Lukas stood over the dead stag, breathing heavily, his freshly cleaned body covered in burns and blood. The fight had been annoying as hell, as he’d just faced his first enemy capable of wielding magic. It turned out those pointy-looking antlers weren’t just for putting holes in its enemies—which it had definitely done to Lukas—but they also shot beams of energy that burned like hell.

  At first, Lukas had tried rushing in to engage it in melee and end the fight quickly, but the damn thing was agile, prancing around and keeping its distance while pelting him with beams. He had taken a lot of hits, and if it weren’t for the fact that the beams didn’t deal too much damage, he’d be dead. That didn’t mean his health hadn’t taken a hit—because it had. Eventually, though, the stag stopped using the beams, and Lukas guessed it had run out of mana or whatever powered the attack.

  That was when the melee began. The stag had tried trampling him under hoof and skewering him on its antlers. While Lukas ended up full of holes, the close combat finally allowed him to land some solid hits. In the end, he won out. He had hunted before and knew where a deer’s vitals were, allowing him to finish the fight quickly. Still, the battle had left him with less than a fourth of his total health, meaning he had less than ninety health points remaining—a terrifying thought.

  There wasn’t much Lukas could do about it, though, as he felt it would be a waste of his flowers to heal now. Instead, he focused on something more important: loot. He didn’t actually use his ability right away, as there were a few things he wanted to collect manually.

  Still breathing heavily, Lukas was about to drag the body back toward the creek when he got an idea. For the first time, he attempted to put a corpse into his inventory. To his surprise, the stag’s body disappeared, showing up as an icon in his inventory. Smiling, he was relieved that he didn’t have to pull the heavy carcass through the brush, leaving a trail of blood for some other beast to follow.

  Back at the creek, Lukas quickly cleaned himself off once more, the cool water soothing his burns while stinging his open wounds. He just hoped he wouldn’t get an infection from whatever lived in the water. Maybe his newly enhanced constitution and increased vitality would help fight it off? Shaking his head, Lukas walked downstream for a while, keeping to the water to avoid leaving a scent trail. Taking precautions was necessary—being this low on health in an unfamiliar area wasn’t ideal.

  After about ten minutes of walking, Lukas felt he had gone far enough and stepped back onto shore. He flicked off the excess water before dropping the stag’s body onto the bank with a thud and a clatter of loose stones. From there, he got to work field-dressing the kill. It was a process he was familiar with and would normally take around ten minutes. This time, however, he was using a jagged sword that was beginning to dull rather than a sharp hunting knife.

  To say the process was awkward and messy would be an understatement. Typically, Lukas could make clean cuts, avoiding unnecessary damage to the meat or hide. Now, though, he was using an awkward-as-hell sword, hacking jagged lines into the hide and flesh that had already suffered from the fight. Not that it ultimately mattered—so long as he got most of the meat it would be fine. He would’ve liked to take the pelt as well—it would have been nice to have something else to help cover him—but unfortunately, he didn’t have the materials necessary to treat and tan the hide.

  What Lukas really wanted from the Mystic Stag was its stomach. Why? Because he needed to make a waterskin. He required a way to transport water, and since he didn’t have a canteen or anything similar, he had to improvise. A waterskin seemed like the simplest solution. Besides, he had a few experiments in mind and needed something to store liquids in afterward. He figured a waterskin would be fairly easy to make—all he needed was the stomach and some resin, which was easy to find in the middle of a forest.

  After an hour of frustrated swearing, Lukas finally had the stag open from neck to pelvis. He pulled out the insides and carefully cut out the stomach, tossing the unwanted guts aside before placing the dressed body in his inventory for butchering later. He took the stomach to the creek, washing it thoroughly to remove any remaining contents. Once satisfied, he stored it and cleaned himself off.

  On his way back to his hideout, Lukas collected resin, using sticks to avoid getting his hands sticky. Finding it wasn’t difficult—he was in a forest full of pine trees, after all. Thankfully, the rest of his trip was uneventful. Upon returning, he immediately set about making his waterskin.

  Lukas had to admit that he had no idea what the hell he was doing. All he knew was that waterskins were often made from animal stomachs or bladders and that resin was used for waterproofing. It seemed straightforward enough—heat the resin, coat the inside and outside of the stomach, and tie one end off with sinew.

  A short while later, Lukas sat before a small fire, slowly turning a stick with a glob of dark brown resin over the heat. The stomach sat in his lap, one end already tied off with freshly collected sinew. The inside was coated in cooling resin, and the entire process had been a massive pain in the ass, leaving him feeling like a toddler left unattended with a bottle of glue. His hands, arms, and even his face were covered in the sticky stuff.

  All he had to do now was finish coating the outside and wait for it to dry. Unsure how long that would take, he decided to leave it overnight and test it in the morning. Once finished, he set the poorly made waterskin aside, wishing he were back at the creek to wash off all the resin.

  Instead, he turned to his next objective—butchering the stag. ‘Maybe the blood would help get rid of some of the resin,’ he hoped.

  For the next few hours, Lukas used his sword to cut the stag into manageable pieces of meat that he could cook as needed. He knew his inventory kept things fresh short term, but wasn’t sure if could do so indefinitely. Nor did he know how long he could go without food due to his ability, but if he had to guess, he was set for well over half a year—if not longer. With this single kill, he had secured food for quite some time. And if the waterskin worked, he could potentially make more, ensuring water was never an issue.

  Thinking about it, though, Lukas might rather go thirsty than attempt making another one of those damn things.

  This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

  When he was done, his hands and arms were once again covered in blood. He sighed as he stored the last few pieces of meat, satisfied that at least he had plenty of food. Sure, the cuts were terrible, and the meat was in rough condition due to the fight, but food was food.

  Evening had arrived, bringing with it darker clouds. Looking at the gray blanket above, Lukas guessed it would rain sometime during the night or the next morning. Then again, he had no idea how this world’s weather worked. For all he knew, those clouds could linger for months.

  That was a concern for another time. With what remained of the daylight, Lukas prepared for some experimentation. He wanted to test the flowers further, which meant he needed a way to boil water. Since he didn’t have a pot or bowl, he had an idea—he could burn a hole into a log to hold water and hot stones.

  How did he know this trick? Like many others, he had watched those primitive survival videos online.

  Lukas went out to find a suitable log, one that wasn’t too big or too rotten. Thankfully, he didn’t have to go far, quickly finding a downed tree. Judging by the disturbed area, it looked like collateral damage from a battle between beasts. Hopefully, whatever creatures had fought here were long gone.

  He tried storing the tree in his inventory but had no luck, suspecting it exceeded the size limit. So, he dragged it back by hand, surprised at how easy it was. Back home, moving logs had left him sore and exhausted. Now, with his enhanced strength, he barely broke a sweat. Thinking about it, he must’ve looked pretty ridiculous hauling a tree through the forest.

  Finally arriving back at camp, Lukas dropped the log near the fire, then sat down to begin the tedious process of burning a hollow into it. As the sun dipped below the horizon, he kept at it, eager to begin his experiments the following morning.

  ***

  Andrea, Derek, Naiome, and Kalic continued their journey toward the city of Pinewood. The four adventurers had set up camp on a hill not far from the main road, their fire flickering warmly in the cold night air. They could finally see their destination; the city of Pinewood was on the horizon. Even with the heavy storm clouds looming overhead, it was a welcome sight.

  The four stared at the distant light in silence for a while longer until Derek pulled his gaze from the distant spires and turned to the others. “Should we do it now?” he asked.

  The others turned to look at him with matching expressions of consternation. “What?” Kalic asked.

  “Should we do it now? The ritual, I mean,” Derek clarified. The three shot each other glances before looking back at him.

  “Are you insane?” Andrea asked.

  “Wha—?”

  “Derek,” said Naiome, “we’ve been on the road for months and are exhausted. We haven’t slept in real beds or had anything decent to eat in all that time. Do you really think we want to do that ritual now? Let us get some rest first.”

  Derek frowned, clearly not of the same opinion, but Kalic spoke before he could offer a rebuttal. “We should really register at the local society branch first anyway. The last thing we want is for people to freak out over some strange ritual, especially if the local authorities don’t even know we’re here.”

  “It’s just a simple locating ritual, though. Wouldn’t it be best to get it out of the way now?” Derek argued.

  “A locating ritual for what, Derek? We don’t even know what we’re here looking for. All we were told was that we were to come to Pinewood, do the ritual they provided us, and then send back the results. That might seem suspicious to some. And waiting a few days won’t hurt. We’re well within the expected arrival time.”

  “Well, what do you suggest we do then?”

  “That’s easy,” Andrea said. “We make camp for the night, then go into the city tomorrow. We’ll make ourselves known, like Kal said, then spend the rest of the day relaxing and getting acquainted with the city. We’ll do the ritual the day after.”

  Derek shook his head. “I still think we should do it sooner rather than later.”

  Naiome put a hand on his shoulder. “Derek, think about it. Most of the people and parties sent out were a lot stronger than us, and not just because they were going to more dangerous places. The reason we were sent here wasn’t because they thought whatever they’re looking for was actually going to be here. We’re just here to make sure it isn’t. The more powerful people went to the places the thing is most likely to be.”

  “I—I suppose you’re right,” Derek finally relented, looking back at the city in the distance. “Either way, the contract payout will be huge for us.”

  “Now you’re talking!” Andrea said with a toothy grin.

  The group set up camp right there on the hill, sitting around a fire. Were they worried about rain from the heavy clouds? No, there was obviously a storm brewing just off the coast, but it wouldn’t arrive for a day or two. Even now, someone with a decent amount of perception could smell the slight scent of salty sea air despite their distance.

  They just sat around the fire talking and having a good time, and only when it was well past midnight did they decide to call it a night. The others fell asleep quickly, exhausted by their long trip and excited for their arrival at the city—but not Andrea.

  She lay on her bedroll, looking up at the dark sky above. In her hand, she held a purple crystal, a benefit of being a registered adventurer with the Adventurers Guild. Infusing some mana into the crystal and its intricate engravings, a small screen appeared before her eyes:

  Andrea Azear

  Race: Human - Level 58

  Stats:

  Vitality: 127

  Endurance: 184

  Intelligence: 179

  Wisdom: 122

  Agility: 125

  Perception: 64

  Toughness: 183

  Strength: 183

  Willpower: 121

  The crystal Andrea held displayed a person’s relative power through “levels,” then broke down that power into easier-to-understand “stats.” Unfortunately, the crystals didn’t show anything else—no abilities, no classes, or other levels. Sometimes the crystals were completely off for some people, giving readings far from reality. They were a relatively new invention and still had a long way to go, but even with the limited information provided, the crystals were extremely useful.

  Over the last week, Andrea had been checking her status constantly. Her levels had shown explosive growth in that time. Before, she had been the lowest-leveled member of their party, despite being a few years older than the rest of her party members, who were all 19 or 20. Now she’d surpassed Derek and Naiome, but she was still a few levels behind Kalic.

  It was all possible because she’d been “woken up,” as she referred to it. Andrea didn’t know what caused it, but she’d be damned if she wasn’t going to spend every second enjoying the feeling of truly living. She wasn’t taking anything for granted.