Chương 27: First Steps

Mark was up just before dawn. Last night was interesting. Ava is going to be an interesting change for Mark. She came out of her lean-to just after the sun came up. She looked at him and just huffed. She tried to walk and stumbled. She was still favoring her hurt leg. Mark walked over and handed her the walking stick he found yesterday.

"How are you feeling this morning?"

"I'm fine!"

"Can I change the bandage?"

"I guess." Mark went over and washed out the wound area and replaced the bandage.

"Now that you're up, I would like to take a few minutes and let you know what I have learned the hard way."

"Open your sheet."

"What do you mean?"

"The system that dropped us here has given us a screen that shows our stats, skills, and level."

"Oh, the message before the attack."

"You need to learn how to deal with them."

"How do you take care of them?"

"Well, my first one I hit with a rock, and it bit my arm, similar to your leg there."

"I did not want to have them get close to me, so I learned to make traps to catch them."

"Last night the meat you ate was from a razor rabbit."

"Yuck, no wonder it tasted funny."

"I have set up a series of traps in the forest where I catch the smaller animals that live near here."

"Oh." Mark laughed.

"In the beginning it was sort of messy, but I learned a few things and got some skills and learned some crafts."

"Anyway, back to the character sheet."

"If you think of character sheet, it will pop up in your vision."

"It has information about any skills you might have and your stats."

"Bring it up and let me know if you can see it." A few minutes later she was swatting at the air in front of her face. Then she turned around and tilted her head up and down.

"That's weird; it just sits in front of my face."

"How do I make it go away?"

"It's the same thing as getting it; you just wish it away and it's gone."

"Ok, what good is this thing other than floating in the air?"

"At first it does not do much. But as you level up, you will gain skills and stats."

"You can also learn things."

"I made everything in this camp, and each time I crafted something new, the system recognized it and gave me credit for it."

"Please tell me you don't want me to go fight another rabbit." Mark laughed.

"No. What I am hoping is I can show you some of my traps, and you can help me clear them, killing the animals I have caught and getting exp to level."

"I will be with you and you will be safe. Are you willing to do that?"

"I'm not sure I want to do that."

"Leveling will make you safer and help you to gain skills."

"Alright, I guess I can try it."

"How much experience to the next level, and do you have a skill?"

"It says 15 points to level 2, has a bunch of stat numbers, and has skill instinctive evasion."

"Perfect, so only 15 points to level 2. I think level 3 was like 150 exp."

"Ok, let's go see what my traps have caught." Mark started heading toward the forest. He turned around, and Ava was hobbling down the slope from his camp.

"Oh, sorry about that." Mark slowed down and waited for her. She slowly followed along. She was moving faster today than yesterday but not by much. And she did not seem to want help, so Mark went slowly. When he got to the first trap, it was empty. They moved on to the next trap. This one had a field mouse in it.

"Yuck, that's gross." The little mouse was stuck in the trap, moving around trying to get out. Mark pulled out a knife and handed it to her.

"What's that for?"

"You will need to kill it to get experience."

"No way, not me!" Mark sighed.

"Remember, to get stronger, you need to kill it."

"Do I have to?"

"Well, you need to learn to survive."

"What are you going to leave me here alone?"

"No, but you will need to help contribute, and it will help you level." The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

"Fine, but I won't eat that." Ava went over to the trap and tried to stab the mouse.

"Hey, stop moving." Mark giggled. After multiple times she was finally able to kill it.

"I got a message about killing it and some title."

"If you bring up your stats again, you will see the title, and you can look at it to get more details."

"Okay, it says I now have 7/15 exp. The title said it's called "First Kill" and gave me extra experience for the next 10 kills." Ava looked at the trap with the dead mouse in it.

"I'm not touching that thing; it's all yucky." Mark then explained how to loot them and how inventory worked. She finally reached down and touched the only non-bloody spot on the mouse. She flinched when it vanished. Then she sat there for a few minutes staring off into space. Mark just waited and watched. Then a few minutes later he could see the scrap of tiny hide pop in and out of her hand. When she finally got tired of that, she turned to him.

"Okay, what next?"

"Well, we need to clean up the trap and reset it." When done, they continued going down his line of traps. The next three had nothing. They then found a trap that had something.

"Oh, what do we have here?" Mark explained how to look at and get the name for the animal that was trapped. Ava looked at the trapped animal for a few minutes.

"Oh neat, it says it's a juvenile brush stalker."

"Remember to take the knife and try to hit it in its belly and drive the knife in deep enough to kill it." Ava went over to the trap and bent down, holding the knife.

"Oh, it's hurt."

"Its leg was caught in the door and cut, and it was bleeding."

"Good, it will be easier to kill." She bent closer.

"He is so cute; he is just a baby."

"Yes, Ava, but you need to kill it to level."

"No, I won't do it. I am going to let it go." Mark sighed.

"Fine, Ava, come over here, and I will kill it." She turned around and stood between Mark and the trap.

"No, don't hurt it; it's just a baby." Mark just stood there looking at her. She did not budge. She then started to glare at him.

"Fine, we can let it go." Ava smiled, turning around; she lifted the door on the trap to let it go. The little baby stalker pulled itself out of the cage, dragging the bleeding leg behind it.

"Alright, fix up the trap like I showed you, and let's go to the next one." Ava watched as the little stalker continued to inch away. It was in pain, and it could not run. As she watched it, Mark could see a tear in her eye. Ava turned to him and pointed at the stalker.

"Can you help him like you did me?" Mark looked again at the little stalker.

"You know it's as good as dead; we should just put it out of its misery." She moved between Mark and the stalker. Mark just sighed.

"You know it won't survive, right?"

"No! You are going to help heal its leg."

"Even if I put a bandage on it like yours, it won't make it on its own."

"Fine, I will take care of it until it's better."

"And how do you plan to do that?"

"You can make a cage, and I can feed it and help it heal. When it's better, we can let it go."

"Are you sure about that? I don't think it will let you help it." Ava turned around and walked over to the baby stalker and picked it up. It snarled and started to bite her finger. Ava smiled at it and pulled her finger back and held it so it could not bite her. It snapped again. Closer this time. She flinched but didn't let go. Mark just stood there and looked at the stalker.

"Please!" That was the same tone his daughter used when she wanted something.

"This is a mistake." Mark sighed.

"…Fine. Your responsibility."

"You will have to take care of it." Ava smiled at him with that look only a child could use, showing you she won.

"Ok, let me build a cage first." Mark looked around in his inventory, also grabbing some limbs and sticks from the forest. A cage was similar to a trap, just larger. He was able to make a small cage that looked something like a cat carrier with a door and handle that she could hold so it would not bite her. Mark stepped over near her, and while she held it, he cleaned its wound and, using a stick as a brace, bandaged his leg to give it support.

She was able to get it into the cage without another bite and closed it. With a smug look on her face, she looked at Mark.

"What's next? You said I need to level up, right?" Mark looked at the stalker, then Ava, and just turned and headed for the next trap. They made it to the stream without finding any more catches. At the stream, Mark looked at the first trap. It had 2 small fish in it. Mark handed Ava a spear and explained how he would spear the fish to kill them. Ava walked over to the water and looked at it.

"Do I need to climb in?"

"Yes, you will need to wade over to the trap; it's not deep, and spear the fish." She went over and started trying to spear the fish. Again and again she slammed the spear in with no luck. Then she slipped and fell into the stream, knocking the side of the trap, and the fish got away. Mark just sat there and smiled. He could remember how hard it was the first time to get one. They moved on to the next trap. There was a fish in this one also.

This time he explained how he would corner them and stab them where they could not get away. It still took a while, but she finally got it. Ava finally stopped and stared into the air.

"I did it. I hit level 2."

"Anything new."

"I got 5 stat points and a new skill, Empathic Bond Basic." Mark just turned to look at the stalker in its trap on the side of the stream.

"Ok, concentrate on the skill and see what it does."

"There's a lot here." Mark just looked at her, waiting. She said nothing. He kept watching her.

"Oh, would you like me to read some of it to you?"

"Yes, that would be helpful." Ava then went through the effects and limitations with Mark. Effect: • limited emotional awareness of nearby creatures • slightly reduces panic in animals within close range • increases chance of non-hostile response (minor) Limitations: • does NOT grant control • does NOT ensure safety • creatures remain unpredictable and dangerous Mark thought about it for a bit. Then again, looked over to the stalker. This was going to be interesting.

"Okay, loot up, and I will explain what I know on the way back to camp." He explained what mattered. Levels. Skills. Stats. Enough to survive.

"I don't know everything."

"But stats matter."

"Pick what keeps you alive." The way back to camp went slow. Ava about halfway stored the walking stick. It looked like her new responsibility and maybe her level-up helped a long way to healing her injury. They finally got back to camp, and Mark sat in his chair. Ava sat down the cage and looked at him.

"Um, do you think you could make me one of those chairs while you make a bigger cage?" Mark just laughed. He went to work building Ava a chair. It took more time to build the cage. He had to go back into the forest and forage more wood and fiber. When it was complete, it stood about 4 feet tall, with a length of about 5 feet and a width of 3 feet. Mark sat down on his chair and watched Ava put the stalker into his cage. He reflected on the past few hours. The system really did treat each of them differently.

Her level 2 skill was directly related to her actions. Not wanting to kill the injured stalker. Not letting him kill it. Her skills were different from his. Ava was not ready… … But she was not helpless. She could learn. She could improve. She could survive.

"She wasn't built for this… but she might survive it."