Countless hours passed as I dragged myself through the rocky dirt towards my destination which was far to the west. Over and over the cane’s tip dug into the earth, over and over did I use it to pull myself across the ground. Once or twice some sharp, protruding rock managed to jab into the delicate red flesh under my chest, causing a spike of indescribable pain to shoot through me. It was all I could do not to screech out in agony, filling the silent, desolate area with my inhuman wail. Sadly, such instances could not be helped, and so I grit my teeth and continued onwards, seeking safety in that distant mountain range.

  Some time into my journey, the sun began to rise. I looked back in awe at the red filling the once black sky, the bright orb of fire just cresting the horizon to the east. It was strange. I knew what a sunrise was, but I had no memory of one at all. For all intents and purposes, this would be my first sunrise. I felt my lips twitch upwards into a small smile as I beheld the beautiful reds, oranges, and purples the sky had transformed into as the sun began its slow ascent.

  Then I heard growling. I shot my attention towards a nearby rise of earth and saw another dog-rat. It was even mangier and thinner than the first monster that had attacked me and its hungry yellow eyes were focused intently in my direction. It snarled, foamy drool dripping from sharp, yellowed teeth, then shot forwards in a run towards me.

  The fight was much quicker and far less brutal than my earlier interaction with one of these beasts. As soon as the monster was within reach of my cane, I bashed it across the skull with the tool, briefly stunning it. I then lunged forwards, employing the same tactic I had with the original beast, and clamped my jaws around its neck. I bit hard, sharp teeth sinking into its filthy flesh, until black blood erupted from the wound I had inflicted.

  The monster died even quicker than the first. I spat out several times, trying to rid my mouth of the foul taste of its rancid blood. I was only marginally successful.

  Strange. I did not increase in levels this time. Was it because this beast was weaker than the one I had defeated previously? Or did the amount of kills I needed to level up increase with each level? More questions with ever elusive answers.

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  I was about to move on and continue my trek westward when I took a second glance at the dead monster. The beast was thin as reeds, its body all but skin and bones, but its pelt seemed serviceable. Perhaps I could use it to build something that would aid me in my travels? Something that would make this trip much easier, maybe?

  Would Assembly even work with corpses? Its description in the blue box said that it would use materials around me in my creations, and what was a dead animal but more resources for mankind to use?

  I focused on the dead form of the dog beast and pictured in my mind what I wanted. I silently wondered if perhaps I needed to break apart the monster’s body first, but soon my silent question was answered as the flesh of the dead beast tore itself and the meat and bone and gristle began to separate themselves from each other. It was quite a gruesome sight to see a dead animal breaking apart into pieces by itself. Thankfully, it seemed that whoever I had been in the past was not the squeamish sort so I wasn’t too bothered by the blood and viscera.

  Several bones from the beast, mostly from its legs, jointed together and became bound by tendons and ligaments to form a small, rectangular frame. Upon this the skin draped itself around, its ends twisting to wrap themselves around the bone. More ligaments wiggled over, tearing themselves into smaller pieces before piercing the skin, becoming a sort of meaty thread as it used itself to fasten the pelt onto the bone frame. Eventually, the construction finished building itself and I looked upon the makeshift build with equal parts amazement, pride, and disbelief.

  Assembly had turned a dog-rat monster into a rickety-looking sled. What should have taken hours of work and many tools had been magicked together in just a few minutes. I couldn’t help but be impressed.

  I slowly maneuvered my mangled form on top of the new contraption, seating myself onto the hide stretched across the center of the bone frame. Once situated, I dug the tip of my cane into the ground and pulled. The sled’s runners, made from leg bones tied together with viscera, managed to slide easily across the rocky earth.

  Excellent. Pleased with myself, I began my trek anew, this time atop my makeshift sled. It was still slow-going, but the trip was much easier than simply dragging my broken carcass across the dirt. A large benefit to riding the sled was that my sensitive red flesh was kept away from the ground and the sharp rocks that may irritate it.

  I continued on, my spirits risen.