Karl Hausman sighed in relief. “We did it.” He eyed with approval the new twelve foot stone walls enclosing about four acres of what had once been the old mill. Looking around at the twenty or so people with him, he felt truly hopeful for almost the first time since the alien System had been unleashed on Earth.

“We finally did it,” Terry confirmed. “Well done, Sir Karl. You've got yourself a castle.”

Karl rolled his eyes at her. The blond teenager smirked, completely unfazed. Behind his back, she'd managed to convince nearly everyone to refer to him as Sir Karl. Some people claimed that he'd earned it. He knew he was just paying off a debt.

Karl was sixty-eight years old, and three days ago he had been on the frail side. He was newly a widower, had recently moved to rural New Hampshire, and had no friends. When he realized the System was combat based, he had fully expected to die almost immediately. He'd thought he was resigned to it.

But when it came time to fight or die, Karl had surprised himself with how hard he fought. His recklessness combined with a lot of luck enabled him to slay the monsters that had immediately spawned in his house. And then after a fight in the garage, on the very verge of death, Karl had prayed for help, and a healing spell from the goblin staff he held had saved him.

Karl paid his debts. When the System offered him the Paladin class, he knew he was being given a privilege and an obligation. He still didn't know if it was God, the System, or both that had acted to save him, but he would live up to the calling to the very best of his ability. Every day from now on was a gift.

Three days ago he had set out to find and help others: three crazy, terrifying, exhilarating days. Starting with a physical strength of two had not been the most auspicious beginning for a warrior type. But after building three Temporary Safe Zones, having one burn down and another attacked, they had finally scraped together the resources to build the Permanent Safe Zone that had just come into being, named Endurance. As Doug had put it, the name showed that these people would be hard to kill. The motto of their new home was, 'Bring It On.'

Now Doug pointed at the gargoyle perched over the gate. “Is that thing the guardian?”

“I think so.”

“How does it tell friend from foe? Will it attack us if we just walk up?”

“No idea. I guess we'd better figure that out.”

“Um, Karl—I mean, Sir Karl? Could you give me administrator access?” Jake asked.

I have no idea how to do that. Here's hoping the System is feeling helpful, Karl thought, then focused his thoughts. System, give Jake Cook here administrator access. A notification window popped up in his vision, since he wasn't in combat.

Jacob Cook has been granted administrator access to Endurance Safe Zone.

Karl nodded and mentally closed the window the way Terry had taught him. “I think I did it,” Karl told him. “Try it out.”

Jake tapped at his alien tablet, then frowned in frustration. “I think I need to be inside.”

Karl raised his voice. “Okay, everybody, Jake and I go first, and we'll try to set the...the guest list or password or whatever so the gargoyle knows you're friendly. Nobody break it, we just bought this place.”

They'd barely taken a few steps forward when the gargoyle abruptly launched itself and dove down at a spot on the ground halfway between the zone and the people and a bit to the left of the gate. There was nothing there but a few puffs of dust and dirt. After a moment, the gargoyle flew back to its perch.

“Terry...” Karl called out warningly.

There was a shimmer and the blond cheerleader reappeared, still flipping backwards. “I just wanted to find out if it could see through stealth. Apparently it can.” She landed nimbly in a crouch and stood up. “Also, that seems to be the limit of its range.”

“Let Jake set it up first!” her mother scolded.

“He was taking too long.”

Karl sighed. He could hear soft laughter coming from the group. Jake kept walking, poking at the tablet the whole time. The gargoyle didn't attack him, apparently understanding that the administrator was not an enemy. As soon as Jake was standing in the actual gateway, he called out, “Aha! One second...” and then tapped at the tablet for another full minute.

Finally he announced, “Okay, it's safe to approach. Come in one at a time, and everybody put their hand on this pad before you cross the threshold, and it will identify you as a resident.”

Quickly everyone formed a line and identified themselves to the System pad, then scattered inside to explore their new home. Karl shouted out, “I need some high level people to form an escort and bring everybody over from Safe Zone Three! Come on over as soon as you're registered.”

Predictably Doug and Chenelle Hooper were the first ones to join him. The warrior and healer were understandably eager to fetch their five year old son Daniel and bring him here where he finally could be safe.

Christine walked over next. “Is level four high enough?” Karl nodded with a smile. The ranger had been punching above her weight the whole time he'd known her...which come to think of it was about six hours. Jo and Tabitha followed shortly, and Terry would probably come along once they started moving.

“Where's Michael?”

People shrugged, so Karl did too.

“Okay, this is most of our heavy hitters. Let's go. I'd feel safer doing this in a couple of trips.” Karl raised his voice again. “Escort party heading out! We'll be back within half an hour!” A few people nodded acknowledgement and they set out.

It wasn't a long walk, even going around on the roads rather than cutting through the woods infested with marsh folk. Five minutes along Post Road brought them to the intersection with Walnut Street and the remains of the hobgoblin fort they'd defeated only a couple of hours ago. Turning left, they headed south and walked past woods on either side for several minutes before the driveway appeared sloping down to Temporary Safe Zone Three.

“This was the Hutchinson place, wasn't it?” Chenelle asked. Her husband grunted agreement. She sighed. “I didn't really know them but they seemed decent enough people. It's sad they didn't survive long enough to be rescued. Their home has saved a lot of lives.”

The Safe Zone was not quite bedlam but it was close. Several combat classers were guarding against another attack, and the large number of people with non combat classes or no class at all yet were still panicky. Most of them had been rounded up over the past few days from their homes and put into a cattle pen by the kythar tribe. After being rescued that morning, they found their first chance at refuge burned to the ground, then seen this newer one come under attack by a couple of dozen marsh folk barely an hour ago.

These people are going to have to toughen up or they'll never survive, Karl brooded. But it hasn't been long yet. Bouncing back from near death to full health in half an hour makes a lot of combats possible in a day. Hopefully they'll catch up.

“We did it!” Karl called out. “We built the Safe Zone, and it has stone walls and plenty of room! We're here to bring you over there.” As usual there was a mix of the grateful, the terrified, and the complainers. Karl didn't bother to argue with anyone; he just said, “The first thirty people ready, come on out! We'll be right back after that for everyone else who wants to go.” His party spread out in a defensive U shape and waited for people to come fill it in. Chenelle ducked inside and came back out with Danny, who in turn was leading most of the other children and their parents who had managed to survive.

The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

“Spawn Defender Daniel!” Karl called out in a serious voice. “Come forth!” The little boy straightened up proudly and walked up to him while the other kids looked on with amazement. “Daniel, we're going to take these people and come back for the rest right after. Do you see anything wrong with this plan?” The boy turned around and looked at things for a minute.

“No, Sir Karl.”

“Thank you, Daniel.” His parents looked on, smiling proudly. Early that morning, left alone with two infants, Danny had not only carried them both out of danger bit by bit, but had defeated a small monster that came across the babies, almost dying himself in the process. For his heroism, the System had granted the boy a title: Spawn Defender. The reward was an extra twenty points of health, on top of the twelve he had already had, which had made his parents weep with relief and pride when they found out. Karl had made a point of asking Daniel to check over his plans, originally as a joke, but the boy took it very seriously and had made at least one useful suggestion, so Karl intended to keep it up.

Looking at the number of people, he called out, “All right, the rest of you get ready for the second trip! We'll be back in half an hour or so.”

They got moving. A handful of people refused the instruction to wait and added themselves to the back. Once the flow of people had stopped, they adjusted positions to protect their precious cargo and made it back to Endurance without incident. Jake was there at the gate, ready to admit people one by one. There was a brief scare when a couple of older children didn't listen and ran past the gate without checking in. The gargoyle swooped down at them, and Jake's quick reflexes on the controls kept them from finding out what would have happened next. After that, everyone followed instructions.

One of the rescued people took a look at the Safe Zone wall and snorted. “'Everyone said I was daft to build a castle in a swamp!'” he quoted in a British accent. Some recognized the quote and others didn't. Karl thought about the rest of the quote and was amused at how it almost fit in the details as well.

As the next to last person entered, Karl got a message:

System Notification:

For saving 50+ people you have received the title: Hero.

Title bonuses are cumulative unless otherwise indicated.

Hero: When taking actions that are intended to save other individuals, all your chances at success will increase by +5%.

“Huh.” He stared at it.

“What's up, Sir Karl?”

“I just got a notification--”

“Whup!” Terry blurted. Karl noticed that the last person had just gotten registered. Terry was clearly reading a notification herself.

“You too?”

“Hero,” Terry muttered.

“That's odd,” Karl commented. “Mine showed up first, and then yours did when the next person went in.”

Terry snorted. “I get it. The System says that you saved me. You hit fifty people when I was at forty-nine. But I get a share of credit for saving all the people we rescued after that.”

“Hm. But what about the boy you saved on your own, thinking it was Danny?”

Terry appeared to be thinking. “I didn't see him on this trip. I'd better look for him when we go back.”

“Speaking of...” Karl waved goodbye to Jake, who was still by the gate, and they started back.

The second group of people was about the same size but much harder to manage. Terry needed to coax the boy out of hiding. It turned out to be Timmy, the boy Karl had spoken to a couple of days before the System arrived. None of the boy's family had survived. He was despondent and sulking, but the sight of Karl made him a lot more cooperative.

Meanwhile Karl had to deal with the complainers. Ms. Taggart was the loudest and most obnoxious. Several people were now demanding an escort back to their own homes, rather than the Safe Zone. Karl suggested that they post the request on a board at the Safe Zone to see if there were volunteers, but politely insisted that he didn't have time to escort individuals, there was still too much to do.

Finally he said, “Well, you are welcome to stay here; this Safe Zone will last until tomorrow morning, although you'll have to defend it. Or you can come with us, but we are heading back to Endurance now. The choice is yours.” Predictably they all chose to go with the group.

Then Karl had to listen to nonstop complaints the whole way back. The short trip seemed much longer this time. He entertained himself with the fantasy of siccing the gargoyle on Ms. Taggart “by accident.” This woman will be a test of Endurance.

As soon as people started filing into the Safe Zone, Chenelle got the Hero title as well. Karl noticed her reaction, but she didn't bring it up and so neither did he. Karl wondered what the +5% meant. Does this mean I could try something that should have no chance at all of working and get a 5% chance of success? Presumably there was a technical meaning that made some sense buried somewhere in the guts of the System.

“Uh-oh.” Jo was now reacting, but she looked a bit worried.

“What's wrong?” Terry asked.

Jo was chewing her lip. “I got a second title.”

“Hero, right? Some of us have been getting it too. So what's wrong with that? It just means you're more awesome.”

“A little too awesome. For gaining a second title, I got +3 Renown.”

Karl dimly remembered Renown being mentioned somewhere, but it had been a crazy few days, and he'd gotten so many notifications since the first one...That's it. In one of the very first messages, it had said something about Renown and Notoriety...that viewers of the System entertainment channels might be watching people with points in them. “Ah. You're famous enough that people might start watching whatever the System decides to broadcast about you.”

“Aliens,” Jo pointed out, scowling.

“Maybe humans too,” Terry speculated. “I mean, I doubt it's in the basic cable package, but the shop should have some way to get at it, right? Are there news channels?”

Karl blinked. News of the Galaxy... “Wow. I think...I think we need somebody looking for that. Reading up on the aliens, full time. We've already bought a couple of books, and one of them wasn't from Earth. Can you imagine? Alien math, art, science?”

“Pardon, but we're a little busy with survival here, Sir Karl,” Christine put in.

“Right, but we've also got a lot of people who don't have classes or anything to do yet. Maybe some of those--” Karl caught himself before saying 'annoying biddies' or something equally un-paladinlike. “Ahem. You're right, something for later. We've got one vital thing to do before anything else right now.”

“Retrieving people from the other Safe Zone?” Chenelle asked.

“Exactly. We've got three single parents and their three toddlers, plus the six fighters defending.” Karl looked at the sky. “If we hurry, I think we can get them here before dark.”

They split up in the Safe Zone. Terry ran off to find the larder and grab some food; Doug took their canteens to fill; Christine went to the Shop pedestal and grabbed more arrows with the last of her coin. Jo and Tabitha were talking quietly off to one side.

Karl realized that he had somehow ended up alone with Chenelle for the first time in hours.

He had really appreciated her company. She had been wonderful the past few days: supportive, friendly, smart, and competent. She laughed at him, advised him, and cheered him up. She noticed when he was struggling with his new role and helped where she could. He valued her immensely.

And then she had to go and kiss him.

It didn't even make sense. She was married, apparently quite happily, with a family that had survived intact, a rarity at this point. Karl knew he wasn't attractive. Hell, the System knew he wasn't attractive and told him so whenever he called up his stat sheet. The only thing more unsettling than her kissing him was her claim that “polyamory” meant that her husband wouldn't mind.

They stood side by side, looking out at the woods across the street, turned only slightly towards each other, scanning for threats. There was silence for several moments.

She spoke first. “Did I break your brain?” she murmured, smiling.

“Yes!” Karl snapped. “And right before combat too, so thanks for that.”

“I'd say I was sorry, but we are always about to get into combat these days. Maybe it was a little selfish of me, but we were splitting up and I realized that there was a chance I might never see you again. I didn't want to risk losing you without ever having kissed you.”

Karl didn't know what to say to that. The silence stretched. Finally he coughed. “You know, this would be a much easier conversation for me to have if you hadn't said the bit about polyamory.”

“If I weren't polyamorous I would never have kissed you. Karl, I like you very much but I would never leave Doug or Danny for you. Nor would I risk losing them. This is not that sort of situation,” she said very calmly and matter-of-factly. “This is simply two mature adults enjoying each other's company and telling the rest of the world that they can take their opinions and stuff them up their asses if they can find room next to the stick.”

Karl shook with silent laughter for a moment, while being mad at himself for giving in to it. “You're half my age!” he said in an angry tone as soon as he could manage one.

“I'm thirty-five.”

“Fine, you were half my age two years ago.”

“Sorry. I promise it'll never happen again.” The damned woman was enjoying this!

“You are exasperating!”

“Then why are you smiling?”

I'm not, Karl wanted to retort, but if he couldn't hide his smile first she would probably crack up laughing at him and he might join her and he did not want that to happen, damn it!

“Chenelle, I'm very flattered, but...” Karl trailed off, unsure what to say.

“Would you feel better if I had Doug talk to you?”

“No!”

At that she did laugh. Karl stared at her in amazement. “Chenelle, your husband carries around a sword.”  She laughed harder. “That he kills things with.” She clutched his arm for support. “Daily.”  She doubled over. “This isn't funny!” he yelled and she fell on the ground, laughing so hard she was crying.

“Sir Karl, what are you doing to my wife?” Doug demanded from behind them, and as Karl turned beet red Chenelle rolled over, howling with laughter even louder, waving her hands wordlessly begging for them to stop.