He wandered in the mists for hours. He had encountered rats several times but he was faster than them. He had managed to escape from them.
"If I could catch one alone... I think I could kill it. I've gotten XP a few times but I don't know exactly when I was removed from the team or how much XP I need to level up. Whatever happens, if I kill enough, I'll level up."
He was sitting on the top floor of an old, ruined tower. His legs were dangling down as he watched outside.
"I need to eat something... drink water... I can't hunt anything with just a shield. I think I could handle one rat but they rarely wander alone. Also, I don't know how long it takes but the enemies we kill disappear after a while. That's why I have to kill..."
As he talked to himself, other ideas started coming to his mind.
"Is this just a place with rats, bats and wolves, or does it have its own ecosystem? Maybe I could gather something... or find a clean water source... Better than waiting for death here alone," he said, then got up from where he was sitting and this time started walking into the misty forest instead of taking the path.
"If I go straight ahead and come straight back, I probably won't get lost..."
As he walked through the forest, he kept looking at the ground. He was so hungry he could pop anything edible straight into his mouth right now. He came across a bush with small purple berries on it. They looked very similar to blueberries.
"Finally something to eat! And the bush is full, I can manage with this."
He picked one of the berries and just as he was about to put it in his mouth, something appeared before his eyes.
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"What's this?"
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"What is it loading?"
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"If at the end of this loading..."
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"...if I can see my inventory..."
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"...I can get out of here!"
[Acquired Professional Knowledge: Plant Expert Level 1.]
"I'm trying to escape from here! What plant expert? Besides, these kinds of notifications don't let me see my inventory..."
[Measuring Plant Level...]
[Level 1 Purple Death detected.]
[Purple Death: This fruit, which is highly dangerous and lethal for humans to eat, is essential for animals suffering from stomach pain.]
Boran dropped the fruit in his hand the moment he read these.
"So I almost died... I'm lucky I got this ability. Still, I need to find something I can eat."
He got up and started scanning the ground for any edible plants. He couldn't discover anything with his newly acquired profession, nor did he come across any other fruit. After half an hour of walking, he started to hear a sound.
"That's... the sound of running water! Water is flowing somewhere nearby!"
After walking for a few more minutes, he reached the shore of a lake. He quickly dropped to his knees, bent his head to the lake, and started drinking. His stomach was still empty but at least he wasn't thirsty anymore.
"Maybe there are fish in this lake!" he said excitedly.
He bent his head to the water again and tried to keep his eyes open, but couldn't see anything because the water was too dark.
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[Acquired Professional Knowledge: Fisherman Level 1.]
[Measuring lake depth...]
[Depth: Approximately 1 meter.]
[Fish species detected in this lake: Carp, Catfish.]
"So there are fish here!" he said excitedly. "But how will I catch them? I don't have any tools..."
He turned around, looked at the trees, approached one and broke off a branch. He started rubbing the branch against a large rock by the lake. After the branch was sharpened, all that remained was catching fish.
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"Which profession did I gain this time?"
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[Acquired Professional Knowledge: Crafts Level 1.]
[Item created: Mediocre Spear.]
"Mediocre, huh... actually it doesn't look that bad... Anyway, I should start fishing," he thought and stood there for a while with the spear in his hand. "Even if I catch one, how will I cook it? I don't want to eat it raw... Hey system! You teach me new information when I try to accomplish something! How do I make fire?"
There was no response.
"Do you want me to try first? But I have no idea how it's done! At least give me a hint..."
There was no response.
"Fine! I'll do it like I've seen in movies!" he said and gathered small sticks from around.
He piled the sticks and picked up two stones from the ground. He struck them against each other repeatedly for ten minutes but couldn't get even a small spark.
"This isn't going to work. How else can you make fire? Looks like I'll have to eat it raw... if I can catch anything at all."
[Learned Crafts Knowledge: Flint.]
[Flint: A type of rock found in nature used for making fire. It creates sparks when struck against iron-containing objects.]
[Note: Steel or iron-containing object is required to make fire with flint.]
Boran looked around and thought, "So I need steel too... Where can I find it?"
[Hint: When flint and steel are found, fire can be made using combustible materials such as dry grass or leaves.]
"Yes, yes, I got that. But where am I going to find flint and iron-containing stone? Do I have to examine every stone along the lake?"
When the system didn't respond, he sighed and started crawling around examining the stones.