Chapter 72: Base Construction

Since we were likely stranded, we got to work.

The next few weeks were full of many things for both Isabella and me.

It started with cutting down a single tree. Vengeance was capable of turning into simple tools like a hatchet, and it turned out to be more than useful here.

Especially since I didn't want to cut down a tree with a sword.

As possible as it might have been with these weapons, I would have felt silly doing it that way.

Once the tree was down, we carved it up and drew some blueprints in the dirt.

After that, we had to get some rope.

All of this was done in between hunting trips, eating, and sometimes fishing.

I didn't have a fishing pole, but a harpoon worked just as well. Simple weapons that didn't have moving parts usually were much more cooperative with Vengeance. Luckily, I only had to have an understanding of how to use it and how it was built.

I didn't have to have mastered it.

In the forest, although it was really more like a jungle, we found vines. Lots and lots of vines.

These could be tied together to create ropes of vegetation. They would be sturdy enough to meet our needs. Just barely.

The two of us climbed up a particularly wide tree and began prepping it for construction. I made handholds on the way up to make climbing simpler, and Isabella did her best to flatten part of the canopy.

I say she did her best because she was using a sword to cut branches. Bravery was not intended for such things.

And speaking of Isabella, she had become much more forward with me. It seems like she truly had to become a person without a filter. The result was that her defense shot up even further.

At one point, one of the vines snapped and a large piece of lumber fell on her.

She held her hands on her head and complained that it gave her a headache afterward... Despite this, she was perfectly fine.

It nearly gave me a heart attack.

After that incident, I instructed her to simply catch falling logs if the vines snapped. Something she could do easily without having to worry about being hurt.

Later on, once the work on the platform for the treehouse was complete, we began making walls.

The treehouse would have a stable platform and one single room built atop the flattened trunk up in the lower canopy.

It was at least thirty feet off of the ground and no amount of jumping caused it to come loose. It was held in place with vines and lots of nails.

We didnt have to worry about running out of nails, either. Both of us kept a few crates worth in our inventories for work.

One day, we were working on the walls and decided to take a break and eat some of the food I had made previously.

"Mizik, I don't think I'll ever get tired of your cooking. It's so good!"

"I'm glad you like it. Fish is my favorite food, so I try to cook it perfectly. I've never seen the kinds of fish they have here though."

"Well, regardless, it's very good. Say, how much longer until we get the treehouse up?"

"Might be a few more days or even a week. We may even have to cut down another tree if we want to add to it," I said sadly.

I wanted construction to be done quickly. I hated working every single day, but it was necessary.

"I can't wait until it's done! I hate sleeping on the ground. Besides, when it's done and we're away from potentially prying eyes, I'm going to grab you and-"

"Thank you, Isabella! Thank you for loving me so much!" I said quickly.

"No problem, I plan to keep-"

"That sword sure is amazing, isn't it?" I interrupted her again

"Yes, it is. And...thank you for stopping me... Sometimes I can't control what comes out of my mouth..." She said as she covered her face.

"Just try to keep it contained in front of others, okay?"

"Of course I will! I'm a modest and proper lady!" She said proudly.

"Yep. A really beautiful proper lady," I said with a smile.

Her face flushed red and she peered over at me.

Gah...so cute! But we should probably get back to work...

"I'm just saying how I feel. Anyway, let's get moving. This thing isn't going to build itself," I said.

"Boo...I don't want to... I want to be lovey dovey with you..." Isabella said.

"We can do that later, Isabella. Let's get to work, okay?"

"Right! And...thank you, Mizik!"

"Anytime. Let's go," I said.

Isabella gave me a satisfied smile and we went back to work.

* * *

A couple of days later, it started raining really hard.

It wasn't the first rainstorm that we had to put up with, but this one in particular was much heavier.

Luckily, after the first rainstorm, Isabella and I had constricted a small shack with a roof that we could wait out the storm in.

It wasn't big enough to sleep comfortably in, but it was shelter.

Although in hindsight, we could probably have built it a little larger. Sleeping on the ground wasn't fun at all.

Later that day, once the storm had passed, I took some time to hunt and fish. There were a lot of weird creatures in this world.

Actually, I would call them monsters, but they were different from the ones we saw in Avernia. For starters, they were much more common.

In Avernia, one would have to look pretty hard to find a group of monsters. The wilds were usually just filled with animals and bandits for the most part. Things like goblins and ogres weren't actually that common.

Here, there were several kinds of monsters that I didn't recognize at all. Also, they seemed to gather more while we were on the ground.

There were bipedal lizards with primitive tools mostly, and strange wolf-like monsters.

But the creatures were weak. And learned VERY quickly that we were far too strong to be killed by them. Still, they were a nuisance.

I was sure that the monsters had very little intelligence as well. Although, they had enough to recognize overwhelming power. Lastly, it still seemed like none of them were able to use magic in any way.

This world was truly devoid of magic.

At the same time, I finally got around to teaching Isabella how to swim.

It wasn't hard because of how smart she was.

Actually, genius was more like it. Once I showed her the basics, she took to it immediately. After that, she insisted I hold onto her while she swam all over the lake. She wanted to impress me and it worked.

Among just simply wanting me to hold onto her, of course.

A couple of days later, once everything was fully dried off, we continued construction of the treehouse.

The walls were finished and it was time to add the roof.

That project took a few more days and finally, it was finished.

Our new base was a large treehouse with one floor, a trapdoor for entering and exiting, and a window with shutters.

We also constructed a bed frame and laid the sleeping bag on it for comfort.

After that, Isabella insisted we spend the day relaxing.

I couldn't help but feel that she was just trying to keep her mind off of Avernia.

I felt the same way. Thinking about the horrors that befell our world made me feel terribly depressed. That place was my home. It was everything I had ever known. And now...it was gone forever.

Once everything calmed down, we spent our first night sleeping up in the treehouse. It was great.

The next day, we made plans to create a second floor for storage and got to work on that as well. Much to Isabella's displeasure.

It meant much more work and the need even more wood. But it kept our minds off of the reality of our situation.

Our world, Avernia, had likely been completely destroyed. We were stranded in an unknown world with no idea if civilization even existed here, and we didn't know if the Black Ooze would come for us or not.

We were huddled together in a treehouse in the middle of nowhere and desperately searching for things to do...

Isabella was bored just playing her violin and didn't have any normal hobbies.

We had spent so much time working back in Geldekairn, that it felt natural to be doing something. Construction was what we knew how to do well, and it paid off. We made ourselves a nice shelter.

Isabella and I continued working hard to make the treehouse more livable. We even built a deck and a front door so that we could watch the sunset together.

At some point when we finished the second floor, we decided to stop.

We kept living on the first floor, but stored items on the second. The items we stored were simple things. Some tools, bones from the creatures we killed, etcetera. They were mainly things we didn't need in our inventories, but still wanted to have around.

After we finished construction of the base, we explored around the forest to see if we could find any signs of civilization.

In short, we found nothing of real interest. This jungle that we lived in was really devoid of sentient life. We decided not to bother with it anymore and just stayed in the treehouse most days.

We could still go swimming in the lake or fish and hunt to break up the monotony, however. Isabella and I also started sparring with each other to keep our skills sharp.

The result was that I discovered something interesting about Vengeance.

Vengeance could understand Isabella's importance to me. And also, she was the wielder of Bravery. His subordinate. As a result, it wouldn't harm her.

I couldn't be sure if this was the same for everyone, but now I knew for a fact that I didn't have to hold back around her in battle.

After we sparred on one particular evening, we sat down on the ledge of our treehouse and looked over the lake.

"Mizik, do you think we'll find anyone else in this world?"

"Hard to say. It's been over a month since we got here. Although, I guess even a well-populated place like Avernia also has empty spaces..." I said as I recalled our first trip to Albatross.

"True, but what if we do? Do you think that they'll be like us?" She asked curiously.

"Like what? Human?"

"Yes. Do you think there might be other humans in this world?"

"Well, if we're in another world, I guess anything is possible, right?"

"I suppose so. Hey Mizik, can we lay down together?"

"Are you speaking of..."

"No, not right now. Unless you want to, of course. But I mean to just enjoy each others company," Isabella said with a smile.

As she spoke, she leaned her head on my shoulder.

"I think I'd like that a lot. Isabella, even if this is our future, let's enjoy the time we have together."

"Always!"