I woke again a few hours later, yawning and red-eyed.

The events of last night seemed almost surreal, and for a moment I wondered if I hadn’t dreamt it all. But a quick check on the waiting Game messages was enough to convince me otherwise.

You have reached level 115!

Your dodging has increased to level 80. Your shortswords has increased to level 87. Your two weapon fighting has increased to level 64. Your telekinesis has increased to level 62.

Right, so all that did happen. Now, let’s see if the storm has let up. Breaking open my icy shelter, I ducked outside.

The weather had returned to its default setting: moderately miserable. As opposed to what? Insanely miserable? Chuckling at my poor humor, I surveyed the area.

The landscape was a picture of white. Pristine and seemingly untouched.

Snow had buried all the bodies—just how deep was not something I wanted to contemplate—and no trace remained of last night’s skirmish. Even the bear’s remains had disappeared, leaving only a largish size mound to mark its location.

I sighed, realizing what this meant. I was going to spend the better part of the day digging up the corpses, not to mention the other supplies I’d stored in the snow.

Well, best I get to it then.

~~~

It took me as long as I feared to dig out the bodies, but in the end, I uncovered my supplies, the bear, my dropped sword, and all six hyena corpses—it turned out the one I’d injured had died too.

By then, the day was already waning. Not wanting a repeat of last night’s fiasco, I built an oversized igloo and stored everything inside—except for the bear’s bones, of course, which were simply too large. There was no way I was going to risk the hyenas stealing any of my hard-earned spoils again.

Although, truly, the scavengers’ arrival last night had raised my spirits.

Encountering the bear and the hyenas so quickly after one another gave me hope that I’d found a more inhabited region of the tundra. I was wary of falling prey to false hope, though, and so, despite my optimism, I planned for the worst.

Sitting down inside my new igloo, I got to crafting.

The first thing I did was create better needles. The first one I’d made had been done in haste, and this time around, I fancied myself wiser and more experienced.

Using ebonheart, I carefully shaved thin long bone splinters from some of the hyenas’ softer bones. Despite the soulbound weapon being larger and more unwieldy than my dagger, its hard, unyielding edge was more aptly suited to the task.

Next, I rubbed the bottom ends of the splinters against rougher bones until they were needlepoint sharp. And then, finally, I drilled tiny holes through the upper ends using the pointed tip of ebonheart.

You have created a set of primitive needles. Crafted from soft bones, the needles have poor durability and will be prone to breaking.

I smiled, satisfied with my creations despite the Adjudicator’s somewhat disparaging description of them. Setting aside the needles, I tackled my next job: creating string.

This was tedious if less taxing. Picking up the pieces of bear sinew I’d cut yesterday, I pried free the fibers and began twinning them into string over and over until, hours later, I judged I had enough work with.

You have created a large ball of string made from animal sinew.

Lastly, I turned to the furs. I had far more than I actually needed. Selecting the best pieces, I cut them into the shapes I desired.

Then, picking up needle and thread, I got sewing.

~~~

You have created a winter fur suit consisting of an overcoat, cap, face mask, jacket, pants, and snowshoes. Each item is distinct and separate and has been individually crafted from the hide of a cave bear. The garments have poor durability but are well insulated and provide adequate protection against the cold.

The suit is cumbersome and will inhibit your movement speed by -20%. Additionally, due to its native coloring, the suit will improve your sneaking by +5 when in snowy environments.

A weary smile lit my face at the Game message. The so-called winter fur suit had turned out better than I could have hoped for. It was bulky, yes, but that mattered little in the face of the cold protection it offered.

The only items my new outfit lacked were gloves. Sadly, they were beyond my meager sewing talents, and while I probably could have created something to cover my hands, I wasn’t willing to compromise my blade skills with poorly made hand-wrappings.

Removing my leopard cloak, I put on my new gear.

You have equipped a winter fur suit. Effects: +5 sneaking, protection from cold, -20% movement speed.

“Better,” I grinned.

The night was well-advanced, but before I could retire for the day, there was one more bit of crafting I needed to perform. Cutting the hyena furs into long thin strips, I twinned them around one another and bound them tightly together.

You have created simple but strong rope.

“Excellent,” I murmured, stifling a yawn. Tomorrow, I would fit the ropes and see if what I had in mind would work.

With a satisfied smile, I went to sleep.

~~~

Day eight of my time in the tundra saw me rising early. The hyenas had not returned last night, and my sleep had been undisturbed.

Dragging the fur ropes and a stack of unused skins behind me, I ducked out of my shelter and inspected the bear’s remains. The weather had finished what the hyenas and I had started, and now the bones were picked clean. Smooth and dry, they were perfect for what I had in mind.

Raising ebonheart—I really was misusing the poor weapon—I hacked apart the bear’s skeleton until I had multiple long bone pieces ready for use. Then, using short pieces of rope, I tied them together to create a flatbed. Beneath this, I affixed two leg pieces running lengthwise.

Next, I stretched out the animal skins over the top of the flatbed and tied them down. And finally, I fitted one end of the flatbed with long running ropes and attached them to a harness designed to go around my torso.

I had, of course, built a sled.

There was no way I was going to be able to carry everything I’d harvested from the bear—and hyenas—on my back, but I was not about to leave any of it behind, hence the need for the sled.

Stepping back, I inspected my handiwork.

You have created a bare-bones sled. Crafted primarily from the remains of a cave bear, this device is a simple contraption designed to haul goods across snowfields.

Bare-bones sled? “Cute,” I laughed.

Returning to the igloo, I hauled out my supplies and stacked them onto the sled. The meat alone made for a sizable pile. And when I added the furs and the other odds and ends, well…

That’s not going to be easy to pull, I thought, eyeing the sled and its contents. But I was loath to leave anything useful behind. Fitting on the harness, I readied myself.

Here goes, I thought with some trepidation. Leaning forward, I heaved.

The sled moved. Barely.

Sighing, I dropped the ropes. I knew what I needed to do, but I’d been hoping it wouldn’t be necessary. Turning my attention inwards, I checked my player status and specifically my attribute ranks.

You have reached level 115 and have 4 attribute points available.

Strength: 2.

Constitution: 14.

Dexterity: 33.

Perception: 25.

Mind: 60.

Magic: 10.

Faith: 0.

I could triple my Strength in one go. That would make hauling the sled significantly easier. But…

I glanced up at the gray sky. How long am I going to be stuck here? I wondered.

I’d spent eight days on the tundra already yet was no closer to finding a way out of the sector. How long would it take? Another week? Two? A month?

I didn’t know.

Thanks to the bear and the hyenas, I had the means to survive that long, if not longer. I was cautiously optimistic, too, about my chances of finding more game to hunt.

I knew from the Adjudicator’s message when I entered the guardian tower that it was repopulated daily. In most dungeon sectors, this would have determined the time a party had to finish the level. But in this sector? With its open terrain and miles and miles of empty space, the dungeon’s respawn rate counted for little.

Except.

Except that it also ensures my food source is replenished daily. Hence my belief that I would find more beasts to hunt.

But I could also not forget that I had gone six long days without encountering anything. Six days that could easily have become ten or even thirty, and I did not want to risk dying of starvation.

It had not escaped my notice that I’d not found the safe zones of the first and second sectors. I did not doubt they had one, just as this sector must. But I had to wonder how useful resurrecting in some random location—without any cold protection gear—would be in this sector. My first death, I was certain, would quickly be followed by my second and third.

Don’t die, then. I laughed grimly. Easier said than done.

So, where does all this leave me?

It left me without the luxury of being able to take any risks, that’s what.

I didn’t know which direction to head in. Hell, I didn’t even know how to plot a heading. And if I didn’t want to die, whether of exposure or starvation, I would need everything on the sled.

With that in mind, I invested the points I’d been saving.

Your Strength has increased to rank 6.

Time to get moving. Rubbing my hands together for warmth, I hauled on the sled again. This time it slid smoothly into motion.