"Nope." I whispered to myself. If it was a few days ago, I would have gone into the level three areas as soon as they were accessible.
But I just got injured and gotten the most horrifying experience I have had yet. It was no longer a game where harm was a screen away. It was the real world, and I learned to respect the dangers of the wasteland more.
Therefore, I set aside the news. The level three area can wait. With what I had, going in would simply be suicide. Much more that I was still mentally fatigued and traumatize.
I needed to be more prepared.
I need to acquire more equipment, weapons and of course experience. And there was only one way of getting all three, and that was taking on Advanced Tutorial Tasks and Daily Tasks.
But given how random the rewards can be, I do not know how many tasks it would take, before a useful reward could be given. Yet, there was nothing else I could do forward.
So started the days of me, picking up every task available, in hopes of acquiring something helpful.
Day One
I was just cured and healed that morning, and just minutes earlier I was groaning in pain. But the tonics worked their charm, and not a single ache remained. Thus, I was able to begin right away.
Being already out in the level one area, I chose a task that could be completed with the resources nearby.
[Advanced Tutorial Tasks (Defense II)
* Craft High-Grade Metal Plate x8
*Craft High-Grade Metal Pipe x8
*Collect High-Grade Metal Scrap x80
*Collect Gunpowder x8
*Craft any "Rifle" x2
*Craft Gun Sentries x2
*Craft Barbed Wire x2
*Craft Land Mine x2
Reward: Random Blueprint]
The remaining mounds in the level one area could still provide more than enough High-Grade Metal Scraps. The metal piles were all wiped out but right outside the wastelands, some metal piles were still left untouched and gave me enough Low-Grade Metal Scrap.
As for the Gunpowder, I still had some in storage.
I decided to craft 4 gun sentries, one for every corner of the wall of barriers below the plateau, but stuck with the rest of the task. Unlike my previous endeavor, the effort did not take a whole day to finish. And I completed the task three hours before sundown.
[Mendelese Musket Blueprint x1 Obtained]
The reward was unfortunately trash.
Day 2
[Advanced Tutorial Tasks (Water Supply I)
*Collect Rocks x80
*Craft Metal Pipe x4
*Craft Metal Plate x4
*Build Well x1
Reward: Random Blueprint x1]
The next day, the tasks I took on did not need me going into the wastelands. It was a task that was important but was relatively easy. But I have intentionally avoided it. One of the reasons was that I hated that it cannot be built atop the plateau.
However now that I have the rats to help me carry water, and the barriers and the sentries to keep the area below safe, I had no reasons not to build it. Furthermore, I have gotten sick of watermelon shakes and began to crave the tasteless goodness of water.
I have also started to smell, having not washed for several days. But most of all, I was simply in need of another blueprint.
The well was built early noon, right at the foot of the plateau, located where the way down was the easiest. The water quality was admirable. It was clean and cool, something you would not expect to get from a planet like Medreth.
As soon as it was finished, I took a bath, my first for quite a while. It also afforded me a break from my milkshake and leek diet.
And that was not the only good news.
[Flamethrower Blueprint x1 Acquired]
Day 3
The reward of the previous tasks piqued my interest and so I started the day by crafting the Flamethrower. All of the materials could be acquired from the mounds of the level one area, and it was, unexpectedly, one of the easiest tools I have crafted.
However, it was fuel powered and after an hour of playing with it, it ran out. And I was in luck because when I completed the Medicine I task, I obtained an Oil Pump Blueprint.
The Oil Pump was harder to build and understandably so. The materials could still acquire from the level 1 area, but some components were rarely drop. Begrudgingly, I had to spend several hours scavenging through the mounds.
Nevertheless, the Oil Pump was built four hours before sundown. I constructed in the opposite direction of the well, fearing contamination. I spent the remainder of the day figuring out the rate of oil production. It was one metal jerrycan of oil per hour.
Day 4
[Advanced Tutorial Tasks (Beast Taming II)
*Collect Low-Grade Metal Scrap x40
*Collect Rat Poison x4
*Collect Gunpowder x4
*Craft Rat Armor x1
*Craft Weakening Smoke Bomb x2
Reward: Random Blueprint]
I expected the task to involved taming yet another beasts, perhaps mutated rats, but it was not, and it was actually a lot easier.
But I have run out of rat poison and gunpowder, forcing me to enter the level two area for the first time after days. I did a shallow run and used the pistols, and fortunately was able to acquire just enough.
As for the Low-Grade Metal Scraps, I have leftovers, just enough to fulfill what was in the tasks. I crafted the rat armor first, and equipped it on Titus. It looked handsome on the beast and mount looked more fierce and formidable.
Then I crafted the weakening smoke bomb which, I correctly guessed, produces smoke to weaken the targeted rat, making it easier to hit with the tranquilizer gun.
[Weakening Smoke Bomb
Produces smoke that hinders sight and weakens low-level Mobs. No effect on humans.]
As I was reading the description, something struck me. A spark of inspiration.
The birth of a new tactic.