Rewards

Lucian nudges Rai with his foot and taps on Idris while I try to wake Rina up by calling her name.

The three were visibly surprised, waking up in an unfamiliar area and suddenly at that. It took some time but they managed to recall why we were here.

"What's wrong?" Rina muttered while rubbing her eyes.

"The system activated." I hastily answer.

Probably groggy from suddenly being woken up, it took them some time to process what I said. It was Rai who slapped himself awake in surprise.

"A system?! Like in the novels?" His eyes were wide, leaning forward and almost losing his balance.

"Surprisingly looks like that too. I didn't think it'd look like a game prompt." But then Tyr said that he tried making it appear familiar so maybe this is what he meant.

I proceeded to add them to the party and Rai could be seen giggling to the side, very giddy at the thought of experiencing a system.

Once they all accepted I said, "Now that all the victims have gathered together, I'll replay the message I saw earlier. I think it's from Shen."

I wait for them as they all look at their invisible screens, each one sporting a different expression and I avoid looking at Lucian whom I can guarantee, is now sporting a deep scowl.

I gotta do what I gotta do. No hard feelings.

Looking at my grid, I directed the system into the rewards section, and once again it started performing the same re-calculation for the rewards.

Seeing how surprised the others are, they probably got the same pings I got earlier.

System: Would you like to see your existing rewards?

I responded positively and a list of prompts in a list form appeared:

- Successfully reached 1st Rank: Reward available

- Successfully reached 2nd Rank: Reward available

- Successfully cultivated for the first time: Reward available

- Successfully develop an ability: Reward available

- Sustainable Forests: Reward available

- Hunting I: Reward available

Woah, this feels like a game quest all of a sudden.

Then I noticed that towards the bottom were several optional rewards:

- Fuse with Aether core: Reward claimed

- Use Fire: Reward available

- First Prey: Reward available

- Planting I: Reward available

- Space Ability Activation: Reward available

- Compensation: Reward available

I was about to accept all the rewards when Lucian sternly said, "Don't blindly accept all of the rewards. Most are energy boosts. You may accidentally break through on the spot if you accept everything in one go."

It's good that he said that right before doing just that. So I proceed to look at each reward.

Seems like all of the rewards had energy boosts. The difference was in the amount rewarded. Maybe it depends on how difficult each task was.

What got my attention were the other rewards:

- Cultivation Techniques I x 1

- Cultivation Techniques II x 1

- Cultivation Techniques III x 1

- Seed Pocket x 1

- Access to Botanical Compendium

- Access to Bestiary

Optional Rewards:

- Beast Inquiry I

- Plant Inquiry I

- Space Expansion

- Empyrean Cultivation Techniques I x 1

I felt a little overwhelmed seeing all the rewards. It seems very exciting but at the same time, I can't help but feel a bit wary.

I proceeded to check each one, and Tyr was right when he said that Shen left steps to teach humans how to cultivate properly. Cultivation Techniques I-III were exactly that.

Upon reading through them, I noticed that they were a set of breathing techniques, specific postures, and movements similar to Ancient Tai Chi.

And then I saw the Empyrean Cultivation Techniques I, clearly a more complicated version of the techniques earlier. There were also specific practices focused on the core, meridians, and blockages.

This was clearly something from Tyr. It seems like the optional rewards were added by the council.

The seed pocket was small externally but it was a seed space that I could physically carry around. It also says here that I can keep the seeds fresh inside.

I almost dance upon seeing this, for Plant Elementals this is a dream come true. I managed to keep calm and proceed to check the Compendium and Bestiary.

Suddenly the grid started displaying an interface similar to that of an encyclopedia. The bestiary only had one item which was marked with "???".

I decided to view it and there I saw a photo of the Hell Pig we fought yesterday. Below it was a short description of the beast, in particular its average size.

There wasn't a lot to see on it so I was about to move on to the Botanical Compendium, but then a prompt shows up.

System: Would you like to use Beast Inquiry I? Cost: Minimal Energy

I wonder how minimal this "Minimal Energy" is? There's also a Plant Inquiry I, if I'm going to use energy, I better use it there.

I did find a plant that I was curious to test, I was planning on manually testing it but this just made it easier.

Unlike my Bestiary, there were about eight items marked with "???". If it's like this maybe it only includes plants and trees that I've actually used because I've seen more than just eight plants.

I decided to open each item, looking for a plant with bright green leaves and serrated edges.

It asked me if I wanted to use Plant Inquiry I and this time I braced myself for the backlash.

The moment I selected the option to use energy for inquiry, I felt energy being suctioned off from my core like I raised a slew of trees from seedlings to maturity. I couldn't help but lean forward, very surprised at their version of the word "minimal".

That felt like a sucker punch. Thankfully I did not use that on the pig too.

Once it was done, I looked to see the outcome of my sacrifice. On it was just as I had hoped.

The "???" Turned into "Mint", with a short description of its appearance and uses. Then below it were headers that were grayed out. Growth and Cultivation then Location, I felt like crying.

If I'm right, there should be higher versions of Plant Inquiry and that should give me the contents of the remaining headers. I momentarily ignore the energy requirement as I gaslight myself into happiness.

I finally noticed the others looking at me, it seems like I'm the only one who hasn't finished checking the system. And I suddenly hoped that no one was paying attention to my earlier reactions.

"Let me just finish looking at the tasks before we talk about what we all saw," I tell them, while still focusing on looking for the list of tasks.

The system seems to operate by showing only the applicable tasks. But considering the rewards we got, it seems like hitting the milestones without seeing them on the list would still net a reward.

The system identified several tasks:

- Reach 3rd Rank

- Join a Tribe

- Establish your own Tribe [5/30]

I tried prodding the tasks to see if there were more specific descriptions, but I got nothing. It seems to me like the 5/30 is the population required for it to be called a Tribe.

Unsure of what I wanted to discuss first I asked to confirm first. "Did everyone clear the "First Prey Task"?" Rina shook her head just as I expected, while Lucian nodded. Idris and Rai seemed unsure.

"Seems like that's what they meant by participation. Because the two of us had direct participation, it rewarded us."

"I managed to clear the task by fishing." Idris chuckled lightly while Rai looked sheepish. "Me too!" He said.

"I knew I should've speared something then!" Rina puffs in annoyance.

I laugh and tell her that she could just do it later. "Did you guys also get ability-specific rewards?" I glanced at them while raising my seed pocket.

Rina then showed us a large wooden compass that could point out the direction of nearby bodies of water in exchange for minimal energy.

"That minimal energy is a scam, don't use it until you accumulate energy, I felt like being sucker punched earlier," I warn her right away.

"What did you use energy on?" Lucian scrutinizes me.

I grab a handful of leaves and show them my handy work, "I got a Plant Compendium in return for accomplishing the Sustainable Forest task. Then the optional reward was Plant Inquiry I."

"It allowed me to confirm that these are indeed mint leaves," I say proudly.

"So you're saying that you almost toppled over for a mint?" He teased.

Suddenly angry I retort, "I wanted to test if I could get information on plants okay?! I already had a strong feeling that this was mint, but I wanted to see what other information it could tell me." I hmphed.

"And?" He drawls.

"It does confirm the plant, as well as its uses, but what's more interesting are the grayed-out things. It seems like it would tell me how to grow and where to find it in the future."

"I should probably use my abilities too, I haven't really healed anything so I've yet to get ability-related rewards." Idris mused.

Rai then tells us that he received a weather forecasting stone. How cute.

Then we look at Lucian who seemed to find it tiring to explain. "A Mineral Compendium."

We waited for a little more explanation but that was all he was willing to part with, so okay.

"I believe we also got the cultivation techniques, both the standard ones and the ones from the gods?" I say to the group.

"We should probably incorporate those as fast as possible. I think you all heard what he implied in his message." I avert my eyes since I effectively dragged them into this.

We also discussed the available tasks and it seemed like the others had some of the tasks that we've already accomplished, like getting to 2nd rank and hunting prey.

"If our guess is correct, it might take time to find and convince at least 25 other people to join our tribe. Maybe we should look into learning from one first?" Rina asks us and we know she's right.

I didn't think I meditated for a long time earlier but with the sudden appearance of the system, we've suddenly used up almost half the day.

After freshening up, we all fumbled around to attend to the tasks that required us to wait.

I would've personally wanted to either run out to find more plants or cultivate energy, but I have to prioritize checking on the lye.

Unsure whether the lye was strong enough already, I found Lucian dipping a finger into the bucket.

I instinctively reach out to tug on his hand, "Don't you dare put that into your mouth."

"You realize that I was going for the zap test." He looks down at me, annoyed.

"I know, why else would I stop you? We're not even sure if it's only lye you know. Let's just run it a second time to make it stronger."

He looked like he was going to taste it so I pulled out my water jug to wash off the lye.

"Don't. If you get any dumber because of this that would suck." I seriously warn him.

Angered by my statement, he lifts me suddenly, in a show of wanting to dump me into the lye solution.

I flail around, hitting his back while clinging onto his neck and screaming, "Put me down, you bastard!"

"Let's see how much more stupid you'll get after bathing in that." He tells me as he wrangles to put me down.

"Hey Captain, Eli-" Rai comes over looking for us, but stops when he sees us fighting. After all, I already held Lucian's hair in my hand.

"What?!" We ask at the same time, momentarily stopping to look at him.

He begins to walk backward, "Maybe later, I think don't want to interrupt." and then proceeds to run backward, now with the help of his ability.

"What the hell is wrong with him?" Lucian mutters and puts me down. "Never mind, you're too heavy." He smirks and I feel like kneeing him in the groin. So I respond with my middle finger and a sardonic smile.

I refused to argue with him so after we placed the lye back into the hopper for a second filtering, I ran off while making a face at him.

I managed to improve my mood by running around gathering plants, twigs, and seeds.

We managed to also gather enough lye to start soaking the hide. If all goes well we should be able to start with the the actual tanning process by tomorrow.

We left the tannin extraction to Rai so that he could disperse the smoke and smell with his ability.

Lucian and Idris decided to use the leftover meat to prepare a trap. The plan was to lure the beasts with the meat so that we could observe the natural predators and prey around the area.

I wanted to come to but Idris suggests that instead of coming, I should try to make weapons that they could use. They wanted to check if those would count towards hunting tasks.

Liking the experiment, I sent them off with some spears and some vines.