World Upgrade

Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

Claudia shimmied her butt on the hard log decking as a grey marble Mortar and Pestle appeared on her stomach. It did not disappear with a thought into the storage of the raft or crate, so Claudia leaned around the unlocked chest she braced her back against, to store them physically inside. It looked like the aim for the first tier of her Alchemist class was building up a supply of stock. All the actions to level up involved accumulating harvestables. Which didn’t affect her immediate priorities, wooden soil plot and water barrel 25 ltr, needed 10 charcoal each to Craft, to get charcoal she needed to burn wood, so campfire was still first. Unlocking a Class gave her a feeling of pride and excitement, despite the insanity of it, she was starting to warm to this new World.

Claudia lulled into the zone of fishing while keeping one foot aloft, concentration so intense she didn’t notice her shoulders and nose turning pink in the mid day sun. Keeping half an eye on the Global Chat whilst she fished, whilst she loved a good gab, she wasn’t comfortable shouting into the crowd of Global Chat.

Snowflake: Good morning everyone! Surviving day two! I’m not going to lie though, last night was officially the coldest, most uncomfortable night of my life. I need a better raft.

JustJake: The coldest night of your life? Sounds like you need a co-op partner to keep you warm out here. My raft is always open if you need to escape the wind.

Grimm: She is freezing because she is stuck on a pile of wood in the middle of a digital sea, Jake, not because she wants a co-op partner. Stop trying to slide into the poor girls coordinates.

Diamond Glint: I asked the chef for a simple poached egg on avocado toast and he handed me grilled seaweed. Seaweed! I am practically starving out here

Tori Cox: Wow, unlocked Butterfly Class, bonus Reward Chest for unlocking a Special Class.

Catherine Montgomery: Victoria, darling, congratulations on surviving the night. Tell me, is Butterfly Class awarded after Tree Hugging Class?

Crown: The old world is gone, which means the market is wide open for a monopoly

Serena Cox: Catherine, do try to stay alive during the easy weeks of Protection Period. It would be a profound inconvenience to lose our most amusing source of generational comedy so early in the season.

Snowflake: Is anyone else struggling to sleep on this starter raft? It is literally like being trapped in a tiny two-person camping tent, but someone decided to put the heavy wood pole right through the exact middle of it! Independent living is great and all, but my back is so sore. There is barely enough room for my feet, let alone the two storage spaces.

Lux: Those with Tier 1 or 2 crafts I suggest prioritizing upgrading your boat. I cannot see how your life is livable otherwise.

JustJake: A tiny two-person tent with a pole in the middle? Sounds like a tight squeeze but I think we could make it work. I promise I won't take up too much space.

Grimm: It is an ocean survival world, Snowflake, not a weekend glamping resort. Wrap yourself in a tarp and deal with the pole. And Jake, you wouldn't even fit on a starter raft with your massive ego anyway.

ClockWork: Just hit Boat Level 2. The wooden platform poofed into place and I finally have an awning.

NightShift: Lucky. I’m still trapped under this tiny tent pole trying to scrape basic log resources together.

Hauling in her 13th log of wood, she caught the flash of red deepening on her shoulders. Storing the wood with the rest of the last three hours haul, Claudia applied some aloe gel to her face and shoulders before pulling her long sleeve shirt back over her head, jeans following. Checking the Trading Market for mint, Claudia accepted a fresh bundle the size of her finger from a Farmer Class player for 15 wood. Bringing her to 5 wood. 29 oc.

Claudia split the mint into three, keeping a third to hand she stored the rest, leant round to collect the mortar and pestle, and retrieving the aloe it dropped into the waiting mortar. Claudia removed the green leaf covering a snapped off section of the aloe, dropping the gel onto the mint stalks. The moisture of the aloe would also ease and speed grinding the mint. After five minutes it was a smooth paste with mint stalk fibers poking out. A notification dropped down.

‘Alchemist Class Tier 1 Level 1 15/50 EXP’

‘Burn Salve’

Claudia smoothed the paste over her face and shoulders, the cooling properties of mint amplified the cooling of the aloe, soothing her instantly, cleaning every last scrap from the mortar before rinsing it clean and storing in the chest. She liked her Alchemist Class so far, it incorporated knowledge she already knew from the real world. Lightly rinsing the yellow reside from her foot, Claudia was impressed to see the accelerated healing in this game world. It looked a day old rather than a few hours. Keeping her shoes off, the more air the wound received the faster it healed, she settled back to grind the rod and hook.

As the first twenty four hours in this new world completed, the sun low and setting in a pink tinged sky, lone clouds drifting by, spotlit sun streams spread along the waves, reflecting their movements in a silent dance of light. Claudia pulled in her 37th piece of wood. When she hit 35 wood the cooking campfire had been immediately constructed, placing it opposite the unlocked chest on the other side of the center pole, her placement options being directly opposite one chest or the other. Activation requiring minimum 2 wood/1 coal/1charcoal. All her coal had been used on the campfire recipe, and five iron were left. A days worth of constant fishing also rewarded her 16 cloth, 22 seaweed, 2 edible fish dismantled into two small fillets each, two fish the system deemed poisonous and dismantled into two poison sacks.

Now she had the two wood minimum to activate the campfire. Placing the wood with a thought, a wash of added heat ran over her like a warming river that would be so welcome in te night to come. A yellow homely glow settled over the brown logs, the flickering light touching all but the wooden stand the fire sat upon. Reaching waist height then capped with an iron base the fire sat upon. Encircling the burning logs was a square grill cage, a slight lip raised around the edge to help contain anything put on top of the fire to cook.

Using the hook, Claudia messily halved the squash from the small vegetable basket. Removing the seeds and pulp, putting the seeds aside to dry in between a layer of cloth in the unlocked chest, the hollowed out squash half was scored in a grid pattern to open it a little more. Two of the five carrots were placed inside the squash with half the button mushrooms, one potato and three of the small fish fillets, leaving seven fish in inventory and the onion in the basket untouched with two potatoes.

Placing the squash half to cook on the edge of the iron grate, the heat away from direct flame would slowly roast the food without scorching, Claudia settled back to continue fishing. Rolling her finger around the edge of the opal in the ring on the hand holding the rod, Claudia was frustrated it had not activated yet. The combination of touch and feeling made the Opal glow a deep Orange. Warmth flooded her veins as she felt lighter. Her Strength Stat increasing 50% from 6/10 to 9/10.

Elated at finally discovering the activation, Claudia looked around at what she could do with her newfound strength, before realizing there as nothing to do but fish. She was one minute into her five minute stat boost when the rod jerked. Smile slowly spreading across her face, she rose and threw the rod back with all her might, a load of slack immediately swallowed up with a tightened line. Claudia landed the fish in record time, hauling a squirming, aggressive giant fish a third of her size, covered in overlapping grey scales that condensed on the head. A head which the fish was currently using to ram anything in proximity. Dancing along with the fishes twitching flops and diving attacks on the raft and herself, Claudia ended the threat with two hard strikes to the protective dome on the fishes head. Impressed at the drastic difference three stat points provided, Claudia dismantled the fish at the prompt and notification of dispatch of Iron Clad Dread Carp Uncommon Tier.

Six large fish fillets the size of her arm went into inventory, along with 60 Dread Carp Hardened Iron Scales.(50% damage resistance) The scales she would have forged onto amour, once she had the capital. Claudia placed two more of the small fish fillets on the squash half, the contents starting to drip and swim inside the makeshift bowl, leaving five small fillets not making a third of one large fish fillet.

The strength stat boost finished before Claudia hooked another fish. Over the last few hours of the evening Claudia pulled in 7 more wood, 3 cloth and 4 seaweed. The Cooking Firepit wood slot had 6/10 at the bottom. Claudia could fill it in increments of two and it could last a total of ten hours, with only enough for six so one wood was placed in inventory.

After three hours the squash and its contents had roasted together in their combined juices, being turned now and then to ensure even cooking and a pinch of turmeric sprinkled over, being her only seasoning. The homely flickering glow of the fire the only light in the star strewn night, Claudia used her dark green jumper as temporary oven mitts scooping her meal from the fire. Climbing into the unlocked Chest Claudia used her jumper and the cloth as a tray, padding around the gaps of her legs to make a level surface. She had drank the last of her water during the day, holding off on food until she had fire, vegetables were much more nutritious cooked than raw and she needed every last scrap. Hunger flavored the food more than the turmeric, her will power to not shove the food down her throat as fast as possible was tested as Claudia made herself eat slowly, relishing each bite. The tough burnt caramelized outer skins of the carrots and mushrooms yielded to soft, creamy insides that melted in the mouth. The fish basted in the oils flaked firmly and perfectly, a burst of flavor delighting her palate.

Repeating the first night, Claudia, numb from the day's exertions, shook the crumbs from the cloth, wrapped herself in a curled fetal position and felt the rocking waves sooth her to sleep. The pain was no less the next morning and she finished her swim with no occurrences. She needed water. Approaching the cooking campfire in a few steps she collected the 8 charcoal dropped from burning the wood logs, leaving them in inventory. To craft one Water Barrel needed 20 wood, 10 charcoal.