The morning saw Chase awake after a nightmare filled slumber, the storm continuing unabated. His mind was in a whirl, as he tried to decide on the best course of action. The day was rapidly approaching and the rain still poured down. The ground was becoming muddy, and it would likely remain that way for the duration. Pulling up the quest prompt, Chase took a look at how much time he had left before the assault began.

Survive the Assault: Your Home Base will be attacked. Enslave or kill the attackers. Reward: 5 Race Advancement Orbs (L), Unlock Auction House. Time Remaining: 39:08:52

He’d done everything he realistically could to prepare, and the storm had foiled his attempts to improve upon those preparations. He just hoped the rain would end soon, or his chances of success would diminish greatly.

He checked his supplies, counting the spears and checking that his equipment was in order. His leather armor was a bit battered, but still serviceable, his pick was sharp and ready for combat, his mask was still good, and his shield was as strong as ever.

Chase was as ready as he could be. Now all he could do was wait.

Time passed slowly, the constant drumming of the rain on the roof creating an almost hypnotic effect. The waiting was perhaps the hardest part, his anxiety ratcheting up with each passing minute. His mind conjured images of hordes of vicious beasts descending on his base, tearing down his defenses and overrunning him.

Finally, Chase couldn't take it anymore. Going through his supplies, he paused upon coming across a group of five orbs that he'd gotten from the Network when he unlocked the Path of Precision. Meditation Orbs, he'd honestly forgotten about them.

With nothing better to do, he sat down crosslegged and held one in his hands. Closing his eyes, he thought about the Path of Precision, of the glimpse he’d gotten of something much bigger than the universe as he'd once known it. As Chase focused on the orb, he felt a gentle warmth spreading through his palms, enveloping him in a comforting embrace that eased the edge of his anxiety. The rhythmic sound of rain paired with the subtle glow emanating from the orb lulled him into a deeper state of concentration. His thoughts, previously scattered and frenzied, began to align more coherently.

In this meditative state, Chase visualized his home base: the placement of traps he had set, the strategic points for counterattack, and the natural barriers reinforced by his hard work. Each detail was vivid, sharpened by the power of the orb and his focused mind.

The visualization sharpened, focused on how his preparations coincided with the concept of Precision. In the depth of his meditation, the meaning of Precision within his realm unfolded like a blooming flower. It wasn't just about precision in combat or the accurate placement of traps, but a precise understanding of his entire environment and how every element interacted within it. Chase realized that he could use this understanding to predict and manipulate the battle’s flow before it even began.

As the orb's warmth spread through his body, it seemed to strengthen him, not just mentally but physically as well. His muscles relaxed yet felt ready for sudden action. The fear that had been gnawing at him receded, replaced by a calm determination. He was no longer just a defender waiting passively for an onslaught; he was a strategist with deep insight into the dynamics of his surroundings.

This newfound calm allowed Chase to refine his strategy further. He now understood that survival wasn’t merely about fighting off attackers; it was about controlling the battlefield itself. He revisited his mental map, adjusting his plan to optimize the use of natural chokepoints and the strengths of his traps.

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Emerging from meditation, Chase felt empowered by the clarity of thought and purpose the orb had provided. Standing up, he moved through his defenses, rechecking each trap, each weapon placement with fresh eyes unbothered by the rain. He made minor tweaks—adjustments that seemed obvious now but had eluded him before.

He also realized that he hadn't truly appreciated the extent of the modifications to his body. While the rain still weighed down his body and impaired his mobility, the increased strength and agility that the Network had bestowed on him meant that he was far more capable of dealing with the conditions than before the world went mad. He no longer felt sluggish and fatigued, the cold of the rain and the mud beneath his feet no longer a hindrance.

A feeling of confidence blossomed within Chase. This would be a challenging battle, but he was prepared. Whoever or whatever came at him would meet a fortified, strategic, and highly prepared opponent. He glanced at the timer again: 06:12:34.

That knocked Chase out of the zen moment he’d slipped into as he stared wide eyed at the timer. He’d spent a significant amount of time checking and improving his defenses before and after his meditation, but that couldn’t account for having lost nearly thirty three hours. Just how long had he been meditating?

Shaking his head, Chase decided not to dwell on the lost time. Instead, he shifted his focus back to the present, the immediate tasks at hand. His sharpened state of awareness, a gift from the meditation, allowed him to hear the subtle changes in the natural sounds around him—the rain’s patter was different, more erratic. Was it a signal of an approaching threat, or just a shift in the weather patterns?

He quickly went through a mental checklist of everything that was done and what still needed attention. He double-checked the integrity of all entry points, ensuring that nothing could breach them without considerable effort and noise. He also set up secondary warning devices—small, makeshift tripwires linked to bells or clappers—that would alert him to the presence of intruders.

As he was making the final adjustments to his defenses, a sudden gust of wind blew past, carrying with it a strange, musty odor that made the hair on the back of his neck stand up. The smell was unfamiliar, pungent, and unnaturally strong, like damp earth mixed with something foul that he couldn't quite identify. Chase's instincts screamed that this was no ordinary shift in weather patterns. He straightened, his body tense and alert, scanning the treeline that bordered his cabin.

With a sinking suspicion, Chase checked the timer: 00:00:10.

“Showtime,” he muttered to himself, moving to the front of the cabin where his spear thrower and a lot of prepared spears were stocked.

The next few seconds passed like an eternity. Chase waited, poised to spring into action, his ears straining for any hint of movement. The air was thick with anticipation, the tension palpable. Then, just as the timer dropped to zero, there was a pillar of swirling amber and violet light that appeared well behind the treeline, shooting up into the stormy sky and punching through the clouds.

Chase’s jaw dropped behind his plague doctor’s mask, this was far beyond what he’d been expecting. The pillar of light had to be at least twenty feet wide, and it seemed to pulse with power, sending waves of shock through the ground with each throb of its eerie glow. The trees around it bent away as if terrified of its force, their branches shuddering. The musty smell intensified, wrapping around Chase like a heavy cloak.

Narrowing his eyes behind his mask, Chase stared harder, and realized something: the pillar wasn’t swirling, the violet light was the result of something floating around the amber pillar in a swirling pattern. What floated around the pillar were shapes—tail-like, almost spectral, each casting a ghostly trail as they circled. Chase could barely make out their forms through the rain and the supernatural light, but it was clear that they were not of this world. Each twist and turn of these beings seemed to twist reality itself, warping the air around them.

For the moment, whatever those spectral figures were seemed content to encircle the pillar, and were much too far for his thrown spears to even consider reaching. Slipping his pick into a loop he’d added to his belt, he slung a quiver of spears over his shoulder and held one knocked in his spear thrower. He didn’t know what would be coming from that pillar, but if that pillar wouldn’t be the source of the enemies attacking him, he’d eat his shield.

Fortunately, he didn’t have to wait long. From the treeline, a number of forms came shambling out, mostly human shaped and sized, but they looked like they’d been skinned and had their hands replaced with various weapons. Blades, axes, hammers, and swords all protruded from their arms as if they were born with the weapons instead of appendages. Some even had two weapons, though they looked ungainly.

Chase grimaced behind his mask. He wasn’t sure if they were some kind of demon, or something else, but he’d honestly been expecting that if he had to fight something that looked undead, it would have been a basic zombie rather than something out of the laboratory of an even more insane Doctor Frankenstein.

Still, he’d need to deal with them regardless. Cracking his neck, Chase brought his arm back, and threw it forward, sending the first spear at the shambling monsters.