Assistant

[ You have received 2 Exp Points for a successful exploration. ] 

[ Hint: Leaving the area of the Springriver Manor will expire your Beginner Protection. ]

[ Time Left: 70:55:10 ] 

"So I can get experience points this way, huh…" Shane muttered before getting another series of notifications. 

[ You have completed your exploration in the area. ]

[ Your Territory Lord talent has been activated. ]

[ You can now claim this land as your territory. ] 

[ Do you wish to rule over this territory? ] 

[ Yes ] [ No ] 

Shane furrowed his brows after seeing the new notifications. He was certainly expecting that the Territory Lord Talent would activate at some point. 

He just had no idea how to do it. 

Nevertheless, he didn't expect that it would be this easy. He thought he would have to create a map, measure its size, and other complicated things to claim a piece of land.

"Yes…"

Without any more hesitation, Shane agreed to take this land. 

First of all, he had no idea whether he could find other territory, so choosing this place was an obvious decision. He doesn't even have a map to navigate around. 

It was also foggy, and he was simply relying on various luminescent objects scattered around. 

Lastly, once the beginner protection was over, zombies would start appearing, and there would be a Zombie Wave in a week, according to the virtual screen!

The hint mentioned that he could escape from the Zombie Wave, but he doubts that he could do so. Where would he escape?

With this in mind, he knew he had to stand his ground and try to fight. If this plan didn't work, then he'd try to create an escape route to survive the duration of the Zombie Wave or perhaps…

"I should make a bunker…" Shane muttered as numerous notifications finally appeared.

[ Congratulations! You have obtained the Springriver Manor, a previously flourishing manor filled with life. ]

[ Territorial Information:

Infrastructure: 1 Manor House ( 35% ), 1 Church ( 60% ), 1 Warehouse ( 75% ), 1 Granary ( 74% ), 1 Mill ( 72% ), 1 Smithy ( 65% ), 1 Marketplace ( 79% ), 1 Stable ( 80% ), 5 Serf's House ( 40% )

Resources: Wood, Iron 

Population: 1

Culture: 2

Remarks: A crumbling estate surrounded by a contaminated fog, harmful to the inhabitants of the continent ] 

Shane observed the blue screen for a while as he analyzed the information he got. It didn't take him long to realize what the percentage beside their names indicates.

As for the contaminated fog, he had no idea that it could be dangerous at all. Luckily, he was considered a foreigner on this continent, so he wasn't affected by it.

At this time, he couldn't really do much about his territory, so he went to the empty warehouse to take cover, where he decided to open his Inventory. 

"Inventory…"

Luckily, the system did not make it difficult for him as he could easily access the Inventory just by saying a word.

[ Weapon Gift Pack, Food Gift Pack, Shelter Gift Pack, Memory Sphere x25, A.I. Assistant ]

The blue virtual display materialized, presenting the options. 

Swiftly, he chose a Memory Sphere. 

Immediately, a mystical blue orb, the size of his fist, materialized in front of him. He immediately caught it, afraid that it would fall.

It felt cold to the touch and surprisingly light, akin to holding a crumpled piece of paper.

[ Memory Sphere 1: Locked ] 

"Ahh…" 

Shane was dumbfounded after seeing another message from the virtual display. Shaking his head, Shane returned the Sphere by simply putting it in the slot of the Inventory. 

It worked magically, but he didn't have the time to appreciate it. He decided to touch the A.I. Assistant this time. In its display, it was simply a black box with a question mark on it, so he had no idea if the A.I. Assistant had a form.

'Since it's an A.I. Assistant... Maybe it's in the form of a fairy, like that game?' Shane mused as he waited for the said item to appear.

Whoosh~

The black box with a question mark appeared before him, and like a game with its effects, it opened animatedly and turned into an item!

It became a wristwatch!

Shane didn't feel too disappointed and decided to wear it.

After 'equipping' this item, he soon found a green virtual display hovering in front of him! It differed from the 'system' that had been giving him some guides!

[ A.I. Assistant Cloud is activating… ] 

[ Loading saved information of the user… ]

[ Activation Complete. ] 

[ Hello! Shane Wells, the only friend of Anima… I am Cloud, your A.I. Assistant. How may I help you? ] 

Shane also heard the robotic voice, and he knew he hit the jackpot!

"Cloud, tell me what you know about me. Do you know what's going on? I mean, why do I have extra titles after the errors? What happened?" Shane immediately asked. This was something he had been curious about. He felt that he didn't even know himself anymore!

[ Shane Wells, you had instructed me not to divulge such information. However, you can learn about your past through the Memory Spheres you have arranged yourself. ]

"What? Why did I do something stupid?" Shane couldn't help but remark as he felt that it would've been a lot easier if Cloud could brief him on his past.

It was quite disappointing that he still has to unlock the Sphere!

"Then… Tell me how to unlock the Memory Spheres."

[ You have to level up. At level 5, you will receive Memory Sphere 1. At level 10, you will receive Memory Spheres 2 and 3. This is the arrangement you made. ]

 "Tsk... Are there any more arrangements I've made aside from that?" Shane asked with a sigh.

[ Yes. Before you used your artifact to return, you left a message for yourself... ]

"A message? Tell me." 

[ "Do not survive the Apocalypse. End it". ]