The buildings are all made out of wood and vines. I didn’t place them in the tree of origin just below it.

There is no practical way of getting into them, easy for me but other people would find it a bit difficult.

The tanning salon is a leather-working facility. There are a bunch of tools there, many of which I have no idea what the use is for.

Some of the devices are connected with what looks like vine but I’m not convinced. The vine leads into a slightly thicker vine and outside the wooden cabin.

I guess I need to get some kind of generator. Literally nothing in here looks hi-tech but I can’t help but be amazed how well it’s camouflaged.

There are no books or any kind of helpful material to point me in the right direction but I think it looks pretty cool.

Now, this gathering building. It is placed over eight trees. It should be obvious from below but it still looks pretty amazing.

It peaks above the canopy, each of the eight trees serve as support pillars, four of them are actually going straight through it.

The insides are filled with small rooms that contain two beds. There is a desk at the entrance, this place seems pretty useless.

Not sure what to do with myself at the moment, I’ve got an incredible urge to build everything I possibly can, but hampered by the costs of things though.

Time to make a small plan. First, I’m going to get some materials, craft some leather related stuff and hopefully get some skill-books.

Second, build things to make suitable food and water supply followed by more places for people to stay in.

These are all things that I can do while I train to eventually progress into the middle layer.

After I make this place self-sustaining, I’ll recruit some of my fellow survivors, elect a mayor or something then go meditate with an endless food supply.

I’ve got to experiment with the search filters for all the constructions. Maybe I can find some way to get an idea of what to build. This is the whole world is becoming a lot more fun.

Okay, so I said it was getting more fun, it got more interesting. I’m currently hauling stacks of leather back to the tanning salon, I´ve got a stupid amount of stuff now.

I found two skill-books but both were empower hand stupidly enough. I ́ve gone on three trips so far and I’m planning on making random stuff depending on what I find fun to do.

I’ve been trying to use the non-powered things here to work on some of the leather. I just assume that I have to channel energy through everything but I’m still a bit skeptical.

I found a use for one thing, it works like a knife burns the edges of the leather I cut, and it is very cool. I tried making leather rings, necklaces and earrings.

I managed to make them enhanced but they do nothing, as far as I can tell anyway. So in the future don’t bother.

I ́ve made everything I could possibly think of in the clothing department with leather. Leather underpants are less than ideal, the thong fiasco as well, still trying to forget that.

Leather-socks are virtually impossible to get into and even worse when I tried to get them off.

I made hats, caps and bandanas, I felt a small change when I put them on, so I’m keeping the bandana.

The hat is a liability when I’m moving fast and the cap is annoying because of all my hair.

There are many varieties of pants, from long to short. I’ve made a few jackets and tried to make straps to put stakes and spears on them as efficiently as I could.

It’s been a lot of fun, I might retire from my adventuring days and live as a leatherworker.

So there is another minor issue I ́ve been thinking about occasionally, that’s how to transport this ridiculous amount of leather.

Planning on visiting the survivor camp and borrowing some of their animals to carry it for me or make something with wheels to pull.

Actually I’ll do that either way, will vines make good tier materials? Hmm this needs further experimentation.

There are makeshift roads everywhere but they look well beyond repair. I might be able to move with everything, it would take ages compared to just rushing back and forth on foot, but that’s fine.

Long story short, I ended up having to help them take over a second town to borrow four horses as they call them. Muscular things with razor sharp teeth.

I can see the sanctuary, I ́ve been trying to filter countless variations with the information about buildings I can make.

I´ve come to a firm conclusion as to what some things are. Something called a greenhouse, super excited about the name by the way.

It is some kind of food place, I’m ninety percent sure. I've also been trying to figure out what kind of power source to use.

I can use something called a steam generator, then there is the basic oil generator, something called windmills.

Then of course, if I can find a decent enough downhill water source I could make a dam.

There is also a wind turbine, not sure what the difference between a windmill and a turbine is but I tried putting down a windmill before leaving for the sanctuary.

I couldn’t find a place to put it, not entirely sure what the hell it is supposed to do.

I switched to my hat. It's fantastic to be able to get some of the sunlight out of my eyes. I think I look like a cowboy, a cowboy with near radiant green hair.

When I entered Sanctuary I had to make the guards open the giant gate to let my horses and cart through. Pretty awe inspiring, that kind of gate.

I wonder if I can create something similar. There are really too many miscellaneous options to keep track of.

I move straight to the nearest store to sell all my incredibly well made leather things.

“These leather earrings are perfectly fine, and should at least sell for a few silver. Old man, be fair now, look at it, see those markings? Those are hand-crafted.”

“I am afraid we don’t buy leather earrings.”

“You keep saying that, and that would be fine, if you’d at least consider these beautiful leather necklaces.”

“I am afraid we don’t buy leather necklaces.”

“My good friend, what was your name again? Never mind, how about these beautiful, unique, one of a kind leather rings? Easily adjustable sizes and beautiful cuts and stitching, not to mention, everything I have is enhanced!”

“I am afraid we don’t buy leather rings.”

I think this confirms these people are soulless, my evergreen love, how can they not see what your prodigal son has bestowed unto them?

Right now I have a bit more gold on me now, made thirty seven kilograms of gold. Bought another backpack that allows me to ease the weight.

I don’t really need it but it’s all about the quality of life, especially since I’ve got a new city to make.

I’m afraid I won’t be able to buy too many things with this amount of gold, leaving aside that many things require skill-books.

I always wondered why the books didn’t disappear after you learned a skill. My initial impression was that it was so that people would share them but nope, building buildings. The nonsense never ends.

Right now I got a new permission or something after I capture a whole region. What was it again? Hotar?

“Son”

‘We fighting?’

“What was that authorization thing we got after we cleared out the outer Abraser?”

‘Hetra, wait you woke me up for that?’

“I’m trying to update the log, you have no idea how bored I am.”

‘Bye’

Lucky bastard. Right, Hetra. Maybe this will let me access more books. I might have to scour this whole place to see if anything else became available.

After talking to the exactly the same as last time in the library he threw a small card at me, a fucking library card.

Most advanced library card I’ve ever seen. Thing is still semitransparent and every time I glance at it the scrambled letters start forming small lines.

Kswly##!2%204

Authorization pass: Hetra clearance.

Got no explanation out of the robot librarian so let’s see if I can walk through some of these invisible walls.

Area, err, area number three is open for business. Fewer books than I expected. Seven in total.

|From scraps to salvation|

|It’s how you use it|

|The baron of blubber|

|No Love potions. Pst, come around the back.|

|The savory princess: Part seven|

|The lonely workhand: A new beginning|

|Alien sightings: volume forty seven: They are out there|

Going from the names I think we can conclude that I have no idea why nothing can be just named advanced potion making or something, and savory princess? That’s got to be good, it's part seven though, we’re going to be missing out on the essential stuff. Why would some of these books be restricted? Well I’ll take all of them anyway.

The fourth area is open as well. Three books here.

|Seven days under the waterfall|

| Alien sightings: volume seventy four: How, why and what?|

|Bob|

There really isn’t much to say, you can’t really top such classic books as Bob. I genuinely laughed at that, Bob. Beautiful.

Fifth area is accessible. We’re up to five books now, I’d love to hear whatever twisted reason why these books are restricted here.

|There are more than you can count: one to twelve|

|Make it better: I am Kevin|

|Alien sightings: Volume six: Never say never|

|Never forget|

|Being dense|

I was being confident when I walked to the sixth area, and felt like I’ve been slapped. So three areas got unlocked.

I’ll buy these books and head to Abraser. I let the horses walk slowly but steadily towards Abraser while I read some of the books.

First book is of course the savory princess. Not sure this was what I expected.

It’s not bad but the title princess is referring to a feminine boy that gets in some various incidents with both men and women.

I’m not sure what to think about this.

Being dense is just another mining book, just more mindless stuff, just deeper in the ground and or rarer.

I’ll finish that later. The baron of blubber is about how to cook various seafood, completely worthless. Why would that need to be restricted?

Great mother of all green calmed me down.

Oh! There are more than you can count: one to twelve is actually about energy. Alright so it’s more specifically about energy affinities and how you get them. Hmm.

Okay so I read a few pages in and it says you can get any or all affinities, but you need to follow very strict instructions.

Some of them are easily gotten, like I just have to meditate in water for prolonged times.

Not sure how long but that’s how you do it. It also mentioned something a bit harder. So if I eat and drink poisonous plants and meditate in that state I can get an affinity that is closely related to that poison.

According to the book, there are as many affinities as there are materials in the world, they just differ in how to obtain them.

There are explanations and instructions to twelve of them in this book. Poison one is explained as one of thousands of poison affinities.

Amazing book, most of the affinity seemed to be discovered by sheer luck, I doubt anyone tried to voluntarily meditate in such a dusty area just to check if they got the dust affinity.

Also dust? How would that benefit anyone? I’m definitely making a bath and meditating in it.

There is also a light affinity, which is to only meditate whilst under the sun an unaccountable amount of time.

You can’t meditate at any other time, you have to be constantly in direct sight of the sun. Clouds get in your way? You start again. It was very adamant about that.

Some religious organizations were very prominent at some point in time and researched it thoroughly.

A lot of the other explanations are very unsure about the validity of how to exactly gain these affinities.

I've long since forgone any hope of getting helpful information but this book is making me into a believer, there truly is hope.

These books are definitely a road to answers. Alright, the affinities sound interesting and all but that looks like a long-term kind of activity.

I’ll try out the water affinity and see if that works. It didn’t specify how long it would take but I expect maybe a few months?

I’m going on a serious meditation frenzy once I set up some sustainable food supply and maybe some servants. Pay them with food, safety and a place to sleep, that shouldn’t be hard.

Alright, we still got a lot of time to eat through before we get to the survivor camp to return these magnificent beasts. Let’s see what ‘make it better: I am Kevin’ is.

Not really sure what to make of this, it’s just a story about a hopeless young man that can’t do anything right.

It occasionally explains how to do things better, it for example said that you need to wipe tables in a circular motion.

I mean that’s interesting and all but let’s try something else. ‘Never forget’, a very thin looking book.

It boils down to this, every time one dies they lose a part of themselves, which is their memory.

It tells you to make vivid memories to refrain from completely losing yourself and end up disappearing completely.

It also speculates, as I did that people that die to often will end up in sanctuaries. I’m almost certain now.

But it doesn’t matter, not like I’ll end up dying that often, worst case scenario, I’ll become a leatherworker and live in the sanctuary. Maybe take up more crafting hobbies.

‘Seven days under the waterfall’ is a very straightforward body strengthening instruction.

It goes over various things but the most important part is clearly that you should sit or stand under a waterfall for a long time to get a skill.

Or at least I think it’s a skill otherwise it’s just some philosophical crap about the constant water bashing down on your body making your spirit stronger.

There are some subtle hints to energy, disguised as fighting spirit. So that makes things a bit clearer, I’ll try to find a waterfall to meditate under, two in one considering the water affinity should work well with it.

After leaving the horses, I head to Abraser, it’s time to create my utopia. Herros was still extremely happy about getting that re-spawn point.

It really wasn’t hard to take over the village ruins, I'm kind of doubting that he managed to take out the guardian in the survivors’ camp to be honest.

Perhaps luck is a strong factor? Maybe the first guardian is the easiest and the more you capture the stronger they become? This isn’t impossible to test.

To start off, I need to make some buildings to store stuff, like a generator. A few silver is all it takes.

I’m not sure how much silver exists in the outer layer but it’s not like I’ll cry if it runs out. Oh, no wait that could be bad. Then I’d have to go back to the sanctuary and get more.

Eeeeeh. This system sucks, it's already making things appear out of nowhere, can’t have some kind of currency exchange system? My green goddess save me from despair.

Right, so, the power issue. I only need it to be able to pump water up into the houses. These things all have plumbing and cables installed.

I don’t want to make something that I need to be constantly refueled, I don’t have oil to burn.

Not sure what a steam generator needs but steam is evaporated water right? So heated water. That can be fire, trees burn. Could work.

It’s all rather expensive but it’s the only expensive thing I really need at the moment. The greenhouse is a bit pricey but not in the same way.

I can afford both a steam generator and a water generator. I assume this could just be placed near a decent sized river. So let’s try the closest one.

Oh, I can place it here. The faded outline appeared, looks like a pretty large tree that completely crosses the small river.

There is a way for the water to move through it, looking amazingly in tune with the forest.

Right, utilities. I need to lay down this vine looking cable all the way to the base of operations. Easy enough. This is all coming together, I hope this will be enough.

Ah I can just make another one if this isn’t enough.

Okay I set up three green houses, might be a bit excessive. It's a plain building that peeks out above the canopy with green tinted transparent walls and ceiling.

There is a spacious area filled with plants of some sort, pretty sure it’s possible to grow vegetables here. Oh right! I forgot about the water pump.

I feel like I got everything I need. Running water, a place to grow something. Do I need anything else before I try to get some people over?

Ah right, connect all the buildings and make sure there is a way to get up and down. That’s all cheap stuff, only a few grams of silver.

I wonder if I can get those braindead people from the sanctuary here to work on this stuff.

Oh, by the way, I found something called En-Kabi. No idea what it really is but I found it while trying to filter out places to meditate, train and no sound.

Amazing right? It’s all about the keywords. I plan on putting it on one of the top branches of the Origin tree.

Not sure if I can use the construction menu to remove things but to make sure I can build the seriously large stuff I’ll put it as high as I can.

I’ll also place a basic house with running water up there. Might look weird, two or three thick vines going all the way up there but I don’t want to have to go up and down.

Should I go to the survivors’ camp and ask them to give me some people? I could go to Sera and ask her to visit, see how she likes it here.

It’s a bit far but I wouldn’t mind having those free spirited people around.

I’ve been working nonstop for days now, after I install the rest of the stuff, I’ll go meditate for a while. My canned foods should tide me over for a while.