Leaving his makeshift home, Devon considered his priorities. He needed to find food, strengthen his door so that wandering creatures could not enter during the night, and learn more about this strange world he had been thrown into.
When he checked the spot where the Chitterbane's remains had been, he was surprised to find most of the body gone. Only a few dark stains and scattered shell fragments remained. Hundreds of tiny footprints surrounded the area, suggesting that smaller creatures had come during the night to feast on what was left. "Thank God they didn't decide to come after me instead," he muttered.
Among the debris, he noticed several pieces of the Chitterbane's carapace still intact. The shell was thick and slightly flexible, with a faint green shimmer. He picked up a few chunks and carried them back to his shelter. They might prove useful later for tools or armor.
Devon made his way toward the stream, his throat dry from the events of the previous night. The forest felt unnervingly still, and every rustle made him glance around, half expecting another creature to lunge from the shadows. When he reached the stream, he knelt and plunged his head into the water, drinking deeply. The cold liquid soothed his parched throat and cleared his mind.
"System," he said, wiping his mouth and sitting on a fallen log near the stream. "Can you tell me more about this world? You say I'm supposed to save it, but I don't even know if there are humans here. Are there other intelligent races? And why place me in the middle of a forest if I'm supposed to help people? That doesn't make much sense."
[Query acknowledged. Its population once numbered in the billions and was composed of multiple sentient races, including humans, elves, beastkin, and others. For centuries, these races warred against one another, with humanity rising to dominance and enslaving many of the others. Before the arrival of the portals, the world stood at the brink of an industrial revolution. Steam engines, firearms, and early airships had begun to reshape civilization.
One year ago, the first portals appeared, bringing Void corruption and monsters into every corner of the world. Cities fell within days, and entire kingdoms vanished. Only a handful of fortified settlements remain, surrounded by massive stone walls reinforced with magic. Magic itself was unknown before the portals appeared; it emerged as a byproduct of the Void's influence, reshaping the laws of nature.
You were placed within this region because it lies near the world's central population zone. Traveling in nearly any direction will eventually lead you to survivors or settlements inhabited by intelligent races.]
"So there are other races here? On Earth it was just humans, and we were awful to each other over things as meaningless as skin color. I can only imagine the atrocities committed against other sentient races here."
[System: Humans, regardless of the world they inhabit, often bring out both the best and the worst in their kind. In Eresha, they are the most feared and despised of all sentient races. The other intelligent species avoid them whenever possible. A single argument, a misplaced glance, or an unkind word can result in enslavement or execution. Many of the oppressed races are forced to fight or labor until death for the human cities. However, your purpose here is not to redeem humanity or any race. You were brought to this world for one reason: to stop the monsters from destroying it.]
"Damn," Devon muttered. "No matter where we go, humans always find a way to ruin things. Maybe that's a universal constant."
The System remained silent, but he felt its lack of response was agreement enough.
"Alright," Devon said after a moment. "Enough of this depressing talk. I need food. I should figure out if I can hunt or forage. Is there anything edible in this stream? Fish, maybe? Or would I be better off searching for berries or mushrooms? I could try setting snares too."
[Query acknowledged. Local analysis: The nearby stream contains small freshwater fish species classified as Swiftfin and Mudscale, both safe for human consumption. Edible vegetation includes Brightcap mushrooms, Redleaf berries, and groundvine roots. However, caution is advised. The scent of cooking or blood may attract lesser monsters from surrounding areas. Setting traps or lighting fires near your current shelter increases the likelihood of detection. Relocation to a concealed area away from your base is recommended for any food preparation or extended gathering.]
Devon frowned as the information sank in. Even survival would require careful planning. One wrong move could draw another creature like the Chitterbane or something worse. Still, his stomach growled in protest, reminding him that risk or not, he had to eat soon.
Devon rose from the log, the System's warnings about danger and the grumbling of his stomach battling for attention. Survival required calculated risk. He decided his first priority should be securing a reliable method of catching food that didn't involve loud noise or a large fire. The dense forest offered materials, if he knew how to find and use them.
He first turned his attention to cordage. On Earth, during the years he spent living on the streets after his family's death, practical skills had been the difference between a rough night and a deadly one. He'd learned to be resourceful, not just for scavenging food, but for securing a makeshift shelter. He walked along the bank and quickly found what he needed on a young, dead sapling. Long, fibrous strips of inner bark.
It wasn't much different from working with natural fibers back home. He tore the strips into thinner lengths, slightly wetting them in the stream to make them pliable, and began the familiar motion of two-ply twisting. One strand was held taut while the other was looped over and twisted, creating a tight, durable cord. He worked for nearly an hour, producing a length of thin but strong rope that could be used for snares or fishing line. This basic, hard-earned knowledge, the ability to turn trash or raw nature into tools was, ironically, his greatest asset in this new, deadly world.
With the cordage ready, Devon quickly fashioned a simple snare and a crude fishing line weighted with a smooth stone. He set the snare deep in a thicket he'd spotted nearby, an area crisscrossed with small, faint animal trails. He then returned to the stream to try his luck fishing. Looking around, he found a small piece of what looks like fish bone, which he used as an improvised barb, tying it carefully to his new line.
He hadn't been sitting more than ten minutes, focused entirely on the faint tugs on his line, when a sound ripped through the silent forest air. It was a sharp, clicking, scraping noise, the unmistakable sound of another Chitterbane. This couldn't be a coincidence, he thought, scrambling backward towards a cluster of large rocks near the stream. It was larger than the first, its carapace a darker, sickly green, and its multi-jointed legs carried it across the mossy ground with unnerving speed.
Its mandibles snapped, clicking violently as it located his position. Devon didn't hesitate, grabbing a heavy river stone, he put all his weight into the throw, and hurled it at the creature's head. The stone struck, momentarily stunning the monster. After a moment, the Chitterbane let out a high-pitched, screeching hiss, and lunged. Devon barely rolled out of the way as its razor-sharp fangs slashed the air where his head had been. He dropped the fishing line, his heart pounding against his ribs.
The Chitterbanes many legs dug into the dirt as it wheeled around to face him. Devon scrambled back against the rocks, giving himself only one direction to worry about.
[System Reminder: Focus and control advised. Threat detected. Use Void skill within controlled parameters.]
Devon knew he didn't have time to create and throw a Void Shere. Instead, he forced the cold, consuming energy to spread outward from his outstretched arm, creating a defensive field. The Void field materialized as a faint, heat-shimmering distortion in the air a foot in front of him, crackling with dark energy.
The Chitterbane slammed into this field. Unlike the clean removal of a sphere strike, the field didn't instantly erase it, but it met the creature with an immense, unyielding force, like hitting an invisible wall of sheer gravity. The impact was violent, the front four legs and the creature's head were abruptly crushed and twisted by the distorted space, the carapace splitting open with wet sounds of tearing chitin.
Devon, sweating profusely from the sudden massive drain on his concentration, kept the field active just long enough to see the creature's body stop twitching. He lowered his arm, and the Void distortion dissipated. The monster was dead, its front half a mangled, unrecognizable mess of dark ichor and shell fragments.
[Combat Log: Entity Designation "Chitterbane" Neutralized. Void Energy Reserves Increased.]
He stood over the grotesque remains, his chest heaving, his muscles shaking from the adrenaline and the exertion of channeling the Void. That was the second time. He needed to find a safer place to be, and fast.
He slowly sank back onto the rocks, gripping his head as the world seemed to swim slightly. "System," he gasped, his voice raspy. "What was that? What did I just do? It felt like I just ran a marathon, but it worked."
[Query acknowledged. Analysis of user action: Void Field]
[The Void Field is a high-level, area-of-effect technique based on manipulating local space. Unlike the Void Sphere, which focuses the energy into a detached, concentrated mass for long-range application, the Void Field uses the user's body as the origin point to project a localized pocket of intense spatial collapse. It requires significantly less conscious shaping but exponentially more raw energy and focus to maintain.]
[Explanation of Technique: The successful manifestation was triggered by an immediate, life-threatening impulse, bypassing the slower, focused control required for the sphere. Fear and necessity led to a sudden surge of raw energy deployment.
Energy Consumption: The Void Field maintains a constant, aggressive distortion of space and is therefore extremely energy inefficient. Its creation and brief maintenance consumed approximately 85% of your current estimated Void energy reserves.
Risk Assessment: While powerful, the spontaneous use of the Void Field is dangerous. Depleting reserves to this extent leaves the user vulnerable and requires an extended recovery period. Future training should focus on reducing the energy cost and increasing control over this technique.]
[Current Status: Void Energy Reserves at Critical Low. Immediate recovery recommended.]