With that happy thought, he continued looking through the template catalog.
Wall
-Instantiation Cost: variable
-Operation Cost: variable
-Description: Width, height, and thickness, and material composition are adjustable.
The item title said, "wall", but it felt like it meant wall in the abstract, as a obstacle. This item could be used to form any shape of any size he wanted. And he could also select the material properties. He wasn't certain but he thought he could make it as soft as gelatin or harder than a diamond. He could also make it opaque, or transparent, or anything in between.
Target
-Instantiation Cost: variable
-Operation Cost: variable
-Description: Size, shape, and material composition are adjustable.
The target item appeared to be the same as the wall item. Same size, shape, and composition options. It was only when he focused on the item, like he wanted to actual instantiate one, that more information became available. He learned that unlike the Wall item, the Target item was destructible. So, if he shot a arrow at a gelatin wall, it would bounce back, but if he shot a gelatin target, it would punch through.
Training Dummy
-Instantiation Cost: variable
-Operation Cost: variable
-Description: Size, shape, and material composition are adjustable. Movement can be programmed.
The last item, the training dummy, went went well beyond size, shape, and composition, it could be programed! There was no indication of the degree and complexity of programing possible, so he didn't know if it was limited to something simple like walking in a circle, or if it could be programed to do something as complex as mimic a wild animal, or martial artist.
He was just about to focus on the target dummy, like he had with the target item, when he received new messages.
[Achievement: Longest single Soul Space visit exceeded 1000 seconds]
[Reward: 1000 Genesis Points]
[Achievement: Total time spent in Soul Space exceeds 1000 seconds]
[Reward: 1000 Genesis Points]
When he checked the Time Acceleration section of his interface, he found that while 1000 seconds had passed inside his soul space, only 194 seconds had passed in the outside world. This was good news. It mean he could earn time-in-soul space achievements more quickly.
Time Ratio: 10:1 (max 10:1)
Elapsed Time (Soul Space): 1001 seconds
Elapsed Time (Outside): 194 seconds
He had enough GP now to unlock snapshots, but he still had a two-hour drive home. It was already evening, he was tired and sore, and he was reluctant sit in his car with his body unattended for even an hour. So, he exited his soul space.
Back in his car he found himself still sitting in the same position he had been when he entered his soul space. He would have to run some experiments when he got home. Or maybe in the morning.
On the drive home, Jack contemplated the nature and purpose of Genesis Heart. It seemed like a System, like the ones he'd read about in LitRPG novels, but it didn't call itself a system. And, while it had Energy Points instead of mana, and Genesis Points instead of experience, it still looked like a System. The GP was earned by doing things related to the Genesis Heart, and he could spend the GP to upgrade his EP. So, what was it and why did he have it? Were other people also getting systems?
The Genesis Heart had knocked him unconscious for several hours, and he would have died if it weren't for that rhododendron, so if it was a global thing, then he should see signs of car crashes on the way home. If it was only some people, he might still see something in the news about mysterious fainting incidents or something.
He hoped he was the only one. Not just because that would imply he was special, but because he really didn't want any competition. If everyone had Genesis Heart, well, that would be horrible. If everyone had systems, there was a good chance some of them would have ridiculously over powered systems, and as much fun as it was to read about System Apocalypses, he never wanted to actually live in one. He shuddered at the thought. He had no interest in fighting monsters. Neither the system spawned variety, nor the human variety.
Worried about the possibility that an actual System Apocalypse had arrived, as improbable as that seemed, he keep his eye on the mountain road ahead, not wanting run into a stalled or crashed car. Or worse, some system spawned monster.
The trail head was nearly twenty kilometers away from the highway on a dirt and gravel road and it had taken him nearly an hour to get from the highway to the trailhead. But now that it was dark, it took him close to two hours to get back to the highway. Partly because it was dark his headlights didn't illuminate much of the dirt road, and partly because he was worried some system spawned monster might jump out in front of his car. If the monster had horns and gored his radiator, he'd be stranded. He thought it was unlikely but still couldn't shake the worry, so soon after getting the Genesis Heart.
He relaxed a little when he reached the highway without incident. The highway was really just a two-lane road, one lane each way, but it was classed as a highway on the maps. For the first few kilometers, he drove well below the speed limit, worried he might hit something, but as time passed and he saw nothing, he would speed up on the straight sections and only slow down when there was a curve with poor visibility.
By the time he had passed through Index, a town with only two buildings near the highway, he still hadn't seen any cars. Or anything else out of the ordinary. But as he neared Goldbar, a larger town with a visible presence along the two-lane highway, he passed a car. It was driving normally, just like him. And as he drove through Goldbar, he saw lights on and cars parked in business parking lots. Still normal.
By the time he reached Sultan, he had passed four cars and as he drove through Sultan, he saw five waiting at three different intersections. He was starting to relax. It was looking more and more like there was no System Apocalypse.
After pulling into his garage, he watched through his rearview mirror as his garage door closed. He had seen no signs of a System Apocalypse or anything else out of the ordinary. With relief, he dragged his tired body out of his car and headed to bed. Anything Genesis Heart related could wait until morning.