Simon didn't sleep.
Not because he couldn't—he was tired, certainly—but because he didn't trust the woods enough to close both eyes.
The Forest Hunter passive helped. [Hunter's Poise] gave him better footing and posture, and he could feel subtle feedback through the soles of his boots with every step, like the earth was speaking in vibrations. But it didn't guard against the things he heard at night—distant howls, low hoots, the occasional high-pitched chittering from the underbrush.
He'd climbed a thick-limbed tree near the edge of a natural ridge and nestled into a crook with decent elevation and good sightlines. It wasn't comfortable, but it was smart. From there, he'd observed the forest in stillness for hours, gathering his thoughts, regulating his breathing.
He passed the time doing what he did best: working the system.
---
Skill Leveled: [Mental Mapping II] → +1 EXP
Skill Leveled: [Observe Environment IV] → +1 EXP
Skill Leveled: [Pattern Recognition III] → +8 EXP
Skill Leveled: [Silent Step V] → +1 EXP
EXP Bank: 11 / 2,000
---
He didn't gain new skills. The daily cap on acquisition held firm—he'd hit seven the day before, and now he felt a soft resistance anytime he did something that should have granted something new. No chime. No recognition. Just silence.
But skill levels weren't blocked, and every level gave EXP.
It was slow, but it was working.
When dawn began to break, Simon stretched his arms, carefully climbed down from the tree, and started toward the stream. He'd located a small stand of berry bushes the day before and hoped they were edible.
He inspected the berries closely—small, blue-black clusters with a faint sheen. Then he crushed one between his fingers and sniffed the juice. No sourness. No burning sensation. He dabbed a bit on his tongue. Waited.
No numbness. No bitterness. Sweet and slightly earthy.
He gathered a few more and ate them slowly.
---
Skill Leveled: [Flora Recognition IV] → +1 EXP
Skill Leveled: [Self-Analysis II] → +4 EXP
---
EXP Bank: 16 / 2,000
He noticed something else then: a faint shimmer in the air above the ground near the water's edge. Not magical—just odd. Like heat distortion. He stepped closer, bent low, and pushed aside a clump of grass.
A small, circular stone disk had been partially buried in the dirt, covered in moss and silt. It had grooves along its edge and faint carved runes in the center.
Simon crouched, brushing away the moss.
The System flickered.
---
You have interacted with a [Runic Anchor Stone].
This object contains residual system data.
Basic crafting materials may be extracted.
Production class potential detected.
---
Interesting.
He examined it carefully. The grooves looked like something once clicked or slotted into place. There were no moving parts now. Just a static shell of what once was.
He opened his interface and checked his class panel. His Production slots were still empty. Eight slots, unused. And now, for the first time, he had a lead.
---
Production Class Candidates (1):
[Runeforged Salvager] (Trash)
Scavenges minor materials from dormant system-linked structures.
Requires: [Pattern Recognition], [Basic Material Knowledge], [Item Handling]
Unlock: Locked – Missing 1 skill(s)
---
So he needed Item Handling, whatever that was. And he couldn't learn it today. Skill acquisition was still capped.
But the game had changed.
Simon had a new goal.
He stood and marked the tree behind him with a small "X" using a rock. Crude, but effective. Then he followed the stream eastward, looking for new terrain—something less forested, maybe, or something with more structural decay. If one Anchor Stone existed, others had to.
The forest eventually thinned into a rolling glade of stone clusters and low grass. Patches of flowers sprouted among the rocks, and the ground rose into a gentle slope that overlooked a distant valley.
Simon pulled up his status mid-step, letting the familiar screen unfurl.
---
SIMON GRAYE
Combat Class: [Forest Hunter Path] Lv. 1
Production Class Slots: 8 (Unused: 8)
EXP Bank: 16 / 2,000
Skills (Most Relevant):
[Observe Environment IV]
[Silent Step V]
[Pattern Recognition III]
[Flora Recognition IV]
[Controlled Breathing IV]
[Mental Mapping II]
[Self-Analysis II]
---
No skills had dropped off. That was good—he worried at first that unused ones might degrade, but they appeared stable.
He jogged lightly across the slope, testing how his [Hunter's Poise] passive adjusted to uneven terrain. His feet landed more surely than they would have the day before. His stamina, though not infinite, held better. He didn't pant, didn't stumble.
Then he heard it.
Crunch.
Too heavy for wind.
Simon froze.
Crunch... crunch... crunch...
Slow steps. Four-legged. Something heavy.
He dropped low and ducked behind a rock outcropping. Heart steady. Breathing controlled.
He edged forward just enough to peek around the side.
A boar. Or something like one. Its tusks were longer than any wild pig he'd seen before, and its back was lined with faint ridges like plated armor. It was sniffing along the earth, snorting, nudging bushes.
Not hunting him. Just foraging.
But it was massive—easily 400 pounds, maybe more. If it charged him, he was dead.
Simon held still. Waited. Calculated.
And for the first time, opened a new panel: Skill Interaction.
It let him focus on his current skills and adjust emphasis.
He pushed more of his attention into [Silent Step] and [Observe Environment]—they flickered slightly, becoming bolder.
The system pulsed.
---
Skill Leveled: [Silent Step VI] → +1 EXP
Skill Leveled: [Observe Environment V] → +1 EXP
---
EXP Bank: 18 / 2,000
The boar grunted, turned its head... and wandered off into the brush, uninterested.
Simon exhaled slowly. Then smiled.
That wasn't luck. That was system management.
His feet stayed quiet. His breathing low. He moved efficiently. No waste. No flash.
He survived because the system didn't need flair. Just logic.
When the coast was clear, Simon stepped out and headed farther east.
The terrain changed again—rockier, more fragmented. Boulders now, not just stones. Cracks in the earth wide enough to swallow a foot. And in the middle of it all...
...a crumbling ruin.
Just the edge of a wall. Half a pillar. Maybe the remains of a watchtower. There were grooves etched into the stone, similar to the Anchor Stone earlier, but deeper, wider—more deliberate.
Simon approached slowly. Not out of fear. Out of respect.
Then, another flicker in the air.
---
System Data Detected.
Dormant structure. Unclaimed. Contains salvageable system residue.
Eligible for Production interaction.
---
Simon smiled.
This was it. The start of a new branch.
He examined the wall, brushing it with his fingertips. There was a circular recess—almost like a mount or container, once used to house a core or crystal.
He crouched beside it, looked closer, and tried to remove the edge rubble carefully.
Chime.
---
Skill Gained: [Item Handling I] (Trash)
You have begun working with delicate, system-aligned objects.
+2% chance to recover without damage.
+1 EXP Gained
---
Daily Skill Acquisition: 1 / ??
It reset at dawn. Good to know.
He flipped back to the class list.
---
Production Class Available: [Runeforged Salvager] (Trash)
Unlock Cost: 100 EXP
Requirements Met.
Production Slot: 1 of 8
---
His EXP bank still read only 19. He needed 81 more to unlock it.
But now, for the first time, he had two paths:
Combat via Forest Hunter
Production via Runeforged Salvager
It felt right.
He didn't need to fight everything. Didn't want to. But salvaging? Studying? Learning and applying?