As I looked at the man and the large group gathered behind him, conflicting thoughts raced through my mind. Should I help them? Should I leave and try to find James? There were so many people here, and I didn't want to be responsible for all of them, especially when there were probably thousands more scattered across this area, in the end this world is x10 bigger than the last.
"I can only explain the basics right now," I said, my gaze shifting nervously between the crowd and the dense forest beyond. "I still need to look for my friends." It wasn't entirely true. Apart from James and a few guildmates, I didn't have many people I was close to.
"That's fine," the man replied, relief softening his features. "We just want to understand what's happening and how to survive."
I nodded, taking a deep breath. "Alright, we all know we're not on Earth anymore. This world resembles Albion Online. You can ask the book you received about crafting recipes and basic survival tips." I held up my own book as a reference, and they nodded in response.
"In this world, there are creatures and beasts that don't exist on Earth. You can use magic and abilities if you have the right tools, weapons, and equipment. Think of this place as a more dangerous version of the game." I paused, letting the information sink in. "Start by gathering wood and stone to craft a pickaxe and an axe. The book will guide you through the rest."
I turned back to my own tasks, gathering materials as quickly as I could. I managed to craft a stone hammer for mining and a sickle for gathering fiber. I had a long list of things to accomplish:
Craft a smelter.
Craft a weaver.
Craft a stonemason.
Craft a tanner.
Craft a lumbermill.
These buildings were essential for refining materials and crafting better tools, weapons, and equipment. If I wanted to be ready to tackle even the easiest dungeons, I'd need at least Tier 2 equipment.
The weight of the materials was starting to become an issue, and hunger was slowly creeping in. Thankfully, there was a small lake nearby with fresh water, and we could find some edible plants and berries in the area. I ended up talking with a few people who knew about the game. We agreed to work together to craft the necessary buildings.
It took us around three hours to finish. The five buildings stood before us, a testament to our teamwork and determination. The process was simplified—just gathering the right materials and placing them together made the buildings appear, which was convenient. But there were no NPCs to help us; we had to do everything ourselves. Thanks to my enhanced minimap, I gathered resources faster while the others focused on refining materials.
However, a new problem arose: food. We were surviving on berries and the occasional fruit from trees, but it wasn't enough. I looked around at the people who were idling by, clearly not contributing.
"Can everyone please gather here?" I called out, raising my voice. Slowly, people started to move toward me, curiosity and confusion written on their faces.
"I know this situation is terrifying and confusing, but we need to work together, at least for now. Some of us have been gathering resources, but others haven't been doing much of anything except eating." I glanced at a man in the front who was scowling at me.
"Why should we listen to you?" he demanded, crossing his arms.
I stared at him, resisting the urge to roll my eyes. "I'm not saying you have to listen to me. But if we keep going like this, a lot of us are going to starve. Those of us who have been working can't support everyone indefinitely."
Murmurs spread through the crowd. I could see some people nodding in agreement while others looked skeptical.
"If you don't want to gather resources, then help refine them. We also need people to fish at the lake nearby. Those who are familiar with the game can help hunt small animals. We're not in the old world anymore; we need to adapt."
The man who had challenged me opened his mouth to argue, but I cut him off. "Look, we don't have to do this. If you have a better idea, go ahead. But remember, food and water are top priorities now. We can't buy our way out of this."
After some more discussion, a small group agreed to help. We divided into teams: one for gathering wood, one for stone, another for fiber, three people for fishing, and one person per building for refining materials.
The experienced players and I decided to go hunting. We crafted bows—thankfully, arrows weren't required—and set off into the woods.
"Not long ago, I spotted a group of foxes nearby. We need to get at least one fox per two people," I explained as we moved quietly through the underbrush.
"That's almost fifty foxes," one of the hunters muttered, sounding overwhelmed.
"We only need eighty foxes," I corrected. "Only about forty people are actually working. The rest are on their own."
"What about the others? We can't just let them starve," a girl in our group protested.
"This isn't our old world anymore," I said, my voice steady but firm. "There are only ten of us hunting. We can't feed a hundred people every day. If they want food, they'll have to work for it."
She looked like she wanted to argue, but in the end, she nodded reluctantly.
Six hours later
We returned to the camp with around eighty-three foxes, our inventories filled to the brim. Thanks to the Tier 2 backpacks, we could carry a significant amount of weight. A few people had crafted chests, which we used to store the materials.
"How did the hunt go?" the man from before asked, his tone more respectful now.
"It went well," I replied, showing him the hides and meat we had collected. "Some foxes got away, but we expected that. We need to improve our skills. For now, we have enough hides to make basic armor, but we'll need to hunt more dangerous beasts or enter dungeons for better equipment."
We set up a few fire pits and started cooking the meat for the forty people who had contributed. The rest of the group, those who hadn't helped, watched us with angry, hungry eyes. I knew this would cause problems eventually. People would do anything to survive.
After finishing my meal, I went to the chat room to search for James. The moment I opened it, a flood of messages hit me. It was chaos, with people from all over the world trying to find their loved ones.
Ignoring the chatter, I opened the player list and entered James's name and date of birth. We were born in the same month and year, just a few days apart, so it was easy to remember. After a few seconds, I found him and sent a private message.
"Hope he replies quickly," I muttered, feeling a strange mix of hope and fear. Moments later, my screen flashed with his response.
To Be Continued…