"Haah!"
I kept chopping down the trees around me. My exhaustion was piling up, but honestly, I liked this whole tree-cutting thing. With every strike of the axe sinking into the wood, I could feel my anger fading. Nature-killer therapy… exactly what I needed.
After a while, I trimmed the branches off the logs I had cut and turned them into clean, straight pieces of wood.
Why am I chopping trees?
I need a house.
Having a place of my own would be nice.
I wiped the sweat off my forehead and chose where I'd build it—close to the river, but not too close.
"Wood's done. Now I need to gather some stone."
Collecting stones from the area wasn't difficult. I grabbed my axe again and carved out the corners of the spot I had chosen, digging into the dirt so the logs would fit properly. An axe was surprisingly useful for all this. Once the holes were deep enough, I placed the logs vertically.
To make sure the roof would be stable, I didn't build a perfect square—more like a rectangle, so the logs would be long enough to stack properly on the walls. Then I cleared the grass inside the rectangle and replaced it with the stones I gathered.
"Hmm…"
I put my hand on my chin and started thinking.
How should I build the walls? Place the logs vertically like pillars? Or horizontally?
Honestly, digging into the dirt for every single log was already a pain. But if I placed them horizontally, they might not stand properly.
I took one long log and placed it horizontally in the middle section of the wall, with digging the ground underneath of it course. Then I stacked other logs horizontally between the pillars. Thanks to all the regular training I did, it wasn't too hard physically. I repeated the same for the remaining sides. And I made sure to leave an opening for the door—though I'd have to block it with a log for now since I didn't have any hinges.
"Floor and roof left…"
I took the remaining logs, cut them lengthwise, and placed the flat side facing upward on the stone-covered floor. As for the roof, I used the other halves and laid them across the tops of the walls. After some final adjustments, I dusted off my hands and examined the house.
"It'll do for now. …I have a place that belongs to me."
I stepped outside and checked the exterior as well—nothing seemed wrong. The orange glow of the sunset was hitting the wall of my new home.
"Day One beginner survival house."
After that, I chopped a few more trees and made myself a hard wooden bed so I wouldn't have to sleep on the ground. I also built a table and chair to eat on. It was getting dark. I collected some Valberries from the nearby trees so I wouldn't go hungry. I was curious about their taste. I placed them on the table and took a bite.
"Tastes like mango."
I like mango.
I ate a few more to fill myself. After some time, the inside of the house became too dark. I walked toward the bed and—
…my vision faded.