Holding the newly crafted spear and the half-filled water jar on his back, Red made his way across the endless dead forest.
He would occasionally pause, leaving small marks on the trees before going any further. In this way, he wouldn't have to worry about losing his way back home.
After walking for almost two hours, Red still didn't come across anything new. Not to mention any other resources, he didn't even see a green leaf throughout the time. The only thing in his sight was the seemingly endless dead forest and a gigantic mountain in the distance that wasn't anywhere close to him than it was two hours ago.
"Let's just head back home." Red knew wandering here was pointless, so after taking one last look at his surroundings he headed back home. Throughout the journey, he couldn't help but wonder where those things during the night came from. There were no caves or any other hiding places.
Wondering for a while he shook his head. Right now he didn't need to worry about it.
After two more hours, Red finally reached back to his wooden cabin. Thinking for a while he picked up the axe and for the next two hours chopped off two trees for four pieces of wood.
Looking at the sky that was beginning to go dark, he headed back to the safety of his cabin, threw two pieces of wood in the bonfire, and closed the door and window. After making sure he didn't miss anything, he finally let out a sigh of relief and sat on the straw mat.
Half an hour passed as he just lay on the ground, lost in his train of thoughts while looking at the roof.
'Knock'
'Knock'
'Knock'
It was the sound of the knocking that brought him back to his senses.
"Umm..." Wiping the corner of his mouth he looked in the direction of the sound with a frown. This time it was two of them again.
Although he had the spear, Red didn't dare to open the door and fight against whatever the thing outside was.
Unless absolutely necessary, he didn't want to take any risks. With this thought in mind, he exhaled a mouthful of air and opened the panel.
But this time, there were already two private messages.
[Lincon: I can offer you ten woods and a piece of meat. Think about it again. That thing is useless in your hand. Judging by your previous message, food, and water is more important to you than the Hardwood.]
"Heh" With a sneer, Red closed his message and looked at the second message.
[Vira: Do you still have the Hardwood? I want it.]
Looking at the message, Red nodded in satisfaction. He liked dealing with people who were direct and wouldn't beat around the bush. Judging by the tone, this person knew the importance of his item.
After a brief moment, he combined the thirty wooden pieces into three hardwood and sent a message.
"How many do you need?"
It took a moment for the other party to reply back.
[Vira: I will take as many as you have.]
"I have around nine hardwood here, but I have promised someone else too. How about I sell you three hardwoods first?"
Of course, he was lying. Right now he only had three hardwood and a few pieces of wood. But if he were to exchange them, he would receive around sixty pieces of wood that he could use to merge six more hardwoods and exchange them further. Hence the excuse of another buyer.
There was a long pause after Red sent the message as if the other party was thinking about something.
After five minutes passed, the other party finally sent a message.
[Vira: No problems.]
Red was waiting for Vira to say these words. Without any hesitation, he exchanged sixty pieces of wood and three pieces of meat for the three hardwoods.
Immediately combining them into six hardwoods he was thinking about his next course of action before the other person sent a message once again.
[Vira: How about selling the remaining six to me again? I am sure I can offer you a better price than the other person.]
"Hahahaha...." Looking at the message, Red couldn't help but let out a hearty laugh. He was going to message her after a few hours telling her that the other party didn't reply to his message. He didn't expect her to increase the price.
"Umm...."
"Fine. But I don't need meat or water. How about exchanging wood and stone?"
[Vira: Okay, no problem.]
Soon, Red saw the message for exchange.
[Exchange 6/Hardoowd for 120/Wood, 60/Stone?]
Without any hesitation, Red immediately chose to accept and the moment he did, a large pile of resources almost filled the entire small tool room.
"Hisssss..."
Looking at the astronomical amount of resources, Red couldn't help but let out a deep breath. Even in his dreams, he didn't think of this situation. But now that it was here, he couldn't help but let out a smile.
With these resources, he could upgrade his house even further.
And while Red was admiring the resources, a world announcement popped up in front of every traveler.
[Congratulations to Vira for upgrading the house to 'Fine' Quality. Rewarded with a mysterious treasure box.]
"Good guy." Red looked at the announcement in silence. Since there wasn't any announcement during the first upgrade, he didn't think there would be an announcement during the second upgrade. But to his and everyone's surprise, it was the case.
.
.
.
.
Far away from Red, In the middle of a tropical rainforest, surrounded by darkness a small cabin was illuminated by a dim blue light that soon disappeared.
Inside the cabin, stood the figure of a woman in her early thirties. At the moment, her clothes were torn up, revealing the soul-stirring scenery underneath it. Judging by the torn clothes, it seemed to be done purposefully by herself to make them suitable for this place.
She looked at the new house that had changed beyond recognition in satisfaction. There was a smile on her stiff face, but it looked awkward as if she was forcing it.
Looking at the recent chat log, she thought for a moment before sending a friend request to the person who exchanged the resources with her. Perhaps in the future, she could exchange more.
.
.
.
.
On the other side of the world, surrounded by lush green mountains inside a cabin, a man in his mid-twenties was looking at the new announcement while clenching his fists in anger.
He didn't think someone would be able to gather the Hardwood so soon. One had to know that the place he was living in was full of trees and animals. And yet after searching for a long time, he didn't come across any hardwood. One could only imagine the rarity of this thing.
Thinking about how he could have gotten the hardwood first if he didn't waste time bargaining, he couldn't help but grit his teeth. He was sure the other guy sold hardwood to Vira.
Just like everyone, he too didn't think there were going to be rewards for upgrading the house. If he knew, he would have paid more just for the sake of getting the treasure box. After getting the two mysterious treasure boxes, he knew just how valuable they were.
With an unwilling expression, he looked at the panel and finally after some hesitation, sent a message. There was already someone who had surpassed him. If he hesitated any further, then his initial advantage would only diminish before becoming irrelevant.
.
.
.
.
[Vira has sent you a friend request.]
"Umm!?" Looking at the new message, Red was stunned for a moment. He didn't think there was an option of adding friends.
Looking at the person's name, he thought for a moment before deciding to accept the request. This way, it would be easier for him to sell his materials.
"Now... Shall I upgrade my house too?" Just when he was about to merge the newly gained wood and upgrade his cabin, he was interrupted by a message.
[Lincon: I agree with the price. How many hardwoods do you have?]
Looking at the message, Red couldn't help but smile. It was clear from his message that the other party was anxious after someone else received the rewards. Red thought for a moment before quoting his price.
"20/wood, 20/stone."
This time, Red directly increased the price. Regardless of whether the other party bought it or not, it wasn't going to make that big of a difference to him.
[Lincon: YOU...]
Judging by the reply, Red could imagine his angry face. But he didn't care about it. At this moment, he was the only person in this world with Hardwood. He could name the price as he wanted.
After a brief delay, another message came.
[Lincon: How about 15/wood and 10/stone?]
"This guy..." Looking at him still trying to bargain, Red sent one last message.
"Either buy it or leave it. If you try to bargain one more time, I will block you."
He directly warned the other party. He was one of those people who didn't like to argue about the price. He would either pay the price or just won't buy the stuff. Only when in extreme conditions would he try to go for a fair price. And currently, it wasn't an extreme situation. At least not for him.
Five minutes passed and the other person finally sent back a reply. But this time, it was just one word.
[Lincon: Okay.]
"Heh..." Without any hesitation, Red merged the wood.
[120/wood <=> 12/Hardwood]
Then he exchanged the hardwood with the other party. At first, he thought the person was running low on supplies. After all, he was trying so hard to reduce the price. But looking at the direct exchange be couldn't help but curse silently. Some people just couldn't help themselves...
[12/Hardwood exchanged for 240/wood, 240/stone]
"Holy..." The resources have now occupied the entire tool room along with the bedroom.
Without waiting for another second, Red began to combine them.
[240/wood<=>24/hardwood]
[300/stones<=>30/Limestone]
The newly gained resource made him feel like he was already at the top of the moon.
Looking at the smooth cubic piece of rock that looked like a work of art, he clicked his tongue in wonder.
"Finally I can upgrade this house."
Who would have thought that just in four days, he would be able to upgrade his house to such a degree?
With a smile, he looked at the upgrade cost.
[Ordinary Wooden Cabin: Gives decent protection against the temperature and creatures of the dark.]
[Upgrade Cost: 10/Hardwood]
Looking at the cost and then at his abundant resources, he immediately chose to upgrade his cabin.