Ultimate Gamer System: Factory Must Grow!

Chapter 15 It all starts with getting to the surface

"I didn't really take them for much before, but now..."

Finally, after several hours of preparation, Theo started to progress along with the main task. Even if only in a way as simple as digging up, to the surface.

Right now, Theo had several tasks in mind, all of which - however - started with him returning to the surface.

First was the most obvious one that Theo had missed before.

'If I can dig so easily... why not just dig my way back, over the gate?'

Taking a short break from the digging, Theo sat down on the highest step of his upward mine staircase before reaching with his hand for his necklace.

While extremely faint, he could now sense some sort of...

The young man gritted his teeth.

'It's really hard to put into words, how it feels,' he thought, clasping his hand on the crude artifacts over the cloth of his simple shirt. 'But there's certainly something weird about it.'

Theo sighed.

"If not, why would it be the only thing besides clothing that I would be wearing?"

Theo shook his head before standing up and fixing his grip on the pickaxe, all to then slam its blade down on the face of the nearby stone.

[Mining: 22%]

[Mining: 44%]

...

...

...

[Mining: 88%]

[Mining: Completed]

[Obtained: Stone Block x1]

By now, Theo had long since adjusted the last notification to auto-close, a convenient detail added by whoever the hell created his whole system.

The important part, however, was how it took Theo two swings less to complete the mining process!

With the level of his main subroutine rising, his abilities also grew by a certain, relatively small margin. But once Theo extrapolated those small margins over the size of his designs, those small differences would quickly add up.

But that wasn't the only boon from his recent advancements.

While far less noticeable than the literal progress bar, his swing now... became somewhat easier.

Theo didn't need anywhere as much strength to swing the tool, allowing him to better control the inevitable rebound of striking it against the stone's surface. And while still a far cry from the 40% promised by the system, Theo didn't dare to complain.

Not when the reduced delay between the progress tick translated directly to the ease of using the tool. A change that further reflected Theo's hunger, nearly eliminating the added cost of calories of hard, manual labor.

With all of those changes and a slight boost from his newly obtained zone ability, Theo managed to build a staircase out from the bottom of his base all the way to the surface in just a few minutes.

[Gathered: 2 sticks, 1 foliage, 1 berry]

[Gathering: 17%] > [Gathering: Completed]

[Gathered: 1 sticks, 4 foliage, 3 berries]

[Gathering: 17%] > [Gathering: Completed]

[Gathered: 4 sticks, 2 berries]

'That settles this area...' Theo thought after taking a look around, only to confirm he harvested all the bushes within his range.

Normally, that's where Theo would give up. But with just a few steps further into the forest, he could gain access to like ten more of those!

And now that he could quickly build an escape path and had no plans to move further away than just a single step from his hiding hole...

'No, man, what's the point of greeding after those bushes if I can't even tell if those berries are worth anything at all?'

Squinting his eyes, Theo gave up on his excursion attempt and slid right back down into his hole. A moment later, he reached out with his hand palm up, only to summon the first of the few berries he had gathered.

'Wait, woah!'

Expecting a small cluster of even smaller fruits, Theo nearly dropped the huge, apple-sized, violet berry that appeared in his hand instead.

'Wait, if this is any good for its size...'

Theo gulped his saliva down, only now realizing just how much his stomach lusted after this full, juicy fruit.

'Well, you only live once, huh?' Theo thought, smirking at the hypocrisy it took for a reincarnator like him to think that, before bringing the fruit over to his mouth and taking a greedy bite.

The sweet, slightly acidic juice exploded in his mouth, filling every nook and cranny with its refreshing, soda-like taste.

'If I could bring it back to earth and carbonate just this juice...'

For a second, with his brain struggling to comprehend this level of tastiness, Theo nearly moved back to earth, with nothing but a dream and miraculous berry the taste of which he would use to take over the whole soda industry on the planet!

Then, he realized the bitter truth.

This full bite, for how juicy and tasty it was, regenerated a noticeable part of Theo's thirst, washing off his parched mouth... But hardly contributed to his hunger meter at all.

'So it's like... watermelon?' Theo thought, attempting to example the remaining party of the berry... Only to realize it pretty much vanished from his hand, leaving nothing but its outer layer behind, with all the mist just... vaporizing away into the air.

'So that's why it was so big, huh?' Theo thought, staring with grief at the empty shell of the fruit. 'One has to hurry the hell up while eating it, I guess.'

Still, this one simple test confirmed one thing.

While not exactly optimal, those berries could be a source of sustenance. And while risky to gather... Just a few of them would buy him at least a few more hours!

'And that means...' Theo's eyes turned over to the next gathering of the bushes, just a few steps away.

The taste of the fruit still lingered on his lips...

Yet, just as he grabbed the edges of his hiding hole, ready to venture out, the most crucial notification out of Theo's whole system flashed as its content changed.

[Threat level: light]