The morning sun filtered through the half-closed wooden door, casting warm golden rays across the room that stood in stark contrast to the bitter cold lurking just beyond the stone walls.
Neil's eyes fluttered open, immediately greeted by the familiar sensation of something jabbing into his ribs.
*Thump.*
A leg kicked him squarely in the side, jolting him fully awake.
Neil turned his head to see the culprit—his sister, fast asleep and completely oblivious to her nocturnal assault on him. Her hair was tousled, face peaceful in slumber, one arm draped carelessly across her face while the offending leg continued its rhythmic kicking.
A flash of irritation sparked through him. *You bully me when you're awake, and now you're doing it while you're asleep? What am I, your lifelong enemy?*
He let out a long, resigned sigh. Despite his annoyance, Neil gently moved her wayward leg back to her side of their shared sleeping area and pulled the thick woolen blanket up to cover her properly. The cold morning air would be unforgiving without it.
*Oh, who made me your good brother?* he thought, shaking his head with a mixture of exasperation and fondness.
Neil considered trying to fall back asleep, but his throat felt parched and scratchy. The dry winter air always left him thirsty in the mornings.
Deciding that sleep could wait, he carefully rose from his sleeping mat, making sure not to disturb his sister further, and padded quietly toward the kitchen.
The lobby stretched before him, empty and bathed in the soft, steady glow of the lantern. The silence was profound, broken only by his own soft footsteps.
Everything felt dreamlike in the amber light—surreal and peaceful in a way that made him pause for a moment just to take it in.
As he approached the kitchen area, Neil remembered his aunt's instructions from the day before about where they were storing the drinking water.
She'd been particularly excited about using the barrel he'd crafted, praising its ability to maintain temperature.
*The wooden barrel,* he recalled. *She always praised him, saying it keeps whatever you put inside at the same temperature indefinitely.*
He found the barrel easily enough and opened the wooden lid at the side. Inside, it had its own space like a small room to store items.
In one corner sat a sturdy bucket filled with water that was still pleasantly warm despite the cold night. Neil ladled some into a small ceramic bowl and closed the lid carefully.
Bowl in hand, he returned to the lobby and settled at the stone table, sipping the warm water slowly. The liquid soothed his dry throat as he gazed around at their transformed living space.
It was remarkable how creative the women in his household had become with his barrel creation.
Beyond just keeping water warm for drinking, they'd started preparing meals early in the morning and storing them at perfect serving temperature throughout the day.
They'd found a dozen different ways to make their daily lives more convenient.
"I never thought of it that much when I made the barrel back then," Neil muttered to himself, a small smile playing at his lips.
The ingenuity of his family members never ceased to amaze him. Here he was, blessed with knowledge and abilities from his previous life, yet they often found applications for his creations that he'd never even considered.
After finishing the water, Neil returned the empty bowl to the kitchen and came back to the lobby.
The sight that greeted him made him stop in his tracks once again. Four lanterns glowed warmly in each corner of the room, with a fifth suspended directly above the stone table in the center.
Their steady light bathed the space in golden warmth, transforming the entire room into something magical.
For ten years, he'd lived in this world—first in a cold wooden hut, then gradually improving their circumstances bit by bit.
Never in his wildest dreams had he imagined that he could create something this beautiful, this comfortable. It felt like a genuine fresh start, and he knew it was all possible because of his artifact.
*Speaking of which...*
Neil decided this quiet moment was perfect for checking his inventory and seeing how much material remained after their recent house renovations.
He also wanted to review his personal status—it had been a while since he'd taken a comprehensive look.
Opening his inventory interface, the familiar translucent panels appeared before him:
**Page 1:**
- Slot 1: 100 dark oak wood
- Slot 2: 16 dark oak wood
- Slot 3: 76 sticks
**Page 2:**
- Slot 1: 2 oak saplings
- Slot 2: 7 sweet berries
**Page 3:**
- Slot 1: 69 stone
- Slot 2: 49 hematite
- Slot 3: 24 coal
- Slot 4: 100 dirt
- Slot 5: 100 dirt
- Slot 6: 100 dirt
- Slot 7: 60 dirt
- Slot 8: 20 quartz
**Page 4:**
- Slot 1: 18 horns
- Slot 2-19: 100 bones each (1,800 bones total)
**Page 5:**
- Slot 1: 7 iron ingots
- Slot 2-10: 100 iron ingots each (900 iron ingots total)
His quick-access shortcut bar currently held:
- Stone pickaxe
- Stone axe
- Wooden pickaxe
- Wooden axe
- Wooden shovel
- Stonecutter
- Wooden chest
- Stone furnace
Neil nodded as he did the mental math on his iron usage. He'd consumed 92 iron ingots for the house renovation and 1 for crafting the stonecutter, leaving him with 7 in the first slot.
But seeing slots 2 through 10 completely filled with 100 iron ingots each sent a wave of relief through him. He was far from running out of this crucial resource.
*Time for some organization.*
His current tool setup was inefficient and cluttered. Neil moved the stonecutter, wooden chest, and stone furnace into his main inventory, placing them in first, second, and third slots for easy access when needed.
Looking at his collection of outdated wooden and stone tools, he made a decision. These old tools had served their purpose, but it was time for an upgrade.
One by one, he dragged each old tool to the side panel with the dustbin logo. The moment he placed each item there, it vanished completely—deleted from existence.
With his quick-access inventory now completely empty, Neil opened his crafting interface. It was time to create a proper set of iron tools.
He selected three iron ingots and two wooden sticks from his inventory. The crafting grid appeared, and he arranged the materials in the familiar pickaxe pattern.
The interface glowed softly as the items combined, producing a gleaming iron pickaxe that was leagues superior to his old stone version.
Neil repeated the process for each tool type—axe, shovel, hoe—and decided to craft an iron sword as well. Better to be prepared for any threats that might arise.
In total, he used 11 iron ingots and 9 sticks, leaving him with plenty of materials for future projects.
His quick-access bar now displayed a complete set of iron tools alongside a proper weapon.
The upgrade was significant—these tools would be faster, more durable, and far more effective than anything he'd used before.
Satisfied with his inventory organization, Neil decided to check his personal character interface. This was always interesting, though often confusing given how this artifact seemed to differ from his memories.
The interface opened to display a 3D representation of himself on the left side, complete with an empty equipment bar waiting for armor pieces.
On the right was his potion effects screen, currently blank. Below his character model, several status bars were arranged vertically:
- Level and experience (shown in numbers)
- Health bar (represented by heart symbols)
- Hunger bar (shown as chicken leg icons)
- Experience bar (a long horizontal bar that would trigger level-up when full)
Neil frowned as he studied the display. Everything appeared exactly the same as before—no changes whatsoever.
He distinctly remembered that mining coal and ores should grant experience points, but both his level and experience remained stubbornly at zero.
*Maybe the mechanics work differently in this world,* he mused. It wouldn't be the first time his expectations from his previous life didn't align with reality here.
For now, he decided to set aside the experience mystery and focus on something more immediately actionable—the empty equipment slots.
Neil had avoided crafting armor previously due to lack of leather, and that situation hadn't changed. However, now that he possessed abundant iron, he could skip the early-game leather and copper armor entirely and jump straight to iron protection.
Looking at his well-stocked inventory and considering the potential dangers that lay ahead, Neil made his decision. It was time to forge a complete set of iron armor.
The quiet morning had become quite productive indeed.