Chương 56: Connected Settlements

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? 20, maybe 25 days? He got 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 just thought this over. They did not all show up at the same time. People are still arriving. People are forming into groups and communities, and classes start appearing at level 8. This changes a lot of things for Mark. When he first got here, it was survive the first few days, eat, drink, and find shelter. Then things changed when he found Ava. That is when he realized he needed to help himself and help others.

He had been so proud of the camp he built and the small area he controlled. But he was now realizing the world was a much bigger place. He needed to adapt and change. Make new goals beyond surviving till 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. Classes are level separate from your 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 the excitement in Ava. She was so excited that she was saying things and they did not really make sense. So Mark asked.

"OK back up you got a bird?" He started looking around, and well, he could not see any birds.

"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 the unknown bird she kept referencing. He then explained to her what he had learned about the classes at level 8 he had just found out from Garrick. Ava went wild with excitement when she found out about the classes.

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 was planning to go meet all the other members of the little town, but Ava was insistent that they needed to leave; they could make it about a third of the way back before it got dark and forced them to camp. Mark finally reluctantly agreed since this was her trip. He would need to visit again another day and learn more about classes and how long this community has been here and how they did it. Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Mark finally walked back over to Mara'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 are now going through his mind. Classes, settlement interfaces. What is 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 settlements 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 went over the ins and outs of what they knew. The starting point was an outpost. Its requirements were small, but its benefits were huge. To create one, you just need to stand in the middle of what you want registered as an outpost and think or say "create outpost."

The system would then start an outpost creation process, and it would tell you what they needed if all requirements were not met. And the new outpost would either be created or not if they met requirements. The first level was simple; it had to have at least 3 people and a few other minor things. There were three levels for the outpost. Once they were completed, it could transition to a village.

They let him know that they were a level 2 village and that they needed more people and a few more things before they could transition to a level 3 village. 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 Outpost Trade 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 discovered • Settlement infrastructure detected • Trade 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 [Skill 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 in his head 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 him at. Strength: 10 Agility: 10 Vitality: 14 Intelligence: 18 Perception: 22 Ava 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. While on the trip back, Mark received two more messages about 30 minutes apart from each other. [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.