Chapter 4: Pin point
Chomp chomp chomp!
Went Tim through one of these shrimps, trying to avoid its legs but still accidentally biting through one. At least these shrimps couldn't fight back so these were quick and easy meals, the barb didn't even have to be used against them.
The only few steps would be to swim forward and eat these things alive, tad brutal but it was for the sake of survival. This was how the ecosystem worked come to think of it, so there was no time to feel bad about it.
[Marble shrimp killed, 1 system point has been given to you as a reward]
[Eating a full-grown marble shrimp grants the following effects...]
[Effect on health, +0.5 bars]
[Effect on hunger, +0.3 bars]
[Effect on sleep, -0.2 bars]
[Effect on stamina, -0.4 bars]
"I understand why this meal has bad effects, it's because of the legs isn't it?" The young boy asked. For a second it sounded like this was meant as a joke but it was quite the opposite.
[No. That kind of information isn't available for purchase right now]
"Of course." He answered and gave out a small, bubble generating sigh. Not at all surprised by the system's greedy build.
Unwilling to talk about this topic any further, he began paying attention to something else. There were quick meals crawling around. Who hence the advantage, couldn't fight back. So the progress-hungry stingray dashes towards the next shrimp and left the one he just had killed, to munch on later.
...
"Ughh I've never felt this tired in my life..." Timmy sighed, crashing on the sand and fluttering his fins a couple of times to force a patch of sand up and then over his back.
Throughout the killing spree, or in this case, feeding spree: the system has yapped on and on about getting points so that went through his mind right away. "Can you tell me how many points I have now? It must have at least 20."
[Available system points = 22]
"Wow!" The little sea-pancake hollered, bursting a ton of bubbles as he hunched from the spot. "I'm rich! What is there to buy now?"
[There are currently 2 available upgrade options]
[Option number 1 = learn location]
[Price = 14 system points]
This portion of the purchases still felt a bit bizarre. What would location matter at this point? The young man couldn't really figure this portion out, but the system claimed to be very smart so perhaps there was more to this.
[Option number 2 = upgrade hunting capabilities to level 2]
[Price = 28 system points]
[System recommends to avoid purchasing anything until you attain 28 points, so you can purchase the second option. It will increase the odds of survival]
Almost as if forgetting that a shark and an eel almost slaughtered him, the sea-disk became a tad cocky because of all these kills and decided. "No, I want to learn my location."
The system was the clear boss here but couldn't really pick what the guest buys with the gathered up points. So of course she immediately went into action.
[Purchase confirmed]
[Activating pin-point location]
[Finding host...]
Out of a sudden, a map appeared in front of Timothy's vision, stretching from one end of his sight to the other as if fulfilling a computer screen. Such an occurrence most definitely felt bizarre.
"Wow!" He shouted, forced to emerge from the sand even. And dashed away for a foot since he didn't expect a map. Instead it was expected for the system to just yap on about where he was at.
At first earth appeared and then it started zooming in. The globe started spinning in those same seconds, finally stopping and enhancing the zoom-in option on a specific spot.
4-5 seconds later, the little guest could notice Italy due to its one of a kind natural formation and borders. The zooming was focusing right on the bottom edge of the country, towards that seperate island that looked like a ball getting kicked by the rest of the landmass.
The zooming in, submerged into the sea-water and began taking left and right turns, directly searching for a certain little boy and it found that specific coral reef, that the young one had bashed in.
Finally, the guest could see himself from above, well his backside a least. It felt as if someone had bashed a camera through the sea-plant ceiling above his head. This was the most bizzare thing he had ever seen and yet such a sight was still flashing like a computer screen.
[You are in the strait of sicily, near the city of sicily]
[This map can be zoomed out for a higher and or more accurate point of view. That is, if capturing landscapes is the guest's preference]
[Map will be available for a time span of an hour]
The urge to slap this system across the face, if it had any, became stronger than ever. "You're a greedy system, what will I do with the map for just an hour?"
[I recommended you to not purchase this option]
[Purchase complete]
[14 system points consumed]
[8 system points remaining]
"Only 8? I thought I would be left with 15 or something!" Tim hollered, thinking that the system was cheating him out of points.
[System does not make mistakes, the guest doesn't understand math]
Bubbles bustled out of the stingray as he dashed in a circle, boiling in rage and shouting like a maniac in between the tantrum. "Well thank you! How much do I need to pay for that nice joke?"
[Free of charge]
"Uh... oh dear I'm tired." The little one murmured, laying on the sand. And with the little energy he had left, the boy pushed the same sand, up: to hide in it. "Do I have to sleep? Is it safe?"
[Loading information that deciphers your current state of being...]
[Health bar = 100/100]
[Hunger bar = 15/15]
[Sleep bar = 5/35]
[Stamina bar = 4/15]
[Based on your current state, system recommends immediate sleep. Risk factors here are lower considering the hidden location and additional sand]
Trying to be optimistic about this situation, glad that things are looking up for once, he murmured. "Guess I can search around in the map for anything cool, before crashing asleep."
[You have 56 minutes remaining]
[After guest wakes up, system will give a task that grants a single system point]
Liking the sound of a task but not the whole picture or the lack of information, he immediately complained. "That's a low pay, I'm ready to take bigger missions!"
[You're not]
[You have 9 more tasks to complete that each give a single system point]
[Taking smaller tasks one at a time will help you survive longer]
[The short-fin mako shark is an example. Killing one of those gives a lot of points but in your current levels, you can never kill one]
[Listen to my recommendations and you will survive]