“Somehow, I managed to make it in time…”

Will sighed as he sat comfortably in the cave, but only after inspecting it for any enemies: predators or players.

Finally able to get some fresh air, his mind went back to his arduous journey to the river, and ultimately the cave.

‘I had to kill about three more animals—another Green Anaconda and two crocodiles.’

Fortunately, his efforts were rewarded, as he was able to Level Up once again. Now in Level 3, Will felt noticeably stronger than before.

That didn't erase the exhaustion he currently felt, however.

The reason for that was simple.

‘I'm hungry…’

As it turned out, Leveling Up didn't erase the feeling of hunger and thirst that Players experienced.

Will was able to satiate his thirst thanks to the river he passed on his way to the cave. That very river also flowed nearby, so he had no issue in the water department.

The issue was food.

‘I'm not a hardcore survivalist, so I fully don't know which animals are okay to eat or not. I also don’t know how to properly gut animals, as I've never done it before.’

Will realized he could learn by trial and error, which was why he brought the corpses of one anaconda and a crocodile with him to the cave.

They were heavy, naturally, but since he was Level 3, he was somehow able to drag them to the cave he was now resting in.

‘Now all I have to do is figure out how to prepare them. I've already drained their blood, so that part is done.’

Not only was that essential for preserving the meat, but he couldn't afford leaving a blood trail for anyone to find—predator or Player.

Despite being Level 3, he wasn't arrogant in his thoughts.

William knew he was far from invincible.

He still needed to be wary of his surroundings, just as much as he had to drink clean water and eat non-dangerous food.

‘At least, I know neither Crocodiles or Anacondas are poisonous. Even if they are, I think I should be able to drain the poison from them before consumption…’

The issue was still how to prepare them.

“Hopefully, with these I'll be able to manage just that…” Will smiled as he looked at two Tokens he had in his hand.

They had the insignia of Pawns, with no names attributed to them, and they gleamed with a certain bronzen lustre.

‘I don't know whether or not to call it luck, but who would have thought that I'd encounter a human corpse with his Token still in his possession?’

It was only after Will claimed the Token that the corpse vanished—most likely transported back to Earth.

As for the second Token… Will obtained it in a more complicated way.

‘I saw someone being attacked by those two Crocodiles, and I used that as an opportunity to kill one of them.’ He replayed the event in his mind. ‘While the other one had already bitten into its prey and was distracted, I struck it from behind and killed it as well.’

The human who served as the bait did not survive, but that wasn't Will's fault—at least, he didn't consider it to be.

‘She didn't look very strong, so she would have died anyway.’ He reinforced this thought to ease his conscience.

In no time at all, he felt no guilt.

‘She isn't dead. She simply lost the game…’

There was no merit in taking responsibility for that, especially since she would have most likely done the same if she was in his shoes.

No… she would have definitely run off.

‘At least I made the best of the situation and got another free Token as a result.’

Will considered that the most optimal move.

He wasn't wrong.

“By exchanging these two Tokens for SP, I should finally be able to access the Shop and buy some useful things for myself.”

Without wasting any time, he called on the System and chose the option to sell the Tokens in exchange for SP.

[System Notice]

Bronze Token (×2) has been sold! 10 SP has been transferred to your account.

~Total SP: 10~

“So [Pawn] Classes have Bronze Tokens, and each Bronze Token is worth 5 SP.” WIll muttered as he stared at the screen floating before him.

‘A Token belonging to someone with a superior Class should have more value, which means my [King] Token should be quite expensive.’

That meant he couldn't show his Token to anyone, nor could he tell anyone his Class.

‘I wasn't planning on revealing it to anyone anyway, but this serves as an extra incentive.’

Without wasting any further moment on his thoughts, he proceeded to the next phase of his plan.

“System Shop.”

Instantly, a new window opened up in front of him; this time covered with a bright green hue.

His [Status Window] had a golden color.

As for [System Notice] panels, like his Level Up and Purchase notices… they were blue.

This was the first time Will was seeing the System display the green color to him.

‘I guess it's meant to represent money, or something…’

[System Shop]

Welcome, Player! What would you like to purchase?

<Items>

<Skills>

[Total SP: 10]

‘I see… so I could get Items or Skills from this.’ Will smiled. ‘I'm guessing these items can range from everyday things to special stuff.’

After checking the list presented to him once he tapped on <Items>, he was able to confirm this guess of his.

Regular items like mattress, duvet, torchlight, lighter, etc., were all available in the Shop.

However, there were other more unconventional items present in the list.

‘The most relevant one is this one…’

His eyes were fixated on the ‘Stage 1 Map: Basic’ item. It was among the special items one could purchase in the Shop, but Will considered this to be the highlight of his discovery.

There were certainly more impressive items in the Shop, but what drew him to the map was just how cheap it was—especially when considering its immense value.

‘It's just 5 SP.’ He rubbed his chin. ‘This is definitely a must-buy!’

In a flash, he purchased it.

[Congratulations! You have purchased Stage 1 Map: Basic]

~Total SP: 5~

‘I can already see what I need to get for my convenience with the rest of the 5 SP, but I should check out the Skills available for purchase first before going ahead to spend everything.’

With that thought guiding him, Will left the <Items> section of the Shop and went to the <Skills> area.

Much to his intrigue, he saw quite a few useful Skills—even Skills that fell under his budget.

‘Skills like [Sprint], [Evade], [Farsight], and even [Vital Strike] are all very useful, and they're worth about 5 SP each.’ He reasoned. ‘I can't obtain all of them, but just one of them should really help me out in survival.’

Whether it was hunting or fighting, he was lacking vital Skills that would help him a great deal.

He felt especially pressured since everyone with the [Pawn] Class received random Skills that would assist them in the wild and he had none of those.

‘If I confront a player with the same Level as me, or even higher… they could most likely overpower me with their Skill.’

[Check] was a very useful Skill, Will knew, but it was still a Passive Skill that did nothing to improve his physical abilities in any way.

He needed an edge!

‘But… just one of these Skills will exhaust my SP, leaving me with nothing to use for my convenience.’

Was it a sacrifice he was willing to make or not?

‘I could probably figure out a way to make something edible out of those corpses, but there's no way I can obtain those Skills without SP.’

The choice seemed obvious: Skills.

But… Will hesitated.

Then, he sighed and closed the System Shop, refusing to purchase either Skill or essential Items.

‘I'll sleep on it. I can still last a day without eating anyway, but… just in case…’ He brought out a sharp rock from his pocket and neared the corpses before him.

‘I should slice them up into strips and wash them. If I can make a fire, I'll roast the meat for later.’

He still wasn't sure how to gut the animals, but Will was determined to figure it out.

He could always use trial and error.

‘Using SP would really make all of this convenient, but something tells me…’ His eyes flashed with a certain golden glow.

Then, he struck the Anaconda's flesh with the sharpened stone, sending a squishing sound echoing through the cave.

SQUELCH!

‘... I'll be needing those Points pretty soon.’