CJ and Monty found themselves seated on the curb when the world dissolved back to normal. Turning his head left and right he found Elena seated to the left of him while Rubio was seated to the right. Rubio immediately stood up, looking down the sights of his rifle. He scanned the local area before stopping as he faced north. The fires were out and there were only disparate wisps of smoke coming from the buildings. Not only that, but the streets were swept clean of broken mannequin parts as well as bug corpses.

“Madre de Dios,” said Rubio as he lowered his weapon.

“What happened out here?” asked Elena as she took in the scene.

They were all looking around the small town now. Noticing all the minor changes that have taken place since they entered the Bolster dungeon. Elena noticed how much cleaner the streets and buildings looked. She noticed how healthy the plant life in the little park seemed to be now. Small rose buds appeared staggered around the shrubbery. CJ noticed something altogether different. When he arrived in this town there was a tangible sense of claustrophobia. Now it felt like he could breathe easy for the first time in a day. The suffocating atmosphere seemed to have been lifted. Then he noticed the statue in the center of the park had changed. In its place stood a crystalline pillar with odd writing running diagonally around it. The characters were clear blue against the white tinged transparent crystal.

“That’s probably the Quest Pillar. Let’s go check it out Monty,” said CJ, but before he took five steps a trumpet sounded in his mind accompanied by a new golden slate notification.

They must have all received it since Rubio and Elena stiffened at the same time.

World Notice- The first safe zone has been erected in the small hamlet of Leaf’s Bend, NJ. Congratulations to CJ Thompson for accomplishing this task months ahead of expectations. A safe zone repels corrupted mana and keeps mana mutations at bay. The first Quest Pillar has been installed at Leaf’s Bend. Through this you will receive additional ways to gain levels and grow your personal power. Keep fighting to make the world safe for those who will return in nine years and ten months’ time.

“Fuck!” screamed CJ, before clapping his hands on his head.

“What is it? This seems like good thing, no?” asked Elena.

“It had my name attached and the name of the town. Anyone in the local area who wants to be safe is going to travel here. They won’t all be good people. We’re going to have to fight to stay here. That message is literally a dinner bell being rung for any psychopaths running around out there. Shit!” swore CJ as he furiously paced back and forth.

“He’s right. This safe zone has become the first place anyone in the local area is going to try to get to now. People who have been hunkered down for the last couple of weeks will see this as a chance to survive. Why did the slates announce it like that?” Rubio asked Monty.

“And why just CJ. We were all here too,” complained Elena getting a scathing look from CJ.

“Simple. What was your grade inside the dungeon?” asked Monty.

“I got a C. A chainsaw isn’t meant for sneaking around. On the other hand, I got these cool football pads. They look a little smaller than they do on TV. Good news is they give me a twenty five percent damage reduction for all incoming damage. I thought that was a good deal,” explained Elena before really showing off the pads with a little twirl.

“Those are kickers pads. That’s why they’re smaller. I also got a C. I managed to climb the wall without incident. Once atop I got spotted by a slug man and had to improvise. I did get this scope for my rifle. The text says it allows scanning of anything. It’ll tell me their health, mana, stamina, and general level info,” replied Rubio as he affixed his new scope to his rifle.

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“I bet it fits perfectly, right?” asked CJ with a thoughtful look while stroking his chin.

“Actually, yes. That’s unlikely,” said Rubio catching up to CJ.

“What is it? What are you two saying?” asked a confused Elena.

“Come over to these park benches and I’ll explain,” said CJ before sitting down.

“I bet your pads fit well too, Miha,” said Rubio as he walked over.

“Alright, now this is getting creepy. Come on we’re all sitting. Out with it,” demanded Elena.

CJ was quiet for another twenty seconds as he gathered his thoughts. The dungeon’s message said they could earn class specific items. That means whatever gear the Trinchar’s received were tied to their class choices. CJ figured the best way to explain what he was thinking was to do it with cards. He pulled out a deck and placed three cards on the bench’s seat.

“Your class is Chainsaw Knight, right?” continued CJ before flipping over a Queen of hearts and pointing to Elena.

“Correct,” answered Elena.

“You chose Rifleman,” said CJ flipping over a King of spades before continuing, “You see, our classes are like archetypes. I received this ring and a spell. I have a Magician class,” said CJ as he flipped a card over to reveal a Joker.

“This is very cute, can you get to the explanation already,” insisted Elena.

“I’m surprised he didn’t give himself the king,” commented Monty.

“You hush, as I was saying. Each of these pictures has specific items on the people that emphasize their roles. The King has his crown and a sword, the Queen holds a flower as well as wears a crown, and the Joker card has that dumb hat with the bells on it. The point being the dungeon gave you gear specific to your class. I don’t think these items existed prior to the dungeon making them. We need to find more Bolster dungeons,” explained CJ getting nod of assent from Rubio.

“That doesn’t explain why this place is a safe zone now. I’m not dumb, I assume it has something to do with that pillar but what?” asked an increasingly frustrated Elena.

“I’ll manage this one. The Quest Pillar is why this area is now clear of corrupted mana and monsters. It’s insane that it was found in a Bolster dungeon. You typically only get them in Town or City dungeons. This mana integration isn’t normal. CJ and I scored an S in the dungeon. We managed to sneak past the guards, disable the alarm bell and thwart the assassination attempt. At this point I think its clear we all had the same challenge. Slug men guarding a castle?” questioned Monty getting a round of nods from everyone.

“S rank huh. Thought the rankings only went up to A,” commented Rubio.

“We found out it was a hidden rank for killing the assassin,” CJ chimed in.

“I shot the assassin, and he just drank some Kool Aid and got back up,” said Rubio.

“Did you save the queen?” asked Monty.

“I was too late for that,” answered Rubio.

“We managed to distract the assassin before he stabbed down. I managed to make him choke which prevented him from fighting. He dropped his salt dagger, and I threw it at him in the confusion after Monty drop kicked him to next Tuesday. Hell of a hit, bud,” bragged CJ.

“That doesn’t explain the S rating. You would have gotten the Quest Pillar with an A rating. The salt dagger makes senses since they were slug people. What aren’t you telling us?” asked Elena shrewdly.

“You noticed that did you. Ok check this out,” said CJ before flicking a two of diamonds from his left hand cleanly severing a branch from a nearby bush.

“Get the fuck out of here. You cut things with your cards now? You’re going to impress a lot of children with that,” scoffed Elena getting a chuckle from Monty.

“They are cumulative. The more cards of that suit I keep hitting something with, the more damage will accumulate. You’ll see once we get in another jam,” huffed CJ.

“But if you lose the cards, you’re effectively out of ammo. Right?” asked Rubio.

“Yes. Not everything is a finishing move. It’s a skill so it should get better and better as I level it. Right Monty? I’ve got at least ten decks on me right now. I’ll need to find more at some point, and I have a good idea about where to look. I need a second folks, I’ve still got some flashing notifications,” explained CJ.

For being the first to create a safe zone you have earned two levels, a fifty point increase to your health, and a one hundred point increase to your mana determined by your chosen class.

You have reached level five; you have two undistributed attribute points and one class point.

At every fifth level you earn a plus ten to your total health and as a Magician, a plus twenty to your total mana.

Your familiar bond has increased by 5%.

“Holy crap. My health and mana just skyrocketed from creating the safe zone!” exclaimed CJ.

“That’s a big upgrade. You likely have more health and mana than any other human on the planet right now. I suggest saving your attribute bonuses until we have a chance to discuss it. For now, we need to check out the Quest Pillar. The quests it gives out should cover the surrounding areas,” commented Monty.