Craft and Upgrade

New chapter is live.

Settle in, take your time, and let's see what waits in the dark 🖤

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Evan stopped in front of a large tree and opened the system.

He found the melee tools category.

[Stone Axe: Quality 1]

[Materials Required: Small Stone x2, Plant Fibers x2, Wood x2]

[Crafting Time: 00:01]

[Entity Damage: 6]

[Block Damage: 22]

[Durability: 250]

[Mod Slots: 1]

[Uses: harvest resources, butcher bodies, repair blocks, upgrade blocks]

The Stone Axe was the most basic tool in 7 Days to Die, but it was also one of the most frequently used.

With it, and with enough materials, Evan could theoretically build a steel fortress from nothing.

Aside from butchering bodies, all of its listed uses mattered right now.

Since the camp had settled, at least for the moment, Evan decided to craft one.

It took him three minutes near the tree line to gather what he needed.

"Two small stones, two handfuls of grass, and two broken sticks," he said, amused. "Who would guess this junk could turn into a Stone Axe that useful?"

He stored the materials in his system inventory and selected Craft.

A brief whir of gears sounded in his ear. It lasted only a second.

Then a rough-looking Stone Axe appeared in his tool slot.

Evan took it in hand and studied it.

It was not as crude as it looked at first glance. The axe head was smooth and even, which explained why the system also treated it as a butchering tool.

He gripped the handle with both hands, squared his stance, and drove the swing from his hips.

The axe bit cleanly into a tree trunk nearly a foot across. One strike carved away about a sixth of the wood.

"Same harvesting mechanics as the game."

A thrill ran through him. Evan swung five more times, and with a heavy rustling crash, the tree came down.

At the same time, thirty-five identical cube-like pieces of wood appeared in his system inventory.

"So the amount of wood depends on the size of the tree."

He was still learning the rules.

As the tree was harvested, +35 XP appeared at the lower right of his vision.

In 7 Days to Die, killing walkers was not the only way to gain experience. Gathering resources did too, though the amount was far smaller.

Once he understood the basics, Evan kept moving.

Different trees gave different amounts of wood and experience, but larger trees also required more swings and more stamina. He did not bother sorting them. He simply felled a dozen or so trees nearby.

A thin layer of sweat gathered on his forehead.

When he checked his inventory, he had 352 pieces of wood stacked inside.

He opened the Traps category and looked at the first item.

[Wood Spike Trap]

[Materials Required: Wood x20]

[Wood Spike Traps are your first and most basic line of defense. They slow enemies and deal damage.]

[When damaged, they can be repaired with Wood or Forged Iron.]

"Three hundred fifty wood gives me seventeen spike traps. That should be enough."

Evan stored the Stone Axe, raised his hand, and tapped the air.

A pile of crossed wooden spikes appeared in front of him with a crackling snap. The upper and lower ends had all been sharpened into points that could pierce flesh.

Against humans, the trap would not do much.

Against walkers, it was perfect.

The spike traps would buy time for Evan and the others while they slept. At the very least, a walker would not be able to drift silently into camp and reach their tents unnoticed.

After crafting the traps, Evan checked the time.

"It's still early. If I go back with all this now, it'll be hard to explain."

He put the traps into his inventory and wandered deeper into the woods.

Sunlight filtered through the high branches, falling across Evan's sweaty face.

The temperature had risen. It no longer had the cool edge of morning, and his clothes were soaked through.

Even so, he did not look tired.

He looked satisfied.

Wet bone and brain matter clung to the head of the Horse-Bone Sledgehammer as he pulled it away from the walker under his boots.

Only he could see the familiar golden light flash across his body.

A faint, cheerful burst of background music played near his ear.

His current panel appeared.

[Status]

[Evan Ward]

[Level: Lv. 6]

[Unspent Skill Points: 2]

[Health: 106/106 (Base 100, Level Bonus +6)]

[Stamina: 30/106 (Recovering slowly)]

[Food/Water: 48/106 (Dropping slowly)]

[Feels Like: 85°F]

[Walkers Killed: 64]

[Status Effect: Exhausted (You need rest.)]

"That'll do," Evan said, wiping sweat from his face. "A full day of work paid off."

This stretch of forest was a natural barrier. Finding walkers here was not as easy as it had been in Atlanta.

But because of that, he had been able to kill steadily without taking damage. His health had stayed full the entire time.

After a few deep breaths, his stamina rose from 30 to 60.

Only then did he start back toward camp.

This was the first time he had gone this deep into the woods, but he was not worried about getting lost.

He selected Map in his mind.

A semi-transparent map unfolded in front of him, visible only to Evan.

Most of it was green, marking woods and grassland.

A green block-shaped icon marked the camp, about three-quarters of a mile away.

North of that, not too far through the fog, the map showed the Quarry and its surrounding terrain. That area had only recently been revealed.

From the Quarry, a cleared path ran up through the fog and back to Atlanta, the first place Evan had arrived in this world.

That was all the map showed for now.

He closed it, shouldered the Horse-Bone Sledgehammer, and walked briskly back toward Greene Farm.

By the time he reached the farm, daylight had begun to fade. The woods behind him were already black.

Crack.

A small, sharp sound made Daryl's brow tighten. His crossbow came up at once, aimed toward the trees.

He did not call out with some foolish question. He moved slowly, weight balanced, ready to shoot.

Evan knew that if he stayed quiet much longer, Daryl would pull the trigger.

"It's me," he said before stepping out of the trees.

Light from Hershel's house caught his upper body, making him look harder and leaner than before.

"You were gone when we woke up," Daryl said, lowering the crossbow without ceremony. "We got back from hunting and you still weren't here. Another hour and we were goin' in after you."

His eyes moved to the blood on Evan's shirt.

Evan followed the look and patted the fabric. "I'm fine. Walker blood."

Then he pointed back into the trees.

"Give me a hand. I made some things out there. We can put them around camp to keep stray walkers from getting too close."

With Daryl and Merle helping, Evan placed seventeen Wood Spike Traps around the tents, almost forming a triangle.

At the entrance, he set the spikes slightly farther out.

Inside that gap, he made a simple alarm by stringing together several thin metal cans.

Even if a walker found the opening and wandered through, it would hit the cans and wake them.

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