The forest was damp again when Ren woke.
A low fog had settled between the trees overnight, clinging to everything in a fine, cold mist. His breath clouded in the air as he sat up. The fire had died to ash sometime before dawn, and the deep chill had seeped back into his bones. His shelter had kept him dry, but it couldn't hold onto any warmth.
He sat for a moment, rubbing his arms to get the blood moving. No new message had appeared in his head. Maybe the ability was still coming. Or maybe his body was just too cold for anything to kick in.
He stepped outside and stretched, his muscles tight and complaining. His eyes went straight to where he'd set the traps.
This time, something was different.
The first snare was untouched. The second was still just as he'd left it. But the third—
It had sprung.
Ren walked over slowly, his pointed stick held ready, trying not to let himself hope too much. As he got closer, he saw it clearly. A small animal, brown-furred and about the size of a large rabbit, was hanging upside down by its back leg. It was still alive, thrashing weakly in the air.
He crouched down a few feet away, just watching it. It was scared, tired. Panicked, but not strong enough to break the vine. The trap had worked. Exactly like it was supposed to.
His stomach clenched. This wasn't a theory anymore. It was real. He was going to have to kill it.
And then cook it.
He tightened his grip on the stick. "Sorry," he muttered, the word sounding thin in the quiet air. Then he moved quickly, striking once, hard and sure.
The forest went silent again.
The weight of what he'd just done settled over him slowly. It wasn't really guilt. It was something heavier. More final. Before this, surviving had been about building things, finding things, preparing. This was different. This was taking.
He'd crossed a line.
Back at camp, he laid the animal on a flat stone next to the fire pit and got to work. Tinder, kindling, fuel—his hands moved on their own now, quick and sure. The bow drill felt familiar in his hands. It took less time than before, and soon flames were crackling, pushing back the cold mist.
He hesitated only for a second before starting the next part. Cleaning it. The knowledge was there, thanks to the system. Basic steps. Nothing fancy. Just what he needed to get it done.
It wasn't clean work. His hands got messy. But it was necessary.
By mid-morning, the first strips of meat were roasting on sharpened sticks over the fire. The smell filled the small clearing—rich, gamey, unfamiliar, but deeply good. It made his stomach ache with hunger.
When the meat was browned and crisp at the edges, he took the first bite.
It was tough. Chewy. A little wild-tasting. But it was food. Real food.
The warmth of it filled a hollow place inside him that nothing else had touched. And more than that—it felt like a win. A real one. He could find food. He could hunt. He could cook.
The fear of starving slipped back, just a little.
As he finished eating, the air in front of him shivered slightly, and the now-familiar words appeared.
---
[New Ability Acquired: Basic Field Butchering]
You now instinctively know how to clean, prepare, and preserve small animals. Includes proper disposal to reduce scent trails. No equipment required.
---
Ren stared at it, then let out a short, quiet breath that was almost a laugh.
"Finally," he said to no one. "Something useful after the work is done."
---
With the meat cooked and his stomach finally full, Ren looked at what was left. Bones, the hide, bits of fat and tissue—all of it seemed useful now. The system hadn't told him what to do with them yet, but he had a feeling that would come. Time would fill in the blanks.
He took the remains and buried them far from his shelter, downwind. If other animals could smell blood or rot, he didn't want them following the trail back to his home. He had no interest in finding out what bigger things lived in these woods.
By midday, the fog had burned away, leaving the clearing bright and sun-warmed. Birds were back in the trees, chirping and shuffling in the leaves. The forest felt alive again, but less like it was watching him.
He leaned against a tree and pulled up his status window in his mind. He hadn't really looked at it since that first night.
---
Status: Ren Hoshikage
Condition: Stable
Energy: Moderate
Abilities Unlocked:
Basic Firestarting
Improvised Shelter Construction
Water Source Identification
Basic Field Butchering
Trap Crafting (in progress)
---
Nothing amazing. Nothing powerful. But it was a list. It was progress.
And for now, that was enough.
Still, something about it bugged him. No magic. No fighting skills. No cool isekai superpowers. If this world had magic, it was keeping it a secret from him. All he had were the basics. How to not die.
"Maybe that's the whole point," he said quietly to himself. The sound of his own voice was still strange here.
He let the status fade and pushed himself up. No time to just sit around.
The meat wouldn't last. He needed to preserve it. Smoking it over the fire might work for a little while, but without salt, it wouldn't keep more than a day or two. That meant more hunting. More traps. And maybe... fishing.
He walked downhill to the stream. The water was clear and moved fast here—too fast for fish to stay. But further down, the stream bent and slowed, widening into a shallower area with pebbles on the bottom and a few fallen branches making little pools.
He knelt and waited.
Minutes passed. Then he saw it—movement. Just under the surface.
Fish. Small ones. Slim and quick, darting in the shadows.
He didn't smile or get excited. He just watched. Ideas started forming. A trap made of rocks and branches. A net from vines. Maybe even a sharp spear if he could get fast enough.
And maybe, if the system felt like helping tonight, he'd wake up knowing how.
---
Ren got back to camp as the sun began to dip lower. The air cooled again, and he built up the fire, this time making it low and wide—perfect for drying the leftover meat.
It was quiet. Not peaceful, exactly, but calm. And in that quiet, he started making his first real tool.
A drying rack.
Two sticks with forks at the top, pounded into the dirt. A longer branch lashed between them with vines. Smaller twigs laid across like ribs, right over the warm coals. It wasn't pretty, but it worked. The heat rose up, and the smoke curled around the strips of meat. It would take hours, but it was working.
This was more than just surviving now.
It was starting to feel like a routine.
He looked at his shelter—stronger now with fresh bark and leaves. The fire was going. The traps were reset. He knew where the water was, and now the fish. Even without magic or super strength, he was making a place for himself here. One small thing at a time.
That night, after one last check of the traps, he lay down in his shelter. His body ached from the walking and carrying and building, but the ache felt earned.
As his eyes got heavy, he whispered into the dark, just to hear something besides the wind.
"Tomorrow, give me something useful. Not just more survival stuff. Something... more."
The trees outside rustled softly. Nothing answered.
Sleep came fast.
---
[System Update: You have survived five nights.]
[New Ability Acquired: Lesser Beast Affinity]
You can now sense the basic emotional state of small animals (fear, curiosity, aggression). With practice, this may develop into gentle influence over non-predatory creatures.
---
Morning light filtered through the walls of his shelter. Ren opened his eyes slowly, then went still.
The message hung there in the air, faintly glowing. This was different. This wasn't just about survival. This was something... else.
A slow smile spread across his face. This changed things. This was a real step into something new.