Morning came with a low mist clinging to the forest floor, soft and cold against Ethan's boots as he stepped out of the hut.
For once, he didn't flinch at the chill.
The Basic Hut's insulation had done its job. He'd slept without shivering, without curling into himself against the night's bite. Just that one change made everything feel sharper, clearer—more real.
Today would be the day.
Only one step remained before the shelter could reach Level 1: the construction of a secondary structure. He already knew what it would be.
Storage.
He crouched beside the fire pit, warming his hands as he reviewed the new entries on the tech tree.
New Structure Unlocked:
Basic Storage (Stone Age Tier)
Requirements:
– 6 Wooden Planks
– 4 Bone Pins
– 4 Vines
– 1 Technology Point
Function: Stores up to 20 resource stacks. Preserves materials from environmental decay. Enables inventory management features.
He pulled up his inventory mentally. He had the vines. He had bones. What he didn't have yet were wooden planks—and bone pins would need carving.
Ethan rolled his shoulders and stood.
Time to work.
⸻
He started with the planks.
Felling a tree had grown easier with practice, his crude axe finding rhythm in each swing. He chose one with a straight trunk and soft bark, something he could split by hand if needed.
The axe's durability was dwindling—23% now—but it held.
Once the tree fell, he wasted no time stripping limbs, then splitting the trunk into manageable lengths with his bone knife and brute force. He drove flat rocks into the ends to wedge them open, hammering them with another branch until the wood cracked into rough boards.
New Material Created: Wooden Plank x6
+Crafting Option Unlocked: Basic Furniture Components
Sweat dripped from his brow as he laid the boards out to dry slightly in the sun. While they cured, he sat on a log near the fire and pulled bones from his stash. A fresh notification hovered nearby.
Crafting Available: Bone Pin
Materials: Bone x1
Tools: Bone Knife or Stone Chisel
Time: 2 minutes each
He worked carefully, shaving lengths of bone into smooth, tapered pegs. His hands moved faster now—stronger, more certain. The system helped where it could, adding faint glows and prompts to guide his shaping motions, but the precision was still his.
The first one splintered. The next five came out clean.
Bone Pin x4 acquired
Crafting Efficiency: +3% (Passive Skill Gained: Steady Hand I)
He smiled.
Not magic. Just progress.
⸻
With the materials in place, he cleared a space beside the hut and knelt.
Structure Build Request: Basic Storage
Requirements Met
Confirm Build: Cost – 1 Technology Point
[✔ Confirm] [✖ Cancel]
He accepted.
The system shimmered.
Vines slithered like slow-moving snakes, twining through stake grooves and plank edges. The structure rose quickly—modular boxes stacked inside a sturdy wooden frame, each compartment separated by bone fasteners. The final touch was a bark flap that could be tied shut, protecting the contents from rain and wind.
Structure Constructed: Basic Storage (Perfect)
+20 Inventory Slots
+Passive Effect: Preserves perishable materials longer
+Passive Bonus: Organization (Mental Strain -5%)
Ethan opened the lid and dropped in several small bundles—dried sinew, spare stone blades, and three pieces of Dreki meat wrapped in leaves. A weight lifted from his shoulders.
No more piling everything in corners like a scavenger.
Now he could plan.
Now he could grow.
⸻
The system chimed again.
Shelter Status: Upgrading…
Crude Structures: 0/4 Remaining
Secondary Structure Built: Confirmed
Technology Points Spent: 3
Shelter Tier Advancement Detected
The message rippled with significance. Then came the real one.
⸻
⚠ System-Wide Notification – Shelter Advancement ⚠
[Species: Homo sapiens]
Shelter #1 has reached Level 1
Title Awarded: Pioneer
Builder: Ethan Reyes
Reward Granted:
– Half Material Cost for One Structure Upgrade
– System Access Expanded: Upgrade Blueprints & New Constructions
– Shelter Visibility: Partial – Now visible to allied and neutral species with sensory mapping
– Faction Reputation System Unlocked
Ethan Reyes – New Title: Pioneer
System Note: You have claimed a first for your species. Others now look to your fire.
⸻
[System Chat – Public Feed]
🜁 [Homo sapiens – Shelter 4]:
He did it. First Level 1 shelter. Damn.
⚔ [Gorrak – Krall Clan]:
Not bad for soft-flesh with sticks.
🌊 [Siranyx – Deepkin Nomad]:
What even is a "storage"? We memorize everything.
🜁 [Homo sapiens – Shelter 7]:
Let's go. We're not as behind as we thought.
🌿 [Unnamed – Fae Grove]:
Your fire is small, human. But it burns.
🧬 [System Notification]:
Milestone tracked. Future advancements will contribute to species evolution profiles.
⸻
Ethan read the messages, his chest rising slowly with