The small phone felt like a lifeline in Elias's hand. He quickly navigated to the map application, watching the blue dot calibrate his location. "Barden Yana, ," the screen confirmed, centering on the bustling district he found himself in. The date displayed was June 16th, 2042. It was real. This wasn't some alternate universe with different physics; it was the world, just with an unseen, terrifying layer.
He zoomed out, gaining a better sense of his surroundings. From his old life, he vaguely remembered Barden Yana as a starting zone in "ECU," characterized by low-level Eldritch spawns and relatively common urban pollution. This meant it was dangerous, but manageable for a Level 1 hunter like himself, especially with his cheat. The game's lore, once a source of strategic triumph, was now a survival guide.
Next, he opened a news browser. He scrolled through local headlines, looking for anything that screamed "Eldritch activity" but would be disguised by official reports. "Unexplained power outages," "Rise in petty crime due to 'unrest'," "Unusual weather phenomena." These were the classic euphemisms for Eldritch incursions in the game's background lore. The subtle surge of anxiety he felt while reading about the "unrest" was, to him, another form of pollution.
He saved a few key locations: a local library (potential for shelter and more information), a large park (green spaces could sometimes be surprisingly clean or, conversely, highly polluted if people were gathering for negative reasons), and a few areas known in the game for minor Eldritch manifestations. He was still vulnerable, still on his own, but now he had data. He had a plan. The streets of Kaduna were no longer just a chaotic maze; they were a tactical map.