Leo didn't waste the spoils of his successful trap neutralization. The fallen log was heavy, damp, and smelled of pine and decay, but it was solid—exactly the right kind of wood for a reliable bow stave. His upgraded Strength (6) allowed him to hoist one end of the log and drag it deeper into the cover of the jungle.
He needed to work fast. The Solarii patrol, having lost two men, would likely be tracking them, and the silence of the jungle was deceiving.
He returned to the bunker entrance, leaving the bulk of the log outside, then ducked back into the smoky refuge. Lara was tending to Reyes, who was now shivering less violently but remained unconscious. She looked up, her expression a mix of relief and urgency.
"I managed to find a small runoff near the cliff face, but it's just trickles. Not enough to boil. How did your search go?" she whispered, keeping her voice low.
Leo showed her the large, crude knife he'd taken from the cultist and the bundle of scrap materials. "I found raw materials. And a weapon. We have enough wood outside to make a dozen bows, but we're starting with one."
He laid out the equipment he had collected: the crude knife, a spool of hemp rope, the rusty arrows, and the piece of log. The Improvised Bow schematic from the System was already active in his mind.
System Alert!
[Schematic: Improvised Bow (Active)]
Required Materials:
* Bow Stave (1) - Log section (Satisfied)
* String Material (1) - Hemp Rope (Satisfied)
* Binding Material (Optional) - Medical Tape (Satisfied)
Skill Check Required: Dexterity (8), Mind (6)
"I need your help, Lara," Leo stated, crouching by the fire. "The wood needs to be stripped, shaped, and notched. I've seen this done, but I need precision and steady hands."
Lara's eyes lit up at the word 'precision.' Her own skills lay in practical application. "Tell me what to do. I'm good with my hands."
For the next hour, they worked with the intense focus of two engineers on a time-sensitive project. Leo, leveraging his Mind (6) and the System's schematic, directed the process.
"Keep the center thick, taper the limbs, but only on the outside. We need it strong, not graceful," he instructed, using the crude knife to mark the cuts. "Now, use the edge of the knife. Just scrape and chip. We can't afford to split the grain."
Lara, despite her exhaustion, worked with incredible speed and accuracy. Her movements were fluid, instinctively understanding the tension of the wood. Leo realized he was building the bow, but Lara was providing the craftsmanship.
As they worked, Leo took a piece of the medical tape and carefully wrapped it around the rusty shafts of the arrows he had looted. The tape was meant for bandages, but Leo used it to firm up the loose fletching and smooth out the rusted parts, making the arrows fly straighter.
"You're surprisingly practical, Leo," Lara commented, not looking up from where she was meticulously carving a notch for the bowstring. "You talk like a university student, but you work like an experienced scout."
Leo gave the most honest answer he could manage without revealing the System. "I've been obsessed with survivalism for years. Read every book, watched every documentary. I know the theory. Out here, the theory has to become reality."
Finally, the shaping was done. Leo took the hemp rope—thick, woven strands—and began the laborious process of twisting and waxing the fibers with fat rendered from a small insect he'd burned, creating a surprisingly taut bowstring. His Dexterity (8) made the complex braiding manageable.
He strung the bow, testing the limbs. They bent, creaking slightly, but held their tension. It wasn't beautiful, but it was deadly.
System Notification!
[Crafting Complete: Improvised Bow]
Quality: Functional (55% Durability)
Range: Short to Medium
Damage: High (Requires Strength >= 6)
[Sub-Mission: Craft Improvised Bow (Active)]
Reward: 200 EXP
The satisfaction of the EXP gain was immediate and potent. He had manufactured a true weapon, a distance killer, which was essential for surviving Yamatai.
Leo quickly picked up a newly sharpened arrow and nocked it. The bow felt solid in his hands. He was ready to hunt.
"Reyes needs more than we can offer here," Lara said, her eyes fixed on the man. "He'll be dead by nightfall without clean water and sustained warmth."
"Then we get it," Leo declared. "I need to hunt. We need game and clean water. I'm going out, but not alone. Lara, you're the better combatant with the pipe. But I have the bow now."
"I'm coming with you," Lara insisted, rising to her feet and retrieving her rusted pipe. "We stick together. We don't know this island, but we know it's hostile."
Leo agreed instantly. The System didn't demand solo play, and his Meta-Strategist trait screamed for the main protagonist to be within supporting range.
They left Reyes sheltered by the fire and slipped out of the bunker. Leo moved with a newfound stealth, his Dexterity (8) making his footsteps light, almost silent, on the forest floor.
They moved toward a small, less exposed clearing Leo knew to be on the game map—a potential hunting ground near a stream that wasn't yet corrupted by the mountain's strange sulfur deposits.
As they approached the edge of the clearing, Leo raised a hand, stopping Lara instantly. His heightened Mind (6) had picked up on the signs: rustling in the low brush, the scent of damp earth and fear.
System Alert!
[Hostile Detected: Solarii Hunter (Low-Level)]
Weakness: Exposed Neck/Head. Currently distracted.
EXP Reward: 100
It wasn't a game animal; it was a Solarii. He was crouched by a thick tree trunk, attempting to set a snare, his back entirely exposed. He was alone, and he was armed with a bow of his own. This was a gift.
"Hunter," Leo mouthed silently to Lara, pointing. "Armed. Back to us. We take him out now, before he alerts others."
Lara nodded, her own eyes blazing with focus. She gripped the pipe, ready to rush in, but Leo held her back.
"Ranged, Lara. We test the bow."
Leo nocked one of the salvaged arrows. He crouched, drawing the bowstring back slowly, feeling the satisfying resistance of the wood and the bite of the string on his fingertips. His Dexterity (8) smoothed out the draw, keeping the arrow perfectly aligned. His Mind (6) calculated the wind drift and the slight drop in trajectory.
Focus.
He sighted down the arrow shaft, aiming not for the body, which might be protected by thick hides, but for the exposed junction of the neck and shoulder. A fatal shot that wouldn't make noise.
He breathed out, stabilizing his core (thanks to Stamina 6), and released the string.
The arrow hissed through the damp air—a low, rapid thwip.
It struck the Solarii hunter with a sickening, wet THUD. The man barely had time to gasp, his hands flying to his throat, before he pitched forward silently into the brush. He was dead before he hit the ground.
Leo lowered the bow, his hands trembling slightly, not from fear, but from the rush of adrenaline and the profound reality of what he had just done. He had taken a human life. A life that, in a video game, would have been a pixelated obstacle. But here, the silence was heavy, the blood real.
Lara was beside him instantly, pipe ready. She moved to the fallen Solarii, quickly confirming the kill.
She looked back at Leo, her expression complex—a mixture of shock, respect, and a dawning understanding of the brutal necessity of this island. "That was… perfect, Leo. A clean, silent kill."
Leo felt a small pang of guilt, instantly overridden by the System's cold logic. Survival requires efficiency.
System Notification!
[Host: Leo]
[Enemy Defeated: Solarii Hunter (Ranged)]
[EXP Gained: +100]
"Loot, then move," Leo said, his voice clipped and businesslike, overriding the lingering shock. He pushed past Lara and stripped the cultist bare.
This hunter was better equipped than the scavenger. Leo found:
* A high-quality Recurve Bow (functional, high durability).
* A quiver containing 12 sharp, well-made Hunting Arrows.
* A pouch containing a large lump of Animal Hide.
* A small, sealed flask of Water! (Essential Consumable)
He immediately replaced his crude, improvised bow with the superior Recurve Bow.
"This changes everything," Leo muttered, handing the water flask to Lara. "Clean water. We can use this to stabilize Reyes."
Lara stared at the new, lethal bow in his hands, then back at the body. "You're adapting faster than anyone I've ever seen, Leo."
"I'm learning the rules of the game, Lara," he said, a grim truth in his voice. "And the first rule is: the only gear that matters is the gear you take from the dead."
He was Level 2, armed with a proper ranged weapon, and had a supply of clean water. The immediate threat was neutralized, and they had gained a major step in their progression. It was time to push forward.
Chapter End.