Abducted

"Sigh... Rent is due in a couple days and I didn't make enough this month... Shit!" I said. 

My name is Adam Richter, and I am about to get evicted from my apartment. I really shouldn't have quit my last job, but can you blame me? I just felt like it wasn't the right job for me... However I should have stuck it out just for the money. While I was regretting the decisions I had made throughout my life, I began falling asleep while watching TV.

"Widespread mass abductions have drawn the attention of world leaders across the globe. Local law enforcement has asked for anyone who notices someone they know who goes missing, to report it immediately to the police."

That was the last time I would ever close my eyes... Oh Earth that is.

****

*Chirp chirp*

I slowly opened my eyes, before raising my hand to block out the sunlight. I looked around, and was incredibly confused.

"Why am I in a forest? How the fuck did I get here?"

I looked around, taking in the sights of the forest, but I couldn't shake my unease. Everything was confusing until I saw something appear before my eyes like magic.

[Welcome to the War Games.]

[Each of you is the ruler of a Kingdom, and you all have a Gift that will help you build your kingdom. There will be a three day grace period, before you will be in charge of your own safety. Periodically you will be matched with another King or Queen, and be forced to wage war until there is only one left.]

[Good Luck!]

[Congratulations on receiving the Gift: Android Army]

I woke up from my confusion after reading the messages. I wasn't worried about the contents of the message itself, but I was more focused on another implication.

There was no one coming to help, and I needed to figure out my own survival. I wasn't freaking out anymore, as I started to treat it like a game, but I had to cover my baselines first. I walked over to the first tree I saw, and inspected all it's sides for signs of moss. I didn't manage to find any, unfortunately. 

I didn't know how I was going to catch any food, so I was hoping to find moss which was edible and mostly safe to eat. At this rate I might have to go without eating tonight.

I began to walk in a random direction, as there was nothing useful nearby, and began to read over my Gift.

[Android Army]

[Your summoned units will be converted to androids.]

[Daily Summons: 1 Common]

I immediately activated the summoning feature. I had played games like this before, and knew that I had to just work with what I had while slowly building my strength. 

Kingdom building games were all about following the right order of building to make the fastest progress. It truly depended on your foundation.

After I used my summon, a little girl appeared before me, looking no more than six years old.

[Summoned Tier 1 Civilian Android - Female]

"..."

I simply stared at the little girl, confused what use this unit could possibly have, when I remembered that my units were androids. So I decided to run a couple tests.

"Can you speak?"

"Yes."

I was a little surprised, but I moved on anyways.

"How strong are you?" I asked, not expecting much from the small child android.

"About as strong as an adult man." the child answered. 

I nodded. That was acceptable. Hopefully I would get better units later. 

I walked further into the forest, until I broke past the line of trees and saw a large valley at the bottom of the hill I was currently standing on.

A large river ran through the middle of the valley, splitting off the side I was on, and the other side which had mountains at it's back. 

'This place... It is good... It's actually really good.'

I made up my mind, I would establish my camp on the other side of the river, using the mountain the prevent attacks from behind, while the river would offer a natural obstacle for attackers. The open valley would allow my ranged units to mow down scores of enemies before they could even reach my camp. 

I waddled across the river, struggling against the current of the river. I looked back, and watched in amazement as the little girl simply walked into the river. The water going above her head, but I could still see her walking in a straight line. She then came out of the water, on the same side as me, as if it was the easiest thing in the world. 

"Can you go collect wood, we need as much as possible for our village." I asked the android. I also felt uncomfortable that she didn't have a name I could call her by.

"Also... I'm going to call you Annie. Is that okay?"

"You can call me whatever you want. You're my owner anyways."

She then just turned away and walked through the river again. While I watched her, I felt glad I didn't try to pick her up. From the looks of it she was incredibly heavy and dense, I would have strained my back trying to be polite to an android.

I was beginning to realize that I didn't have to worry much about social relationships, as they were just robots to help me. I then spent the rest of my time looking around the area, before I began to pick some long reeds along the river. I began to weave the reed stalks together, creating a makeshift net. By the time I was done with my net, I saw Annie walking back with a tree slung over her shoulders. 

It was a thinner tree, but it was still comical seeing her child body effortlessly carrying a tree. She placed the across the river, and then began to walk back into the forest. She then went back and forth for another hour bringing tree trunk after tree trunk. 

I had taken two small branches off the trees and tied my woven reed net to them. I then stuck it into the river, and had to simply hope that it would catch a fish for me.

I saw Annie bring another tree back, as she was about to head out again to get more, I called out to her.

"That's enough Annie, we should get ready for the night. I would like you to search for some suitable stones to make into stone tools. Just make a couple of axes, and a hammer. I want you then to begin making a cabin. I'll be making myself a small wooden tepee tonight, do you need to sleep or can you go forever?"

"I can fully recharge my batteries by sitting in the sun for a few hours every week."

"Mm. Okay. Well, off you go then."

I then went ahead and fashioned myself a small tepee, and a little mat made of reeds with grass on top. It wasn't luxurious, but it would have to do for now. I then went and explored my system menu. It appeared when I simply thought of the word 'Menu', while I believed I could pull up specific windows if I said their names too. 

I saw a myriad of features, such as a character page, kingdom stats, buildings, summoning, trading and more. I took a peek at my Character Page.

[Name: Not Set Yet]

[Kingdom Name: Not Set Yet]

[Kingdom Level: 1]

[Gift: Android Army]

It was... Very basic. However I figure it might expand as time went on. I then went to the Buildings tab, and saw that as long as I had certain materials, I could set certain buildings to be made. I looked at the cost for building a house, and saw that it only cost 100 wood. I looked at my materials bar, and saw that the ten tree trunks outside counted as mine. Also that each of the small trees were worth 10 wood units for the system. 

I immediately used the system to create a house not very far from the river, but not too close either. As I would be placing more important buildings closer to it in the future. In a matter of minutes a small single room wooden cabin was finished in the middle of this field. I got up from the ground and walked inside. 

Within was a simple bed, and a small metal furnace. It wasn't much, but I could now see a small information screen that let me know this was a level 1 building. That it could be upgraded, and the quality of the house would match my Kingdom level as well. I didn't bother trying to upgrade it for tonight, I just wanted to go to bed.

I did just that. I told Annie to guard me, while I slept. I then let my tired mind stop working, as I had been more stressed throughout the day than I showed. 

****

When I woke the next morning, I checked my makeshift net, however I saw that I had caught nothing. I looked at the things I could build, and one of them was a fishing spot. It required nothing to build, and would actually provide me with fishing supplies. I built one a little further upstream, and began manually fishing myself.

I had done a little fishing with my dad when I was a kid. It was something we would do whenever he had a day off from teaching. My father was a college professor who taught math, for 18 years, and a great dad to boot. 

I was reeling in a bite when I thought about my family. After I had started to neglect my schooling, in favor of video games, my parents and I started to get into arguments more often. It had gotten so bad I recklessly decided to move out, and try to be an adult on my own. 

Only a few months had gone by since then, and as you know I was just about to be evicted. So I had lost contact with my parents all for nothing in the end.

I had caught the fish.

As I looked down at the fish my eyes began to tear up.

'I miss my parents... I was such a bad son and now I don't even know if they're okay.'

I wiped my tears and kept fishing. I did my best to block out those sad thoughts, and focus on my kingdom building. Maybe I could go back to them once this is all done and make it up to them. Maybe this would even be a chance to make something of myself. 

I didn't know what the purpose of me being here was, but I figured I might as well give it my best shot.

Oh look. Another fish.

I took my two fish back to the camp and created a campfire. It required ten wood. I removed the scales of the fish with a stone from the river, and then skewered the fish onto sticks. I roasted them over the first until they were barely burnt. Because if they were over cooked, they couldn't be undercooked. 

With that, I ate my first meal. It was... Awful. Absolutely terrible.

"BLECH"

"Would you like me to do the cooking?" Annie asked, coming back from chopping down trees. The stone axe she had made increased her efficiency tremendously. It looked funny to see a small girl carrying an axe that was as big as a sledgehammer. 

"Uh... Maybe. Let me see who we get this time from the summoning." I then used my daily summoning chance. A bright light began to appear, and began to take the shape of a tall adult.

Once the light faded, there stood a man who I could only describe as an absolute unit. He looked to be 6 ft. 6 in. at least, and was packed with muscle. 

[Summoned Tier 1 Assault Android - Male]

"Oh my god. You're a big boy. I'm going to call you Tiny, okay? How strong are you?" I asked, looking at this dude who looked like a Viking. He had long blonde hair that was put up in braids, and a braided beard as well.

"I can lift up to 1,000 pounds, sir."

That was... Scary. However thankfully he was on my side. 

"I would like you to go into the forest, and hunt something that is edible for me. When you're done with that, bring it back to the camp before helping Annie here collect wood. I plan to build a monument that will allow me to summon more of us here, but for now please bear with the increased workload." I explained. I felt that it was very professional the way I stated everything.

I was feeling good about myself, and decided to check their reactions, but when I looked up they were already across the river.

"These fuckers! They didn't care about what I had to say!"

I wasn't really angry, I just wanted to feel a little less alone. I was really thankful for the androids, as they were good at their tasks, and never complained. When they went out, I was looking at my Character Page, trying to think of a name I would go by. I also needed a name for my Kingdom. These were by no means easy decisions, as they would be with me permanently. 

I watched as Tiny brought a large boar back, with Annie behind him. Annie then began preparing the boar for dinner, and Tiny went to continue to collect wood. The thing I was trying to build was a Summoning Stone, and it required a whopping 1,000 stone, which I simply didn't have yet. So I was having Annie and Tiny collect wood, so I could build a quarry to collect stone. 

I finally decided on a name I could live with, as Annie handed me a thigh bone from the cooked boar. 

From now on I would be known as Atom.

Emperor of the Dynasty of Steel.