Chapter 12 – Injured (2)

Chapter 12 – Injured (2)

Rowan let himself relax as he watched the ant collapse, dead. But he didn’t rest. Not yet. He was too thirsty. Immediately, he opened his status screen and selected his quest to kill 10 enemies.

Quest:

Defeat 10 Enemies (10/10, Complete)

Rewards:

Rations

15 System Credits

He focused on claiming the reward for his quest, and a moment later, the screen disappeared, only to be replaced by another.

Quest Received:

Defeat 20 Enemies (0/20)

Rewards:

Rations

20 System Credits

He skimmed over the quest but quickly dismissed it. He had more important things to attend to. Namely, the pouches that had appeared beside him.

Rowan’s hands were shaking as he snatched up a waterskin. He opened it and, without another thought, brought it to his mouth. Seconds passed as he kept it pressed to his lips, trying to suck up every last drop of the precious liquid.

Only when he realized water was dripping down his chin from the spillage did he manage to stop himself; he couldn’t waste such a valuable resource.

Having quenched his thirst—at least partially—he took a moment to really look at what rations he’d received.

Including the waterskin he’d already drunk from, there were two, each the size of a large water bottle. On each one was a small hook, seemingly so he could carry them around more easily.

Rowan nodded. His pants might’ve been damaged beyond repair, but his belt was still fine. If he could find a way to attach the skins to his belt, it would make it far easier to carry them around.

Then, he turned his attention to the final pouch.

It was larger than both of the water skins combined, and while it had a hook as well, it didn’t seem practical to attach to his belt.

Just like the waterskins, it looked to be made of some sort of leather, and it was tied shut with a small string.

Grabbing the pouch, he undid the loosely tied knot, revealing the contents. While his thirst had been far too great to hold back, his hunger was just barely weak enough that he could take a moment to inspect what he was getting.

The pouch, unlike so many chip bags Rowan had purchased in the past, was full almost all the way to the brim. The majority of the food was an assortment of dried meats and jerky, with about a third being dried fruits.

Taking a bite of jerky, he let his head rest on the stone floor as he savored the taste. It wasn’t anything special, but he was starving. It’d been years since he’d gone so long without eating—not that he knew how much time had passed since he’d arrived in the Tutorial. It just seemed like it’d been days, and maybe it had.

Rowan didn’t like the feeling of hunger. Not at all. It reminded him of his…less fortunate times, back when he was living off the streets.

It’d been a wonder that he’d managed to survive, much less get to where he’d been before the System had come. And Coco…he cut himself off before the emotions could well up within him. He was stuck underground with giant ants and crippled. It simply wasn’t the time for such thoughts.

So, as he continued to munch on his newly acquired rations, he thought about the ants and his skills.

His first problem was that, every once in a while, the insects would wander down the side tunnel he was stuck in. There had only been two since he’d been stuck in the caves, but that was enough to make him wary.

His eyelids were drooping, and without being able to move around to keep himself awake, Rowan didn’t trust himself not to doze off. It seemed like his improved stats helped with sleep deprivation and hunger, but they had their limits.

After a while of consideration, he couldn’t think of anything better than to keep his mace nearby and hope that any ants that might stumble upon him wouldn’t be strong enough to do serious damage before he could wake up and finish them off.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.