Chapter 2: The Bronze Box and the Countdown to Destruction
He thinks deeply in his mind about what to do to increase his chances of survival in this killing world.
After a few minutes of consideration, he plans his actions step-by-step in his mind.
So,
He starts searching the Nexus City to find something useful, either for his survival or for fortifying the Nexus City.
After searching all around the city, he is drenched in sweat, his body aching with exhaustion. He has never done this much physical work continuously in his life. His face is dull and untidy, and his clothes have become dirty and dishevelled, but he doesn't stop his search. He believes that there might still be something valuable in the city. The altar city had informed him that "Eldros' Will" always grants beginner altar-owners a starting gift to survive in the world of Eldros. This gift is like a one-time investment from the Eldros world to beginner altar-owners.
He refuses to believe that he is so unlucky that the guaranteed gift won't be given to him.
So, after fifteen more minutes of searching, he finds a treasure-looking square box in the farthest corner of Nexus City. The box is brown in color, and while it doesn't seem as mysterious as the ability-ball, he figures that the ability-ball is likely a one-time gift for all altars. In comparison, treasure boxes are provided many times by Eldros' Will. He decides to check the status of the brown box, convinced it will tell him whether it's a treasure box or a trap.
A few seconds later,
A mysterious window pops up in front of Ash.
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Name: Bronze-treasure box (consumable resource)
Status: Good
Quantity: 1
Ability: Provides essential items, mostly lower-grade items
Description: A low-grade treasure box, found in various locations by the Will of Eldros. It is connected to the treasury of Eldros' Will and provides the most useful and urgently needed item to the finder.
Grade: Low-grade
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Ash reads the pop-up window above. His heart races, and he prays in his mind, please, God, give me good items to survive and become a powerful altar-owner.
After he opens the bronze treasure box, a bright light bursts from the box for a few seconds. He watches in awe as the box vanishes into thin air.
A new window pops up in front of him.
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Congratulations to the altar-owner for opening a bronze treasure box for the first time. Your items from the treasure box have been stored in the city's warehouse.
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He thinks to himself, I want to see the newly acquired items from the bronze treasure box.
Two new windows appear before him.
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Name: Hard breads (consumable resource)
Status: Good
Quantity: 16
Ability: Provides essential energy to lower-beings to survive after eating it.
Description: Not tasty, hard bread to eat. Eat with caution and slowly, or your teeth will break.
Grade: Low-grade
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Name: Drinking water (consumable resource)
Status: Good
Quantity: 8 litres
Ability: Provides essential water elements to lower-beings to survive after drinking it.
Description: Just drinkable water, but bitter in taste.
Grade: Low-grade
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A satisfied smile spreads across his face as he looks at the items. He thinks, Basic necessities for surviving five days. This is a good start in this world. I need to search more areas in the city, though, because I haven't explored every corner of it yet. I believe there must be more treasures hidden around.
He resumes searching the Nexus City after acquiring one bronze treasure.
After thirty minutes of thorough searching, he finds a basement in the city that's nearly invisible to the human eye. He stumbles upon it by pure chance.
He enters the basement. The space is large and pitch-black. He feels a deep sense of fear creeping in because it's so dark. He thinks, maybe there are monsters here, but then recalls that altar city is almost safe from monster and beast attacks for fifteen days, as Eldros World's Will protects the newly born altar cities during that time. Though still frightened, he decides to press on.
After fifteen minutes of searching through the eerie darkness, with only a sliver of sunlight seeping in, he finds another box that resembles the bronze treasure box. He decides to check its status.
A new window pops up in front of his eyes.
......…..
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Name: Bronze-treasure box (consumable resource)
Status: Good
Quantity: 1
Ability: Provides essential items, mostly lower-grade items
Description: A low-grade treasure box, found in various locations by the Will of Eldros. It is connected to the treasury of Eldros' Will and provides the most useful and urgently needed item to the finder.
Grade: Low-grade
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Joy flashes across his face. He thinks, Good thing I found another treasure here. Otherwise, all my efforts would have been wasted. I really don't like dark, silent places. This feels like a ghost den.
He opens the bronze treasure box. Once again, it emits a golden light before vanishing.
Another window pops up in front of him.
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All items obtained from the bronze treasure box have been stored in the warehouse.
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He says quietly in his mind, I want to see the new items I got from the bronze treasure box.
New windows appear in front of him.
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Name: Market (unique) (Blueprint-resource)
Requirement: 200 stones, 50 wood
Quantity: 1
Status: Good
Ability: Transfer of items between market buildings.
Description: Used to construct the Market building in the altar city for trade with other altar cities. Only one Market building can exist in an altar city.
Grade: Not applicable because made by Eldros World
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Name: House (Blueprint-resource)
Requirement: 100 stones, 25 wood
Quantity: 1
Status: Good
Ability: None
Description: Provides shelter for up to 4 people, protecting them from wind, sunlight, and the irregularities of the Eldros World atmosphere.
Grade: Low-grade
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Name: Guide mark (Item-resource)
Requirement: Bound with altar to use
Quantity: 1
Status: Good
Ability: Able to summon a person daily in front of your city's entry gate if you're lucky.
Description: Provides an exit gate for one person from a dark tunnel to enter your altar city.
Grade: Low-grade
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Name: Sword (Item-resource)
Requirement: None
Quantity: 1
Status: Good
Ability: None
Description: A sharp sword, perfect for killing enemies.
Grade: Low-grade
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Name: Gun (Item-resource)
Requirement: None
Quantity: 1
Status: Good
Ability: None
Description: Used as a weapon to kill enemies.
Grade: Low-grade
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Name: Bullets (Item-resource)
Requirement: Requires gun to be used as a lethal weapon
Quantity: 20
Status: Good
Ability: None
Description: Lethal bullets for use with a gun.
Grade: Low-grade
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Seeing all the items from the bronze treasure box, Ash feels a sense of accomplishment. He smiles faintly, his exhaustion beginning to fade. The effort he put in searching for the treasures has finally paid off.
After five minutes of rest, he begins searching the Nexus City again for more bronze treasures. He thinks, If I can find one more bronze treasure, it will be good for the city and its future citizens.
Thirty minutes later,
He has searched every corner of the city but finds nothing else useful. His entire body is drenched in sweat, his face and limbs heavy with fatigue. His walking has slowed, and he's only moving because of his sheer will to gain strength and power.
He thinks, I might find more treasures, but my body has reached its limit. I'll rest and search again later. I haven't heard anything from altar city about a time limit for finding treasures, so I believe there's no rush.
After five minutes of rest,
Ash decides to stop searching for treasures at the moment. He feels he must bind the city altar with the guide mark. Living alone in the city won't help him or his city's growth.
He heads to the altar's core area and places the guide mark in its designated spot.
He watches as the altar of Nexus City shines with golden light, the guide mark fusing with a pink vine that looks like a large, 10cm round wire.
A mysterious window pops up in front of him.
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Altar city fuses with the guide mark.
Time needed: 5 minutes
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He blinks, feeling as if nothing happened, but his thoughts drift, I expected this pop-up. I hope my city gets a new citizen after binding with the altar. Otherwise, Nexus City will feel like a ghost town with only one person here: me. I'd toast to Eldros World for our good fortune, but all I have is water. Maybe water will do.
He begins to focus on his next tasks. The search for bronze treasures will continue after this.
After searching three more times, he doesn't find any new treasures. His disappointment is clear, and his face shows the weariness of repeated searches. A tinge of sorrow appears in his eyes.
He sighs and thinks, it seems I've used up all my luck finding those bronze treasures. Maybe I won't find any more.
Feeling conflicted about his luck, he accepts the situation and doesn't let it affect him too much.
He decides to check the city's status and quietly says, Status window.
A window pops up in front of him.
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City: Nexus City
Ability: Territory defense double
Description: In the event of city defense, all attack power and defense power of people and buildings are doubled.
Altar level: 0
Area: 625 square meters
Status: Very small village
Building: Guide mark 1 (inactive)
Warehouse: Market (unique) (Blueprint-resource) *1, House (Blueprint-resource) *1, low-grade sword *1, low-grade gun *1, bullets *20, hard bread *16, drinking water *8L
Population: 1
Specialty: None
Attack power level: 0 (0/1000)
Description: City's power level to attack enemies
Defense power level: 0 (1/10000)
Description: City's defense power level against enemies
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Seeing the city status, Ash decides to command the altar city to activate the guide mark. The altar city confirms the activation.
Fifty minutes later,
Another window pops up in front of Ash.
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Time left before monster attack: 5 hours
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Ash feels a rush of panic and shock, but he calms himself down. He thinks, what can I do to survive this monster attack? I should wait for a new person to arrive and get some information about this world and the monsters. I have a gun with 20 bullets and some shooting experience. If the bullets can kill the upcoming monster, I'll be fine. The city's passive ability, territory defense double, should also double my bullets' attack power. I will survive this monster attack.
A firm determination sets in his eyes.
He begins walking around Nexus City to calm his mind.
At the city's entry gate, he sees a new person.
This person is a young boy, with a handsome face and a better physique than Ash's. Ash thinks, I really hate it when someone is better-looking and more muscular than me back on Earth, but here, I feel happy. Maybe it's a side effect of the monster attack fear. I'm just relieved that I might have a partner to fight alongside me. Or maybe we'll both die fighting together.
He tries to check the status of the young man.