Low-grade Stone Ax

'Oh, right... It just wanted me to craft an item not specifically the ax.'

Marco had three dark lines over his head as he felt betrayed by the system.

'Why give me an ax blueprint then! You tricked me! I thought you wanted me to craft the ax, so I gathered materials to make rope, but creating rope ended up completing the task given to me!'

He sighed deeply after some time then opened the Creation Platform and placed the materials according to how the ax blueprint told him to do so. The sticks, the stone, and the rope.

He tried starting the crafting process but the creation prompt did not appear. He blinked continuously like an idiot yet the creation still failed to start didn't start.

From an observer's point of view, he looked like someone who was going under an epileptic attack without the rigorous body movements.

"What am I doing wrong? I must be doing something wrong!"

Marco checked the materials and their positioning and when he realized what was wrong, he couldn't help but swear himself.

"I'm actually an idiot!"

The ax needed a sharp stone and yet he was trying to craft using a regular stone. He opened the recipe section of the Creation Platform and found the lone Grass Rope Recipe there. He tried the blueprint section but only found the stone ax blueprint there.

"What do I do? If I rely on my gaming experience, then I need something hard to craft a sharpened stone. However, without proper tools, it would take some time grinding a stone and it might even crack while doing it."

"Then the only way is by putting two stones together in the Creation Platform and let it do the work. Let's hope so..."

With nothing else to lose, Marco removed everything from the Creation Platform and only placed the stones.

And just like how he envisioned it, x5 sharpened stone appeared on the result box.

"Gosh, that further reduced my brain cells if I still have some left. Let's get things going because I want to get out of here."

Without wasting any time, Marco created a stone ax made purely from nature. However, the resulting output wasn't to his satisfaction.

Stone Ax (Low-grade)

An ax made from low-quality materials. Has a high chance of suddenly breaking when being used.

Damage: 3 Durability: 50

"Well, I can't argue that it was made from low-quality materials. It is what it is, at least for now. I assume that I can still make a more durable ax in the future using different materials. Besides, I probably don't need an ax that much. I'll probably use range weapon more often."

Marco turned the stone ax left and right, marveling at the crazy item that came from nowhere. The ax was actually sharp despite looking dull. The grass knot that tied the sticks and sharp stone together appeared as if it was better than any glue. Even when he tried to pull on them, the grass rope didn't at all.

Seeing the binding power of the grass rope, he couldn't help but doubt whether it was really crafted from nothing. When he finally accepted reality, he strongly believed that anything crafted from the Creation Platform was trustworthy.

If it says it had that amount of damage, then it really strikes that amount of damage. When it displays that number of durability, then it would never break until the item durability reaches zero.

If he trusted that the system was working to help him survive longer, he now fully believed that the system wants him to survive.

"Well, since you chose me as a game tester, I might as well do what you want and fulfill my role, right?

"Let's work together! I want to live and you want game data. It's a win-win scenario for both of us!"

Marco bellowed as if scared that the mysterious system would not be able to hear him.

Seconds passed and only the howling wind sounded in the empty plot of land. After several more seconds, two zombies came rushing to him. The two were freshly turned zombies and probably heard his voice from the distance.

Both zombies were male in their early twenties. They wore office attire and were probably on their way to work when they met their end. Their clothes were stained with blood, and yet they were not crumpled. It was like there was only one or two infector zombie that killed them.

Marco didn't have the time to run due to the enemies suddenly appearing in front of him.

The leading zombie crazily ran at him and tackled him to the ground. His mind knew that he should dodge but his body could not perform the required action. If it was in the game, he could perform a roll maneuver or a simple side-step before following with a counter-attack.

As they fall backward together, the other zombie spent no time searching for another target and dived at them.

Marco felt the tremendous weight piling up above him. The first zombie tried biting his face but his fat belly served as a gap together with his arm lodge on its neck, stopping it from inching forward. The zombie that joined the pile tried its best to get a bite from him, but he was much farther away and had no chance to do so.

Marco felt safe and unsafe at the same time. The only thing keeping him away from death was the stamina bar slowly decreasing. When his stamina gets exhausted, there's a huge chance that he can't keep up resistance anymore.

He tried swinging the ax but it can't produce enough force due to several factors.

"Hey, we just started! I can't die now, right? Well, then. If I'm going to die, I might as well take you with me!"

Marco started to madly swing the stone ax and even felt his breathing shorten. The additional weight was starting to cause issues with his ability to breathe.