The First Dawn

Kyron's goal was to complete construction of the Level 2 cabin by tonight, so he needed to hurry and chop wood and gather stones.

He put away all the items first.

He could deal with them tonight.

Carrying the large bucket and equipped with the stone axe and hammer cards, Kyron stepped outside.

The warm sunlight bathed him as he took a deep breath of fresh air.

The air in this new world was unpolluted, refreshingly intoxicating and so comfortable.

[Ding, you have leveled up! Please select your free attribute.]

"Huh, how did I level up?"

[Congratulations on reaching Level 2! In this world, killing monsters grants experience. Each morning if you've survived, you also gain a small amount of experience. Attribute points are limited, choose carefully.]

Not carefully at all, Kyron didn't even read the descriptions and instantly allocated his free point to Strength.

I need to chop wood and smash rocks today. Even if the Heavenly Kings tried to advise me otherwise, I'd still choose Strength.

A scorching flow of heat surged through his body, like being electrified, instantly making his muscles and bones feel sturdier.

Swinging the stone axe in his hand, it immediately felt much lighter.

The trees were close to home, so he went wood-chopping first.

Not far from the cabin were scattered large trees, with a forest further out. Since morning dew was most plentiful, Kyron filled his wooden bucket with dew water before chopping - the large Sprite bottle wasn't enough for his thirst, so he needed to conserve water.

He filled the bucket, then found a large tree relatively close to the cabin and started chopping.

This tree was slightly thicker than yesterday's, and swinging the axe yielded slightly better results, mainly due to his increased Strength boosting efficiency.

The stone axe's sharpness was really lacking though, the jarring impact made his wrists ache. It took half an hour to fell this tree, netting 13 logs.

Kyron's back and legs were already aching. As an archaeologist, he was considered fairly fit, so one could imagine the difficulties others must be facing.

The system was really stingy, not even providing an iron axe, forcing everyone to start from the Stone Age.

But today's quest for others was only to build a Level 1 cabin, not too difficult. Kyron's goal was different.

A quick calculation showed at this rate of chopping, he wouldn't gather enough resources to upgrade.

Currently he had 213/500 wood and 103/200 stones.

Just 13 logs in half an hour, he needed nearly 300 more. Chopping alone wouldn't be enough, let alone mining stones. There were only 10 hours in a day, with time needed for meals and rest - no matter how he calculated, it wasn't enough time.

Kyron didn't dare delay any longer. As he furiously swung his axe chopping wood, his mind raced for a solution.

He had the Summon Skeletal Warrior card, and the warrior wielded an axe too. If he summoned it, would it help chop wood?

Kyron didn't hesitate, immediately summoning the Skeletal Warrior.

"Come forth, Skeletal Warrior!" A cringingly edgy incantation, and the warrior appeared by his side.

"Help me chop wood, can you?" Kyron demonstrated by swinging his axe.

The Skeletal Warrior gave Kyron a confused look, unsure what performance he was putting on.

"Dammit, this idiot can only fight, not chop wood?" Kyron couldn't help mocking it.

"Watch me and learn, chop like this!" Kyron raised his axe and struck the tree forcefully.

The Skeletal Warrior's eyes lit up, seeming to understand. It suddenly swung its own axe...straight down onto Kyron's axe. With its greater strength and superior axe quality, the resounding CRACK shattered Kyron's stone axe into pieces.

"Mother--!"

Kyron staggered back half a step, dumbfounded as he stared at the remnants of his axe, despairing and too furious for words. This idiot Skeletal Warrior had just destroyed his tool.

As he stood there grief-stricken, the massive tree suddenly crashed down with a thunderous boom.

[Logging Obtained: 12 wood logs!]

"Huh?"

"Well, would you look at that? This Skeletal Warrior may seem dimwitted, but its strength is clearly far greater than mine." Kyron marveled inwardly.

Looking at the axe fragment in his hand, an idea formed in Kyron's mind.

He pretended to chop the tree with the broken stone axe, and the Skeletal Warrior mimicked his motions. The axe fragment couldn't apply much force, but the warrior's immense strength brought the tree crashing down in just a few strikes.

Kyron just had to be quick - right before his axe struck the tree, he'd yank it back to avoid the warrior shattering the remaining piece too.

One person, one skeleton - they embarked on a wood-chopping journey that lasted six grueling hours, leaving Kyron utterly exhausted. Not from the chopping itself, but from having to continuously guide the dim-witted Skeletal Warrior while preventing it from destroying his axe. It was mentally draining.

"What kind of useless summon is this, so stupid? Yesterday during battle it was smart enough to use me as bait, but now it turns into an idiot just chopping wood?"

After hauling the logs back to the cabin, he had collected 372 new logs, plus the 213 existing ones, totaling 585 - enough to upgrade.

The Skeletal Warrior had depleted its energy and returned to its card form. Kyron went back inside, sitting by the fireplace to recharge its card while roasting the wolf meat.

The meat was a bit tough and chewy, with an intense gamey flavor. Kyron ate it greasily, without any salt or seasoning - the most primitive wild taste, but he relished every bite.

You needed meat to replenish energy after that kind of strenuous labor.

He placed the Skeletal Warrior card beside him to recharge, alongside the damaged stone axe card which was also slowly recovering its energy.

As long as the axe wasn't completely destroyed, it could be restored to full condition in the cabin. Only if it shattered into pieces would the card truly become unusable.

Kyron had never done such strenuous physical labor in his life, his whole body screaming in soreness.

After a half-hour rest, he forced himself up, this time leaving the axe behind as he needed to mine stones instead. He grabbed the stone pickaxe and the Skeletal Warrior card.

Stepping outside, he surveyed his surroundings. From the small hill he had descended, there was a rocky area at its base - the same place he had originally grabbed a stone as a weapon to reclaim this cabin.

Only about a hundred meters away, Kyron made his way to the mining area littered with pebbles, larger grey boulders indicating ore deposits.

Taking out his pickaxe, he tried to mine one of the ore veins.

Clink clink clink

Over a dozen strikes later, the first crack appeared in the grey rock. The pickaxe rebounded forcefully, the ore was incredibly hard, jarring Kyron's hands to near numbness, almost making him drop the pick.