There was a foul energy about the day even before I awoke. Though I could go without rest for days now, sleeping still felt natural and came easily enough when I wanted it. Except, nightmares decided to plague my unconscious moments, not that I was surprised. Dreams, and even nightmares, were necessary for the mind to comprehend its recent stresses. The System did a lot of heavy lifting when it came to mental health as well as physical, otherwise myself and everyone else would all be raving lunatics by now.
When I finally gave up and got out of bed, I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong. Unfortunately, no immediate issue arose. I chastised myself for hoping for such a thing, and then spent the day prowling Ascentown making other people uncomfortable. All of the Fledgling squads were out of the city, so Naea and I were its defenders today. Sanjay’s squad had remained initially but I had excused them from their post so they could go explore like the other Fledglings. That wouldn’t have been enough to put me on edge normally, so I struggled to locate my own issue.
I threw myself at anything I could find to distract myself. I tried meditation in the Fairy Circle of Home Base, but that didn’t work. The area definitely had some calming qualities, but they were magical in nature and I could feel the mana of the area trying to influence my emotions. Even though I wanted them to be swayed right now, the intention of it was distracting.
Neither did the Evolution Chamber, though the effect of being inside was similar to sensory deprivation. Any other time I might have enjoyed it, but being cut off was the last thing I needed. I was receptive on a hyper aware level right now, so when the mana in the air felt stagnant, I felt close to blind.
My physical attributes were staggering at this point, and almost by accident I arrived at the neighbouring town in what felt like minutes. I was searching for something here but I didn’t know what. Newtown was so different from our little outpost town. Even now it grew as people who were further afield and alone gathered at the population centre. The world outside was unkind, but survivors were out there, still trickling in. Some would likely continue to Ascentown, I realised. Then, I found something important. I wasn’t sure if it was the reason, but it became one.
The children. I passed a school building and instead of it being silent, a bell rang. I was surprised and tears formed as I realised the crowd in front of me wasn’t loitering, they were waiting for their kids. Stepping from the doors of the school alongside a sniffling child was one of the leaders of Newtown. Julianna guided the child over to their parents and explained something to them, but her eyes found me while she did. I waited, and she approached once she was finished.
“You alright?” She asked, seeing my red eyes no doubt.
“I hadn’t realised… I didn’t-” The words died in my throat. It was just such an important part of life that I hadn’t noticed was missing. “I didn’t know you were a teacher,” I finally choked out.
Julianna chuckled at my obvious deflection but allowed it. “We’re helping kids learn about magic. It’s safer than the physical side of things, though of course most of the boys want to learn how to use swords and stuff. It’s crazy that swords are a daily thing again now. Do you think they were a daily thing in the past? Not for most, I’d bet. Any soldier, obviously…” She trailed off and I felt the silence slap me in the face.
“Sorry it’s just… I needed that. Massively.” Children. The future. It was possible, even if we didn’t know what it looked like right now. The terrifying thought that it would be myself and others like me shaping that vision was enough to make me shudder. Not enough, though, to remove my smile. Maybe if people like Julianna were involved they’d be okay. For the first time since the System descended upon Earth, I felt true hope blossom in my chest.
My family are safe, I finally decided. I was searching for an intact family unit, not news of their demise. As soon as the scouts found the claimant beast, I would find them and bring them to the safety a place like Newtown could promise. My family could actually be safe, and not just in the way I lied to myself. Maybe they were living comfortable lives in a new normal. I hadn’t done much for Newtown, and it was thriving in its own way. It had its own story, separate from my own. Maybe their’s was one of wonder.
It was okay to hope.
Some tethers fell away. The responsibility was there, but the urgency calmed slightly. Two almond coloured eyes set wonderfully in a beautiful dark-skinned face were gazing at me from under fluttering eyelids. Then, she made my day. “Would you like a drink?”
This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.
Maybe this was what I was anticipating? I smiled. “Yes, actually, do you guys have bars?”
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“No, no, no, no, that’s so cool!” I shouted with excitement as Julianna released another plume of fire after inhaling a cigarette. It was a party trick of her Dao and mana, but right now, it was the most intense thing I had ever seen. When a house-sized hawk creates thirty spears of flame, solid golden form within wreathed in oranges, reds, and yellows like I had never seen… well that was to be expected. A monster called a Firehawk Monarch was supposed to do the unbelievable.
When it was a human, and a beautiful woman that was doing it to flirt with me at that? It was different. “This stuff is great,” I chuckled, taking a big swig of the bottled alcohol. “I should go and find out who makes this stuff and learn how they do it.” The beverage I was enjoying could be characterised as strong and potent. Pretty much nothing else.
“Noo, you should come and sit next to me.” I liked that look in her eye, and did as she suggested. I used Air Manipulation to flutter her hair, not confident in my control to do more. Magic made flirting so much easier. She climbed on top of me, the fabric of our clothing thin enough that nothing was left to the imagination. With perfect timing as always, a System message appeared right at that moment, and I swept it away.
I had been looking for a distraction all day, and had found one. A perfect diversion which I desperately wanted to continue with. It would be so easy. Just use my System given strength to pick up Julianna and move her to the much more comfortable bed she kept looking at between kisses. Focus on her and find out just how much the System had changed that primal part of life…
Except I knew.
I knew I had seen the words “Outpost” and “Quest”. That tension I had been holding tightened around my mind and I groaned. Julianna could tell, even addled by the drink as we both were, that something was wrong. “I’m so sorry, but something’s happening.”
“Well, I thought so, but clearly not.” The look of disappointment and disapproval on her face was obvious. I almost wanted to roll my eyes at walking into a cliché like this, but I was sobering up quickly and wise enough not to make myself look worse.
“No, I wish this was happening, but something’s going on at the town.” I flicked open the System prompt and finally gave it my proper attention. Julianna raised her eyebrow, but I held up a finger. “What the… fuck?”
Outpost Quest - Claimant’s Parley
The Steel Sovereign has entered your Outpost and is waiting for you to arrive. There is no strict time limit, but it may be of the essence all the same.
Reward: ???
“You coming?” I asked. Julianna snorted, and it took me a second but I did the same. “Stop it, weirdo, this is serious.” The leader of Newtown looked me in the face, a quick mask thrown on. She looked the picture of severity. Her brown eyes were silhouetted beautifully by a wide, loose ponytail. I had not yet dared to run my hands through the thick, frizzy hair but damn did I want to. I poked her collarbone, my pale skin contrasting fiercely with the varnished mahogany of her slightly sweat covered chest. “Do you want to come and save Ascentown from some disaster with me?”
She nodded, but was clearly trying and failing to keep a straight face. “Still can’t believe we convinced Tom to call it that.”
“That was you?!” Feeling the stab of betrayal, I rushed to the Outpost. Between my body’s new physiology, a conscious use of mana to purge the effects of alcohol, and this brutal betrayal, it was easy to sober up. “That’s genuinely a source of stress for me, you know. They’re naming their stores with it in the title!”
Julianna howled with laughter even as we blazed a path towards my awfully named town. “Well, you guys intentionally called your place Newtown, so I’m not taking any of that grief from you. Can you go faster?” Julianna didn’t deign to reply, nor did I get an answer. Instead, the area around us lit up as her feet ignited in flame. Her speed increased massively and I laughed. I like this woman, I thought.
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The general bustle of Ascentown did not stop when the sun fell. Nearly everyone who lived there had some levels, with many either at the bottleneck or just breaking through. As night took over, improved eyesight and torches were more than enough for people to continue working or socialising. It also meant that some people had ended up on strange sleep schedules.
Austin awoke with a start and struggled for a moment to understand why he felt unsettled. He stood from his bed and explored his one bedroom house for the cause. Nothing was making noise, and it would be weird if it did, but the possibility of monsters kept him jumpy. He had put most of his points into Speed, so as long as he noticed the danger first he would be able to get away. When his exploration of the newly built, decently made house bore no fruit, he stepped outside.
He had gotten lucky, his house was at the end of a row, meaning his garden at the back was large - for now, he reminded himself - and it was quiet outside his front door. So, when no one was around as he stepped outside into the warm evening, he didn’t think it was strange. However, as he continued without a sign of anyone, he became worried. His senses on edge, he saw the glint of metal and bolted.
He barely made it five strides before the metal shard buried itself in his neck.
Control of his body slipped from himself to another. The feeling of being piloted by someone else’s thoughts was torturous.Alien mana ran through his channels, scoring them with cuts and damage. Austin found himself walking towards the centre of town. There, watched as his body entered a building. A dozen other people were standing like mannequins and the horror mounted. Austin wanted to scream at them to help him, but he knew they couldn’t, even if he screamed. They were all under the same spell.
Trapped and puppeted by an unknown force.