Chapter 14: Rewards for Hard Work.

Daniel shifted his gaze from the sunset to the status window that opened in front of him.

Name: Daniel Grey

Age: 19.

Level: 2.

Experience: [130/150.]

Points: 304

Class: Undetermined.

Health: 43

Energy: 27.

Strength: 9.

Build: 9.

Agility: 11.

Reflex: 12.

Mastery: 16.

Intelligence: 10.

Accuracy: 10.

Luck: 12.

Wisdom: 11.

Willpower: 10.

Skills: Active: ___

Passive: [Cheater.]

Inventory: [Canteen.], [Bandage.], [Raw Mountain Monkey Meat x2.], [Gnawed Mountain Macaque Bone.], [Stone x2.]

Condition: [Mask.]

Fetish: [CBT.]

Sense of Hunger: 69%

Sense of Thirst: 51%

Sense of Desire: 68%

Sense of Cold: 8%

Sense of Heat: 10%

Bleeding: 7%.

Daniel looked at his status for the first time since he left the volcano. There were many changes. Firstly, he finally reached the second level, needing twenty more experience points to reach the third, as he was given fifty experience points for killing each of the monkeys, but that's not what angered Daniel.

Daniel was infuriated because, upon leveling up, he couldn't choose one of his attributes and raise it. The stat point itself chose the "Willpower" attribute and increased it by one point, without even asking Daniel.

`What is this? What kind of crappy system is this? So now I can't even increase my attributes myself? It's not a system, it's just a damn scam! How will it be distributed? Randomly? What if it "randomly" picks the "luck" and "will" attributes ten times in a row, what then?`

Daniel hoped to get an answer from the system, but it remained silent. Apparently, not all questions have answers, and some things must be figured out by oneself.

Also, Daniel received seventy-five points for killing two of the three Mountain Monkeys. And fifty points for killing the last Mountain Monkey. Here Daniel already roughly understood the logic of awarding points for kills.

`Most likely, the maximum number of points are awarded to those who kill the monster with one blow, spending the minimum amount of time on its killing, and without receiving a single scratch from the monster. And if I compare how many points I got for killing the Mountain Macaque and Mountain Monkey, I can conclude that the stronger the monster, the more points I get. However, I wasn't given a hundred points for killing the Macaque or for killing the Monkey. The conclusion here is also obvious. Most likely, because both these monsters were weaker than me in strength, the reward was more modest than for killing a monster that is equal to or stronger than me.`

In addition to this, his sense of hunger was almost at its limit, and his sense of desire was creeping up to a rather dangerous mark. Meanwhile, it was worth remembering that the very first Mountain Monkey had wounded him quite decently, but 7% was not critical for Daniel. It would have been inappropriate to use a bandage for that.

But what he truly pondered was his inventory, which was filled again. He had to hold one of the newly acquired items in his hand due to lack of space in the inventory.

Daniel lowered his head and looked calmly at the three knives he held in his hand. One of the knives belonged to the last Mountain Monkey that Daniel killed. He didn't know what to do with this knife, as he had no place to put it, and walking around with three knives in his hands was not particularly convenient.

`Could I try holding the third knife in my teeth?` the thought slipped into Daniel's head, but a system message abruptly popped up in front of the young man.

[You can craft a short sword.]

[Crafting cost: 100 points.]

[Required material: 3/3 stone knife.]

[Do you wish to craft a "short sword"?]

[Yes.| No.]

Daniel closed the notification and went into the crafting menu. In the crafting menu, Daniel had a multitude of items. This was because Daniel had found a stone and a piece of stick, so now there were about twenty items in the crafting section: a stone ax, a stone shield, a stone pickaxe, a stone shovel, a stone crossbow, a stone hammer, a stone trap, a stone whetstone, a sharp stone head, a bow, a bowstring, arrows, a hunting spear, a wooden ladder, a fishing rod, and a homemade backpack.

A large number of items, but none of them interested him except the backpack. However, to craft a backpack, in addition to pieces of sticks, he needed leather, which Daniel had no idea where to obtain.

But he didn't open the crafting menu for this reason, but to find the line with the stone sword. He focused his gaze on it, and several windows popped up in front of him.

[Stone sword.]

[Crafting cost: 200 points.]

[Required material: 1/20 small stone, 0/5 piece of stick or 0/6 stone, 0/5 piece of stick or 3/5 stone knife.]

"As I thought," Daniel calmly said. He needed to obtain two more stone knives to get a stone sword Of course, a short stone sword would be better than the knives for him anyway, but if he gets a regular one instead of a short one, Daniel would be overjoyed.

Now, Daniel needed to quickly calculate everything since it was getting dark, and he really needed to get back to the Safe Zone earlier.

He had 304 points. Crafting a sword costs 200 points.

"And, it won't be enough," Daniel quickly concluded. With a hundred points, he wouldn't be able to purchase all the necessary materials, so he had to put aside his dreams of a sword and instead rejoice that he would have something better than knives. Besides, Daniel was optimistic about this, which was uncharacteristic for him.

`Since I can craft a short sword and a sword with stone knives, can I probably craft a sword with short swords as well?`

This thought comforted Daniel a little. However, for some reason, he still did not accept the crafting offer.

`I won't walk around this crap without a weapon anymore. Better to walk with three knives than with none at all," Daniel concluded and began to move in the direction from which he had run to the grass field. However, after a few steps, Daniel stopped and thought.

`If I were the creator of this game, where would I want to hide a secret chest?` Although Daniel's face remained calm and impassive, deep inside his soul, greed and calculation spoke in an excited whisper.

`Relying on luck all the time will be foolish. Sometimes you have to work with your brain yourself. Of course, I can waste my time and effort, and in two more hours it will be completely dark, but I wouldn't want the things in the chests to go to other players. Apparently, they are quite rare since there are only thirty seven of them.`

Daniel quickly turned back and headed northwest. He didn't have time to wander and explore the entire field, so he decided to focus only on certain areas.

'The first option will be the northwest part, where that agitated monkey was looking for me. I haven't been there at all, so the chest might be there. The second option – let it be the center of this field. If I were the creator of this game, I would have placed it in the center.'

Daniel quickened his pace, moving from the northeast part of the field to the northwest, all the while scanning the surrounding space with a watchful eye. He was harboring hope that somewhere behind the grass blades or somewhere in front of him, the coveted chest would appear. But at that moment, luck was not on Daniel's side.

Finally, reaching the northeast part of the field, he began to search it thoroughly, examining every bush, every crevice, hoping to find the cherished chest.

However, all his efforts were in vain. There was no chest there, nor anywhere else, and all his searching frenzy remained fruitless. The thickening twilight increasingly shrouded the world around, and the sun had almost disappeared beyond the horizon, leaving a hint of the departing day.

Exploring this part of the field took much more time than Daniel had planned, and time was no longer on his side. So, he had no choice but to run towards the center of the field. Now it was not just a search mission for him, but a real race against time, in which he could not afford to lose.

With his heart pounding wildly in his chest, Daniel made his way toward the center of the field. Each of his steps, every movement, was filled with determination and persistence. The grass parted before his sharp and rough touches. A gentle breeze began to rustle in Daniel's ears, and ahead loomed a goal that seemed ever more elusive with the onset of night.

Approaching the center of the field, Daniel's gaze caught something strange. The dim glow of the moon, breaking through a thick curtain of clouds, reflected off something slightly shiny. Daniel's heart fluttered with excitement, and he sped up, heading toward the mysterious object.

Though Daniel's face and breath remained calm and steady, inside him everything tightened with tension at that moment. After all, this was a significant risk, and now the truth was to be revealed whether it was worth the time and effort spent on it.

He came closer and saw a metallic corner sticking out of the ground. It was a box! The very same mysterious box he had found in the volcanic cave! The box he had searched for all this long and exhausting evening. His efforts had finally paid off! He found this box not thanks to his luck but thanks to himself! It was his achievement. And in Daniel's soul, a pleasant feeling of victory was born again, just like when he defeated the Mountain Monkey through his own skill.

Invigorated and delighted, Daniel sharply touched the box. Two system notifications popped up before him immediately.

[Player Daniel Grey has discovered a hidden chest.]

[Total chests discovered: 2/37.]

The dusty little box, crawled over by insects and slightly covered with earth, suddenly transformed into a luxurious and large chest, just like last time. Without hesitating for even a second, Daniel opened it right away. Four messages popped up before Daniel.

[You have obtained an item.]

[You have obtained an item.]

[You have obtained an item.]

[You have obtained an item.]

[Your inventory is full!]

[Choose the item you want to summon.]