Mark looked long and hard at Garrick, mulling over the idea of classes. “You’re saying you have a class?”
Garrick replied, “Oh yes, I have had one for a while now. Maybe six months back I think it was.”
Mark thought about that. He had been here for what, twenty or twenty-five days? Garrick had gotten a class six months ago. “So how long have you been here?”
“Oh, I think just around seven months. There are a few people that have talked about being here over a year. I am not sure. We end up with someone new in the area about twice a month, I think. Most, like me, just showed up, given the whole ‘survive’ thing. No instructions. I am sure you remember that.”
“Oh yes, I remember that. I found this cute bunny that turned out not to be so cute.”
Mark thought it over. They had not all arrived at the same time. People were still appearing, forming groups and communities, and gaining classes at Level 8. This changed a lot for him.
At first, his goals had been food, water, shelter, and surviving another day. Finding Ava changed that. He had become proud of the camp and the small area he controlled, but the world was much larger than he had realized. He needed goals beyond surviving until tomorrow.
Garrick watched him while he thought and then finally spoke up. “I see that your worldview is changing. Let me tell you about my class. I received the carpenter class. After I first showed up, I spent a lot of time tinkering with wood and other items. I had found a small group, and I would make and fix things for them.”
“When I hit Level 8, I was presented with the option to choose a class. Out of the list, I was offered the carpenter class, which fit me best. I could have been a fighter or stone crafter, but those did not fit who I was. Class levels are separate from your overall level. I am already a Level 5 Carpenter, but my overall level is 12.”
Mark and Garrick continued to talk about how he leveled his class and about Mark wanting him to maybe come and visit him and help build a house. They talked about different ways to compensate him, as only a few people had money from the system, and most people used trade goods. In the end, Mark came up with a trade deal that Garrick would build him a cart that would be done in about a week, and he or someone from his group could come pick it up.
Garrick finally excused himself, and Mark went back outside and found Ava pacing around. She ran over and said it. “I met a bird; it was stuck in a net, and I freed it. Then later I saw it again while out hunting. Then later it brought me something to kill. Now we’re bonded.”
Mark laughed at Ava’s excitement. Her story came out so quickly that it barely made sense. “Okay, back up. You got a bird?” He looked around but could not see one.
“Yes, it’s huge. Like giant. It can pluck animals off the ground and drop them.”
Mark again looked around. Nothing. He looked over at Bramble, and he just tilted his head, looking at Mark.
Ava started to look around, and the bird was nowhere in sight. She then closed her eyes and thought. With Bramble she could sense the general direction he had gone. So she thought about the bird and then realized she knew what direction it was. Then she pointed. “It’s over that way.”
Mark looked in the direction she pointed. Clear sky, a few small clouds, but no birds. Mark finally said, “Okay, I don’t see a bird, but it sounds fun. Anything else happen while you were out?”
Then the smile returned to her face. “Yes, I leveled. I am now level 6, and I got a skill called ‘Wild Bond’ when I bonded with the bird. And when I leveled the skill, it advanced to Wild Bond Level 2.”
Mark was excited for her and for the unknown bird she kept referencing. He then explained to her what he had learned about the classes at Level 8 that he had just found out about from Garrick. Ava went wild with excitement when she found out about the classes.
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She insisted that they head back right away and that she would start hunting more and level up as fast as she could. She would go back to the area she knew best and explore it and work with her two bonds. She wanted to get some pet-related class and knew if she worked with them a lot, the system would just have to give her one.
Mark had planned to meet the other residents, but Ava insisted they leave so they could cover part of the return trip before dark. Since this was her trip, he reluctantly agreed. He would return another day to learn more about the community and classes.
Mark finally walked back over to Jean’s and Edwin’s cabin and knocked on the door. He let them know that they would be heading out and that he planned to return and learn more later when he could spend more time, as he had not known about other survivors and wanted to get to know more of them.
Edwin then said, “Before you leave, let’s create a registered trade agreement.”
For the second time today Mark gave one of those “what the heck” looks as he stared back at Edwin. Then he replied, “How do you do that?”
“It’s in your settlement interface.”
Mark just looked back at him. So many things were now going through his mind. Classes, settlement interfaces. What was he going to find out next?
Edwin just watched him as Mark puzzled it out in his mind. Then he said, “Oh, I assumed you knew about the settlement interface. We have been here so long we now take it for granted.”
“It is easy to create one; we stumbled onto it by accident, and the other two settlements in this valley created theirs soon after we made ours.”
For the next hour, they explained what they knew. Settlement progression began with an outpost. To create one, someone stood in the center of the intended area and thought or said, “Create outpost.” The system then evaluated the site and listed any unmet requirements. Level 1 required at least three people and a few minor conditions. An outpost had three levels before it could become a village. Lakeside was already a Level 2 village and needed more people and several other improvements to reach Level 3.
Finally, Mark shook their hands and let them know he would go create his outpost and that he or someone representing the outpost would return to set up trade agreements in the future. Before leaving, he let them know about the cave where they had found the salt and how the cave system worked. They let him know that they would send a group up to see the cave and that someone would soon come to visit their outpost also.
Mark walked out of the cabin door a second time for the day. He now had a direction and knew what his next steps would be. Then a system message appeared.
[Regional Awareness Expanded]
Connected settlement detected: Lakeside VillageTrade route potential identified.Map synchronization available.
◈ ◈ ◈
Mark had not expected that; he was just about to open his map to see changes when another message showed up.
[Zone Awareness Increased]
New regional information integrated.
Connected territory discoveredSettlement infrastructure detectedTrade route pathways identified
Lakeside Region visibility expanded.
◈ ◈ ◈
Mark pulled up his map, and he could now see the village of Lakeside and the major landmarks in this zone. He could see more details on the trail they originally traveled on as well. But most of the zone was still grayed out, and this meant he could get maps for zones other than his. Then another message showed up.
[Level Up]
Character: Mark
Level: 7
Stat Points: +5
◈ ◈ ◈
[Territory Function Improved]Shared Territory Awareness Level 2
Allows:Share known routes with more designated allies.Improve awareness of points of interest within shared territory.Better recognize changes to explored territory and established routes.
◈ ◈ ◈
Mark just looked at his screen. He had leveled up just for gaining area awareness after speaking to the couple about the outpost possibilities. He was still going through all the things he could now do and what he needed to do when he got back.
He quickly added 1 point each to strength and agility and 1 point to perception and the last two points to intelligence, putting his attributes at:
Strength: 10Agility: 10Vitality: 14Intelligence: 18Perception: 22Ava ran over. “Look, look, it’s over there,” pointing to the northeast. Mark looked in that direction and, well, saw nothing. He just smiled as a frustrated look came over Ava’s face. “It really exists. Don’t you believe me?”
They then waved their last goodbyes to those still standing around in the town and headed back up the path in the direction of their home. During the trip back, Mark received two more messages about thirty minutes apart.
[Cave Activity Increased]
Expedition activity detected.Cave Control: 12%
◈ ◈ ◈
Then a second message appeared.
[Cave Activity Increased]
Expedition activity detected.
Cave Control: 15%
◈ ◈ ◈
Mark just shook his head; he could not take any more today and continued back toward camp.