Adam wondered if he could alter his 6:00am wake up. Since he seemed to wake refreshed it didn't really matter as much as it would have back in his old life. It wasn't like he could stay up until 4:00am drinking at a bar here either. One, because there wasn't a bar and two, because his stamina would tank and he would pass out. That was putting aside the prolonged hangover that he experienced now he was in his thirties. No, for many reasons, an all night drinking binge was off the table. Instead he was on a vegan diet of fruit and water about to head off on a morning run. What had life come to?

Master plan for the day: explore the area to the East; collect experience and level up. Simple.

It was frustrating to have to run for an hour in the wrong direction to get food and water before being able to head where he wanted but he had little choice. The thinking time was useful and allowed Adam to plan a sweeping run between the foothills and the forest to end at the Southern end of the coast where he had stood to watch the sea briefly yesterday.

Inspect was now so cheap that Adam used it liberally to check for new food sources and useful plants. There was little of value found while he explored. Another edible tuber like a potato; a grass that could apparently be used for thatch and some herbs that might help garnish food if he ever learnt to hunt or fish. The discovery of Mint allowed him to complete his semi-serious quest for brushing teeth made a few days ago and made him much more aware of his current hygiene status. Despite Stamina stopping him from sweating as he ordinarily would while running he had still picked up plenty dubious stains and smears over his clothes in the past week. Definitely time for a wash.

The most interesting discovery on the grasslands had been the deer that he had seen on his first day here. Adam's sweeping run helped to corral them near enough to the forest that he could use Discern on them. Red Deer - Common deer found in grasslands. Edible. Can skin for hide to make clothes. He spotted a crab in the sand dunes. Crab - Common. Edible. Adam was glad to find a small stream running down from the sand dunes to the sea was fresh water and took a long drink. Shoes and socks off; Adam had an enjoyable walk down the coast to the point where the forest met the sea. It was as the sandy beach was turning back to rocks that he saw something more exciting than all the other things put together.

Just off the coast lying partly submerged in the water lay a ship. Adam knew little about sailing so had no idea what type or style of ship it was but the mere existence meant that he was not alone. It was a human sized ship. Adam was in part relieved; scared and excited. The ship was approximately the size of a bus, it's mast broken and lying to one side jutting out towards where Adam was standing. He noticed a hole in the front of the hull protruding just above the water line. He would have to get closer to learn more so started to scramble over the nearby rocks to see if he could reach the ship.

The rocks were slippy, some covered in seaweed and spray from the sea lapping around them. Adam had left his shoes on the beach which helped his footing but meant he had to be careful not to place his feet on any sharp rocks or edges. He was knee deep in the water when he realised he could no longer see the rocks clearly and needed to creep carefully along by touch to find his footing. He was only twenty metres or so from the ship when it all went wrong. Something bumped his leg as the water reached his thigh causing Adam to slip and go under the water for a second. He managed to scrabble back on the rock and catch a breath before slipping once more. On recovering the second time; he realised how stupid he was being. Person floated nearby on a small dinghy looking terrified and triyng to throw a life-belt his way. Knowing a further attempt to reach the ship might actually be deadly Adam worked his way slowly back to the shore.

He was now lying prostrate on the rocks having made his way back to dry land. Clothes taken off and drying next to him, it was odd to be completely naked but fortunately it was warm enough. Musing over his moronic actions the past few days while he explored he decided he was definitely not going to be the God of Explorers. Once he was recovered. The exhaustion mainly mental rather than physical he realised he must have completed the rest of the map. He checked on his quests, ready for his experience and to level up.

Quests Complete? Exp

Work out where I am

-continue exploring area

99% 40

It took a few minutes scrutiny of the map but now he was sure. Adam looked at the ship once more. He had to explore the ship to complete his task. The recent addition of dotted lines and transition zones showed it was in the coastal area and he could tell the ship was still a bit vague on his map. He checked his watch: 15:12; stamina = 57; regen = 12/hour. He had no excuses. If this was a test; he planned to pass.

More determined with the suspicion and hope that the ship might hold some answers, Adam headed once more out onto the rocks. He had put back on his clothes but left his feet bare. His pack was now empty - the remaining fruit left out to dry. This time he took his staff to use as a guide when the water became deeper. Each step was careful and slow. He remembered the bump to his leg once he was knee deep in water again but put it to one side as he slowly made progress towards the ship. The water was up to his shoulder by the time he could touch the ship and he made a desperate scrabble up the side; pulling his body over onto the deck. Adam was certain he felt something scrape his leg as he dragged himself to relative safety. However, looking down in the water, there was nothing to see.

Adam caught his breath and pulled himself to his feet. He checked his stamina = 30; regen -2/hour and sighed in relief. While intense, the short passage across to the ship had not been too draining. Plenty of stamina to return. He was stood in the centre of the deck. Towards the front there was a raised area giving cover to a hatch in the deck leading below. The opposite end had a compartment with a wooden door blocking it off from the rest of the deck. A quick glance around uncovered nothing that Adam could see of any use. Inspect helpfully informed him of Shipwreck - low threat, level 1. Which way first? Thought Adam, prompting Person who was now dressed as a miniature pirate to head away from the cabin pointing at the hatch. Adam shrugged, pleased for once to not have to make the decision himself and followed Person to inspect the hatch.

With no way of lighting the inside of the ship that was revealed on opening the hatch the inspection took barely any time. A sliver of light reached through the breach in the hull nearby and the cargo-hold was therefore nearly full of water with only a foot of air in the space below the ceiling. Not fancying a swim to grope in the dark to see if he could find anything useful Adam turned from the hatch to make his way across the deck to the cabin. The door was roughly Adam's height and the proportion right for a human. As the door swung in a musty smell hit Adam giving the impression that it had not been opened in quite some time.

The interior of the cabin was dimly lit from small port-holes in either side wall. Built in to the wall on the left was a cot. Servicable blankets lay on top of the cot and there were two drawers beneath that revealed some clothes. The clothes confirmed his guess that humans had been sailing the ship. They were near enough his size and it would be nice to have something to change into. The discovery of a belt meant that it didn't matter if the trousers were too loose. Adam left the neatly folded shirts and trousers in a pile on the bed for now and moved on to explore the rest of the cabin.

A further drawer underneath a small table held nothing of interest. A dried inkwell and some blank parchment that Adam decided wasn't worth taking since it would likely get wet on the journey back. As he turned to the wall opposite the cot he found the biggest prize yet. A hatchet lay up against the wall. He picked this up, placing his staff down on the cot to look at the new find. The weight of the head with its metal blade felt reassuringly sturdy and the wood of the handle was smooth and worn with use.

Placing his finds in his pack; Adam held the hatchet in one hand and his staff in the other and made his way back to the edge of the deck where he had climbed up. Looking down he started to feel a bit worried. He remembered reaching up to pull himself out of the water; meaning the water line should be about two feet down from the deck. Instead it was almost lapping at the edge. Lying on the deck; staff in hand he reached as deep as he could with no joy. The staff was as tall as him, meaning if he couldn't reach the rocks with his staff he would be underwater on the walk back. Something jostled his staff as he drew it back out of the water. Seeing a shadow passing Adam used Discern in the hope he could find out what had been swimming by him earlier. Don't be a shark; don't be a shark. He thought just as the skill gave him some details. Shark - Coastal variety only grows to four feet in length and become more active through the day as warmed by the sun.

Great. Sharks; afternoon sharks i.e. sharks that were more active in the afternoon. Thought Adam. Person gave him a consolatory pat on the shoulder. He collapsed back on the deck and rolled more to the centre, just in case. Having detected one shark with Discern he could now concentrate and detect that there were only two nearby slowly circling the ship. Only two was still two more than he was comfortable with. Adam immediately struck off the idea of swimming back to shore. Why sharks? It was typical of his ability to underestimate and plan. He presumed getting to the ship would be the challenge. The real challenge would be getting back.

Mulling over his options Adam realised he was going to have to spend the night on the ship. Crossing over now meant avoiding the sharks and waiting until the tide had lowered meant crossing at night. He was not prepared to do either of these things. Seeking reassurance he checked with Person who nodded in agreement. Decision made Adam crossed back to the cabin and changed out of his wet clothes. His watch told him it was now 17:36 leaving some time before dark so Adam checked if this little adventure had at least been worthwhile. The quest log confirmed it had. Adam collected the forty experience and levelled up Discern.

Discern has reached level 3 God Class has reached level 3

Another ten characteristic points had been allocated. Checking his status his stamina was low, again. Health had been fine so far as had his recovery. He ruled out putting any points in Willpower. If ten points had given him the determination to go through with this stupid plan he dreaded to think what he might believe possible with twenty points there. Staying focused had been an issue though so he considered perseverence before deciding against spreading the points too thin.

Adam God Class (Hidden) - Level 3 (Secondary Classes not shown) Attribute Value Characteristic Value Health 100/100 Vitality 10 Health Regen 5/hour Recovery 10 Stamina 58/140* Vigor 14* Stamina Regen 14/hour* Fortitude 14* Mana 17.3/23* Intellect 23* Mana Regen 2.8/hour* Clarity 19* Skill Points 10/10 Perseverence 10 Skill Point Regen 1/hour Willpower 10 God Power {locked} God Power Regen {locked} Unallocated Points 0 *once changes applied Accept changes? Y/N

Like last time he weighted clarity and intellect over vigor and fortitude. The increasing gap making his preference more obvious. Given the percentage change was getting smaller Adam couldn't feel the difference as dramatically as he accepted the change. With the boost to his mental prowess he hoped he could work out a plan for getting back to shore.