Del's vision was bombarded with windows of varying sizes and colours.
He called the Messages tab and was surprised to see it looking like the Z-mail which he remembered from his past; neatly organised both chronologically and by whomever Delvin received the message from.
"Open messages in chronological order." He instructed.
The first opened message contained a series of written texts.
[WELCOME TO THE SYSTEM, EARTHLINGS] The first message was the only one in capital letters.
[As you have all undoubtedly noticed in the last few weeks, various changes occurred on your most-boringly named planet Earth. Volcanoes erupted, oceans overflowed and earthquakes ravaged the continents while your civilization started showing cracks, unable to respond properly to such natural disasters.]
Delvin hadn't yet explored enough to attest to the truth of these claims, but if they were true it would mean the people of this planet were in dire circumstances.
[But worry not! Those events were a preparation of sorts, and a sign of things to come. Tomorrow at midnight a wave of primordial energy known as "Mana" will engulf your world causing another series of terraforming events, both to the geography and demography of your planet.]
"Looks like some changes have already occurred, I should be more cautious." He said while moving closer to the roots of an enormously high tree; he estimated it to be at least 100 meters tall.
Delvin moved into the grove of tree roots, and covered himself in a variety of pink leaves which provided him with some camouflage.
Feeling safe to continue reading, Delvin called for the messages to appear again.
[As the wave of mana spreads, mountains will crumble and disappear, rivers will connect with oceans while islands rise from the depths. Previous borders will disappear as new land emerges, forming ravines and cliffs and poisonous forests and floating masses of icy glaciers. ALL OF THIS AND MORE AWAITS YOU.]
Delvin thought whoever wrote that was quite the asshole, scaring the dumbfounded residents of this world whilst their homes and families were destroyed.
[Have we mentioned what will happen to the plant life and wild beasts? Your local beekeeper will be eaten alive by freshly-evolved insects and critters whilst your neighbour's cat grows to the size of a bull, hungry for fresh flesh, hu-hu-hu, truly you must adapt earthlings; if you wish to survive.]
The text went on for another 2 pages but Del decided to scroll past this flavour text; who had time to read-on about glaciers and beekeepers.
[If you survive the first day, your stats and skills will unlock which will allow you to gather experience in the form of Essence gathered from killing beasts and monsters. Those who abhor taking life will find themselves dead by day 3. On noon of the third day another wave of mana will wash over your planet, creating safe zones for you to find.]
"Meri did mention some of this stuff, I'll have to starting moving soon." Delvin said and quickly called his Journal tab in which he wrote down:
1. Check skills(and traits, what do the ??? mean;)
- Wait for Meri to wake up?
- Essence, something to with the soul and slaying others?! More research needed
2. Find safe zone(why dead by day 3 in message if I'm alive?)
- Safe from enemy attacks? Or from natural disaster?
-Both?
---
"Open messages." Delvin called when he finished writing.
[Safe zones will prevent beasts and monsters from sensing you and will also provide protection from the changes which will be happening during the night of days 3-7. Finding safe zones won't be difficult and you will find them scattered throughout your world, everyone might find a safe zone but not everyone will have the pleasure of staying in one.]
The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
"Again with their ominous and foreboding wording…" Del was considering skipping reading the messages but he remembered Meri told him to read them carefully so he carried on.
[Some safe zones will allow a thousand residents, some only one. It's luck of the draw earthlings, the Luck stat is an important one after all. So fight during the day, rest during the night, kill in the day and mourn in the night. ]
"Hopefully I don't run into any trouble with the safe zones, I still have to check my own condition…" Del remembered his pitiful 2 VIT stat and the many unknowns of his newly-adapted system.
[Those who survive will, in time, reach certain benchmarks or bottlenecks in their progression, the first of which will occur upon reaching Level 10. Make haste in reaching that threshold, because…] Del's heard a *swooshing* sound near him and stopped reading for a moment to make sure there was nothing dangerous nearby.
After a minute of laying still in complete silence Delvin felt safe to continue with his reading as he noticed the sound was actually just the wind on it's path, swaying the many pink branches, like a river curving it's paths through the earth.
[…on day 7, the playground will open and those who have started adapting to this new environment will find themselves growing, evolving. They will find themselves at the forefront of a NEW CIVILIZATION; they will find themselves becoming leaders and heroes, much like the ones from your own legends and mythologies. They will find themselves in places UNIMAGINABLE by your previous, pitiful civilization. Mana give it all and taketh all, earthlings. Remember these words on your own journeys of cultivation and ascension.]
[Written by: Vice President of the Bureau of Newly Integrated Worlds, the Consul of Energy, his majesty Hama Roseberg VI]
"This Hama guy is the asshole who wrote this, I can imagine the Earthlings won't hold him in high regard should one ever meet him." Delvin thought whilst calling the next series of messages.
[Congratulations, you have survived the first day Earthling.]
[Unlocking: Basic System functions]
[Status, Skills, Map(Basic), Inventory(Basic), Relations and Messages(Basic), Journal, Quests, Conditions(Basic), Achievements]
[Day 3 has started Earthlings, safe zones have appeared. Find them if you wish to survive]
"I'll have to check my condition first." Delvin thought and called the Conditions tab
[CONDITIONS]
- Weakened Mana Core
-Concussion (minor)
-Bleeding (minor)
- Mana fever
N/A
---
"That doesn't look good… maybe there's something in my inventory that can help with this." Delvin proceeded to call for his Inventory; a 5x5 grid of cubes, appeared in his vision, reminding him of a board game from back home which involved two players and two such grids.
Some of the slots were filled, he noticed a square box occupying a 2x2 space; the box was labelled: Survivor's starter kit Mk.II. In the other corner was some kind of capsule-looking object which failed to identify.
He touched the center of the 2x2 box and it appeared on his leaf bed the next moment.
Del hurriedly opened the box, inside he found some clothes, a backpack, some tube which lit up when pressed, a rope and knife, a flint and steel and lastly, two small cylinders the size of his thumbs. One was blue, the other red.
Del tried looking for any openings or markings on the cylinders but to no avail.
He retrieved the cylinders to his inventory and started putting on the clothes provided to him by the starter kit, if they could even be called clothes.
He got an animal leather jacked, bound to a fur belt around his waist by a series of loose strings. Crossing the jacket from his head down to the belt was a patch of transparent cotton, subtly revealing the simple brown shirt he got from the starter kit.
On his feet were grey cooked-leather boots, simple but effective. They curved to just above his ankles where they were met his ragged and spacious pants; he wished they hadn't given him these XXXXL sized pants.
Del also got thick wool gloves, he put them in his inventory for possible use in a cold environment; the message did say something about floating glaciers.
As Del was tying the rope around his shoulder and hip, he received a notification.
[User has unlocked the skill Inspect I (C)]
Del was surprised and curious as to how he received this small blessing.
The system answered his thoughts.
[Due to your actions in inspecting and analysing your surroundings the system rewarded you with this skill]
Delvin retrieved the cylinders from his inventory hoping to find more about them after reading the description of his newly-gained skill.
< Inspect I > (Common, Tier 0)
Effect: Focusing your vision on particular object, entity or location will reveal some of its information.
Cost: N/A
Cooldown: N/A
Description: All those who wish to prosper MUST obtain the Inspect I skill
Level 1/10
---
The moment he focused on the red cylinder, Delvin was awarded with a small notification in the top-right corner of his vision. Upon opening it he was greeted by a box that had the details of the red cylinder on the left, and a visual representation of the cylinder on the right.
-Consumable
Effect: Heightens natural recovery rate by 250%. Restores all "Minor" type debuffs. -25% Fatigue. Consuming this item will put the user into an unconscious state for 30 minutes.
Description: The standard issue recovery tool for any individual Tier 2 and below. Effective and highly portable.
Upon inspecting the cylinder, a small opening on the bottom of one side was created and Delvin wasted no time as he pushed it up to his lips and inhaled a deep breath.
*HUUUUUUURGH
"Wow, it even tastes good, like a shot of concentrated fruit juice. If only I had mor-" Delvin couldn't finish his sentence because he failed to notice the part of the item's effect that would render him unconscious for 30 minutes upon inhaling; he inhaled it the moment he saw it would remove some of his debuffs…