Chapter 8: Making some plans – Cassis

"What are we going to tell them tomorrow morning?" Arianna asked.

Cassis had thought of this and again found it would be best to mix truth and lies. "How about we tell them that you are a friend of mine? We met coincidentally on the street near my parents' home because you were in the area for work. What is your job?"

"I'm an accountant."

That was surprising and very... normal. He continued, "When the monsters appeared, we worked together to kill some and awakened. Then we decided to hide in my parents' house."

"Alright, that seems plausible," she nodded.

"Next, we tell them our plan to level up, as it's clear this is like a video game."

She agreed again, then said, "Maybe your brother will want to come with us. And your mom. And we should really help your dad and..." she hesitated, "and Violet awaken. Her mom will want to come, too."

He was quiet. They both knew that Violet would have a better chance of survival if she awakened. After all, most children had died by the third wave. The adults had thought to protect them but hadn’t given them any tools to do so themselves. The adults weren’t strong enough or couldn’t be everywhere, and so the children suffered. But would they just be putting her through a different sort of suffering?

Arianna said, "Well, it's just an idea, but it's her mother’s decision."

He agreed. Then he brought up the most concerning point for him. "But how will you fight? Your injuries—even though they will have healed quite a bit by tomorrow morning—will still hobble your ability to fight."

He thought back to when she had gotten enough points to buy the potion. The things she had said, the "compliments." They stoked a new fire inside his heart. As his patron, she had kept some embers of his heart alive in that future, but never had he felt like this. Part embarrassment, part pleasure. He knew he was attractive—his ex-girlfriends had told him quite often—but hearing it from her was different. Then she had mentioned having done that before in her world, and he saw red. Just the thought of her telling another man these things made him furious. But he had no right. She was just his patron. It was no use getting angry about it.

Then she had bought the potion and immediately wanted to give it to Violet’s mother. The thought of using it on herself hadn’t crossed her mind. So, he hadn’t said anything, though he was worried. He smiled and shook his head. She was still his virtuous Arianna.

But this brought them in front of another problem. "You really should have used the potion for yourself. Then you could easily gain the points to get another one for Violet’s mother."

Arianna became angry. "No way I could do that. Awakening was keeping her alive, but we don’t know if staying unconscious with a head injury would have long-lasting effects on her. Her case was more time-sensitive than mine. Ah." She sounded surprised.

He looked at her, confused. She grinned. "The system just told me I earned 20 CP for sacrificing my own comfort to save a mortal. Only 30 CP to go."

He did not like the part about her sacrificing herself, but he was relieved that they only needed to get 30 CP more. That was around three F-rank monsters she would have to kill. He could manage to fight some by himself and then give her the kill, like he had done for Violet’s mother. Nodding, he told her of his plan. He saw that she didn’t like it but had to accept that her injuries would make it difficult for her to fight competently, and he knew she didn’t want to hold him back.

Having finished that discussion Cassis crossed his arms and gave her a pointed look. “You should get some rest.”

Arianna frowned. “I’m not tired.”

“You will be once you lie down.”

She scoffed. “That’s ridiculous logic.”

He sighed, shaking his head. “Ari, you’re injured. Even with your pseudo-awakener physique at F-rank, your body still needs time to heal. Just rest.”

She narrowed her eyes at him. “And what about you? You haven’t slept either.”

“I’m on watch right now. I’ll sleep the last third of the night when my mother and brother will be on watch,” he said simply.

“That’s not fair, I want to help out, too.”

He smirked. “Life isn’t fair.”

She huffed, crossing her arms. “Fine. But only to prove you wrong.”

Cassis held back a chuckle and helped her maneuver into a comfortable position on the bed. She was still grumbling as she settled in, but as expected, within minutes, her breathing evened out, and she was fast asleep.

Cassis leaned back in his chair, watching her for a moment before sighing. “Told you,” he murmured to himself with a small smile.

Cassis woke up early, his body protesting against the awkward position he had slept in. He had taken a short nap in his desk chair, after waking his mother and Liam to take their turn on watch. The sleep had done little to ease his exhaustion. His dreams had been plagued by images of the ruined future—endless battles, empty streets, and the crushing weight of solitude. He rubbed his face, trying to push the thoughts away.

Shaking off the lingering fatigue, he turned his attention to Arianna. She was still asleep, curled slightly on his bed. He reached out and gently shook her shoulder. “Ari, wake up.”

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

She groaned, scrunching her nose in protest before her eyes fluttered open. Cassis found himself pausing for a second—something about the way she did that was strangely... cute.

She stretched with a wince but managed to sit up on her own. “Wow, it still hurts, but I can already move by myself.”

He nodded, relieved. “That’s good. Come on, let’s head downstairs.”

Together, they made their way out of the room. Cassis had to stop to disassemble the makeshift barricade of two desks they had placed in front of the stairs. As they descended, they immediately noticed the orc’s body was gone.

Arianna frowned. “Guess the usual corpse cleanup happened.”

Cassis nodded. It was the same everywhere. Scientists had theorized that the mana particles in the air consumed dead bodies, breaking them down and dispersing them into more ambient mana. But mana wasn’t just created from the dead—living sentient and sapient beings who actively used it also produced and emitted mana, slowly saturating the environment.

Once the mana in the atmosphere reached a certain threshold—though no one knew exactly when that was—the next monster wave would be triggered. Stronger, more dangerous creatures would appear, drawn to the richer mana environment.

But the real problem was the cycle. To fight stronger monsters, humans had to grow stronger themselves. But as they did, they emitted even more mana into the air, accelerating the saturation process and hastening the next wave. A devil’s spiral. If they didn’t pace themselves, the waves would come too fast, leaving people no time to recover, especially crafters who needed downtime to create weapons, armour, and supplies.

Pushing the thoughts aside for now, Cassis closed the curtains of the living room, then he headed into the kitchen and brought down the blinds that were thankfully inside the house and so didn’t make any noise. He turned on the light – electricity would mostly work up until the 4th wave when the ambient mana was too strong and interfered with the natural laws of this world – and began rummaging through the cupboards. To his relief, he found enough food to make a decent breakfast—milk and cereal, bread, jams, cheese, sliced meats, apples, and bananas. It was more than he had expected, and it would be enough to give everyone a solid meal before they planned their next steps.

Arianna joined him in preparing the food, and soon the dining table in the living room was set with everything they had found. One of the six table chairs had been destroyed in their fight against the orc and another one didn’t look like it would hold a person. They needed three more chairs. The desk chairs in their bedrooms would do. Sure, some of them could sit on the couch but it was full of Arianna’s blood. He wouldn’t want to eat there.

Cassis wiped his hands on a towel and nodded toward the stairs. “I’ll go wake the others and bring down some chairs.”

She hummed in acknowledgment as she finished setting out the last of the plates.

Cassis climbed back upstairs, stopping by each room to wake his family and their guests. “Breakfast is ready. Come down and eat. And bring the desk chair with you.”

One by one, they stirred awake or in Liam’s and his mother’s case stretched some, the scent of food drawing them downstairs. Today, they would have to make their plans. The world outside was changing fast, and they had no choice but to change with it.

Everyone sat around the breakfast table, eating in a comfortable silence. Introductions were exchanged, and they learned that Violet's mother's name was Nadine Bristol. As the conversation flowed, Arianna also discovered that yesterday had been his mother’s birthday.

Arianna’s eyes widened in surprise. “Oh, Danielle, I’m so sorry! With everything that happened, how terrible… Happy belated birthday.”

His mother gave a small, tired smile. “Thank you. Not exactly the celebration I had in mind.”

Arianna reached out and squeezed her hand. “I can’t imagine how tough yesterday was for you, but I promise, when things settle down, we’ll find a way to make it up to you.”

His mother looked at Arianna, something shifting in her expression. “You know, Cassis, Arianna seems like a really reliable person,” she said with a teasing lilt, clearly hinting at something. Arianna, oblivious, simply smiled back, but Cassis tensed slightly, focusing instead on his food.

Meanwhile, his father remained quiet, still visibly shaken by the loss of his arm. He barely touched his food, his gaze distant. Cassis decided it was time to address their plans. He explained how he and Arianna were both F-rank Awakeners now, just like his mother, Liam and Nadine and that the two of them planned to level up to five, hoping that, like in video games, they would receive a class or something similar.

He then turned to his mother and Nadine. “We also need to think about Awakening Dad and Violet. Violet is, of course, Nadine’s decision, but Dad…” Cassis hesitated for a moment before continuing, “Dad needs to awaken if he wants to survive with just one arm.”

His father’s head shot up, anger flashing in his eyes as he glared at Cassis. The tension between them was palpable, but Cassis held his ground, meeting his father’s gaze head-on. After a moment, his father’s expression changed. The anger melted into something else—determination. He gave a firm nod, understanding the necessity of Cassis’s words.

Cassis continued, “We’ll head out soon, and when we get back, hopefully, we’ll have more answers. Until then, stay here, stay safe.”

His mother and Liam still looked worried, so Arianna chimed in, hoping to reassure them. “We’ll be fine. We made it here yesterday, even with monsters roaming the streets. We fought and killed some already—we make a good team.”

His mother still seemed unconvinced, so Arianna added, “We also have a Patron, called Sapphire, who’s been helping us. She can give us healing potions and even makes Cassis stronger.”

At this, his mother turned to Cassis for confirmation. He lied with ease. “Sapphire found us after our first fight and offered us a contract through the system. She’s helped us since then.”

His mother hesitated but then surprised Cassis by saying, “Then thank you, Sapphire. Because of you, my family is still alive, and your healing potion saved my husband.”

Arianna made a strange noise, her expression suddenly distant, but only Cassis seemed to notice. Before he could ask, Violet chimed in excitedly, “Thank you, Sapphire! You made my mommy better!”

After breakfast, everyone searched for weapons around the house. Danielle found another kitchen knife, leaving her old one with Nadine. Liam retrieved a hockey stick. Arianna reclaimed the bloody baseball bat from the playground, along with her toy shovel, still lying where the orc’s body had vanished.

Cassis tried to hand her the fire poker he had been using, but she shook her head. “You’re better with it than I am,” she said firmly. He couldn’t argue with that—the poker was at least somewhat similar to a sword, while the baseball bat was something else entirely.

They then headed upstairs to change into more protective clothing. His mother took Arianna into her room mumbling about some leather pants that would surely fit her while Cassis went to his childhood room. Cassis donned a grey long-sleeve shirt, a denim jacket, and dark blue jeans. As he dressed, he tried not to think about why his mother even owned leather pants. He decided he really didn’t want to know.

When he went out of his room, he saw Arianna and was momentarily taken aback. She looked… fierce. The leather jacket gave her an air of confidence, and the way she held herself, even with her injuries, made her seem strong and unyielding. For a brief moment, he forgot about their grim circumstances. Then Liam arrived, carrying an old set of ice hockey gear—protective pads and a helmet.

“You should take this,” Arianna said to Cassis. “You’ll be fighting more than me until I can buy a healing potion.”

He hesitated, but she was right. Without another word, he took the gear and began putting it on. They needed every advantage they could get.