That thought was almost scarier than the immediate threat of the demons .
This also made him realize that most of his plans of going back home and finding his family likely had to be scrapped . If the system could drop an ocean in the middle of the country , his family might be on the other side of the planet for all he knew .
Which brought us back to now . Zac had mutely trudged back to camp , this time with far less vigil than before . Still it seemed that there were , at least for the moment , no threats in the immediate vicinity .
He now sat in one of the camping chairs , at a loss of what to do . He was emotionally and physically wrung out after the day and the sense of purpose he had before had largely vanished . He was still anxious to find his family and friends , but now he didn’t even know how to begin looking for them . Were they even together after the teleportations and reshuffling of the world?
For all he knew he was actually on an island , rather than next to a large body of water . Then he would be well and truly stuck in some sort of nightmare-like castaway situation . At least he had a camper which was lucky , as he had no real idea how to build a serviceable shelter . He regretted bloodying it up now though , but hindsight is 20/20 .
He knew that finding anyone he knew would likely be a far-off venture now , and he had to focus on surviving this demon forest first . He had already discarded trying to swim towards where the nearest city was before the apocalypse , as he had no idea of how large the water was or even more importantly , what was lurking in the water . If there was demon dogs in the forest , why not demon sharks in the water? No thanks . He had to put some faith in the fact that the system wasn’t a complete maniac and had put some checks and balances in the tutorial zones which would keep his family safe .
He once again opened his status page and quest page to see whether there was something he had missed earlier which could help him with his current situation . After a while he gleaned a clue from his quests .
Incursion Master (Unique) : Close or conquer incursion and protect base from denizens of other alignments for 3 months . Reward : 5 E-Grade Nexus Crystals , outpost upgraded to town , status upgraded to Lord . (0/3)
There were references to some sort of base building in two of his quests , and it seemed important , almost like the main quest of the area .
Outpost . - Zac said , hoping for some sort of prompt which could guide him further .
Requirements met to create Incursion outpost . Create now?]
This time he heard no robotic voice , only a prompt showed up , still looking like an old RPG window .
So there was a function like this . Once again a tinge of rage flared up at the system for its chronic inability to properly explain what was possible . How many other things did he not know about due to the system not teleporting him to a tutorial village?
Zac didn’t immediately answer the prompt , leaving it hovering . He was unsure whether this was the correct choice . Was creating an outpost a onetime thing? Would it make him even more stuck to this area? Would it make a loud noise , attracting curious beasts?
Then again he wasn’t sure if he had much of a choice . It either was creating an outposts and hoping that it would somehow help with his situation , or essentially going out into the woods and grind for levels by killing demons , and hope that he would get strong enough to leave that way , before getting himself killed . Seeing as his state was pretty pathetic after just one encounter it didn’t feel like an option . What if he met a pack of the demon dogs instead of a lone scavenger?
Gritting his teeth he decided he just had to go with the flow this time , and decisively said - Yes . - .
He stood up , eyes fixed at his surroundings , waiting for something to happen . Maybe a medieval town would sprout up around him? At least some rudimentary battlements? He was hunkered down with axe at the ready , ready to flee at a moment’s notice . But the only thing greeting him was the vision of a lush forest , and the sounds of birds and insects .
Confused , Zac sighed was getting ready to try some different commands to create his outpost when a voice suddenly appeared from behind him .
What are you doing? -
Chapter 8 - Abby the Eye
What are you doing? - a pleasant , decidedly female voice sounded from right behind him .
Zac , whose nerves already were frayed from the past days’ events shrieked in a higher than desirable octave and jumped forward away from the sound before registering the words . Somewhat embarrassed he turned around while stuttering - Sorry about tha . . - before once more shrieking and falling back after seeing the stranger . His fight-or-flight instincts also failed spectacularly , as he dropped the axe while falling .
What had entered his sight was not a beautiful female , as the voice had indicated . His dream of at least having a pretty girl to share this harrowing experience with died out as fast as it had flashed to life . In front of him was a floating eye , larger than his torso .
At least he assumed it was an eye . It looked as though a part of the cosmos had been taken and put into an eyeball . The pupil was a black hole , seemingly sucking Zac’s soul in as he was looking at it . The monster had no iris , but rather a slowly rotating cosmic cloud , looking like it was slowly being absorbed into the pupil in the middle .
The sclera was not white as with a human , but a black studded with shining lights . It looked like the stars in the night sky . Surrounding the eye was a purplish-tinted skin and eyelid . It however had no mouth , making Zac confused how it could make any sounds .
It was beautiful and harrowing at once , and certainly not what Zac expected after hearing the pleasant voice .
Rude . - the eye muttered . - I am lucky enough to get an assignment at a newly initiated world , and I get to work with this rube . By the way , you smell . -
Zac was still sputtering , unable to fully register what was going on . Unsure of whether to run , get the axe , or bow down to his new ocular overlord he compromised by simply staring dumbly with mouth ajar at the eye .
Oh well . It makes sense that there were no Stargazers on your planet before the initiation , human . We usually only appear where the system sends us . My real name is a bit tricky for you to say with vocal cords but sounds something like Veth-Abarak . I am here to assist you in your endeavors regarding your outpost . You are welcome . - the eye continued , somehow making a haughty expression with only the help of an eyelid . - I am sure you have some questions , though the tutorial should have explained most of what you can do . -
Um . . . Hello , my name is Zac . . . Err , Zachary Atwood . What do you mean assist me? And how are you talking without a mouth? - Zac responded , still having some problem adjusting to the situation . The eye , or Stargazer as it called itself , gave a long-suffering sigh , already seeming to have labeled Zac as a mental invalid .
Did you not listen to the Pixies during the tutorial? I am the assistant assigned to you when you assigned this… Trailer? Why did you choose a trailer? Anyway , when you chose this trailer to be your outpost when assaulting the Incursion . I will help with answers regarding the choices you make , to get the ball rolling so to say . As for how I talk , magic of course . - The Stargazer answered , a flash of what looked like cosmic mist grandly surrounding herself to accentuate her powers .
What choices? And no I didn’t listen to any Pixies or fairies because the stupid system never sent me to any tutorial . It left me in this crazy demon forest 3 days ago while it teleported my friends away . - Zac responded , starting to feel a bit peeved by being looked down on by a floating eyeball .
Oh , you didn’t go to the tutorial . I guess tha… THREE DAYS? This world was initiated only three days ago? Don’t you mean months? - The Stargazer started shaking , the pupil shrinking to a . . . well , not needlepoint , but from a basketball to a baseball in size . - Stop joking with me , how would you be able to create an outpost only after three days , even if you skipped the month-long tutorial? - Veth-Abarak shook and hovered closer to Zac’s face , the grand mist surrounding it disappearing .