Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Dont eat anything you find, please!

I hear a slight rhythmic sound, like something heavy falling on the grass repeatedly. I let myself be carried away by the sound, while feeling a soft swinging motion that follows the same rhythm.

Curiosity overcomes me as I look to the sides.

It sounds like a heartbeat, but it’s too slow. I try to focus deeply into the sound.

It’s my steps!

Realizing this was like suddenly waking up, Am I a sleepwalker?

My eyelids feel heavy, a forest with very tall trees stretches in all directions, there’s a path beneath my feet and I’m wearing sneakers.

I pat myself quickly to check if i’m alright: I’m dressed, not hurt, and there’s a sticky substance dripping from my mouth, was I drooling!?

This situation seems disconcerting to me, still, I make my best effort to remain calm, not letting a single gasp escape my mouth, but what was I doing? Where was i going?

.....

There is a trail, but after walking and looking around I can’t remember which direction I came from. I am completely and utterly lost.

I don’t have anything in my hands or pockets, the only thing I see lying on the ground are leaves and some tree branches. Wherever I look there is no sign of civilization, the path may as well been made by wild animals and, clearly, I am still as lost as I was five minutes ago.

I feel a strange discomfort in my head, as if it takes a while from when I think about doing something to when I actually execute the action.

It’s not painful at all, just very uncomfortable.

I pick up a branch from the ground and look at it carefully. It is quite long and looks robust, it’s also very heavy, or am I just tired? I take a moment to remove the side branches to use as a walking stick.

Even though I don’t have any tools, I’d say I did a good job. The stick is somewhat curved but I can get used to it.

I don’t know what to do now. I have so many questions and there’s no one around to answer me.

The midday sun hangs over my already fragile head, not that it’s very hot, but light bothers me. Every step I take feels slow and heavy, the path in front of me is not straight and there are many bushes in the way.

Maybe this path was done by wild animals after all, I hold the grip on the stick in my hands in fear, I don’t feel safe in this place.

Although the forest stretches as far as I can see, there’s a clearing a little further on. So I decide to take a short break there before continuing on my way. I must have been walking for about half an hour and I’m getting tired already.

After sitting down and resting for a couple minutes, I turn my attention to the greenery around me and happily spot a few berries. My mouth is watering just by looking at them and I launch myself forward without hesitation to pick them up.

They’re small and round, little black balls I don’t remember seeing before. Greed gets the best of me and I spend a few minutes picking them up until I have both hands full.

Wait a minute, what if they’re poisonous? I shouldn’t waste my time and energy collecting poisonous trash.

After little consideration I finally decide to try one, after all they’re quite small and even if they are poisonous, how bad can it be?.

Hesitantly, I put one in my mouth and chew it, a sweet and tasty juice spreads across my palate. It’s delicious!

Just one isn’t enough to satisfy my hunger, but if I manage to collect a bunch I won’t have to worry about food anymore today, plus they’ll keep me hydrated.

In one bite I quickly finish all I had, then instead of gathering a bunch, I proceed to eat the berries as soon as I get them.

What a treat! They’re actually pretty good!

My happiness is short-lived though, since without realizing it I finished them all.

I’m still not satisfied, but I’m not hungry either. I feel much better and more optimistic about my situation, the safest thing is to continue on my way and keep an eye out for more berries, since I forgot to save for later.

Now I can walk faster, time is precious, so I leave the small clearing behind. Along the way I pick berries and quickly pop them into my mouth, they melt smoothly and are fun to eat, so I walk with a happy expression on my face.

Without worrying about food and with a lighter heart, I advance determinedly through the forest that’s becoming more and more dense. Even though I don’t know where I’m going and I don’t fell safe in this forest, there’s no choice but to continue heading forward.

If only I could find someone, anyone, I could at least know where I am.

I don’t want to spend the night alone in an strange forest. Suddenly I spot a slightly smaller bush that bears a single berry, but it’s twice the size. Lucky!

I run to the bush with joy and pop the berry in my mouth just like the previous ones, but after chewing it I quickly regretted it. An unpleasant sour taste washed over me, my tongue went numb right away and I couldn’t help but swallow the nasty berry.

My face crumpled and a shiver ran through my body.

Poison Resistance 6%

“It can’t be! What’s going on!? I’m poisoned!”

Screaming loudly I run from one side to another with my arms outstretched looking for help, there’s no point, I’m completely alone.

Tired and breathing heavily, I lean against a tree. Calm down, this is not as bad as I thought at first. My tongue doesn’t feel so numb anymore and I don’t feel like I’m dying or anything like that either.

After composing myself an extraordinary realization suddenly hit me.

Somehow I learned the berry was poisonous and I have some resistance to poison.

It was as if a message appeared in front of my eyes, more than something physical, it feels like the message came straight from my head because I couldn’t actually see or hear it.

Now I think about it, I can’t remember how I got here, where I’m from, or even my name, but somehow I have some knowledge of the world.

It feels like even though I know the words, I can’t actually remember anything!

I would say my situation is out of the ordinary, however I have no memory, so I can’t even count on my common sense. I need to know how this message thing works without hurting myself in the process.

Maybe if I take an action I can get some information. I stand up and wave the stick in the air. My gut telling me maybe if I learn to fight I’ll get a message like the one before. After swinging a few times in the air to no avail, I start to get frustrated and swing harder accidentally hitting a tree next to me.

Blunt Weapons 1%

Somehow my instincts where on spot, although I wasn’t entirely sure. Could it be that the more actions I take, the stronger they become? Will it be the number of times or the intensity?

For some reason poison resistance started at 6%, but blunt weapons only at 1%. I need to experiment a bit. I hit the same tree again, this time on purpose. The clank sound of the blow echoes through the forest.

Blunt Weapons 2%

Well, it must be the number of actions though I can’t confirm it yet. What else should I experiment next?

Sitting down again, with the stick in my hand I observe it thoughtfully. I can see its color, the bark around the stick is the same color as the trees around me. The thickness is comfortable to hold in my hand. Although it’s clear it comes from a fresh branch, or at least it’s not dried, it must have fallen several days ago.

stick 5/7

Observation 1%

Oh! It’s a success! Not only was I able to get the information by looking at the stick and paying attention to its features, I also received a message.

This can be very useful to know what I can or cannot eat. Next I look at the tree I hit earlier. It’s a large brown tree, its bark is wrinkled, irregular and I can distinguish its texture similar to the stick I picked up a while ago. It has a small indentation where I hit earlier, although I hit it twice only once left a mark as the first hit was too light.

Tree ????/????

This time it wasn’t as useful as I expected, I thought maybe I could get some useful information, or at least level up my observation skill but it seems it won’t be as easy as I expected.

A strange sound brought me out of my thoughts. My stomach growled loudly as I felt my insides churning. It must be the effect of eating the poison berry. Fortunately I feel no pain and I’m perfectly fine.

Anyway, I won’t get out of this unpleasant situation by sitting on my butt.

As I walk, I glance suspiciously at the berry-laden bushes. I was hoping to level up my observation skill in the meantime, but I can’t concentrate hard enough on the things I see while walking.

Approaching a random bush and observing it carefully, it is small, its branches are thin and end in small oval leaves that have diagonal grooves. There are some berries on it, they are black and small.

Bush ??/??

Observation Skill 2%

My skill has leveled up, but I don’t feel any different. I couldn’t get enough information either, but an idea occurred to me. Reaching out to grab a few berries as I walk, I take a close look at them one by one. This way I can make the most of my time.

black berry

It’s disappointing not being able to tell if they’re poisonous or not, but it feels good to be able to do something useful while walking.

I stay on course following the trail, paying attention to the path as much as possible while practicing my observation skill.

Even though i’m in a hard spot, somehow an intense emotion overcomes me. I wouldn’t know how to put it into words, it’s like a positive impatience, a kind of optimism and happiness that overwhelms me, I don’t know the reason.

My stomach keeps making weird noises every ten to fifteen minutes. It scares me a little to think what will happen to me after it gets dark. I don’t need any memories from my past to know being alone in a forest without light is a bad scenario where only bad things could happen.

Luckily there’s still sunlight left, the best I can do is stop worrying for now and focus on improving my observation skill. I start picking berries and after analyzing them before placing them in my pocket. I’ll no longer eat them until I can tell if they are poisonous or not.

Observation 8%

I get excited every time I get a message, I pick up a new berry and keep an eye on it as I walk.

“AHHH!”

A misstep, I tripped over a root sticking out on the surface and fell hands forward on my knees.

Health 9/10

“This happens to me for not looking at the road”

Obfuscated, I can verify I hurt my right knee. My hands are dirty from the berry that just burst. Unfortunately the ones in my pocket suffered a similar fate. Being distracted I scraped my knee, my hands hurt, my clothes got dirty, and I lost the food I’ve been struggling to gather.

Adjusting my pants over my knee to avoid staining it with the little blood that comes out of my small wound, I have to look on the bright side, at least I was able to get a new notification.

Only this time it’s something horrifyingly worrisome. I only have ten health points, with a light fall I lost a health point. Does this mean that ten light falls is enough to end my life? And what if I get hit harder next time?

Comparing the situation with the branch I used. The branch lost two points for two uses, it could have lost a point per use or it could not have lost after the first hit and with the second it lost two.

.....

Walking stiffly with the fear of dying a stupid death, I head forward, only this time being much more careful not to fall.

Fortunately, it wasn’t long before I found what I was looking for, another clearing in the woods.

Since I’m well rested, I don’t need to sit around wasting time. I start collecting everything I can find. Dry branches, fresh branches, some small stones, a slightly larger rock, placing everything at the center of the clearing.

After using the largest branch as a broom to sweep the leaves off the ground and gather them into a single heap, I start to dig a small hole using a stick and put some green leaves in it.

Neat! now I have a clean container to save the berries I find for later, as long as I’m careful to cover it with a rock, I won’t have to worry about stepping on the berries by mistake. I’m set on spending the night in this place, there’s no point in wandering aimlessly the whole day.

There are several paths leading out of the clearing, so I decide to mark the path I’ve already traveled by making marks on the ground. I pick another path at random and walk around it for a few minutes picking berries and looking for things that might be useful.

I return to the clearing, deposit what few berries I can find, and choose a new path. Again I walk for only a few minutes, paying close attention to everything around me. And I repeat the process on each path until I reach the last one.

This one is a bit bigger, I’ll explore it carefully tomorrow, but taking a little look it seems somewhat safe.

It would be nice to have a fire, but I’m not confident I can start a fire with the resources I have at my disposal right now. Also, I’ll have enough time to try at night, as long as I still have energy.

Picking berries, I inadvertently come across one of those big berries that gave me an upset stomach.

“Trash!” I yell to the top of my lungs as I throw it as far as possible.

“Stupid berry”

I go back to the clearing and check my loot. Now I have enough berries to give myself a little feast, maybe it wasn’t a good idea to pick them all, in case I have to stay here for a while, but I really don’t see a reason to stay.

There are quite a few fresh branches, some of which are dry.

What a surprise, what else could you find in a forest?

It’s not enough to build a shelter, I wouldn’t know how to start building one either. Taking advantage of the few minutes of daylight left, I prepare to observe the berries one by one.

Berry

Observation skill 23%

After reviewing all of them, my skill barely reached 23%.

It would be nice to know if it’s some sort of level-up progress, or if the percentage represents my level of proficiency.

The sky begins to turn orange as I stand up quickly and begin to separate the dry branches from the fresh ones, the same with the leaves and some dry grass that I collected.

I put in front of me a small pile of branches, leaves and grass in an attempt to create a small fire but I don’t have the means. It’s getting darker and without fire, I won’t have enough light to see anything. wasting my energy trying to make a fire now would be counterproductive.

What can I do? That’s it! I can try to create some tools, or more sticks, anything could be useful. I take some stones and branches. With a rock a little bigger than my fist, I begin to craft several sticks.

It’s not really a big deal, but they can be useful. Besides, there’s not much else I can do. If there was more light, I could hit one rock with another trying to get it sharpened or at least a point without the fear of hitting my thumb. A spear wouldn’t hurt, though I don’t have anything to tie it with.

A pointed stick seems like a good substitute for a spear. Whether to defend myself or hunt, it is essential to have a weapon.

With these thoughts I lie down on a pile of leaves. A gentle breeze gently brushes my face as I gaze up at the starry sky.

Despite everything that happened today, I feel calm.