"Claire and Hannah! The two of you need to go back into the shelter and stay there!" Chelsea ordered them as she began coordinating with the MPs, several of them were running towards the jeeps on the road and driving off.
Things began progressing so quickly that Claire didn't know what was happening, confusing her. "It all started when that man whispered something to Chelsea. What's happening to the Fort?" Claire thought to herself. "Chelsea, what's happening? Why do we need to go back into the shelter? What about you?" She demanded from her friend, who was about to follow the other MPs towards the parked vehicles.
Hearing Claire's voice, Chelsea stopped and looked back at Claire. She paused as though debating about whether to tell Claire. Pressing her lips together, Chelsea spoke, "It's the Modified Humans. For some reason, they've been rushing our defenses for the past couple of days. Since standard guns don't work, we've been forced to use heavier caliber weapons."
"How about our parents?" Claire thought back to how both her and Hannah's parents were working in the labs right now.
Raising a hand to stop Claire's flood of questions, Chelsea said, "Both of your parents are safe. Even if the Modified Humans were to overwhelm our defenses, there would be enough time to evacuate your parents to one of the nearby shelters." She turned her head to look at the MPs, who were ready in the jeeps and waiting for her to enter. "I have to head to the perimeter to see what my orders are. The two of you stay in the shelter!"
"Let us come with you!" Hannah began going to Chelsea.
Running to the jeep, Chelsea looked at Hannah, "No! It's too dangerous! It'll be fine! I don't know how the two of you were able to enter into the shelter, but it's better that the two of you gained access to it!" Not wanting to debate the matter, Chelsea kept running to the jeep. The front passenger side door was already opened, ready for Chelsea to jump in so the vehicle could head to their destination as soon as she was inside.
As Claire stood next to Hannah, watching as Chelsea's jeep was driving off, she was worried about the fate of the Fort.
"Do you think everyone will be okay?" Hannah asked.
Nodding her head, Claire said, "I'm sure the army has already planned things out for this outcome."
"It's so frustrating," Hannah's voice was thick with emotions.
Claire agreed with Hannah's sentiment. What was even more frustrating was how even if they had gone with Chelsea, they wouldn't have been able to do anything. "It sounds like it's only a matter of time until this Fort is overwhelmed by the Modified Humans." She thought to herself, a part of her saddened to think another place belonging to humans would be eliminated.
"Claire," Hannah's voice interrupted Claire's thoughts.
"Yeah?" Claire looked at her friend.
Just like how her eyes were like after leaving the training simulation, Hannah's eyes were full of determination. "Let's go back inside of the shelter. I want to get stronger."
Claire turned to look at the outside world. Hearing her friend's words and knowing soldiers were fighting for their lives on the wall, she had a sense that seeing the sun and feeling the cool breeze of the wind would be something she wouldn't be able to experience in a long time.
"We'll get strong enough to reclaim this Fort," Claire clenched her fists.
Hannah was silent, but Claire knew that Hannah shared the same sentiment.
Saying one last farewell to the world, Claire turned towards the shelter and began walking down the hallway. The shelter which would become their home until they reached a point where they'd be able to step outside and withstand the Modified Humans with their own strength.
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A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
"With this being my first job, I probably should choose something that can be easily completed," Claire thought to herself.
Claire had been staring at the board inside of the Adventurer's Guild. Since her Level was four, she had only been looking at the section for adventurers lower than Level ten.
Each of the jobs near her Level was pretty easy, only a few related to hunting the monsters around the starting village.
Turning to look behind her, she noticed the lack of adventurers inside of the Guild, compared to where she went for training. "The Guild really reflects the location." She softly said to herself.
"It's understandable," Hannah answered. "I heard that many of the adventurers, once they reach Level ten, take a job guarding a merchant's carriage or save up enough to pay for the shuttle going to the nearby town." Not really caring about where they were, she was focused on finding a job that interested her.
Returning her attention to the board, Claire tried to find something that the two of them could work on. Being the first job in the simulation, it felt like it'd set a good pace to complete it together. They could go their separate ways after the first one since there weren't many that allowed for a party to be involved.
"How about hunting for Horned Rabbits?" Hannah pointed at a job, requiring adventurers to hunt the monsters and collect the fur. "It's open, so as long as you bring the monsters, then you'll get paid."
Claire tried to look for the job that Hannah was talking about. As her eyes scanned the numerous sheets stuck to the board, she finally located the sheet that Hannah was talking about. Taking the thumbtack off of the paper, she took the sheet as she pushed the tack back onto the board where it belonged.
"Gather the fur of Horned Rabbits," Claire read the job. Her eyes moved to the corner where she saw five stars, meaning the person making the request was in good standing with the Guild. There was also no set time duration for when the fur had to be gathered, connecting with the fact that it was an open request.
"It looks like we'll be able to earn a Guild Point for every horned rabbit we bring to the Guild." Hannah pointed out, sounding excited.
Nodding at her friend's words, Claire said, "I think this is a good selection to make. Let's head over to the counter to let the Guild know about us taking on this job." She looked at the counters across from the front desk, where adventurers could take on jobs and turn in what they've gathered for the job requirements.
With Hannah following behind her, Claire made her way over to the nearest counter. Since the board was close to where adventurers report the acceptance of a job, they didn't need to take much time.
At the counter, Claire saw a woman with a cheerful disposition. She looked like an employee that enjoyed their job, even though the Guild they were in was in a small village.
"Have you selected a job?" The woman brushed some loose strands of her blonde hair back behind her ear, the rest of her hair in a professional bun. With the rest of the uniform she was wearing, the woman gave off a career woman vibe.
Placing the sheet on the counter and sliding it to the woman, Claire said, "We'd like to take on this job."
Taking the paper, the woman scanned the job and the requirements. Her eyes returned to looking at Claire and Hannah. "Could I have your adventurer information?" The woman smiled.
Lifting her wrist that had her bracelet, Claire felt amazed at how Star and Moon incorporated the same technology inside of the bracelet to be used inside of the simulation. As the employee pulled out a crystal sticking out of a shining metal box, Claire performed the same action she had done countless times when she was in school. Just like in the cafeteria, upon recognizing the information in the bracelet, the crystal glowed green.
Hannah followed the same procedure.
After they had finished the scan, the woman shifted her eyes to look behind the barrier that prevented people from seeing sensitive documents. Returning her focus on Claire and Hannah, she said, "You both had the necessary qualifications to take on this job."
Though she knew that they would both be able to do the job, Claire still felt relieved to hear the confirmation.
"Just to remind you, this job requires you to check-in with the Guild at least once a day. If you fail to check-in after a set number of days, a job will be sent out to locate you, and the two of you will be responsible for any costs associated with the job." The woman explained. Seeing the two of them nod their heads, she continued, "If you need any equipment, we have a store inside of the guild that corresponds to the level of this job."
"We're good on that," Claire tapped a hand on her handgun on her waist. She also felt the rifle on her back.
Hannah had the same handgun and rifle, having coincidentally made the same decision as Claire in terms of what to select for her weapon. It was likely due to their studying habits, where they tended to reach a similar conclusion after reading the same books and following similar strategies for performing well on exams.
Smiling at the response, the woman continued, "With this job, we also offer training such as removing the fur off of the Horned Rabbit. This not only helps you develop survival skills, being able to turn the meat into a stew using ingredients found from your surroundings but also saving some money by skinning the animal yourself instead of having the Guild perform the service."
Listening to the woman, Claire felt as though it was finally starting, their journey to becoming stronger and someday surviving in the new harsh world.