by Dan Thomas
Max nodded. “Fair point. All right, back to it.”
He shook his head and opened his eyes wide in an attempt to wake himself up before he re-entered the game. The couple of hours of sleep he had snatched were not enough. His weak character was vulnerable out in the wilderness on its own, without Max being half-asleep. Instead of coffee, maybe he should have asked Chopsticks to bring a large bucket of ice-cold water so Max could dunk his head in it.
Max put in his own earpiece and grabbed his VR headset before sliding it over his head, the visor automatically powering up.
“Right. Wake up, Murf.”
Max squinted his eyes at the slanting light of sunrise that filtered through the canopy, dappling bright puddles of light across the jungle floor and vegetation.
Glancing around the clearing, everything looked just like Max had left it. With a pile of dirt covered ashes in place where the fire had been, a few stray sticks lying on the ground next to a small length of Strangler Vine, and pieces of flint littering the mossy ground.
Everything seemed calm. The morning was filled with bird song and animal calls as the world of Primeva began waking up after what seemed like a peaceful night.
His stomach grumbled, which Max could not tell whether it was him or his character, but a glance at his character screen reminded him that he had forgotten to feed and water his character before he had logged off.
Max pulled his bag around his body, took out the last of his rations and his mostly empty waterskin, and finished both off. If he had a clear journey, he might have been able to reach Pez before he died of starvation or dehydration, but if it did not look likely, he’d just have to take a detour to forage for more supplies.
“Sam’s up, by the way. She’s hit the shower to wake herself up, although I think she’s had the most sleep out of all of us,” Chopsticks said.
“I was just thinking of grabbing a cold shower, or maybe an ice bucket.” Max finished eating and dropped the empty waterskin into his bag. “Is Pez still going?”
“Nah, Sam said that he took a time-out a little after you did. Apparently, he found a hollow that he camouflaged, and the two Abelisaurus should be able to fend off pretty much anything that did come across them,” Chopsticks said, pride obvious in his voice when he talked about his dinos.
“It’s good that he’s not just going to run himself into the ground. Let me check my stats a sec then I’ll head out.” Max opened his character screen.
(+1) Strength: 11
Constitution: 16
(+8) Dexterity: 14 (1 TP)
(+6) Agility: 21 (1 TP)
(+4) Intuition: 10 (1 TP)
WUTT: 4
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen this many stat level-ups in such a short space of time,” Max said.
“That’s what happens when someone with several thousand hours clocked in a game decides to start again,” Chopsticks remarked.
Max snorted. “I can’t tell if that’s a compliment or not.”
“It is, don’t worry. You’re doing great, dude.”
Max had expected his Dexterity to climb quickly after last night, crafting was a sure-fire way to build Dexterity quickly, especially when it wasn’t easy compared to a character’s abilities. Meanwhile, his Agility got a bit of a boost from sneaking around in the dark, as well as his Intuition for searching for resources and dangers in the night.
Starting at the top, Max opened his Dexterity Trait Tree to see what new Traits he could unlock.
Basic Ranged Weapons: Gain the ability to use simple weapons designed for ranged attacks
(D Lvl 10) Refining Knack: -5% wasted material when refining raw resources
It was a no-brainer to Max. There would be plenty of time to make his character more efficient but being able to take on danger from afar was too useful to give up. With the basic Ranged Weapons Trait, he’d be able to use the laser pistol with at least some degree of accuracy, and while he wouldn’t be able to make a bow for a little while, he’d be capable of crafting a primitive sling to launch stones with breakneck speed.
After confirming his choice to unlock the Ranged Weapons Trait, Max moved on to his Agility tree.
(A Lvl 15) Center of Balance: +25% chance to automatically save yourself from falling when tripped
(A Lvl 20) Creep: -10% passive noise when attempting stealth
(A Lvl 20) Shirk: It is much easier and costs less stamina to shake off objects, animals, and plants grabbing onto you
Max wasn’t surprised about Creep being available as the majority of his new Agility experience would have come from his nighttime sneaking. Shirk would also be useful to help him move through the undergrowth much easier. Max was not planning on doing much climbing or acrobatics, so decided to save Center of Balance for later, beginning to remember how frustrating it was to have so few Trait Points to spend.
He looked at the other two Traits that he had not unlocked from his previous levels.
(A Lvl 5) Dash: +25% Run Speed For 5s
(A Lvl 10) Marathoner I: +10% Movement Speed when jogging
Dash was an essential trait to have, that extra boost of speed could make the difference between life and death in so many situations, but Max couldn’t help but feel that being able to move 10% faster at a steady pace would mean he’d make it home 10% faster.
Max opened his mouth to ask Chopsticks’ opinion, but stopped, already knowing that he would say to take the stealth option.
After thinking about it a moment more, Max persuaded himself to choose Marathoner. He would be doing a lot of running and climbing, so there’d be plenty of time to pick up the other important Traits.
Max breathed out as he selected his last stat tree with Trait Points available, Intuition.
(I Lvl 5) Foraging I: Identify common resource plants
Max smiled wryly, disappointed that he still was not able to unlock the first Trait for tracking. He was still at a low level, so he guessed that it was to be expected. He selected the first Foraging Trait. He didn’t have any issue identifying the flora of the world, having more than enough experience with them. However, with Holic, he was used to anything useful standing out to him from the rest of the jungle, whereas Murf saw everything as a blend of colors. Even unlocking the first level of Foraging would begin to highlight anything he could use for food or basic crafting. Max confirmed his choice, spending his one Intuition point on the Foraging Trait.
“All right, time to get moving.” Max gave one last glance around his camp, making sure he wasn’t leaving anything behind before he ducked down and crawled his way out of the thicket the way he had come in.
Once at the edge of the thicket, he listened carefully, checking for any signs of an ambush.
It always paid to be careful in a world filled with dangers, and he had to be extra careful while his senses were still a long way from what he was used to.
“You’re good to go,” Chopsticks said. “I don’t see anything out there.”
“Same here.” Max pulled himself out of the tangle of shrubs, getting to his feet. The jungle seemed much airier than it had in the dark night and was nowhere near as thick as he had thought it was, which was probably because it was so high up on the hill. While larger creatures would be able to navigate the thinner jungle, the lack of an abundance of food was likely to deter anything too big from calling this area home.
Taking a breath of the fresh morning air, Max stepped into a jog, aiming to head steadily downhill. After a couple of minutes of dodging bushes and webs of roots, Max picked up a narrow animal trail that wove its way through the trees. While it wasn’t directly leading the way Max wanted to go, not having to worry about obstacles more than made up for the time lost following the winding trail.
Movement to his right caught his attention, but it was only a little herbivorous ornithopod searching for food among the vegetation. It spooked and ran off at the sound of Max approaching.
Max switched his attention back to the trail he was following. It wound
around thick tree trunks and under low-hanging branches as it meandered down the steep slopes of the hill, taking him toward the plains below.
Aided by the angle of the ground, Max felt that he was able to maintain a higher speed while keeping his breathing, or rather his stamina, in check.
As he jogged, he spotted a dash of blue low in the canopy to his right. Max slowed to a walk, stepped off the trail, and waded through the undergrowth toward the color.
He didn’t have to venture far from the path to recognize the blue specks he’d seen belonged to the ripe fruit of a Wa-Kau tree. It was a common tree that was endemic to Primeva and was a useful and plentiful source of food on journeys.
Max approached the low, bushy tree, and reached up to grab a mango-sized blue fruit from a branch just above his head. The Wa-Kau fruit dropped easily into his hand, and Max bit into the soft skin and pale green flesh of the juicy citrus. If he had truly been a noob, he’d probably be looking at the Help screen in the character menu to identify this plant, which he’d have been able to do with the Foraging skill, which caused the edible to stick out from the background when looked at.
“Man, the foods in Terra Verse almost always beat real-life foods.” Chopsticks sighed as if he could also taste the ripe juicy fruit.
“Shame that they don’t actually fill you up,” Max said around mouthfuls. “I guess I can understand why virtual restaurants are such big business, though. All the virtual food and drink you can eat and none of the real-world calories.” He reached up and grabbed another three fruits for the road, feeling his hunger and thirst drop, from where his remaining rations hadn’t fully satiated his character.
The Wa-Kau didn’t fill either massively, but it was a convenient and common food.
Biting into the second fruit, Max tramped his way back to the trail he was following, accelerating into a jog as soon as he had finished his snack.
He kept his eyes roving, looking for any more quick bites he could find. He was really hoping to find some foods that would keep, such as Techoke, a straggly wooden plant that had edible bark, or Ash Nuts, a reed-like plant that grew a nut-like fruit at the top which liked to grow out of old campsites, but he struggled to see much through the jungle understory.
“Whoa! What’s that?” Excitement laced Chopsticks’ voice and Max slid to a halt as he searched for whatever it was his friend had seen. “Look left. Something moved.”
“Where?” Max turned to his left and then his right, scanning the patches of generic green plants hemming in the trail. “I can’t see a thing.”
“There was something on the game trail to your left.” Chopsticks paused. “I’m sure I saw something.”
“There’s nothing there now, and let’s be honest, it’s likely something looking to eat me, I could really do without stopping.” Max’s eyes returned to the trail, which led through a thicker group of trees and out of sight. “It’s probably just something out foraging.”
“Hm,” Chopsticks grunted. “Yeah, you’re probably right, I can’t see anything now.”
“Right.” Max shook his head and continued running along the trail.
“We should keep an eye out for stuff just off the path, though,” Chopsticks said. “You know some of these trails can lead to rare plants, or where someone’s died and dropped all their gear, or even a dino nest.”
“What are the chances of finding anything like that?” Max asked.
“Well, you never know,” Chopsticks huffed.
Max didn’t reply, keeping an eye on the trail. He could already feel tiredness settling over his mind like a fog, and he could feel himself getting irritable. Chopsticks seemed to be feeling much the same as he kept quiet for a few minutes.
“There it is again,” Chopsticks hissed. “There was definitely something small over to your right this time. I think you might be being followed.”
Max slowed, glaring to the jungle on his right. “Are you sure? I can’t see a thing. It might just be blurry because I don’t have good eyesight yet.”
“No, no, I know I saw something,” Chopsticks asserted.
Max sighed. “You’re seeing things.” He went to walk on before he heard a familiar chirping sound and froze.
“Look!” Chopsticks said.
Max slowly lowered his body into a crouch, staring into the jungle. “Look where?”
“Through those two trees. Left, not too far, just there.” Chopsticks’ voice dropped to a low whisper, “It’s a nesting site.”
Max could see movement between the trunks and could just make out what looked like several mounds of dirt in among the leafy bushes. “For what?” Max was pretty sure he knew what the answer would be.
“Those little Coelophysis.” Chopsticks spoke as if the dinos could hear him. “Let’s snag an egg.”
“No!” Max hissed.
“Come on. What happened to ‘this is about having fun’?” Chopsticks asked. “Or are you scared?”
“Of being eaten alive? Yes!” Max shuddered. “Besides, what happened to no more stopping?”
“Guh! If only I could take over.” Chopsticks sighed. “Come on, we could sell one for a good price. It’s so rare to find dino nests, eggs are worth a small fortune, even if it is only for little Coelophysis. Or we could use it as a secret weapon when we go up against the Ravagers. Maybe we should get a couple. Or four.”
“Hey, getting one will be hard enough,” Max told his friend. “Besides, I thought you said they were only tier-one dinos.”
“Will it?” Chopsticks asked. “We’ve still got the Concealer. And yeah, they are only tier ones, so it will be super easy.”
Max stared into the jungle. Some Crews made a fortune breeding what were essentially dino armies. Max and his comrades had never really had the opportunity to delve into that side of the game, as it could be incredibly finicky, expensive, and time-consuming, especially for more valuable dinos.
However, Max did like the idea of having their own, homegrown squad of Coelophysis. And it would be a good introduction to the breeding and rearing of dinosaurs.
“This is a terrible idea,” Max murmured, “but I’m in.”
“I knew I could count on you.” Chopsticks couldn’t hide the grin in his voice.
Max grabbed the Concealer out of his pocket. With a silent prayer for self-preservation, he activated it and disappeared.
Max stalked through the undergrowth, keeping low as he left the trail, which he now realized wasn’t just a game trail. No creature in its right mind would come this close to a nest regularly enough to wear away the ground into a path.
The irony of his own statement wasn’t lost on Max. He was the foolish creature who had followed the trail made by the Coelophysis themselves as they traveled back and forth to their nesting site.
Soft chirps and croons filled the air as Max waded through the undergrowth. As he neared the Coelophysis, he stood up and looked over the plant life to get a better view of the nests. Five mounds of dirt had a shallow hollow dug out in the middle of them. Two were occupied by the feathered Coelophysis, warming the clutches of eggs. The others that Max could see contained a selection of pale gray eggs, which couldn’t have been much larger than chicken eggs. Although the nests were abandoned at present, they must have been occupied recently or the eggs would cool too much.
The Coelophysis not involved in caring for the eggs moved around the nest site, some sleeping, others eating pieces of meat that had been brought to the nest site and left lying around. Another smaller group scraped at the ground or played with each other, letting out bursts of shrieks as they nipped at each other before darting away into the undergrowth, only to return shortly after.
“This is crazy,” Max breathed as he neared the edge of the nursery.
“That’s a lot of bones,” Chopsticks whispered.
“Fuck, Chopsticks, you’re not making this any easier.” Sweat broke out on Max’s forehead as he spotted a large pile of discarded bones, the remnants of many Coelophysis meals.
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“They can’t see you or hear you,” Chopsticks reminded him. “Okay, over there. There’s a nest away from the others, and it’s unoccupied. You’ll be able to just reach in and snag them.”
“You make everything sound so easy,” Max quipped as he stalked around the nursery, his eyes darting back and forth to watch the comings and goings of the Coelophysis. Despite the Concealer, he took it slow and avoided making any sudden sounds or movements.
“It is easy. They have no idea you are there,” Chopsticks told Max soothingly.
“Let’s hope it stays that way.” Max was close now. A ray of sunlight fell through the leaves onto the group of eggs, as if it were shiny loot he was trying to steal under the nose of some monster.
“Get as many as you can,” Chopsticks whispered.
“You are volunteering to raise them, aren’t you?” Max asked as on the far side of the nursery, he saw the parents of some of Coelophysis that had already hatched were tearing off strips of raw meat from some creature they’d killed and offering it to the young.
“I thought we could raise them together,” Chopsticks said. “I thought it would be a cool side project for us.”
“I never planned on being a parent, you know. I prefer my dinos when they are out of diapers.” Max stopped as a handful of the Coelophysis came rushing into the clearing with their noses in the air as if they could scent an intruder.
“You’d make a great dino mom,” Chopsticks teased. “They’ve sensed something. You should grab the eggs and get out of there.”
Max held his hand out in front of him. “I can’t see myself so the Concealer must still be working.”
“Let’s not take any chances.” Chopsticks sounded unusually wary.
“Okay.” Max inched closer to the edge of the nesting site. Before he moved farther, he took a look at the dinos who were chattering to each other as if having a discussion. About Max?
Could they scent him? Max held out his hand once more. He was still invisible and that was good enough for him.
