Chapter 7: What Comes Next?

~

Dimly, Atlas became aware of his surroundings. Rays of hazy light, shining around him. Warmth from the still-burning embers scattered across the ground. The giant form of the bear nearby that breathed slowly and painfully.

Everything ached again. Honestly, he was getting pretty tired of it. Still, he was alive. For some reason, he felt that should be fairly surprising to anybody that had been watching.

Lying there, Atlas heard the pounding of drums fade. Like, they were literal drums, beating out a song that felt both ancient and deeply personal. And they were practicing that rhythm inside his skull.

“Please stop.” he murmured.

With much groaning, he set up slowly and pulled himself free of the bear’s encompassing form. His foot was killing him, pulsing with pain the way broken bones often do. After looking around, he sighed. The bonfire was gone, only small bits of smoldering logs left of the light and flame that had saved them the night before.

The creatures on the other hand, well, what was left of them was just some odd blackish ichor and goo. They had either dissolved or melted in the inferno. The largest one still remained however, a pile of putrid stench.

Maybe he could get his pick back. He wasn't too sure. In fact, the more Atlas looked at the puddle of rotting flesh, the more he thought it might be a lost cause. Walking over, he tried not to gag and failed miserably. After retching up whatever food remained in his system, he finally reached in and grabbed the handle of the pick.

Oddly it felt, well, complete and intact. When Atlas pulled it out, the basic stone age tool now shone with an odd purplish hue and carried a glint of power that wasn't natural. But then again, nothing here was natural. Like, how many people actually fought ghouls and whatever this thing was on a regular basis? No one, that's who!

“On second thought,” Atlas wondered, “Maybe other humans that had been brought to this world could be added to that very small list.”

If the system could be believed, then Atlas wasn’t alone. Or, at least, he wasn’t alone in the sense that there were potentially hundreds of thousands of other humans out there.

Though, after a night like the last one, there were probably a bit fewer. Nonetheless, there should still be people that he could meet up with; and if he knew anything about survival (which to be fair wasn't a lot), it was always better in a group than going solo.

Atlas shoved his pick to the side and resolved to inspect it further later. Maybe once he had cleaned it completely. He began pushing the remains of the creature towards the fire pit but they kind of just sloughed off to the side; at which point he gave up, still gagging and trying not to lose his breakfast. Which he hadn’t even had yet.

In fact, once he stepped far enough away to stop being assaulted by the smell, he became painfully aware of just how hungry he actually was. He felt it in his stomach, this growling, gnawing sensation. He needed food.

Glancing over at the bear, Atlas began to consider what he might gain if the animal died. The truth was, he’d rather have the big guy alive and on his side, even if the resources provided would be helpful.

Sure, he had killed the wolf, but then again, that thing had been trying to eat him. The bear, at least, had seemed friendly. And there was this kind of odd companionship, if you could call it that, that Atlas felt with it. Like he knew he could trust it, even if normally such a massive beast would eat him once it woke up.

Could such a creature be considered an ally? A companion?

Could he tame it? That didn't feel right. He was fairly certain that the bear, along with other animals dropped into this place, were more intelligent than they had been before.

So many questions, and absolutely no answers. Sighing, he turned back to the embers. Hopefully the marketplace now provided food, because he didn't think he was good enough to go trapping or fishing, and he really didn't have any other clue how to find food in an environment like this. It'd be best if he could find another village with actual living people. But the chances of that were probably not high.

Well, there was no time like the present to determine if any rewards had been received from all this “fun/happy time” that Atlas was participating in. Speaking of which, there was a shining emblem at the bottom of his vision that just would not go away; and he resolved, at this point, not seeing any enemies out in the morning light, that he should probably open it up and look.

{Congratulations, Participant of the 257th Grand Tournament!}

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{You have completed the 1st Trial of the Grand Tournament, and the associated quest [1st Trial]. As such, all rewards will be added to your total; as well as a bonus for any outstanding achievements.}

A second message popped up immediately after the first one; less stylized and more personal.

{Please note, your galactic viewership peaked at #78 last night, which puts you in the top #100 Participants of the Grand Tournament. As such, you receive a bonus reward, as well as a slot in the patron interstellar auction. While the auction slot will not affect you in the current Stage, it bodes well for your future prospects while in the Tournament. Keep up the great work!}

His status was flashing subtly, but Atlas waited for a second after dismissing the popups. The morning mist was slowly fading as the sun shone through the snow-covered forest outside, and the river flowing nearby brought an oddly peaceful sensation to the moment. He didn’t really trust it. Still, nothing jumped out and tried to kill him… yet. Eventually, he moved on to check the status and quest updates.

{Legend of : Atlas the Unbroken}

Level: 5

Attributes: 6 (+4)

Titles: 8

Skills: 5

Quests: 2

Fame Points: 11.5

Power Points: 9

Only two levels? He thought that seemed a little low, at least in comparison to the three he’d gotten for soloing the wolf. Atlas glanced over at the still-snoring bear. Maybe that was the answer. Were the two of them enough to form a party and share xp? No way to answer that in the moment.

{Attributes}

Available Points: 4

Might: 1

Agility: 1

Vitality: 3

Intellect: 0

Wisdom: 0

Resolve: 1

He didn’t take too long to consider his choices. Without further information on what exactly each attribute did, there was no point in saving any points for a specific build. Thus, with 4 points at his disposal, he threw two into Vitality and one each into Might and Resolve. If need be, he could always buy more points for different attributes later on.

The next tab showed four new Titles added below his original four. He winced at the descriptions of several.

[Monster Slayer (Group)]

While in a group, you have killed an enemy at least ten levels higher than the average level.

+1 Power, +1 Fame

[Day One Survivor]

Against great odds, you have survived the first day of the 257th Grand Tournament. Now you just have to survive the following 3649 days.

+1 Power, +1 Fame

[If It Can Kill, It’s A Weapon]

You’ve killed a boss with a basic rank tool, and its minions with other flaming minions. In your hands, anything and everything can be used with deadly intent. Go on, poke 'em with the pointy end.

+2 Power, + 2 Fame

(Grants the skill: [Whatever It Takes])

[Day One Celebrity]

Out of millions of participants, you reached the top 100 viewed on the first day. Not an easy feat for sure, but don’t rest now. Those numbers change fast!

+5 Fame

Overall, it was mostly a mixture of decent bonuses. Though, Atlas was a little unsure about the whole celebrity spiel. It sounded like a good thing, but more attention would probably also mean more scrutiny. And what had he actually done that warranted such views? Killed the wolf, maybe. Or the ghoul leader last night.

Still unsure, he moved on to read the description of the new skill.

[Whatever It Takes]

Grab anything, literally anything, and use it as a weapon. This ain’t fun and games. You’re here to make em bleed. Add x2 damage to an attack made with a non weapon-class item. 10% chance for bleed effect.

Considering the fact that this was his second skill gained from a title, Atlas began to wonder why it seemed so much better than the skills he had purchased from the store. In fact, both of his “title” skills were leagues better, though they contained no rank, and so were probably stagnant in terms of upgradeability. Maybe that was the trade off? This might require testing later.

Moving to the Quests tab, he noted the addition of a sidebar, with a [Completed] sign above his only finished quest, [1st Trial]. His [Survival] quest remained the same, with no hint as to how many trials actually remained in the 1st Stage. Below that, a new paragraph of text spelled out what lay ahead, and Atlas’ heart began to slowly sink.

[2nd Trial]

Last one week after initial integration. Locate a safe area, and clear it of all hostiles in order to claim ownership. (WARNING) There are a limited number of safe areas. There can only be one “Tribe” per safe area. [Incomplete]

(Reward)

+5 Fame; +5 Power; Potentially receive [Tribal Leader] or [Tribal Member] title.

Well, it was about what he expected. A little good news. And a lot of bad. This whole tournament was essentially a battle royale; although you were more likely to be killed by animals and whatever other random creatures had been implemented by the system (or people) in charge. There would have to be actual fights between individuals later on, but for now, it was mostly against the environment.

Eventually, Atlas just shook his head and clicked on the marketplace. Maybe something new had been added.