System
Hayden Droven
Title: None
Class: None
Race: Human
Level: 0 - 0.50%
.....
Strength: 1 (1-2 damage)
Vitality: 1 (6/10 health points, per point = 100 years of lifespan)
Intelligence: 2 (20 mana)
Wisdom: 1 (1 mana regen per min)
Agility: 2 (7 mph)
Stamina: 0.5 (42/50 stamina)
Health regen: 0.5 + 0.2 per minute + 0.2 per minute (due to cauterisation)
Stamina regen: 0.5 per minute
Skills
Appraisal Level 1 - 0.03%
If you have noticed, I have made some changes throughout the chapters so the stats should make a bit more sense. If you check my author notes at the bottom of this chapter, you should see how stamina was affected.
Please note that the stats shown in this section are the latest known stats from the previous chapter. The MC has yet to use Status in this one.
.....
{For now, I'll leave these so-called ku'it berries for later. If I can't find anything else to eat that looks more familiar, I'll have to consider them as a last resort. Eating anything with unknown written on it should be a last resort anyway. I'll also need to build a rudimentary shelter very soon, as it's almost sundown.}
Hayden got up and carefully started walking back into the forest. His leg still hurt, causing him to limp slightly, but the pain didn't impair his movement too much. This seemed to match what his status page had told him. However, that didn't mean the injury wouldn't cause problems later. The new scar tissue might not be as strong or flexible as his normal skin, leaving the area more vulnerable.
Hayden moved much more slowly on this venture into the jungle, carefully watching where he stepped and avoiding any grass that looked strange or unfamiliar.
A few minutes into his short hike, he found a clearing behind some bushes that he really wished he hadn't discovered.
There, only a few metres away, was a puddle of muddy water.
Most people would probably rejoice at finding a source of water in the middle of an unfamiliar jungle. Unfortunately, Hayden wasn't most people. The puddle was surrounded by several metres of that bloody purple grass.
"FUCK!"
{Whatever divine being brought me to this world, I hope he steps on a Lego brick, because that is just pure evil! The only source of water I've found so far, and it has that freaking grass that lacerated my leg. How the hell am I supposed to get to it?}
At first, Hayden considered making a bridge across the grass. Unfortunately, planks weren't exactly something you could expect to find lying around in a jungle. That idea was out.
While people in novels with systems seemed capable of lifting entire trees and using them as bridges, Hayden could barely lift a couple of bricks' worth of weight. He wasn't about to start pretending he was one of those overpowered protagonists.
He then considered gathering a bunch of sticks and laying them across the grass. However, the stuff had seemed almost sentient when it grabbed him earlier. There was no way he could guarantee that it wouldn't grow through the branches and grab him again.
So that idea was out, too.
Hayden looked up at the canopy above the puddle. Trees surrounded the clearing, and there were plenty of them, all displaying colours that seemed to have been stolen from a rainbow. Some were purple, while others had thorns running all the way up their trunks.
Hayden was tempted to avoid those trees as well. It might have seemed like an unfair judgement based on their appearance, but when purple grass had already tried to kill you, avoiding anything with weird colours or spikes seemed like a perfectly reasonable survival strategy.
Fortunately, there were a few normal-looking trees nearby. Some of their thick branches stretched out above the puddle, twisting around and connecting with the branches of neighbouring trees.
{Maybe I can climb one of those trees and slowly make my way across the branches. But how would I collect the water? I don't have anything to carry it in.}
Hayden looked down at his shirt.
{Maybe I could use this to soak up some of the water. I used to do something similar back home when I was whipping my brother on the back after soaking my shirt. I probably won't be able to hold much water in it, but it should be enough to get a drink, even if the water is a bit dirty.}
With a plan finally forming in his head, Hayden gathered his resolve and rubbed his hands together.
Then he jumped towards the nearest hanging branch.
His fingers barely managed to catch it.
For a moment, he hung there, his feet dangling above the ground as he struggled to keep his grip. His injured leg throbbed as he tried to find somewhere to put his foot, but after a few tense moments, he managed to pull himself onto the branch.
It wasn't easy, but he made it.
From there, climbing onto the remaining branches was much simpler. They were spread close enough together that he could move between them without too much trouble.
Hayden sighed, perspiration forming on his forehead.
{Okay, now the easy part's over. Time for the hard part. I just have to pray I don't fall onto that grass or snap a branch beneath me. This one's pretty thick, so it should hold my weight. Probably.}
He glanced down at the purple grass surrounding the puddle.
{I don't really have much choice. If this is the only source of water nearby, then it's worth taking the risk. The further I go into the jungle, the more dangerous things could get. At least this area is close to where I first woke up, so I should learn what I can about my surroundings before wandering off into completely unknown territory.}
He paused, considering his options.
{Even if that means I have to risk getting killed while hovering over purple grass. It's better to deal with something whose abilities you understand than to stumble into something completely unknown. Knowing what you're dealing with gives you a better chance of surviving. At least, that's what I'm telling myself.}
Hayden carefully sat down on the branch and removed his shirt, holding it in one hand. Using the other to maintain his grip, he slowly began pulling himself along the branch towards the puddle.
"Fuck me. Why am I even doing this?"
His arms trembled slightly as he moved. Every small creak from the branch made his heart jump, and he tried not to look down at the grass waiting beneath him.
As he approached the middle of the puddle, Hayden clung to the branch like a koala, wrapping his arms and legs around it as tightly as he could.
"FUCK! FUCK! FUCK! FUCK!"
He squeezed his eyes shut for a moment before opening them again.
"Why am I doing this? If I screw up even once, I'm going to end up looking like an alligator victim! From both ends of my body!"
He waited, watching the grass below for any sign of movement.
Nothing happened.
Taking that as the closest thing to permission he was likely to get, Hayden slowly lowered his shirt into the puddle.
He let the fabric soak for a few seconds before carefully lifting it back up. Then he pressed the wet shirt to his mouth and drank the water dripping from it.
It tasted muddy and unpleasant, but he swallowed it anyway.
He repeated the process several times, squeezing what he could from the shirt and drinking until he had finally satisfied his thirst.
It wasn't exactly the cleanest way to get a drink, but considering the alternatives, Hayden wasn't going to complain.
Once he was finished, he pulled himself back into an upright position and slowly nudged his way backwards along the branch. He took his time, refusing to rush and risk ruining everything at the last moment.
Eventually, he reached the safer branches and climbed down the tree.
The moment his feet touched the ground, he sat at the base of the trunk and let out a long, relieved breath.
{Thank fuck I'm still alive.}
Hayden got back to his feet and began walking towards the place where he had first started exploring the jungle, unaware of what had been watching him.
Had he looked back at the puddle, he might have noticed a purple bulb protruding from the grass. A narrow, slitted purple eye stared in his direction, seemingly glaring at him.
And just behind the tree Hayden had climbed, a purple vine was slowly making its way around the trunk.
It was almost close enough to reach him.