Soon the familiar blue light enveloped the entire house and with it, the ground beneath him began to shake.
The moment the blue light enveloped the entire wooden cabin, the things outside the house who were knocking continuously seemed to have touched a scalding hot iron.
"WRRRRREEEEEEEEE"
With an inhumane screech, they ran off into the distance, disappearing in the darkness of the night.
"Gulp." Swallowing a mouthful of saliva, Red wiped the non-existent sweat from his forehead. Whatever the thing outside was, he didn't want to face it.
Just their screech was enough to sluggish his moment. One could only imagine his fate if he stood in that state in front of those things.
Compared to the previous upgrade, this time the upgrade lasted only for a few minutes. And soon, the new cabin was revealed to Red.
Compared to the previous cabin, the size has now doubled. The wooden walls were now shining with a metallic hue as if they were made up of metals instead of wood. Touching the floor beneath him, Red could already feel the difference. Even the color of the cabin has changed from brown to dark green.
Other than the floors and walls, the biggest change was on the roof which has changed into a slanted structure with a chimney at the top.
There wasn't any additional room, but there was a new notice shining in front of Red.
[Congratulations on upgrading to a 'fine' house. You are no longer a rookie and have proven yourself. New functions have been unlocked.]
Looking at the new notice, Red looked at the cabin's properties.
[Fine Cabin: Made from hardwood, this cabin not only provides excellent temperature control but also gives complete protection from the ordinary creatures of the dark.]
"Finally." Looking at the description, Red breathed a sigh of relief. Every night he would cower in fear, afraid that those things would break inside his house and tear him apart. At least now he could sleep peacefully.
Speaking of sleeping... Red looked at his bedroom, but other than the increased size, and the addition of a fireplace, there was nothing else. He thought after the upgrade he would at least get a bed. But to his disappointment, he did not.
As for the kitchen, there were a few changes. The previous bonfire was now gone and attached to the wall was a stove.
As for the tool room, the only change was the size which has increased again. Looking at the workbench, he breathed a sigh of relief. He could finally upgrade his workbench after upgrading his house.
[Lvl 1 Workbench: A multitask workbench that could be used to craft and upgrade your house.]
[Upgrade Cost: 3/Hardwood, 5/Limestone]
It was expensive, but for Red, it was affordable.
Soon, a blue light appeared and the newly upgraded workbench appeared in front of him.
Compared to before, the workbench this time was much more sophisticated. Just like the walls of the cabin, the workbench was green too with pitch-white corners carved with limestones.
After admiring it for a moment, Red looked at the next upgrade cost of the house and saw if he could afford it or not. But the moment he saw it, the smile on his face stiffened.
[Fair Cabin Upgrade Cost: 10/Agarwood, 50/Hardwood]
"What the fuck?" Looking at the astronomical number of materials, Red almost cursed out loud. The short-lived happiness after the upgrade was now gone, replaced by a helpless expression.
Closing the house upgrade menu, he looked at the numerous items he could now craft.
[Fine Axe: 3/Hardwood, 3/Limestone]
[Fine Pickaxe: 5/Hardwood, 8/Limestone]
[Fine Spear: 10/Hardwood, 10/Limestone]
"Uh!" Looking at the spear that was now more expensive than the other two items combined, Red didn't know what to say..wood and 5/stone. Compared to it, the price of the new spear has increased a staggering twenty times. But thinking about how it would be a much better option for his safety, Red gritted his teeth and crafted the Fine Spear.
Soon, with the disappearance of the materials, a new finely crafted spear appeared beside him, quietly lying on the ground.
"Holy..." Looking at the spear, Red opened his mouth in surprise. He was awestruck by the intricate design. The tip of the spear was made up of compressed limestone and its body was dark green, almost metallic with murals of leaves on it. The entire spear was so finely crafted, that one would mistake it for an expensive metal spear.
Reaching down, Red tried to pick it up, but to his horror, he couldn't even lift the spear.
"What the?" Getting on his knees, he grabbed the spear with both hands and pulled it up with all the strength he could muster. But even then, he was only able to lift it up a little before dropping it on the floor.
"Damn it." He couldn't help but curse at it. He spent his precious resources only to find out that he couldn't use the very thing he crafted.
Frustrated he could only leave it there and head back to his bedroom. Sitting on the straw mat in front of the fireplace, Red looked at the raging flame absent-mindedly. After the upgrade, the wood that he used in the bonfire was transported to the fireplace in front of him. It was the light from here that was illuminating the inside of the house.
Red opened the panel and after thinking for a while sent a message to both Lincon and Vira.
[Red: Do you know how to increase my strength?]
Since the two of them were able to afford the materials, Red knew the two of them might know something about increasing one's own strength.
He waited patiently for a long time, but neither side replied. Just when he was wondering whether they knew about it themselves or not, he received a message.
[Vira: Did you not eat the meat that you exchanged with me?]
It was a simple question but it answered his question.
Picking up the piece of meat he placed beside the bonfire earlier, Red narrowed his eyes. Before he didn't bother to look at its properties. But now...
[Ordinary Meat: Nourish the body and increase the strength.]
Looking at the text, Red tightened his grip on the meat as a thought came to his mind.
"Can I combine it?" It was an absurd thought but thinking about the outcome, he couldn't help but get excited.
Looking around he found three more pieces of meat. It wasn't enough.
Gritting his teeth, he opened the Panel and started looking at the numerous requests and items there. In the end, his gaze finally stopped at a particular request.
[Trading, 1/Limestone<=>5/Meat]
After gritting his teeth, he exchanged two limestones for 10/meat and looked at whether he could combine them or not. His future now depends on it.
[Wheter to combine ten ordinary meat?]
Sure enough... Looking at the option, Red let out a laugh.
"Combine."
Without any hesitation, he combined it and soon, the ten pieces of meat disappeared before a new piece of meat was lying on the ground in front of him.
[Fine Meat: Meat from the extraordinary creatures. Greatly increases strength.]
"Great."
Picking it up, Red washed it with water and took it in front of the fireplace. Hanging it at the top of his old spear, he placed it directly above the fire and waited patiently.
During the time his eyes were constantly roaming at the global chat.
"Did anyone kill those things outside? Please share your strategy"
"Anyone wants to team up? "
"84 101 97 109 32 66 114 97 118 111"
"Damn it, those bastards keep on knocking at my door. I am going crazy."
"That's it. I am going to fight them. Wish me luck guys."
"84 101 97 109 32 65 108 112 104 97"
Other than a few people constantly spamming numbers, most of the chat was about people complaining about the things outside their houses.
Red kept his eyes on both the chat and the meat. He would occasionally flip the meat before focusing back on the chat. The Lincon person still hadn't answered his question of how to increase strength. It might be because he was angry after Red increased the price instead of decreasing it.
Almost an hour later, amidst the rumbling sound of his empty stomach, Red picked up the cooked meat and took a bite.
"Mmmmm..."
Even without any spices or salt, Red could have sworn that this was the best thing he ever ate. And that was coming from someone who was a foodie on earth.
The meat just melted in his mouth after he took a bite. It was just so incredibly tender that he didn't have words to describe it other than 'heavenly'.
It didn't take long for him to finish it, and yet even after that, Red was feeling hungry. Licking his lips he savored the taste as a warm current engulfed him.
"Umm..." Red almost moaned in comfort. It was as if someone was giving him a soft massage.
The comfortable feeling only increased with time as Red couldn't help but yawn. He didn't fight the urge to sleep, but just closed his eyes and fell asleep.
.
.
.
.
Perhaps it was due to upgrading the house or perhaps it was due to eating that piece of meat. But for the first time after his arrival, Red slept peacefully.
There was no annoying sound of someone constantly knocking on his door and window and there was no biting cold that often interrupted his sleep. Even Red himself was surprised that he was able to sleep this peacefully.
Stretching his body, the first thing that he noticed was the overflowing strength. Compared to before, Red felt like he could take on five of his previous self.
Immediately he opened the panel and sure enough... There was a change.
[Name: Red]
[Ordinary Human (5/100)]
Looking at the newly added progress bar, he narrowed his eyes. Sure enough, the feeling of strength wasn't his illusion. Heading towards the Fine Spear lying on the ground, he reached for it. Compared to the last night when he couldn't even lift it, he was able to lift it rather easily this time. Though it took some effort, Red was able to lift it up and swing around a few times.
"Such a difference?" Clicking his tongue in wonder, he couldn't help but think about how just one piece of meat was able to improve his physical condition this much. And this was only an improvement of five points. Thinking about how strong he was going to be once he reached a full hundred points, Red shuddered in excitement.
Placing the spear down, he headed outside. Though he was able to swing it a few times, that thing was still heavy. It was impossible for him to carry it around all the time. At least not for now.
With this thought in mind, he walked outside, chose the direction, and headed towards it. He still hadn't given up on exploring the world around him. Who knows what he might uncover next...