Night had fallen.
A deep weariness filled Wen Zhi’s heart, but unfortunately, he still couldn’t sleep.
Although resurrection restored his body’s Stamina, it couldn’t ease his mental exhaustion or heal the cracks in his mind.
Still, Wen Zhi forced himself to stay alert and get his mindset in order.
After that, he returned to the place where the Campfire had been, Diary in hand.
He planned to make another light source.
The faint glow given off by the Ghost just didn’t make him feel safe.
Wen Zhi didn’t think this eerie Night would let them off so easily.
Maybe the Darkness less than half a meter away would break through that thin layer of white light at any moment, in a way they couldn’t imagine.
He had to do something before that happened.
Relying on his memory, Wen Zhi quickly found the remains of the Campfire.
Under the Ghost’s faint light, the pile had lost all its light and heat to the Shadow, without even a trace of warmth left.
Only ashes and a few unburned pieces of charred wood remained.
The tools he’d used to start a fire by friction had also been violently broken beside the remains.
It was just as he’d expected.
Fortunately, Wen Zhi hadn’t counted on finding any embers in the Campfire, nor was he planning to start a fire by hand again.
He’d only come for the leftover firewood piled beside it.
Not long ago, just after Wen Zhi had successfully started a fire by friction, the Diary had unlocked recipes for other light sources.
One of them was a light source called “Campfire.”
Its materials were simple, and it could be crafted without any conditions.
[Campfire: Dispel darkness, cook food] [Required materials: Flammable material ×4]
As Wen Zhi reopened the Diary, the familiar Crafting Menu appeared before him again.
The icon for “Campfire” was highlighted, which meant the leftover firewood was enough to craft one.
Just as Wen Zhi was about to tap the craft button, he realized there was a problem.
…Where would the Campfire appear once it was crafted?
The rope and Coconut Garment he’d crafted with the Diary had appeared directly in his hands, but there was no way something like a Campfire belonged in his hands!
Was he supposed to cosplay as the Fire Punch guy?
Fortunately, the Diary was designed with some consideration, if it even had a designer.
When Wen Zhi closed his eyes and tapped craft, a lump of blazing-hot coals didn’t appear in his hand.
As “-30” appeared beside the Stamina icon, Wen Zhi felt his Stamina drain once again.
More than half the firewood at his feet vanished into thin air, and the button beneath the Campfire icon in the Crafting Menu changed from “Can Craft” to “Can Place.”
After that, Wen Zhi realized he could use his mind alone to choose where to place the Campfire, just as he’d done when moving the attribute icons earlier.
…Could he place it wherever he wanted?
Wen Zhi had a bold idea.
Could he cosplay as a fire mage, prepare a Campfire in advance, and then throw the lump of charcoal at an opponent’s head during a fight?
Budget Fireball Spell.jpg
Unfortunately, there was nothing around for Wen Zhi to test this idea on.
He could only give up, place the Campfire beside the old one, and watch as Fire once again rose into the Night, giving off light and heat and driving the Darkness back ten meters.
After making the Campfire, Wen Zhi noticed that the Experience Bar had reached 70/80.
It was almost full again.
He didn’t know what would happen when it filled this time, or whether the change would be good or bad, but he didn’t have much choice.
The Campfire he’d just lit clearly wouldn’t last through the whole Night, so he needed tools to chop down the surrounding trees and gather firewood.
The stone tools in the Crafting Menu would do the job.
[Ordinary Stone Axe: Chop down trees, but it isn’t very durable] [Required materials: Rope (any) ×1, Sturdy branch ×1, Stone (any) ×1] [Required conditions: A light source related to Fire]
[Stone Wedge: Split wood and make durable stone tools] [Required materials: Stone (any) ×1]
Wen Zhi quickly gathered enough materials and crafted a Stone Axe and a Stone Wedge in front of the Campfire.
At the same time, the Experience Bar passed 80 and extended once again.
The sprout pattern at its base had climbed to nearly halfway along the bar.
The Ghost changed at the same time.
With nothing else to do, the Ghost had been watching Wen Zhi bustle around and conjure various objects in his hands.
Every time it saw Wen Zhi make something appear, the Ghost tried to figure out how he did it.
After watching several times, it was almost certain that the Diary had something to do with it.
The Ghost also had a vague feeling that it had remembered something.
But before it could grasp the fleeting fragment of memory, it suddenly felt something flow from Wen Zhi into its body again.
This time, there was much more than before.
An indescribable sense of fullness filled the Ghost once more…
It felt its body stretch farther into the physical world, expanding and growing more solid.
It also vaguely sensed that it had gained some new abilities.
The changes soon ended.
The Ghost, which had once been palm-sized, was now about the size of a five-year-old child.
Its appearance had become more distinct.
If the Ghost had once looked like a simple 2D children’s cartoon, it now looked like a 3D cartoon.
It had successfully left its paper-cutout phase.
Congratulations were in order.
Most importantly, the Ghost realized it had grown fingers!
It looked at its hand with curiosity and joy, now that it had five fingers again.
Wen Zhi, who’d been watching nearby, came closer with an impressed look.
The last time the Experience Bar filled, the Ghost had appeared.
This time, it had changed even further.
Wen Zhi could now be sure that the Experience Bar was mainly related to the Ghost.
He was curious about what it would become if he kept filling it.
Would it come back to life?
Or undergo some ultimate evolution into something else…
Wen Zhi let those questions wander through his mind, but for now, they had no answers.
He could only take things one step at a time.
When the Ghost saw Wen Zhi approach, it made a (◦˙▽˙◦) face.
It had more or less figured out what its new ability was, and it couldn’t wait to show Wen Zhi.
The Ghost held out its hand to Wen Zhi.
Its small, pale palm opened, asking for the Stone Axe in his hand.
Wen Zhi guessed what the Ghost was after.
It hadn’t seemed able to touch anything besides him before, so there was only one reason it would ask him for the axe now.
But the kid wanted to show off so badly…
Wen Zhi could only play along.
So, as Wen Zhi put on an extremely cooperative expression of surprise and shock, the Ghost successfully took the axe from his hand and held it high with pride.
This was the first ability the change had given the Ghost: it could briefly Materialize and touch things other than Wen Zhi.
Unfortunately, it hadn’t been able to show off for long before the Stone Axe slipped from its hands and fell to the ground.
“ClinkÕ_Õ…”
The Ghost looked at Wen Zhi, a little embarrassed.
Wen Zhi gave it a regretful look, then picked the Stone Axe back up.
He’d thought the Ghost could help him chop trees…
It didn’t look like that was going to work.
After observing it and confirming that the Ghost hadn’t suffered any negative effects, Wen Zhi stopped fooling around with it and went to chop down the trees within the Campfire’s light that were no thicker than his arm.
The Ghost didn’t bother Wen Zhi again.
It went to figure out the other ability it had just gained.
Enter Dream.
That was the Ghost’s other new ability.
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