48 Hours a Day Chapter 13
Advertisement
Chapter 13
Zhang Heng looked at his character panel, and found that his skills had increased from two to three . But the mean evaluation at the bottom remained unchanged .
Since the lad in the shorts taught him how to make bow and arrows, Zhang Heng had another activity added to his days . He had carved out an area on the beach just for archery practice .
Using the knowledge imparted to him by Ed and the lad in shorts, Zhang Heng managed to overcome his plight finding food and water, and moved out of that bird-droppings filled cave into the clay house he had built with his worn hands .
Just as his life was improving, a new crisis soon emerged .
Ed had told him that the biggest enemy of a person who had mastered the skill of surviving the wilderness was not the ever-changing and unpredictable nature, but yourself .
Once a person’s survival needs have been fulfilled, chances are, the person would fall into a vacant state; having lost all direction and motivation, being the only person on the island would soon bring on an overwhelming sense of loneliness .
Zhang Heng must find tasks to keep his mind and body constantly occupied so that he would not have the time to think about the fact that he was all alone on a deserted island .
When he was with the lad, Zhang Heng took into consideration that he needed to survive for another four hundred days and more, and set a new target for himself .
He decided to explore the heart of the island .
So far, his area of activity had been limited to the periphery of the island . The furthest he has been was to the virgin forest to look for firewood where he saw the fowl and some animal bones, which confirmed the presence of predators .
From then on, he had been very careful to limit his area of activity, staying away from that stretch of forest . After all, the resources on the beach were enough to keep him alive .
Advertisement
But now, in order to battle this terrible sense of loneliness, Zhang Heng needed a goal that would keep him going—exploring the center of the island and see what was there .
With this end in mind, Zhang Heng began to allow himself to be invested in it, and work hard towards the goal .
Taking into account that there were predators in the forest, he would first need to learn to protect himself .
His second companion had taught him to make two long-ranged weapons—the bow and arrows, and the sling .
The latter was easier, but the most difficult to use . The angle and timing at which the stone was flung had to be precise . If the sling was released a little too early or a little too late, you would find that the stone was miles away from hitting the target .
Hitting the target four or five times out of a hundred was not going to be easy .
On the other hand, bow and arrows are much more accurate and easier to control . With Zhang Heng already equipped with the basics of archery—the tips about posture, strength, and breathing technique that his coach had taught him, the only thing that he lacked was practice .
This was not something that could be done lackadaisically; it required the grind of time . In the real world, even though Zhang Heng had forty-eight hours a day, there was so much to do that he could not spend too much time on a pastime . Now, on this island where he was the only human being, the thing he did not lack most was time .
Going from the recurve bow he bought in the market to the handmade primitive bow was not considered a drop in expenditure .
Compared to the store-bought bow, the handmade bow’s accuracy, and durability of the was a bit troubling . Drawing the bow also required much more strength and the tree bark that he used had a risk of breaking after being used more than a hundred times . The average lifespan was about 150 arrows .
Advertisement
The target he had set for himself was 300 arrows per day, which meant that he needed to change the bow strings twice .
By day 172 since he arrived on the island, Zhang Heng achieved his goal of hitting a still target within ten meters without fail, and a success rate of 70% at thirty meters . The threat of his arrow was greatly reduced if he aimed for anything beyond this distance .
After that, he was notified that his archery skill was raised from Level 0 to Level 1 .
Zhang Heng was still not satisfied .
His goal was to reach Level 2 before entering the forest for his expedition . That way at least he would be able to protect himself .
Outside practicing his archery skills, Zhang Heng did not idle . He had moved from the cave into the clay house which sat on the border of the forest, and after moving all of his belongings, made another batch of clay tools . Today, he was finally able to eat out of a bowl .
With his Level 1 archery skills, Zhang Heng went deeper into the forest, close to where he had found firewood the first time . Again, he encountered that fowl-like creature .
The animal made some strange sounds upon their meeting, as if mocking Zhang Heng’s failure to capture it, and then speed its feet and disappeared into the bushes .
But the very next moment, a wooden arrow came down from the sky and pierced its body .
Concurrently, the voice in Zhang Heng’s ear made another announcement .
[Successful hunt, Game Point +3, you may view information on the character panel…]
Zhang Heng’s palm was drenched in sweat . The distance between him and the fowl creature was only about seven meters—a distance he was comfortable with but once his target moved, his shots would not be as accurate .
This shot was much more urgent than usual, and his breath was slightly ragged when the arrow left his bow . Good thing, his many hours of practice came into play . It also did not hurt that the bird was on the plump side .
The creature struggled for a while, and then finally gave up reluctantly .
Zhang Heng walked over, collected his arrow and then bend down to examine his game .
The creature had a strange appearance . Zhang Heng had thought that it was a fowl but upon closer look, he realized that its beak resembled a duck’s but with a curve at the tip; its body was much larger a fowl and had blue-gray feathers, short and small wings, and a pair of rather thick legs .
This thing looked a little ugly…
Zhang Heng had come across a bird atlas once, and this thing was not in the book . But since it ate fruits and seeds, then theoretically, probably, maybe, it should be… edible .
This whole time, on the island, Zhang Heng had eaten some meat . But the flavor of seafood like fish, prawns, and crabs could compare to meat that lived on land .
Zhang Heng had been thinking about this fowl-like creature since the first time he saw it . Unfortunately, that time, he had no idea how to capture this nimble thing . Today, having honed his archery skills, Zhang Heng reached out his claws to grab this innocent little creature without a moment’s hesitation .
Zhang Heng returned from his hunt fully loaded . Other than the 15 catty ‘fowl’, he also stumbled across some wild potatoes on his way back .
The thing was rich in starch, and could be used as a staple food . At the same time, potatoes are also high in calories . Zhang Heng did not eat much of it, he set two of the largest ones aside to be eaten with the meat tonight, and then placed the rest carefully into his basket . He planned to grow a vegetable garden by the house when he got back .
Potatoes grow very quickly . Once he got them into the ground, he would have an endless supply of potatoes .
Advertisement
-
Sylver Seeker
After fulfilling the duty all arch necromancers are tasked with, Sylver Sezari was not expecting to ever wake up again. But he did. And after crawling his way back into the land of the living, he’s alive once again. In a strange land, a strange time, and with a strange floating screen in front of his new face. Either through plan or chance, he’s alive again, and planning to enjoy himself to his heart's content. -The story isn’t grimdark, but it’s not all sunshine and rainbows either. There will be lighthearted and positive moments, as well as some sad ones. That being said, it’s a whole lot more light than dark. -This is a LITRPG story. Chapters are published every 2 days at 21:00 GMT. Author’s note:-It can get very GORY. I’m somewhat desensitized to gore and violence. So while the story isn’t full of gore for the sake of gore, it can get a little too descriptive.-The MC is a necromancer, so corpses and decay, and all the things that come with it, will be mentioned from time to time.-I’m a huge fan of Egyptian, Slavic, and Greek mythology, so expect quite a bit of that. That said, so much is altered, you’ll be hard-pressed to guess how exactly it is being used.-Despite being ‘immortal’ the MC can die. In the event he does, the story doesn’t end, simply time skips forward. Which in some cases is going to be worse than just dying.-I love plot twists, as much as I love red herrings and Chekhov guns. Deus Ex Machina’s not so much. Cover: https://angshumandhar.artstation.com/projects
8 219 -
Gods, Monsters, and a Fuzzy-tail
Magic is life, and Magic to spare is power. Everyone has Magic to spare, except Eli Wisp, who has just enough to stay alive. Despite this, he dreams of becoming the first of the premier Magic users. He wants to be a Maestro. When an old enemy of the world's greatest hero—with the power to destroy everything Eli knows—threatens to return, he must prove that he's not all talk. Join him in an epic quest where he meets new friends, old heroes, and evil's like no other on his path to becoming the best.
8 83 -
I Don't Seem So Bright in a Well-Lit Room
The universe is a very strange place. It will take even stranger heroes to save it."Absurd. Existential. Ridiculous. Tragic. Comic. The antiheroes of "I Don't Seem So Bright in a Well-Lit Room" are a kind of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern with space packs, inadvertently colliding with their destinies against a starry background of witty wordplay. With a vision as sprawling and limitless as the loveably goofy universe in which it's set, Browning's wit, wisdom and heart are always at play, combining to form a wonderfully panoramic and very silly heroes' journey that visits every trope of its overlapping genres and draws moustaches on all of them."- Marcel St. Pierre, author of "Vengeful Hank" and "Cliché and Wind Go Hitchhiking".(Sci-fi /Dark Humour/Absurd) *Completed! Enjoy! Highest rankings:#1 Adventure#1 Action#1 Science Fiction/Sci-fi#1 Misadventures#1 Absurd#1 MindbendingAnd all because of YOU. Thank you.*Now available in paperback from Story Well Publishing anywhere you like to order books! www.storywellpublishing.comMerch available at:www.theseanbrowning.com
8 139 -
CONVERTED michaeng smuts G!P/GXG
Just some of my favorite smuts converted into michaeng.❌NONE OF THESE ARE MINE CREDITS TO ORIGINAL AUTHORS❌
8 209 -
Dear Marcus
This is a second chance romance between Marcus Volturi and Bella Swan's Aunt Alexis.
8 448 -
Natasha Romanoff one-shots // Natasha x reader ;)
Bunch of different one-shots of Natasha RomanoffDoes include a mix of smut and fluff⚠️ and strong language. I use she/her pronouns for these one-shots but feel free to use whatever you want. Frequent updates my loves Requests are open <>~started- (22/11/21)
8 118