The fence blueprint was the same quality as the campfire she had crafted herself. But typically, high-level blueprints didn’t drop in the early stages of a game; that would completely unbalance it. The novice period was only forty-eight hours. She figured she could sleep soundly at night if she could just fence off a suitable plot of land before it ended.
The item Xia Qiu traded to Song Ci’an was a small, red-and-blue bear water bottle. It could hold 400ml of water, and while it wasn’t insulated, it was still a decent container. Besides, the water bottle had come with her from Blue Star, making it an irreplaceable Otherworld item. Trading it for a blueprint was more than a fair deal for the other player.
[Song Ci’an: If you need to trade for more food and water later, you can use other resources. I have other blueprints as well, so just let me know if you need anything. Should we add each other as friends?]
The blueprint master was extending an olive branch!
Xia Qiu’s spirits lifted, and she quickly sent a friend request. After Song Ci’an accepted, Xia Qiu discovered she could now see a more detailed profile.
[Player: Song Ci’an]
[Gender: Female]
[Location: Qiushui Island]
[Title: None]
[Class: Hunter]
She was right. This really *was* a survival game with classes! Less than ten hours into the game, and someone had already unlocked a specific class. Xia Qiu was practically overflowing with envy. Visit novelping.com for the full chapter.
The only reason Song Ci’an would trade away the fence blueprint was that she either couldn’t use it or already had a duplicate. Since the game had begun less than twelve hours ago, Xia Qiu leaned toward the first explanation.
[Xia Qiu: Do you mind my asking how you unlocked your class? No worries if you’d rather not say.]
A couple of minutes later, Song Ci’an replied.
[Song Ci’an: It’s no big deal. A class activation card dropped after I killed four rabbits.]
So it was tied to your actions? Xia Qiu thought back on her afternoon. All she had done was gather, gather, gather. "Oh no," she thought wryly, "what if I unlock something like ’Supreme Scavenger’?"
No one dared to wander about after nightfall, so the world chat buzzed with activity.
[One Strawberry: Shoutout to Wanderer for the burning torch, you’re a lifesaver! I’m eternally grateful! The quality is great, not like some of these price-gougers out here! Anyone who needs one should go trade with them!]
[Start Over: Trading for food! I have all sorts of resources. Need cooked food!]
[Just Wanna Be a Mushroom: Does anyone know what happens after the novice period is over...? Can we even make it back home alive?]
[Pioneer: Anyone get an extra Chef-exclusive blueprint? I can trade special food for it.]
[Diviner: Trading 30 Long Wood for various mats. DM with offers.]
At the same time, a sense of urgency washed over her. Both people she had traded with had already unlocked a class; it couldn’t be a coincidence. What if most players had one by now? Didn’t that mean she was already falling behind?
From the information on her panel, she could guess that the game had more than one server, though it was impossible to know how many players were on each one. The leaderboard page was currently blank, but if it ever went live... In a wilderness survival game, what happened to those at the bottom of the rankings?
The more she thought, the more anxious she grew, and her anxiety quickly turned to fear. She shot to her feet. But a cold gust of night wind sent a shiver through her, and she sheepishly sat back down by the fire. She’d have to redouble her efforts in the morning.
Her movements were restricted to the area around the campfire, and the surrounding grassland was empty and still. With nothing better to do, Xia Qiu opened her inventory to take stock of the fruits of her afternoon’s "labor."
Aside from the crate of assorted items she’d woken up with, her inventory now held a decent variety of resources, though none of them seemed especially useful. Excluding the items she had already used, she now had: 5 Red Mushrooms, 207 Pine Nuts, 25 Pinecones, 5 empty pinecones, 4 Flint, 6 Pyrite, 5 Hematite, 8 Dry Grass, 11 Sturdy Vines, 4 Short Wood, 20 Large Leaves, and 25 Stones.
She also had the one Delicious Grilled River Fish she’d gotten from Pioneer.
It seemed like a respectable haul, but when she saw people in the world chat casually offering dozens upon dozens of items for trade, a profound sense of crisis welled up inside her.
After scrolling through the world chat for a while, Xia Qiu saw someone else complaining about getting a pile of junk from their Hero’s Box.
Opening her inventory again, Xia Qiu reached in and took out the box. In the firelight, the silver-gray chest shimmered with an iridescent glow.