Chapter 3 Adam West and The Realm of the Everlasting System (Patreon)

We decided to approach together and hopefully get more information before any of us entered a portal. There were 22 people who didn't seem to be in separate groups, but they were arguing with each other.

When one of them noticed us, he quickly told the others, and then everyone was looking at us. Immediately, two people from the group worked their way to the front. They were obviously different from the others.

They had large backpacks, and they had better weapons. One had a sword that was made out of iron or steel; it was hard to tell from just a look. The other one seemed to have a decent bow. They also wore jackets and a few other pieces of clothing that none of the others had. They should obviously know more information about what's ahead of us.

"Stop right there," the one with the bow said while he had an arrow nocked. All of us stopped, and Jason started speaking.

"Hello, we aren't looking to hurt anyone; it’s just that the quest led us here. Do you perhaps know more about what's happening?" There wasn't an immediate response, but the two people did look at each other. They seemed to be trust between them so perhaps they known each other even before whatever this was.

The one that had the sword spoke up next. "We are willing to give you every piece of information we know if you agree right now that you share the excess water you have in the coming days."

That was a tall order, but honestly, I was more confused than worried. Jason, like a moron, turned around and started to speak with others, leaving himself open to any attack. However, I did have to speak up.

"Is the water from that creek not good?" I asked, while pointing towards the edge of the clearing. It was a little bit hard to see from here, but there was obviously flowing water there.

Speaking stopped from both groups as everyone looked where I was pointing. "How are we supposed to boil it? There's nothing to use," someone from the other group spoke up, but I couldn’t pinpoint who, as I wasn’t looking towards them at that exact moment.

At this moment, I could think of five ways that you could easily boil water, but Jason, who spoke before me, had a different idea.

"We can actually use empty plastic bottles. I just saw a video of it a few days ago. The water itself keeps the plastic from melting or burning. This way, you can boil water and make it safe to drink, or even make food inside of the bottle."

There were a few who spoke in disbelief, but then the person who had the sword spoke up. "Wait, I think there was a pot in the bag."

It was so hard not to roll my eyes when he said that. His speech was also a bit weird to my ears. I was pretty sure that he was speaking French, but somehow, I heard it as English.

Immediately, the answer was quite obvious. Somehow, the system was making sure that everyone could communicate with each other. A better question was, did it work also on writing? Because if it did, the next few years would be a lot easier.

It didn't take him long to find the pot, which was a decent size, along with a Ferro rod for fire making as well. They gave orders to their group, and quickly some of the people rushed off with two pots and empty plastic bottles to bring water, while others were sent to bring firewood.

"Honestly, I can’t believe we missed that. Thank you, and we would be more than happy to answer any of your questions," the one with the bow said, moving closer and relaxing his whole posture.

"Let's start with the 6th quest that you’re currently on. When you enter that portal, you complete the quest, you get a pretty good meal, some more water, and rations. The 7th quest is to defeat one of the elite monsters."

"If you kill it, you can accept the reward, get a better weapon, and better survival gear, or try to do the optional quest and kill the boss. We do not know what that reward would be because the boss is really strong.”

“We both died to it quite easily. When you finish the quest, you get a timer until this beginner tutorial is over, which is in three days and three hours. After that, I guess we will be leaving this place and going to the real world."

I had suspected that, but Jacob wanted to know more, so they continued to talk. Apparently, the portals or points of interest were a bit different for everyone. However, everyone seemed to agree that they were all around the same difficulty.

They also spoke about how, when you enter the portal, you were given the option to accept the guidance of an ascended. They didn’t know much because when they accepted that and didn’t complete the optional quest, it said that they did not impress their chosen ascended.

The rest of the information wasn’t that useful, but I still listened just in case. For example, I already knew that the truly dangerous monsters outside the portals were the lizard monsters that had javelins.

They also mentioned that many had split up at the start but then still found themselves here. Most also lost some people along the way. That made me wonder about the two people I saw dead and why they didn't have their side bags.

"I can see some people here don’t have their bags. Have they not completed the request?" I asked in honest confusion, as some of them didn't have their bags, which also explained why they were feeling the need to ask for water in exchange for information.

"Unfortunately, that question is quite simple to answer. When you respawn, only the items you have in your slots and on your person will come with you. So, if you had your hardwood stick in your slot but not in your hand or on your waist, you would have it at respawn.”

“Same with the bag; if it’s not in your slot but still hanging from your shoulder, you still lose it and everything that’s inside. I guess you could try to go back to where you died and retrieve those items, but that's assuming the monsters didn't take them."

That was incredibly useful information to have. We spoke a little bit more before the other group started to make a fire with the firewood that had been brought back and set up the water to be boiled.

"I will be heading into my portal. Hopefully, we will see each other when we return from it," I said to Jacob. We shook hands, and I quickly headed towards the portal.

Apparently, the immediate area inside the portal was a safe zone, and no one else could follow me, so it was most likely the most secure place in this entire world.

The portal itself seemed to give off some sort of weird energy. I wondered if this was essence, but here, there was just enough that I could see and feel it. My heart was beating faster than normal, which felt amazing.

Just in case, I pulled out my hardwood stick, holding it in my hand, ready to fight anything that might come for my life. Stepping in and immediately the landscape changed.

What greeted me was a pleasant breeze and beautiful sunlight, basically the same as outside the portal. Now, however, I was surrounded by grassy hills. At this moment, a new screen popped up.

System notification:

Quest complete - Travel to a Point of Interest (6/7)

You have entered a point of interest. These are natural occurrences whenever essence pools in one spot for too long. Inside are small worlds, often mirrors of the real world but with differences. Nothing that's inside is real except for what is taken inside. As a reward for making it this far, you are given more water and rations, an iron knife, but also a lavish meal.

Immediately in front of me appeared another four water bottles, some more biscuits, a knife in a thigh holster, and on a huge paper plate.

It was filled with a huge cheeseburger with double patties surrounded on one side by a huge pile of steakhouse fries. On the other side were what looked like the freshest and delicious looking vegetables: tomatoes, cucumbers, cabbage; it all looked so good. Another system message popped up, but I ignored it and started to eat.

There were also four different kinds of sauces, and they were all delicious. At first, I ate a little fast, but then slowed down and started to enjoy every bite. It might be a really long time before I get to eat anything even close to this magnificence. Honestly, what a wonderful reward. There was still some to eat, but while eating I also the new quest notification.

System notification:

Quest Given

Fight an elite (7/7)

Everything inside a portal is temporary. There are a few exceptions: one is everything that's brought inside a portal, another is loot dropped from creatures dying, and the last one is the strength you gain from killing monsters inside a portal. Find and defeat an elite monster and prove yourself worthy to live inside the system's universe.

That was some good information, but the last part was a bit ominous. But I guess it wasn’t any different than trying to survive back on Earth—you either did or you didn’t. I had only eaten a few more fries before another message opened up.

System notice:

Five Ascended have placed a blessing in this trial. They call upon you to prove yourself worthy of their blessing.

Choose an Ascended's blessing to fight for.

Gain plus one strength for every four levels, a blessing by an Ascended Warrior.

Gain plus one constitution for every four levels, a blessing by an Ascended Knight.

Gain plus one dexterity for every four levels, a blessing by an Ascended Fighter.

Gain plus one strength every three levels, a blessing by an Ascended Templar.

Gain plus one perception every three levels, a blessing by an Ascended Marksman.

It would be nice to have some extra stats, but this wasn't a video game. Survival, not min maxing should be the goal.

Apparently, there are Ascended beings, but if they can give blessings, perhaps a better word for them would be gods. Every religion or God I knew had rules, and if you didn't follow them, things didn't turn out well for you. So, I didn’t want to pick any of these; fortunately, it seems that I was able to dismiss this entire screen without picking any of the options.

Hopefully, this decision won’t come back to bite me. I just didn’t want someone’s blessing I didn’t know anything about. There was still some left to eat, but I decided to take a break and perhaps weave myself a grass ring. When I picked up a blade of grass, it was completely normal for a few moments but then started to disappear and turn into bluish motes of lights.

Well, I guess now I understand what is meant by nothing being real in this place. Well, nothing to it but to get working. I pulled out strips of the blue T-shirt I got and then wrapped them around my arms. When I pulled up my item screen, I could now pick blue fabric wraps for my arms slot. They only gave plus one to constitution, but even that was good.

Next, I tied a band around my head. Into the head slot, I could now add a blue fabric headband. It gave a plus one to perception. The last two pieces I wrapped around my hands so they would protect my knuckles.

This time, however, when I looked at the screen, I paused. They were giving -1 to dexterity and only +0.5 in constitution. I guess the hand slots will remain open for the time being. I also could not make a item out of the fabric pieces to fit into the neck slot.

Now came the question of where I would put the knife. I couldn’t use my left thigh because in that side pocket there were rocks. I could put it on my right side, but I would already be holding my stick with my right hand, so it would be a bit inconvenient.

Testing the harness out, I found out I could also attach it to my arms, but I didn’t like how it felt. It felt like it slowed down my arm movements, which would be bad.

After deliberating for a little bit, I decided to put it on my right thigh. The iron knife was also a lot more valuable in one of my weapon slots than the current stones. It gave +2 to strength and +2 to dexterity and 1% efficiency in dexterity.

Looking at my stats, they had improved quite a lot from the beginning. Speaking of the stats, I tried to look at each one to get a little more idea of what they did, but specific text didn’t appear, but I did get a better idea of what they did.

It was honestly pretty self-explanatory. Nothing special here, but I’m pretty sure that I just got confirmation that the stats are just additive. They add to whatever your body already has, so if you train yourself to be stronger, you will be stronger without gaining any strength points.

It was hard to gauge how much the stat points were helping, but it wasn’t an insignificant amount. I definitely felt stronger, more agile, and overall tougher.

I left two water bottles here just in case, and a little bit of food, but everything else went into the side bag. My stick was always within my reach, but now it was firmly in my hand. I ate the last of my lavish meal and then headed away from the portal.

I could have, of course, gone back through the portal and picked some grass, but I will not be leaving this place unless it’s absolutely necessary. There were some facts that just didn't make any sense out there.

First of all, no one should be so careless as to not see the creek and forget that they had a pot in their backpack. Also, where were the rest of the supplies? It wasn't enough evidence to accuse anyone, but something just felt off.

Whatever the case might be, I have a quest to complete. The grass crunched under my heel as I started to walk up the hill, which only took me a dozen steps. There seemed to be endless hills, but the world wasn't endless.

Looking around, there was like a shimmer that restricted this entire area. It also seemed to stretch away from the portal, but that shimmer was not too far away to the other side of the portal.

I decided to go back and walk to the shimmer to see what was going on. When I got close to it, it started to feel like I was moving through water, and eventually, I hit a solid wall I could not get past.

It was fortunately easier to get back out of this border. This was quite interesting, but it also gave me a direction to go in. It didn’t take me long before I got to the top of another hill and saw my first portal monster.

It was basically the same as the lizard creatures outside, but it was taller and had a more formidable-looking club in its hand. It was about 50 meters away, so a bit far to do devastating damage with a rock, but let's see if my perception stat is high enough to hit my target.

The rock seemed to have perfect spin as it flew through the air. The extra strength and dexterity I had meant that I didn’t need to arch the throw. I was able to hit the side of its head.

It didn't drop immediately but swayed back and forth a few times before falling onto its face. I was momentarily shocked as I could swear I had seen something similar happening in a cartoon.

I approached carefully, but the creature didn't stir. It was still alive, so I quickly ended it with my knife, gaining 4% towards my next level. When I reached the top of another hill, however, I saw three monsters.

To start, I did the same, but this time when I hit the monster with the rock, it dropped immediately. The two others started to rush towards me, but I was able to incapacitate another with a second throw before I needed to engage the last in melee.

The creatures weren't fast or agile, so I simply dodged the attack and, like I did outside the portal, I thrust towards its windpipe with a quick strike. The fight was immediately over. I finished off all three creatures with my knife. Gaining another 12% to the next level. This felt amazing. Wow, I need to be really careful and not become addicted to this.

After the next hill, I crouched down and carefully looked towards the monsters below. There were now four of the same monsters I fought before, but the fifth one was bigger. While it was still the same monster type, it was up to my shoulder height, and its legs and arms looked a lot more flexible and powerful. It also had a shield and a club that was a lot bigger than the smaller monsters' one.

I was now glad that I had spent the time to collect the rocks I had been throwing; otherwise, I would have been running out during this fight. Was this the elite monster I needed to defeat to complete the quest.

What I also noticed was that after this hill, the world seemed to open up a bit more as the shimmer was further away from the sides. The question was, should I target the big one first?