Chapter 29 A new day – Cassis

Cassis woke before dawn.

The room was dim, the only light coming from the soft glow of the clock on his nightstand. 5:30 AM.

For a moment, he simply breathed, trying to gather his thoughts.

And then he became acutely aware of the warmth pressed against him.

Arianna was curled into him again, her back to his front, the same way they had woken up yesterday. And just like yesterday, he had a problem.

He exhaled slowly, forcing his body to relax. He couldn’t exactly control the way his body reacted, but he could at least get out of bed before she woke up and noticed.

Carefully, he extricated himself, moving with measured precision to avoid waking her. Arianna stirred slightly but didn’t wake, letting out a quiet breath as she burrowed deeper into the pillow.

Good.

Cassis grabbed his notebook from the desk and retreated to the living room, settling onto the couch.

He flipped the notebook open, but before anything else, he checked his status screen:

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Status Page:

* Name: Cassis Walker

* MS (Mana Saturation): 14%

* Race: Human

* Rank: F

* Features: Awareness (Intermediate), Energy Perception (Beginner), Stamina Capacity (Intermediate), Mana Sight (Beginner)

* Unique: None

* Level: 10 (+6)

* Class: Warrior

* Skills: Slash (Advanced), Stab (Advanced), Parry (Advanced), Deflect (Intermediate), Counter (Intermediate)

* Ability:

* Elemental Affinity: Fire

* Unique: None

* Inventory: 10 m3

* Spells: Fire Blade (Intermediate), Flame Burst (Basic)

* Titles: [The One Who Returned], [Warrior of Flames], [Protector of the Weak], [Monster Bane I], [Superior Survivor], [Giant Slayer], [Steadfast Leader], [Daredevil]

* Patron: Sapphire

* Hall of Fame: open

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His mana saturation was coming along nicely since the last time he checked. Not surprising, given how much he’d used his magic in the past two days.

Energy Perception was still beginner level, which frustrated him. It was supposed to help him sense mana fluctuations more clearly, but right now, it was still weak.

He rolled his shoulders, stretching out the stiffness from yesterday’s battles. They had won, but this was just the beginning.

Arianna’s status was probably as insane as his at this point, considering the sheer amount of healing and fighting she had done. And then there was the matter of her patron status. He still didn’t fully understand what it meant for her to be a deity.

But one thing was clear—she was great at mana control, and she was getting stronger fast. And she was going to keep fighting, so he needed to make sure he became much stronger. He had to fight by her side, protecting her.

For that he needed a good advanced class. The system still wasn’t registering his skills at their true levels. If he wanted to get a good class for this advancement, he needed to force the system to recognize his real combat ability.

That meant training.

Arianna needed it too.

She had raw talent, no question about it. But even with her strength and abilities, she had gaps in her technique. If they wanted to survive the dungeon breaks, she needed a class that suited her, and for that, she had to train efficiently.

The nearby park should be good enough for that, at least for now.

But before training, they had to talk about what they were going to do moving forward.

The world would need time to recover as well, and it would never go back to what it was before. This weekend would go down in history as the Bloody Weekend—the two days where over one-third of the world’s population was wiped out.

The streets would be quiet for now, with only a few mutated animals and plants appearing. F-rank threats, nothing they couldn’t handle.

But the real problem wasn’t the mutated wildlife, at least not where humans lived. The forests, mountains and seas were a different thing.

For them the danger lay with the dungeons. Dungeon breaks would start happening in about a month. The world government would take control of the dungeons, trying to study them, but they wouldn’t have the manpower to clear them in time.

And why? Because the system had targeted the military during the Bloody Weekend. Most of the world's trained soldiers had been either killed or severely weakened in the first wave, throwing everything into chaos.

Now the government would start recruiting Awakeners, but that was going to be a hard sell. Most survivors wouldn’t trust the military anymore. They’d seen how disposable soldiers had become in the eyes of the system. No one wanted to be thrown away like a used tissue.

That’s when people would start realizing something: They could form guilds.

The system didn’t show a guild or party menu by default—people had to think of it on their own. But the moment someone figured it out, guilds would spread like wildfire.

And once guilds formed, they would become a counterbalance to government control. At least at first, before the government had crumbled and then become a criminal organization.

Cassis rubbed his chin, thinking it through. For now, they had a few days of relative peace. The military and police would eventually start doing a census, looking for survivors, trying to reestablish order.

But until then? They could train without interference. He glanced toward his closed bedroom door. Arianna was still asleep.

When she woke up, they would have a lot to discuss. Not just training, but the internet was back now, and it would be exploding with people looking for answers.

Answers that no one had. Maybe they could use that. Maybe they should make a webpage or a forum, spreading controlled information about him, Arianna, and Sapphire.

Before he did that, though, there was one more thing he needed to check. The Hall of Fame. If their names and action were recorded there, he needed to see what it was. And more importantly… He needed to see if he could use their growing fame to their advantage.

Cassis clicked on the Hall of Fame menu, and a list of ten entries appeared before him.

At the top, the title read:

"Trending Now."

Above the list, he noticed several other menu tabs:

* Archive

* Most Popular

* New Additions

Every single spot in the top ten list was filled—each with a blinking "New" tag at the end of the title. His eyes scanned the list.

The entries had names like:

1. Protectors of the Weak

2. The Second Stand

3. Until the End

4. A Desperate Struggle

5. A Lucky Shot

… and more.

Cassis frowned. He knew that he and Arianna had been recorded three times. But what about the others? In his last life, there had never been a Hall of Fame. Why? Was it because no one had unlocked it? Like the protection for children, maybe it had a hidden condition that simply hadn’t been met.

But it seemed like being recorded in it and unlocking it were two different things. He shook his head. He needed to see for himself. With a mental command, he selected the top entry—Protectors of the Weak.

A video began playing.

Cassis felt his stomach tighten.

The footage showed him, Arianna, his family, Nadine, and the Morrisons—all of them struggling to protect baby Jessica.

The playback was fast-paced, cutting out unimportant moments and highlighting key scenes of their desperate defence.

And then— Cassis’s breath hitched. The footage slowed down during the hobgoblin fight. He saw it again. Arianna on the ground, barely moving, her throat crushed and bleeding out from the hole in her stomach.

The exact moment he had almost lost her. His fists clenched. He could feel his jaw tighten as a sharp anger burned in his chest. So, this was out there for everyone to see? It felt like a violation. He didn’t want to see it.

But he forced himself to keep watching. The video ended, revealing a set of tags underneath.

#CassisWalker

#AriannaSloane

#ProtectorOfTheWeak

#Awakeners

#BloodyWeekend

Below that, there were two simple buttons:

👍 Like

👎 Dislike

Cassis exhaled slowly. This was just like social media. He closed the video and moved on to the next one.

The second video—"The Second Stand"—was about their battle at City Hall.

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

The third—"Until the End"—covered their fight at the gymnasium.

Three separate battles. And all three were in the top three trending spots.

The other videos were about different people. The fourth one showed a family with a baby desperately struggling against monster. Their baby was screaming and luring monsters just like Jessica. The were outside with a river at their back, fending off monsters again and again. That’s when the baby suddenly stopped crying. The system protection must have kicked it. The family were quick and used a temporary lull to jump into the water and let the river current get them away from the monsters.

The fifth video was about a young mage who was surrounded by bodies facing off against a lizard man – E-rank. The lizardman was injured but still standing. The young mage put as much mana as he could into his last Magic Missile and shot it at the monster’s head. He actually managed to kill it like that. Another genius mage.

Cassis didn’t watch more videos. He felt terrible watching other people’s tragedies. He went to the "Most Popular" menu.

The same three videos about him and Arianna were still in the top spots. People had already started liking them. Cassis didn’t like this. He hated that their struggles—their pain—were being put on display for strangers to watch, judge, and comment on.

But…

He took a deep breath. Popularity meant power. If they had influence, they could use it. He didn’t know exactly how yet, but one thing was clear—

This Hall of Fame could be a tool. And Cassis wasn't going to waste it.

Next Cassis opened his notebook and connected to the internet. The moment the page loaded, he was met with a storm of activity.

Social media feeds were flooded with desperate posts.

* "What just happened?!"

* "The world changed overnight!"

* "Is anyone in Landon safe? Please respond!"

* "My brother is missing. Please help!"

Everywhere, people were searching for answers. But they weren’t just looking for explanations.

They also wanted to know more about the new "heroes." Cassis grimaced. Heroes. What a terrible nickname.

He clicked through multiple trending threads. There were already clips and screenshots from the Hall of Fame circulating. Some people were praising their fights, calling them protectors, warriors, or even saviours.

Others were skeptical.

* "Who are these people? Where did they come from?"

* "Why did they get powers first?"

* "Something feels off about all this."

Cassis sighed. It was only a matter of time before theories and conspiracies ran wild. Before he could dive deeper, the sound of a door opening caught his attention.

He looked up. Arianna stepped out of the bedroom, still looking half-asleep, her hair messy and her eyes squinting against the light.

"Good morning," he greeted with a small smile. She yawned, rubbing her eyes. "Morning."

Cassis closed his notebook and stood up. "Let’s eat first," he suggested. Arianna nodded sleepily, following him into the kitchen.

Cassis’s kitchen was small but functional. He had some food left, enough for about two or three days. That was about the same time most people would start running out of supplies.

By then, supermarkets would reopen, with enterprising owners raising prices, knowing people would be desperate to restock. That was all possible because by then the military would start clearing areas, sending alerts to people’s phones and give security to them that way.

They would also station themselves near supermarkets, ensuring that no looting was taking place and using the opportunity to conduct a census. Afterwards they would search the addresses no one had claimed, finding mostly blood splatters and remnants of lives lived but no corpses. The mana particles would have absorbed all dead matter by then …

For now, simple breakfast. Arianna sat at the small dining table, munching on a piece of toast, while Cassis prepared coffee.

As she ate, Cassis decided to bring up the Hall of Fame. "So, there’s something I need to tell you." She hummed, still chewing. "Mhm?"

"We’re famous."

Arianna froze mid-bite. She stared at him, eyes wide. "What?"

"The system recorded our fights. People can watch them now. We’re in the Hall of Fame."

Arianna’s eyes went even wider. Then— Cough. She started choking on her toast. Cassis quickly grabbed a glass of water, handing it to her. She gulped it down, coughing hard.

"We’re WHAT?!"

Cassis sighed. "Yeah. That was my reaction too."

Cassis filled Arianna in on his plans as they ate. She listened carefully, nodding along.

They both agreed—

* They’d hold off on their advanced classes for now.

* They’d focus on training, testing their limits.

* After today’s session, they’d talk about their gains and adjust accordingly.

By the time they finished breakfast, the plan was set.

They had finalized their plan for the day, but Cassis wanted to wait until 9 AM before leaving. He remembered something important.

At exactly 9 AM, there would be an emergency alert on his phone—from the World Government—instructing survivors to tune into the nearest TV or radio for an official announcement.

The message would then repeat every hour.

Sure enough, when the time came, his phone beeped. Arianna looked at him, curious.

"What is it?"

"The government broadcast. Let's watch it."

They both moved to the living room, where Cassis turned on the TV. The screen flickered to life.

There, standing behind a podium draped with the World Government’s emblem, was the President of the World Council, Shakir Zenet.

His expression was solemn, his voice carrying the calm authority of a seasoned politician.

"To the brave survivors of this terrible disaster… my deepest condolences for your losses. You have endured something truly catastrophic, and yet you remain standing. For that, I commend you."

"At this moment, the military is finally finished with its active engagement in battle. While we have suffered heavy losses, we are committed to regaining control. We ask for your patience as we assess the situation."

Of course, he phrased it in a way that softened the truth—that the government had no information, no real control, and no clear solution.

"For your safety, we urge all citizens to remain in secure locations and avoid unnecessary risks. The military and law enforcement will reach your area as soon as possible. When this happens, a new alert will be sent directly to your devices."

"Above all, please remain vigilant, stay strong, and—most importantly—stay kind."

Cassis snorted at that last part.

"What?" Arianna turned to him.

"Nothing. Just… the government." He shook his head, crossing his arms. "At first, they actually cared about helping people. But in the other timeline… that didn’t last."

Arianna’s brows furrowed. “I know but before the second wave they were great.”

Cassis sighed.

"Yes, you’re right. At first, the government really did everything they could—securing the dungeon gates, often even clearing them, relief efforts, even a census and early training for awakeners."

Arianna nodded and continued his thought. "But after the second wave, they started changing. The military couldn’t keep up with the monster attacks. Too many politicians and high-ranking officials died, Zenet included—so the ones who took over were more desperate. More ruthless."

Cassis chimed in. "That’s when they started forcing awakeners into the military. First, they asked for volunteers. Then they ‘strongly encouraged’ people to enlist. After that?"

They looked at each other grimly and said at the same time. "Conscription. Kidnapping. Slavery." It had only been possible due to an item they had discovered and successfully replicated with a whole department of enchanters, a profession, helping them: The slave collar. Once put on the slave couldn’t refuse the master’s orders or harm the master.

Arianna’s stomach turned at the memory. "That was a horrible time. Thankfully they never caught you."

Cassis nodded grimly.

"It only stopped when the awakeners became too strong to be held captive by the collar and started banding together in guilds. Eventually, the government tried to make a deal with the guilds, but they had already lost their power. By the fifth wave, the government completely collapsed. After that, only the big guilds remained."

"But they weren’t any better" Arianna bitterly interjected, most likely remembering some of his run-ins with the big guilds.

Cassis laughed, but there was no humour in it.

"No. Some were, sure. But most were just as bad, if not worse. They controlled resources, territories, and even people with their overwhelming strength. And they didn’t have to pretend to be fair like a government does."

Arianna frowned, thinking. "So what do we do?"

"For now? We play along." Cassis leaned back. "For the first few months—maybe even the first few years—the government will be our ally. But we have to be careful. Our faces and names are known now. That means we can’t slip past the government’s radar."

Arianna nodded, still deep in thought. Hesitantly she voiced an idea: “Maybe we could stop the government from becoming corrupt and evil. Maybe even stop the collapse. After all, a stabile government is needed when a population wants to survive the apocalypse.”

Cassis nodded thoughtfully. They would have to explore that idea more later on. For now, they needed to become stronger. Because if they ever negotiated with the government it had to be from a place of power.

After the broadcast ended, they both stood.

"Come on," Cassis said. "Let’s get moving."

And with that, they left the house and headed to the park just down the street.

It was still early. The city was eerily silent. Even though some people were awake, they most probably had seen the broadcast and weren’t brave enough to step outside just yet. Only the dwindling food supply at home would eventually force them out. That and the message that would come in two days that the military had come and secured one of the bigger shopping malls.

For now, the streets remained empty. Which suited them just fine.

Cassis and Arianna stood at the entrance of the park.

First order of business—Stamina training.

Arianna groaned when he explained the plan.

* Running laps.

* Sit-ups.

* Using the free exercise equipment.

She looked like she wanted to argue. But to her credit, she didn’t complain.

Instead, she silently started running with him. For the first two laps, Cassis kept her pace. He needed to see if she’d give up the moment he pulled ahead. But when he gradually increased his speed, Arianna chased after him.

Cassis smirked. She was competitive. That was good. If she didn’t push herself, the training would be pointless. So, he sped up again. Faster. And faster. Until his own breath came in short bursts. But he kept going.

They ran for an hour. By the time Cassis called a halt, Arianna collapsed onto the ground. She sat on her knees, heaving breaths.

"That was terrible," she gasped.

Cassis was breathing hard himself, hands on his knees to keep himself upright.

"Small break," he said between breaths. "Then strength training."

Arianna let out a whimper. Cassis frowned. Was he really that bad?

The morning was devoted to training, a relentless pursuit of endurance and skill.

They had already begun with physical conditioning (an hour of running)—an essential foundation before wielding weapons in earnest.

The running was then followed by a gruelling cycle of push-ups and sit-ups on the ground, and then pull-ups, chin-ups and balance drills using the park’s equipment.

The push-ups, sit-ups, pull-ups and chin-ups would strengthen their muscles while the balance drills would hone their stability—an often-overlooked aspect of combat.

When Cassis finally called for a short reprieve, Arianna slumped onto a bench, breathing hard. She groaned aloud when he referred to it as merely a warm-up. Cassis, unbothered by the thought of more training, handed her a water bottle and let her recover. There was more to do.

After the short break they went on with weapons training. "Draw your weapon," he instructed. With a weary sigh, Arianna reached into her inventory, producing the mace.

Cassis took it from her hands, turning it over in his grip, feeling its weight. A mace was not as precise as a sword, nor as swift. But in the right hands, it was a weapon of devastating force. He had been a sword master in the other timeline, still was, but he knew his way around other weapons, too.

"Watch carefully," he said.

He demonstrated the fundamentals—each movement deliberate, efficient.

* Bludgeon and smash.

* Blocking and parrying.

* Deflecting and countering.

Arianna watched with quiet focus, absorbing each technique.

But watching and executing were two very different things.

When he handed the mace back to her, she took it hesitantly.

"Assume your stance," he instructed.

She obeyed, gripping the handle tightly and planting her feet. It was… wrong.

Cassis sighed and stepped forward, adjusting her posture with precise touches—a hand on her shoulder, a slight nudge to her elbow, a shift in the angle of her grip.

She frowned. "This feels unnatural." Cassis chuckled softly. "That’s because your body isn’t used to it yet. You’ve never had to fight before, have you?"

Arianna shook her head, then squared her shoulders, determination tightening her expression. She was ready.

He had her execute the bludgeon strike several times, each movement was analysed and corrected— A fraction more power. A tighter grip. A sharper angle.

When her form was finally acceptable, he took a step back.

"Now keep going. Don’t stop until I tell you to."

Arianna’s eyes widened slightly. "No set number?"

"No set number."

Real battles had no predetermined limits. There was no one to say, just ten more strikes and you're done. And this way she could train her Willpower skill, too.

She stared at him for a moment, then let out a small, resigned sigh. But she didn’t complain. Instead, she gritted her teeth and swung.

Cassis watched with quiet approval. She didn’t give up easily. The system – and him – had thrown her into the depths of chaos, and she had risen to meet it at every turn. This would be no different.

With her occupied, Cassis drew his sword, exhaled slowly— And began his own drills.