Materials

The Cave-Nest Spider had stopped moving entirely.

Its massive body lay sprawled on the stone ground outside the door. Murky, grayish-white bodily fluid slowly seeped along the grooves of its carapace and into the cracks in the frozen earth and stone, giving off a dry, rank animal odor.

Lu Heng stood just inside the doorway, gripping the Iron Axe. His shoulders and arms still ached from the continuous chopping. The axe handle had rubbed the web of his hand slightly hot. Only now did the nerves he had kept taut while holding the doorway and restricting the beast's advance slowly relax.

He did not go outside immediately.

He lowered his hand and steadied himself, easing the rise and fall of his chest and bringing his panting under control. A heavy wave of lingering fear spread through him, followed by a very real sense of how lucky he had been.

The Black Iron Cave-Nest Spider had charged fearlessly, its impacts brutally forceful and its legs striking with tremendous power. He had spent the entire fight holding his position at close quarters, swinging his axe to block and chop without a moment's pause.

Before the potion had tempered his body, his weak three core attributes would have left him unable to withstand such intense close-quarters combat. Previously, his limbs had been slow to dodge and his stamina poor. A few axe swings would have left his arms drained, and his reactions would have lagged a beat behind. He could never have held the doorway's positional advantage. Before long, the beast would have broken through the wooden door and killed him.

But tonight had been different.

His muscles and bones delivered power cleanly, he sidestepped attacks with ease, and his stamina had remained ample throughout the confrontation. His flesh could withstand impacts and recoil far better than before, too.

Only now did he truly feel that the eight points across the three core attributes updated on his wristband were anything but empty numbers. That Body Enhancement Potion had genuinely strengthened his physical foundation.

He had managed to hold the cave and kill the beast tonight largely because his stronger body had carried him through. Without that tempering and enhancement, the outcome would only have been reversed.

There was no relying on luck in wilderness survival. A hair's difference in physical strength was a hair's difference between life and death.

Lu Heng raised his wrist, and the wristband's pale blue glow slowly enveloped the spider's corpse outside the door.

System collection notifications appeared one after another.

[Collected: Cave-Nest Spider Carapace ×1]

[Collected: Sharp Spider Beak ×1]

[Collected: Venom Gland ×1]

[Collected: Tough Spider Silk ×1 bundle]

[Collected: Spider Marrow Crystal ×1]

This was the newly added fifth type of spider material, formed within the core of a spider's torso. Smooth and warm in texture, it was a rare material exclusive to Black Iron spiders.

All five materials had been collected.

Lu Heng opened his storage interface and examined them one by one. The spider carapace was hard and heavy, suitable for armor plating; the spider beak was sharp and hard and could be ground into arrowheads; the venom gland held thick venom and had a wide range of uses; the spider silk was far tougher than vines and could be woven into ropes; the newly acquired Spider Marrow Crystal had a subdued, dark appearance, and its use remained unknown for now.

He sorted them individually, storing the five Black Iron spider materials in a separate section, completely apart from his ore, coarse salt, and beast meat.

After putting away the supplies, Lu Heng stepped out of the cave.

Quite a few stone chips scraped loose by the spider's legs littered the ground. Claw marks of varying depths covered the outside of the door, repeated impacts had knocked notches into its edges, and the wood fibers on its surface had split, greatly reducing its sturdiness.

The cave itself was a single natural rock formation. Its walls were hard and seamless, and even the beast's full-force charges had failed to budge them in the slightest. Only the wooden windbreak door had been damaged.

Lu Heng bent down to collect the stone chips at the entrance, wiped the spider's bodily fluid off the door, and cleared away the scattered debris.

His fingertips brushed the cracked edge of the door as he silently considered the situation.

I rely entirely on this wooden door to block the wind, retain warmth, and keep beasts out. Now that it's damaged, the night's cold will get into the cave more easily. Against a more aggressive beast, the door won't withstand more than a few charges either. The cave's current defenses are nowhere near enough for me to live here with peace of mind.

Once he finished cleaning, he returned inside and raised his hand to summon the Shelter's dedicated panel.

A pale blue screen floated in the air, clearly displaying its basic information.

[Shelter level: Ordinary stone cave]

[Wall material: Natural frozen-earth rock formation (indestructible)]

[Defensive component: Damaged wooden windbreak door]

[Upgrade requirements: 50 units of stone + any Black Iron material ×1]

[Upgrade benefit: Develops a unique function based on the material]

A hint of anticipation appeared in Lu Heng's eyes when he saw the upgrade requirements.

The natural stone walls needed no repairs. He only had to gather enough stone and add one Black Iron material to upgrade the Shelter and unlock an unknown new function.

That was quite a temptation.

But after considering it, he quickly suppressed his impatience.

Since coming to this frozen land to survive, he had developed some ideas of his own. The more urgently he sought supplies and upgrades for his dwelling, the more easily his actions would become rash. Neglecting to observe his surroundings while traveling or gathering would only make him more likely to run into beasts and needlessly bring death upon himself.

Keeping a steady pace and taking things slowly were the foundations of survival.

Lu Heng settled on a plan for his future outings.

On his next explorations, his primary goal would be gathering stone to meet the fifty-unit upgrade requirement. Second, he would watch for suitable Black Iron materials, without deliberately hunting beasts to force the matter. Finally, he would mine salt-bearing rock along the way and continue stockpiling coarse salt for emergencies.

With his plan settled, he closed the screen and turned toward the grayish-white coarse salt neatly piled in the corner.

Since arriving in this frozen land, he had received no supplies of edible salt and had long been forced to gather wild White Salt Mugwort to accompany his meat. White Salt Mugwort was naturally salty, but its herbal bitterness was extremely strong. Roasting trapped that astringent bitterness in the meat, filling his mouth with a bitter, grassy taste. Every meat meal had been a struggle to eat, and prolonged consumption left the back of his tongue bitter, his taste buds constantly tormented.

Now that he had purified natural coarse salt himself, its clean saltiness free of any unwanted bitterness, he could finally abandon the hard-to-swallow White Salt Mugwort and eat properly seasoned roasted meat.

For once, he felt a sense of relief.

He walked over to the fire and added two pieces of dry wood. The flames leaped higher again, spreading warmth.

He took a piece of beast meat with an even balance of fat and lean from his storage space, threaded it onto a sharpened wooden skewer, and set it over the fire to roast slowly.

The flames seared the flesh, and fat slowly dripped along its grain, falling onto the coals with soft sizzling sounds. A rich aroma of meat gradually filled the cave. As the outside browned and the flesh firmed, Lu Heng pinched up some fine grains of coarse salt and sprinkled them evenly into the crevices in the meat.

The salt grains dissolved in the heat, their savory saltiness penetrating the meat and completely counteracting its inherent gaminess, without a trace of White Salt Mugwort's bitter, astringent herbal taste.

He blew on the warm roasted meat to cool it and took a bite. Juices mingled with pure saltiness in his mouth, hearty and palatable.

Lu Heng ate slowly, growing ever more aware of the value of the coarse salt in his hands.

No longer having to endure bitterness just to fill his stomach was one of the few comforts this wilderness offered.

After finishing the meat, he cleaned up the scraps around the fire to prevent lingering food smells from drawing beasts to surround the cave at night. Then he pushed the wooden door firmly shut, secured the hardwood brace behind it, and placed his hand crossbow, Iron Axe, and wooden spear within reach.

Night settled fully, the wind howled outside, and the temperature fell again.

Lu Heng leaned against the warm stone wall and closed his eyes to rest. After the bodily tempering, his whole body felt light and strong, the fatigue of the past several days had vanished, and his mind was at ease.

The night passed undisturbed.

When he opened his eyes again, the cave was dim, and the chill that struck his face was several times more intense than the night before.

The air was dry and bone-chilling, and even his breath produced faint white mist.

The temperature had plummeted.

Lu Heng got up and moved his limbs, cold creeping through the gaps in his clothing. He immediately opened his storage and took out the thick hides he had accumulated from hunting small beasts. He wrapped them around himself layer by layer, covering his neck and wrists completely. Only then was most of the piercing cold kept out, and his body warmed considerably.

Properly dressed, he tightened his grip on the Iron Axe slung diagonally across him, held his wooden spear, secured his quiver at his waist, and checked his supplies. His remaining bolts, small pieces of coarse salt, and portable juice were all packed, and he was ready to head out.

He raised his hand and moved the damaged wooden door aside.

An icy wind instantly poured into the cave. The sky was overcast and gray, and a cold white layer of frost covered the vegetation throughout the frozen land. Wind swept through the branches in the woods, producing bleak, whimpering sounds.

The temperature outside was far lower than inside the cave.

Lu Heng stepped outside. The frozen earth beneath his feet was hard and icy, its thin coating of frost slightly slippery underfoot.

He looked toward the distant, unbroken expanse of the Frost Forest, his expression slowly darkening.

The sudden cold was a sign of a change in the frozen environment.

Every living creature in the mountain forest would sense winter drawing near.

Ordinary plants would stop growing, while carnivorous beasts would hunt more frequently to stockpile enough food for winter. Their desire to forage would surge, their territorial instincts would become extremely sensitive, and their aggression would inevitably multiply.

A distinct worry rose within him.

Previously, the mild temperatures had kept the beasts' feeding patterns steady, and they would not casually provoke humans. Now, with temperatures dropping and survival resources dwindling, the beasts in the Frost Forest would most likely roam beyond their usual ranges and attack living outsiders.

There was something else he had remained uncertain about.

Animals on Earth in his previous life had established hibernation habits, avoiding extreme cold to survive the winter.

But in this beast-infested frozen land of survival, would these Black Iron beasts and native beasts actually hibernate?

If they did not, the extreme cold would only make them increasingly frenzied.

If they did, the period before winter would be their most frantic and dangerous feeding season.

Either way, entering the Frost Forest to explore today would be far more dangerous than before.

Lu Heng reached back and pulled the wooden windbreak door firmly shut, blocking the cold wind from the cave entrance.

As his fingertips touched the cracked notch in the door, his resolve firmed once again.

Upgrading the Shelter has to become a priority as soon as possible.

Only by strengthening his dwelling's defenses and preparing supplies could he safely weather this frozen land's first cold wave.

The wind grew colder, and frost spread over the tops of his shoes.

Lu Heng set off at a slow pace toward the Frost Forest, his gaze calm and his entire body on maximum alert.