Frank woke up in a much better mood than the previous day. Today was supposed to be another day dedicated to training and getting stronger. Having woken up at pre-dawn, he sought to get an early start. But first, he had to spend his GP and attribute points. Since there was no follow up grid after completing Die Hard II, and the other Grids didn’t offer anything valuable, going for Leading the Pack was an easy choice. He added 50 GP to the grid, bringing it to 50/250. It was the grid that had given Frank the best rewards, and he had very high hopes for the reward from this stage as well.

What to do with the 9 attribute points was a bigger question. He was growing increasingly dissatisfied with his combat performance, as he was repeatedly forced to use magic or other tricks to get past the goblins’ defenses. According to Benton and Clay, Strength was the way to go, however, Kim swore by her high Dexterity, quickness, and Perception. Since Kim’s weapon resembled his saber much more so than Clay’s giant club, Frank was inclined to follow her path. On the other hand, if he was going to act as a supplementary healer, he needed a larger R mana pool.

In the end, Frank ignored everything and added 1 point to D magic, to bring his D mana to 150, enough to cast Clean three times. He put the remaining 8 attribute points into Willpower. He was aware that his obsession with regeneration was making him weak, but he couldn’t help himself. There was something satisfying in being able to recover faster. As long as I can spend just a few days training in peace, it will more than make up for itself, Frank thought as he looked over his attributes.

Strength: 3

Dexterity: 3 (+2)

Quickness: 6 (+4)

Perception: 1 (+1)

Constitution: 23

Vitality: 21

Endurance: 12

Destructive Magic Affinity: 15

Restorative Magic Affinity: 13

Focus: 12

Control: 8

Willpower: 28

HP: 408/408 (234/hour) (117)

Stamina: 175/175 (450/hour) (225)

D Mana: 150/150 (152/hour) (76)

R Mana: 130/130 (352/hour) (176)

The matters dealt with, Frank left the base and began training. A short while later, Gabriel, Kim, Benton, and Clay came out as well, surprising him. After a quick round of dueling, they settled into regular training. Determined to raise his Saber Mastery, Frank spent most of the time paired with Kim, drilling several combinations of attacks and parries.

Several hours later, they took a break to get breakfast and attend the morning meeting. Steve talked about the scouting team’s discovery of the other survivor groups, then he announced that they succeeded in creating vials by using sand to make glass. It was great news since it meant they would have an ample supply of potions, partially solving the issue of healers running out of mana. However, with the increase in demand, the crystals they had were quickly used up, prompting Steve to send out half the people to forage in the forest. After a brief exchange, Frank’s group decided not to head out, but stay and train instead.

The meeting was wrapping up when a panel suddenly appeared in front of Frank. His eyes widened as he read it.

Settlement: USS Carl Vinson has been created and is now visible on your map.

The navy, huh? Frank thought as he focused on the word Settlement. As expected, doing so brought up a new panel.

Upon killing the Boss of a Monster Ground one would receive a Settlement Token, which can be used to create a System Assisted Settlement. Settlements provide many benefits: streamlined management of buildings and defenses, exclusive buildings, and more.

As expected, the crew of an air carrier would have the numbers and the discipline to pull something like this off. And their name is an obvious declaration to the other survivors. He opened his Map and zoomed out, to get the overall map. Previously, it was a black square, with their base being located toward the bottom of the map. Now, in the darkness to the North of them, was a blue dot with the name of the Settlement. Focusing on it even brought up the distance towards it, just like it did with Monster Grounds. Heh, that’s a long trek, Frank thought, the place was 496 miles away. He closed the map and looked around, people were either still looking up the info or discussing it among themselves.

“What do you think? It’s a long way away, but we’d be much safer there. Not just because of the Settlement stuff, but the sheer number of organized soldiers,” Gabriel said.

“It’s an option, but we’d face plenty of danger on the way there,” Benton shrugged.

“Only those Monster Grounds within 150 miles from us were revealed on the map. Do you think new ones would show up on the map when we got closer? If not, then we’d run the risk of walking by one and being attacked,” Frank mused.

“Might actually be safer to stay and defend,” Kim agreed.

They continued to discuss the news until Steve called for everyone to give their thoughts. In the end, it was decided that attempting such a long journey into unknown territory was too risky. They would send out a scouting team to assess the danger, while the rest would continue as planned.

Frank’s group resumed their training. He continued drilling several combos against Kim, occasionally rotating to fight the others. They worked on their arcane resistance via Amy’s Arcane Explosion. Interspersed with some running and meditation.

As the hours passed, more System messages regarding Settlements began to pop up. Mostly from the US navy, going by names, but Russia, Japan, Italy, Spain, China, and more also managed to stake their claim. After a while, Frank began to just dismiss the notifications, only checking the map during breaks. So far, the closest was a Settlement called New Rome, some 318 miles to the east of the base.

Around six in the evening, they decided to call it a day. Although thanks to Endurance and Fitness, they could still continue physically, the mental fatigue began to build up. As they made to leave, Frank asked if a couple could stay back to help him.

“Sure. What do you need?” Benton asked.

“I just need someone to watch my back as I train Pain Tolerance.”

“Oh, you’ve got a new method? What is it?” Gabriel asked curiously, his own skill no longer leveling from accidental hits he took during sparring.

Frank’s explanation caused the group to descend into stunned silence. Clayton was the first to react, he threw his head back and laughed uproariously.

“This crazy old man,” Clay muttered after his laughter subsided.

“Are you serious? That’s, uh, a bit much, don’t you think?” Gabriel asked, exchanging looks with the others.

“Desperate times, desperate measures. I should be able to level four skills at once, and skills should level fast,” Frank said.

“Yes, but…” Gabriel could only shake his head.

“Are you sure about this? I get that HP will restore any physical damage, but what about mental? It’s basically torture,” Amy asked with concern.

“So is stabbing a sword through my arm,” Frank shrugged. “Since no permanent damage will occur, it’s just some temporary pain for permanent gain.”

“I doubt most people would agree,” Stuart shook his head. “Anyway, I don’t have the stomach to witness such a thing, so I am leaving,” he added.

“Yeah, that’s like nightmare fuel. I want to be able to sleep at night,” Kim said and let out a nervous laugh.

“You don’t have to force yourself if it’s too much,” Frank told Amy, seeing the woman’s hesitation. “What about you three? I’ll be quite distracted and will need someone to watch my back.”

“I’ll do it,” Gabriel volunteered. “I can’t believe you’re doing this after what Kareem put us through,” he muttered.

“We nearly died to the goblins, and with all these Settlements shit, the chances of fighting other humans just went up,” Frank said as the two of them moved further away from the base.

“That’s true and all, but your solution is way too painful.” He just couldn’t agree with the idea of torturing oneself to gain skills.

Frank shrugged, to each his own, I guess. As far as he was concerned, he essentially found a shortcut to quickly level four skills at the same time. Sure the pain would be mind-blowing, but it would be temporary. They stopped around two hundred yards from the base, and Frank began to build a fire pit.

He dug up a bit of soil, then placed the wood he had gathered earlier into the pit. He used a magical firestarter, a metallic device the size of a chicken egg, to set the twigs aflame. It was something he took from Helen’s Spatial Ring after she died, and was one of the rewards from the Survivor grid. His heart ached when the item reminded him of his companions’ deaths, but it only served to fuel his determination.

He added a few larger pieces of firewood and set a short metal sword over them. The task done, he sat back and relaxed in meditation. After ten minutes, he had recovered most of his resources and spent the next few minutes spamming his skills.

“I think it’s ready,” he told Gabriel. He stuck his hand into the fire, his finger tapping the sword tentatively. “Ow. Yeah, that should do it,” he yelled, drawing his hand back. Gabriel could look on at Frank’s shenanigans.

Taking a deep breath to steady himself, Frank placed a piece of wood into his mouth and bit down on it. He knelt by the fire, then reached his right hand into the flames and grabbed the sword’s handle. For a moment, nothing happened, the pain too high for the mind to register. Then, it smashed into his mind like a freight train.

Frank growled, his teeth digging deep into the piece of wood in his mouth. He could feel, hear, and even smell the skin on his hand begin to sizzle. Pain nearly overwhelmed him and his body began to shake, as he refused to pull back his hand. Despite his effort, he couldn’t resist for more than ten seconds. Yanking his hand back, Frank fell on his back, his left hand cradling the burned appendage. After the pain subsided, Frank began to laugh.

“Hey man, are you alright?” Gabriel shouted, his hand pressed against Frank’s shoulder.

“I’m fine, but the pain really is intense,” Frank said as he sat up. “Hm, a level in Pain Tolerance and Heat Resistance. Not bad for a few seconds,” he added and smiled.

“Jesus Christ, did you go insane from your friends’ dying?” Gabriel let out in alarm. “Even if it’s effective, it’s an insane method.”

“I wonder if the System is playing tricks with my mind. I don’t see what the big deal is. The pain doesn’t even last a minute,” Frank said nonchalantly.

“Really? You don’t see why someone wouldn’t want to subject themselves to such pain? That’s disturbing,” Gabriel said, sounding helpless.

“Oh, I get that. I just feel the benefits are far superior to the cost,” Frank said.

He continued his torturous training for about two hours, his skills increasing rapidly. Still going strong, Frank planned to keep going until the sunset, however, Gabriel’s voice pulled him out of his pain-induced reverie.

“Did you see the Battle Group Chat? Looks like some people came over from the side of the river and are asking for Steve. Want to check it out?” Gabriel asked. Although he had grown accustomed to Frank’s growl, and the smell of burned skin, it didn’t mean he found the experience compelling.

“Sure. Just help me put the fire out,” Frank replied after a moment, he could sense Gabriel’s growing unrest and didn’t want to push the man.

They threw some earth into the pit, using it to snuff out the fire. Frank left the heated sword there to cool down, unsure if he could put it into his ring while it was in such a state. The two ran past the base and toward the river.

When they arrived, Steve was already there, chatting with one of the guys standing on the other side of the river. He was a man in his mid-twenties, he had long, blond hair, and an athletic build. He looked like the poster boy for a surfer dude.

“... like eight feet tall, as strong as trolls but with much better coordination. No way we could’ve taken those minotaurs on, even if there were just fifty of them,” the blond said while gesticulating wildly.

“The Monster Ground near us got just goblins, but there were three hundred of the bastards, mostly level 30,” Steve said.

“That should be doable,” the man mused.

“Maybe.”

The two continued to chat, while someone nearby filled Frank in on what he missed. Apparently, the blond man and his five buddies belonged to a group of nearly three hundred survivors. They had a base two hundred miles to the west, but when the Monster Ground near them spawned fifty level 50 minotaurs, they decided to run and hope to find other groups, rather than stay and fight. They’ve run into a few smaller groups, some of which chose to join them, but Frank’s would be the largest group they’ve met.

A new group of six arrived behind the blond man, whose name was Ben. The one leading was a black man in his fifties, with an average build, his hair showed some gray. The other five were all fit men under forty, there was a strange certainty and precision to their movements, as their eyes continuously swept over the people on Frank’s side of the river. Police? Or military guys? Frank mused as they introduced themselves.

“I’m Thomas, and this is Frank,” he introduced himself and gestured at one of the military men next to him. “I’d like to discuss cooperation between our groups,” he added, cutting straight to the point.

“Alright, come on over.” Steve waved for them to cross the river.

The military man named Frank gestured for one of his subordinates to go. The rest looked on as he waded into the water. The river was about twenty yards wide, but wasn’t very deep, only reaching eight feet at the deepest. Once he could no longer touch the floor, the man began to swim, the current pulling him along. He ended up crossing the river some fifty yards downstream, before making his way back to where Steve was. Thomas said something to the surfer guy, then he and the rest of the military men began to cross the river.

Sometime later, Thomas was walking over when someone shouted in surprise.

“Thomas? Is that really you?” Turning his head, Frank saw one of their pilots staring at the black man.

“Jim?! Now, this is unexpected,” Thomas said, a smile emerging on his face. He hastened his steps. “It’s nice to see a friendly face in these circumstances,” he added.

“You know him?” Steve asked their pilot, whose name was apparently Jim.

“Ah, yes. We’ve worked together, back when I just became a pilot,” Jim replied.

Thomas arrived before them, he shook Jim’s hand and patted him on the back, before shaking Steve’s hand.

“Should we talk here or somewhere more private?” Thomas asked, his eyes locked onto Steve’s.

“Yeah, let’s chat over… there,” Steve pointed and began to walk. His eyes swept over the gathered people, stopping on Frank. “Frank, you should come too,” he shouted.

“Two Franks? This could get confusing,” Thomas said, his gaze sweeping over the old man shuffling after them.

“Yes, we should use a nickname or something,” Steve agreed.

“What’s your last name, old man?” The military man asked.

“Um, no. I am Frank, and that’s that. I am too old to get a new name,” Frank said, his voice stern.

I am not going through that shit again, Frank thought as his childhood memories surfaced. He was ten when his family moved and he had to attend a new school. There was another boy named Frank in the class already, so he got nicknamed Wolf, since his last name was Wolfe. It actually sounded pretty cool, except the other kids would howl whenever they saw him. Eventually, he fixed the issue with a few beatings, but he was aware the kids still called him Wolf behind his back.

Then when I attended college after returning from the war, I became quite a womanizer. My relentless pursuit of women earned me the nickname ‘pussy hound’ from my new friends. “Not a man at all, a hound!” They would joke whenever he chased after another woman. He laughed mentally as some of the highlights of that time surfaced in his mind.

“Heh, alright gramps, no need to get snippy. You can call me Baj,” the military man said with a chuckle.

Steve and Thomas expressed their agreement and continued to chat.

“I got the gist of your situation from Ben. What do you intend to do now?” Steve asked.

“Originally, we wanted to combine our forces with another group to improve our chances of survival. However, with the Settlements being a thing, and showing up on a map like beacons, it’s a toss-up between going to one of the nearby Settlements, or trying to take down a Monster Ground and start our own,” Thomas explained.

“Do you see the Monster Ground near us on your map?” Frank asked.

“No. They only show up if you were close enough when they spawned,” Thomas shook his head, confirming Frank’s theory. “Makes traveling beyond the 150-mile range quite troublesome.

The four had finally reached their destination and sat down on the ground, some fifty yards away from the river.

“The closest Settlement to us is New Rome, 318 miles away,” Frank mused.

“What about New Shanghai? It’s only 163 miles from here. We were actually planning to journey there tomorrow before Ben’s group ran into you,” Thomas said.

Frowning, Frank opened his map. Indeed, a new Settlement had appeared some 163 miles to their North, while the Monster Ground that was located around there was no more. However, the location of this new Settlement caused Frank to suck in his lips.

“That New Shanghai place, it’s just a few miles from where Helen and Demi encountered those people,” he said, locking eyes with Steve, who gave a noncommittal ‘hmm’ in response.

Seeing the curiosity in the newcomers’ eyes, Steve explained to them about Helen’s and Demi’s run-in with would-be-rapists.

“Sadly, both of them have died during our ill-fated attempt to damage the goblin’s of the Monster Ground, so we can’t confirm it,” Steve concluded.

“A military unit shouldn’t have devolved to such a state in a single day,” Baj voiced his opinion. “However, it would be best to avoid such a risk.”

“Can you tell us more about the goblin Monster Ground?” Thomas asked.

Steve gestured for Frank, who proceeded to tell them about their encounter with the goblins, the tactics the monsters used, and the abilities they wielded. After he finished, the atmosphere became somber.

“I am sorry for your loss,” Thomas said, breaking the silence.

“As are we. But, life goes on and we must survive if only to bring meaning to their deaths,” Frank said.

“Then, you believe that the goblins are yet to recover to their original three hundred?” Baj.

“According to our scouts, yes. They are using the mine again, and a group of about fifty goblins patrols the route between the mine and their base,” Steve supplied.

Baj caressed his chin in contemplation. “This is actually perfect. We can ambush the patrolling group, then eliminate the ones at the mine. If the goblins at the base attempt a rescue, we’ll ambush them too, and if not, we’d have reduced their total number by another hundred,” he told the others.

“There are two hundred people in your group, and we have another hundred. Even if we combine forces, it might not be enough to attack both the mine and the patrol, while also having enough people waiting in ambush for the rescuing goblins,” Frank mused.

“We can contact the two groups South of us. They refused to join before, but our circumstances have changed. If both joined, that would add another hundred people to our forces,” Steve mused.

“Can you contact them?” Thomas asked.

“Not directly. You need to meet the one you want to contact for Custom Chat to work. I’ll tell my scout to message them,” Steve explained. For a while, he grew silent, as he used the Chat function. “All done,” he said after a while.

“Let’s say we do combine our forces and destroy the goblins. what happens next? Will our groups stay together? Who will be in charge? What sort of rules will be put in place?” Frank rattled off several questions. “If we are going to do this, it’s best to settle everything beforehand, so there are no surprises.”

The others agreed and began discussing the matter.