Grant spent the next half hour chatting with Sherlock about many different topics. Most of the information that Sherlock provided didn't really apply to his current situation, but it was still interesting listening to something that had access to such a vast amount of knowledge.

After awhile though, Grant decided that he had wasted enough time moping around and talking to Sherlock and it was now time he started seriously considering what his plans going forward should be.

After much deliberation, with himself, he decided that heading to the gun shop now probably wouldn't be the best idea. He wasn't necessarily afraid of having to confront Jeff and Matt, but he also didn't want to end up in a precarious situation.

He was currently injured and his mobility was severely hindered due to the wound so he wasn't sure what would happen if the three of them ended up in a fight and while they were engaged in combat a monster similar to the Agile Cat showed up?

Truthfully, Grant could perfectly picture what would happen because the two cowards had already shown him how they would run at the slightest hint of danger. Which meant he would once again be facing off against a monster alone and that was a risk that he just wasn't willing to take.

After having come to that conclusion, his next thought was, where to now? He obviously couldn't make the bathroom of a gas station his permanent base of operations.

And god for bid, with his luck, what would happen if some animal or something went crashing into one of the gas pumps nearby and somehow blew the entire building up!

Grant thought that maybe he should work on trying to find some of his friends who had lived nearby but it was impossible to know if they were even alive or dead at this point. And since he had been somewhat of a introvert who rarely attended parties or gathering, he had slowly grown apart from his friends and he wasn't even sure where they were living at the moment.

Since his close family was on the other side of the country, their was no point in trying to reach them at the current time. He would have to make sure he was much stronger before he even attempted to cross the thousands of miles to reach them.

Since Grant was a bachelor, he had no girlfriend or even a love interest that he was concerned about, so executing the age old trope of rescuing a damsel in distress, was of no concern to him.

He did have some extended family still living in the area, but they had never really gotten along all too well because they were devout Christian's and with Grant being the black sheep of his family, they had always looked down upon him. They only saw each other at family gatherings and other events such as weddings, so he wasn't overly concerned with their situation. As cruel as that may seem, it was simply a fact.

That left him with three options.

Option one was to try and look for his friends even without knowing their exact location or even if they were alive, which meant his search could inevitably end in giant waste of time.

Option two was to continue on solo and try to find a place where he could settle down while he tried to navigate the chaos of the new world he found himself thrust into.

Option three was to try and find other survivors and form some sort of group or camp where they could depend on each other and work together, but the situation with Jeff and Matt had made him slightly apprehensive to help other people at this point.

Obviously there were many things that a large group of people could accomplish much quicker and more efficiently than a singular person could. But it also brought on a mammoth amount of responsibilities and risk as well. First and foremost, how do you feed and protect them all?

Grant also wanted to avoid being betrayed a second time so quickly after the first, so he quickly decided to avoid a large group of people for the moment.

Deciding the third option just wasn't something he wanted anything to do with at the moment, he struggled between the other two options available to him.

Since Grant couldn't come to a decision on his own, he decided to ask for the opinion of the only other intelligent entity he was in contact with at the moment; Sherlock.

{What exactly are you trying to achieve, sir? Are you looking to survive or are you looking to get stronger as fast as possible?}

[What I really want is for this fucking hell on Earth to be some sick dream I'm having and wake up in my bed drenched in cold sweat because of how vivid my dream had been.]

{I am sorry to say, that this is no dream. This is now your present and future. You need to come to terms with that, and quickly, if you want to survive.}

[Fuck! I know I know, but one can dream, right?]

{I just said this wasn't a dream, sir.}

[That's not what I meant you overly literal bot! Whatever, you're not helping. Go away.]

{How do you expect me to leave, sir?}

Grant knew that if he kept responding, Sherlock would just keep talking, so he just shook his head at the idiotic alien technology and kept his mouth shut.

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

Grant knew that Sherlock was right and that he had to start accepting the fact that this new reality he found himself in wasn't going to just up and go away randomly. This was going to be his new life from now on. The sooner he accepted that, the better.

So that meant that at some point, the rest of humanity would also come to that conclusion and start to form some semblance of a camp or something where people could gather and protect each other.

Knowing that it was only a matter of time before he would have to join up with a group of people to make survival easier for himself, he decided that at the moment, he should remain solo and try to use the time to grow as strong as possible as quickly as possible.

Which meant that Grant just had to find somewhere that he could defend and use as a base of operations while he fought as often and as hard as he could, so he could reach level 25 quickly and figure out what his Path would be.

According to Sherlock, the first 24 levels were similar to a tutorial in a video game. The Path had weeded out what it deemed to be the most unworthy of the human race and the first 24 levels would help weed out the rest who were not mentally or physically strong enough to survive in the new world.

Which meant that once you reached level 25 and stepped onto your own Path, that was when the real struggles began.

Of course there would be cases of some people being protected by other, stronger individuals, which would allow them to survive.

But a vast majority of the population would probably succumb to fear and end up starving to death in their homes or dying when they were on the verge of starvation and forced to leave their homes to find more food.

While Grant was lost in thought that was when Sherlock chimed in with an actual, useful suggestion.

{Sir I suggest that you make finding appropriate shelter your number one priority. The Path will not only transform humans, living creatures, and plants of this planet; it will also start to effect the weather and climate as well. Having a strong roof over your head to provide yourself with a safe and dry place to rest your head, will be a must in the coming days and weeks.

Once you have found a sufficiently appropriate location for long term use, then you should consider your next moves.}

[That's the conclusion I was heading towards Sherlock, even without knowing of the weather. But hearing you say that just confirms it. I need to look out for myself right now. I can attempt to help other people once I have a grasp on my own situation.

By the way, don't call me sir. Just call me Grant.]

{As you wish, Grant.}

[Alright, it's decided. New shelter first and then we focus on getting stronger and doing what needs to be done! Whatever that may be!]

With that thought, Grant struggled back to his feet. He wasn't sure how long he had spent in the bathroom because there were no windows, but he figured it hadn't been that long.

However, the second that Grant opened the door he was almost blown onto his ass by a huge gust of wind that came through the now open door. Putting all of his strength into remaining standing, Grant realized that a massive storm was brewing outside. It looked like the second coming of the Genesis Flood was about to take place based on the clouds in the sky and the sheer amount of moisture contained in the gust of wind.

After using all of his new found strength just to get the door shut, he once again locked it and sat back down with his back to the door.

He could feel the vibrations of the door with each gust of wind and he started to wonder if the metal door was even going to be able to hold out against the strong wind.

Moments later though, it got worse for Grant because he started to hear the sound of a torrential downpour which immediately resulted in water flowing through the gap between the door and the ground beneath it.

[Just fucking perfect! Right when I want to start being productive, you had to go and raise a flag about the weather Sherlock. I blame you for this. Now I have to spend the night in a fucking bathroom that's being flooded with water!]

{How does a flag affect the weather? You humans are strange creatures with some crazy beliefs.}

[Can you make exchanges in the shop? I'm over this whole, having a guide through the apocalypse thing.]

{You cannot make exchanges in the shop.}

[Figures..]

Annoyed at the newest attack on his sanity, Grant forced himself to focus on the situation at hand.

Luckily, he still had a lot of the food and water left in his backpack so even if the storm lasted for awhile, he shouldn't have any issues other than boredom. But he was worried that if this storm raged on for more than a few days, he might find himself in a precarious situation.

Since Grant had literally nothing else to do, he just watched the water pour through the door and start pooling on the floor of the bathroom which was annoying him more and more the longer he watched.

Their was nothing worse than being forced to endure wet clothes, so to avoid getting wet, he had to sit on the toilet, which was nothing short of embarrassing.

[What else you got for me, oh mighty Path?! How could it get any worse than sitting on a toilet watching water run!?]

The moment that thought came to an end, Grant heard a symphony of roars coming from the other side of the door.

[You've got to be fucking kidding me...]

It didn't sound like whatever made the noise was that close, but it also didn't sound that far away either.

Grant had no way to know what made the noise but he wasn't exactly eager to find out, especially since it sounded like more than one monster was moving about.

{I estimate there are no more than 4 dogs of unknown level, at least based on the volume, vocal range of the roar, and the energy they released with their roars, I would say the dogs are at least level 10 but do not exceed level 15.

They will most likely be strength focused monsters with lower than average speed but higher than average destructive power.

Also of note, if you were not wounded, your speed would have exceeded theirs by at least two times, but injured, although you will still be able to move faster than them, it will not be a vast difference. Your Wet Noodle will be capable of slicing through them without issue however, so if you are smart enough, you will face no issues.

It is recommended that you engage these monsters immediately to reap some experience not only for your levels but also as a form of training.

The weather will make things difficult but should not influence the fight to a large degree.}

[Oh now you want to give advice?! How do I even know what you are saying is accurate? It sounds like pure conjecture to me!]

Even though he was complaining, Grant knew that if Sherlock's evaluation was correct, then he needed to take advantage of this opportunity.

However, walking head first into this storm just to engage a group of monstrous dogs in a fight for experience and levels, didn't exactly sound appealing.

After a few moments of hesitation though, Grant stood up from his toilet throne and prepared to leave the bathroom. He noticed that the pain in his leg had faded almost entirely so he was encouraged by that fact.

[FUCK IT! It's like they say, no pain no gain! So lets fuckin do this! Maybe some new levels will help my wounds heal even quicker!]

And with that, Grant swung the door open once again, took the gale force winds head on, and forced his way out into the storm.