It was a weary Rob who spotted the hastily assembled village ahead of him, similar to so many of the other communities that had sprung up across northern Oregon as the survivors had slowly grouped up. It wasn’t surprising really, considering just how much the System had changed things.

While the System had completely erased a good ninety five percent of the infrastructure, what had been left behind had been enough for the even smaller proportion of humanity to use. There were still plenty of cars, the few untouched supermarkets had more than enough food to feed the remaining population, and while many people had their houses vanished or torn in two, there were plenty of sound structures whose owners had been moved to another earth.

The main problem was infrastructure. 95% of all roads, sewage lines, water mains, electrical grids, and more were all gone, rendering the rest useless. Worse than useless, as they only served as a reminder for just how much had been lost.

The few bright points had been the individualized equivalents of the public services. Portable generators and backyard wells became vital resources that drew people together, a starting point from which to begin to rebuild. With the phone lines down and the internet likely permanently gone, radios became worth their weight in gold, serving as valuable lines of communication with the surrounding area.

It was third hand rumor by the time Rob heard it, but apparently a Ham Radio club at a nearby college was lucky enough to keep a high frequency radio. There weren’t many others out there, but there was enough chatter for the event to be confirmed global.

The same information network had confirmed the horrendous conditions in many of the cities. The sharp reduction in personnel had shattered the organized forms of government, while the gangs had seen an opportunity. Quick commandeering of sources of food had given them an incentive to recruit and replace their lost minions, and where the leaders had gone missing had only spurred the ambitious subordinates to violent action to gain control.

There was information beginning to spread as well about just how much the system had changed the balance of power. Higher stats made firearms less lethal, while the many martial skills that were available gave anyone a way to increase their threat without access to expensive equipment. A pot lid and a Shield skill could outperform a kevlar vest, especially with high Dexterity and Reaction to back it up.

The vaguest rumors were about people who had found a way to use magic, but there was nothing concrete being shared around. Rob knew that there were probably people who had managed it, based on sheer numbers alone, but anyone who had was likely keeping quiet, hoping to keep it as a personal advantage to better their odds of surviving.

Rob tried his best to pay attention to all that news, in part because he was hoping to find more methods of speeding up his travel, but also because tradeable information was his main source of acquiring food as he continued to head southwards. Any scrap of knowledge, no matter how small, could help weigh the scales in his favor when trading for a safe place to rest and a sandwich or two for the road.

One of the more interesting pieces of information that he had come across was what he had begun to label variations. At first he had just ignored it, when he had learned of both the Sprinting and Dashing skills. But while Sprinting was a skill he had picked up almost as soon as the System arrived, he was unable to pick up the Dashing skill.

What finally clued him in was when an old grandmother described her Status Screen and Skills only using Spanish. He at first thought she was translating for his benefit, only to find out upon asking for the names in English, that she didn’t speak or read English. It made a surprising amount of sense, given how much of the world didn’t speak English, but the System itself had been so strange that the not-strange pieces hadn’t stood out. After sorting his thoughts into a more understandable form, Rob had come to the conclusion that the System tried to convey the information as accurately as possible, using whatever language the reader knew best. It also was alien, and as such, every description was a translation that lost meaning in the process, but not necessarily the same meaning with each translation.

It had quickly become clear that the various stats had intangible benefits, some quickly visible, others that would take time and more investment to reveal themselves. Rob was hopeful that comparisons between different languages would give him a better understanding of what each stat actually did. Resilience for example, was translated into Spanish as Recuperacion.

Mana had probably the most variance, even amongst English speakers, given their varying backgrounds. Mana, Magic, MP, Energy, Chi. All of them were dutifully recorded into Robs growing notes. He had a hard time keeping a straight face when a young twelve year old proudly announced that he had Chakra now, so you’d better respect him.

Other information was equally valuable, and Rob was more likely to offer inn trades, wanting to keep his variation tests private for the moment. While most people were aware that their starting stats were dependent on their state before the System, the smaller communities didn’t have the sample size to realize that their physical and mental condition acted as multipliers on the stats effectiveness. A young girl with a high Strength could lift more than she could otherwise, but would likely still lose out to a large man with a lower Strength score. It was less clear how most of the other stats were affected by a person’s actual state, but knowing there was a correlation and what areas their initial points were focused in would allow people to better leverage their gains.

As Rob waited a safe distance away from the village, his trusty baseball bat held loosely at his side, he tried to calculate what information this particular group would find valuable. He always liked learning about various paths, but so far it seemed like most people had managed to unlock enough paths to keep themselves busy for the moment. He still made an effort to learn about as many as he could, banking against that changing in the future, but for now it meant other information was better offered.

A quick scan gave him a rough estimate of less than a hundred people gathered in this area, based solely off the number of houses, tents, and other temporary shelters, the people themselves weren’t in evidence, and were likely away for the day, scavenging from outlying structures, hunting animals, and gathering wild crops to supplement their supplies.

A quick yell was still sufficient to draw the attention of a few of the people left to guard the supplies, and Rob soon found himself politely yet forcefully escorted to a couch opposite a large desk covered in handwritten paperwork, presumably to wait for the leader to return. He quickly took advantage of the couch to stretch out and fall into a deep sleep, trusting in his Power Nap skill to maximize the amount of rest he might gain.

While his course was still mostly southwards, Rob had begun to try and stay inland, hoping that the less populated areas would avoid the strife that plagued the larger towns. A more long term concern was to stay far enough away from the coast to avoid heading down the Baja Peninsula, as that would put him on the wrong side of the Bay of California. A small part of him had dreams of being able to run on water, but he didn’t want to risk ending up trapped at the bottom of the peninsula with no option but to change directions and head north.

Pushing the thoughts out of his head for the moment, Rob simply relaxed further into the comfortable leather. Eager to get back on the road once he resupplied.