The moment stretched long and tense.
Ethan didn't move. The figures at the treeline didn't either.
They were humanoid, that much was clear—tall, lean, and clothed in earth-toned fabric that blended almost too well with the underbrush. One male. One female. Both dark-skinned, with features unfamiliar and angular. They looked like they'd stepped out of some long-forgotten legend, but Ethan knew better than to assume fantasy.
This world wasn't a dream. It was survival, filtered through a system designed to reward progress and punish hesitation.
He stayed crouched by the spear wall, bow lowered but not unstrung. Watching.
The pair didn't step any closer. The male scanned the perimeter—eyes lingering on the sharpened stakes, the packed trench, the crude spiked defenses that now marked Ethan's claim. The female's gaze flicked to the fire pit, then to the tent, the pond, the hardened clay underfoot. Every feature of his growing base drew their attention.
They weren't predators. Not immediately. Their posture wasn't aggressive. But it wasn't friendly, either. They were alert. Assessing.
Testing boundaries—just like the glowing eyes the night before.
Ethan didn't speak. Would they even understand him? The system hadn't offered any translation assistance—no interface popped up, no auto-translate trigger. Whatever these people—or creatures—were, the system hadn't flagged them as allies or enemies. Not yet.
And that was dangerous.
He backed slowly into his camp, not turning his back, and crossed to his fire pit. The two figures remained motionless.
Once behind the trench, he crouched and checked his interface. The shelter menu still displayed:
Shelter Status: Tier 0 (Crude Base)
Defensive Rating: BasicRanged Defense: PrimitiveMap Visibility to Enemy Species: SuppressedTitle Effect Active: [Pioneer]Material Discount: 50% (1 Structure)
Nothing had changed. No warnings, no alerts. Whoever—or whatever—they were, they hadn't crossed into hostile territory. The system was still treating them as neutral.
That was… interesting.
He turned his attention back to the new arrivals. Still outside the range of the shelter's 10-meter influence radius. Still watching.
He tapped his makeshift axe against the ground—a slow, steady beat. Not threatening. Just sound. A signal.
The male shifted slightly. Not toward him, but closer to the female. Protective, maybe. The way his body moved, Ethan recognized the fatigue. An injury, maybe. A limp?
Ethan narrowed his eyes. He couldn't see clearly from this distance, but he didn't need to. The tension in their bodies, the slow movements—these weren't scouts here to attack.
They were hurt.
Why hadn't they approached?
He considered the possibility that they feared the system. Maybe they'd seen what his defenses had done to predators. Or maybe it was his scent. Blood still lingered from the Dreki hunt.
He clicked his tongue thoughtfully, weighing options.
No point in engaging yet. He didn't even know what they wanted.
Instead, he turned his attention back to the camp. He still had work to do—and more structures meant more options. He'd been saving his tech points, but now might be the time to use them.
The Basic Hut was next. He'd already halved its material cost thanks to the [Pioneer] title. Now he just needed to gather everything.
Basic Hut Requirements (Discounted):
Logs: 6Vines: 4Stone Slabs: 2Dug-out base requiredInsulation: Mud or Clay
He still needed slabs and insulation material. And a proper digging tool.
The Crude Axe was fine for felling trees, but not precise enough for trenching. If he could craft a better shovel…
He snapped his fingers.
New Crafting Concept Unlocked: Crude Shovel
Components: Flattened Stone Head, Wood Shaft, Vine BindingUnlocks: Terrain Manipulation, Soil Harvesting, Foundation Digging+1 Tech Point Earned
That would work. It wasn't fancy, but it would get the job done.
He worked through the afternoon, harvesting clay from near the pond and cutting a wide trench in the dirt beside the current tent. The axe proved useful enough to wedge out chunks of soil, and the new shovel—though awkward—sped up the process.
By the time the sun began to dip again, he had a rough depression in the earth, lined with clay and fitted with wooden supports. Tomorrow, he could begin building the true walls.
He wiped sweat from his forehead and looked back to the treeline.
The figures were gone.
Vanished like ghosts.
His gut twisted, not in fear, but in curiosity.
They hadn't attacked. Hadn't spoken. Just watched. And left.
But that meant one thing for sure—they'd be back.
And next time, Ethan Reyes needed to be ready.
Not just with weapons.
But with answers.