemy? What was the worst-case scenario?
Fane's mind flooded with questions, the same way it always did when he prepared to take an unsuspecting life.
The figure hesitated, but worked their way further into the cave. They were heading towards the civilians, but remained cautious enough to keep their eyes on Fane's "sleeping" silhouette.
Fane silently brushed his thumb over the safety switch, ensuring it was disengaged. It was an instinctual habit he got from hunting on his homeworld. The questions fell silent and his mind became focused.
As soon as the figure looked away, he would go for the kill.