When Billy and the others had returned to camp, he saw that Lorna and Trevor had already made huge progress on setting up the camp. Trevor was placing short sharpened sticks in the ground to restrict the open side of the clearing while Lorna was painstakingly weaving flexible branches in and out of the closely growing tree trunks.
“Hey Billy killed a frog,” Su Li declared loudly to the world.
“Yeah, we know,” Lorna replied. She wiped sweat from her brow. “We got the notification.”
“This party thing is quite useful,” Trevor said. “Speaking of which.”
“Hey!” Billy said. “What?”
“You are the leader, Billy, and that is final,” Lorna said. “Now let’s get to work. This shelter will not build itself.”
Billy just stood there in bewilderment. It did not feel like he was the leader. Lorna gave the most orders and he had a feeling if the told her to do something against her will she would refuse. He had never much liked being a leader at work and he had a feeling that this was going to go the same way.
Trevor took the meat from them and hung it from the trees using strips of bark. He then gave directions to the girls to look for more leafy branches as well as any vines they could easily harvest close by. Billy was instructed to keep watch at the front while they worked.
Some leader, Billy thought to himself. The only one not giving orders was himself. Still, he enjoyed the moment of respite as he watched out front. He thought about all the things that had happened so far. With the quests and the ability to level up there was more here than just a system of getting stronger. It felt like the system was trying to guide them, but to what end he had no idea.
Still there was something about the feeling he had when meditating that kept returning to his mind. He had been on the verge of something. He could not meditate while keeping watch but that did not mean he could not attempt something similar. He tried to reach out with his senses while doing breathing exercises. However, he could not seem to find the right level of calmness.
He decided to practice one of the simple tai chi exercises “move hands like clouds” – an exercise that, according to his instructor, would help to regulate the flow of Qi through the twelve meridians. His instructor had also explained about energy flow and how the meridians could be balanced and widened through acupuncture as well as advanced qigong techniques, but then empthasized that cleansing exercises were vital to maintain a healthy body, otherwise, there would be restrictions in the flow of Qi. This could lead to a lack of general energy or even health problems.
The important thing he had learned was that there were no true shortcuts. One had to build in strength through regular practice – something he had not been good at.
Fortunately, the basic exercises he had learned were simple enough that they could be done while keeping a watch on the surroundings. As he moved his arms, he could sense energy flows moving around him as well as moving in and out of his body. He shifted to a simplified Qi Gong routine utilizing some of the movements from the Ba Duan Jin routine – something he had practiced regularly during lockdowns.
After about ten minutes he was jolted from his reverie by another skill gain.
He concentrated on the skill for more information.
[Body Cleansing level 1: helps increase the efficiency and energy flow of the body. At the current level receive a 2% increase permanent increase to your constitution. Also regain health and stamina 2% faster while active.]
“Hey, Billy, what are you doing?” Su Li asked.
“Just exercising,” he said. “Shouldn’t you be helping the others?”
“Lorna told me to rest. My stamina was quite low. Can you show me your exercises?”
“I should be keeping watch.”
“We can watch together.”
Billy thought that some of the exercises were not overly difficult for her and may even help her to regain some stamina. A little extra constitution did not hurt either. He was excited to see what he could achieve with better mastery of the [body cleansing] skill. He showed her the first basic exercise “hold the hands to the heavens” and talked her through the choreography of breathing and movement.
However, after about five minutes he could sense her concentration had disappeared.
She stopped and laughed. “I can’t feel anything. I saw my grandparents do these types of exercises when I was little but they never explained what they were doing. And I was not very interested.”
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“They take some time to master. I am still a novice.”
“Maybe I will practice,” she said. “But for now I think I need to help Lorna set up.”
Billy shook his head ruefully as she ran off. He too had been impatient when young. She would learn.
***
A few hours later they stopped for a quick lunch – dried meat again. Billy wondered if they would be able to find or grow vegetables here. Most of the vegetables they were used to on Earth had been cultivated for centuries. There should at least be some forms of tuber in the ground – it was quite warm here so yams were a possibility. Mushrooms would also be a possibility. The only question would be if they were edible. He did not fancy being the one to find out.
As for nuts or fruits he had not seen any fruit trees yet, but maybe some trees would have edible nuts.
Trevor, however, had a different idea. “Why don’t we try fishing?” he said.
Billy laughed, “I can barely hit a rabbit with the spear mind a fish.”
“I could try to make a fishing line. I just need enough hair.”
Billy looked at him. “You are going to make a fishing line from hair?”
Trevor grinned. “Good idea, right?”
Billy sighed.
Trevor laughed out loud. “I should be able to make some sort of string from the trees around here. Saying that it will probably be easier for now to make a crude fishing line using strips of hide from the rat-fiends. I don’t fancy trying to use sinew although that is a possibility for making a bowstring. The girls can try to catch some worms or insects and then they can fish while Lorna and I finish the shelter. That shouldn’t take too long.”
Billy looked over at the area where Lorna had been working. He could already see that she had nearly finished a large panel of woven branches which he assumed would form the roof. All that was needed was something to block the sides.
“What about beds?” Yuki asked.
Lorna laughed, “I am still waiting on delivery for the frames and mattresses. Until then you will have to settle for some dried leaves and the ground.”
Yuki pouted but said nothing. This was definitely not glam camping. They would all be cramped up in a small space until they could arrange for something more suitable – for that they would need better tools.
After lunch Billy went back to guard duty. He again practiced his qi gong and tai chi exercises. He did not level up his skill so he was clearly missing some deeper insight needed, but he did feel fresher and more alert.
He followed these exercises with some simple drills for the spear. While he was happy with his [critical stab] skill he envied Lorna’s [spear mastery] skill. He was sure that it offered better offensive benefits.
An hour of drills left him sweaty, with a better feeling for the weapon in his hands but he had not gained the skill he desired. Patience, he told himself. It will come. He went to the river to drink some water when a message popped up startling him.
Billy smiled. Finally, he had leveled up.
He gave two thumbs up to Lorna and Trevor who were sitting exhausted on the ground with a nice leafy canopy over their heads. They smiled at him and then leaned back to rest.
Billy now had four unassigned stat points, just like Lorna, and he was determined to find a way to use them.
***
The light was dimming and Billy’s eyes were half-closed when he sensed movement in the bushes about fifty meters from where he stood. He could feel eyes on him and a chill went down his spine. He signaled to Lorna and Trevor and they quickly came over.
By now Trevor had a gentle fire going with some meat and a couple of tiny fish cooking on spits. Billy had been surprised that the girls had caught anything after chatting so loudly.
Billy whispered to Lorna that he had sensed something. Lorna went back to fetch her spear. The others quickly armed themselves.
Together Billy and Lorna moved as quietly as they could towards the bushes while the others stayed in camp on alert. Before they were even close to the bushes a slight figure sprang up and sprinted away.
Before it had a chance to completely disappear Billy was able to analyse it.
[Rat fiend boss (minor) – level 4. Favorite food: lemons.]
Billy and Lorna looked at each other. For a few minutes they debated trying to follow it realizing that it could lead others to their location but given that darkness was quickly descending they decided to wait until morning.
They had just returned to camp when more system messages appeared.
Yuki in particular was frightened by the first quest and Billy knew she would be getting little sleep tonight.
“Why us?” Su Li asked.
“What do you mean,” Billy replied.
“Well, you actually talked to that sinister dude at the beginning. It sounds like we were chosen – well at least you were. So why? What is so special about us?”
Billy laughed. “I am definitely not special.”
“I think Su Li has a point,” Lorna said. “But it may not be because we are special. Personally, I think someone just decided to fuck around and we were the nearest randos.”
“I would like to think we are specially chosen,” Su Li said.
Billy knew that no one would want to think they were selected for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. He agreed with Lorna. They were chosen because they were there in the train station not because of any other reason. They were not the chosen ones selected to save the world.
However, this did not mean he was about to roll over. He, for one, was determined to use this opportunity to get stronger.
‘It does not matter why we are here,” Trevor said, as if reading his mind. “We are here. Now we need to survive.”
“We need to get stronger, “Billy said. “And then one day I will find the bastard who did this.”
They all looked at him. He shrugged. He meant every word. He was just level one now but there was a way forward. He may be a nobody but he refused to roll over.
After a quick unsatisfying dinner, they set watch in pairs with two people guarding for four hours before another two took over. Lorna and Su Li took the first watch while the others tried to sleep.
Billy was due to be on he second watch with Yuki. At first, he struggled to get to sleep. He had so many questions rattling around in his mind. The fact that they had started to receive questions and there was a shop somewhere filled him with hope. It meant that they were not alone in this and that meant that there had to be a way out of this.
He tried to settle his mind with some breathing and meditation exercises and surprised himself by falling asleep after a few minutes.