[Intergalactic: Online 3]

Creed continued to quietly collect as many meroberries as possible around the lab's entrance. He wanted to limit his outside time as much as possible lest he was found by something dangerous.

'OK, this should be enough. Let's go back...', Creed thought to himself when he suddenly heard rustling from the nearby trees.

Creed felt a cold sweat on his back and immediately stopped moving and listened to his surroundings. There was something up in the trees, but he had no idea what. Creed was experienced enough in combat to know that some creatures would attack once they knew their positions were exposed, so he had to pretend that he hadn't heard anything and make as much distance as possible.

Creed took one step, and then another, followed by another. When he was halfway to the lab, he heard the rustling again, but it sounded like something had jumped out from the trees this time.

Creed did not hesitate and sprinted straight for the lab without looking back. He arrived at the hole and immediately jumped in, but he did not stop there. During the night, Creed had created a makeshift bunker for himself using the broken cabinets and random pieces of rubble. He ran directly into his little bunker and shut the metal cabinet door.

Inside, Creed panted quietly while looking through the cabinet's keyhole. After a few seconds, a strange humanoid-lizard creature jumped into the lab. It snarled as it sniffed around the lab.

Creed sat still with his spear gripped tightly in his hands. The Lizardman walked close to the bunker and sniffed around, making Creed sweat nervously, but it ignored the bunker and continued to explore the rest of the lab. as it moved, its large tail would hit nearby glass beakers and flasks off the tables.

After a few minutes, the creature seemed bored and wandered back up to the opening. Creed sighed in relief once it was gone.

'I've never seen such a creature. Could this be an undiscovered backwater planet?... I hope not...', Creed thought to himself.

Galaxies were massive, and the one in [Intergalactic: Online] was no exception. Thanks to the advanced AI that kept pumping out new content for players to explore, entire planets and civilizations were discovered regularly.

As Creed sat in his bunker, he thought about the game's current status to see what hints he could gather. As it currently stood, the known galaxy was ruled by four competing Galactic Empires. The first and most prominent was the United Federation of Mankind. This was an empire that controlled roughly 40% of the known galaxy. The other 60% was split almost evenly between three other competing alien races.

First was the Durani Alliance. It was a neutral alliance of small, space-faring empires that banded together to protect themselves from the other three. They boasted a diverse group of species that produced the galaxy's various products. These products were shipped by massive merchant fleets of varying shapes and sizes, all protected by the Durani Alliance battle fleets.

Next was the Nebulous Theocracy. A galactic empire ruled by the Cult of Nebulous and a race called the Nebulai. These are strange humanoid creatures whose skin reflects the stars themselves. They base their rule on the mandatory worship of a deity simply known as Nebulous. Thanks to their strange, faith-based technology, they grew to become a massive player in the galactic space as they moved to spread the word of their deity.

Lastly, there is the empire simply known as the Xean. A race of battle-hardened creatures who loved nothing more than to pit themselves against powerful opponents. The Xean are the de facto enemies of the other three empires as they wage their war of conquest throughout the galaxy.

'Well, that's the current story, but with the latest Corruption update from a few months ago, who knows what will happen...' Creed thought to himself.

Corruption was a new element that was slowly infecting the galaxy. It would turn the local populous into mutated creatures bent on nothing but destruction wherever it went. The current story campaign had players slowly uncovering the truth behind the corruption through a series of galaxy-spanning events.

During this time, new technologies, races, and planets were introduced, so Creed wondered if this could be one of the newly introduced worlds yet to be discovered. However, Creed decided to be more positive. Just because he ran into an unknown species didn't mean this planet was unpopulated. Also, the lab's existence proved that an advanced civilization called this place home at some point.

After a few hours of hiding, Creed quietly left the bunker to ensure the lab was safe. When he was absolutely sure, he peaked out of the opening and made sure that he couldn't see any traces of the Lizardman.

Creed immediately ran back to his bunker and pulled out a few sharp pieces of metal that he had been collecting to make weapons.

"I can't sit around in fear forever. I need to take some action", Creed whispered to himself as he slowly made a makeshift trap.

The trap would be a simple spike trap. Creed covered the trap with some nearby grass and leaves, and for good measure, he added a snare strap around the whole thing.

[Item created: Makeshift Trap]

[Quality: Poor]

[1 Point added to the Way of the Craftsmanship]

[1 Point added to the Way of the Trapmaking]

Creed looked at the notifications with a smile.

Creed knew that there was no limit to how many paths he could learn. The issue only came in when he had to advance a specific path beyond the basic stage. The more basic paths you have, the harder it will be to increase one specific path.

After years of experimenting, a consensus was reached by the player base on this issue. You could follow two main paths and four sub-paths before the experience wall hampered your progress. Creed could not even select any paths yet, so he wasn't too worried about this.

As he finished off the snare trap, Creed heard a hiss from above and knew that the creature had come back. He quickly ran back to his small bunker and closed the door behind him as he watched through the keyhole.

After a few minutes, a lizardman jumped into the hole and landed directly on Creed's spike trap. Its feet were immediately impaled, and it roared out in pain. Creed gripped his spear and was about to rush out to finish it off when a second Lizardman jumped into the hole and landed directly on top of the first one, causing the first one to fall face-first into the spikes, killing it instantly.

[Achievement: Your Trap killed a Reptillia]

[10 Points added to the Way of the Warrior]

[1 Point added to the Way of the Trap-Fighter]

Creed did not have time to celebrate as the second Lizardman looked at its companion's body in surprise. It wailed for a while, then began to take out its anger on the nearby tables and chairs.

Creed felt its tail strike his small bunker a few times during its rage, making it shake, but luckily, it kept standing.

Creed saw it walk back to its companion's body when it had tired itself out. However, it triggered Creed's snare trap as it got close, forcing it to trip into the spikes head first, instantly killing it.

[Achievement: Your Trap killed a Reptillia]

[9 Point added to the Way of the Warrior]

[1 Point added to the Way of the TrapFighter]

"..."

"They look pretty strong, but they're dumb..." Creed mumbled to himself as he slowly left the bunker. He delivered one stab to each of the Lizardman's heads, just in case, and then dragged the bodies off the traps and quickly fixed the broken parts.

Creed had no idea how many of them there were, so he wanted to reset his traps as quickly as possible. Up to this point, Creed had kept his composure thanks to the interface giving him the familiar feeling of still being in a game. Creed could kill without a second thought because he had done it thousands of times in the game.