Day 3.4

Ladybug’s desire to follow Rittan was probably influenced in part by the forest—most of the time since he’d tamed the monster had been spent out on the grass with no trees around for her to grapple onto. If these monsters had evolved or were designed to live up in trees, then being out here on the grass was probably pulling against whatever constituted as its basic instincts.

August turned back to the [Lean-To] and studied the area for a minute, trying to figure out the best place for a second structure. There was no real easy way to share the fire, as it had been kept on the inside of the gate. Making a second fire would mean they’d need double the firewood each night.

It might have been better to dismantle the [Lean-To] and just make a single larger structure that they could both fit inside. They’d have access to a single fire that way and less area to defend if they were attacked during the night.

He tried to picture what that would look like, leaning heavily on his eclectic understanding granted by the [Blueprints]. The half-triangular shape of the [Lean-To] could be mirrored into a tent shape—two walls that rose to a peak in the middle. That would leave the front and the back ends open; he could bury a line of uprights to close it off.

The wood he’d used for the [Lean-To] wouldn’t be long enough to make a decently large one, so he’d need to start going after longer pieces of wood. The ceiling for the [Pit] had some good pieces that he could start with, and since he had no intention of summoning anything else to be stranded on the island with them, he could use those for now.

Ladybug swung out, chain extending in a larger arc before she landed on a branch and trilled, proud of its own landing. Rittan strode out of the tree line a second later with three fallen logs in his arm, each as round as a dinner plate and longer than even his prodigious height.

August stared at the feat of strength without understanding—Rittan was big, but there were humans back home that had him beat in the size department, and there was no way in hell they could have lifted all three at once.

“How are you even lifting those?” August said, stumped.

Rittan dropped the first on the ground and then the next two beside the first in a neat pile.

“I am not sure I could give you an adequate answer to describe the process,” Rittan said apologetically, “My assignment was one without learning, and even then I believe the answer to be beyond me—Suffice to say, the Voithos was designed specifically for laborious tasks, and thus we have higher levels of strength and endurance.”

“Yeah, I can see that,” August said, “I don’t think there’s a single human on my entire planet that could have lifted those.”

“Truly?” Rittan said curiously. “What of the other races, was there some capable of such a thing?”

“There were no other races,” August admitted. “Humans were the only sapient species on Earth—whatever technology you guys were using to make living beings is way beyond us.”

“Fascinating,” Rittan said, cradling his chin in one hand. “I find it difficult to imagine such a place.”

“Yeah, I’m having trouble picturing everything you’re alluding to as well,” August said before pitching his hands into a tent shape. “Hey, Rittan, I thought we could make a larger shelter, a triangle, with two walls like this—that way, we only need to maintain a single campfire. Is that alright with you?”

“That is perfectly acceptable, August,” Rittan said pleasantly.

“Cool,” August nodded, moving towards the [Pit] and picking up the end of one of the longer, thinner branches. “We’re looking for stuff this long, maybe a shade thicker so it doesn’t bend under the weight.”

August dragged the one he’d chosen around the [Pit] and dropped it on the ground across from the [Lean-To] where he’d decided the new shelter would be going.

“I saw several pieces that would work for such a task,” Rittan said, turning and striding back into the forest. “I shall return.”

August scratched the back of his head, feeling a bit guilty—this Rittan guy was going out of his way to be helpful without even being directly asked to do anything. He’d known people like that back in the old world, and almost every single one of them had been used up by the people around them.

“Vine,” August mumbled, dumping what was left of his stash on the ground.

The long piece he’d stolen from the [Pit] was going to work as the brace at the top of the peak that everything else would be tied onto. He moved the different vine coils out into piles along the length of the wood, spacing it so there would be at least four uprights on each side.

He stole the last two pieces that were the right size from the [Pit] and dragged them over, aligning them next to two of the piles of vile. Six more lengths for the structural stuff—August stood one of the lengths up and leaned it on an angle, digging one end into the grass to make a marking for the hole. He made three more markings along the left side of the shelter and stopped there—once they were dugout, he could tie the uprights to the brace and stand the frame up to get a good idea about where the right side uprights should go.

August took his [Wooden Shovel] out of his inventory—it was starting to look like it would soon need some attention—and then started digging. Within a minute, he wished he hadn’t volunteered to do any more digging because he’d had enough of it already to last him a lifetime.

Periodically he’d look up and check on the [Mitikos] to make sure it hadn’t moved, but it never did. Eventually, he heard Rittan returning once more, heralded once again by Ladybug’s trill of excitement as she flung herself around like the flail she somewhat resembled.

“Now you’re just showing off,” August said dryly.

Rittan smiled before dropping the four bundles of branches on the ground without any sign of strain—there was easily enough of them to finish the supports and have more leftover. Without being asked, Rittan began lining the supports up beside the vine piles as he’d already done with the first two.

“Not all of them are the right length, I’m afraid,” Rittan said before continuing. “August, you mentioned earlier that the only things we possess are the tools we make—we may need to attempt this process soon.”

“I’ve actually started that process already,” August admitted, holding his hand out and pulling the [Flint Axe] from his inventory. “It’s not exactly a master craft, but it might work to cut some of the longer pieces down to size.”

“Fascinating,” Rittan said. “Drawing me forth from Limbo, charming strange creatures—Is that another expression of your mana at work? Pulling things out of thin air?”

“It might be powered by mana, but it’s not really me that’s doing it,” August shook his head, “I have access to this box that I can put stuff in—I have no idea how it works, honestly.”

August had no idea how any of this worked, but maybe, with Rittan’s help, he’d be able to find out.