[Intergalactic: Online 2]

Creed decided not to wallow in self-pity and looked around the lab for something to wear. As he touched the surfaces and opened the empty cabinets, he doubted that he was still in the game.

Firstly, he was completely nude, which was impossible in [Intergalactic: Online]. At most, one could walk around in their underwear. Next, he could feel the cold weather and the different textures on the surfaces he touched. As advanced as the Neuro-connect devices were, they could not replicate the senses of touch and taste.

"But this world is clearly related to the game somehow..." Creed murmured to himself as he picked up an advanced-looking piece of broke tech. He could instantly tell that it was from the Celestial Empire, a long-destroyed galactic empire mentioned several times in the game's lore.

"I need to figure things out. I should also look for other players", Creed thought to himself as he picked up an old tarp from the ground and used it to cover his naked body.

As interesting as this place was, the technology had been destroyed from prolonged exposure to the elements. After confirming that there was nothing useful here, Creed walked over to the door but quickly realized that he had no way of getting out.

"Unless...", He mumbled to himself as he looked at the half-destroyed roof. Creed sighed to himself and started climbing the nearby rubble carefully while heading up to the top.

Once he got up there, Creed was awed by the magnificent sight. The beautiful night sky was dotted with beautiful stars of various colors as two massive purple moons stood proudly in the sky, giving the night sky a beautiful purple hue.

Creed looked around and noticed that he was actually on a mountain surrounded by a lush forest, meaning this lab was hidden beneath the mountain's surface and was likely only exposed due to a rock slide.

'This is beautiful...I don't know how safe it is here...' Creed thought as he looked out into the dark forest. He instantly started rethinking his plans.

'let's hole up here until morning. No point in traveling in the dark..', Creed thought as he quickly went back into the lab.

Creed spent the rest of the night looking through the old, dilapidated lab for something useful, but in the end, he decided to make himself a makeshift spear from a metal rod and a piece of shrapnel he had found.

[Item created: Makeshift Spear]

[Quality: Poor]

[1 Point added to the Way of the Craftsmanship]

[1 Point added to the Way of the Spear-Smith]

"Looks like this part is the same as the game," Creed said in excitement as this was the other thing he had wanted to confirm.

Like in the game, Creed had to make whatever he wanted physically. With something as simple as a spear, Creed could just tie a sharp point to a stick and call it a spear. However, when it came to cars, ships, and guns, one had to understand the mechanics involved if they wanted to make it without a blueprint.

In [Intergalactic: Online], You did not gain general experience to level up but instead earned points toward specific paths depending on the actions you took. These points improved your efficiency and knowledge of that particular Path. For example, those who follow the Path of Craftsmanship would be able to create items ranging from bicycles to massive, intergalactic spaceships depending on what specialized Path they decided to follow.

Creed had just earned a general craftsmanship point and a Spearsmith point, but if he wanted to become a genuinely skilled Spearsmith, he would have to create more intricate and innovative spears to earn more spear points. This was where the true freedom of choice in the game appeared.

"For now, I'll make whatever I can to get as many craftsmanship points as possible...". Creed mumbled to himself as he looked for more materials to make things from. He did not know how long he would be stuck in this world or if death would be permanent, so Creed decided to be as careful as possible and lay low until he could keep himself safe.

The morning quickly came as a ray of sunshine came through the opening in the lab's roof. Inside, Creed sat in the middle of the lab, surrounded by different types of strange creations. He had made slingshots, spears, knives, and even swords. There was a limit to how many craftsmanship points one could get from making the same thing which forced people to continue growing and innovating.

"I barely got to 20 craftsmanship points...If this is like the game, I'll need to collect 100 before it becomes a registered path that I can gain stats from..."

Creed had been hoping to gain the Path's stats, seeing as his health was currently disgustingly low. From what Creed remembered, gaining the Path of Craftsmanship should reward him with an additional 10 HP and some basic blueprints for must-have items.

"I'll keep going until I reach 100 points..." Creed said but then heard his stomach grumbling loudly.

"But first, let's find something to eat..."

Creed had never followed the Path of the Survivalist or Chef, but he was confident that he would know what food was and wasn't edible based on his years of experience playing the game. Food was also an essential part of the game, so those who followed the Path of the Chef were surprisingly popular. While taste was not a thing in the game, the buffs that you could get from well-made food were invaluable.

Creed stepped out of the lab carefully and looked into the forest illuminated by the warm sunny morning. He could see the forest a lot better now, making it less scary. Creed knew that some planets were oases with no dangers whatsoever, while others were hellish worlds where the creatures from nightmares roamed around looking for prey. He had no idea what world he was in now, so he had to be as careful as possible.

He had his makeshift spear in hand as he crept through the short grass, making sure not to make too much noise.

Creed walked over to a nearby bush and looked at it carefully.

'Fresh green leaves, thin stems, no signs of mutations or corruption. This must be a neutral world then!' Creed thought to himself as he sighed in relief at the realization.

He was afraid that he could have been sent to one of those hellish corrupted worlds. Creed would have instantly given up and just waited to die had this been the case. That's how dangerous a corrupted world was.

'At least with a neutral world, the environment itself isn't also out to kill me,' Creed thought to himself in relief as he looked around the bushes.

"Jackpot!" Creed whispered to himself when he found an odd-looking bush with grape-like fruits. He quickly pulled the fruits off and gathered them as he looked at the system's notification.

[Meroberry]

The interface had just confirmed what Creed already knew. Thanks to their adaptability and resilience, meroberries were a popular fruit grown on many planets where humans could be found.

With this discovery, Creed knew that the chances of him being on a human planet were high. Within the world of [Intergalactic: Online], players were only able to play as humans. However, hundreds if not thousands of other species of intelligent life were dotted all around the galaxy. Some players even made it a mission to recruit companions and followers from each alien race.

'A human planet will make things much easier when looking for other players, ' Creed thought as he ate one of the berries.

However, unbeknownst to him, Creed was being watched from the nearby treetops.