Caelen stood outside, squinting at the dense trees that loomed like silent watchers. The clearing was calm—too calm.
"We need more than logs," he muttered, arms crossed. "We need traps."
He tapped his temple.
[Google Search: How to make traps]
[Remaining Searches: 12/30]
The answer flashed in his mind instantly, like a mental tutorial.
[Basic Trap Recipes Unlocked: Spike pit, tripwire snare, log swing]
"Nice," he grinned.
He grabbed his wooden shovel and started digging near the path leading into the forest.
Zira walked over, carrying some wood. "What's that?"
"Trap pit. Spike version."
Her eyes widened. "Is that safe?"
"For us? Yeah. I'll mark it."
Zira shrugged and started prepping logs nearby. "You do your death pits, I'll keep the walls going."
They worked all morning.
Caelen dug two shallow pits and lined the bottoms with sharpened sticks made from branches. He then covered them with thin sticks and leaves.
"Looks harmless enough," he said proudly.
Next, he rigged a tripwire between two trees using vines, tying a swinging log behind it.
He checked the system:
[System: Trap Set Successfully]
[+1 Search Bonus]
"Sweet."
Meanwhile, Zira was carrying her weight—literally. She dragged logs, tied ropes, even helped Caelen with one of the support beams for the defensive wall.
"Used to do this in my old village," she said. "But we didn't build traps."
"Big mistake."
She chuckled.
By midday, half the wall was up and two traps were hidden near the tree line. Caelen wiped sweat from his brow and climbed onto the roof of the hut for a better view.
"Not bad," he muttered.
Zira walked up beside him, munching on roasted roots. "This place is really shaping up."
"Still dangerous," Caelen replied. "We're not moving too far from the clearing until I'm sure we won't get eaten in our sleep."
"Fair point."
They sat together silently, looking out into the woods.
That evening, Caelen lit the torch, and they gathered inside.
"You ever think about building a real gate?" Zira asked.
"Yeah," Caelen said. "Once we've got more materials."
Zira helped store food and reorganize tools while Caelen checked his traps one last time. Everything was in place.
As he sat down for dinner, he tapped his temple again.
[System: Defensive perimeter updated]
[Zira contribution recognized]
[+1 Search, +1 Trust]
"Progress," he thought with a smirk.
Zira looked over. "What are you thinking?"
"That we're gonna survive here."
"Together?"
Caelen paused, then nodded. "Yeah."