'Now, just to stay as careful as possible…'
Theo peeked his head out of the hole, taking a quick yet detailed look at the surroundings.
Just like he didn't know the actual past of his body, he didn't know why getting exiled to this place was considered an execution.
And, judging by the severity of the crime he was sentenced for, an actual, sure-fire method of execution.
'By all means, this three-month period of banishment is designed to be the last slap in the criminal's face. A fool's hope only added to make them struggle until the end, huh?'
Theo took a shallow breath before pulling himself out of his hole and then slowly creeping forward.
Now that he had confirmed the bare basics of his system, it was time to actually put it to good use. For while the stone shovel allowed him to cut the digging process from fifteen ticks of hand-based digging to just two swings of the tool—each netting 54% of the progress—and even save his hands the mounting wear of digging bare-handed…
Stockpiling blocks of dirt was the least of Theo's worries, for it wouldn't allow him to progress in any way or form.
'What I need right now is enough wood to get all the other tools, some weapons, and… or wait!'
Right as Theo reached out to the next bush and extended his hand to gather it, he realized yet another discrepancy between the block game he remembered and the reality of his system.
'Since when does the personal crafting window give out a three-by-three grid?' he thought.
On one hand, it was nice to be able to skip this otherwise extremely early step, for he could craft appropriate tools before actually gathering the materials in a proper way. On the other hand, however…
'The further the reality of my system strays from what I know, the more likely it is that this place… No, this world,' Theo threw a glance over the plain behind him and then the forest sprawling out in front of him, 'it is more and more likely to have quite a lot of surprises for me down the line, isn't it?'
[Gathering: 11%] > [Gathering: Completed]
[Gathered: 2 sticks, 1 foliage]
'Hmm?'
Theo's eyebrows rose a bit as he looked at the system prompt.
'Is the loot random, or was the first result better because I gathered this kind of bush for the very first time?'
Eager to test out his theory and learn just a little bit more about this not-so-familiar system of his, Theo hugged the ground again before crawling over to another bush.
[Gathering: 11%] > [Gathering: Completed]
[Gathered: 2 sticks, 1 berry, 1 foliage]
'Just one more…'
[Gathering: 11%] > [Gathering: Completed]
[Gathered: 1 stick, 2 berries, 1 foliage]
While the deeper parts of the dense forest appeared to be quite dense with massive, overgrown trees, its edge was still a quite bountiful source of materials for Theo to partake in.
Yet, as his stock of sticks grew to a satisfactory level, he now turned his attention to something that was much harder to spot while he crawled as low over the ground as he could.
'Well, there's no reward if there's no risk, huh?'
In the end, it was all about balancing the risk of being attacked by something and the cost of time that came with his attempts to reduce said risk. And with each passing second, his need for food and water would continue to grow more and more dire.
'The fact that I feel okayish right now doesn't mean things are going to stay this way for long.'
Gritting his teeth, Theo took another breath, armed himself with his shovel… and then stood up, no longer facing the forest ahead like a worm, by wiggling on his stomach, but head-on—like a human should.
'Nothing is trying to jump me right away, huh?' Theo thought, as he stood in place, right by his hole, ready to ditch the moment he spotted even the slightest hint of movement.
Yet, no matter how long he put himself on a silver platter for any and all predators possibly lurking out there in the woods…
Nothing came out to attack him.
"Was I overly cautious?" Theo muttered to himself, before finally breathing out and then casting a sweeping glance over the nearby foliage.
Surely enough, this bet quickly paid off. For while the low grass perfectly hid the stones from his eyes while he crawled, now that he stood up—they were out there, all free for him to just approach and grab.
And what was even better, they weren't even all that deeper into the forest than the bushes he was harvesting thus far!
'Now, just don't get greedy. All you need is six small stones for an axe and a pick. With the first, you can get a lot of wood just by felling some trees, while with the former, I should be able to just dig out and mine as much stone as my heart would desire!'
With a clear objective in mind, Theo lowered himself down to a squat—just for the sake of increasing his odds of survival—before slowly creeping towards the nearest stone.
Then, everything went as usual. He extended his hand over it, only for the "mining" prompt to appear, quickly fill up, and then be replaced with a looting prompt.
[Mining - Completed!]
[Mined: Small Stone]
[Mined: Small Stone]
…
…
…
[Mined: Small Stone]
'That should do it,' Theo thought, finally breathing a sigh of relief as the number of small stones in his inventory now was marked with "x6."
Knowing how his system worked, Theo wasted no time and quickly arranged the sticks and stones in the familiar fashion, quickly turning them into the two most essential tools for early progress in any blocky or survival game.
[Stone Pick Crafted!]
[Stone Axe Crafted!]
Ping!
[Congratulations!]
[The host has advanced
[You've gained 5 ability points!]
[You've unlocked 1 subroutine slot for the Ultimate Crafting System!]
[Please check the system for more information!]
'Wait, what?'