It was morning and we all sat around the fire with no food at all. I began to explain the plan for the day. "So, we have a footprint of our base up, but I want to make it several stories high. We don't have ladders or anything like that, but I want to have extra resources all the same. Tee, Ige, and Hos, you three will go and gather as much stone, fiber, wood, and raw metal as you can. Make sure you keep an eye out for sulfur because we need it for grenades.
Everyone else will split up into two groups to go hunting so that we can get some more meat and hide. I will go with Zint, while the rest of you will go your own way. I want to go higher into the mountains, but y'all can go back down into the jungle and hunt there. Just make sure that you are all careful not to run into a larger group."
Everyone started to move out. There wasn't much wasted time because everyone was hungry and wanted to eat. I knew if we didn't eat for long enough, our stats would decrease permanently. I had asked the system about it last night while I was having trouble falling asleep.
Whenever I glanced behind me to look at Zint, she looked confused and maybe a little angry. She didn't try to talk to me and just trailed behind me at the pace I had set.
We walked higher into the mountains. At the lower portions there were lots of trees, but as we got higher and higher, there were a lot more rock and metal deposits and outcroppings.
Upon the crest of the mountain, there were no trees, instead there were clear crystals everywhere. I removed a metal pickaxe from my inventory and began to cut the crystals down at their base. They were very easy to harvest, but each one weighed two pounds.
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You have 1,000/150,000 experience needed for level 14.
Health → 110/110. Stamina → 131/150. Speed → 100. Weight → 286.4/300. Strength → 250. Combat Sense → 80. Mana capacity → 25/25. Mana sense → 14.
Inventory: Soulstone, mana map, 4 bolas, combat knife, 1 Makeshift set, 1 laced arrow, medium soulstone, compound bow, 18 metal arrows, metal pickaxe, metal hatchet, and 51 crystal.
Skills: Ascendant → Soul Flayer.
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After nearly filling up my inventory with crystal, we continued down the mountain on the other side. There were several mountains on the way towards the volcano. If we wanted to reach the volcano, it would take the full day to reach it. I just wanted to find a carnivorous animal bigger than a raptor.
We went all the way down the cliff and we came upon a horrible sight. Down in the valley below the mountain there were two giant dinosaurs fighting each other.
One had an enormous body that could have fit 12 tanks stacked atop each other and an enormous tail that it used as a weapon. The other was a dinosaur with a spiked sail on its back. It had a nasty row of teeth and it was standing on two legs while swiping at the bigger dinosaur with its claws and biting at it with its teeth.
I turned to Zint. "We will kill the one who survives. Get your weapons ready."
She nodded and we both pulled out our compound bows and arrows. We were still pretty far away and they were still mauling each other, so I began to stick several of my arrows in the ground for ease of use.
It only took several minutes for the winner to be decided. The carnivorous dinosaur had ripped the neck off of the larger dinosaur and it collapsed like a colossal building that was condemned. Just as soon as it impacted the ground, the carnivorous dinosaur began to dig into its meal.
I nodded to Zint and we released our first arrows. They flew to the dinosaur and pierced through the skin. The arrows pierced through the skin and the blood that flowed out looked negligible in comparison to how big it was. It turned around towards us. Its eyes seemed to glow with mana. It charged towards us with both of its legs upon the ground. The entire world seemed to shake.
I realized that it may have been a bad idea, but I wanted to test my limits. Even if I died, since it was a wild animal and not a boss, I would respawn.
I brought another arrow up to my compound bow and I charged it with mana. I charged the mana so that it would destabilize and explode in the time I estimated it would take my arrow to pierce it.
I released my arrow and Zint released hers. My arrow embedded in the neck of the dinosaur's neck. A second passed and the spot where the arrow hit bloomed into flames and sound quickly followed.
The dinosaur stopped in its tracks and roared in pain. It was fifty yards away, but a glob of spit still managed to find its way to my face. I quickly wiped the spit away and strung another arrow. I imbued more chaotic mana into the arrow head and shaft and then sent it on its way.
The dinosaur had just started to run towards me again when the arrow impacted its right most nostril. A moment passed and there was a second explosion. As the beast roared again, there were flames shooting from its mouth, and not because it was a dragon.
Zint shot her own bow again, but it just sank into the beast's side pretty ineffectively. I drew my third arrow and imbued it with mana once more. I drew back my bow and fired. The dinosaur was nearly right on top of us now and so it was a much easier shot.
As my arrow pierced its eye, there was a third explosion. Instead of roaring, the beast dropped like a fucking geode hit by a rockhound. As it hit the ground only yards away, a cloud of dust and debris showered onto me.
As the dust cleared, I could see a new system window popup.
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You have killed a Spinosaurus (level 57). You have received 400,000/800,000 experience.
*Congratulations, you have leveled up twice!*
You have 49,000/400,000 experience needed for level 16.
^Hidden Quest completed: you, subject 6535, are the first to have dealt a fatal blow to a Spinosaurus. Reward → 1 Magic sigil.^
Health → 110/110. Stamina → 120/150. Speed → 100. Weight → 286.4/300. Strength → 250. Combat Sense → 80. Mana capacity → 10/25. Mana sense → 14.
Inventory: Soulstone, mana map, 4 bolas, combat knife, 1 Makeshift set, 1 laced arrow, medium soulstone, compound bow, 18 metal arrows, metal pickaxe, metal hatchet, 51 crystal, and 1 magic sigil.
Skills: Ascendant → Soul Flayer.
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I removed the magic sigil from my inventory and ripped it open. From the portal dropped a small necklace. I looked at its description.
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Item selected: Magic Ring of the Training Maniac → + 40 stamina and + 20 combat sense.
Description: A ring that was made from a subject that trained alone in a cave for ten years while everyone else died. The previous owner of this ring is dead and his soul and his determination have been embedded into this ring. The soul no longer remains sentient, it is only a source of power.
Note, this ring will be Soul bound to you when equipped. It cannot be taken or removed when worn.
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I shrugged and put the ring on. I didn't particularly care if another soul had been used as a material to make this ring. I would use it well. The stamina increase was nice, but the combat sense was amazing. I had practically gained eight levels worth of stats that I needed.
I went back into the system and distributed my both stat points in weight.
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Health → 110/110. Stamina → 120/190. Speed → 100. Weight → 286.4/340. Strength → 250. Combat Sense → 100. Mana capacity → 10/25. Mana sense → 14.
Inventory: Soulstone, mana map, 4 bolas, combat knife, 1 Makeshift set, 1 laced arrow, medium soulstone, compound bow, 18 metal arrows, metal pickaxe, metal hatchet, and 51 crystal.
Skills: Ascendant → Soul Flayer.
Soulbound items → Magic Ring of the Training Maniac.
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I walked over to the corpse of the Spinosaurus. Zint was already hacking the body apart with her hatchet. I walked to her. "Hey, was there a drop?"
"Yes."
"Anything good?"
"A rare sigil."
"Can I have it?"
"If you promise to do something fun with me later."
I shrugged. "Sure."
The blue sigil appeared from midair, and she handed it to me. I quickly ripped it open. And a gun fell from it. I glanced in my inventory.
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Health → 110/110. Stamina → 118/190. Speed → 100. Weight → 326.4/340. Strength → 250. Combat Sense → 100. Mana capacity → 10/25. Mana sense → 14.
Inventory: Soulstone, mana map, 4 bolas, combat knife, 1 Makeshift set, 1 laced arrow, medium soulstone, compound bow, 18 metal arrows, metal pickaxe, metal hatchet, 51 crystal, and 1 barrett M82 (Rare → 3x damage).
Skills: Ascendant → Soul Flayer.
Soulbound items → Magic Ring of the Training Maniac.
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My eyes lit up. I knew this gun. It would be perfect for dinosaur hunting, but the only problem was that I would need 0.50 BMG rounds for it. I didn't have any ammo unlocked and we didn't have any gunpowder.
Regardless of that, it was worth the promise I had traded for it. Zint must really have liked my earlier performance. It was a waste of stamina, but I would be fine. Since she wanted to do it, we could probably do it on top of the mountain.