Evolution Island: Kill to Survive

Soaking wet

Aaron ran towards the small hills in the distance, as fast as his legs could carry him. Since his speed had been halved due to the wet status effect, he had to put in far more effort to sprint ahead. Every inch of his body was burning with a stinging sensation and his HP was rapidly falling. As the rain kept battering against his flaming body, he felt as if he was being pricked mercilessly by hundreds of steel needles. The only thing he could do was to keep his head down and continue running.

Sprinting across the sandy beach, he finally managed to make it to the hills. The only problem was climbing them. If he could get to the top, he could take shelter under the broad-leaved trees which grew there. He looked around for a rope or vine he could use, but there were just fallen leaves and half-eaten guavas scattered nearby. Sticking close to the hill did nothing to shelter him from the rain, but it protected him from the strong winds which were blowing from the opposite end. The rain showed no sign of stopping and his HP kept dropping steadily. He looked around searchingly, trying to locate an overhanging cliff or some cave which would protect him from the rainfall.

Eventually, he spotted what appeared to be a small cave in the distance. Without a second thought, he ran towards it at full speed. He managed to reach the safety of the cave just in the nick of time. Taking shelter inside an unknown cave wasn't always the best idea, but he was all out of options.

Once inside, Aaron took a few moments to catch his breath, before squatting down on the damp ground. Even though he was no longer out in the rain, his body was still wet. The imminent danger had been averted, but he was still not out of the woods yet. He had to find a way to warm himself and dry his clothes if he wanted to survive.

The cave looked like a safe place to stay in for the moment. There were no paw prints or tracks on the ground, which was definitely a good sign. Though it was a bit dark inside, the place looked habitable.

The thunder kept rumbling in the distance, sending shudders down Aaron's spine. He was still shivering from the cold and the flames covering his body had been completely extinguished. Though his HP had finally stopped dropping, all his stats still remained halved.

A few deep breaths later, he was finally able to compose himself. He had played this game before, but there was something oddly different about it this time. He didn’t remember ‘Evolution Island’ ever having a dynamic weather system. Apart from the regular day and night cycles, there was never any change. The only possible explanation was that perhaps the weather system had been added in the recent update.

As Aaron lay on the damp ground, he thought about what he was going to do next. Zach was at the other end of the island and perhaps facing similar difficulties. He then remembered that his friend was an Aquamancer, which rendered him immune to all water-based attacks. He was going to be fine, as long as he didn’t end up getting zapped by lighting.

All alone in a strange new world, Aaron felt lost and scared. He tried contacting Zach over and over again, but the comms were jammed. There was nothing he could do now, except wait for the rain to stop.

This solitude gave Aaron plenty of time to think about his situation. There was no telling how long he would have to stay inside this cave and so he decided to learn more about his current Predator. Just like all gamers, he had the urge to check out his character stats and skills.

This was no different from the anime shows he used to watch back at home. The initial panic was quickly replaced by a sense of adventure. This was exactly what he wanted- an escape from his dull and boring college life. Perhaps this wasn’t going to be so bad after all. He had played countless RPGs before and he felt he could handle whatever the game had to throw at him.

Just like any other RPG, this one had a deep character progression system. Aaron wondered whether he could use voice commands to access the character menu and decided to give it a try.

“Open Character Stats”

Immediately, the Z-Band buzzed and gave him a holographic display of his stats.

He noticed that all his stats had taken a sharp hit. His total HP had been halved and, on top of that, he had lost 20 HP by just standing out there in the rain. He glanced over his stats one last time before switching to the Status Effects Page.

[*Status Effects and Conditions*]

[Status effect: Wet

Debuffs applied: 1

Debuff 1: All stats halved.]

Though his stats still remained halved, he was relieved to see that the continuous HP decay was no longer affecting him. Now all he needed to do was get his stats back to normal, before venturing outside again.

When the rain stopped, the clouds slowly cleared away and the mild rays of the evening sun illumined the dark cave. Aaron noticed the walls of the cave had strange crude paintings of pre-historic animals on them. It looked quite similar to the cave paintings he had read about in his history books at school. He thought about the wild possibility of this cave having been used as a shelter by some tribal nomad. He didn’t recall having come across any such cave paintings in his previous playthrough. Perhaps this too was a recent addition. For the moment, he bottled up all his questions and decided to focus on drying himself.

In the dim light, Aaron spotted a bundle of twigs lying around. These were perfect for lighting a small bonfire. All he needed was a bit of dry grass or leaves and a flint stone.

Gathering the twigs, Aaron arranged them one on top of the other to form a neat pile in the middle of the cave. Although there were no dry leaves or grass nearby, there was something else that he could use to start the fire. He noticed clumps of club moss growing near the walls of the cave. Though the plants were damp, the spores inside were all dry. Aaron grabbed a handful of the plants and extracted their spores. He sprinkled the flammable spores on top of the firewood and picked up a couple of flat stones from the ground.

As he began striking the stones against each other, he felt like a boy scout lost in a forest. After several attempts, he was finally able to produce a spark which ignited the dry moss. He carefully blew on the embers and lit the fire. The small bonfire burned brightly inside the cave, filling the damp cloister with warmth. Aaron breathed a sigh of relief and leaned back against the rocky wall.

Almost immediately, his Z-band buzzed and displayed a notification.

[*Achievement Unlocked: Firestarter!*]

[+100 XP

Level up!

Current Level: 2.

All stats increased!

+500 Sky Gems Earned!]

This little achievement of lighting his first bonfire inside this game gave Aaron something to smile about. Not only did he level up from this activity, but also got his hands on some really good reward.

The sky gems he just acquired were the game’s special in-game currency which allowed players to purchase premium items from mysterious vendors in special locations. If he could collect enough gems, he would be able to purchase Legendary weapons and even Rare magic scrolls from them. The initial fear of being trapped in another world was gradually replaced by a feeling of excitement. Maybe being teleported here wasn’t such a bad thing. He could now truly experience the adventure first hand. It certainly felt far more exciting than studying for his stupid exams.

Putting aside all his negative thoughts, he focused on his character.

“Open equipment page.”

As soon as he spoke those words, a holographic display appeared before him. This was the character equipment menu.

[*Weapons*]

Right-handed weapon [Not equipped]

Left-handed weapon [Not equipped]

Thrown weapons [Not equipped]

[*Armor*]

Head [Not equipped]

Arms [Not equipped]

Chest [Not equipped]

Legs [Not equipped]

Feet [Not equipped]

[*Accessories*]

Rings [Not equipped]

Necklace [Not equipped]

It was just as he had expected. The clothes from his real world were useless in this game. They added neither defense nor bolstered his stats. Finding a decent equipment set and a primary weapon was now his main objective. But before he could go about doing that, he needed to refill his HP bar.

The warmth from the little bonfire had dried Aaron’s clothes and he was no longer shivering now. A few minutes later, even the wet status effect eventually disappeared and his stats went back to normal again. Without wasting any more time in thought, he stepped outside to look for some food. Any food he could find would be able to replenish his lost HP.

After a good deal of searching, Aaron found a gap in the hills. The sloping path cutting through the heavily forested hills, led to higher ground. He followed the path and slowly made his way towards the forest.

It was a beautiful place. Broad-leafed deciduous trees of all kinds could be seen growing all over the forest. The ground was covered in grass and fallen leaves. Little Muskrats and chubby cotton-tailed rabbits played on the forest floor, while squirrels and monkeys scurried along the branches of maple trees. Normally, he would kill these little ones to gain easy experience points (XP), but this was way too close to reality and he felt quite guilty even thinking about such a thing.

Dismissing his thoughts, he continued walking. As he approached the first oak tree, his Z-band buzzed again and displayed a message.

[*You have discovered Zittorac Forest!*]

[+200 XP

Level Up

Current Level: 3.

All stats increased!

One skill point available!]

As Aaron’s level increased, a small amount of his HP was restored. He stopped right there and quickly opened the Skills Menu. It was time to use the skill point and unlock his very first skill!