It takes me another three crates and about half an hour of hard work to finally find something useful.
In the fourth crate, I find various backpacks and handbags. I mean. It was only really one proper backpack. Most of what was inside the crate were school bags that couldn't really store anything of substance or of use to me in them.
But that one proper travel backpack I found was a godsend. With it, I could take plenty of other supplies with me without really hindering my movement.
`Sure wish i had a magic bag.` Of course, in this world of magic that was previously a game, there was such a thing as a magical bag of holding.
Small sacks that could store plenty of things without weighing you down at all. But those were usually found or purchased later in the game. When you reach around mid-game.
This backpack would still weigh me down once I fill it with things. So I still had to be careful with what I chose to bring along. But it was going to make things significantly easier.
Not only does it keep my hands free, but the weight distribution on it is pretty good. It was a right proper travel backpack after all.
And it wasn't the only thing I gained. Although what I was gaining wasn't something physical. It was knowledge. Or at least potential knowledge.
Each of the crates I had opened only held one particular thing. So it's pretty fair to assume that what was written on them referred to the thing inside them. And if that was the case, then this language wasn't too different from English or other Latin-inspired languages.
What I mean by that is that if the words on the crates are indeed referring to the things inside, then the word "shoes," for example, has the same number of letters in this language as it does in English. Five.
And assuming this world does use the same system and rules of writing as English, then it was possible to decipher the letters.
For example, the first symbol of the word was larger than the others. And while it was nowhere near close to the shape of an S. Looking more like an inverted I with a little backwards tail on the top.
I could still mark this down as being a capitalized S until proven otherwise. That, of course, leads to the next letter, which I mentally mark down as h. And so on and so on.
Slowly gaining an understanding of the written language of this world. Or rather. A potential understanding of it. Since I still can't be sure that what I'm guessing here is correct.
Nor does it really help me in my current situation. Even assuming they have the same number of letters as English does. This potential alphabet I'm constructing is still lacking. And I doubt I can complete it for the time being.
Of course, it would potentially be possible to infer what a word means even if I can't translate all the letters. By just seeing what the letters I do know mean. For example, if there is a six-letter word. And I knew four letters of it. It was reasonable to assume the other two letters.
Meaning I could indeed finish the word even without knowing what the other letters are.
In fact. I could then figure out what the other letters are by just completing the word in English in my head and marking the letters of this language down as corresponding to them.
But that was all assuming I'm right. And I wasn't conceited enough to just do that. The basis of all learning and science is to doubt and ask questions, after all.
Though that doubt disappeared the more crates I pry open. Because it turns out the words I am guessing are on the crates are indeed things inside the crates. At least that's the case for the next two crates I open. Which I assumed read "Clothes" and "Hats," respectively.
`Finally found the fancy hats of the noble brats.` I shake my head and chuckle as I look down at all the extravagant hats and hair ornaments neatly lined up in the crate. Sometimes stored in smaller boxes with latches, and other times just stacked on top of each other.
`It's strange. The crates are all undamaged. And the items in them are stacked quite neatly. Which shouldn't be the case if they were actually flung out here during the crash.` A thought wanders through my head. But I'm quick to banish it. Since it didn't matter to my current situation.
Instead, I take a breath to refocus and recover from prying the last crate open. Already quite sore from all the physical work I'm doing. `And this is only the beginning. I'll still need to get away from here and preferably make it all the way to that forest in the distance.`
While I think about the fact that I will still need to walk a lot before the sun goes down and the fact that my feet already hurt, I use the old trick of measuring distance with my thumb.
Not that it's a precise method. But lacking any other tools, it could at least give me an approximation of how far away the forest at the foot of the mountain in the distance is.
Sadly, I don't know how large the mountain is, so it really is only a rough estimate. But even this rough estimate puts the edge of the forest at about seventy to ninety kilometers away. A distance way too far to cover in one day. Even as a fit person. Especially considering the thick snow everywhere.
"Well. Damn. Now I kinda wish I didn't do that." I put my hand down again. Placing my hands on my hips as I look around once more. Checking how many more crates I can safely get to without getting too close to the wreck of the airship. "I really do need supplies. And plenty of them if I want a shot at surviving this."
So I go right back to looting crates. But this time I'm smarter about it. I can't put this body through much more of prying crates open without completely exhausting myself, after all.
Trusting in my intuition and theory about the language I have made so far, by attempting to read what it says on the crates and only opening those that I think will prove useful to me.
`Kinda like that one.` I muse while studying the letters on it. Comparing them with the letters I had already translated on the other crates. But missing quite a few. So it was a real puzzle.
`Ten letters. Don't know the first one. Don't know the second one either. The third one could be an o. The fourth one is a mystery. And so is the fifth. But the fifth one repeats in place seven. Six also repeats and is probably a small s. Once in the last place.` I pause and recheck.
`Oh, wait. The third also repeats in position eight. Meaning I got double o's. And number nine is a n.` I stop and run it from the top. To summarize my thoughts. `So I got two empty. Then an o. Another two are empty. s. One empty. Followed by one s.`
I hum in thought as I mull over what this could mean. Until it clicks. `Considering the fifth one repeats, it's likely this word is "provisions".` It would fit perfectly. `And provisions usually mean food.` I grin and clap my hands together.
`Godamm i'm so fucking smart.` I pat myself on the back while rubbing my hands together for a hot minute. Before I snap out of it and get to work. Doing my best to pry the crate open as fast as I can. Without breaking the knife, that is.
And finally, I was in luck. Because not only was my guess right. My assumption about what provisions entailed was also correct. In the crate were a bunch of smaller crates with latched lids. But they weren't locked. So, one flip of my thumb and I could get at the contents inside.
Which wasn't just food. But actually preserved and canned goods. "Oh, fuck yeah." I clench my fist triumphantly as I slide my backpack off my shoulders and begin to fill it up with various food items. Most high in fat and protein. Like salted fish and canned meat.
But of course, I don't forget to also load up on food high in carbs and sugar. In the form of baked goods like bread and cupcakes. Of which there were a lot. But I guess it's obvious. Considering most of the passengers were students from influential families.
`They were probably the favoured foods on this flight.` I let my mind wander here and there as I load up on food and carefully stack things in my backpack to fit as much as I possibly can into it. After all, I don't know when I will find a treasure like this again.
`Alright. This is a good haul. I should be able to last a few weeks if I'm frugal.` I shoulder my now much heavier backpack back onto my shoulders and look around. `Still no changes. But that probably won't stay the same for much longer. So I gotta hurry.`
This find really gave me a boost of energy. And my confidence in reading the letters shot way up. Only one thing made me think. `What else do I need?` Another excellent question from myself.
Because I can build a fire just fine. I also know how to construct a rudimentary shelter in the snow. I know quite a few survival tricks, so besides food and a backpack, there isn't really anything I need urgently.
And now that I had both, I was a bit stumped on what to look for next. `I already have magically insulating clothes on. But a change of them can't hurt. And maybe something to lie on. And something to collect water in.`
All the things I could think of that would help me were more luxury than strictly necessary. But I looked for them anyway. Since any bit of help can't hurt. Refocusing on reading what's written on the crates once more as I walk around.
The wind was picking up speed now. Making a loud whistling sound as it passed through the wreck of the airship yet again. The snow is still falling ceaselessly. But neither can break my concentration as I continue to scavenge what I can.