Author's Note: Thanks to all for being patient. Working on Chapter 4 part 2 right after this. If it wasn't for a 3 day weekend I wouldn't have this done right now. I thank you all again for reading my work. Your comments help keep me motivated!

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Tannin gathered another petal. He almost had enough for several meals.

He stretched, feeling his back pop. The game was almost too real. Picking for hours strained his back. Certain muscles ached.

You are tired.

“Yeah, yeah. Damn messages. There are too many!”

The sky had darkened, making it nearly impossible to see. Even the flower he'd picked from just now he could only see if he was on all fours. Night came quickly, he'd realized.

The game time versus real world was very different. Waiting for Lucas to log back in proved it. He'd waited an entire day in the general area. Thinking of Lucas in the Friend's List left him no gut feeling of general direction. Lucas had not logged in for two days.

“I'll have to ask him next he logs in how long it's been.”

Being stuck in game messed with his mind. No one to talk to. Waking up to an unfamiliar place every day. It got a bit unnerving to realize he wasn't in his real body all the time. Finding a scar on his arm was another thing.

After Lucas had healed him, the scars remained. Not small ones from scrapes. But deep wounds that produced finely raised scars. He was now riddled with them thanks to the fight with the saber cat.

“Badges of honor.”

He was quite proud of them.

Tannin found another flower. He plucked a single petal and added it to his bag.

Ding!

You have learned a Wildcrafting sub-skill: Mooncraft. Your eyes have adapted to the night. You are able to distinguish the different plants at night simply by looking at them.

Mooncraft (Sub-Passive)Your eyes have adapted to the night. You are able to distinguish the different plants at night simply by looking at them. Works only on previously discovered plants.Level01Experience00.00%RankNovice5 meter radius.

Tannin's immediate surroundings became more detailed. Shadows and colors outlined flowers, vines, and trees. All up to 5 meters away.

“Nice! A passive sub-skill. Only took two nights to get.”

He felt his heart lift just a bit, glad to have made some progress. It spurred him on to pick faster.

He let a yawn escape.

“Damn sleep.”

You are exhausted. Your resistance to sleep has pushed you past your limits.

Debuff: Exhaustion -50% stamina. HP/MP halved.

“That's cheap!”

Defeated, he crawled under some roots. The moss felt soft underneath his aching muscles. He fell into sleep quickly. He was so tired...

#

Chirp, chirp, chirp.

Tannin's eyes shot open. He felt his belly rumble at the thought of meat.

“Birds.”

He took out his war fan and crept as silently as he could through the roots. He peeked through the gapes in vines.

“Sigh. They're too far.”

He watched the birds instead. Maybe if he memorized how they moved he could find a way to get one.

“TWEET!”

The cry pierced his ears. “Owe!”

The birds scattered as a bigger bird landed in the middle of them. It stood up high, it's wings spread wide. He tweeted again, the golden feathers on his head gleaming as he pronounced himself king of the flock.

“Tweet.”

“What kind of bird is that?”

He watched it, focusing like he did if he wanted to see extra stats or details. Sure enough, a window appeared.

Golden Sparrowhawk Lvl 20 Hp 2000/2000 Mp 800/800

What was with the overpowered bird?! The level was crazy high. A cheat monster? Or a boss?

Either way, level 20 was out of his league. Instant death for sure.

“No way am I going out.”

He retreated further into the roots.

The giant sparrowhawk tilted it's head side to side. It spotted one of the smaller birds pecking not too far away. It slowly rose, it's head arrowed in on the bird. As it rose higher the smaller bird seemed to sense the danger, but it was too late.

The sparrowhawk struck out, kicking at the smaller bird. Talons slashed faster than Tannin could see. The sparrowhawk drew it's leg back, the bird speared through by it's longest talon. It proceeded to eat the bird, feathers and all. It quickly finished the meal, then flew off as quick as it came.

“The freak? I'm only level 2 and they have that kind of thing flying around?”

This game was very different than any other he'd ever played.

With the bird gone he crawled out. The day was new and he needed to eat.

“Now that I think about it, I'm not getting those stupid hungry messages.”

His belly rumbled, telling him otherwise.

“Did the game update that feature while I was asleep?”

A game with an awesome A.I., as the developer put it. Did it react based on the actions and conversations of the players? Then why didn't it fix the glitch?

Tannin raised a hand.

“System Information.”

System Error.

“Grr. Why?! I have classes I'm missing! I need to eat!”

More than that, he wanted to go home.

He slammed a fist into the nearest tree root.

“Damn!”

He closed his eyes and breathed deep, calming down. “I'll try again later. I need to make sure to not die until then.”

“I need to get stronger. That bird is way too high.”

He had searched far and wide, but the only beasts were the birds and cats. The cats being now 7 levels higher was dangerous, but he couldn't exactly catch the birds.

“Cats it is.”

He gathered for his wildcrafting skill and meals while he searched for saber cats. He kept his weapon drawn, remembering the previous ambush.

It was surprisingly difficult to find a saber cat. He'd only ever seen the one. The only other life he came across was some of the small birds.

“Why aren't there more wildlife? Wish I had some meat.” It'd be nice to be feel full instead of satisfied. Constant salads was depressing.

Eventually his rumbling stomach became too noisy. He searched his bags to tally up.

Small Bloom x187Herbal Leaf x93Great Tree's Bark x168Soft Moss x51Blue Cherry Berry x45Blue Cherry Berry Seed x103Small Bloom Petal x54Item x00Item x00Item x00Item x00Item x00Item x00Item x00Item x00Item x00

“Takes 15 Small Bloom Petals to create one small salad. Add 10 Blue Cherry Berries to make a medium salad. No hunger all day long. This is definitely getting easier.”

He made the small salad. Blue Cherry Berries were hard to come by. It was safer to eat the medium salad before he slept to prevent waking up with a starve debuff, though he'd still be hungry.

After eating the small salad he continued his search. As he plucked and hunted he remembered the A.I. moves built into the saber cats. Leaping and clawing at realistic angles. It had long reach compared to his war fan. To kill he would have to get close, probably right on top of it.

Facing a saber cat head-on was suicide. He'd have to use a sneak attack. The trees around him were too tall to climb. He'd have to sneak through the roots.

Still, even if he successfully got the first strike, that didn't mean an instant kill. The saber cats were seven levels higher.

“How best to kill them...”

He ran the first saber cat fight over and over in his head to memorize the attacks. He got so focused that he nearly missed the sign he was being stalked.

“Random encounters?” He whispered to himself.

He looked around cautiously, moving to an open location to fight. He waited, pretending to be distracted. Just as before the saber cat came out of nowhere.

He rolled to the side, barely avoiding the saber cat's claws to his face. The saber cat tore at the ground, quickly changing direction. Tannin jumped forward just as the cat leaped. It extended it's claws out, it's mouth open wide.

They collided. Tannin felt his lungs empty. Fangs buried deep into his shoulder. They slammed into the ground. Tannin's head hit roots.

HP -20. Dazed!

The message of hp loss danced in his head.

Warmth gushed down his arm, wetting his shirt. He tried to focus, his eyes tracing his free arm. It was melded into the chest of the big cat. The warmth was blood. The fall had forced his war fan inside, past all the quills.

The cat focused on the kill, sinking claws into his back to hold him in place. It didn't shake, but instead sunk it's teeth, trying to sever and saw his flesh apart. The pain and shock made him gasp for air. He felt his head go light and dizzy.

HP – 15.

He pushed forward with all he had, sending the war fan further inside the saber cat's chest.

“Hwraaagh!”

“Mwweearroooww!”

The cat screamed, a gurgle sound coming from it's chest as it released him and backed away. Tannin pulled his arm free, his arm and war fan covered in blood. He scrambled back as the cat began it's death throes.

HP -10.

You are bleeding.

Blood spurted twice out of the hole in it's chest before the mighty cat collapsed. Tannin could see it's eyes daze as it passed away. He shook his head in disbelief.

“This game is too realistic. The gore...”

Bleed, HP -10.

“Hah.”

Tannin's arms and legs both shook. He didn't bother to stand. He quickly entered his bag and pulled out handfuls of Herbal Leaf and Great Tree's Bark. He stuffed the herbal leaves into his mouth while studying the bark.

+15 HP.

The bark's description said it was an antiseptic. The bark itself was flexible and dry. He crushed one in his hand. A small yellow-clear liquid dripped out.

He pulled off his shirt to check the punctures at his shoulder.

“Damn. Hurts.”

The punctures felt deep, and blood still steadily dripped from them.

Bleed, HP -10.

“Why aren't they closing? I should have wished for a healing spell.”

He looked around, carefully seeing what he could use. He stuck a bark piece in his mouth, chewing it up. He pulled some moss from the ground and spat the bark onto it. He mashed it together in his hand, then carefully packed one of the punctures up.

You have stopped the bleeding.

Almost immediately he felt a cooling sensation and a slight dulling of pain in the wound. The moss and bark mixture seemed to swell a bit as blood was absorbed. No blood escaped.

“Yes!”

He copied the same action to the other puncture wounds. It was hard to reach around to his back. As soon as the cooling happened he knew he'd gotten to it.

“What if it falls out?”

He pulled his shirt to him and gripped the bottom hem in teeth and hand. He tugged, hearing the ragged shirt rip as he tore it into a long strip. He wrapped it around his shoulder and side, making a quick bandage. He tucked the end in several times.

“Phew. Talk about life or death.”

Ding!

You have successfully created a new skill. You have learned First Aid.

First AidRequires some kind of herb and bandage.Level01Experience00.00%RankNoviceStops bleeding when applied..

“First Aid! Awesome! Now I don't have to worry so much. Still, I should be careful until I'm leveled higher.”

Tannin put the remaining herbal leaf and bark into his bags. He unsheathed his weapon and approached the dead saber cat. He slowly cut the skin, tugging and pulling. He cut around the smaller parts until it came off. He inspected the skin.

Saber Cat SkinDescriptionThe skin from a defeated Saber Cat.DetailsMaterial Item. Can be used in crafting.

He stuffed it in his bag. He had plenty of space. He continued to harvest the rest of the saber cat. He got a few claws, bones, and meat. All he stuck in his bag without inspecting. He could always do that later.

After the very last cut the saber cat's body faded away. Only signs of the battle remained behind. Claw marks, uprooted moss, and blood. He added more blood to the moss cleaning his war fan.

He stood, his legs still a bit shaky.

“I better get used to fighting. Those saber cats are overkill. Why populate a character into a zone way too high?”

He moved his wounded shoulder a bit, pain piercing down his arm.

“Owe! Freak, that hurts. I can't fight like this.”

He backtracked to his sleeping place, the hollow under the roots. All plants on the way were already harvested. He reached the hollow in good time and immediately rested against the roots.

“One fight does this to me. Probably because I'm so low level. Still, it takes way too long to find Saber Cats.”

He ruffled through his bags.

“Let's see.”

He pulled out the claws, bones, and meat.

“These I got from harvesting the saber cat. So they should be named accordingly.”

He identified the items.

Saber Cat ClawsDescriptionClaws of the Saber Cat. Sharp and deadly..DetailsCan be used in crafting.

“And next...”

Saber Cat BonesDescriptionBones of the saber cat. Incredible durability.DetailsCan be used in crafting.

“Last is...”

Saber Cat MeatDescriptionMeat from a Saber Cat. Still bloody fresh.DetailsCan be used in crafting.

“Not too bad. All crafting materials.”

He returned the items to his bags. He closed his eyes, resting for a bit.

He just sat there, going over the events until now. School. His jobs. Jenifer, Heather, and Tes. Little Lady. She must be hungry right now.

“Sigh. Why can't I leave?”

At this rate his real body was going to be in danger. The VLAM should have picked up the error and sent a report to the game's help team. It wasn't surprising that they hadn't answered or messaged him yet. There was 10,000 player reports probably generating daily.

“I want someone to talk to. Even an NPC. Is it my destiny to play alone?”

He laughed.

“Well, in another month there's gonna be another 10,000 people. In two months another 10,000 people. In four months the world.”

He rose to his feet, grunting at the pain. His shoulder was a lot less painful now, but still hurt.

“I should continue. No time to waste moping around when I need to focus staying ahead of the mob.”

This time he changed direction, heading another way from the hollow. The plants were untouched in the general direction he went. North, East, South, or West. He didn't know which way he was going. The trees were too big. But he could tell where he'd been due to the harvested plants.

He plucked his way forward, adding more goods to his bag. He found one clearing of Blue Cherry Berry bushes. He harvested the berries instead of the entire bush.

“Gotta love wildcrafting.”

He harvested through the rest of the day and only realized how late it was when it became hard to see more than 5 meters ahead.

“Crap.”

Rumble.

“Really, stomach? You can't wait?”

He turned around and headed back the way he came. It was slow going considering how far he could actually see, and only the plants at that.

Crack.

He froze, knowing that sound by now. He was being stalked.

“A saber cat right now?!”

He stopped, pulling out his war fan.

He waited, but no other sounds were heard.

“Weird.”

He kept his fan out and took a few steps when he heard it again.

Crack.

He stopped, the sound gone. When nothing came, he slowly walked.

“Mwweerrooow.”

A loud warning. He rolled across the ground like the last fight. He missed a hit again, but slammed into roots. He dropped the war fan, hearing it cling somewhere behind the roots.

“Damn!”

He reached around the roots, unable to see or feel it.

“Freak!”

He heard the saber cat land, getting ready for the infamous charge.

He felt through the roots, finding a gap large enough to climb into. He slid inside, seeing the poisonous soft moss all around. A small section was dark, shaped just like his war fan. He reached for it, still climbing inside.

“Mwaarrow!”

The saber cat screamed as it launched, pouncing on his leg. It clamped down, shaking and tugging it.

HP -15.

“Aarrgh!”

He was pulled back, jammed against the roots. He pushed forward, trying for the war fan. It was the only way out.

The saber cat pulled back, jerking him again back and forth. It kept him just out of reach of the weapon. The cat dug in, slowly forcing the rest of him out.

HP -10.

In desperation, he clung onto the poisonous moss. The moss came out in bundles, clutched in his hands as he was dragged clear of it. He turned, striking out with his free foot on the saber cat's face. It didn't seem to notice.

HP -10.

The cat clawed his chest, digging in. It released his leg and lunged for the kill.

Bleed, HP -10.

Tannin raised his arm up in defense. The cat crunched down on it. He could feel the bone give and break. Pain shot through up into his skull, making his teeth ache.

HP -25.

“Aaah!”

The pain blinded him and all he could see was white. He struck down with his fist, striking the cat in the face repeatedly. “Let go! Let me go!”

“Mweoorrgh!”

The saber cat huffed, snorting as it only clenched down harder.

HP -10.

Bleed, HP -10.

He continued to strike, hitting anything he could reach. The soft moss he held shredded into puffs, small bits of it entering through the cat's eyes and nose.

The cat snorted, squinting it's eyes. It's grip began to lessen. He pounded it's face, his leg numbing. The pain receded to the point he could see. He saw the cat wince from his fist.

HP -10.

Bleed, HP -10.

Tannin focused on the eyes and nose, hammering away. The cat began to choke and released his arm. He punched forward with the same arm. The cat saw the move and chomped forward. It consumed his fist, along with the soft moss. Before it chomped down it backed off, inhaling the soft moss.

Bleed, HP -10.

Tannin scooted back against the roots, fumbling through the gap until he could reach his war fan. He grasped it, backing out as fast as he could. He faced the cat with the war fan spread open. To his surprise, the saber cat lay on it's side, gasping.

It's mouth was gaping open as it tried to get some air. It breathed once more. That was it. It was over.

Ding!

You have reached level 3! HP +20. MP +15. Your base stats have risen by +1.

“It's too hard to level. What kind of game is this?”

Bleed, HP -10.

He pulled out a handful of herbal leaves and ate them.

HP +20.

He chewed and placed a mixture of moss and bark into the wounds on his leg. Seeing his pants torn, he ripped off the half below the knee. He tore it into strips and made a bandage for his leg. He did all this without his left arm, which was crushed and bleeding.

Bleed, HP -10.

He ripped his other pant leg to the same length, using that to apply first aid to his arm.

You have stopped the bleeding.

He inspected his arm's wound. A status window appeared.

Left Arm: Broken. Multiple fractures. Until it is healed, you will be unable to use the arm and your HP will be unable to regenerate on it's own.

“The freak?! On it's own? That means I can only heal via herbal leaves.”

He pulled herbal leaves out of his bag. He didn't want to use them like this. It took too long to acquire them. However, he couldn't just walk around with half HP either.

He ate the leaves until his hp said plus zero.

“I hate that. What a waste. 140 herbal leaves gone.”

Rumble.

“Really?!”

He pulled out enough petals for a small salad. He looked around, seeing the night darkness. He added some blue cherry berries for a medium sized meal.

“Now's not the time to hold back.”

He ate the medium salad. His stomach quieted down as soon as he was done.

Satiety maxed.

He scooted backwards, reaching the roots. He pulled himself up, testing his leg. It was still numb. He put some pressure on it. It stressed, shooting a pain up his leg.

“It's bearable compared to my arm.”

He put his weight on trees and roots as he followed the plucked path back to the hollow. His broken arm remained hanging at his side, useless. The injury to his leg made the going slow. He wasn't sure how long it was taking to get back.

You are tired.

“Give me a break!”

He tried to go faster. He ended up tripping and falling to the ground, slamming into his arm.

“Ah!”

He huffed, hissing away the pain. “That hurt.”

He stood, moving slower. “This sucks. I'm not going to travel at night alone again. Ever.”

More time passed. He was starting to feel that heaviness from lack of sleep.

You are exhausted. Your resistance to sleep has pushed you past your limits.

Debuff: Exhaustion -50% stamina. HP/MP halved.

“No!”

He gritted his teeth as his body became twice as heavy as before. He fell to his knees. His wounded arm dragged against the ground as he began to crawl.

“It's not safe. I have to sleep at the hollow.”

He crawled, and crawled. He paused a few times to hear if he was being stalked. Thankfully nothing was.

He was overwhelmed with relief as he spotted the familiar roots. He slid in on his belly, not bothering to check his wounds or items. He simply crawled in and fell asleep.

#

Morning crept in on him with the birds. The birdsong and whistles had become his alarm clock. As his eyes opened, his mind became alert.

Before he moved he remembered last night. Traveling at night to pick plants...

“I'm so stupid.”

He thudded his head against the mossy ground. “I've been deceived. This game, it's not a game at all.”

He had almost died. With the glitching and broken pain prevention he had better not risk death. What if it negatively affected his body? If he couldn't leave the game something must already be wrong. Until he could find out he needed to do his best to survive.

“I just want to go home.”

He rolled in self-pity for a bit. “I wonder what Lucas is doing.”

He closed his eyes and thought where Lucas was. Nothing, no feeling of general direction, came to him.

“Sigh. Still logged out? What's the difference in time between the game and real life?”

Rumble.

“Grr. Fine.”

He slowly sat up, not daring to use his broken arm. He made and ate a medium salad. Then he checked his bags and took inventory.

Small Bloom x187Herbal Leaf x12Great Tree's Bark x205Soft Moss x63Blue Cherry Berry x64Blue Cherry Berry Seed x123Small Bloom Petal x57Saber Cat Skin x01Saber Cat Claws x02Saber Cat Bones x05Saber Cat Meat x12Item x00Item x00Item x00Item x00Item x00

“I didn't harvest the saber cat last night. I wonder if it's still there.”

Tannin checked his leg wound, carefully unwrapping it. The wound was closed, but covered in blood and grime. The wound on his shoulder had already scarred. He inspected the cloth ripped from his pant

leg.

Ripped ClothDescriptionDirty and Bloody.DetailsIt should be burned, but can be reused if cleaned

He placed the dirty bandage in his bags.

Wary after last night, he pulled out his war fan and crawled slowly outside. He waited. Only birds pecked the ground as usual. He climbed the rest of the way out.

He walked around a bit, testing his leg. It seemed to hold his weight fine without pain. It wasn't numb anymore either. Now in the sunlight, he carefully checked himself over again.

Other than the knowledge of his current wounds he was only dirty and covered in dried blood.

“I feel gross. You'd think there would be water or rain or something. I'm just glad I don't have thirst.”

He looked back at the hollow, remembering the soft moss cover he was dragged out of.

“This isn't good. This is actually pretty useless shelter against those saber cats. I have to do something better.”

He looked around for things to use.

“Let's see. Those vines, if I can harvest the vines without the needles coming out then that would make good rope.”

He approached a tree, tugging on different pieces of bark. Some came off as useless. He got lucky on one try.

“This, this is good.”

Dried BarkDescriptionPulled from a Great Tree. Dry and fibrous.DetailsCan be used in crafting.

He pulled some of the fibers off the inside and inspected those.

TinderDescriptionVery dry material harvested from Dried Bark.DetailsCan be used in crafting.

“That's self-explanatory. I can use it as tinder. I just need to start a fire somehow. Then I can cook the saber cat meat.”

He pulled more fibers off of the Dried Bark until the bark fell apart.

Destroyed Dried Bark. Harvested +3 Tinder.

“Oooh. So Wildcrafting can be used this way.”

He wandered around, gathering more Tinder from destroying dried bark. He spent the day going a new direction, started from behind the hollow. To him it felt like south, since he based it off his hideout.

He went a few hours gathering plants and tinder. He managed to gather a few vines by cutting off a length of them, then shaving the spines off with his war fan. Thus he discovered Vine Rope.

He stopped when he noticed an odd sound. He listened carefully. It sounded somehow familiar, but he couldn't place it.

Shhhhh.

As he got closer to it it became louder, almost like a rumble. The air became a bit heavier. When he began to actually see a mist he knew.

“Water!”

He rushed forward, feeling his leg twinge a little. He ignored it, rounding a tree to see rocks everywhere.

“A river.”

He went straight in. All the rocks were smooth and cool. He tore his boots off and threw them on the bank above the rocks. The slow moving water flowed up to his mid-shines. He sat and dunked himself, his injured arm merely floating painlessly along.

“Hoo!” That feels great!”

He scrubbed himself clean. He even pulled out the ripped cloth and cleaned that too. He held onto a stable, large-sized boulder and leaned back. He floated there, the cool water soothing his wounds. He closed his eyes and drifted.

He stayed that way for a while, glad to find some peace. He let himself have that much, before the sun's light seemed to beat through his eyelids. He sat up and sputtered water.

“The sun!”

He looked up, the canopy giving way to open blue sky thanks to the broadness of the moving river. In the distance upstream he spotted a far-away white peak of a single mountain. Downstream seemed more rolling mountainous hills full of the Great Forest as far as he could see. The name of the forest seemed more fitting now.

He was standing in a straight part of the river near a bend. At the bend he saw flat ground not covered by foliage of any kind. It was like a beach.

He retrieved his boots and waded upstream. As he neared the flat ground it became apparent. The flat area was huge, and up away from the water. It would have to be a great flood to get up to the edge of it. Twelve feet higher then the edge of the water, about.

He climbed up after putting on his boots. It took a little bit thanks to his useless arm. At least he knew he could get up while carrying something later.

He reached the top and surveyed while smoothing water out of his hair. He nodded in satisfaction.

“This will make a perfect base. I'll only need to protect one side...”

He thought about it. It was big enough for several people to live in nicely with extra room for anything later. He would have to do several things to get ready. It would be a few days before he dared to spend the night here. He headed back to the hollow to get ready.

“I'll need a wooden fence and a gate. Have to make a roof in case it actually does rain.”

He passed a few birds. No sign of the sparrowhawk.

“I should get Lucas' input too. Until he comes back on I need to get stuff together.”

He had so much to do...