Chapter 7

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Floor 1 – Day 17

[Status]

Name: John

Attributes

Class: None – Skills: 1/6

Titles: None

Perks:

Strength:

12

-

[Domicile] – 1st floor

Dexterity:

10

-

Constitution:

11

Resist Poison 2

Intelligence:

10

-

Wisdom:

10

-

Charisma:

10

-

My improvements were steady, but not nearly fast as I had hoped.

The process I'd been refining had shifted gear, and was now focused on truly pushing my limits. I did pushups until I collapsed. I did squats until I felt like my legs were made from jello, and my heart was going to break free of my chest.

And yet I’d only Managed to gather a single extra point of Strength.

I guessed there was no shortcuts when it came to Attributes. But, it made me feel even more jealous of the fact I could have had fifteen extra right at the start.

There was some good news, though. At long last, perhaps due to my poor efforts towards maintaining a healthy blood glucose level, my Constitution had crept up with the Resist Poison Skill. So, while I felt I was still way behind anyone who had chosen an immediate stat bonus as their starting perk, I was making a bit of headway.

I hadn’t completely wasted my time, at least. But, I also felt that there had to be a trick to improving faster. It almost seemed like I was missing something obvious. I just had no idea what.

But, exercise and poor health management wasn't all I was up to:

Using a can of white spray paint from the shed, I finally took the risk and ventured into the forest a bit, but I did so with the intention of beginning to mark a trail.

I was no woodsman, and the forest was huge.

Really huge.

In fact, I found the thought of getting lost was truly terrifying, and the possibility was all too real. Just walking a few hundred paces in, and the way back quickly became hidden. Nothing but trees in all directions. The only real compass was the sun and the mountain, as both were generally visible even with the canopy above. But, they were tricky to see, and it was easy to get turned around.

Thankfully, my liberal use of spray paint on the tree trunks, tagging my path back the same way I had ventured in.

Once again, the starting choice of [Domicile] was keeping me alive and well, though it had me wondering if there were any tracking skills, or navigating skills.

It seemed reasonably possible, in context.

I'd picked up the Resist Poison and barely noticed, it seemed plausible I might accidentally stumble into something similar for hiking in the woods long enough.

And there was more than enough hiking to be had.

Though the canopy was somewhat thick, the mountain was in sight as long as I remained attentive. The white mountain top was distinct, and the sun was as well, though both were less present the deeper I went in. Visibility shrank the farther I traveled.

Pressing on for a few hours, unfamiliar as I was with the area, I kept moving easily enough. My backpack was loaded with supplies to last me a few days, and while there was no real path, there was also little in the way of underbrush. Just leaves on the forest floor and trees… so many trees.

Way too many trees.

Thanks to the paint, I could return home without getting lost, but it was enough to make me feel extremely uncomfortable.

Endless, and spooky.

There’s some sort of primal terror, looking at such a scene. I deeply regretted all the horror movies I'd been into when I was younger. The similarities had a way of bubbling up and making me nervous.

The sun, thankfully, didn’t move. Which meant it continued to hold at a slight angle. Even if I was unable to see the mountain due to the leaves and branches overhead, the light from the sun meant that as long as I could put a stick in the ground, I could roughly guess direction based on the shadow.

But I found that spray paint was a lot simpler.

And I had a decent amount of it.

The adventure proved worthwhile.

Deeper into the forest, it seemed that some of the trees had fruits. I didn’t sample any while on the trail I was forging, I did pack several away in my bag. I wrapped them up in some plastic zip lock bags before stuffing them beside my water bottle, snacks, medicine, and spare cans of paint.

Under normal circumstances, I assumed these were meant as a means for those people who had not chosen domicile as their starting perk. Sure, a person could have 25 Strength from the get-go, but they would still have gone hungry. It was only fair that there be a chance to eat before getting to the summit of that mountain, and it was an awful long way.

Probably.

I was guessing.

Considering the size of the mountain, I wasn't sure anything in this [Trial] was going to be very fair. But, speaking of the mountain, even after all that effort, I had still not yet reached the base of it.

What my old digital stopwatch dug out of the closet was judging to be 6 hours of walking, seemed to not nearly be enough. From what I could tell, I might as well be close to another 6 hours off. Maybe more.

It was on that note I turned back, ever so very grateful that the night never seemed to fall.

I felt that a dark forest like this would be terrifying, even if it was empty.

The place was just so… silent.

Every tree I came across that I'd marked, I felt a slight fear that the next one wouldn't be.

That maybe my trail might erase itself, in this strange place.

The forest was vast and empty, unnerving no matter how I tried to remain level-headed. And while there were no monsters, there was the nagging feeling that I was very vulnerable.

Taking the guns with me didn’t mitigate that feeling, either. They were heavy, and probably useless, but the knowledge that I could blast the hell out of something if it leapt out at me, was basically the only thing that kept me from spooking too badly.

Along the way back, I also marked out a stream next to the path I’d forged.

That was good, because I'd come to the conclusion that water might be a danger soon, and finding a source that was relatively nearby, was a relief.

Stopping to poke around for anything that might be useful, I found the stream was crystal clear, with polished stones and sand filling it. I took the time and refilled several empty bottles before stopping for a few moments to rest and survey.

There were no fish within it, much to my disappointment. I had carried a bit of fishing line and hooks along in my pack in the off chance I’d found the opportunity to maybe eat something different, but the water was devoid of life.

I was getting a little sick of peanut butter and whatever else happened to be left in the cupboard.

You can only eat so many multi-vitamins.

But all in all, the small adventure was uneventful. As I returned home yet again, utterly exhausted, I hardly convinced myself to lock the doors before laying down to sleep.

The Floor was what it was.

Empty.

No fish.

No birds.

Nothing.

Just grass, and trees, and that massive mountain.

Apart from the quiet beauty of the landscape, it seemed so truly empty.