Chapter 9

“You're not here to help out permanently?” Caleb asked, his voice cracking with a sudden, sharp spike of anxiety. He looked at the massive, cosmic eye hovering over the blood-stained grass of his campsite. “I mean, you're an administrator. I thought this was a team effort.” Maya Rossi's pupil contracted, the swirling galaxies within her iris shifting toward a duller hue. “Unfortunately, no. The system only summons an administrator such as myself for a short while when creating an outpost. It's a temporary assignment, Caleb Vance. We only get summoned during the first year after initiation. Think of it as something like an add-on Tutorial.” She paused, her lid lowering slightly in a gesture that looked remarkably like embarrassment. “But we got a bit side-tracked here, and I only have ten minutes before I'm summoned back. We need to hurry up with your outpost.” Caleb's stomach did a slow, nauseating roll. “Ten minutes? I don't even know what I'm doing yet.” “Then listen carefully,” Maya said, her tone shifting from pleasant to informative. “Outposts will evolve into full-fledged towns if you complete certain missions. The difference between a system-sanctioned town and a normal mortal town is significant. A city leader of a system-sanctioned town can use the system to summon buildings directly, tax the population with a thought, and connect to other city leaders across the world. But right now, this outpost is temporary. It's a placeholder.” She drifted closer, the faint humming of her magical presence vibrating in Caleb's teeth. “Either you manage to turn it into a town by completing your quest within three months, or the Breach over there will stabilize,” she said, gesturing with a subtle tilt of her mass toward the pulsing red pillar in the distance. “If it stabilizes, it turns into a town owned by the invading general. By then, a lot more demons will spawn. And unless you're already dead, you will likely die then, titles or not.” Caleb looked at the red glow on the horizon, then back at the floating eye. He gripped the straps of his backpack, his knuckles turning white. “But do I really need to care about creating an outpost? My goal is to find my family. I don't want to play mayor. I can just leave before the demons arrive and head inland.” Maya didn't blink—it wasn't clear if she could. “And go where?” her voice was flat, lecturing. “You couldn't go to the tutorial town, so you can't learn skills or choose classes through the standard channels yet. That makes you quite weak compared to what you should be. There are monsters everywhere now, Caleb. You aren't safe anywhere.” She drifted in a slow circle around him, the cosmic light from her form casting long, flickering shadows against the dented side of the camper. “An outpost can help you get stronger through its facilities. More importantly, having a town would be the most effective way to look for your family. You could use system communications and networks. That is much more efficient than manually looking everywhere like a vagabond. Besides, being the first to create a town has amazing benefits, just like with your titles. The system likes the people in the forefront.” Caleb looked down at his boots, the leather still stained with the ichor of the demonling. “I just want to find them.” “Then stay alive,” Maya said, her voice dropping into a nonchalant, yet chilling, register. “And if that's not enough to motivate you, I can also tell you that the system hates cowards. You only get one shot at creating your outpost. If you fail, the system deems you unworthy to be a Lord in the future. It's a permanent black mark.” Caleb looked up, sensing a ‘but' coming. “If you don't just fail, but even abandon the mission,” Maya continued, “the system will also punish you. It would range from crippling you to outright killing you, depending on how bad it judges your performance.” “WHAT?” Caleb shouted, his voice echoing through the silent, alien glade. “You mean I must complete this quest and kill all the other boss demons or the system might kill me? This isn't a choice? It's a goddamn conscription!” “Well, yes,” Maya said, her tone remaining breezy. “So I suggest you improve your outpost as much as possible in order to have a chance at survival. The stronger the base, the more likely you are to survive the stabilization of the Breach.” Caleb took a deep breath, trying to steady his shaking hands. The reality of his situation was sinking in like a lead weight in his gut. He was tethered to this spot, to this red vortex, by a system that would execute him for desertion. “Well, shit,” he muttered, rubbing his face. He looked back at Maya Rossi with a desperate, hopeful squint. “So what do you suggest I build first? What's the optimal strategy here?” “I'm sorry,” Maya said, and for once she actually sounded apologetic. “I am not allowed to guide your choices of buildings. Building a proper base is also a test from the system. I am only allowed to provide general information. The system doesn't want to give too much direction or tips to newly initiated civilizations, as it wants to test their ingenuity. It wants to see what you prioritize when your life is on the line.” Caleb groaned, kicking a loose stone. “Of course. Why would anything be easy?” “Anyway,” Maya said, her form beginning to flicker at the edges, a sign that her ten minutes were nearly up. “If you mentally imagine the words ‘Outpost base,' a menu will appear with your options. Most of the options are unavailable at the start, but more and more get unlocked as your outpost grows into a town and further. You use the Nexus coins you have to buy the upgrades, and you can get more coins from various sources.” “Nexus coins?” Caleb asked. “I saw something about Quantum Chips earlier.” “Nexus coins are the official currency of the multi-verse,” Maya explained, her eye glowing with a sudden burst of eagerness. “They are the only currency used when trading with the system. You'll find them as rewards, or by exchanging certain items.” Caleb blinked, remembering a term from his status screen. “Wait, is there some connection between Quantum Chips and Aether Shards? I saw those listed too.” “Not really,” Maya said. “Aether Shards are a cultivation resource in the multi-verse. Both cultivators and mortals can absorb cosmic energy from them to increase their power. The higher the grade, the more energy the shard contains, and the faster you can absorb it. They are physical objects, whereas your coins are digital credits within the system interface.” The air around the camp began to vibrate. The light reflecting off Maya's surface distorted, and her pupil suddenly dilated until the cosmic swirl was replaced by a void. Small, red, squirming veins appeared all over the surface of the giant eye, pulsing with a frantic rhythm. “Well, at this time I would normally have time to answer some specific questions about the different buildings, but we're out of time,” Maya said, her voice becoming rapid and urgent. “Good luck, Caleb Vance. If you somehow survive this, remember me when you create your town! I'd love to be your permanent administrator!” She began to fade, her edges blurring into the air. “Wait! Anything else?” Caleb yelled, reaching out toward her. “You… you should really try to complete the quests within a month,” Maya said, her voice trembling with a sudden, uncharacteristic hesitation. “Or at least within two months. That would—” A heavy, suffocating pressure descended on the camp. It felt as if the very atmosphere had turned to lead. With a silent, violent pop of displaced air, Maya Rossi disappeared. Caleb stood alone in the center of the camp. The pressure vanished as quickly as it had arrived, leaving him gasping for air. He looked at the spot where the eye had been, her final warning ringing in his ears. *Within a month. Or at least two.* What happened at the three-month mark that she was so afraid of? She had mentioned the Breach stabilizing, but the way her pupil had blown out and those red veins had appeared suggested something even more visceral. He didn't want to be outside anymore. The two suns were starting to set, casting long, bruised-purple shadows across the landscape. The forest beyond the glade seemed to lean in, watching him. Caleb walked over to the cooler that the demonling had been rummaging through earlier. He found a bottle of water—tepid, but sealed—and grabbed it. He retreated into the camper, locking the door and sliding the deadbolt home. It wouldn't stop a determined monster, but it made him feel less exposed. He sat at the small, built-in table, took a long swig of the water, and closed his eyes. *Outpost base,* he thought. Immediately, a new window shimmered into existence in his field of vision. It didn't look like the minimalist status screen from before. This was dense, vibrant, and looked remarkably like a high-end web store from Earth. [Outpost Management: Site 001-Alpha] [Current Balance: 10100 Nexus Coins] Caleb paused. Ten thousand? He remembered having roughly five thousand earlier. He must have gained another five thousand during the day, likely a bonus for the act of officially designating the outpost. He began to scroll through the interface. The shop had multiple categories: [Infrastructure], [Defense], [Utility], [Production], and [Special]. Under [Infrastructure], he saw things like *Basic Fencing*, *Stone Pathways*, and *Well-Digging*. [Defense] held more interesting, and expensive, options: *Wooden Sentry Tower*, *Spiked Pit Trap*, and something called a *Mana-Sensing Alarm*. The list seemed unending. Thousands of products were greyed out, marked as [Requires Town Rank] or [Requires Lord Title]. Even with the locked items, the sheer volume of choices was overwhelming. He looked at the price of a *Basic Log Cabin*—2000 coins. A *Reinforced Gate*—1500 coins. He leaned back against the vinyl cushions of the camper booth. Outside, the first sun dipped below the horizon, and the world outside the window turned a deep, haunting violet. He had ten thousand coins and a death sentence hanging over his head if he didn't build something that could keep the demons at bay. Caleb tapped his fingers on the table, his eyes darting across the glowing blue icons of the building menu. He needed to be smart. He needed to be fast. And according to Maya Rossi, he needed to be finished a lot sooner than the system's official deadline suggested. He started by opening the [Defense] tab. If something came out of the woods tonight, he didn't want to be relying on a thin sheet of aluminum and a deadbolt. ════════════════════════════════════════