Chapter 20: Shortcuts

Dex, wearing his new purple robe over his starter clothes, sat atop the treasure chest's closed lid with Macro and Scout waiting patiently at his feet. The foxy Engineer had nearly doubled in size, making him as big as a wolfhound. As for the eagle, he was still an eagle, but his cybernetic arms had retreated into hiding within his body so he seemed far less surreal.

"I'm here," Hugh said as he joined them. "Go ahead and report." He didn't know what he expected—perhaps another holographic screen or an addition to his system log—but it wasn't for the Engineer to actually speak.

"Two wooden spears crafted," Macro said in a tired, feminine voice. "Local area surveyed. Nothing to report as odd. Useful resources total fifteen—three varieties of trees in abundance, two varieties of stone in abundance, a clay deposit, one meadow with soil suitable for farming, two rabbits, four goats, and two wild turkeys."

Hugh was mesmerized by the movement of the fox's lips. It was like watching a cartoon come to life.

"Route mapped," Scout reported next, his beak clacking together as he expelled the words from deep in his throat. "North twelve kilometers. River ford landmark. Northeast six point three kilometers to lake. Follow lake shore East two point four kilometers. Town landmark. Destination reached."

"So around twenty kilometers," Hugh said in relief. "That won't be so bad on bikes."

"One problem," Dex replied. "For the explorer's route, we have to go to the ruins first and we don't know where it's at. Scout, did you see any signs of abandoned civilization on your flight?"

The eagle bobbed its head. "Crumbled road. Six camps. Four wells. One arch. Three carved stones. One farm."

"Add those landmarks as stops on the route," Hugh said in resignation. "How far will that make the travel distance?"

"New route, thirty point three kilometers."

Hugh tried to do the math to convert the kilometers into miles, but failed. "That's what in miles?"

"Around nineteen," Dex corrected. "Assuming we don't get lost on the way."

"It could still be a lot worse. Scout, how far to the camp you mentioned? Can we make it before nightfall?"

"Affirmative," the eagle answered. "Five kilometers north."

"Any other landmarks between here and there?"

"Negative."

Turning his attention back to Dex, Hugh said, "I think we should try for it. I hate the idea of just sitting around and waiting for the day to end. If we pack up everything we need and move to the new campsite, at least we'll have made some progress."

"Are you that eager to get back to your friends?" Dex asked curiously.

Hugh shook his head, then he changed his mind and nodded. "I'm a gamer and launch day for gamers are a big thing. It's always a race to see who can get to level cap first and the rush of competing can be like a drug. I know I probably seem like the lazy type because I spent so much time with my Book, but I've finished my goal of unlocking section one and I even opened a third of the Appendices. I'm ready to play now and everything in me is screaming it's time to go."

"I see. In that case, there's a few things I should show you before we leave. Open your book to your inventory page. Press the wand tool icon, but don't let go. Repeat after me—'Bind Shortcut One'." Hugh did as he was asked, then waited for Dex to explain.

"You just added the wand icon to your Book's spine so you can access it without having to open to the inventory page. Now store your new spear, crossbow, and sword in your inventory, press those, and bind them to shortcuts two, three, and four. Once that's done, you can call out the item's name and it'll be summoned into your hands. If you want to switch between shortcut items, just say 'switch bind'. The first item will return to your Book and the second item will replace it."

It took a minute to retrieve the items and store them in his inventory, then bind them. When he finished, he tried it out by holding up his hand as he said, "Wand." The wand appeared over his open palm and dropped into it. "Switch bind two." The wand disappeared and his new spear appeared in front of him, its smooth surface glistening white from being freshly carved from green wood. Hugh grabbed it before it could topple over.

"Switch bind three," made the spear disappear and the crossbow appear hovering midair. Hugh fumbled to grab its handle before it could drop. He had a feeling he'd need a lot of practice before he could switch to it with ease.

"Switch bind four," he said, feeling far less confident than before. But he needn't have worried. When the Lich sword from the well appeared, the hilt was angled so he could easily grab it. For the first time in his life, he appreciated being such a big, lumbering guy. He had no trouble controlling the blade and keeping the tip from hitting the ground—a big no-no according to every fantasy show he'd ever watched.

"Looks like you're a natural sword guy," Dex said approvingly. "In that case, you might consider assigning both the crossbow and the bow to me. I can switch between them depending on the distance to my target."