"Urghhhh," Collin Ashwood groaned as he rolled around on the ground, body aching due to an unknown reason. Turning around, he was met with the blinding sun assaulting his eyes.
He was wearing a light blue cotton t-shirt for surfing, basketball shorts, and a pair of worn slippers for footwear. He was a bit over six feet tall, enough to be noticeable but not overbearing. His skin was a healthy tan, there were several small scars that dotted his body. His hair was a thick, dark, sandy, brown colour. His face seemed defined, nose straight, and sharp hazel eyes.
It took his eyes a moment to adjust but the moment they did, he gazed upon a landscape that seemed completely unfamiliar to him, he woke up on what seemed like a picturesque tropical island that belonged on the front of a magazine. There were pearly white sands, a ocean that stretched far into the horizon, and clear skies that had no signs of pollution or smog anywhere.
[Golden Finger Booting up...]
'Huh, what a strange dream to be in eh?' He instantly shot down the idea that this dream was real. This was a very realistic dream and he would soon wake up on his couch inside his messy apartment.
He instantly pinched himself to try and wake himself up but the familiar feeling of pain shot up his arm, and he was still in his "dreamscape". Okay, this was getting a bit too real.
'Yeah nah, this is just an extremely realistic dream, shouldn't have gotten bit by that funnel-web that other day.' He denied, but as much as he denied, it didn't change anything, he was still sitting on the same white sand, on the same beach, with all of his senses assaulting him with a variety of information that just seemed to scream that this was real.
Before he could have a panic attack though.
*Rustle*
He heard a soft rustle somewhere in the bushes. Collin turned his attention towards the source of the noise, before slowly getting up and preparing to bolt. The faint rustling intensified, getting louder and louder until....
A pair of golden eyes appeared from he shrubbery, they blinked. Then, with a noise somewhere between a chirp and a hiccup, a tiny, scaled creature waddled into view. It was the size of a house cat, with wings too big for its body and scales that were a beautiful shade of green.
"You're… tiny eh mate?" Collin muttered. The dragon sneezed out a puff of smoke in response.
The air changed fast. Thick, hot, reeking of charred meat and sulfur. The Terror froze in front of him, its pupils narrowing into to pinpricks. Then came the sound: a low, guttural growl that vibrated through Collin's body. He turned his head slowly, dread pooling in his gut.
A dragon of massive proportions loomed behind him, its scales glistening in a shiny red. It inhaled, nostrils flaring, and the Terrible Terror let out a panicked squeak before launching itself into the bushes. Collin didn't blame it, he joined it shortly after, his legs moving before his brain caught up.
"I just woke up, you oversized lizard!"
Despite his complaints, he dived into the shrubbery with nothing but his worn crocks without looking back. He didn't need to, the heat of its breath licked at his neck, proving a constant reminder that it was right on his tail.
The crisp sound of snapping timber echoed out behind him but he didn't dare slow down. Collin vaulted over a fallen log and promptly tripped on a root, tumbling into a shallow ravine.
The fall knocked the wind out of him, but the pain barely registered due to the adrenaline. Above, the Nightmare skidded to a halt, talons gouging furrows in the earth as it sniffed the air.
Collin held his breath, not daring to make any sudden movements. The dragon's head swung left, then right. Then, with a disgruntled snort, it turned and lumbered away, leaving behind the scent of singed foliage and Collin's racing heartbeat.
'Bloody hell, I guess I know where I am now' He thought, his brain instantly connected the dots the moment he saw the Terrible Terror and the Monstrous Nightmare that almost turned him into roasted barbeque.
'I'm in the damn How to Train your Dragon universe,' Somehow, in some stroke of luck, he managed to transmigrate into this universe while he was peacefully sleeping on his couch after a overnight gaming session.
Collin stayed frozen in the ravine until the last echoes of the dragon's footsteps faded. His hands trembling on the damp earth he was leaning on, not in fear, but in excitement.
All of his days in his past life were spent chasing excitement, he sky-dived, went bush camping with nothing but a knife, catching venomous snakes and wrestling gators with nothing but his bare hands.
But this time, the food chain was completely different, the dragons here dwarfed his previous country's ecosystem in terms of pure danger. For the first time in years, his blood felt properly awake.
Now that he had a chance to be in one of his favorite movies, and with a cheat at that. The possibilities were endless!
[Crafting System Activated]
*Level One*
*Perk Points: Zero*
*Inventory*
*Quests*
**Available Blueprints:**
- Stone Blade (0/1 Stone)
- Basic Spear (0/1 Wood, 0/1 Vine, 0/1 Stone Blade)
- Basic Fishing Trap (0/5 Reeds, 0/10 Sticks)
...
"No way," Collin muttered, flexing his fingers as a translucent menu flickered before him. A grin spread across his face, he explored the interface, taking in every single function at his disposal.
Overall, his system seemed pretty barebones for modern gaming standards but it seemed to have a lot of potential.
His inventory didn't seem to be limited by size but rather by weight, he tested the limits by picking up some random logs and stones around and he estimated the limit to be about fifty kilograms.
'This is amazing.' Collin said with awe, a small smirk made its way onto his face, he was a but a normal human in his past life so any sort of supernatural powers would have made him giddy with excitement regardless, no matter how small.
His inventory then gave a brief description about the materials that he picked up, the stones he picked up were all sedimentary which he guessed would only be useful for base building. Meanwhile, the logs he picked up were of poor quality, although he could convert them into firewood easy enough with an axe.
The levels and perk points were also pretty obvious, he simply guessed that he could level up by crafting items or fighting and he would get perk points to put into specific perks that were to his liking.
He also decided to check the current blueprints he had access to and as expected, more advanced and complicated blueprints were grayed out, most likely unlocked at a higher level.
After Collin was done inspecting the interface, the system produced another chime.
[Quest: Back to Basics]
You wake up in an unfamiliar land with no allies, no supplies, and no idea what hunts after sunset. Survival is the immediate priority in this new but dangerous island.
Objectives:
(Find edible food)
(Secure a clean water source)
(Construct a basic shelter before nightfall)
Rewards: Basic knowledge about your island
Penalties: ???
Accept/Decline
Collin immediately accepted the quest without hesitation, he was planning on doing all the things mentioned anyways, might as well get a reward while he was at it, although the unknown penalty did scare him a bit.
Scrambling up the ravine's slope, he scanned the vegetation's edge for anything usable. The various flora and foliage blocking was blocking his vision but he spotted something soon enough.
A jagged rock half-buried in the dirt caught his eye. He wrestled it free, and the moment his fingers closed around it, the system chimed again.
*Chert*
Common sedimentary rock, reliable for primitive blades.
He opened up his interface and crafted a stone blade.
The rock vibrated slightly, edges honing themselves in a blur of motion until a crude but serviceable blade rested in his palm.
He then grabbed the nearest stick that looked serviceable in the surrounding vegetation then crafted a Basic Spear.
Collin examined the crude weapon he just created, it was without a doubt, extremely rough around the edges, though it was still useful compared to being unarmed.
The stone blade itself was crudely shaped but sharp and honed, meanwhile the shaft was rough, full of bark, and uncomfortable to hold.
He put the rudimentary weapon in his inventory before going on a walk, drinkable water was definitely going to be the biggest problem on this island, fish was plentiful in the vast ocean and building materials such as logs and stone were practically scattered everywhere.
Collin walked deeper into the island, footsteps steady despite the uneven terrain and his less than ideal footwear. He breathed deeply, his old crocks already showing signs of wear and tear from the trek.
He took a stop more than once to collect various interesting plants and stones to check their properties. He even managed to find an edible plant.
[Purslane]
A low-growing ground plant with thick, reddish stems that sprawl outward in circular mats. Its leaves are small, smooth, and fleshy almost succulent-like. Shaped like tiny teardrops, when snapped, the stems release a faint watery sap.
It tends to grow close to the ground, hugging warmth from rocks and sand. Often overlooked as a weed, it spreads quickly in sunny areas and clusters in patches rather than standing alone.
The leaves have a mild, slightly sour taste with a crisp bite.
Collin's stomach growled and before he knew it, he starting munching on the leaves and tender stems of the plant.
*Crunch*
With food temporarily solved, he began to look for a water supply, and he knew exactly where to find it too. Spotting a tall cluster of palm trees in the distance, he walked towards them.
-Basic Rope (0/1 Plant Fibers)
He formed a small loop near one end of the rope, leaving enough tail to work with. Holding the standing line in his left hand, he shaped the loop so it lay flat, the classic start.
"In through the loop…"
He fed the working end up through the loop from underneath.
"…around the tree…"
He wrapped that working end around the standing part of the rope, pulling it snug so it hugged tight.
"…and back down the hole."
He threaded the working end back down through the original loop.
Then he pulled the standing line and the working end in opposite directions. The knot cinched neatly into place, forming a fixed loop that wouldn't tighten under load.
A standard bowline knot.
Next, he tied a second bowline at the other end of the rope, forming another fixed loop large enough for both his feet. He stepped into it, spreading his stance so the rope stretched taut between his soles.
Collin gave it a solid tug to ensure it was solid before he kicked off his crocks and started climbing. He climbed up the palm tree slowly but steadily, making sure to ensure stability before committing to any form of movement
The bark scraped his skin but the rope took most of the strain. His forearms flexed as he kept tension on the loop to stop himself from peeling backward.
When he reached the crown, the trunk narrowed slightly. The coconuts hung in thick clusters, stems tough and fibrous.
He hooked one arm around the trunk and shifted carefully, tightening the rope with his legs to lock himself in place. He reached for the nearest cluster.
He braced his forearm against the trunk and twisted the coconut hard, rotating it along the stem instead of yanking straight down straight away, it snapped easy enough.
He made sure to stock up on enough coconuts to last him for a few days before coming down, by then, the sun was already on the verge of setting.