SL: Chapter 747 – Day 6,516 – Food Or Fight?

“So, the system golem did nothing?” Young Michael asked me.

“Yes. The entire vote was useless,” I replied, and he let out a sigh. He had asked that question before, but he was coming to terms with the harsh unrelenting reality of this place just like me.

“It would be too nice to have a weapon like that we could use wherever,” he said.

“That’s just how things are. Now the sword is hiding out in a troublesome spot,” I said.

“Well, you are getting stronger, we just need to grind some more,” Young Michael said.

“A level 10 monster would be a step up from other monsters following the pattern, of 4 and 7 being much more difficult to deal with. I might be strong, but a level 10, would be risky, since there would be no easy way to escape,” I explained.

“So, we just keep grinding,” Young Michael said.

“Is there anything better to do? Want to go hang out in Purgatory?” I teased him.

“No. Just it feels like a lot of grinding, day after day. But no matter what, I am not giving up!” he declared. I was a bit surprised by the impassioned declaration. I was happy that his spirit was so resilient.

I was focused on enjoying my time as we flew through the air back to the tower to start grinding all over again. A shame that there was no portable store or that the sword was hiding in a difficult to reach place. I couldn’t figure out how it determined the arrival of meta-points with how far away it was, unless it looped around.

“Thinking about exploring the edge any time soon?” Young Michael asked me.

“The turbulence and energy make it a big risk. What happens if the airship slams into a boundary? We would need two. One in front and one behind to act as recovery platform. I have thought about it. It is just too large of an investment. You are feeling the same I feel,” I said.

“What is that?” he asked.

“Restlessness. Perhaps I am being too passive. But I find building up stats while there is no crisis is a great use of my time. There really is no better use. So, favorite food?” I asked, changing the subject.

“Well mystery meat. Glad you upgraded the store in Purgatory,” he said.

“You could have done so as well,” I replied.

“Really? You wouldn’t have cared?” he asked.

“I have stopped caring about a lot of things. Years ago, I might have wanted more control, but as long as you aren’t creating massive problems, I won’t even get involved. At best I would just ask.”

“You really have changed,” Young Michael said. I nodded at that. Winning against the sphere did more than just saving this place and giving me a meta-point. It allowed me to relax and not be so tense all the time.

“So, mystery meat?”

“Unlike you Earth people, I have only tasted mystery meat. It is unfortunate that all the other children born here in the Systemic Lands died, no one else can understand my frustration,” he said.

“I guess that makes you an alien, since you are from somewhere else than Earth. A human alien,” I joked.

“Don’t make me turn this airship around,” he said.

“And where did you hear a saying like that?”

“I pick things up from time to time. I am not an idiot. When people reminisce about Earth, you learn things. Like certain TV shows and movies. At least you don’t talk about that stuff all the time,” he said.

“I forget half that stuff. My brain is filled with monsters, fighting, and grinding. We really have talked about everything,” I said.

“Pretty much. That is life now, just constantly grinding for the future,” Young Michael said.

He was right, but he was also wrong. “Its like a job. While I know you aren’t familiar with the concept, it is about putting in time to earn money every day for a set period of time,” I answered.

Grinding was my job. While it was also Young Michael’s job, he didn’t have another choice in the matter like back on Earth. There was only one job out here if you truly wanted to stay alive, and that was to grind constantly.

It was exhausting and depressing, but those feelings had faded away for me. I had been grinding long enough that it had become my life now. It just took decades of commitment to finally reach a point where it felt like the natural thing to do.

“Maybe get a hobby. With the mystery meat you can work on making new dishes and combinations of food,” I replied.

“Hmm, I just might. But you will have to suffer with me if I make a mistake,” he said.

“I don’t mind as long as it is edible. If you eat it, I will eat it as well,” I replied.

“Clarissa needs to start up new food enterprises. I know she has them as a side project in some cities to fund things, but she needs to really develop food again,” Young Michael said. I wasn’t concerned about that aspect of Clarissa’s activities, but I was glad Young Michael was paying attention.

“I always enjoyed a good burger or pizza. Tacos are a bit tricky,” I replied. At least the food didn’t go bad. The problem was bread. We got lucky the first time to get some yeast. I could only hope that Clarissa had a stockpile hidden somewhere.

“Then burgers tonight. Use lettuce as a wrap. A shame we don’t have ketchup, mustard, or pickles,” he said. All those foods required more preparation. We had cucumbers and tomatoes but that wasn’t a proper burger. It felt wrong to think this, but losing everyone in the Systemic Lands wasn’t as bad as losing all the food options. Now those things had taken time to put into place.

The entire food industry took time to develop and people needed points to invest into it. Perhaps when we went back to Purgatory, I could encourage Father John to start up the food business, but Clarissa was probably already working on it.

Clarissa the hidden food magnet, the secret McSystem of the Systemic Lands. Controlling people through their stomachs and deliciousness. Now that would be an empire I could get behind, a fast food empire. Get some mystery meat with eleven herbs and spices.

Food processing was a huge industry, but it took time. People need points and there needed to be craftspeople to fuel it. I figured that in another thousand days, I would start seeing proper food once more, instead of raw ingredients slammed togeather. Burgers held togeather with lettuce was a joke of a burger. You needed a bun that was lightly toasted.

While I might not get upset over having bad food, I had strong opinions about good food. Young Michael making something besides stew would be nice. Not that his stew wasn’t bad, but it was getting repetitive. At least it wasn’t salted cucumbers.

“Pizza without dough or proper bread will be tough. Grinding seeds down to make flour is annoying,” he said.

“True. You could try thin cuts of mystery feat that is fried and then use the meat grease to fry vegetables,” I suggested.

“Hmm, that does sound good. Maybe layer in a burger, or make it more of a wrap,” he said.

“Could hollow out some bell peppers and place cooked meat and other stuff inside of them,” I said. There were a lot of possibilities for food. Chatting about food was nice and something slightly different.

Young Michael was more emotionally unstable. Shouting about grinding, and the way he was talking showed that he was struggling with the grind. He just needed to endure, and I would support him to get past this difficult point in his mentality.

I was sure he would be fine. He was still young and stuck in this place, anyone would become a bit unsettled. If there was one person who might break and become a threat to me later on, it would be him. One more meta-point and with a comprehensive knowledge of my fighting style and thinking, any conflict would be difficult in the extreme.

He was the kind of opponent, who would track down my grinding location and strike at the worst possible time while I grinding, using the monsters and my exhaustion to take me down. That was what I would do if I were him and wanted to take me out.

Even when discussing food, my mind always drifted back towards fighting and conflict. I was never going to find peace except in grinding and getting stronger. Perhaps I would transition to something else once I escaped this place. No matter what, I knew something for sure, it wouldn’t go on forever.

Eventually this place would come to an end, and I would be in the best position to survive what ever happened at that point. Breathing and living without air, or creating breathable air through energy was something that I would figure out in time with energy manipulation. As my stats increased this would only get easier.

That was why I was investing so much into grinding right now, since it would make anything else I wanted to accomplish much easier. From purchasing nonsense like the ranking list or the 1 trillion point portable store. Increasing my grinding speed and my stats was like investing early on in one’s life, to pay dividends later on.

I was going to invest heavily now that most of the threats had been taken care of. The sword was like a tiny annoying splinter that wouldn’t go away. The system golem had failed. Clarissa could only enact containment strategies. I had a feeling that it would survive and a massive alpha strike.

Something that knew to hide and could claim a tower wasn’t simple. But I would win eventually. I had that kind of confidence in myself after surviving so many life-ending battles. I took a deep breath and smiled as Young Michael talked about different food options and combinations.

While I had lost my mother, I could only move forward. I could think about her passing without rage over what happened. She had survived so much and ultimately, I had failed. I wouldn’t fail again. Young Michael, Clarissa, Michelle, and even Doctor Katz were the people I needed the strength to protect. Before I had always been worried over my survival and safety now, I was worried about others.

I was going to keep going no matter what. A thousand days, ten thousand, even a million wouldn’t get me down.

While I had thought all of this before, now I knew it to be true. Before I was just trying to convince myself that I could keep going no matter what. Now I knew I could. I was the person who would decide things and chart a path to the future.

While it was tempting to start grinding once we got to the zone with the tower. It was better to wait until morning when the Light Source rose up in the sky again. Sticking to a day daily grind schedule with a set starting time was a good idea. I wasn’t going to slack off, but there was no rush.

Everything was as it was supposed to be. Traveling with a trusted companion, to fight some monsters and become stronger.