Chapter 5: Magical Bonfire, Limitless Construction

He crouched inside the cave to shelter from the intensifying cold wind, waiting patiently. Outside, the wind grew fiercer, and the temperature plummeted. The howling gale gradually began to sound like the wailing of ghosts, making his scalp tingle. In his previous life, he had been afraid of the dark, and now, he had been transmigrated into a world of eternal night—it was simply absurd. It had been tolerable when Zong Ni was there to keep him company, but now, alone, he felt both lonely and terrified.

"If I get the chance, I must find a trustworthy partner. Being alone in the darkness is too frightening." Especially since gathering resources created noise; having someone to keep watch would make things much safer. As he waited, his heart hammered against his ribs. This wasn't just him psyching himself out; this world was genuinely home to monsters.

Finally, a minute passed. The workbench was crafted and appeared in the empty slot of his spatial backpack.

"How do I use it?" Liu Hen tried to select it with his mind. Suddenly, a massive holographic image of a workbench appeared in his field of vision. Perhaps because the open space was too small, it couldn't be placed, and the projection remained red.

"Why does this feel like a survival-crafting game?" The thought crossed his mind. He stepped out of the cave, searching for a suitable spot to place the workbench. Soon, he found a flat area near the small cave; the red projection instantly turned green, indicating it could be placed.

As he confirmed the placement—"Snap!" A machine-like object, two meters long and one meter wide and high, appeared. Its surface was covered in numerous gears. Simultaneously, data appeared above this massive machine:

【Creation Workbench Lv.1: Upgrade Requirements (200 pieces of iron ore, 2 magic crystals); upgrading unlocks more recipes.】

Beneath this data were two options: 【Dismantle】 and 【Craft】. 【Dismantle】 likely meant returning it to his spatial backpack. As for crafting—Liu Hen immediately selected that option. A menu popped up containing only one recipe: 【Campfire】.

"A campfire?" He felt a surge of excitement. "Could it be like the campfires in games? The kind you can cook with?" Although he had no food, he did have ice. Could this campfire melt ice into hot water? At a moment like this, even a cup of hot water would be significant, potentially extending his survival time.

Thinking of this, he quickly clicked on the campfire recipe, only to see that crafting it required one hundred logs and one magic crystal. "It really does need a magic crystal. Good thing I held onto one." But... wood?

Liu Hen quickly scanned his surroundings and spotted a low, twisted tree a few meters away. He grabbed his All-Purpose Pickaxe, walked over, and swung the axe-blade end against the trunk.

"Bang!"

With one strike, fine cracks appeared on the surface of the trunk, and simultaneously—

【Wood +3】

"The speed is about the same as gathering stone; it shouldn't take long." He swung the pickaxe rapidly while keeping a wary eye on the darkening surroundings.

【Wood +3】
【Spatial backpack full】
【Wood +3】
...

Liu Hen had an idea. He dumped all the waste stone he had gathered earlier, freeing up a backpack slot, and continued gathering. After all, anything he threw away could be picked up later; it wouldn't disappear.

【Tree Bark +3】

"Tree bark?" He took one out to look; it was hard as rock and completely inedible—even the Wildfolk couldn't digest it. Helpless, he continued gathering. Finally, after more than half a minute, when the surface of the twisted tree was covered in dense cracks, he had enough wood. He returned to the workbench and selected the option to craft the campfire.

One hundred logs and one magic crystal were consumed; he now had only two magic crystals left. As the crafting began, all the gears on the workbench started to rotate slowly. The countdown was set to one minute. Perhaps because everything was digitized, he couldn't see the campfire actually being made—the process was hidden.

Liu Hen didn't just wait; he returned to the twisted tree and continued to gather with his pickaxe.

【Wood +3】
【Wood +3】
...

After another half-minute, when he had gathered another hundred logs, the twisted tree suddenly "popped" and disintegrated into dust that scattered on the ground, leaving a large crater. The entire tree had been stripped clean; not even the roots remained. However, given the amount of dust that had fallen, there were clearly many materials left uncollected—his pickaxe was simply too low-level.

Liu Hen looked around, and seeing no more trees, he returned to the workbench to wait.

"Woooo..."

The wind howled louder, sounding like ghost cries that made his skin crawl. The light had faded completely, leaving visibility at only about ten meters—the standard for deep night. Finally, the campfire was finished, and the gears on the workbench stopped spinning. He hurriedly clicked to collect it.

【Spatial backpack full】

The message flashed in his mind. He frowned, dumped the tree bark to free up a slot, and collected the campfire.

Before he could examine it, a chilling sensation, as tangible as ice, washed over him. The visibility, already low, plunged rapidly until he couldn't see his own hand in front of his face.

"What's going on?" Liu Hen felt a shiver. He hurriedly moved toward the cave, navigating by memory through the pitch-black darkness. Thankfully, he hadn't wandered far, and he soon reached the cave, which was barely two meters deep.

With a thought, he summoned the campfire. A green, placeable holographic image appeared in his vision. It was like a holographic projection, but it didn't illuminate the surroundings. It was clear this was not a light source and was likely only visible to him. Without hesitation, he placed it.

"Snap!"

It was placed successfully. The next moment, everything went black again; he couldn't see the campfire because it was now pitch black even outside the cave. But it didn't matter, as he could see the data hovering above the fire.

【Campfire Lv.1: A campfire with cooking, lighting, heating, and evil-warding properties. The campfire itself does not consume, but requires fuel to maintain combustion. The light of the campfire can repel monsters in the darkness; Upgrade Requirements (200 logs, 2 magic crystals). The higher the level, the larger the repelling range; current radius is one meter.】

Beneath the data were four options: 【Ignite】, 【Dismantle】, 【Cooking】, and 【Fuel Storage】. Liu Hen immediately selected Ignite, but nothing happened. He quickly opened the fuel storage and found it empty. On the left side of the interface, he saw what could be used as fuel: wood.

Without hesitation, he placed one log inside and saw the burn time update to ten minutes. "One log burns for ten minutes?" He added eighty more logs, extending the duration to eight hundred minutes.

Suddenly, something in the darkness brushed against his calf—it felt like a small, cold hand. His hair stood on end. With a reflex born of terror, he slammed the interface shut and selected 【Ignite】.

"Whoosh!"

Flames erupted from thin air, leaping over a meter high. The light instantly dispelled the oppressive darkness, illuminating the entire cave.

"Aaaah!!"

A shrill, piercing scream rang out. Right next to the campfire, a monster resembling a twisted infant flickered for a split second before vanishing into the darkness outside.

"Holy crap!!"

Liu Hen jumped up, grabbing his pickaxe in one hand and a thick, arm-length piece of wood in the other, staring fixedly at the cave entrance.

"What was that?" He trembled. That monster had almost touched his heel. The darkness was truly terrifying. How long had he been transmigrated? He had already faced several life-or-death crises. How did other Wildfolk survive?

Then again, he realized the original owner of this body usually found closed spaces like abandoned mines or caves to sleep in before the "shallow night" ended, never venturing out during the deep night. That was how they had avoided danger time and again. Because he had been so eager to upgrade his cheat and find food, he had neglected this rule.

Seeing no further movement outside, Liu Hen exhaled, his gaze shifting to the data above the roaring fire. "Evil-warding and it repels monsters... so this feature is active?" He felt a surge of relief; if he hadn't lit the fire when he did, he might have been finished.

As the fire burned, the chill in the cave was quickly driven away, replaced by a welcoming warmth. Standing near the fire, Liu Hen even felt a warmth in his heart—likely a side effect of the "evil-warding" property. The campfire was magical; the fuel seemed to burn perfectly, producing no smoke, and he wasn't even sure if it required oxygen. He didn't smell any woodsmoke or odors—it was very strange. But the flames were undeniably real.

"What now? Am I staying here for the night?" The cave was too small and shallow to block the wind. He could keep digging deeper—with the pickaxe's properties, that would be easy—but the entrance remained open and exposed. The fire could repel monsters, but not normal creatures like Wildfolk, other beasts, or even "madfolk," who should be able to approach the fire.

"If only I could move the workbench to block the entrance," he thought. But he glanced at the darkness outside. He didn't know if that monster was gone. It was better to be cautious.

"Wait, I have a free-build function, don't I? I can build a wall to block the wind and provide defense!" Liu Hen suddenly remembered the free-build function unlocked when his All-Purpose Pickaxe reached Black Iron grade. He prepared to activate it.

【No construction materials available; cannot activate this function.】

"Construction materials? Would waste stone work?" He hurried to the back of the cave and began hacking at the stone wall with his pickaxe.

【Waste Stone +3】
【Waste Stone +3】
...

Piece by piece, the stone was gathered. The cave wall receded as debris fell away. In less than a minute, he had collected one hundred stones—the maximum capacity for a single backpack slot. Without wasting time, he rushed to the entrance and reopened the free-build function. This time, it activated successfully.

White glowing areas appeared in his vision. When he selected the waste stone, a blocky, holographic image of the stone appeared. It could be moved freely; it turned red when floating, meaning it couldn't be placed, but turned green as soon as it touched the ground. This was true free-building—he could place things anywhere near him.

"Snap!" Just like the workbench and the campfire, the stone was placed on the ground, instantly merging with the earth as if it had always belonged there. Liu Hen tried to pry it loose, but it wouldn't budge; it had completely fused with the ground.