Chapter 1.03
1.03
Desperate for food and water, Erin Solstice cleans the inn and discovers a new skill. After finding a stream, she is attacked by a large fish, which she manages to kill, but then severely injures her hand while trying to prepare it.
Summary
Waking up sore from her previous encounters, Erin Solstice began her day with the primary goal of securing food and water. She first traveled to the Blue Fruit Orchard to gather more fruit, contemplating the nearby presence of Goblins and the potential dangers they posed. Upon returning to The Wandering Inn, she decided to clean the filthy common room to make it more habitable.
As she worked, Erin was shocked to find herself cleaning the entire floor with supernatural speed and efficiency. A notification in her mind revealed she had acquired the [Basic Cleaning] skill, confirming her suspicion that leveling up in this world granted tangible abilities. Her satisfaction was short-lived, however, as severe dehydration set in, forcing her to abandon her work in a desperate, delirious search for a water source.
Erin eventually stumbled upon a Stream and drank from it greedily, which resulted in painful stomach cramps. While recovering and bathing in the water, she was suddenly attacked by a large, aggressive Four-Eyed Stream Fish with sharp teeth. Erin dodged the creature's lunge, causing it to fly past her and beach itself on the grassy bank. Unable to return to the water, the fish eventually suffocated and died.
Struggling under the weight of her unexpected catch, Erin managed to haul the massive fish back to the inn's kitchen. Eager for a proper meal, she attempted to gut it using a Goblin Knife. The knife slipped, and she inflicted a deep, agonizing gash across her left palm. The chapter ends with Erin enduring hours of excruciating pain from the wound, using her knowledge of chess as a mental mantra to cope through the long night.
Major Events
Erin Discovers the [Basic Cleaning] Skill
While cleaning the common room of The Wandering Inn, Erin Solstice realizes she is working with supernatural speed. She receives a mental notification, discovering she has gained the [Basic Cleaning] skill.
Attacked by a Four-Eyed Stream Fish
After finding a stream to quench her severe dehydration, Erin is attacked by a large, vicious Four-Eyed Stream Fish while bathing.
The Fish Beaches Itself
Erin dodges the fish's attack, causing it to launch out of the water and land on the grassy bank. Trapped on land, the fish suffocates and dies, providing Erin with a large source of food.
Erin Severely Injures Her Hand
While attempting to gut the fish with a Goblin Knife in the inn's kitchen, the knife slips, and Erin inflicts a deep, painful gash on her left palm.
Major Appearances
A cold, deep, and fast-flowing stream located near The Wandering Inn.
A large, aggressive, four-eyed fish found in the stream near The Wandering Inn.
aka mutant fish with teeth, the fish
A young woman from Earth who stumbles into a fantasy world and takes refuge in an abandoned inn.
aka Erin, the young woman +31
Small inn where Erin is present; currently occupied by her. Noted by the Watch as having been abandoned years ago but Erin is using it; the Drake and Klbkch enter here to investigate.
aka the inn, Abandoned hilltop inn +13
Minor Appearances
An entry-level culinary Skill improving preparation of simple meals.
aka [Basic Cooking]
A knife Erin took from a Goblin in a previous encounter.
aka the knife
Small green humanoids with red eyes and sharp teeth that chased and slashed at Erin.
aka Goblins, little green things +5
A veritable orchard of strange, spindly trees that produce blue, juicy fruits.
aka the fruit trees
A foundational Skill that enhances a user’s ability to clean surfaces and spaces efficiently.
aka [Basic Cleaning]
Entities by Type
Quotes
“When you level in dreams, you level in real life?”
“Weird.”
“Barely. They’re not that dangerous. They’re like kids. And I can beat up tons of kids even with knives. If I’m careful.”
“Sort of clean. You couldn’t eat your dinner off it, I guess. But that’s why we have plates.”
“Feel sick.”
“Hm. So, [Basic Cleaning] was really a skill after all?”
“Or not. Knock on wood.”
“Right. Lunch.”
“Oh. Oh god. Why—why is that yellow? What is that?”
“Ahh. Ah.”
“Pawn to E5. Pawn to F4. Pawn captures F4—King’s Gambit Accepted. Bishop to C4, queen to H4. Check. Bishop’s Gambit. King to F1, pawn to B5. Bryan Counter-gambit. Bishop captures B5, knight moves to F6. Knight moves to F3…”
“Huh.”
“Stupid Goblins.”
“Unless they stab me in my sleep. Or there are lots of them. I’m probably safe if I make sure they can’t get in without me hearing it. I should block every way in but have, like, an escape window.”
“The floor is clean. I am not.”
“The stream!”
“…Huzzah. What a great skill! I mean, I might have to fight off giant crabs and Goblins, but at least I’ll be able to clean the floor while they eat me! I wouldn’t want to leave a mess.”
“Right, food.”
“Dusty. This is stupid.”
“There’s the rock-crab-thing. Does it eat Goblins?”
“Right. Knife cuts.”
“Dustrag. Let’s do this.”
“They were eating the blue fruits. So they live nearby. Wonderful. I’m going to run into them again. Which means I need a weapon. Great.”
“Time to find some. Or I’ll die. Whichever comes first.”
“It was there. So if I’m here…there?”
“And if I follow the stream long enough, do I get to an ocean? Or just a lake?”
“Hah! Take that!”
“Just in case. I should also get a bow and arrow or something, right? Too bad I have no idea how to shoot anything. Or have any idea how to carve a bow. You carve bows, right?”
“Goblins.”
“Pheh! Dusty.”
“It’s really hot.”
“Water!”
“Then I’d be eaten by something else. Underwater Goblins, probably.”
“Four minutes. Four minutes is a long time not to be breathing, right? Okay—”
“Discovery three: fish stink.”
“Alright. Can’t go around it. Gotta go under it. Goodbye head, look out belly, here comes the knifey.”
“Oh. Of course.”
“Um. Is it three bars of iron and two sticks to make a pickaxe? Or can I make a wood sword by punching trees? Why couldn’t this be Minecraft instead?”
“Seriously. Goblins.”
“Uh. What happened to the dust?”
“Water. Water is water. Because water. Where’s the water?”
“It—it hurts. It really hurts…”
“Monsters, monsters all around. And not one of them looks edible. But at least there’s blue fruit that smells like cleaning fluid. And at least there’s a dusty old inn. And at least I have four levels in innkeeping. Huzzah for me.”
“Aaaaaah!”
“[Basic Cooking]! Give me—baked fish!”
“Come on. Cut. Cut!”
“I get it. It’s a bad day, right?”
“Firewood. If I could cut the wood away, that is.”
“…With shark teeth. That’s messed up.”
“Was that me?”
“I could drink a Gatorade. Or a Pepsi. I like Coke too, though. What about Pepsi and Coke and Gatorade? Gatorpepcoke? Pegatoroke?”
“…Bath time.”
“A really frickin’ cold bath.”
“Is that thing made of rocks?”
“Huh. I guess [Basic Cooking] doesn’t work on fish.”
“…Huh?”
“Still hurts.”
“…Nope. But wait a second. What about fallen branches? Or—”
“But I won.”
“I wasn’t even dusting for more than—an hour? Two? And it’s all clean.”
“Cogapeptorade?”
“B-being numb would be better than being really cold.”
“Maybe today won’t be so bad after all.”
“Ew. Mutant fish with teeth.”
“Ew. Ew. Ew.”
“…Ow.”
“Pawn…pawn to E4.”
“Right. I need a drink.”
“Where—where was it?”
“Gah! Cold!”
“Fish. Fish with huge teeth. I hate this world so much.”
“Discovery one: fish are heavy.”
“Okay, okay. Let’s just…get rid of the bones? And the—the squishy stuff.”
“It hurts.”
“W—wh—”
“…Sushi?”
“There is no way I’m eating that. Cooked or raw. Actually, there’s no way I’m eating any of this without a frying pan.”
“Bandage.”
“And hey, I need food. So it's time to chop stuff up.”
“Discovery two: kitchens have knives.”
“Come on. Get out of there.”
“Screaming is bad. Quiet.”