Hopefully, they would be dry by tomorrow and not smell so stinky.

  John also used some of the river soap and applied it to his body, then quickly descended into the river to bathe. He was thankful that it continued downstream and didn’t stay standing, as it would have made drinking it really disgusting.

  When he got out, he smelled fresh, and he was more confident than ever, especially if he stumbled upon any more people or natives.

  Now clean, John retreated to his tent. As he did so, the crystalline pup raised a brow but did not scatter.

  As he had done the last several nights, he lay down in his little sleeping bag and pulled out his journal, writing down his thoughts and his feelings and his thankfulness for the smart fish, which had not only helped him feel fuller today, but also helped him smell less stinky.

  Journaling (+5): lvl 1 (20 / 100)

  He also pulled up his homestead status, surprised to see that the land stability had increased by 10 points. It was now 10 / 100.

  John looked over at the crystal pup, who was fast asleep and breathing slowly and steadily.

  Maybe it’s because the land was accepting him.

  He wasn’t quite sure, but he knew that for the first time in his life, he no longer felt lonely, as Meadowreach was slowly becoming his new home.

  8

  FIRST FROST

  The first thing John noticed when he woke the next day was how incredibly fresh he smelled. That soap had really worked its wonders on both him and his clothes, which were hanging by the fire.

  Unfortunately, the fire had died during the night. And he was freezing. His body was riddled with goosebumps, and the air was noticeably colder than before.

  John shivered as he sat up, seeing a thin layer of frost covering the grass outside his tent. Even his breath fogged thick and white in front of him.

  Although the valley looked beautiful with the cold front that must have come in during the night, his condition didn’t seem to like it very much.

  Warmth: 20 / 100

  As his eyes lingered on the system status, he realized that winter might come here. He didn’t know how seasons worked in Meadowreach—whether they followed the same patterns as Earth or if there was something completely different here. Especially given how there were possibly different biomes with all the portals everywhere.

  Despite his lack of knowledge, he knew that he needed to prepare. And that’s what he set his mind to do.

  Thankfully, as he looked beside the fire pit, the crystal pup was still there, curled near the ring of stones. As John began to sit up, the pup startled slightly, nearly bolting as it got to its feet.

  John quickly held out a hand, lowering his voice.

  “Don’t worry. You can stay here if you want to. I’m just going to focus on making this place warmer.” When the crystal pup squinted its face, John added, “And you can have whatever food I make. I promise.”

  The crystal pup’s ears seemed to perk up as if she understood.

  John smiled.

  Unfortunately, the effects of the smart fish had worn off, his mind feeling less sharp than it had the day before. Still, as he walked to the stream and began his morning routine—splashing cold water onto his face and drinking from it deeply until his hydration was up—his mind raced with ideas for how to increase the warmth and protection of his home.

  His new home.

  He had gotten a new recipe for improving his windbreak, and he remembered seeing a few pages about adding more insulation to his tent.

  That seemed like the next best step.

  As he refreshed himself and pondered, he could see the crystal wolf pup keeping her distance. But she also made her way down to the stream and lapped up some water before dashing to catch a leaf that twirled to the ground nearby, jumping at it.

  John couldn’t help but grin.

  Once he was refreshed, John made his way back to where his clothes were hanging and put them on. Fortunately, they were clean and had mostly dried. But the thin layer of frost had also affected his clothes, making them slightly damp.

  That didn’t help with the goosebumps or the shivering.

  The system notified him of a quest.

  New Objective: Prepare for Frost

  Tasks:

  Insulate your tent

  Upgrade your windbreak

  John didn’t need any more encouragement as he looked around his homestead. As much as he wanted to build a frame and learn how to establish a proper home with doors, windows, and bedrooms, it would be best to take it one day at a time and to try to get a little bit warmer.

  Thankfully, he liked breaking down complex tasks into smaller, bite-sized pieces. It was one of the reasons he had been so good at sales and following the closing script process. His mind was naturally analytical. And he was excited at the challenge.

  John reached down and grabbed the Portal Co. Survival Guide out of his kit and found the section on insulation that he had seen earlier. It gave advice on adding brush, leaves, and forest debris to the sides of his tent. As he read the manual, he put together a plan to knock out both the insulation and the windbreak upgrade since they both required similar ingredients, which he did so by jotting down the details on blank pages towards the back of the book.

  Tent Insulation:

  10 Brush

  20 Leaves

  5 Bark

  Insulated Windbreak:

  5 Logs

  20 Leaves

  10 Bark

  Cordage

  “I should be able to get it all in tonight if I’m diligent,” he said, looking over what he needed. Though it was going to be a lot of work, it was worth it, and he could do it.

  “You coming with me?” he asked the wolf pup.

  The crystal creature cocked her head, looking at him with surprise, then down at her own belly, which grumbled with hunger.

  “Oh, that’s right,” John said, his mind instantly going to his stomach as well. “I almost forgot breakfast.”

  John pivoted on his heels, looking to his fireplace, which was desperately needing wood. And food.

  “Let’s get at least two logs, and then make some breakfast. How does that sound?”

  The crystal wolf simply nodded her head, as if that would suffice.

  “Good,” John said with a smile, plopping down his notebook and picking up his axe. “Let’s get to it then.”

  The little wolf followed after him as he quickly went and chopped down a tree nearby, doing his best not to take from those nearest his place, but a little farther into the woods.

  John was getting a little bit stronger at this, much more efficient. He slipped less as he swung, but still, he was far from perfect at it. He managed to get two blocks of wood so that he would have enough for this morning and for the evening. He was sure to chop much more later in the day for his upgrade projects.

  Woodcraft (+10): lvl 1 (90 / 100)

  With his fingers frigid but sweating from the labor, he dragged the wood back and plopped one near the fireplace and split the other, starting the fire as was becoming his usual practice.

  Hearthcraft (+5): lvl 1 (40 / 100)

  “That’s better, isn’t it?” John asked, rubbing his hands together in front of the flames as the wolf pup crept a little closer to the fire, but kept her distance. However, she seemed delighted to have the fire as she slightly shivered and drew daringly close to the flames while keeping distance from John.

  As the fire was roaring, John let the pup warm herself by the flames while he got up, grabbed his fishing pole, and hustled over to the stream.

  The wind nipped at him as he fished, and he dared not get into the water to avoid being too cold. His condition wouldn’t have allowed it.

  Warmth: 40 / 100

  John kept looking back to the fire, both to make sure that the pup was still there and because he longed to be warmed by the flames.

  He was thankful when he caught two fish a little bit later.

  Fishing (+10): lvl 1 (45 / 100)

  After dispatching them, John brought the two fish, which were more of the Glassfin Minnows that he had caught the previous day, and set them on the grill, where they instantly began to sizzle.

  “I’m sorry I won’t be able to make anything too elaborate,” John said, shrugging his shoulders. “I figured we’d want to be warmer rather than have a gourmet meal.”

  The wolf pup just looked at him with a curious glance.

  Once the fish were roasted, he gently tossed one before the wolf pup, who slowly reached out for it before he turned away and took it to her crystal paws before nibbling on it.

  John likewise ate his, and both of them enjoyed a simple breakfast.

  Cooking (+10): lvl 1 (50 / 100)

  Companion Bond (+5): lvl 1 (25 / 100)

  Once they had finished their rather simple meal, John washed his greasy fish hands in the stream and rehydrated himself until his hydration was up.

  The crystal wolf pup did the same.

  Hydration: 100 / 100

  Grabbing his axe, the two of them headed out to the nearby forest, with the wolf pup following at a safe distance.

  The first part of his upgrade was rather simple, as it mostly consisted of grabbing brush bundles, leaves, and bark sheets. Setting his axe down near one of the trees, he began dragging back armfuls of pine boughs and twig bundles, one by one, the needles scratching his wrists and the resin sticking to his palms, as he made several trips back and forth between the nearby forest and his little tent.

  As he repeated this process over and over, the wolf pup tried batting loose a twig with its paw, but jumped back when the needles sprang at her.

  Once he had gathered enough brush, he began scraping some fallen leaves into piles using a stick that kind of looked like a scythe, before awkwardly stuffing them into his arms. It wasn’t even heavy, but it was super unnatural to walk with, and half of them fell out while he made his several trips back and forth. Though that didn’t stop the wolf pup from diving nose-first into the leaves that he dropped and sneezing softly when dust puffed out.

  To his relief, the wind had died down as he settled all the leaves and brush near his tent. It would have been a shame to see all the leaves flutter away once he finished gathering everything.

  He then set out to start collecting bark from fallen logs, doing his best to peel strips with his axe, though the bark kept snapping in half the first few times he tried it. Eventually, though, after some deep breaths and some patient practice, he wedged the blade in carefully and pried slowly. Each strip of bark popped off. And each time he did so, the crystal pup’s ears twitched.

  For gathering the first three large piles of materials, all made of wood, he increased his Woodcraft skill by 30 points, which surprised him.

  He hadn’t even touched the logs yet.

  Woodcraft (+30): lvl 2 (20 / 150)

  Your swings land cleaner, chopping feels less draining, and splintering is reduced

  “That’ll be nice,” John said, looking at the upgrades.

  Especially now, given the colder weather that had suddenly fallen on Meadowreach. It would make his chopping a lot less dangerous.

  Because he had leveled up in one of his skills, he also gained 25 points to his character level.

  Level (+25): 2 (65 / 150)

  Feeling encouraged, John set his aim toward gathering the logs now.

  He was thankful that he had increased in his Woodcraft skill, as chopping down five logs was a big enough task in and of itself. Now, as he chopped against the wood, he felt less tired, and his swings missed a lot less. He could only imagine how much faster and more efficient he would get as he grew, and what new crafting recipes he would unlock.

  After a couple of hours, he ended up getting all five logs of wood.

  Though dragging them back to the camp was painfully slow, as he was still beyond exhausted even after increasing his Woodcraft skill, having to pull them back one at a time.

  The wolf pup didn’t seem too winded, as she simply trotted behind him like she was escorting the cargo.

  Once he had finished hauling all the wood back to the homestead, he had increased his Woodcraft skill by 25 points.

  Woodcraft (+25): lvl 2 (45 / 150)

  “All right, what’s next?” John asked, pulling out his guide and the game plan that he had sketched.

  He looked between his notes and the tent.

  “Let’s start with that.”

  While the crystal pup nestled herself next to the dwindling fireplace, John began pushing brush bundles along the tent exterior, wedging them between the tent wall, ground, and rocks. Unfortunately, they continued falling over until he learned to angle them downward and stack them almost like shingles. He then began cramming leaves between the brush layers, trying to fill as many air gaps as possible.

  As the day grew into evening, the wind picked up and caused some of the leaves to blow away a couple of times, which the wolf pup scrambled to chase behind him. But once the walls had become thicker and puffier with the brush and the leaves, he added on the bark sheets that he had carved, reminding him of wooden shingles, which he wedged between the branches.

  After a few attempts, he was able to press them onto its sides.

  Though the tent walls looked bulky and supremely uneven, they looked surprisingly solid. He even tested it out by going inside, feeling that the wind was barely noticeable in his tent.

  “That’s going to be so nice,” John said, closing his eyes in satisfaction. “What do you think?” John asked as he stepped out and looked at the pup, who had just returned from catching one of the leaves that had fallen off.

  The wolf pup, keeping her distance, looked around John at the rather obnoxious-looking reinforced tent and raised one eyebrow as if humored.

  “I know it’s ugly,” John said, laughing to himself. “I plan on building a log cabin, which will look a lot nicer than this. And you know you’re always welcome, if it gets too cold, to sleep in there.”

  But the wolf pup shook her head, not trusting him quite yet.

  “No worries. Take your time.”

  Having created the insulated tent, his Woodcraft increased as well.

  Woodcraft (+10): lvl 2 (55 / 150)

  “All right, let’s try doing the windbreak,” John said more to himself to hype himself up for the more exhausting task.

  The crafting recipe for the upgraded windbreak required him to stack the five logs horizontally along the existing windbreak. If only it would go so smoothly. When he tried stacking the logs neatly, they instantly rolled apart, nearly knocking down his old windbreak. Because one of the logs rolled unexpectedly, the pup skittered away sideways in alarm, only to cautiously return.

  “Sorry,” John said, cringing at scaring her.

  After a few tries and failures, he ended up digging small grooves into the dirt to hold them steady, which helped dramatically. Like with the tent, he filled the gaps between the logs with leaves to create a soft insulation layer. He also added bark strips vertically between the logs in order to block wind tunnels.

  Lastly, to keep it all from falling apart, the leaning windbreak, supported by two logs and looking more like an elementary school project, he wrapped his cordage around the stacked logs. Those knots were terrible at first, some being too loose initially. But eventually, after much frustration, he was able to get the logs to hold together.

  This windbreak was much larger than it had been previously. To his surprise and gratification, it worked.

  There was immediately less wind, so much so that even the wolf pup decided to get closer to the large windbreak, snuggling against it and looking satisfied, its crystalline body reflecting the firelight softly onto its dark surface.

  John placed his hands on his hips, taking in a deep breath of pine and damp leaves, tree sap, and, of course, his sweat.

  None of what he made was pretty, but it worked.

  Objective Complete: Prepare for Frost

  Rewards:

  Level (+25): 2 (90 / 150)

  Log Cabin Foundation Recipe: 10 logs, 8 stones, 6 bark, 2 cordage. Effects: +15 Structural Integrity, +10 Insulation, prevents ground moisture, allows log wall sections to be attached

  John stared with excitement at the latest unlock. He could see it now. The foundation for his future log cabin.

  His homestead also increased thanks to his hard work.

  [ HOMESTEAD ]

  Name: Meadowreach Homestead

  Tier: Common

  Homestead: lvl 1 (30 / 100 XP)

  — CONDITION —

  Structural Integrity: 15 / 100

  Insulation: 20 / 100

  Weather Resistance: 15 / 100

  Storage Capacity: 0 / 100

  Land Stability: 10 / 100

  — STATUS —

  Firewood: 1 Day

  Food Stores: Minimal

  Snow Load: None

  Perimeter Activity: Unknown

  — PASSIVES —

  Crude Shelter — Your camp now offers basic protection from wind and cold.

  Windbreak Barrier — Wind impact is reduced around the tent area.