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If I gain 5 from meat and coat from the Earth Boar, I get 10 SDP in total.
That's alright. Plus, I have to donate it in order to get the points.
And that's the real challenge.
He could donate to some other pebbles who don't have magic, but pebbles usually don't even accept F-Grade meat, according to his research on his addiction.
He had learned a lot about pebbles—there were different groups and gangs of them.
Some were dangerous, some were not.
Plus, he risked the chance of getting robbed if he encountered a criminal pebble, one who had committed serious crimes—not religious, but federal.
So he would have to find someone either weak or a new pebble.
But before all of that, he would have to get the meat, and some of that meat he would eat, while some of the coat he would have to use.
After thinking about what he should do for a while, as the baby boars that were once there had left the sight and were nowhere to be seen, he muttered,
"My head hurts. This system is causing more pain than convenience at this point."
I should first gather material and eat.
Well, before all that, I should eat and find water.
That's a no-brainer.
He stood up strong, muscles tightened, as he took deep breaths before walking.
He left his stuff at the tree so he could carry the meat back.
He took the coat and meat. The meat he just had to scorch with Fire Shot a little bit, and it would be edible.
So convenient—I don't care if I suck at magic. At least I got this premium cooking device.
After walking through the dense, luscious forest, with air so thick it made it hard to breathe—this forest was near a mountain, or more so it was on a small mountain.
The capital was on the mountain.
Birds echoed, and the only thing Ezertze could think about was water.
But the smell from the meat… he couldn't resist.
Earth Boar meat—not that tasty—but the smell, for some reason, was incredible. Maybe it was their diet, or the fact that they played in flowers and clean areas.
But that smell filled his nose with a pleasant, everlasting scent, one that could make people think it was some luxury food if they didn't know better.
"I wanted to wait for water, or after I got more."
"But this is too good."
He put his stuff down, grabbed the meat, and heated it up using Fire Shot.
"It's Meat Time. Thank you."
He put the meat to his mouth and devoured it like he was Monkey D. Luffy.
That was good.
Now just water to wash it down.
He searched. He saw trees, animals—yet no water.
The trees were so lush, there had to be water.
He searched more, still couldn't find any.
His breaths became thin.
He walked as if he were ninety years old.
At last, as he was about to collapse from dehydration, in the night sky, he whispered:
"Water… water."
"Water. Water."
"Water!"
A small river appeared on the complete opposite side from where he came.
He instantly went to the river and took a sip, not caring if it was dirty or not.
Then he rested his stuff down and took a little nap to end his day, sleeping silently as he couldn't feel his body freeze.
The next morning, he got up and found a gentle spot with an opening with no trees.
"This should be my camp, right next to the river."
"Now I just need to get some food and build a shelter."
He searched and saw plenty of boars—packs. As for the boars, this man had practically made their population extinct on this side of the forest.
Fire Shot. Fire Shot. Fire Shot.
Another. Fire Shot. Fire Shot. Fire Shot.
[F-Grade Earth Boar Meat, Earth Boar Fur.]
[Value of Donation: 5 SDP.]
He had accumulated a total of 8 meats and 8 furs by evening.
His hunt for food was over.
"This should do. I got food. I got fur I can use to make a blanket."
"And some spare for donation. And now I have plenty of food to donate and eat, along with fur to donate and some to use."
"Now I need to find more resources to donate—maybe fruit?"
"I need to see what I can donate and receive points for."
A stick, let's just test the waters.
[Item: Stick, Value: 0 SDP.]
[Worth nothing.]
Well, the plan of stick overload can't work now. Guess I gotta try some other method.
Either way, I need to figure out more.
Plus, I need a name so I can sell and buy more stuff to donate.
And I need donations myself.
This is too much.
He sighed and sat down.
My first priority should be gathering resources, donating for DP, then using that to boost his magic power.
Yes, that should be good, right?
When's the Shia academy entrance ceremony, and test? If the system isn't some scam—which I couldn't even be sure it wasn't—then I could enter it to gain more status and possibly get some donations.
The academy doesn't even care; it just cares if you have decent magic and money.
Or some talent, in swordsmanship, and martial arts.
At least they got their priorities right.
Agh, but first is the name.
How irritating—surviving as a pebble.
It had been 2 days, and this system thing had done nothing but say meaningless words he couldn't tell were true.
If a god is giving something, can it at least prove it's real?
Before Ezertze could get back to work, a giant mammal appeared. Its fangs were sharp, and it had whiskers.
Its black fur shone, and its eyes were white.
"Fox… wait, no, no, a Brire Fox."
"Those things kill soldiers every year."
"How the hell am I supposed to kill one of those things?"
Before Ezertze could think, the Brire Fox charged at him.
The Brire Fox jumped and slashed at Ezertze with its sharp claws.
GRRR.
"I somehow dodged at the last second."
Ezertze dodged to the right near some bushes.
His breaths were raspy, and his voice shallow.
The Brire Fox charged again, aiming at him.
"Shi…"
It slashed, and as Ezertze tried to dodge, he couldn't—running and looking for water the other day, along with the hunting today, had completely worn him out.
"Gaw, gaw!" he screamed in pain.
Blood twinkled out like stars at night, covering his right shoulder.
He barely avoided a major blow by dodging to his left, but his right shoulder still got hit.
Just then Ezertze saw something—it was brown with rough edges, small and useless, no value.
Yet its value at this moment was that of a diamond.
"That could work, I guess," he muttered, as this situation was life or death.
If he didn't act fast, he would die.
He took a deep breath as the fox turned around, now irritated from its prey repeatedly dodging.
The fox lunged again. This time Ezertze was somewhat prepared and managed to keep his composure.
He picked up the brown stick.
"Just breathe, just breathe."
"Just gotta time this right."
He whispered, fear still running through his blue, steaming eyes.
The fox came right up to him.
Fire Shot!
He aimed for the ground, knocking the fox back while also creating smoke.
As smoke rose into the air, he dashed toward the fox, now obscured.
A Brire Fox senses people through magic, but the smoke masked him.
Kick! Ezertze kicked the fox in its stomach.
It fell to the ground.
One last Fire Shot should do it.
Fire Shot!
ARGH.
The fox screamed in agony.
It was still alive.
Ezertze's magic capacity was hitting its limits—after 8 boars killed and a total of 26 shots over 14 hours—and now 2 more.
He was at his breaking point. His body screamed in pain, his shoulder bloody, like a bullet had hit him.
"I have to… I have to survive."
He pushed forward using the last drops of his magic.
Fire Shot!
The fox's body was now lifeless.
From Ezertze's perspective, the world went black.
Slowly, he began falling back onto the ground.
Bang. The earth shook a bit.