PERSONAL JOURNAL ENTRIES 1C

Journal Entry Day 87 + x

I have confirmed it. My danger sense -- the eerie laughter -- is gone. GONE.

To think I would actually miss that creepy quirk.

I learned this the hard-way as my back was whipped by some strange creature during today's expedition. It left a few lacerations on my back that should heal within a day or two.

I quickly dispatched it without visually locating its position. What was left over when I turned around, was a pile of brown goop that melted into the ground, becoming a puddle of filth.

I wonder what brought the change? Could it be linked to Trauma Healing? If so, then these grating voices in my head must be the replacement.

I can't say I'm fond of the change, but if it is truly the case, then I must work on heightening my senses even more -- to replace what I had lost.

I also need to learn what is triggering these damn voices. Most of the time they are tame, like background chatter in a restaurant. But other times, it's a mess. Screaming, yelling...lewd moans.

Oh, the struggles of being alone.

Journal Entry Day 88 + x

Heavy snowfall today. Had to shovel-out snow four times. At this rate, the mound of snow piling-up from my shovelling will exceed the height of my bulwark walls.

Luckily, the torches that I had lit days ago are still going strong. It is probably the perfect time to test how long they will last.

Perhaps they will last all winter?

Journal Entry Day 89 + x

It is strange, after looking at the night sky today, I began to wonder: have I ever seen a clear night?

I've experienced clear days, but when it came to nights, well, hazy clouds would always obscure the view.

It's like the world refuses to let me see the stars.

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Journal Entry Day 94 + x

Completed a new armor set today.

This time the layer thickness is thinner and more uniform, but the overall performance should be higher since I increased the layer count. This makes a total of four complete armor sets aside from the original set that's being refurbished, and the one I'm currently wearing.

Speaking of which, that armor I looted from the Lentipede...forget it, I looted nothing of the sort.

The moat is also completed, now to make wood and hardened clay spikes.

I also made a variety of one-handed weapons.

It's always good to be versatile and well-practiced in various weaponry.

Contrary to what most people would gravitate to -- the sword -- I have taken a liking to the sickle. It's hooked profile is good for delimbing, cutting, and grappling. For me, it's a good secondary weapon for when my spear loses functionality.

My tertiary weapon would be my miniature kite shield.

That said, I still intend to practice with other weapons, just in-case.

Journal Entry Day 95 + x

With the construction of my basecamp quickly coming to an end, I decided to create markers on the land I had mapped out.

I didn't want to cut a feature into the trees, so for now, I've placed bone torches with a small amount of crystal core material in every corner of each 100-step square-block I had mapped.

I made sure nothing would catch fire as I lit the torches and left.

It should be okay, right?

Yea, let's believe that.

YoU BeTtEr BeLiEvE iT!

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Journal Entry Day 102 + x

Ed has the spoon.

Journal Entry Day 103 + x

HAAAAAAhahahhaaha.

RONERY, SO

Journal Entry Day 104 + x

arfofosjaegvkckdksssjwsd heheheeheehehehehehehehehehe.

dAmAgEd.

Ahhahahahaahah, AHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHA.

Journal Entry Day 105 + x

Ju pit de penis in de coconit.

John would like a word.

Journal Entry Day 106 + x

UNCLEAN.

The hands.

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Journal Entry Day 115 + x

If trees could cry, they wouldn't; they'd be asleep.

I am a better writer than I am a talker; I am a better cook than I am a writer; I am a terrible cook.

HEheHehehHeheh.

Journal Entry Day 116 + x

A dog and a man once formed a union, but it didn't work out; the man was two stupid.

There once was a noble Noble. Sorry, that was a lie.

I only speak in truths, half truths, and false truths.

MehehEhHeeHEh.

Your face reminds me of a small phallic statue that had been weathered away by time. That statue now looks like a (butt) plug; at least you're not an asshole.

FuHeEheheEHhE.

I finally understand why people are said to be forged rather than cast; melting people kills them too quickly. However, if you heat those people up and pound them repeatedly, they will survive long enough to drown in the quench.

GeHEHeHeheEHhehe.

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Journal Entry Day 147 + x

Snowfall is heavy.

It's become more difficult to carry-out expeditions with the ground being slick with ice.

I started talking to myself. Full-blown conversations even. Anything to get the voices out of my head.

I don't want to return-to crazy…

It would be best not to repeat that.

Journal Entry Day 148 + x

The fruits of my labor have bloomed.

My sensory training has shown some results. I can basically 'see' with my eyes closed within a three meter radius.

Essentially, I 'see' by locating objects through [1] the sound they make; [2] the smell they emit; and [3] feeling changes in the air as they move around.

From those senses, I create a mental image in black and white. Nothing is truly solid in this image. Rather, the images are like wireframes.

Coincidentally, sensory training also gets rid of the voices.

Maybe my ailment is related to focus?

What should I call this new thing? It’s not a sixth sense since it still uses my normal senses. And I can’t say that it’s heightened senses since it is beyond that.

‘True Sense’?

Journal Entry Day 149 + x

No expedition today, unfortunately.

Travelling on a sheet of ice is just not smart.

In preparation for worse weather, I decided to make designated pathways around my basecamp.

Truthfully, I can already access every building without ever stepping into snow since the roofs all overlap each other. But that doesn't mean I could get buried.

From my previous deductions, the location of this vast forest is pretty close to one of the polar regions of the planet. Snow wouldn't be a huge issue inside the woodland thickets, but out here in the dead zone, there is no cover; no canopy to protect me from snowfall.

Anyway, the plan is to create a designated pathway around my base using crystal core torches. The idea is that the heat from their flames would melt the snow just enough to reveal a path.

The problem I see with this is meltwater pooling in unwanted areas.

Luckily I storm-proofed the entrances to all the buildings by raising the base of the doorways half a meter above the ground. That way, the interior rooms will remain dry even if a minor flood happened.

But this doesn't resolve issues with black ice appearing around the designated pathways.

I'll alter the design if it becomes a detriment…

For heating, I built clay stoves next to each doorway. I plan to expand each stove’s ductworks to snake around the room so that the heat will be spread throughout the enclosure, rather than just in one spot.

Since I had gathered a large amount of crystal core material from fallen trees inside the dead zone, the fuel source for heating is a non-issue...besides, I have yet to see a piece of crystal core be depleted of all its fuel.

Perhaps crystal cores produce everlasting flames?

Should I start calling them ‘Crystal Coal’?

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Journal Entry Day 153 + x

Blizzard. Good thing I prepared.

There's already a meter of snow on the ground.

Journal Entry Day 154 + x

Blizzard hasn't stopped.

It was a wise move to over-design the structures. I shouldn't have to worry about roof collapse.

I'm glad I decided to go with pitched roofs versus a flat-top.

Food supplies are still abundant and have no signs of spoilage.

I finally revisited the changes to the blood bone javelins and short spear I used to kill the Lentipede. I had completely forgotten about them since swapping short spears and using quills from the Quillen Boar.

This is pure speculation, but I believe that, if blood bones absorb enough blood, the accumulated heavy metals and other minerals naturally present in the blood would cause the material -- the blood bone -- to completely change into something else.

I suppose it would be a similar principle to petrified wood, where the organic components are all replaced by minerals through saturation.

Would that mean that after the change, the material would no longer absorb blood? Would it absorb something else? Flesh maybe?

Too bad I don't have fresh blood to test on the crimson spear head...

After careful consideration, I have decided to name this evolved material 'Blood Metal'; blood bone ↦ blood metal.

It’s like a Poke-Key-Man...

I will need to test this blood metal material with utmost scrutiny in the near future.

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Journal Entry Day 161 + x

I think the blizzard finally stopped.

The howling wind can no longer be heard, but it's hard to tell since snow muffles and absorbs sound; snow is a natural sound dampener after all.

My current situation is no different than yesterday -- still buried under the snow.

The circumstances aren't dire.

Living like this is similar to living underground.

It's a good thing I constructed a few air chimneys around the buildings before my basecamp was completely buried.

However, being buried, I don't know exactly how high the snow has gotten. Fresh air could stop coming-in from the chimneys at any moment, so I plan on digging a tunnel to the surface.

I'll be relieved when I breach the surface.

Journal Entry Day 162 + x

Reached the surface early in the morning.

It didn't take long since I used a flaming crystal coal spear as a tunneling implement.

Although the spear wasn't actually on fire, but smoldering like a hot coal (go figure), it worked extremely well. I did have to relight and reheat it a few times, but that's a minor detail.

The tunnel walls solidified into ice from the tunneling procedure, so it looks like my basecamp is inside an ice cave or glacier. Well, at least the tunnel looks like an ice cave.

The torches that were meant to sustain the designated path around the basecamp had all been extinguished long ago. The small amount of crystal coal that burned on these torches couldn't withstand the frigid winds and heavy snowfall brought by the blizzard.

I'll dig them out later.

There isn't much I can do these days. Especially, after being buried.

I suppose I'll increase my training and then focus on improving my armor and clothing manufacturing.

Food stockpile still remains unchanged. I should have no problem surviving the winter even if it draws-out another 100-or-so days.

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Journal Entry Day 167 + x

The dead zone is eerily flat when covered by four-or-so meters of snow.

I wonder if this scenery is common outside of the forest.

My first expedition after the blizzard had passed was a success. I didn't get very far since I had to break-path in fresh snow, but at least coming back was easy.

Before I left, I covered the tunnel entrance with some bones and animal fur. I also planted a lit torch in the snow next to the entrance. The torch had no problems staying lit since the blizzard had passed.

When I re-entered my basecamp, I left the torch in place as well as the animal fur blocking the entrance. The modified air chimneys (I increased their height a few days ago) are still providing fresh air to the basecamp, so blocking the entrance was no problem.

Inside the forest was...strange. A permanent fog made from ice particles floated everywhere I went. The fog had noticeable density. I felt like I was moving in water.

There were also a lot more snow mounds inside the forest than I had anticipated. Perhaps the tree branches could not withstand the heavy snow load.

I found no living creatures this time around. However, I did find the frozen body of a dead beast. I'm pretty sure it's a moose, or something that looks like a moose.

I cut it up into manageable parts and brought it back to basecamp. It's a shame I couldn't skin it properly.

Maybe I should build a sleigh…

Journal Entry Day 168 + x

Another expedition day.

This time around, I pressed further into unmapped lands.

Doing so, I discovered an enormous colony of Corpse Shrooms. I kept my distance since I'm unsure how they behave during winter.

The area covered by the colony dwarfed the territory once occupied by the Lentipede's mist.

Just how many victims did the colony consume?

The strange scene made me wonder if I was tripping balls. One could easily believe they were inside Alice's Wonderland by the sight alone.

The tallest mushroom looked to be six meters tall, while the smallest, the ones closest to me, grew up to my knees.

Except for the tallest specimens, the majority of the Corpse Shrooms looked to have perished from the frigid weather.

Is this natural population control? I can't imagine how rampant the expanse of this species would be if there weren't any natural controls.

I did see something particular in one area of the colony. Several Corpse Shrooms appeared to have been uprooted, while even more had been irreparably damaged by bite marks.

The culprit must have been a large animal, based on the teeth marks and large chunks taken out of the mushrooms.

I'm curious to know what kind of brazen creature would actively eat such a dangerous thing.

Well, I don't think the existence of such a creature is a bad thing. There must be checks-and-balances in the forest's ecosystem if the forest is to thrive.

In that case, where do I fit in?

Anyway, when I exterminate all the spiders, should I give myself the title; 'The Genocider'?...no...no. That title is too...cringe. It reminds me too much of Areikys and her shameful act of self-naming and self-titling.

Titles are to be received from someone other than the recipient themselves.