The next day came and Marco welcomed a new day.
The automatic updates for today were instinctive confirmation, various types of zombies, a menu system, and the addition of an affinity feature.
Instinctive confirmation refers to all prompts being activated or accepted depending on instinct alone. A good example was the few pop-ups that appear on his central vision and minimizes towards the left-center of his sight.
"Well, that's good. I don't have to keep blinking like an idiot anymore. You're the best!"
As for the zombies, three variants were added with additional images; the dura, duwag, and siga variant.
The Dura variant evolved from zombies affected by the acid rains. Their bodies adapted to survive and could spit toxins. Zombies of the dura variant have their nerves showing under their skin and have a tint of light green flowing in them. Their blood has a high corrosive property and could melt metal if given enough time.
The Duwag variant was an opportunistic variant that only lurks around and only attacks when its target showed weakness. It had the same physique as a regular zombie with only the large claws as the difference. Zombies of the duwag variant are extremely cowardly. Even when they are winning in battles, they would flee at the first moment of pain.
Unlike the duwag variant, the siga zombie variant was a tough guy overwhelming with power. Initially, they have fewer muscles, but the longer they live, the buffer they become. They charge ahead at any target and would never back out of a fight.
"Let's hope I don't meet any of them around this part of the town.
"Hey, system. Did you do a balance check on this? Are you sure that we can even fight them?"
Marco waited but no reply came.
"Hmm... not talking eh?"
Next, the obvious menu system on his bottom-right vision. There's a backpack icon, a book icon, and an anvil icon. They were shortcuts to the main inventory, the skill section, and the creation platform. He played around for a few seconds before losing interest.
Finally, the last update was the affinity feature commonly known as relationship meter. In some games, affinity has a lot of benefits; discounted trade, hidden plots, unique storyline and a bunch more. However, everything revolves around NPCs.
"Where could I found NPCs in this world?"
Marco turned around and stared at Jessica. With the HP Bar update implemented, a name and health bar appeared above Jessica's head.
Unknowingly, Marco stared for too long, causing several descriptions to appear.
Jessica, Acquaintance.
Marco lost interest again and looked away. He stared at the bow on the Hotbar Slot3 and checked how many stone arrows he crafted. The bow was low-quality and was created earlier while Jessica was preparing breakfast.
Last night, he did a lot of research about bows, arrows, and fenced walls.
Marco used whole logs to create bow staves that are over five feet long. According to an online guide, the wood should be as tall as you to become a perfect match. Also, the wood should be free of knots, twists, or limbs, and it would be helpful if the branch is thick at its center. It would make the bow more sturdy and durable during the carving process.
Of course, Marco didn't have to worry about anything, everything was measured to the last bit with the help of the Creation Platform. With several sprinkles of imagination, he was able to craft an average stave of appropriate proportions. It was because he was too eager to produce something divine, causing the bow staves to have minor damage.
In the meantime, he simply used nylon thread as the string and finally crafted two low-quality bows.
He didn't catch any birds yesterday, so they have to make do with simple sharpened wooden arrows. With the help of the system, zombies would receive damage as long as they get hit.
And with wooden arrows as ammunition, it could be said that they have unlimited supplies.
"Hey, Jessica. If you're still not done changing I'm gonna go ahead. I'll be at the back—"
The room opened and Jessica unhappily came out. She wore a gray tank top with sports leggings, coupled with running shoes.
"I'm out, I'm out. You'll never find a girlfriend if you continue to act like that."
Marco frowned. "What's with the getup? Are you going jogging somewhere?"
"Whoa. Look at yourself first before you talk about my fashion. What's with the baggy shorts? Why do you have a fisherman's vest?"
"Obviously for extra storage?" Marco wanted to say but barely held himself. "They seem useful, so I took them from the other house last time..."
"Please don't cry. You wear what you want, I wear what I'm comfortable with."
"Who's crying!"
The two left, returning the peace and quiet of the room.
The plan for the day was to fully fence out the backyard and wall up the front yard. The reasons were simple. The backyard has lower traffic than the front yard. If they want to come and go without attracting or leading zombies back to their place, they have to take the long route and use the forested area as an exit and entry point.
Marco also planned to get the system to cough up some basic building templates. Imagination or whatnot, basic buildings should be accessible like gates, fences, and spiked traps. Adjustments could be made in the future in the form of extensions.
The sun has already risen and physical labor continues...
Bows and arrows can be made by anyone but the quality cannot be assured. Still, they were better than having to get close every time you wanted to deal with the enemies.
While Marco was busy chopping wood, Jessica trained with the bow.
She remained on the lookout and made sure not to create too much noise. With a distance of ten meters, a tin can was used for target practice. Unfortunately, she hasn't hit the target even once after an hour. The trajectory of the arrow always moves away from the projected path.
Unless they get feathers and crafted appropriate arrowheads, wooden arrows would only serve as target practice material.