An hour later, the hunting team resumed their search for the Black Scaled Boar. After their battle against the pack of Green Wolves, the group became more careful. Half of them were injured and another battle would only consume their Qi.
Jason stared at the darkening sky and frowned. "Let's camp here!" He shouted while signaling everyone to stop by raising his fist. He then eyed the scouts and gave them a knowing look.
As if understanding his gaze, the scouts move separately to check the surroundings. They had to ensure that there was no threat nearby.
Mark was beyond exhausted. He didn't have any experience in hiking in the real world and despite the recent increase in his stats, he still felt tired.
"Man, I should have prepared more for this trip." He murmured when he saw the hunters taking out their tents and sleeping bags. Since he didn't bring anything with him, he could only sleep on the ground that was frozen cold.
Mark shivered as soon as he sat down. "This won't do. I'll grab some firewood to heat up myself." He stood up and walked towards Jason to report this.
Jason nodded. "Go ahead, but you should be careful out there. Don't go too far from the group."
"Yes, sir!" After getting his permission, Mark went into the woods to search for some sticks and dried branches. He also collected some tree fibers and tree bark.
After collecting everything he needed, he returned to the camp and looked for a spot. "This here should be good enough…" He said as he squatted beside the thick roots of a tall tree.
Mark grabbed a stone with one sharp side and took out the tree bark. He then pounded the tree bark using the smooth part of the stone.
Pa! Pa! Pa!
Soon, he got some wood shavings from the tree bark he pounded. He will use this later to make the fire.
Mark put the wood shavings into the groove he made to a thick branch. He then grabbed a stick and started rubbing it on the surface of the branch. When he noticed that smoke was starting to come out, he added more pressure into his grip. Not long later, he finally made a small coal from the wood shavings. He immediately transferred it into the dry tree fiber.
He made sure that no embers were wasted since making it requires too much energy. He covered the coal with more fibers to shield it from the wind and also to make sure that it would continue to smolder. He had to be precise when doing this since if he covered the coal too tightly, he might smolder it out.
Soon, more smoke started to come out from the fiber. Mark lightly blew into it.
Not long later, a small spark was ignited and it slowly grew into a bigger flame. He then put down the burning fiber and carefully put some branches and sticks on top of it. There were many of these scattered nearby so he didn't have to worry about running out of wood.
Looking at the flickering flame, Mark felt much better. He put his palms closer to the flame and enjoyed the warmth. He then rubbed his hands together and leaned on the roots of the tree.
Mark took out his sword and kept it close to him. The presence of his sword made him feel more at ease. The forest was filled with dangers so he had to be prepared in any situation.
"Instead of sleeping, I should cultivate." He sat in a lotus position and recited the mantra of the ordinary cultivation technique.
+1 Qi
+1 Qi
+1 Qi
+1 Qi
[You have been forcibly logged out from the game!]
Mark felt a sharp headache that woke him up from his sleep. "I'm back to the real world…" He mumbled. He grabbed the gaming headgear and pulled it off his head. He then stood up and checked the time on the wall clock.
9 a.m.
"It's time to work again." Mark didn't want to work. Playing the game made him feel like he was living a boring. Although he had only been in Ethereal for three days, he had already experienced a lot of new things. However, he couldn't afford to stop working at this moment. He still had bills to pay and he had no other source of income.
After sighing deeply, Mark took a hot shower. He then prepared his breakfast. He felt famished so he cooked two cups of rice, three fried eggs, three pieces of bacon, and one sausage.
It was already 10 a.m. when his food was cooked. His working hours would start at 9:30 a.m., but there weren't a lot of customers every morning so his manager would usually start the day without him. She wouldn't even scold him even if he came late for work. Even so, Mark still decided to send a message to his manager telling her that he would be late.
While eating his breakfast, Mark opened his social media. The first thing he saw was a post about Ethereal Online. Everyone was praising the game. There were some bad comments, but they soon got drowned by the high number of positive comments. From this, Mark could tell that the launch of the game was a massive success.
While scrolling through his social media, he saw some of his friends and college classmates showing off the new items they bought in Ethereal Online. Although they were only ordinary items, everyone was still jealous to see them since they were very expensive for new players.
Suddenly, his phone vibrated.
"Hm?" Mark was surprised. He quickly clicked on the notifications and saw that someone had added him to a group chat.
"What's this?" He muttered as he checked the members of the group chat. "It's them…" When he realized that it was his college friends, Mark smiled. Although he didn't finish college, he still made some friends during his short time at school.
"Mark, how have you been?"
"Long time no see, Mark!"
Mark grinned when he saw the messages on the chat. He thought that his friends had already forgotten him, but it seemed like he was wrong.
Mark replied to the messages.
"Hey, buddy! Did you start playing Ethereal Online?" One of his friends asked.
"Yes, but I'm not doing well compared to our schoolmates." Mark believed that his achievements were nothing compared to the others so he didn't give too many details about his encounters in the game.
He then told them that he was late for work. "I'll talk with you guys later."
"Wait! Tell us your IGN! We will add you as a friend in the game."
Mark felt embarrassed to give his IGN, but he still typed it in and sent it to the group chat.
"Wolf of the Grassland."