Sandrine woke up at 5am as usual, incredibly well rested and feeling comfy all restrained and rolled up in her covers. But she had responsibilities, so she had to get up and take off the splinters.
Now that she had a good reserve of water and MomImThristy kept sending more as repayment, Sandrine didn't hesitate and took a thorough shower. She also wanted to wash up Gribouille and Paquerette, but she was afraid they would get a cold, so she would rather do it in the evening with the fire on.
With increasingly higher living standards, now Sandrine didn't have to eat bread or leftovers for breakfast, she had a whole collection of cans and dried goods that she had exchanged over the days for her vehicle fragments, since she didn't need them.
She happily ate and served breakfast to the colorless gang, grumbling over the lack of fresh goods, while looking at her inventory. She still had a lot to trade, like the chest detector she had gotten yesterday, or all the upgrade materials she would never use, but she had a problem. She didn't need anything.
Everyday she would trade to stock up on daily necessities, and now she had a full collection of cans and toiletries, it would take her weeks to use everything. She didn't have a vehicle to upgrade either, so she didn't need any materials, and she had already traded with AlphaWolf and MomImThirsty for all the tools and water she might need. Now, she really had everything. Trading for more would be a waste.
She wanted a roof above her head, but even if she created the blueprint for a house, she couldn't put it in her inventory, so she couldn't take it with her. It wouldn't serve any purpose.
No, she really didn't have anything to trade for, she had everything she could want.
"It's annoying… The game really doesn't want me to have it easy."
No hopes of her gaining a sudden foldable house.
"Well, I don't have any choice. I just have to pray that I find useful things in chests, or that my job gets me something good."
The job was an intriguing mechanic of this game, and she knew that jobs could evolve if she filled some hidden conditions, just like for her pets. So she had to focus on that for now.
Sandrine took out the finished tent from the crafting table. It was just as she envisioned, an outdoor tent that covered the 10m diameter around Paquerette and offered a reliable shelter from the rain. The waterproof tarp continued a bit on the side like tiny curtains, to prevent the wind from bringing the rain inside. But if there really was a thunderstorm with strong winds, the tent wouldn't help much. However, Sandrine put her hopes in the game's logic.
It didn't want to kill them outright, so their first season wouldn't bring too extreme of a weather.
She cleaned up camp and hoped on Paquerette with Gribouille.
"Listen up, pals ! Starting from now we need to train as much as possible. This includes running, fighting, stretching, etc… We need to do everything we can to level up, okay ?"
Sandrine didn't forget that the rules at the very beginning had said that at some point the players could meet on the road. Everyone had vehicles and a lot had leveled up now, they probably had solid cars with metal shells. Against a horse that was only flesh and bones, she didn't stand a chance. They really needed to level up and evolve, trigger a change, or they would quickly get stuck and fall behind.
Whether it was the new season or the other players, something would hit them soon.
Suddenly, the world turned bright and the familiar buzzing sound filled Sandrine's head.
[Players who didn't reach the required mileage will disappear]
[7,025 players enter the 6th day]
[Congratulations on entering the 6th day]
[The Roadside opening event has concluded ! Rankings will be determined based on your exploration progress]
[Rankings :
1st : Jackalope65 - 15 chests - 3 golden chests
2nd : Croissaaant - 11 chests - 3 golden chests
3rd : AnaïsDu33 - 13 chests - 2 golden chests
4th : 84jojo84 - 10 chests - 2 golden chests
5th : LeCanard - 9 chests - 2 golden chests
6th : AlphaWolf - 17 chests - 1 golden chest
7th : RollingRolling - 16 chests - 1 golden chest
8th : Gargantua - 16 chests - 1 golden chest
9th : BigBelly123 - 14 chests - 1 golden chest
10th : ILoveSocks - 13 chests - 1 golden chest
[...]]
[You have ranked 4th in the Roadside opening event, congratulations ! Rewards have been sent to your inbox]
[Required mileage for today : 80km]
[Time left for the newbie protection period : 9 days]
Sandrine didn't expect that there would be a ranking for the event. More than that, she was actually ranked higher than AlphaWolf ! And another surprising thing was that everyone had their nickname exposed, there was no hiding it, the game would reveal every hidden expert.
This sent a wave of panic into the server chat.
[Server chat (7,025/10,000)
-omg so many hidden experts !!!
-I saw 84jojo84 a lot, our beloved big shot, as well as AlphaWolf who sold weapons on the first day, but how come I don't know the others ?
-Gargantua was the one who sold the homemade torches on the first day
-Ah, that scammer !
-Yeah, that one !
-But the top 3 are really mysterious…
-they might have stayed hidden since the beginning
-Why ? Things to hide ?
-secretly benefitting I guess
-Wait, there was no option to stay anonymous !
-Doesn't that mean the top 3 will get targeted when we meet on the road ?
-I forgot about that ! Yeah, the rules said that at one point we will meet, right ?
-Why would you target them ?
-They're high in the rankings, they might be loaded
-But they also might be super strong, right ? It might be better to target the lower ones
-Wait, why talk about targeting people ? We're all in this together !
-the ones talking about targeting are criminals
-Question : What are the golden chests ? How come I didn't know ?
-Go back to sleep grandpa…]
"It's lively."
Sandrine laughed while reading the chat. Paquerette was already trotting on the road, her hooves rhythmically hitting the asphalt with a crisp ring that didn't exist before.
"Feeling good, bestie ?"
Paquerette replied with a happy neighing, a very loud sound that she rarely emitted. She seemed excited. Her new horseshoes cushioned her steps nicely, reducing the strain on her joins.
Sandrine patted her neck and focused back on the chat.
"No anonymous option… Is the game trying to turn us against each other ?"
If it was just about sending rewards according to performance, the game could have kept those private, like it did with the rewards for leveling up their vehicles. However, making the ranking public had a malicious flair. It was as if the game wanted to expose clearly who was doing well in the game, to put a target on their backs.
"Divide to better reign, it is easier to have a hold on a crowd when they aren't united. I guess one of the next dangers will be each other."
The game was clearly laying the groundwork. First, start with a food scarcity, lending different luck to every player so that not everyone finds food in the chests, and a famine arises. Then, force them to participate in a dangerous event that makes their nerves tense, while choosing the security of the road leads them to even less supplies. After that, you expose the rankings, the ones earning more, those that have a better life than you.
What would be the last step ?
Allow them to meet. Preferably one on one on a narrow road. Allow the tense nerves to snap. Permit fight, murder, and loot.
"Looks like the roads will meet soon."
One more reason to push herself and her pets into evolution.
The day was spent traveling, opening chests, fighting dangers, and looting supplies. The content of the chests wasn't interesting, more water and loaves of bread, a few miscellaneous items, toiletries, cans, and upgrade materials, nothing incredible.
The dangers were too easy for Paquerette, she could kill every single one with one kick, so Gribouille and Sandrine were the ones doing the fighting under her watch.
Gribouille was surprisingly robust, not whining even after being hit several times by rabbits and rats, doing his best to stand his ground. Maybe it was also because he had somehow grown a bit in a few days, going from reaching Sandrine's calf to almost reaching her knee. Also, he had lost more baby teeth, and small white protrusions were starting to pierce his gums. And he went up to level 4 !
[Name : Gribouille
Species : Earthen canidae
Lvl : 4
Favorability : 20
Health : 85
Fatigue : 28
Strength : 4
Constitution : 11
Agility : 6]
At this point, it seemed that reaching level 5 wouldn't be easy for either pet, there should be a hidden requirement.
Sandrine also fought a lot better than before, maybe because she had gained experience, but also thanks to the tamer's pitchfork, very useful in combat. She was starting to get used to the feeling of wielding it, it felt very natural to her.
"Maybe I'm made for spears and long distance stuff…"
She didn't feel at ease wielding a knife and other close distance weapons.
The day went by quickly, and night fell just as fast. Sandrine ate the rest of the ratatouille can with a boiled potato and had a sweet crêpe as dessert. Then she washed and brushed both Gribouille and Paquerette, making sure to clean their ears, eyes, and noses, and greasing the mare's hooves. Only after taking care of both of them and checking her inventory did she give Gribouille his worm plushy, he couldn't sleep without it now, and put on her splinters to sleep as well.
People say it takes a week to create a routine. Well, they might be right because the next morning was the seventh day of the death game, and Sandrine woke up at 5am as usual, took a shower, prepared everyone's breakfast, cleaned up the camp, and climbed on Paquerette as if it was practiced.
She had gotten used to this life.
But despite this normal start, the day rapidly took a strange turn at 6am.
[Players who didn't reach the required mileage will disappear]
[6,992 players enter the 7th day]
[Congratulations on entering the 7th day]
[Required mileage for today : 40km]
[Time left for the newbie protection period : 8 days]
[Today is an event day !]
[Event : Obstacle course]
[Obstacles will appear on the road]
[Cover as much distance as possible today !]
[To encourage mileage, chests on the road will appear 50% more often, and will contain 50% more supplies]
[This event will last 1 day. Enjoy !]
When the light turned on and the day started, the infinite road suddenly changed. It wasn't simple asphalt, it was a road covered in debris, tree trunks, branches, concrete pieces, steel pipes and tiles. It was as if the dilapidated city from the offroad event had come crashing down on the road.
Those debris could be moved or avoided, but this would surely take quite a while.
"Am I dreaming, or… Do I have an advantage, for once ?"
For an ordinary car to pass through this mess, the player would have to spend quite some time taking out the debris. However, time spent clearing up the road was time lost driving ! And what was the goal of this event ? Mileage !
"Let's go bestie !"
Paquerette didn't hesitate. With nimble movements, high agility, and horseshoes adapted to the road, the mare immediately came to a gallop and jumped above a piece of concrete, weaving between the pipes, climbing on top of the tree trunks.
Why spend time clearing up the road when you have a horse ?
Now that Sandrine knew that events had rankings and that she could gain rewards, she wouldn't hesitate to do her best. Anyway, 84jojo84 was already too well known in the community to start laying low now, having the local big shot disappear would be weirder. And maybe the key to all her problems was in the rewards ? She hadn't opened the one for the offroad event yet, so she had no way to know for sure.
They quickly noticed the first chest. Just like the announcement had said, it seemed like there were more of them. But this didn't mean anything, because people would spend ages clearing up the road, so even this small distance would take hours to reach.
Sandrine quickly opened the wooden chest and her eyes widened.
[salted pork and lentils can, ravioli can, loaf of bread x5, 1L water bottle x5, 5L fuel x3]
"Woah, that's equivalent to two or three chests in one go !"
Even in a chest containing a venomous snake she wouldn't have gotten so much. This event was really godsent !
Sandrine put everything in her inventory and jumped on Paquerette's back. She didn't need the chest and rope method anymore, her agility was high enough.
"Let's go bestie, full speed ahead !"
And full speed they went.
Like meteors, they covered a large distance without letting anything stop them, well except for the chests, but at some point Sandrine decided to just collect them in passing without wasting time to open them. The 40km required for the day were covered in a few hours, not even taking the full morning.
At noon they stopped to eat, and Sandrine made sure to check Paquerette's legs for any problem. There were a few debris lodged underneath her hooves, but nothing she couldn't clear easily. Anyway, with the mare's high stats, it would be hard to actually wound her now.
Without any issue, they did the exact same thing in the afternoon, running like the wind. Sandrine didn't even climb down Paquerette to collect the chests anymore, she would lean to the side, holding the horse baskets as handles, and reach for the chests. A simple touch of her fingers would send them to her backpack, so Paquerette only had to slow down, not even stop.
Which meant they were even more efficient in the afternoon. They didn't stop until the time showed 9pm and everything went black. Only then did they allow themselves to rest. They wouldn't get the rankings until tomorrow morning, but they had covered an astonishing 196km today !
"Incredible… Maybe one day we'll catch up to cars ?"
Sandrine had to admit : Paquerette's level up was a blessing. Now she wasn't in danger of being eliminated because of the required mileage everyday. However, could a horse face off against a car ? She wasn't sure. They still had more to improve.
They each went to do their nightly routine, and once their belly was full, Sandrine took out all the chests from her inventory. Today there didn't seem to be any dangers in the chests, maybe the obstacle course was already too much. So she didn't hesitate and opened all of them at once !
[Loaf of bread x21, 1L water x23, green been can x4, corn can x2, ravioli can x3, salted pork and lentils can, chili con carne can, canelloni can, veal blanquette can, cassoulet can, tuna can x2, peaches in syrup can, pickle jar, sundried tomato jar, green olive jar, 1L cooking oil x3, 1L olive oil x2, 1kg flour x2, 500g salt, black pepper, Provence herbs, 5L fuel x14, blanket x1, comforter x1, washbasin x2, bathrobe x3, face towel x2, bath towel 3, washcloth x2, shampoo x2, pet shampoo x8, 1kg hay x4, 1kg dog food x2, vehicle fragment x27, wood x12, metal x23, plastic x9, glass x4, electric component x2, wires x6, fabric x21…]
That was a lot. Like… Really a lot.
"Woah… So that's the feeling when the game is on your side ?"
She didn't risk her life, wasn't chased by a monster, and wasn't wounded. She just lived through a normal day, and was absurdly rewarded.
"That's crazy…"
She deeply felt how unfair the game was. Still, she had been neglected and abused for a whole week, it was only right that at least she had one easy day !
Sandrine nodded seriously. Being successful was her own right !