Forest Survival: From Logging to Login - Chapter 17

Chapter 17: Weekly Sign-In!

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

In just a few days, the strength of the trees had grown so much.

Ed did not dare to think about what the situation would be like in a few more days.

Right now, the trees only resisted against those who invaded their land. If they grew strong enough, would they attack the survivors directly like wild beasts?

If it really did come to this, the greatest threat would be the beasts, but rather the trees that seemed to surround everything there was. Ed had been confident in thinking that he was well ahead of the curve, but it now seemed that his vanity had been unfounded.

In this apocalyptic world, there was no so-called lead. Survival was all that prevailed.

Regardless of how much of a lead or advantage one had, there was no guarantee that they’d live to see the sun tomorrow. 

Ed was thankful that he’d managed to come to this realization early. Otherwise, he would probably have been too comfortable in the fact that he had a diamond-quality axe.

Perhaps diamond-quality trees would emerge in the future. In that case, what advantage would the axe currently in his hands retain?

As long as the strange moon in the sky remained, the trees would only grow stronger.

It was reasonable to assume that the other survivors had not obtained anything similar to the diamond-quality axe he possessed. Even if they had managed to get their hands on something better, the quality would likely not be as high.

When the time came, if a tree of diamond-quality or higher strength emerged, he would be the only one capable of dealing with it. After all, he had the system.

Mulling over his current situation, he grew even more vigilant.

He continued swinging his axe with renewed fervor, clearing a path through the forest before him. The notifications informing him of newly obtained resources did not slow down in his mind. Fortunately, he found that he could mute them temporarily. Otherwise, he might have gone insane.

“Almost done…”

Ed looked at the empty space in front of him that had just been cleared, almost exhausted. The trees had indeed been harder to cut down than before. They now required him to use more strength in order to chop through them in one fell swoop. Relatively speaking, however, it was still easy to chop them down.

Comparing himself to the survivors, Ed was already more than grateful to be able to be this relaxed.

Just like that, a morning of logging was concluded.

He had cleared out two basketball court sized open spaces before stopping from fatigue and thirst

In the open space around the cabin, Ed and Little Treasure sat relaxed, sharing some delicious corn and sipping on warm boiled water.

All things considered, these were essentially luxuries.

Among other things, Ed’s living conditions were extremely fortunate. The food, especially, was lavish. 

With his cornfield, he would find no lack of food.

Of course, if he really had to eat corn three times a day, he would definitely not be able to stand it. After all, energy for the human body was still most efficiently provided by meat.

After eating and drinking his fill, Ed looked up toward the sky. The sun did not seem to be receding yet, which was enough to tell him that it was still early.

There was only one last bag of bait left in his storage space. He decided to use it to capture a few more forest chickens.

Of course, this time, Ed brought Little Treasure along with him to go deeper into the forest. Its mission was the same as before, to find any treasure tree holes. His, on the other hand, was to capture chickens.

Everything went according to plan.

Time flew by as the sky gradually darkened, and Ed, along with Little Treasure, returned home.

Today’s harvest had once again been rich.

He had used the last small bag of bait to capture three chickens. All together, he now had a total of ten. Making three more wooden baskets, he placed them each into individual baskets.

After a brief pause, he took out some kernels of corn before sprinkling some into each basket.

Seeing that there was something to eat, the chickens did not care about what it was as they went into a feeding frenzy, even showing traces of enjoyment as they ate.

This did not surprise Ed. It would have been a miracle if they hadn’t found the bronze corn delicious. After most of the chickens were finished eating, they continued to cry out. It was obvious that they hadn’t had enough.

Ed was not stingy. He sprinkled some more into the wooden baskets before the crying stopped, confirming his idea that the forest chickens could be fed with corn kernels.

Preoccupied with eating, they were oblivious to the danger that had quietly arrived.

Crack!

Ed picked up a chicken before breaking its neck. The bird died on the spot without even making a sound.

He couldn’t be careless about preparing chicken meat.

Boiling water, washing the carcass, plucking its feathers, and bleeding it out were all done in one go. He was able to do this quickly, mainly because he had been doing it for a while and as such, had gotten familiar with the process.

After only having eaten corn and apples since the morning, he couldn’t wait to enjoy a big meal.

It was a combination of meat and vegetables. Only by eating like this would he maintain his health. In such a world, it was likely only Ed who was able to enjoy such a meal.

In a short while, a steaming hot roasted chicken rested on the grill.

If he were to put this up on the trade list, who knew how many people would fight over it? Even one drumstick would be a rare delicacy.

Ed imagined that most of the other survivors wouldn’t have gotten their hands on chicken just yet. They had tried but failed to catch them, as they were simply too fast.

Only he was fortunate enough to constantly have an entire chicken for a meal.

“If only I had some sugar.”

After dinner, Ed began to chew on an apple.

There was no lack of salt, but he did miss sugar. If there was, he’d be able to prepare even better chicken dishes. Or maybe he could make sweet apple sauce, and use it as a dip.

A regretful expression crossed his face.

If anyone could see his current expression, he would surely be pummeled into the ground.

Other survivors would yell, “We’re still chewing on tree bark, and you’re already planning to make sweet sauce?”

He wouldn’t rush it. It would arrive if it was meant to arrive.

The night gradually darkened as the strange moon arose once again.

Lost in thought, Ed stared blankly into the bonfire before him, awaiting the passage of time. There was something extremely important to do today.

The weekly sign-in!

This would be a crucial factor in whether or not a wood processing plant could be built.

If what he would receive by checking-in was not what he wanted, he would have to resort to trading for the blueprints of the tools he required with food.

Ed prayed in his heart.

He had always been lucky, but would it come through this time, when he needed it most?

[ Ding! Do you wish to sign in? ]

The metallic voice of the system sounded in his mind.

Without any hesitation, he agreed.