A memory flash of another time and another cave came to her mind. The original Sam had secured herself a defensible cave where she has been living for the past six years. A beast wave wiped out her village and killed her family, Sam being the only survivor, she had went into seclusion.
She seemed to be well aware that her parents also had purple tiers. Maybe that beast wave wasn't so random after all. While escaping into the woods at her father's request, she did see some individuals on the outskirts watching everything happening. They obviously weren't planning on going to help.
Afterwards, once the beasts, both human and animal, were gone, she had snuck back into her ruined house. She took anything she could scavenge and carry. Then did the same to other homes. She even found her father's horse who had managed to stay alive somehow. A little shaken but hiding along with her cats, Shadow and Ember in a missed barn. She packed the horse with everything she could think of that had a practical use in the wild along with food, books, clothes, sentimental items and some coin. Sam shook her head bringing her back to the present.
'Weird' she thought
The S.I.S.T.E.M. window glowed with a new function, one that would help boost her advancement.
{Quests:
Main Quests:
1. Reach level 5 and choose a Support Class
2. Reach level 10 and choose a Primary Class
3. Reach level 15 and choose a Secondary Class
Daily Quests:
1. Daily Exercise
2. Weapon Training
3. Healing Salve
4. Food Acquisition
5. Water Acquisition}
"Well, numbers one and two of the daily tasks are a big nope right now. I'm exhausted, but I can probably do a little foraging. I'll have to find something to carry water in though."
{If you'd like further information on a quest just concentrate on the one you want. This applies to most S.I.S.T.E.M. information. Or you can just ask}
Looking at the quests, a new screen appeared.
{Quest:
Daily Quest Three: Healing Salve - The finer art of herbal first aid: crushing, mixing, and hoping it sticks.
Objective: Gather the following herbs and roots, crush Heartroot and Red Leaf Herb to make a paste and spread on Aegis Fern as to create a bandage.
Heartroot 0/1
Read Leaf Herb 0/3
Aegis Fern 0/1
Reward: +XP, Level up to Herbology skill
Daily Quest Four: Food Acquisition - Hunt, gather, eat, repeat. The circle of survival
Objective: Find and gather 5 unique edible items.
Reward: +XP, A new skill
Daily Quest Five: Water Acquisition - Hydration: the unsung hero of adventuring
Objective: Gather 2 litres of water
Reward: +XP, One Uncommon Item}
"Oooh an item? And a skill?" Sam asked Jarvis while she crept to the opening of the cave. She looked outside and seeing it was clear, and came out.
{Where's the fun in telling?}
Shaking her head, Sam looked around. The sunlight glinted off something lying in the grass. Her father's dagger, well, the original Sam's father. Sam slowly walked towards it. The last time she saw it was in the thick hide of the boar that almost killed her, at least according to her memories. It must have come loose. With nothing in sight, she lifted the dagger off the grass.
"Ok, step one weapon acquired. This should help."
Sam continued her journey through the forest. Watching for Integrated beasts and their non-integrated counterparts. A wolf is a wolf after all. As she made her way towards her home to grab one of the jugs she liberated from her home, she was able to pluck a few berries she knew were edible from old Sam's memories. Along with some roots and wild vegetables.
{Ding! Quest Complete! - Food Acquisition}
{For finishing your first quest you've received a bonus reward.}
{Bonus reward can be found in your inventory.}
Thinking about her inventory, a rectangular screen divided into two rows of five squares opened in front of her. Inside held the plants, fruits and vegetables and the rabbits she had hunted along the way.
In one square was an image of a little wooden chest. Thinking about opening the chest made it pop out of her inventory into her hands. Holding the chest that was slightly larger than a jewelry box in one hand, she lifted the lid with the other.
Inside was two rings
"Two?" She said in confusion
{Double rewards remember? That includes quests.}
'Oh yeah' she thought to herself. Taking the rings out of the chest triggered it to dissolve away. In her palm lay two copper coloured rings.
"What do they do?"
{"Why don't you look at the rest of your notifications first."}
Confused at Jarvis's request she brought up her notifications
{Ding! Quest Complete! -Food Acquisitions
Find and gather 5 unique edible items (5/5)
Reward: +50xp}
{Double Double Skill Activated: +50xp}
{Reward: New General Skill - 'Inspect': An identification skill. Now looking at items, plants, beasts and even people while thinking Inspect will provide you with the base information about what you're looking at. At level one you can see: Name, Age and Species}
{Double Double Skill Activated: Inspect skill has leveled up! You can now see level, rarity, tier and Health points.}
"Nice! I take it that having two of the same skill doesn't work, so that's why it got a level up?"
{Correct Sam. Skills are earned through actions so getting another skill is not possible. A level up on the other hand…well you did look at a lot of plants.}
Sam laughed and shook her head.
"Wait, now I can see what the rings do!" Looking at the ring in her palm she thought Inspect. A screen listing the attributes of the rings appeared.
{ Ring One
Ring of Healing
Tier: Green
Rarity: Common
Quality: Great
Wearing this ring will instantly heal minor wounds when activated.
Ring Two
Ring of the Hunter
Tier: Green
Rarity: Common
Quality: Great
Improves tracking and vision especially in forests.}
{Ding! You've leveled up! You are now level 2 0/150xp}
{Ding! +2 Stat Points, +1 Skill Points}
{Double Double Skill Activated: +2 Stat Points, +1 Skill Points}
"Pretty sweet haul, and a level up!" Sam said excitedly as she slipped the rings on. Instantly, her vision became crisp and clear. Like someone turned on a light in the darkening forest, she saw animal tracks everywhere, gouges in trees from antlers and claws, tufts of hair caught on branches. If one knew what they were looking for, there were signs everywhere.
"One down, one to go," she said to herself.
Finally, she had made it home. Pushing aside the vines that hid the entrance and stepped over the pungent herbs that had planted to hopefully hide her scent and ward off the curious. She entered the dimly lit cave. Even knowing it was there, the size still shocked her. About the size of a generous studio apartment with a high ceiling, a hole in the rock provided enough light to see by. Thankfully, only the strongest of storms would allow rain through.
The room was divided into obvious sections. One was the pantry and kitchen located in the back, where it was cooler. An old campfire in the corner was under a crack large enough to pull the smoke outside. Another section held a makeshift bedroom. Crude boxes held loved treasures and spare clothes. The third section looked like a workshop, unfinished projects sat upon a roughly built table, while tools were left on top and weapons were against the wall. The final section was covered in dried grass and old blankets. Clearly, a place for animals. Speaking of…
"Mew, mew." O.S.'s (pronounced Oz, standing for Original Sam) childhood pets had left her not long ago. But Ember stuck it out long enough to raise one last litter. Shadow, being a little too adventurous for the wild, had gotten himself in trouble one too many times. Their love and memory were left behind in the form of two female kittens.
Each one is a replica of their parents. One black as night, the other a stormy gray. Hopefully, these ones would be a little more cautious. Still yet to be named, O.S. wanted to see their personalities before committing.
The two little fluff balls ran towards Sam. Stopping to sniff her and tilt their heads.
{Perceptive little things} Jarvis commented
"How so?" Sam asked, bending to scratch their heads.
{"They can tell you're not quite the Sam that left them.}
"Interesting," Sam mumbled, entranced by the little creatures.
{"I should mention that one of my purposes is to guide the Operator to a class that suits them. May I make a suggestion?"}
"It's a little early for that isn't it? I'm still level one." Sam replied confused.
{True, but the class I have in mind requires… a little pre-planning. I've taken a comprehensive look at your interests and preferences. I believe I've come up with a class combination that would not only aid you greatly, but also bring you the most comfort and enjoyment.}
"Well there's no harm in hearing your opinions, so fire away" She said while walking over to the few books left by her predecessor.
{"Excellent! For your support class I'd like to suggest a Crafter class. Your love for making things will be satisfied and you can make anything you need avoiding the inflated prices in the markets.
To aid that, I'd suggest Enchanting for your secondary class. That way you can protect yourself and custom-make enchanted items that can get quite costly the high quality you get.
Finally as your Primary Class, Beast Tamer. It provides you with companionship, an ally to assist in combat or support. You can have tames that heal or add buffs or debuffs for your enemies, tames that can infiltrate places no one else can and discover secrets. You can even get tames that are mounts… speaking of…aren't you supposed to have a horse?"}
"Shit! You're right, where's…ugh what's it's name again…Sunblaze!" Sam closed her eyes to think better, searching her memory "I think she took off when the boar struck. That should be a fun search."
{Ding! New Quest added}
Opening her quest log, sure enough, there it was.
{Special Quest:
Special Quest One: Hide and seek - Your mount has been scared away by a more powerful beast. It is hiding in the forest somewhere. Seek it out and bring it back.
Reward: + XP , New S.I.S.T.E.M. Feature}
"Uh, that's awfully convenient…wait, do you create these quests Jarvis?" Sam asked, stunned at the convenience of the timely quest.
{"Yes and no. After centuries of "beta testing" for lack of a better word, the S.I.S.T.E.M has designed enough Quests for just about anything. While I can't write my own "Leave the house, get millions of XP" quests.
I am allowed to occasionally choose a previous quest and alter or tailor it slightly to The Operator. The quests are there to assist with needed tasks the Operator is needing to preform. A reward if you will.
Also losing your horse means you can't travel…well not travel as far or as easily. You may not go to the larger, further away city, that may have started a quest chain that would result in you becoming stronger."}
"Ahh..ok. Let me guess, the new feature is a surprise?"
{"Of course, everyone loves a surprise?"}
Shuddering from the memories of some of Trevor's past surprises, "Not all surprises" she mumbled quietly.
"Well let's get the quest I'm actually on done first." She said, making her way to the kitchen to grab a jug for the water. "This should hold about two liters" she said, turning for the opening of the cave.
{"Might I suggest a wardrobe change? I do believe those trousers are way past artfully distressed"}
"Keen eye Jarvis. Good idea"
After getting herself sorted and feeding the nameless kittens, Sam ventured outside once again. Clad in new pants and old leather armor that was gifted to her by her 'Father', Sam brought along a new spear, a replacement bow and a quiver of arrows.
Turning the way she came she walked into the forest keeping her eye out for beasts. Thankfully all she met along her was a family of rabbits that came to a swift end. Unfortunately non-integrated beasts didn't give you XP. Instinctively knowing where the nearest fresh water source was, thanks to O.S.'s memories, she finished her first quest quickly.
{Ding! Quests complete! - Water Acquisition
Gather 2 litres of water}
{Reward: 50 XP}
{Double Double skill activated: +50 XP}
{Reward: Jug of Purification x2 - No longer fear what may lurk in the only water source near you. In fact when no water source is available this jug can even purify urine into fresh water. (Note: S.I.S.T.E.M. is not responsible for psychological trauma brought by having to drink your own urine… A good adventurer is always prepared.)}
"Eww Jarvis!" Sam said
{"Well it's true!"}
As she made her way through the trees of the forest looking for signs of her horse, she could hear the sounds of animals fighting not too far away.
{"I'm detecting a generous patch of healing flora nearby, which should come in handy for your quest. It might be wise to finish this third task first—after all, we can't know just how worse for wear Sunblaze might be when you find her."}
"Thanks for the advice Jarvis, you have a good point." Sam replied. "Wait, Why can you detect the plants but not Sunblaze herself?"
{"Healing plants tend to keep a consistent and cooperative bio-signature, which makes them fairly easy to locate. Living targets, on the other hand—especially those nursing injuries—have a habit of sending mixed signals, quite literally making themselves hard to pin down. Naturally, the S.I.S.T.E.M. prioritizes tracking down helpful environmental aids first—because being prepared beats wandering around clueless, wouldn't you agree?
Once certain criteria are met, I may be authorized to grant enhancements that improve spatial awareness—something that could prove most… convenient."}
"Interesting…"