The need for food and water was currently my top priority, but I also wondered if the map worked the same way as in the game. It shows a larger space than what the player can physically see even at the very start. And thankfully this proved to be true as well, though sadly it did little to clue me in on my current location as everything was just forest.
Luckily I didn't exactly need to know where I was at the moment, just where the nearest water source was. My location was indicated by and arrow and after aiming where a stream was shown on the map I began my trek through the woods. As I walked I inspected the numerous plant life, and was pleasantly surprised that they had a "Gather" interact. When I selected it the item I was focusing on was harvest and placed into my inventory without me having to do anymore than think!
If everything in this world is going to be able to function around the mechanics of the game this opens things up to being much easier than I previously expected. I continued my walk while getting just close enough to harvest the various berries and wild vegetables that grew along the way. Even gathering wood and stones as I knew things I needed would require these to be built.
When I reached the small stream I nearly knelt at the edge and drank directly due to my current state of only 25/100 Hydration. However I stopped myself at the last moment as I remembered that the water might be dirty and could poison. That reminded me of boiling water over the campfires and led me to the easiest skill to level grind in the game. Cooking water.
I opened up the building menu and selected the premade fire pit, loaded it up with some spare logs and then turned back to the water. I couldn't help the smile that filled my face as I saw the "Collect Water" prompt appear. I mentally "clicked" it and then checked my inventory to see what looked like a large jar of dirty water. Turning back to the fire pit I mentally opened the menu and placed the jar in it and waited, but nothing happenedz
Then i remembered I had make it start cooking, so I gave the command to cook but still nothing happened. I almost let annoyance take over and kick the fire out when I finally looked a little closer at the menu and slapped myself in embarrassment.
"I can't believe I forgot you need 2 dirty waters to boil into a single clean water." I groaned aloud, but internally I was relieved. After collecting one more dirty water and placing it in the pit, the fire blazed to life and began "cooking" the water. A few seconds later a clean water appeared in my inventory and i immediately drank it.
The effect was intoxicating as my previously dry throat was cooled and wet by they tasty water. It was legitimately the best water I had ever had. Next I threw some berries and cooked them, eating and watching satisfaction as my Hydration and Sustenance raised even if only by a little compared to the meals I cooked with cooking pots in the game, but I would get there soon.
After all now that I was out of the danger zone I had my next task already lined up. Leveling up my cooking skill quickly by spam cooking water! A Hydration Station if you will.
"Ya that was pretty lame.." I muttered shaking my head. I turned back to water edge and gathered 52 dirty waters. The reason for this was to test whether the stacks were still the same, and to my delight the stack didn't stop at 50 like the game. So I spent the next 10 seconds gathering another 50 to see where the cap stack was and found that it was an even 100.
"This is great! I still have to worry about carry capacity… or wait do I?" I realized that none of the items I had gathered so far had added any physical weight to me, and to confirm my suspicions I pulled up the inventory and selected a dirty water. No where on the text did it mention a weight! This was huge! It was like I had a dimensional storage with nearly infinite capacity.
Unfortunately the inventory did have limited space in form of slots available, which happened to be 3x8. Though this didn't include my hot bar, which helped. Also I could make up for this by leveling construction and gaining access to the Personal Chest spell which basically acted as a portable chest or an extra window to my inventory.
Though looking at it I noticed that it required something I hadn't seen before "Aether Novice" required. From memory I couldn't remember anything TBATE using something called Aether and I groaned at having not read more. Even in RS this spell used Astral Runes, but that was unfortunately not the case here. I went into the Skills tab and focused on Mana Core, skimming through the unlocks for it I finally made it to the end at level 99 where there was an icon that looked like someone meditating.
Aether Novice (Locked)
Upon reaching the required level in the Mana Core Skill, user becomes an Aether Novice which unlocks a new Skill: Aether User.
Note: Nature, Law and Astral runes from RS have been converted to the Aether User Skill as this is the closest equivalent skill set for such abilities.
I sighed once again, and I realized I had been doing that a lot since I came here. I needed to reset and reevaluate my situation. The letter had told me that I came here a week after Arthur was born, so I still had over a decade before things became dire. I still have plenty of time, I'm not in a rush to max out everything right away. Of course the sooner the better, but I also have to remember that this is real life. There's no guarantee that if I die I will come back to life, so it's better to take it slow and steady.
For now I'll focus on maxing out cooking, so I don't get bored of the food options out here. I don't want to leave this area just because I couldn't stomach my own food any longer.
For now the goal is to maximize the output of the Hydration Station. Which means gathering more wood and stone, enough for 10 fire pits for now. Then gathering 100 water for each pit and while they are cooking I can progress my Mana Core Skill by meditating while being close enough to the fires so the water enters my inventory.
Easy… Right? 30 minutes later of chopping wood with an axe and another 30 minutes breaking up stone with my pickaxe, I took a little break. I hydrated and fed myself to get my Hydration and Sustenance to 100 each and checked my rest, it was already down to 50/100 which lowered the amount of stamina I could use but I wasn't too worried. I would just be sitting grabbing all the water I needed and then meditating which is supposed to refresh you. Perhaps that would even be enough to replenish a bit of my Rest meter without sleeping.
5 minutes of water gathering later I was finally ready. I placed 100 dirty water into each of the 10 fire pits I had built in a circle around me and sat down in a stereotypical meditation position. After starting the the cooking in each one I closed my eyes and followed what the system showed me was the correct way to meditate.
Like this 2 hours passed.
I was brought from my meditation abruptly by aches and pains flooding my body. My head ached, and my felt like it was slashing with each twist and turn. I looked at my health in a panic but was relieved to see it was still at 100/100, but eyes bulged seeing my Stamina at 10/60, the points of going back up.
I glanced to my Hydration and saw that it and my Sustenance was at 40/75. Looking at my Rest meter I now saw why everything was like this it was now at 20/100. I had never had my Rest this low in the game before, but now I see the repercussions of such negligence. It had cut the maximum amount of Stamina, Hydration and Sustenance I had access to.
I got up shakily, gritting my teeth against the pain as I headed back in the direction of my "spawn" for lack of a better term. I opened the map to make sure I was headed in the right direction. I could only focus on putting one foot in front of the other as my current state caused my Hydration and Sustenance to drop faster than normal.
Since I couldn't regen stamina I didn't want to waste the last 10 points on running as I didn't know if it would have even more negative effects on my condition or not.
I hobbled and tripped over outstretched roots and loose rocks. I saw my HP drop 1 point at a time each time I rolled an ankle, tripped and fell to my knees or scraped by limbs and briars.
By the time the tent was in sight my Hydration and Sustenance had it 0. My throat screamed for water and my stomach was thing knots into itself but I my mind was too rattled by my condition to think clearly. I thought I would have to pause too drink or eat, best case scenario I only needed to slow down like in the game, but I didn't want to risk it.
As I neared the tent I finally put my last bit of Stimina to use and jogged before diving into the tent. Screaming internally to rest as soon as the prompt appeared. The moment my body hit the bed I flung open the menu and and downed water after water, nearly crying at the relief. Following that up with food I thanked whatever being created this system for allowing you to eat and drink while in rest mode.
Once I saw the Hydration and Sustenance meters fill up, I watched Rest begin to slowly but surely tick up. My HP and Stamina also began to rise, and with one great big sigh my eyes closed and I fell asleep.
'Note to self: Leveling up the Mana Core Skill through meditation doesn't replenish Rest.'