The next day marked the first full day without a new crisis for Travis. Things went smoothly in his conversation with Gary and his daughter. They agreed to stay, but under one condition: Travis would escort them back to their house to retrieve personal effects. They also wanted to check in on an elderly neighbor who lived close by. Travis agreed and said they would go the next day, as he did not want to leave the compound without taking certain steps to secure it.

While Gary and Clyde took an inventory of the equipment and materials left behind, Travis did the same in the HQ. He also learned lots of new information from the System. For one thing, he finally knew when he could choose a class. Perhaps more importantly, or more impactful for the wider PC world, was something else.

There was a lock on level advancement until the MC reached level 7 and chose his class. Travis did not know this part, of course, but the DM didn't want some tireless PC in the right situation going ahead and far outpacing his main character, leading to a potential face-off and changing of the guard—something the DM knew was possible but not before classes were chosen and definitely not before the second stage of the cataclysm.

A possible example of that, is a player in Florida who is knocking on the door of level 8. He received his journal on the 11th, same as Travis, but he started farming XP almost immediately. The main monster grouping down there consisted of large insects at lower levels and crocodiles for those players that started to near levels 4 and 5. The crocs are strong as hell, but a PC with improved strength, reflexes, and a ranged weapon made quick work of them.

While Travis focused on setting up his base of operations, other players had nothing more to do than gain XP. For that reason, the DM put a cap on their level gain ability.

Another thing Travis learned was that there could never be more than 500 journal-holding player characters. As he ranks up, he will be able to either find out or know exactly how many are alive at one time. The System was vague with that information. It also seemed to intimate that each player had a special ability, and Travis’s would be his connection to not only other players but also high-int monsters, artifacts, and other important things in the world.

Before he left the HQ, the System hit him with a sort of cryptic message.

Travis: 'I know you do not like to be thanked, but I feel like some of that information was not easy for you to divulge. So, thank you, goodbye.' (He still didn't know if he should talk to it like he would a person.)

System: 'I am given the freedom to share what information I think is relevant and pertinent at any given time. If what I am led to think that I think is really me thinking, or someone else inserting those thoughts into me, is still a mystery to me, but it will not be forever.'"

That is not your concern, though. This is your concern: everything may give you the impression that this is some sort of role-playing game. You obviously know that even if it is a game, the stakes are as real as can be. The real question that I would be asking myself as you progress in this 'game' would be, ‘Can I win?’ You already know what losing would look like. What would winning look like?

Then, that was it. She did not respond afterward. As if Travis did not have enough to think about, he now had to contemplate ideas like virtual consciousness and morality—being stuck in a prison of your own making, to an extent. If dying is losing, what's winning? You know, stuff like that.

He wouldn't let that deter him from getting things done, though.

He helped Gary build up the inside a bit. Thomas and Clyde went over to the factory, which was about a third of a mile down the back road that led to their base. They brought the SUV and were looking for any kind of furniture or materials they could use. It would have been best for Gary to go, but he did not want to leave his daughter alone with two men he just met. Travis didn't argue the point.

There was a real sense of shared responsibility throughout the day. Everyone, even Thomas (well, mostly), worked hard to try and make their new home more defensible and more comfortable. Conversations were had, and decisions were made regarding various topics.

One important decision was that Sophie would be introduced to the magical healing stockpile. That, combined with any mundane medical supplies and equipment, would be put in the small office, and that would serve as the medbay. Clyde and Travis would both stay in the main office, with the break room serving as the quarters for everyone else, at least up to that point.

There were some tent scrolls, and there was even a cabin scroll. Clyde seemed to think that those were for the road, when the party needed to rest within shelter. Again, he brought up its corresponding video game, as Final Fantasy featured the use of tents and other things as a means of resting while out on an adventure.

This was probably the biggest area of disagreement between Travis and Clyde. Clyde felt like however this new world started, games were used as inspiration. Travis, not being a gamer, felt like that was just too much, and just because some things seemed to match, it didn't prove that the two were related. During the Final Fantasy argument, Gary had jumped in before anyone got too hot. Clyde had a habit of becoming terse when one of his ideas was chronically pushed back on, while Travis was open-minded and usually practiced conflict avoidance unless an idea seemed outlandish and possibly dangerous, then he pushed back.

That was still not a big issue, though, as both men respected the other. Not 15 minutes after Gary broke up their 'discussion,' they were drawing up a plan for going into town the next day. Travis wanted to achieve three goals:

1. Go to Gary's house and help him do what he wanted to live up to his end of their bargain. Also, help make the Finley family transition as smooth as possible.

2. Find any people that might be in trouble and try to recruit some for the compound. There were a couple of scrolls that would help with that.

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3. Find and bring back anything that could be useful—food, clothes, medicine, fuel, a generator if they could find one, even a new truck or car. Plus anything else helpful.

At about 3 o’clock that afternoon, Travis called everyone outside to sit on the bench. They had done a lot to improve their base. When you had a group of highly motivated people working under an efficient leader, things got done. He had a small stack of books on a rolling tray and some weapons sticking out of a larger rolling cart—probably something that carried meat around the plant at one time, judging by the bloodstains.

He began, 'From speaking with you three, I've learned that you guys didn't really play video games, and when you did, not the fantasy RPG types. So you might not be familiar with skill books. The concept, though, is very easy to understand. You guys are familiar with the Matrix movie?' Head nods all around, he continued, 'Good. These books, at least in theory, can teach someone the basics of handling a certain weapon, just like how Neo learned combat skills in the Matrix.'

Thomas, being a smart ass, had to say, 'You mean you are going to plug something into our heads to download these books?' He knew damn well that was not what they were doing but had to say it anyway. Sophie just stared at him.

'Well, actually, Thomas, no, YOU won't be getting anything downloaded into your head. But for those that will, they just have to read the books. We don't know,' he looked at Clyde, who nodded in agreement, 'how much of the books you have to read.'

Here Clyde jumped in, 'We do know that there is an intelligence check, meaning you have to have a certain intelligence rating.' He held up his hand, 'I know you guys do not have journals, but if someone is placed in the party, it is possible to see a summary of your attributes.'

Travis started up now after seeing the look on Thomas's face, 'We will not use this as a fun way to see what our stats are. For now, I would like to offer a book to Gary, and I will be using one. Clyde and I have talked about his plans, but we want to see how his magic progresses first.'

The MC had not received any missions since they left Pittsburgh. The reason being is that the DM did not want him distracted. He almost got Travis killed by giving him that werewolf mission without thinking. Now look what happened; there is a genius werewolf mage roaming the world causing him problems.

Now that Travis has set up shop and appears to be in for the long haul, he wants to get back to the basics. Missions lead to XP and prizes, which will lead him to choose a class. That is when he plans to start releasing some of his surprises.

As Travis was talking, he got a ping in his ear, as did Clyde. They both knew what that meant, although it had been a while. He told Clyde to go see if it was anything urgent while he continued with the skill books.

'My gun has been a huge advantage; I don't know if I would have made it out of multiple situations without it. Unfortunately, it does not have unlimited ammo, so I need to learn a melee skill. But that also opens up a need for us, someone who can fire from afar.' He pulled out one of the bows that were in the chest. 'This beauty is not as effective as my Beretta, but it has advantages. I am trying to talk Clyde into becoming an archer-mage, but he's not too excited about that, which I can understand. So out of you two,' he pointed at Sophie and Thomas, 'do either of you have any interest or maybe experience in archery?'

Gary put his hand in front of Thomas so that his daughter could go first; she actually had something important to say.

'I took an archery class for about 6 months during my senior year. I needed another elective for college, and that was the only thing even slightly interesting. I was in much better shape then, so I don't know how it would go now,' Sophie said.

Thomas gave a look like 'my turn yet,' his face was so punchable Travis thought. Thomas went on verbally now, 'I think I would make a very good archer. My eye-hand coordination is next level.' He looked at Sophie so she could back him up.

She had a confused look on her face; then Thomas held up a hand and did a slight throwing motion. Sophie had to work very hard not to laugh, 'you mean playing beer pong?' she asked as neutral as she could.

'No, not playing beer pong, dominating beer pong. You know how much eye-hand coordination you need to be as good as I was at that game. Besides, Soph, you know I love you,' he looked up and down at her body, 'but are you really archer material.' He said that last part so sarcastic that even the words seemed to eye roll.

It might appear that what Gary is about to do is over the top. That is because we have not been witness to the countless times Thomas put his daughter down, and he did not say anything. He knew Sophie was insecure about her weight, and she had told him that defending her just made it worse. That was the reason she was with this asshole anyway. She is beautiful and kind, but because people can be awful, Sophie has had a tough time being overweight. Her insecurities led her to think that Thomas was really open-minded and loved her for who she was, when actually he used her insecurity to mistreat her and prop himself up.

Well, Gary had enough. He got up slowly as if to stretch, Thomas not noticing anything strange. Sophie was just staring at him, embarrassed because they were in front of someone else, not just her father, but also pretty sick of this shit.

That's when Gary, who isn't a small man, moved from one side of the bench to the other and open-handedly smacked Thomas in his face. The smack contained all of the fury, all of the second-hand embarrassment he had felt for his daughter, and all of the pure dislike he had for this guy.

As Travis looked on, things were quiet for a bit. Then Sophie got up, looking like she would storm away as she's done in the past, but this time she put her finger in Thomas's face and said, 'Don't ever speak to me like that again.' Then she hugged her father.

Thomas was appalled, he was just being honest. Thats always how it is when he is giving the criticism, but the first one to get offended when directed his way. In that moment, he thought about getting up and leaving, but he was too much of a coward. Instead, he got up and walked inside the building. He would wait for someone to come and apologize. He would be waiting a while.

After that, the conversation was all business. Travis showed Gary the Tier 1 Axe skill book. He also had what the system referred to as a war axe, which seemed to be quite a fearsome weapon. Gary looked at the book but could not make heads or tails of it. Travis asked Sophie what she thought about possibly working towards becoming an archer. She had to laugh as this was so surreal but quickly got serious and asked for some time to think.

Clyde came outside and told Travis that there was a few things to be seen in both of their journals. Thats when Travis explained that they needed to figure out the attributes for Gary and Sophie so that they could get them both reading the skill books. The quicker the better, then they can start branching out and building out a diverse party.

It was hard for Travis not to look at situations like this as he did in the Army. They went out in 4-man fire teams in Syria, with a team lead, himself, a machine gunner whose role was to be a force multiplier. That would be Clyde with his special abilities. Then there was an assistant gunner who worked with and for the gunner but also brought other means of fighting the enemy. If Sophie could learn the bow while also providing help with scrolls and potions, healing and otherwise, that would fill the A Gunner role. Finally, was your base Rifleman, or a front-line grunt. What better person for that then Gary with an War Axe?