The following morning, Kael awoke with a clearer head than he'd had since his rebirth. The consistent doses of Green Willow leaves seemed to be working; the 'Minor risk of parasitic infection' status, while still present, felt less ominous, and the system's timer for its resolution was steadily ticking down. His fire had dwindled to glowing embers, but with his 'Fire Starting' skill and a small pile of dry kindling he'd prepared the night before, reviving it was a quick task.
His immediate priority was a more sustainable food source than beetle larvae and the occasional handful of nuts. While they kept starvation at bay, they weren't providing much energy, and his XP bar was stubbornly stuck at 65/100. He needed to hunt, or at least trap, something more substantial.
His sharpened stick was a poor excuse for a spear, but it was all he had. He recalled the Shadow Stalker Pup – Level 3. He was Level 1. A direct confrontation with most forest creatures was likely unwise. Traps, then. That seemed a more viable option for someone with his low STR but decent INT.
He spent the morning scouting the area around his camp, his 'Basic Survival' and 'Keen Mind' skills guiding him. He looked for game trails, signs of animal activity – droppings, disturbed vegetation, tracks in the soft earth near the stream. He found several promising spots. He also identified a type of flexible vine that the System confirmed as 'Strongvine - suitable for basic cordage.'
Crafting a simple snare trap took several frustrating hours. His fingers, still small and not yet accustomed to fine manipulation, fumbled with the vines. His first few attempts were clumsy and ineffective. But he persevered, the memory of the puzzle box – the patience, the iterative adjustments – guiding his efforts. Eventually, he managed to construct three somewhat crude but functional snare traps, which he carefully set along what appeared to be a rabbit-sized game trail.
[System Notification: You have crafted 3x Crude Snare Trap. Due to successful crafting of a functional tool, new skill unlocked: Basic Crafting (Rank F). Effect: Slightly increased chance of successfully crafting simple items. Reduced chance of material wastage.]
[XP Gained: 10 / 100 for Level 2.]
[Current XP: 75 / 100 for Level 2.]
Another skill, and more XP! 'Basic Crafting' – that would be incredibly useful.
With the traps set, a gnawing impatience set in. He knew traps took time, but the uncertainty was difficult. To distract himself and make use of the daylight, he turned his attention to the Ancient Cache Box.
He sat by his fire, turning the cool metal object over and over in his hands. The intricate, swirling patterns seemed to mock him with their silent complexity. "Specific sequence or energy signature," the System had said. He still had no way to produce an energy signature. So, a sequence.
He traced the patterns with his finger, his 'Keen Mind' skill sharpening his focus. He tried to see them not as mere decoration, but as a language, a code. Were there repeating elements? Symmetries? Asymmetries that were deliberate?
His past life's experience with puzzles, with code-breaking in games, came to the fore. He looked for a starting point, a place where the pattern seemed to originate or terminate. There was a particular knot-like design in one corner that seemed more prominent than the others. He pressed it. Nothing. He tried to slide it, to twist it. The box remained stubbornly sealed.
He then remembered the puzzle box from the hospital – it wasn't just one action, but a combination, a sequence. Press one part while tilting or sliding another.
He began to experiment, gently pressing different parts of the etched design in various orders, sometimes two or three points simultaneously. He tried tapping rhythms onto its surface, thinking of musical locks he'd read about. Hours passed. Frustration mounted, but he fought it down, forcing himself to remain patient, observant.
The sun climbed high, then began its slow descent. His traps remained empty. His stomach rumbled.
He was about to give up on the box for the day when his finger traced a particularly deep groove within one of the swirls. As he pressed into it, he idly tilted the box, much like he had with Sarah's puzzle. There was no click, no discernible sound, but he felt a very faint, almost imperceptible vibration hum through the metal, lasting only a fraction of a second.
His breath caught. Had he imagined it?
He tried to replicate the exact pressure and tilt. Again, the faintest tremor, like a sigh from the ancient metal. It wasn't opening, but it was reacting.
He focused on that specific swirl and the deep groove. What if it wasn't just about pressing, but about tracing? He slowly, carefully, traced the path of the groove with his fingertip, maintaining a slight pressure, while also trying to replicate the tilt he'd accidentally discovered.
As his finger reached the end of the groove, the faint vibration returned, stronger this time, and was accompanied by a soft, almost inaudible hiss, like air escaping a tiny valve. And then, one of the swirling patterns on the surface of the box, near the knot-like design, glowed with a faint, internal blue light for a single, breathtaking moment before fading.
Kael stared, his heart hammering. It wasn't open, but something had changed. A response. A sign. He was on the right track. The puzzle had acknowledged his efforts.