Shattered Flats: The Architect Hunted by His Own System

Chapter 6 - First to Level 2

Back inside the small wooden cabin, Nathan placed his hand on the mysterious gift box pulsing with a faint purple light.

"Open."

At his mental command, the lid lifted slowly in a soft glow. Lines of item information scrolled across his vision.

"Obtained: Wood x30 Obtained: Stone x20 Obtained: Shard x5 Obtained: Iron Scrap x5"

The sudden influx of basic materials couldn't have come at a better time. Upgrading the shelter had practically drained his reserves, so this was a real relief.

Next came the food.

"Obtained: Beef Stew MRE x5"

"No way. This stuff?"

Nathan's eyes lit up as he held the compact ration boxes in his hands.

Back before he'd ended up in this wasteland, he wouldn't have touched pre-packaged rice with that weird, plasticky texture. But after two days of gnawing on stale hardtack and washing it down with lukewarm water? This might as well have been a five-star meal.

Hot rice smothered in savory meat sauce. Just thinking about it made his mouth water.

"Guess I'm eating well tonight." He grinned and tucked them away carefully.

But the rewards kept coming.

"Obtained: Coarse Cloth x5 Obtained: Refined Fuel Oil x3 Obtained: Fracture Token x100"

The cloth and fuel oil were clearly meant for crafting, exactly what he needed for the torch blueprint he'd traded for earlier. As for the Fracture Tokens, the system offered no explanation. Nathan turned one of the small dark coins over in his palm, studying the hairline crack etched across its surface. It felt cool despite the heat.

"Some kind of shop later, probably," he muttered. "Or trading with an NPC vendor down the line."

Finally, the last item appeared, a piece of gear with a faint green shimmer.

"Obtained: Pioneer's Wristguard (Uncommon) Slot: Wrist Attribute: Strength +3 Special Effect: Lumberjack's Proficiency (20% increased logging efficiency, 10% reduced stamina cost with axes) Flavor Text: A reward for the first survivor bold enough to brave the wasteland. Real power isn't just nerve, it helps to have arms that can carry the weight."

"Equip."

Nathan slid the leather bracer onto his right wrist without hesitation. Despite its rugged look, the inside was surprisingly soft. The moment it settled into place, a faint warmth spread from his wrist through the rest of his body.

He pulled up his stats immediately.

"Strength: 11 (Average adult male baseline is 7-8. You are now officially above average.)"

Nathan clenched his fist, knuckles cracking sharply. No sudden bulk in his muscles, but he could feel something humming under the skin, and it was real.

Even more surprising, the dull ache and stiffness in his overworked shoulders eased off the second the wristguard settled.

"Whoa."

He threw a couple of experimental punches. The air actually hissed as his fist cut through it.

"If MARCUSV showed up in front of me right now," Nathan muttered, smirking, "I'd use him as a heavy bag."

After sorting through the haul, he checked his inventory.

Sixteen slots. Nearly full. Wood, stone, food, water, tools, each category ate up its own slot. Stackable items like wood could pile up to 999, but having this many different types was already cramping things.

"Gonna need to expand this soon. Or build some storage."

For now, he moved the less urgent materials, shard and iron scrap, back into the toolbox outside the cabin to free up space.

Then he walked over to the upgraded Core to check its new stats.

One look, and he nearly choked.

"Core (Lv.2) Status: Active Current Consumption: Wood x2 per hour (or Shard x0.2 per hour) Remaining Fuel: 18:00:00"

"You have got to be kidding me." Nathan stared at the readout, jaw tight. "Why'd the rate jump?"

The Level 1 Core had only burned one unit per hour. After a single upgrade, consumption had doubled.

If only he'd dumped all his wood in before upgrading, it would've counted at the old rate and lasted way longer.

At least shard worked as an alternative fuel now. Small mercy.

"Classic," he muttered bitterly. "Hook you in with a decent rate, then jack up the price once you're committed."

Still, running the exchange, one shard equaled five wood. At least he hadn't gotten ripped off in yesterday's trade.

Grumbling, Nathan pulled twelve units of wood from his inventory and fed them into the light.

"Fuel Added. Remaining Time: 24:00:00"

Watching the Core devour his hard-earned lumber, he sighed. Yeah, the consumption stung. But looking around at the clean, shaded ground within a fifteen-foot radius, and the solid little cabin blocking wind and heat alike, he could live with it.

His quality of life had genuinely improved, and that counted for something.

He opened the Buildings tab beneath the Core interface.

A row of new icons lit up.

"Second Cabin: Wood x20, Cloth x2, Stone x5"

"What would I even do with a second cabin?" Nathan frowned. "Everyone's basically tethered to their own Core. Nobody's just wandering into your camp."

"Then again, if resources ever pick up, options might not hurt."

He filed it away for later.

"Wooden Palisade (Full Enclosure) Lv.1: Wood x25 Provides basic perimeter defense for your camp. Trust the system on this one."

Need it for what?

Nathan's brow furrowed. In a place like this, though, nothing would surprise him anymore.

He made a mental note to build the fence once he had enough wood stockpiled. The system prompts probably weren't bluffing.

"Table: Wood x2 (Even out here, a meal deserves a little dignity.) Drying Rack: Wood x1 (For jerky. Or your soaked socks. No judgment.) Outhouse: Wood x30, Iron Scrap x5, Stone x20 (Four walls and a door. The mark of a civilized man.)"

Nathan's eyes lingered on the Table and Drying Rack for half a second. Practically free.

"Build."

He tapped the icon. Three wood vanished from his inventory.

A flash of light, and there it was, a rough wooden table sitting near the Core, and beside it, a simple rack strung with rope between two posts.

Nathan nodded, approving. The system's build function was ridiculously convenient. No sawing, no hammering, no blisters. And if he didn't like the placement, he could nudge it around inside his camp boundary with a thought. Nice touch.

Then his gaze locked onto the Outhouse.

Over the past two days, the thing that had come closest to breaking him wasn't the heat. It wasn't even the hunger. It was finding somewhere private to relieve himself.

Every time, he'd had to trudge out past the Core's edge, find a spot behind rock or brush, and hope nothing was watching from the shadows. The sheer misery of exposed skin meeting that first blast of dry heat wasn't something he wanted to repeat.

But this outhouse? The price tag was steep. Almost as much as the shelter upgrade itself.

"Wood x30, stone x20, iron scrap x5..."

Nathan checked his supplies.

The gift crate had handed him stone and scrap. Combined with what he'd saved from trading, he actually had enough right now.

But five iron scrap?

Scrap was the kind of resource you didn't burn lightly. Use it now, and it was gone the moment something bigger needed it.

He scrolled further and checked the requirements for Core Level 3.

"Upgrade Materials: Wood x200, Iron Scrap x30, Shard x20, Stone x50, Power Cell x2"

Nathan stared at the screen in silence.

The sheer absurdity of those numbers, especially that mysterious Power Cell he'd never even heard mentioned, crushed any thoughts of upgrading again soon.

"Yeah, no. Level three's a pipe dream for now."

"I've got food. I've got shelter. And an actual toilet is starting to feel like a basic human right."

Even if it meant burning through that scrap just to never squat behind a rock again, it felt worth it.

"Need more wood first, though."

Playing it safe, he decided to hold off on building it. He'd cut more trees, stockpile extra fuel, and put it up once the need got urgent. With the Core's higher consumption now, he couldn't afford to get caught short.

Nathan glanced at the sky. Already afternoon, but with the new boots and the wristguard boosting his output, plus the promise of that Beef Stew MRE waiting for him, he felt a real surge of motivation.

"Alright. Food first, then I'll go take down a few dozen more trees."

He pulled one of the MRE packs from his inventory, opened it, and added water.

Listening to the soft bubbling of the heating pack, breathing in the rich smell of meat sauce slowly filling the small cabin, Nathan let himself smile.

This was what life was supposed to feel like.

And that ridiculously overpriced outhouse? That was his first real step back toward being a civilized human being in this dead, cracked world.

To be continued.