Chương 6: Budgeting and planning

Nihil walked down the beach away from the group he'd collected. Once he was far enough that nobody but Aliyah could see him do it, he started extending his arm violently into the air towards the palm and coconut trees present on the beach to rip down the leaves. What would have been a bloody affair in another world due to the sharpness of some of the leaves became inconsequential for his new body.

The black threads expanded as his body lost density, delivering the forearm they masqueraded as six meters into the air. Then it all snapped back together with a satisfying twang.

"Your skill, you changed your body," Aliyah observed with furrowed brows, the two of them making their way down the beach, a green road of large torso sized leaves behind them.

"You're actually just hallucinating, this is all just a very bad trip. Those mushrooms you bought from the dealer behind the Wendy's were actually just dried champignons laced with DMT," Nihil responded, causing the other girl to break out laughing.

"I wish!" she exclaimed as Nihil tore his way through the foliage. Nihil didn't bother replying, focusing on the internal mechanics of his new body as he led it through the repetitive movements of leaf plucking. +1 Exp +1 Exp +0 Exp The experience points gained were diminishing in a manner proportional to his newly gained familiarity with manipulating the black threads. He didn't mind Aliyah seeing what he could do with his detached arm since she'd already seen it earlier, so he just let the girl be.

It was clear that she was just seeking a source of comfort and stability which she thought she'd found with him. He ignored her as the sun slowly disappeared under the horizon, clouding the island in darkness. Nihil didn't care. The sky was clear, the stars were bright, the half-moon was shining. He could see well-enough. Almost as good as during the day, actually. The leaves had to be ready in a few hours, not now. He still had time to collect more.

"How will you catch the condensation?" Aliyah eventually asked.

"I don't think anyone had a plastic bag, or bottle."

"Good observation," Nihil replied, walking towards one of the medium sized palm trees that looked somewhat unhealthy without many leaves. He steeled himself. His strength had increased significantly after the conversion of his biomass into black threads. A strength of 14 was already superhuman, if barely. Six more points and he'd be twice as strong as a professional athlete at the peak of their career. In other words, enough to do this.

Nihil twisted with his left foot as a pivot and extended his right leg in a textbook example of a kick. His shin smashed against the sickly palm tree and shook it violently. Another kick, something creaked inside the wood. A third kick caused something to snap. The fourth violent kick felled the tree, causing it to collapse with a weary groan and smash down onto the sand with a loud thump.

Nihil used the same method to hit a bit above the trunk that had fallen off, leveraging the bit still on the stump until he created a log about the size of his torso. Then he pulled the goblin dagger that he'd kept from level one out of his pouch and started gently using the shitty utensil to hollow out the middle of the log he'd brutally broken out of the tree. Aliyah simply watched him silently as he worked.

Minutes passed, and slowly, a hollow emerged in the middle of the broken log through the thickets of wood fibers fraying everywhere. That hollow turned into a deep hole and soon the wooden log had turned into something that resembled a jug, if you squinted and stabbed yourself in the eyes with a fork. Nihil put the log into the sand, opening facing upwards, before picking up a large palm leaf and starting to rip off the smaller leaves which he stuffed point down into his makeshift jug.

Without words Aliyah sat down to start helping him. Soon the wooden log was filled with leaves pointing downward. According to Nihil's experience the structure would maybe manage to collect about half a deciliter of water per day from the condensation. In other words, they'd need twenty of these per person for everyone to get a full litre of water every day. Of course some would be lost during transport and some from the necessary boiling process. If they managed to find a good stone to boil this in anytime soon.

They hadn't passed any decent rocks so far. Nihil's head suddenly snapped up as he perceived movement from the corner of his eyes. Scanning the horizon he spotted a black little monkey creature on a coconut tree in the distance, tugging at one of the coconuts. The creature fought valiantly against the coconut, before seemingly giving up and dissolving into thin air. Nihil narrowed his eyes. They'd left the group in a different direction, the monkey had come from the other one.

He'd walked down the direction Aliyah had come from earlier. Was it possible she'd missed something? Or did that creature only come out at night? He'd have to keep his eyes peeled in the future. The red-headed woman next to him bent down in her blue jeans and white blouse, trying to pick the makeshift leaf-stuffed jug. She strained against it for a few seconds, before giving up.

"It's too heavy for me," she eventually admitted. Nihil turned around and grabbed the water collection device under one arm before walking up and taking the gigantic felled palm tree with the other arm, hoisting it over his shoulder. Then he started making his way back to the group. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

"Grab the leaves closer to the group," he told the girl. Aliyah followed him silently and as they approached the group she picked up twelve or so of the giant leaves which she dragged through the sand behind her.

"This is my makeshift device to collect water," Nihil explained to the group who seemed to be debating their skills passionately.

"It's ugly as shit since I don't have the right tools. If anyone picks a skill that can do it better, go ahead." Musk didn't answer, seemingly lost in the small swarm of mosquitoes he'd summoned, which were now swirling around him in a mesmerising dance. Deborah for her part shook her head, before nodding towards the non-descript quartet.

"We decided to stick together in future challenges and pick skills that are complementary," one of the men of the group said, picking up a bunch of sand from the ground and closing his hand. When the hand opened again he was suddenly holding a small plastic water bottle.

"I decided to leverage human's experience with plastic into creating the ability to turn material into plastic!" he exclaimed happily. Nihil nodded. Focusing on a singular material wasn't bad. The only downside with picking an artificial thing such as plastic was that one wouldn't be able to create a body out of plastic in the future since that would simply take too many points.

"Not bad," he praised insincerely.

"Plastic is a very versatile material. Get good enough or invest enough points and you'll likely also be able to make sharp swords and such things in the future." He pointed to the ground where Aliyah had dumped the palm leaves she'd brought.

"For now we need a plastic sheet, dig a hole in the sand, cover it and put leaves on top. It will collect moisture from condensation," he said, before turning somewhat expectantly towards the other three members of the group. One of the women cockily raised a hand and flicked her fingers, at which point a small flame came to life to dance in the night.

"For boiling the water," she explained shortly, before frowning.

"And for keeping warm. It's getting cold." Nihil tilted his head, trying to feel the temperature. He did feel it, but unbeknownst to him the sense had been getting more and more distant as time passed, mostly because the difference in temperature left him unaffected. The black threads were compact organic material, but they were more resistant than most would think.

"We haven't decided yet," the last two of the group admitted together.

"We were thinking of something to cut wood with? We'll need a shelter after all."

"Or maybe just a way to manipulate earth," the last one added.

"Build some huts." Nihil shrugged, not really caring. He didn't need to sleep anymore after all, which left the need for a domicile somewhat nonexistent. Additionally, the increased amount of waking hours also increased the amount of experience points he could gain by interacting with reality.

"The challenge isn't that hard," he eventually muttered.

"Just a group of base humans could manage it, albeit with less comfort. I think the seven of us can easily make it."

"Don't jinx it!" Deborah warned. Nihil simply waved her off.

"I'll start exploring the beginning areas of the forest, stand watch to make sure nothing will sneak up on us," he warned the group, before starting to walk towards the sparse trees.

"Try to make enough plastic tarps that nobody misses out on water tomorrow morning!" he called over his shoulder. Aliyah, like last time, followed him instead of staying with the group. Nihil ignored her for the moment, walking past palm and coconut trees until the grass started growing, the foliage got denser and the tree varieties became more diverse, starting to include hibiscus trees and creeping vines.

"Why are you following me?" he suddenly asked aloud, turning around once they were out of the group's hearing range. He could see the others collecting sticks and trying to make a fire in the distance.

"You know something we don't, I can feel it," Aliyah told him with narrowed eyes.

"What do you really think about the skills they picked?" she asked. Nihil scoffed.

"What they do with their experience points is up to them. Not like anyone would listen to me if I told them what to create, they'd think I was just molding them into an exploitable resource."

"I'd trust you," Aliyah suddenly said.

"What do you think I should do?" Nihil stilled and stared at the red-head woman whose face was hidden by the shadows of the night.

"Someone who only has a passing familiarity with fire has no business throwing it around," he eventually said.

"And just because humans were surrounded by plastic doesn't mean that one should waste experience points on it unless one is extremely familiar with its chemical composition."

"Exactly," Aliyah said, nodding in agreement.

"The suggestion you gave Musk, about mosquitoes. Sacrificing your own blood to decrease the cost, using them as a solution to nutrition and water intake. Setting up a future scouting network. You came up with a more complex and complete skill in 30 seconds than the others did in several hours." She tapped a finger to her temple.

"I queried the different suggestions you made. Considering that man's knowledge discount you helped him save thousands of points with the blood thing alone."

"So what, if I tell you what skill to pick right now you'd pick it?" Nihil asked, thoughts racing.

"I'd consider it," Aliyah muttered.

"You're a forensic pathologist. You know human biology and corpses. A bit like me, really."

"So it seems," the woman replied.

"This level started half a day ago. Two people are already dead. What does that tell you?"

"That this is dangerous?" Aliyah asked, seeming confused. Nihil shook his head. The girl didn't have the mentality, that was clear. Even if she… Even if she followed his path she would just be a cheap discount. He paused. Although… A budget version of someone strong… It wouldn't be that bad, no? Another thought emerged too, but he dismissed it for now.

"Your thinking has not adapted yet," Nihil eventually said.

"The answer to the death rate is that there will always be human corpses around. A skill that uses these as a resource would be highly practical. Additionally, we'll face danger eventually in the future and having a few minions to hide behind is a nice feeling."

"Are you suggesting… zombies?" Aliyah suddenly asked with a frown.

"If you walk to where we met and pick up that severed arm you'd even have something to practice on," Nihil said with a dark chuckle.

"You-, that-, why didn't you pick this skill then?" she asked.

"None of your business," Nihil suddenly said coldly, demonstratively turning around.

"Buzz off and stay alive, we'll have more opportunities to talk in the future. I have to scout."

"... Alright," the woman muttered before turning around and leaving. Nihil turned his head to watch her go before snorting and continuing deeper into the forest. The foliage grew thicker the further he went, making it very clear that there was some ground water available. The amount of insects in the air increased, buzzing annoyingly through the night, although they didn't come too close to him in particular. The Thread Human swivelled his head as he progressed carefully, paying attention to any signs of monsters.

It was after a few more minutes of walking that he reached his first clue in the now deep jungle. A scratchmark on a tree, or rather, an X. The clean cut proved the usage of a sharp utensil. Nihil narrowed his eyes and used the night in which the chance of outbound monsters roaming was low to break through further into the jungle. It was as the signs of some form of habitation increased from single scratches to the occasional broken twig and even the hint of a footstep or two that Nihil stopped.

He identified the largest tree in the jungle he could see and shot up an arm to grip onto its highest branch. Then he used his threads to reel himself up, disappearing into the tree crown from where he found the most hidden spot he could find. Even he himself could barely see anything through the foliage. As long as nobody looked up too intently he would stay hidden.

He made himself ready for a long wait, intending to stay perfectly still to become one with nature and thus avoid any creature's dynamic vision if they did appear. +2 Exp +1 Exp +1 Exp The threads inside his body naturally continued cycling in ever more complex patterns, increasing his familiarity with the skill and netting him more experience points and a knowledge discount on the thread related skills he intended to take in the future.

The night slowly fell to its darkest hour, before the pink light of the sun slowly appeared above the trees. It was then in that calmest moment, right before the day truly broke that the trio of monsters stealthily appeared below the tree on what could now clearly be identified as an often-trod path. The monsters were an interesting mix of human and fish in all the wrong ways. A fish head with a fish torso and tail, but with two hairy human legs growing from the bottom.

On the torso were two arms which jointly held a crude spear. Nihil narrowed his eyes as the group of what must have been hunters warily moved through the ground beneath his hiding spot, gills gasping desperately for breath in what seemed like a tortuous effort to get air. The large bulbous eyes blinked around awkwardly, hardly seeming like they were perceiving anything. He let them pass below his tree around which the trio circled to return whence they came from with careful steps and aching slimy gills.

There were 29 more days that he had on this island. Enough time to slowly progress his way into the jungle, find out everything he needed to know and act decisively when it was time. He was a patient man. When he had to be.