And of course, though the quest seemed very simple, that was only the case for Ashton. In the tutorial, the completely defenceless were culled. And in the first main quest, the reality of the situation would set in. The moment you take your first life for the purpose of survival, your brain practically rewires itself. And those that can't do at least this were useless to the council.
The most annoying parts were the 'constellations'. They were god-like beings from higher dimensions that liked to meddle with young worlds like earth, and to make some extra money, the council allowed them access to exactly those worlds that needed their meddling the most. Some of them were disgusting and appalling, while others were kind and could actually be relied on. But in every single case, there was a baseline level of disgust that Ashton felt for them.
There were a few that might be useful to him long-term, but he didn't want to get tied to any of them forever.
But with the appearance of constellations, there will be people that are given special privileges. Unique powers and abilities, items or sub-quests. Things that could make them stronger, and let humanity survive for longer. That was the most important part right now. It was why he told that party of five yesterday, Jacky and her crew, that they should take any chance to get stronger that they could.
While he had the Backpacker give him some food so that he could have some breakfast, even if it had gone cold by now, Ashton looked at the simple 'tutorial quest' that he had completed while sleeping.
[You have completed the [Tutorial Quest - Survival]! Please pick your reward]
[Backpack]
[Bonus Coins]
[Firestarter]
[First-Aid Kit]
[Lantern]
[Medication]
[Rations]
[Sleeping Bag]
[Tent]
[Waterskin]
Ashton looked through the list. He didn't need a backpack or coins. He had gotten a spare first-aid kit and some meds from a pharmacy here in the street. Though the actual pharmacists inside had been killed, there were still a ton of meds that were useful here. He didn't grab all of it though, just some packs of basic meds that he would need.
He was fine on food for now, and he had a tent and sleeping bag. Waterskins weren't super necessary in a world with water bottles either, and for a firestarter, he had grabbed some matches and lighters even at the convenience store near his apartment. Plus, with the camping stove, he was fine on fire for now.
So, Ashton picked the last item on this list he still needed - the Lantern. It seemed like one of the more useless items on this list, but having a way to keep light with you while wandering around an apocalypse in the middle of the night was something invaluable for someone like Ashton. Flashlights worked fine in most places, but somewhere with high mana density, they would probably stop working, so that wasn't a risk Ashton was willing to take. Plus, a lantern was a great tool for a summoner in the first place, so it came in useful like that as well.
As he selected the item, the status window disappeared, and just like with the item selection box, small particles of light came together and formed a small metal box lantern with glass panels on its four sides. There was already a small wax candle sitting inside.
Ashton would use this later. For now, there were other things he had to do. The most important of which was to figure out when exactly the quest started. There was usually a slight gap between quests, but that gap could feel arbitrary at times. It could have started as early as 3am when the last quest was over, or maybe even just a minute before he woke up.
After packing up his tent, he made his way back down to street level. The insides of the buildings were already being repurposed for different matters, mostly living spaces so that people had some privacy even in a situation like this. Overall, there seemed to be a fair few more people here than before. Particularly, there were people that had clearly been out there, fighting. And right now, at one of the barricades, a small group was forming. They were equipped with fairly simple and partially improvised weapons, and were preparing to head out.
"Oh! How great to see that you are here again," a man said as he approached Ashton. It was the grocery store's manager. The way he walked was different to before. His body was much more tense.
"You're injured," Ashton pointed out. It wasn't directly visible anywhere, but it was clear this man was hurting, "Did you go outside for the quest?"
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The manager slowly nodded his head, "When the quest appeared, people were hesitant and scared. As such, I decided to take the lead and complete it myself."
Unable to hold back a smile, Ashton looked down at the weak-looking, older man in front of him, "That sounds like you've got things under control. But do you think you could tell me when the quest appeared? I've been catching up on some sleep."
"Of course. It should have been around 10 in the morning, if I recall correctly," the manager explained, "Does that mean you haven't been out yet? And here I thought you would be the first to complete that quest."
Ashton shrugged, "I had a lot of sleep to catch up on."
"I see. In that case, I would like to warn you. There are a lot of monsters roaming around now, including ones much more terrible than those we have seen here, with the exception of... You called it a Hobgoblin?"
"Don't worry, I'll manage," Ashton looked around, toward the place that used to be the rudimentary goblin camp, "Do you mind if I take up some space by the fountain? There are a few matters I need to take care of."
"Of course! There is plenty of space for you there!"
With an appreciative expression, Ashton quickly made his way over to the fountain. This place was the centre of the mana well, so it was the best place for him right now. There were two more elementals he needed to summon, ones that would be very important for his survival.
By now, one of the ingredients should be ready. He looked around in the fountain, finding the thin layer of sludge that had formed on the bottom and the edges of the water sitting in here. There was plenty of algae for him to use.
For now, Ashton got out a small inkwell that was sold at the store. It wasn't a lot, and it wasn't anything that he could realistically use to summon anything, but with a few crushed magic stones mixed into it, it became a perfect fuel for the Pen of Insight, at least at lower levels.
Ashton had the backpacker give him one of the notebooks and flipped it open, placing the inkwell next to it on the edge of the fountain.
He then pulled up his sleeve and scraped away a small bit of the algae growing in the fountain.
"Mind waking up for a bit?" he asked when looking at the crystal-tipped pen, and it quickly began to levitate, with the nib staying just an inch over the paper. Ashton linked with the pen and focused on the small bit of algae in his hand. It immediately and without hesitation began to write information about it on the paper.
Algae that fed on Magic
Grade - Uncommon
A small amount of Algae that has fed on mana to a minuscule, but still noticeable, degree.
"Hm... I might need to use quite a bit of it, but it should work," Ashton said, looking back over at the Backpacker, "Yo, give me the..."
While he was speaking, he noticed that the spirit was staring down at something in its hands. It was tapping and swiping, and soon seemed to find what it was looking for.
As a familiar music sounded out, Ashton couldn't help but laugh, "You're really playing games right now?"
The Backpacker seemed to glance up from the screen, and then nervously looked around.
"No, no, you're fine, keep playing. I'll make sure to figure out a way to keep that thing charged as well," he smiled, and though the Backpacker seemed confused by that for now, he should soon figure out what he meant. With the world as it was, people should figure out a way to get back electricity sooner or later. For that occasion, Ashton did have a charger with him as well.
But for now, he still needed the camping stove, a small pot, some magic stones, and a bit of honey.
Ashton quickly got started, scooping up a bit of water from the well, and quickly inspected it as well.
Water filled with Magic
Grade - Uncommon
Water that is filled with a small, but noticeable, amount of mana.
[Contract | Pen of Insight - Level 1 -> Pen of Insight - Level 2]
"Finally," Ashton smiled, taking the opportunity to inspect the water again. He should only have around three or four more inspections left with this amount of ink, but it felt worth it to really see the difference at such low levels.
Water filled with Magic
Grade - Uncommon
Water that is filled with a small, but noticeable, amount of mana. Though currently too dirty to drink, it is a great source of natural magic for the body.
"I guess I'd have to filter it first," Ashton whispered. Though, that soon wouldn't be an issue anymore anyway. He began to heat up the water with the camping stove, mixing in as much of the algae as he could, as well as a few small crushed magic stones. The crystal powder had the quality of pulling out all the right aspects to the surface that he wanted, helping concentrate the magic within the algae.
It didn't take long until the water took on a slightly sludgy, green-brownish colour. Usually it would be much harder to extract pigment from something like algae, but somehow magic stone powder was perfect for dye extraction. He grabbed a small bowl and a coffee filter, and quickly poured the liquid into the bowl to filter out all the solids, then poured the liquid back in the pot to keep it hot, before adding a little bit of honey into the mixture to give it more body and make it easier to write with. It would be a bit sticky, but that should be fine until he found another decent ink thickener.
Specific kinds of tree sap would be absolutely perfect, but honey would just have to do for now.
He asked for one of the empty jars, and quickly poured the viscous liquid inside to let it cool down for a while, and tagged it for the Pen of Insight.
Lesser Aquatic Ink
Grade - Uncommon
A low-quality, lesser magical ink that is filled with aquatic-aligned mana, made from algae collected at a place of concentrated mana.
"Great," Ashton smiled, staring at the piece of paper. And then, he grabbed that sheet, and looked at the camping burner. With a pair of tongs, he held a small magic stone over the flame, until cracks started forming across its surface. Keeping it ready, Ashton kept waiting a few moments longer, and then threw the heated magic stone into a metal bowl with that piece of paper, trying to get it to catch fire. He threw a few more small scraps of paper onto it, hoping to get a fire started. And before long, a small flame was born. Once it was strong enough, he grabbed one of the books that he had grabbed from the grocery store and put it into the bowl. It was some kind of day-planner, so he didn't feel bad about burning it. He needed what was left behind by it a lot more than the book itself, after all.
By the time the fire burnt out, Ashton was left with a pile of ashes.
Ashes from a Magical Flame
Grade - Uncommon
Ashes that were the result of a magical flame tearing it apart, filling it with a minuscule residue of mana.
Ashton quickly mixed them with some honey, magic stone powder, and a little bit of the well water to give it the right consistency, and soon, he had finished two types of ink he needed.
Now, all he had to do was actually get to summoning the two new elementals, and then head out to kill some more monsters.
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