Caelen sat on his wobbly grass bed, sipping water from his hands like a raccoon and staring at his campfire.
"This is pathetic," he muttered. "I survived the night, built a toilet, and I'm still eating berries off rocks like a caveman. No more."
He tapped his temple.
"Let's level up."
Search (3/20): How to make a cup
[Answer: Carve from wood or use fired clay. Warning: Improvised wood cups may taste like tree.]
"Great. Now I can drink without spilling water all over my face like a toddler."
Search (4/20): How to make a wooden cup
[Answer: Use knife or sharp stone to hollow small log section. Sand if fancy.]
He grabbed a short log, used a sharp rock to scoop and scrape until it vaguely resembled a cup. It leaked slightly.
Still better than nothing.
Search (5/20): How to make a fork, spoon, and plate
[Answer: Carve from wood. Flat plank for plate, bowl-like shape for spoon, prongs for fork. Avoid splinters.]
Several hours, three failed spoons, and one accidentally deadly-looking fork later…
[You have crafted: Primitive Wooden Utensil Set]
Caelen stared at them proudly. Were they ugly? Yes. But they were his ugly utensils.
"Sparkfin, look! I'm officially more advanced than 90% of survival games!"
Sparkfin chirped and pecked the fork. It held up. Barely.
Now that he had stuff to eat with, it was time to cook real food. Not exploding berries.
Search (6/20): How to make a furnace
[Answer: Use stones and clay to build a heat chamber. Can smelt ores or cook food without setting forest on fire.]
He nodded. "Okay, now we're talking."
He gathered stones, found a sticky patch of clay by the river, and built a mini dome beside the fire pit.
It took hours.
He burned his fingers. He dropped a rock on his foot. He screamed once just because.
But finally…
[You have built: Basic Stone Furnace – Now you're cooking with slightly more intelligence.]
"Now this," Caelen said, hands on hips, "is civilization."
The Final Touch: A Workbench
Search (7/20): How to make a workbench
[Answer: Flat plank surface + supports. Increases crafting speed and item stability.]
He built a sturdy table using some salvaged logs, tied with vines, and flattened the top as best as he could. It looked like it might hold weight.
[You have built: Basic Workbench – You're now less likely to injure yourself while crafting. Progress.]
Caelen looked around his upgraded hut:
•A fire pit.
•A working toilet.
•A bed (still made of grass, but hey).
•Utensils.
•A cup.
•A furnace.
•A workbench.
He stood tall, arms crossed like a man who just unlocked an achievement.
"From dirt-eater to home-builder in under a week. I should write a guidebook."
Sparkfin hopped onto the workbench and pooped on it.
"…Chapter one: 'Never get attached to surfaces.'"
By the end of the day, he had cooked a few better-tasting berries on the furnace, eaten with his fork (prongs too long, but functional), and stored water in his wonky wooden cup.
As night fell, Caelen leaned back on his chair, warm from the firelight, belly full, not dying for once.
Tomorrow, maybe walls. Maybe fishing. Maybe – dare he dream – a roof.
But tonight?
He was the king of his handmade kingdom.
And it finally didn't feel like a joke.