The First Night

Unlike the peaceful first night for most of the others, Isaac had no room for sleep as the first monsters appeared. They didn't come from the forest, they jumped up from the river. 

[Your base is under siege.]

This notification screen has only shown up once before, It was during the spar between Aarthamion and Travis. "This time, it's real. EVERYONE, GET READY!" 

"Unit List!" He called out as he jumped out of the bed. Isaac was in one of the beds in the barracks. Only three of his units are currently in the barrack with him, the others are either at the tower or outside and already mid-combat. 

Fish-headed, with short and stout bodies along with frog-like legs. Equipped with machetes and spears made out of stone and coral. They were monsters that he was familiar with from games and from the encyclopedia that the guide gave him. They were known as Murloks. 

His unit list allowed him to give instructions without talking, ordering the units in it to move to certain locations with just a few presses on a screen. He then opened his inventory, pulling out a crossbow that he received from the guide. 

'Two units need to be placed at the turrets, I'll stay inside the barrack and shoot from the windows.' 

The turrets were made out of wood and stone, they functioned like smaller trebuchets about the size of an outhouse. The stone used as ammo, deals enough damage to take down grown men, at least according to the tests he had at the bunker. 

More than a dozen murloks were present, each itching for a fight. But what Isaac's group lacked in numbers, they made up for in skill and the difference in strength. His units were human, but they were equivalent to well trained soldiers from medieval times. Proficient in their weapons of choice, despite these weapons being only made of stone, wood and whatever else was available. 

The first wave of monsters were light work for them. They now needed to be weary of the water as well as the fauna in the forest. "We'll gather stone and wood tomorrow, We need a second barrack as soon as possible." 

"Gather their bodies near the barn. Some of them should have Magic Crystals." 

This was only the beginning of Isaac's first night as two important visitors would soon arrive. Each from 2 different parties that he's on decent to good terms with. 

First was the shade, as the second wave of Murloks came the ever familiar shadow of the old Earthling came to help. One of Antonyo's more powerful summons, The second wave of Murloks didn't amount to much and Isaac's group would have dealt with them but extra hands were always welcome to his cause. The shade gave him a letter and would join him as one of his protectors that evening.

Isaac opted to read the letter at a later time as more creatures began to come up from the river. Murloks or at least the more powerful ones among them, had the ability to tame creatures from the deep waters. Well in this case, the shallow river as they rode atop crocodiles. Murloks carrying staffs with magical crystals along with larger Murloks comparable to a hunchbacked human in terms of size.

Regular Murloks were manageable, the larger ones are tough to kill while those that casted spells had the ability to heal their compatriots. 

They were in for a long night, one that Isaac surely would have lost if he didn't have back up. Isaac lost three units that night, 1 Spearman and 2 swordsmen. Putting him down to only 4 units and the backup that the old man sent him. The backup, the shadewalker carried his group to a win. One that he was grateful for.

Exhausted and bruised, Isaac along with his soldiers all stood guard next to the river as the sun began to rise. This was when an Eagle arrived, a summoned creature that came from Gristlethum. 

—

The message from Gristlethum came in the form of a scroll along with information provided by the talking eagle. "To the one known as Isaac, It has come to my attention that the group has abandoned you. Even those from your own realm seem to no longer wish to be a part of your plans." 

With a lack of sleep and his wounds, Isaac struggled to keep his focus. But he forced himself eager to hear the rest of what the orc shaman had to say. 

"In this scroll is a guide, one that should allow you to commune with a basic elemental spirit. Treat it as a parting gift as I am in the middle of fulfilling my promise to the gods of my original realm. Best of luck and may the gods bless you on this ordeal!" 

The bird flew up as soon as the message was received. "Thank you, I'm going to need whatever it summons." 

"Nurse your wounds, As soon as you're able, I need all these corpses by the barn." Isaac was on autopilot. He was thankful, but the experience was not lost on him. It was fresh in his mind. "I still need to read the letter from the Old man."

To Isaac, 

I only learned about Orion's plan about two days before we were all sent out. Our dear friend Maja was also made aware at around the same time. We couldn't inform you due to that bastard, Travis and his super-hearing. I had to write this discreetly. Orion plans on contacting those that came before us, the past generations. With 300 years, I'm sure that there's a few factions running around. I've sent you one of my best summons, do your best to survive. With my access to the unit list, I can always track where Noctis is. He'll follow every order that you give him. Eat, drink, stay healthy and stay alive.

Yours truly, Grandpa Tony.

Isaac has only known the old man for a month, yet here he was using one of his summons. He would have died, without the old man's help. The old man had multiple complications in his body, the Terran doctor, Juno Haynes was capable of helping him sustain himself while he stayed in this new reality. Isaac knew that the old man had no choice but to follow Orion's group. "If not for his help, then we would've been wiped. We are far too weak… I'll need to design some new structures and with our empty win… I hope that the tech tree can finally be used."