After sleeping for less than 4 hours, Rick woke up before "sunrise" and went to Joe’s house. After confirming that his father was okay and the cure had worked, Rick then warned that he was going to check out a dangerous spot in the forest that was further north. He left instructions on what needed to be done at the base, as well as the only level 2 crystal he had collected from the mutant bear that was in the Hunting Lodge.
After saying goodbye to Joe, Rick adjusted his mask and observed the dark surroundings of the village, then began his journey through the vast forest. As the day dawned and the little light broke through the red clouds in the sky, he began to run at full speed. Two small hatchets appeared in his hands, and his ears and eyes sharpened, observing everything within a radius of almost 50 meters around him.
Rick was looking for threats, no matter if they were rats, rabbits, squirrels, or even deer and elk. As soon as any noise was detected, the hatchets were thrown, reaping the lives of the animals. Furthermore, every time the weapons left his hands to take a life, they magically returned after a faint silver glow. Rick only took breaks to collect the crystals from monsters that were too large personally, especially some level 2 mutants.
This was because even the corpses of small animals were teleported to his side and had their crystals immediately removed by the system.
When he encountered another deer, this time a giant one, similar to the bear he defeated 7 days ago, he put away his hatchets and equipped his familiar axe. After running towards the giant deer, the blade of the axe shone with the same silver light, and when it cut the deer, it was as if an indefensible blade had passed through the animal’s body.
One of its antlers fell off first, in a clean cut, followed by half of its head, and then its chest split open like a flower in half, stopping in the middle of its belly. It was as if the deer had passed through a thin line of steel that cut through it without even letting a single drop of blood fall to the ground before it was torn in half by the cut.
[Obtained survival points x2]
As Rick collected another level 2 crystal, he looked at his system.
Jyera Apocalypse System
Profession: Firefighter
Academic Level: College Student
Construction - Medium Level
Melee Weapon Repairs - High Level
Firearm Repairs - Low Level
First Aid - High Level
LockPick - High Level
Stealth - Medium Level
Universal Space Force
-Space Storage Level 3
-Space Mark Level 5 (max)
-Distance Break Level 1
-Return and Capture Level 2
"Oh my construction skills! went up, it must be because I learned a few things from the installation of the primitive gate."
My powers were basically the same as they were during the apocalypse; the difference was that now I could see their levels and quantify my improvements...
Spatial storage was great during the apocalypse, but now its space was so small compared to the system’s that it made it a useless ability.
The Spatial Blade allowed me to use a small spatial fissure in short-range blades to cut through any defense. But it had its limits, the cutting area of the fissure was small, I would have trouble cutting through large objects and animals, and if the blade left my hand, I could only keep the ability in it for a few seconds before the effect wore off.
Spatial Mark, Return, and Capture were the skills I could use to throw and retrieve my hatchets instantly. I could collect anything within the range my vision could reach, but if it had an energy mark on it, I could collect it without looking. The size of the objects was the second limitation of this skill. The weight didn’t matter, but objects that were bigger than my hatchet or wider than it started to be a problem as well.
Distance Break helped in this sense, I could shorten the space in front of me, allowing me to collect something that was further away from this limit or make my hatchets reach something that was very far away more quickly, this is what I used to take down the drone last time. The problem was that the shortened area was only enough for these small hatchets to pass through.
The energy and concentration expenditure to collect or hit something outside my normal range would be much greater, making all three of these skills useless. Universal Force was like your stamina; use it too much and you would get tired and not be able to use it again in a short period of time. Try to push yourself beyond your limits, and you will probably faint or even fall into a coma. Each level 3 crystal you devour could increase the amount of this energy, but no matter how many you ate, if you didn’t fully master your Universal Force, you would never advance to being a level 4 mutant.
Unfortunately, level 3 was my limit in my past life, mastering all these skills on my own without someone teaching me took years... And trying to use space to move living beings was something I never managed...
But now the system seemed to have a solution to my problems, and it was in the system’s level 3 store, and the reward for my next two quests was "Survival Tickets" from the level 3 store.
[Level 3 Survival Store]
[Base Reinforcement]+
Allows you to reinforce or repair a building in your base using survival points.
Price: 1 Survival Ticket
Allows you to create a temporary shelter using survival points. The larger and more resistant the shelter, the more points will be required.
Price: 1 Survival Ticket
[Create Underground Shelter]+
Allows you to create underground shelters beneath existing properties, bases, and primitive shelters. The size of the shelter is equivalent to the size of the upper structure. The larger the structure, the more survival points are required. Price: 2 Survival Tickets
Reinforce Space Blade
Reinforce Space Storage skill
Reinforce Space Mark skill
Reinforce Distance Break skill
Reinforce Return and Capture skill
Learn Space Cut skill
Learn Space Dash skill
(Locked) Distance Break skill level 2 required
Learn Space Steps skill
Learn Short Range Teleport skill
(Locked) Insufficient current energy
Learn Long Range Teleport skill
(Locked) *Level 4 Mutant
Learn Distortion Skill
(Locked)*Level 4 Mutant
I was speechless at the amount of good stuff in the system store, now this really looked like a Survival system...
But I didn’t have time to check all of that right now, because after almost half a day of running through the forest, I had arrived at the entrance to a cave system... The smell of death was nauseating, and I could already feel an intimidating presence watching me...