NOVEL NEXT Chapter 1.06: Existential Crisis Time?
The Starlight Oasis came into view just as Xander and his team trudged over the last stretch of cracked pavement. The sun hung lower now, casting long shadows over the makeshift barricade. Relief should have been waiting for them. Instead, the sharp edge of an argument cut through the air.
Xander's gaze locked onto the commotion near the entrance. JT stood firm, blocking the way as a man gestured wildly in front of him. The guy looked like he'd been through hell. Dust-caked clothes, the frantic energy of someone running on fear and adrenaline. His voice carried, raw and hoarse.
"You can't expect us to live off this!" The man's hands snapped toward the small package in his grip. It was a ration bar and a bottle of water. "This isn't enough for my family! My kids are hungry, my wife…"
JT's posture didn't shift. Unyielding. Not aggressive, but immovable.
"It's the same as everyone else is getting," JT said, voice calm but firm. "We don't have more to give."
The man's shoulders bunched as he stepped closer. "Then go get more! You expect us to just sit here and starve?"
Harvey whispered sharply beside Xander. "Here we go."
JT didn't so much as blink. "No one's starving," he said. "We're rationing because we don't know how long we have to stretch supplies. If we hand out extra to whoever yells the loudest, what happens when it actually runs out?"
The man's fingers flexed, tense with frustration. "My kids."
"And every other kid here is getting the same amount," JT cut in. "You want them to have more? Then we find more. Together."
The man's jaw worked, anger still raw in his posture, but there was nowhere for it to go. He knew it. Xander could see it in the way his stance shifted. He wasn't looking for a fight. He was looking for control over something in a world where he had none.
Seconds stretched. Then, with a sharp exhale, the man's shoulders dropped an inch. The tension didn't leave his face, but the heat behind it faded just enough.
"What do you want me to do?" he said. Not agreeing. Just… out of arguments.
"Help us organize. We need to know what supplies people have, what we can pool together. We make it last longer that way."
The man didn't look happy about it. But he didn't argue, either. He turned sharply, heading back toward the group of survivors near the entrance.
JT waited a beat, then clapped his hands together. It didn't appear to be in relief, just recalibrating for the next problem.
Xander finally stepped forward. "Handled?"
JT gave him a tired glance. "For now."
"You did it?" JT asked, though the question was more confirmation than doubt.
"Yeah. It's done," Harvey replied.
Xander gave a slight nod. All the immediate threats were gone. The safe zone was no longer just an idea.
JT grinned. "Finally, some good news! Let me complete the quest."
His eyes glazed over for a minute as he stared off into space. Xander recognized it as the look people took when they were looking at their interface. Strange new world indeed, he thought, as the look JT had was surely going to become something of a cultural norm overnight. His own interface signaled him to new notifications at the same time a local area notice popped up in his vision.
Greetings players! Jacob Taylor has claimed ownership of and established the Starlight Oasis Safe Zone. This safe zone will prevent monsters from spawning within its boundaries.
A cheer went up around the grounds of the Starlight Oasis as people finally got a bit of good news. Xander felt the overall tension amongst the survivors drop a little as they had clawed back a small measure of safety. At least enough to buy some breathing room and formulate a long-term plan for survival. Closing out the notification, Xander moved on to the Simulation notifications awaiting him in his log.
Quest Completion! Congratulations, you have contributed significantly to an area quest to establish a safe zone. Rewards: Experience Points, Fifty Gold, Armored Leather Duster.
Level up! Congratulations, you are now level three. Go forth and defend the realms, mighty hunter. Warning: Due to the current level-zero protocols, class choice and ability points are deferred until level five. Actions taken between levels one and five will contribute toward the available class selection.
The level was certainly a surprise, but a welcome one at that. It was still unclear what benefits gold offered other than it being the currency the Simulation was enforcing globally, but another fifty gold wasn't unwelcome, even if there wasn't anything to spend it on at the moment. The big surprise was the armored leather duster. Though unsure what a duster was, Xander saw it resembled a long trench coat, designed for motorcycle riding or a similar activity.
Armored Leather Duster
Quality: Uncommon.
Enchantments: Resistance Increase to Dark Magic, Damage Resistance, Traveler's Resolve.
Xander held up the duster so he could get a good look at it. It was a gorgeous but functional piece with some style. The outside was a deep brown color with armor plates on the elbows and shoulders, along with stitch work in various places using red thread that only seemed to serve a decorative purpose. The interior lining was a thing of beauty. Several concealed pockets on each side provided a little extra storage space along with a red lining.
It felt like the Simulation was considering the current state of things when providing rewards for quests. Xander assumed the enchantments were based on the fight with the dark cleric and his current quest to find Jo. It seemed obvious to add extra protection against standard weapons. His current state within the Simulation perfectly suited the piece.
Thinking back on it, when the reboot happened, there was mention of several artificial intelligences that governed various parts of the Simulation. Xander questioned whether one of those AIs was managing quest rewards appropriate to the situation and how the quest was completed.
This led to a whole different train of thought regarding the universe. If everything was part of a Simulation then did that make the AIs akin to gods? Was modern theology a derivative of those AIs being worshipped prior to the Simulation errors? Xander had never really thought much about God or the nature of the universe. Not that he believed or didn't believe in the existence of a god, but he figured that either way, it was unlikely that the answer really factored into the direction of his daily life.
Xander stopped that entire line of thought as he was giving himself a headache thinking about the nature of a god in this revelation of what reality actually is, plus this line of thought would only lead to darker considerations when the world that had spent much of its recorded history fighting over which god was the correct one suddenly found out that everything they thought they knew was wrong.
That certainly will not end well, Xander thought.
Choosing to believe that once humanity got beyond the level-zero filter, those that were left would recognize that it wasn't person against person anymore but that there was a greater threat to humanity that required everyone to join together, he turned his attention back to JT and the rest of the group.
"Well, those were some nice quest rewards," JT said, "plus, there's a whole new section of the interface for managing the safe zone. I'll have to look into those later."
"JT, we've got some extra weapons we picked up from the last fight, plus a couple of special items we think you ought to hold on to personally," Harvey said as he pulled out the book and smithing hammer from his backpack, handing them to JT.
"Well, those are certainly something," JT slowly drawled out, his mind a whirl of thoughts on the revelation of skill books. "Both of these things are extremely valuable. I'm surprised one of you all didn't take them, but I'm not going to question it."
"Folks, I need to take a couple of hours and go through all of this safe zone stuff, and then I'd like to get together to strategize the next steps. You all look tired and not to put too fine a point on it, you all could use some cleaning up. Let's regroup first thing in the morning. By then I should have my thoughts outlined in my head and I'd love all of your input," JT said as he placed the hammer and book into his own backpack and turned to head inside.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
"Alex, Zoey, I'm going to go get cleaned up. You guys want to meet tonight before we call it a night or do you want to talk before meeting with JT tomorrow?" Xander asked as he put on his new armored duster.
"Let's talk first thing in the morning. Now that the initial adrenaline has worn off from the reboot, I'd like the evening to think things through a bit," Zoey pensively responded.
"No worries, it was a rough day. I want to make sure we're clear headed when we decide tomorrow. Okay, I'm off to get cleaned up, grab something to eat, then call it a night. Xander, heading for the men's locker room, called, "See you guys tomorrow."
It was dark in the locker room, but someone had lit several oil lamps and strategically placed them around the room. Someone had devised a contraption for the showers, too. It looked like a couple of camp showers, but they were getting water from somewhere outside. Xander had to take a moment to appreciate that humanity was always a creature of ingenuity.
"Use any locker you want. I have locks here if you want to borrow one. Limit showers to one gallon of water per person per day. I know that isn't a lot, but what we have set up now is really janky. We got lucky with a truck hauling non potable water, else we wouldn't even have what we got. All potable water is being saved," the young man in charge of the locker room informed Xander.
"I'll take a lock, and no worries about the restrictions. One gallon is going to be more than enough for what I need to do. Thanks," Xander said with a bit of selfish disappointment. One thing he was certainly going to miss was a long, hot shower.
Breaking out his camp soap and horse hair brush from his bush craft kit, Xander stripped down and went to work on cleaning his gear of the caked on blood, mud, and general stink that had accumulated over the day. While an important task, it was also a low lift from a mental standpoint. This mindless task allowed Xander a moment clear his mind as he focused on the task at hand. The day had been a sprint of survival, but the actual race was more akin to a marathon.
His mind settled, Xander returned to the basic of disaster response. He had identified and dealt with immediate threats, and he possessed a week's supply of water and three days' worth of food. Now he had to consider the next steps. He and Jo had planned a rally point at their home in Sidney with a fallback point at a nearby campground they frequented. While camping really wasn't proper at a time like this, it was certainly some place that supported off-grid living.
It stood to reason that if the Starlight Oasis had set up a safe zone, then other places would be able to as well. It's possible that one of the towns on his way home, or even possibly Sidney, would have established a safe zone already. He would not bank on that, though. Assumptions could get you killed in a disaster situation. But everything really came down to a binary choice: stick with the original plan and make his way to their first agreed upon rally point, or stay at the Starlight Oasis until things stabilized more. Since his quest hadn't failed, Xander decided Jo was still alive, though he couldn't determine her situation.
In the end, there really wasn't any choice. While the safe zone would be the best option for the immediate situation, the supplies stashed away at the house would give him the best chance of survival for the duration of the crisis. Not only that, he'd made Jo a promise, and he'd watch the world and everything around him burn to keep that promise.
He'd want to get Zoey's and Alex's input on the route if they joined him and they really did not know what things were like out on the road, but sticking to the main road would be the best choice. Xander reconsidered that for a moment, as he thought there may actually be a better choice. There was a railroad that ran parallel to the roadways, but took a less winding path in certain areas. There wouldn't be any trains on the tracks, so sticking to the railway would likely make the trip slightly shorter. Not only that, people were often the most dangerous animal on the planet. Taking the path less traveled would lower the risk of any encounters with people with ill intent. There was a downfall to that ideology though, as it truly was going to take a village to live through the Simulation. Fewer encounters with people also meant fewer opportunities to find allies, and he was going to need allies. If Zoey and Alex accompanied him, the team still needed a tank. If they didn't, then he would eventually need an entire adventuring team.
Gear cleaned and a quick shower later, Xander exited the locker room. Initially, the plan was to grab a quick bite to eat and then call it a night, but he was still running on a bit of adrenaline from the day. Choosing to walk off the last of the nervous energy instead of toss and turn for several hours, Xander walked the grounds of the safe zone.
"Xander! Up here," JT called down to Xander from the roof of the building. "Out for walk? Ladder's around the side. Come join me for a bit. The view up here is interesting."
Climbing up the ladder, Xander found JT standing looking out toward the north, a pair of binoculars in his hand. Nodding to Xander as he walked up, JT handed him the binoculars and pointed out toward the faint orange glow in the distance. Holding up the binoculars to his eyes, Xander tried to focus on what he was seeing. Binoculars at night made little sense, but it gave Xander a slightly better view of what he was looking at. While he couldn't pick out specifics, he could tell there was a fire several miles to the north.
Using the fires to the north as a reference point. Xander had a good feeling he knew where they were coming from as he scanned toward the east along the route he'd most likely end up taking the next day. Much farther off in the distance was another even fainter glow, coming from just over the horizon.
"Well, I'm going to guess that fire to the north is coming from Tolono. What is that, about six or seven miles?" Xander commented. "Then if you look to the east, you can see that it looks like something else is on fire. Harder to tell, but I'd bet money, or gold now, I guess we should say, that is Philo on fire. That's about fifteen miles."
"If you do three hundred and sixty rotation, you'll eventually pick out quite a few fires out there," JT replied. "Still some new folks wandering in here and there, but it looks like most everyone is going to shelter in place for the night. Most likely see some more folks show up in the morning. Last one that came in for the night was a woman who'd actually come in from Tolono. Town wasn't on fire when she left, but she said it was pretty thick with undead, rodentia, and some other monsters she couldn't identify. Also, got a couple of hardcore survival nuts that came up from the south. They were trying to get to some secret military bunker up around Rantoul and the old Air Force base." JT rolled his eyes at that last tidbit. "Every conspiracy nut that makes it through this is going to have a field day claiming they were right about everything all along."
"I'm more worried about the religious organizations suddenly finding out that they may have both been simultaneously right and wrong about the universe. The Simulation alone gives credence to the grand design theology, but also sort of throws water on every single religion's version of God," Xander responded.
JT chuckled. "Too true, but I'm going to focus on keeping the Starlight Oasis running and let someone higher up the pay scale worry about the universe. Tell you what, though, with nothing electronic working at all, have you ever seen the night sky look so clear? Heck, you can see the milky way with the naked eye. I had to go to the middle of North Dakota in the dead of winter to see that before all this popped off."
"Want me to bake your noodle? Here's one to think about: since this is all just a Simulation, is the milky way even real or is it just a projection on some type of skybox on the boundaries of the Simulation?" Xander smirked as he watched JT's brain practically melt as he contemplated the ramifications.
"Dude, that's just mean. Now I'm going to be thinking about that all night," JT said, playfully flipping Xander the bird.
"Topic change… Learn anything interesting from the safe zone interface?" Xander asked.
"Quite a bit and yet nothing at all, actually. For every answer, I have five more questions. I'll go over all of this tomorrow with everyone, but one thing of interest I found is that the level zero filter will last until the global population drops below a certain number. I don't know what that number actually is, though. Gold is the universal currency. The Simulation enforces this by allowing certain purchases directly with gold, and all base building in the safe zone require materials and gold. Some places might attempt to create their own currency, but they will struggle because most people will use gold or barter."
"Oh, hey, get this. That hammer and book you guys brought in? One local who has already committed to sticking around is a hobbyist blacksmith. She practically fell over when she found out that blacksmithing was a real thing and that it looks like it was going to be critical to get everyone armed. I'm going to send an adventuring team to accompany her back to her old workshop so they can bring her anvil and tools back here. She fled her house with her workshop during the reboot. She says the place is in terrible shape, but the equipment she needs should be salvageable."
"That is good news. Nice to get a little of that, isn't it? What about the engineering book?" Xander asked.
"Nothing so far on that one. I'm going to keep that locked up for the moment," JT replied. "I'm going to check on the night guards, then call it a night. Tomorrow is going to be another long day for everyone."
Surveying the night sky, Xander figured it was a safe bet it would not rain that night. Sleeping up on the roof felt like the most practical place. First, if anything went extremely wrong in the middle of the night, it would probably be some type of ground attack. Second, Xander really didn't want to sleep inside where everyone else was. While everyone was doing somewhat okay, there were still quite a few sobs of desperation or anguish over lost loved ones, and crying children that didn't understand what was going on. Breaking out his bedroll, he setup a small area by the building mechanicals to give himself a bit of a defensible position if needed before diving into the Simulation notifications waiting for him.
+3 Spear Combat | Congratulations! It remains to be seen if fighting monsters with such a level discrepancy is heroic or suicidal. However, the difficulty of the fight certainly gave you an increased proficiency. Beats stabbing regular rats.
+1 Thrown Spear | Congratulations! Throwing away your primary weapon certainly shouldn't be anyone's first choice, but now you can at least do it with a little more skill and a lot less luck.
+1 Analyze | Congratulations! Analyze will now show you slightly more information about a successfully analyzed target.
+2 Light Armor | Congratulations! You have successfully worn light armor during a combat encounter. Movement will be slightly easier as your comfort of wearing armor has increased.
+1 Leadership | Congratulations! You opened your mouth, people listened, and somehow no one died. Keep this up, and you might just trick people into thinking you know what you're doing. Try not to let it go to your head.
It was still unclear what the numbers actually meant, but Xander couldn't fault the basic logic that more was better. Still, the Simulation didn't need to be so snarky about it.
Name: Xander Kell
Class: Commoner
Level: Three
Health: 60/60
Mana: 60/60
Stats
Strength: 4
Dexterity: 4
Intelligence: 6
Constitution: 4
Charisma: 5
Abilities
Taunt: Currently unavailable due to level-zero protocols
Skills
Spear Combat: 6
Thrown Spear: 1
First Aid: 6
Analyze: 3
Light Armor: 2
Leadership: 1
Xander couldn't be sure, but if standard game logic applied, then levels would be harder to gain as they went up. Still, he thought to himself, three levels in one day felt like it was a good milestone for day one. If the pace kept up, he figured he would hit level five within a couple of days. Hopefully, that was a tremendous boost to survivability.
Satisfied that there wasn't any more to learn the status screen today, Xander rolled over and gazed up at the stars as he drifted off to sleep.