Sam trudged along the treeline, eyes scanning for signs of movement. So far, luck had been on her side. A small group of Triceratops had been grazing lazily nearby—neutral creatures unless provoked. She remembered their behavior well from her thousands of hours in Ark. With that in mind, Sam decided to make her temporary camp near them. If a predator decided to show up, maybe they'd end up tangling with the horned dinosaurs instead of her.
She had managed to gather enough supplies to build a crude campfire. The process had come to her instinctively, just like the crafting of the pickaxe. As soon as she'd thought about what she needed—stone, thatch, and wood—the implant in her arm seemed to react.
After cobbling the fire together and sparking it to life, she retrieved the lifeless body of a dodo she had managed to kill earlier with her stone pickaxe. The moment she touched the body with the tool, it broke apart into raw meat and hide, just like in the game. Sam had expected it—more or less—but it was still unsettling to watch biology reduced to game logic in a world that felt undeniably real.
She speared the meat on a sharpened stick and propped it near the fire. The smell of roasting flesh made her stomach growl, and the crackle of the flames added a fragile sense of comfort. She sat down cross-legged, watching the flames dance while keeping one eye on the forest.
That's when she noticed them: glowing eyes reflecting the firelight from the darkness beyond the tree line.
Her blood ran cold.
Troodons.
Tiny, vicious, and absolute nightmares at night. She didn't dare provoke them. The last thing she needed was to be paralysed and torn apart.
Sam grabbed her newly crafted spears—simple but deadly. The crafting knowledge had surged into her mind alongside the ability to build a hatchet and the campfire itself. She had made a few spears in preparation—both for melee defense and for throwing.
She didn't feel sleepy at all. Whether it was adrenaline or just a quirk of this place, she couldn't tell. Maybe, like the game, sleep wasn't necessary unless it was enforced by mechanics. Whatever the case, she used the time to prepare.
The night was calm for the most part. That was, until a shriek shattered the stillness.
An Ichthyornis—a bird she recognized instantly—swooped from the darkness and made a beeline for her freshly cooked dodo meat.
"Of course," she growled.
It snatched a piece and tried to take off, but Sam reacted. With a practiced arm, she hurled a spear, striking the bird mid-air. It dropped with a thud, twitching before going still.
She retrieved the body and harvested it the same way as the dodo. The spoils were modest, but every bit counted.
As the firelight flickered against the towering shapes of the distant Trikes, Sam allowed herself a moment to breathe. The dinosaurs didn't pay her much mind, grazing with slow, rhythmic movements. Their presence gave her a strange sense of security. Even in this deadly world, there were pieces of calm.
Dawn came with a gradual lightening of the sky. The glow revealed the beach, the trees, and the clear, rolling ocean beyond. It was only then that Sam realized how dry her mouth was. She had been too occupied with survival to notice until now.
She knew the berries she'd been munching on helped a bit, but she needed more. The classic Ark solution came to mind.
"Time to drink ocean water," she muttered dryly.
In the real world, that would have been a terrible idea. Saltwater, bacteria, pollution. But here? She remembered that in the game, you could simply drink straight from the ocean, at least on The Island map. Bending down at the water's edge, she cupped some in her hands and drank.
To her surprise, it wasn't salty. It was fresh, sweet—clean.
Sam sat back, breathing deeply, letting the cool water run over her feet. The moment brought an unexpected calm.
And that's when she saw her reflection.
The water rippled gently, but it was enough for her to see the woman staring back at her. Full lips, sharp cheekbones, fair skin kissed by sunlight, and hair cascading past her shoulders in dark waves with faint red highlights.
She blinked.
It was her Ark avatar. The one she had designed ages ago. She'd tweaked the features countless times, but always kept a general aesthetic—a powerful, curvy build with a striking face and dark, slightly unruly hair. The same body she had awoken in… only now, with a bit more coverage.
[Image]
Earlier in the night, while preparing for the cold, she had instinctively wished for something to wear. That wish had been answered by a non-standard engram—basic hide undergarments. Not the typical Cloth Armor from Ark, which she wasn't high enough level to craft yet, but rather a makeshift bra and panties stitched from the hide of the dodo and Ichthyornis she had killed. The implant had guided her through the process, reacting to her intentions like a subconscious crafting assistant.
Sam stared at her reflection for a while, taking in the reality of it all.
She wasn't just in Ark.
She was her character.
With a deep breath, she stood up and looked toward the rising sun. The light glinted off the implant in her arm. She still didn't know how or why she was here, or what the rules of this strange new life would be.
But she knew one thing for sure.
Survival had just begun.