Aetherios System [Slow Build OP MC, Isekai LitRPG/Cultivation] Chapter 9: Chapter 6: Visitors

Read chapter 9 of Aetherios System [Slow Build OP MC, Isekai LitRPG/Cultivation] by TTReynolds on NovelPedia.

Chapter 6: Visitors Chapter 6: Visitors A burp reverberated through the campsite and Alex leaned his head against the tree behind him. He had eaten three more portions of the deer he had killed before he was finally satiated. He knew he was hungry, but he didn't realize he was that hungry until he remembered it was coming on four whole days now since they had been brought here. Wherever “here” was. He also didn't know for how long they had been lying unconscious, so Alex could have not eaten for seven straight days, or ten for all he could remember. Who really knew? Oh fuck, the timer, Alex thought. He projected his will to the system and brought up the quest timer. Time Remaining; 717 Days, 2 Hours, 41 Minutes… Alex wasn’t certain how much time they had when the quest first began. He could only guess that the starting point would have been two years. Or, at least whatever the equivalent of two years would be here. He truly didn’t think that they were all unconscious very long either. Probably started at 720 days then. He thought. That meant they were closing in on three days here. He could at least figure out how to keep track of time this way. That’s a plus. He then thought about what the elf had said about “ascendancy”. Does this place even have days? Like on earth? Or just scripted cycles like computer programs? He raised his eyes and let his mind wander. He still had a desire to figure out more about this system. Learn its secrets. Even though he was tired, mentally and physically, his spirit was restless. He wanted to be up and out there hunting, gathering experience, and progressing ahead. Alex sucked in a breath, and let it out slowly. Something was getting him wound up, and he had to keep his wits about him. He knew he was still stressed, anxious, and panicking deep down. He could feel the fear simmering below his consciousness, ready to strike even as he kept it shoved below the surface. To keep his mind busy until sundown, he picked up his makeshift spear and started to check on it. Looking at the cords and the spearhead, tightening the knot and chipping the head to sharpen it further. It was busy work, but it kept him focused, motivated in the right direction, and not aimlessly stalking about just because he was restless. He kept at this for an hour or so. Checking his gear and looking through his supplies when he was pulled from his menial task assignments by a rustling noise near the edge of his camp. The scrape of leaves and twigs was brought to his ears, and Alex dropped the sewing kit he was holding, snatching up his spear instead. He crouched low, staying by the log he used as his seating next to his fire. Alex had set up a lean-to of sorts as a shelter against one tree. His seating log roughly six feet away against a different tree, with his fire at the center of them. He managed to clear the leaves and brush in the six-foot circle there-in, and mentally declared that area his "campsite". Now, he regretted not trying to uproot and clear the surrounding brush, as he felt very exposed to the unknown noise so close to his person. He gripped the shaft of his spear with whitened knuckles, mentally getting ready for another behemoth badger. He instead sighed in relief when he saw Lance, the lean white male on the Uni squad, step through the foliage and pause in front of him. The man wasn't exactly "friendly" with him being on the opposite squad to his previous own. He was a Uni, after all. Alex should be wanting to kill him as much as the badger. But he didn't, Alex was actually glad to run into another human. "Why'd you stop?" A female voice called out from behind Lance just as another figure stepped forward, revealing the Asian girl Alex remembered to be named Holly. "Oh." She said, and her eyes narrowed as she looked at Alex. Well, now he might be in trouble after all. Did he just run into the entire squad of Uni's? How fucking bad could his luck get? "You alone?" Lance held out his arm, blocking Holly's path f