Raif rose with the grey light.
The storm had broken in the early hours, leaving the jungle thick with moisture. It was quieter now, but not calm. Tension clung to the air like a thick blanket, every surface dripping, steam curling up from the saturated earth.
He stepped carefully around the sleeping forms of the others. Lira had finally dozed off, slumped near the shelter's entrance, her stick-knife still clutched tightly in her hand. Thomund leaned against a tree, snoring softly, so faint Raif wondered if it was the wind.
The orb was waiting.
Raif approached it slowly. Its faint glow pulsed in the gloom, barely brighter than a firefly's glow. His stomach twisted, not from hunger, but from a strange mix of dread and something else. Reverence? The orb didn't look dangerous. It didn't look like anything, really. Just... there. Indifferent. And that was what made his skin crawl.
His fingers hovered above it, trembling. No heat. No sound. Just the weight of some unspoken decision. He hesitated, but the moment his fingers brushed the surface, the system responded:
Blueprint Acquired: Basic Construction
Unlocked via Shelter Challenge completion
Structures Available:
Storage Shelter (10x5m)
Sleeping Shelter (5x5m, 3 Capacity)
Rain-Capture Basin (Passive Water Source)
Material Requirements Listed. Skill Use Recommended.
Note: First-time construction guidance enabled.
Raif's eyes widened. The blueprint wasn't just in his mind, it was physically hovering in the air, a wireframe image etched in light above the ground. The structures weren't complicated, but they required precision. Trees for framing. Bark with tensile properties. Stone arranged at specific angles. The shapes were interactive. He could rotate the designs with a flick of his fingers.
Behind him, he heard a cough. Eloin, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, stepped forward.
"Is that...?" Eloin's voice trailed off.
Raif nodded. "Blueprint. For actual buildings this time."
Eloin studied it for a moment. "That's not just a hut. That's... planning. Engineering."
"I think it's teaching us how to build from scratch," Raif said.
Eloin exhaled, his gaze flicking back to the jungle. "No wonder they call it a kingdom."
The others were stirring now. Lira stood, stretching, wincing as she worked out the kinks in her muscles. Goss muttered something about his spine. Naera sat up, her gaze fixed on the rotating blueprint.
Raif explained what he knew, about the system, the blueprint, and the materials needed. "It unlocked after we built the shelter," he added. "I didn't choose it."
Lira crossed her arms, eyeing the projection. "Looks too clean. Too fake."
Eloin stepped closer, tilting his head. "It's structured. See that frame ratio? That's deliberate. That's how you avoid collapse in wet soil."
Thomund crossed his arms. "And we're just supposed to trust it?"
Naera didn't speak, but her eyes followed every line of the blueprint, as if memorizing it.
Goss gave a bitter laugh. "I'll trust it when it shits out breakfast."
Thomund grunted. "So we need to gather. Again."
Raif nodded. "More than before. And smarter. Some of this stuff is specific, rainleaf, stone bark, fungal fiber."
"I'll take the east side," Thomund said immediately. "Saw a patch of those spiral trees past the ridge."
"I'll help," Naera said softly.
The words hung in the air like a sudden breeze. Everyone froze.
Raif blinked. Then smiled. "Good. Naera and Thomund on collection."
Eloin stepped forward, brushing dirt from his sleeves. "I'll plan the frame. I can shape the base structure here with whatever they bring."
"Lira, I'd like you to-"
"Help him?" Lira's voice was flat.
Raif's smile faltered, but he pressed on. "Support Naera. Two gatherers are faster than one."
She crossed her arms, giving him a hard look. "I don't follow orders."
"You do if you want shelter," Goss said, grinning.
"Piss off, Goss."
Raif raised his hands, trying to defuse the tension. "It's not about orders. It's about trust. If you have a better plan, I'll listen. But we're on a timer again."
Lira stared at him, then, slowly, nodded once. "Fine."
Raif felt it, a subtle shift in the air. A slight lightness in his chest. Not physical. Not external. But something changed.
The system whispered:
[Loyalty Increase Detected. +1 KE]
Raif didn't know what had caused it. Didn't know why. But something was working.
He glanced up at the sun, still hidden behind thick clouds. The blueprint hovered beside him, slowly rotating.
The first structure was about to rise.
They moved with purpose. The hesitation from the first day was gone. Thomund and Naera had already vanished into the treeline, carrying woven moss and bark slings. Goss trailed Eloin toward the ridge, sharpening stones with makeshift axes. Lira, after a lingering glare, followed Raif north, toward the rainleaf trees.
The sun didn't quite make an appearance. The canopy filtered everything, casting the world in diffused brightness, like watching through a fogged window. The air remained damp, heavy, and thick, with steam rising from the wet bark.
Raif kept the blueprint in view, hovering it near the clearing's edge. It was a strange comfort, knowing that structure, that purpose, was within his reach.
"You still don't believe me," he said as he hacked away at a tree's outer husks.
"I believe you believe it," Lira replied. "That's enough for now."
They stripped six usable lengths of bark, dragging them back without another word.
By midday, the clearing was bustling. Thomund had returned twice, his arms full of root bundles and wide-leaf ferns. He worked with focus, choosing only what felt right, what was needed. Naera, too, worked with an eerie efficiency. She moved in a kind of rhythm, precise, methodical, unflinching. Her eyes never betrayed her thoughts, but her movements told Raif everything he needed to know.
Eloin had begun laying out the base of the shelter. His hands moved with the kind of care that came from years of practice, measuring each stick, driving stakes into the ground with calculated precision.
Raif moved around, not directing, but adapting. Watching. He fetched extra branches. Offered water when Naera began shaking from exhaustion. When Goss balked at lifting another bundle of bark, Raif didn't argue. He just gave him a new task, watching the treeline and sharpening sticks.
"You sure you trust me with the pointy bits?" Goss asked, grinning.
Raif gave him a tired smile. "Better you have them than none of us."
Goss chuckled, then fell silent.
As dusk approached, Naera began weaving. She'd gathered strips of bark so narrow they could've been mistaken for thread. Eloin crouched beside her, watching in awe.
"She's braiding tension into the fibers," he said. "That's not just practical. That's... art."
Raif knelt beside them. "How do you know how to do this?"
Naera blinked. "I don't. I just... do."
The system chimed again:
Skill Recognition Triggered – [Weaver] Prototype Detected
Specialization Progress: 5%
+2 KE
Raif's heart skipped a beat. "You've got a skill. Something real."
Naera didn't smile. But her expression softened ever so slightly.
The sleeping shelter was complete before nightfall. It wasn't beautiful. But it stood. It was dry. It had walls, a roof. A semblance of shelter.
As Raif set the last support in place, the orb pulsed again.
Structure Complete: Sleeping Shelter
+5 KE
Blueprint Progress: Unlocked
New Challenge: Resource Storage
Raif sat back, breathless. Not from exhaustion.
From relief.
His kingdom had its first building.
And no one had died.
Yet.