The morning sun rose above the treetops and its rays slowly fell through the cracks in the makeshift door of Chris's shelter, who, despite his stomach demanding food, had no great desire to leave his warm burrow.
Unfortunately, regardless of how much he did not want to leave, he was aware of his practically exhausted resources. Chris crawled out of his shelter, devoured the last of the berries in his backpack, slung it over his back, and headed for the river to wash off the dirt and grass that stuck to his body.
The surface of the slowly flowing river sparkled in the rising sun as its current gently rocked the cattails growing on its banks. When he reached the river bank Chris dropped his backpack on the ground and without wasting any more time jumped into the river.
To say the water was cold was an understatement but at least it helped him fully wake up. After diving under the water a few times Chris decided he was clean enough for the conditions he was in and went ashore and began to bask in the sun like a lizard planning what to do next.
"Water and shelter are already provided, now only food. Berries are okay but they won't be enough in the long run. It would be good to hunt something, but what? Deer or wild boars are out for now, so there are hares and fish. To hunt a hare you need some ranged weapon, although a stone should also be enough.
To catch a fish it is easier because if you stand still long enough you can catch one with your bare hands, although a fishing spear wouldn't hurt. The next thing is gutting the hunted creature, with other animals it will be difficult without a knife, but with fish it is easier because you can do it in your hands."
"so the easiest way to start is to go fishing but first I'll have to collect another backpack of berries so I don't starve while waiting for a fish, collect some dry branches for firewood and look around the area. I hope I don't come across a wolf or one of those black monsters.
Hmmm actually I wonder what time it is. looking at a distant point shows me the distance to it so to find out what time I should look at the sky? at the sun? and that would be stupid, although... I didn't have to look that long to find out the distance, maybe I'll just have to glance or think about it?"
"I actually don't know if in order to "unlock" the ability to measure distance by eye I had to stare at a given point or think about wanting to know the distance.
No matter how absurd it might sound, nothing makes sense to me right now, for example what are these black creatures, what am I doing in the middle of the forest, why do I have prosthetic limbs and why do I remember how to light a fire and gut a fish but I have no idea what my parents' names are?"
"It doesn't matter, there's no point in getting worked up about things you don't have control over. Instead, maybe I'll test which method will work and go pick berries. The safer option will come first, which is thinking about wanting to know the exact time."
Chris focused on the task, and a moment later a digital clock appeared in the upper left corner of his vision
"so it's that easy? just think about what I need and I'll get it in some form? hmm which way to civilization... nothing? hmm something sharp for gutting animals?"
at that thought, six fifteen-centimeter-long blades emerged from the upper parts of his hands, three per hand from between the knuckles.
Where did the claws come from when his entire hand is about six centimeters long? Will they stay in that position permanently? No, fortunately the claws retract at the thought.
Where exactly? Do they curl up like a tape measure or something? It doesn't matter, there's no sense and Chris is okay with not bothering to look for it. Instead, it's better to finally move and look for berries and firewood and maybe he'll even manage to catch a rabbit?
Entering the forest surrounding the clearing, Chris quickly began to look around in search of the goals of today's expedition, i.e. food and dry branches. Walking between the trees, collecting branches here and there and slowly filling his backpack with berries, Chris came across a bush of berries that looked like edible ones but their color was different from them.
Curious about what else he could do, Chris began to focus on the bush and think about wanting to have an easier way to distinguish edible from poisonous things.
After a few minutes, a semi-transparent window appeared in front of his eyes, informing him about the nutritional value of one berry and that they were edible as well as the vitamins contained in them.
The moment Chris stopped focusing on the berries the window disappeared only to be replaced by another one
"Congratulations, you have unlocked all the basic skills"
"okay two skills isn't much but still more than I expected. but enough of this wasting time, I need to get these branches to camp and I think I'll have to make a rope out of cattails so I can tie them into bundles for easier transport because I can only take so much in armfuls before they start to fall apart."
A moment after he uttered the last word, another information window appeared before his eyes.
"Talking to yourself can be associated with developing mental illness or other disorders, try not to do it around others"
"Wow, so besides those two skills and claws, I also have something like an internal advisor who can tell me what's
what, but only does it when he feels like it.
Heh, I'm strangely cool with this, at least I can't say I'm all alone. Okay, okay, go back to camp, make a rope, go get more wood, try to hunt something, and finally start weaving grass pants or something to cover your ass."
With this plan in mind, Chris set off towards the shelter, and since he hadn't gone very far, the return journey took him about twenty minutes. When he got there, it was already ten o'clock.
Without wasting any more time, Chris quickly threw the branches under the tree and set off towards the river to cut some cattails from which he intended to weave a rope or two.
In about forty-five minutes Chris had enough cattail leaves to make at least two ropes. Braiding the cattail leaves was quite easy and in about thirty minutes two ropes were ready.
Deciding that this would be enough for now Chris took on his next task. Tying one of the ropes around himself he went into the clearing to cut some of the longest dry grass. Not quite knowing how to make trousers out of it he stuck to the grass skirt.
With one rope still in his possession, Chris set off back into the forest in hopes of catching something or at least bringing back more wood for the fire. Better to have an excess now than to run around at night looking for branches because the fire is burning out.
Almost an hour had passed since he had left the clearing. Unfortunately, apart from a bundle of branches and a backpack full of berries, Chris hadn't even managed to find a snake, let alone a deer.
Luckily, he hadn't come across any black creatures either. Glancing at the clock, he noticed that it was already afternoon, so he sat down under a nearby tree and began to eat the berries. When he had finished, he decided to climb the tree in the hope that he would see something from above.
The idea turned out to be a bull's-eye because after a few minutes of looking around for prey, Chris had spotted a hare in the distance. Approaching the last location he had seen it in, he came across a clearing with a small pond in the middle filled with murky water.
Chris, noticing the hare, froze and breathing as quietly as he could, realized that in his attempt to catch the target he hadn't prepared anything with which he could kill it. Of course he had claws but before he could reach it, the hare would have fled back into the forest.
Staring at the rodent's silhouette, Chris was trying to figure out how to kill it most effectively when suddenly his train of thought was interrupted because his middle claw shot out of his right hand as if fired from a slingshot, digging into the ground next to his foot, causing Chris to let out a startled yelp, scaring the hare away.
"Well, it turns out I don't have to make a ranged weapon after all, since I had one with me the whole time.
It's just a shame I found out about it this way. Maybe I'll do better with the fish. And besides, you there in my head, maybe you could tell me more about what I can and can't do, like, oh, I don't know, the ability to shoot my claws left and right on command like a porcupine before I do it?"
a window appears before his eyes with the word "skills" at the top and everything he can do listed below
"Rangefinder lv.1 - a skill that allows you to determine the exact distance to the target you are focused on, the higher the level, the faster the distance will be measured"
"the measured distance translates into xp added
10.5 out of 100 needed for the next level"
"Scanner lv.1 - a skill that allows you to learn all the basic information about the item or creature you are focusing on, the higher the level, the greater the distance from which you can scan"
"maximum distance 200m current distance 6m
1 of 100 to the next level"
"Regeneration - Your body heals 57% faster. You cannot regrow limbs or organs, but you can focus regeneration on selected damaged areas to heal them faster at the cost of slower healing of other areas."
"Steel Bones - Your bones, ribs, skull and spine are as hard as Steel"
"poison resistance - 50% resistance to all poisons, poisonous gases, alcohol and drugs, but also painkillers and anesthesia"
"claw shot - by making a fist and using the two knuckles closest to the center of the hand as a rear sight, pressing the thumb to the fist, you can shoot the middle claw, which after firing will reach a speed of 155m/s"
"Okay, rangefinder, scaner, regeneration, steel bones, poison resistance, claws, and an almost built-in crossbow. Do I have two skills or seven?
Should I count only the scanner and rangefinder or the rest as well?
And speaking of the rest, how does the claw shot work?
What makes the claw fly at such speed and where is the firing mechanism?
Is it where the rest of the claw is that doesn't stick out of the hand or is it invisible or what?"
Unfortunately Chris did not receive any answers to his questions
"aha ok, never mind I have more important things on my mind namely fire and food, it didn't work with the hare this time so I'll try with fish"
Returning to the clearing, Chris threw a bundle of branches onto a pile with the rest and began digging a fire pit a considerable distance from the shelter and other dry grass.
The metal fingers of his prosthetics quickly and without any major difficulty tore through the earth and roots. After almost an hour of constant digging, Chris was exhausted, but a hole half a meter deep with a channel at the bottom leading to a "chimney" through which air would enter had been dug.
After a few minutes of rest he looked at the pile of branches in search of one that would be suitable for a fishing spear.
Theoretically Chris could use the claws as one or simply shoot one of them at the fish in the hope that it would hit but what if he missed and one of the claws fell into the riverbed?
It's not like he has an infinite amount of them to lose. Fortunately one of the longer branches after appropriate cutting and pruning should be perfect.
After preparing the branch he takes out one of his claws and then puts it on one end of the future spear hitting it with a thicker piece of wood splitting its end in two and then in two again.
Then he squeezes pieces of wood between the ends which he then sharpens. The spear was almost ready all he needed was something to strengthen it with. The rope made of cattail leaves is too thick and one made of grass won't last very long.
so the third option: tree bark. Chris took one of the branches and with the help of his claw he peeled off the outer bark then cut from top to bottom and gently peeled off the rest of the bark. it took him about half an hour but here is a sheet of bark ready to be torn into strips that he can use to strengthen his spear.
Tying a few strips of bark together he took his unfinished project, tied it around the sharpened ends and there it was, a fishing spear.
The fish, startled by this, started to swim away quickly, and not wanting to lose such a big fish, Chris quickly aimed his hand at the fish and shot it with the claw.
For something without fletching or other stabilizers, the projectile was very accurate. Piercing the fish through and landing somewhere in the mud.
Catching the fish before the river current took it away, Chris threw it on the bank and started looking around the area where the claw should land.
Chris looked around the bottom of the river in hopes of finding the lost item. It would certainly be easier if he just dived in, but when he did, all the mud from the bottom would rise to the top and then he wouldn't be able to see anything.
Luckily, after a few minutes of searching, he found the claw. Taking it in his hand, he got out of the water and started preparing the caught fishes.
After gutting the fish, he collected them and moved on to the next task, the bonfire. Chris took a few handfuls of grass and threw it into the hole, then took a short branch, took one of his claws and using it like a knife, cut a shallow, long channel in it, placing a tied piece of grass kindling at the end, took another branch and began to rub it along the carved branch.
It took some time, but eventually the kindling caught fire. Without wasting time, Chris gently placed the burning grass in the middle of the hole and just as carefully began to cover the smoldering fire with thin sticks, and when the fire got bigger, he put on thicker ones. In the meantime, Chris was preparing fish to roast over the fire.
When the fish were ready it was almost four in the afternoon. The sun was still quite high so after eating some of the fish and the rest impaled on sticks stuck in the ground around the fire Chris went for more wood using his skills from time to time to increase their power.
He was curious what the black creatures were but he had no intention of approaching them as close as six meters just to satisfy his curiosity.
The next few days passed more or less the same. Chris got up with the sunrise, went to the river to wash, gathered firewood and berries, mapped the area around his shelter, practiced his skills whenever he could, tried to make clothes from available materials, caught fish and hunted rabbits. Surprisingly, he didn't come across many more black creatures.
"maybe they are very rare in these parts or maybe it's because I try not to worry and keep a positive attitude? nah I'm sure there's a reason but I don't really care, it's not like I can't wait to meet one"
One day while sitting on a higher branch of a tree growing above his shelter Chris noticed smoke in the distance. Measuring the distance to the top of the tree that seemed to grow closest to where the smoke was coming from, he took everything he had, i.e. his backpack, put out the fire and headed towards the site.
Almost there Chris noticed a campfire and three tents in the distance, wasting no time he ran towards it only to find the place empty. Deciding to look around he entered one of the tents. Not finding anyone inside Chris wanted to check the rest when suddenly he heard someone behind him. Startled by this he turned around and extended his claws but before he could do anything something hard hit him in the head, knocking him out cold.