Sandrine slid down Paquerette's back and let herself fall butt first on the asphalt. She was too tired. Exploring and fighting was taking a toll, without talking about the usual horse ride that was a recurring nightmare for such a muscleless person.
The rise in Paquerette's agility made them travel 86km, more than an entire day of trotting and opening chests, even though they had spent most of the time off the road. It was also because they didn't spend much time opening chests since they didn't find much. There were a few, yes, but they only contained basic supplies.
Sandrine didn't need those anymore, she was getting sick from all the bread she had eaten, she would rather exchange it with AlphaWolf for more meat.
Anyway, Sandrine was really tired, and she couldn't feel her arms anymore. With her low strength stat, she still had fought for an entire morning, and also done laundry and cleaned supplies. It was a miracle that she did not pass out.
Speaking of passing out, it was weird that she had endured for so long, she shouldn't be able to move at all.
Sandrine opened her game screen.
[Player : Sandrine Legrand
Nickname : 84jojo84
Species : Human
Vehicle : Paquerette (Select to see profile)
Job : Tamer
Health : 29
Fatigue : 58
Strength : 6 (Average human : 7)
Constitution : 7 (Average human : 6)
Agility : 9 (Average human : 7)]
"That's… Actually impressive !"
To increase a stat, you need to overuse it. Constitution was a given, she had been crossing paths with death quite a lot, and she was surprised that riding Paquerette still hadn't killed her. But for strength ? Was it because she continued exploring and fighting for chests even when she couldn't feel her arms anymore ?
Don't misunderstand Sandrine, she isn't a skilled fighter. She is weaker than a normal human. It's just that she is very stubborn and has the mental ability to keep going even when her body is falling apart.
Which was weird for an office worker, now that she thought about it.
Anyway, she kept playing hopscotch with the line, crossing it from time to time, risking her life without worrying about it. This was a dangerous behavior, but it was very useful to raise her stats.
While she was resting a bit before setting up camp for the night, she let Gribouille roam free and checked out the server chat. Strangely, it talked about her.
[Server chat (8,152/10,000)
-Searched for a whole day, only found moldy food
-fr I was just happy not to die
-How did the big shot get so much stuff ?
-I thought I was the only one wondering !
-Well he's a big shot after all, probably knows how to fight
-He might also have a weapon like a gun
-woah scary…
-Isn't it reassuring ? He's strong but also nice, he's still doing charity
-again????
-Today he exchanged food for two 50L tanks
-that's charity alright
-Exchanging food for uselessly big containers ? Isn't it the second time ?
-He can't need so many containers, that's 100% a pretext to give us food
-He traded a pot with me for the useless plants I found, I'm so thankful…
-a pot is necessary to boil water and sanitize it, but he just gives it away like that ????
-big shot is our guardian angel
-if he wasn't here, we would have lost so much more people on this server
-fr though, he always trades upgrade materials we need for useless stuff
-Check out his trade page, there are batteries and glass again !
-I'll finally upgrade my bike for an electric one, I'm so happy I could cry !
-Praise be the big shot
-Praise be the big shot
-jojo for the win]
Sandrine read everything and raised an eyebrow.
"Me ? A big shot ? Maybe they are getting crazy out of hunger…"
At first she wanted to keep quiet and discreet, afraid that if she brought too much attention to herself, people might notice Paquerette and try to hunt her. After all, a whole horse was an insane amount of food during the apocalypse. But it looked like it was impossible to fly under the radar for now.
"I really wasn't thinking straight. Of course, always trading useful stuff for useless one, people would easily notice."
It wasn't her fault that she needed different things from the others, but this wasn't something that could be hidden. Thankfully, nobody knew that 84jojo84 was her, or she would have a big target on her back.
After all, a rich big shot would have a lot of resources, and some players might be planning to attack her. If they knew she only had a horse, they would flock to rob her.
Sandrine slapped herself, she couldn't do anything about it anyway, she should focus on important things.
Night was about to fall so she prepared Paquerette's food and drink, took out the chests from her back, checked the mare's wounds and made sure she was okay, and then turned the lamp's lever. Just as she had finished charging it, night fell and she turned it on.
Thankfully, Gribouille was a shy puppy and didn't venture far, so he wasn't caught by the night monsters. He was still terrified, though, and ran to Sandrine's feet. The little thing was adorably cute.
Sandrine set up the lamp on a tripod she had scavenged, and then started setting up the camp. She unfolded her new bed and set up the sheets and pillows. She had found a new one today with the bed, it was way better than the one from AlphaWolf, so she gave the old one to Gribouille, setting it up in his little dog bed that she placed close by. With this, the sleeping arrangements were done.
Then she started the fire and opened the potato sack she had gotten. If she had some aluminum foil, she could have roasted the potatoes in the fire, but she didn't have any. However, what she did have was a lot of water, thanks to her new supplier, so she could fill a pot with peace of mind.
Amongst what she had found in the cooking store, there was a fire grid, that probably came from a display about camp fire cooking, she didn't find another one. But even if it was a display model, it was still pretty sturdy. Setting it up above the fire, she could put the pot on top of it. When the water had boiled, she could throw potatoes in here.
She boiled quite a few, not only for her, but also for her puppy. It was important to diversify the alimentation. Gribouille was still a puppy and needed to eat several times a day, but the only thing she could give him while they were traveling today was jerky. It would be great to have a few potatoes on hand too. As for Paquerette, potatoes were toxic for horses, so she would have to wait for another treat.
Potatoes take 30 minutes to an hour to cook depending on the size, so Sandrine let it be and started thinking about what more she could do for her pets. She had thought about making a shelter, but she noticed something strange while looking at the materials in her inventory.
Since she had arrived in this survival game, she had found a lot of tarp and plastic sheets, which are very useful to protect things from the rain, or to make rain coats. However, now that she thought about it, she didn't find anything related to the hot or the cold, those things were the only ones related to weather.
There had also been quite a few umbrellas and plastic boots in the trade tab, but no fur coats or cotton shirts. No fans, no heaters, but rain tires existed.
Now it seemed obvious that the game was hinting at something. It had said it before : after the newbie protection period, the first 'season' will start. And this season seemed to be filled with rain.
It could also be misleading, but why do this ? If they wanted people to die so much, they could have directly killed them instead of bringing them to this game.
No, Sandrine was sure : after the newbie protection period, in less than two weeks, there would be rain. Tremendous amounts of rain. And people without a roof above their heads would be in trouble.
"Let's make a tent, then."
At first, she had planned on making something like a fence, to prevent another thing like yesterday from happening again if she didn't notice she was too far from Paquerette, but she had changed her mind. She would build a huge tent, the kind that you used for events outside, like weddings. It wouldn't protect them from the wind, but at least there wouldn't be any rain falling on them when they slept.
She had everything she needed, from tarp and plastic sheets to steel pipes and tape. Even if she lacked something, it didn't seem like a lot of people had caught on, so those things were still easily available on the trade tab.
She used the last of her bread and a few pieces of jerky to exchange for umbrellas and rain gear, but unfortunately there was nothing made for animals. She would have to make them herself.
"I'm not exactly a seamstress but… This can't be too hard, right ?"
When the potatoes were done, she had only managed to tape together a huge piece of plastic sheet and tarp, measuring several meters in diameter. She would need to create a structure and pillars later, but at least she had made the first step.
She had grilled a few sausages on the side of the fire grid, and happily ate the potatoes and sausages.
"If only I had cheese, I could have made a raclette…"
It was a bit of a regret, but she couldn't be picky. She already ate way better than 90% of the players.
Gribouille was eating at her feet, his head buried in his little bowl, pieces of potatoes and sausages all over his nose. It was just too cute !
She took a few pictures of the scene and sent them to AlphaWolf and MomImThristy. Both were overjoyed and sent her a few gifts in return. Amongst them, there was a little worm plushy. In any other place, it would have been a terrible thing to give someone, but when you were surrounded by distorted night monsters, a worm plushy suddenly seemed very cute.
After Gribouille had finished eating, Sandrine cleaned his face and set him up for bed, handing him the plushy. He seemed confused at first, but maybe the texture was pleasing, so he took to it right away. Before Sandrine had even changed and gone to bed, the little guy was already cuddling with it.
"I guess we all got new friends today !"
It had been very tiring, but somehow this first event day hadn't been so bad. Sandrine was almost looking forward to the next.
***
The next morning, Sandrine almost couldn't get up. It wasn't that she was in a bad state, on the contrary, she was feeling much better. Her body was slowly recuperating thanks to her rising constitution.
No, the reason she couldn't get up was something else.
The bed was way too comfy.
She had no memory of what life had been before, but two days of sleeping on a pile of straw had gotten her used to having a stiff neck and an itchy back in the morning. However, suddenly she had a bed ! A nice one, with a mattress, clean sheets and a fluffy pillow !
The difference was so astonishing that for a moment Sandrine couldn't feel her body and thought that she was dead.
But ultimately, she had mouths to feed, so she forced herself to get up.
"It's hard to make a living…"
No matter how much she wanted to sleep in, she could let the colorless gang starve.
She got up around 5am as usual, and let the two pets sleep while she prepared breakfast. Hay for Paquerette, a piece of sausage and a bite of potato for Gribouille, water for both, and then she could take care of herself while cleaning up camp.
She ate leftovers, she didn't want to light the fire just for herself. After putting her bed back in her inventory and cleaning up the dining area, she slowly woke up Paquerette by petting her while she was inspecting her legs. The wounds were clean and were cicatrising very quickly thanks to her high constitution, there were already scabs.
Sandrine took out the bandages and put them into her washbasin to clean them up later.
She hoped that today she would also find a water source. Taking a shower had been so nice, and being able to clean her clothes and dishes was a luxury she craved.
Other players had also found water sources, that was a reason her pots had sold so well. They had all boiled water to stockpile or sell it, but the volume was very different from what MomImThirsty had to offer.
"I wonder where he got so much drinkable water…"
He wasn't lying, when you put an item for trade, the system automatically labels it with a lot of details. You can't fleece people and make them buy the wrong thing, it's just impossible. And MomImThirsty's water was clearly labelled as "drinkable".
"He can't be boiling it, he would need so many giant pots and so much fire, spending his whole day on it. It's just not possible… My best guess is that he also has a kind of job."
Sandrine wasn't self-centered enough to believe she was the only one with a job. If hers gave her information and care guides for every existing animal as well as gave her the possibility to tame them, make them her pets, and make them evolve… It was possible that other people had even more fantastical or practical powers.
"Anyway, it's almost 6am."
Paquerette had finished eating her breakfast and Gribouille was relieving himself with his little worm plushy giving him strength, glancing fearfully at the night monsters. Once both were ready, Sandrine put the chests back on Paquerette and put Gribouille in the kangaroo pouch.
It was time to start the day.
[Players who didn't reach the required mileage will disappear]
[8,029 players enter the 4th day]
[Congratulations on entering the 4th day]
[You are the 2nd player to upgrade your vehicle to level 3, rewards have been sent to your inbox]
[You are the 1st player to upgrade your vehicle to level 4, rewards have been sent to your inbox]
[Required mileage for today : 30km]
[Time left for the newbie protection period : 11 days]
[Today is an event day !]
[Event : Roadside opening]
[The black mist will disappear from the roadside. Players are encouraged to explore the roadside]
[The roadside has more opportunities, but also more dangers]
[To encourage exploration, chests on the road will appear 50% less often, and will contain 50% less supplies]
[There are 2 days left for this event. Enjoy !]
Sandrine squinted so that her eyes could get used to the sudden light, and looked towards the side of the road. As the black mist receded, the landscape was slowly revealed. However, Sandrine was sure that when she had stopped yesterday, she was still seeing high rise buildings and a few parks. Now, what she saw was different.
It was the historic center of a big city, the kind like Paris or Bordeaux that is bustling, but also has small medieval streets and uneven pavement if you visit the historic center.
It felt weird to see this here, just next to this big infinite road, especially in such a desolate state.
Sandrine felt uneasy. But she had already resolved to do everything she could to survive. Still, she wasn't alone, this was a relief.