Walking through the streets of Everwall, I’m almost taken aback by the change that the city has had over the past two days. The streets look exactly the same, the people are still living in cramped and ramshackle lean-to’s, and the outside world is still filled with dangerous beasts capable of ripping them apart, but the people walk around with a happiness and sense of levity that had been absent before. They offer greetings to others and ask about their work, everyone possessing some measure of collective pride in the city that they’ve helped build.
This isn’t to say that everything is perfect, however. The occasional brawl still starts, although they seem to end on a much lighter tone than before, and yelling can be heard from some of the more run down neighborhoods, but all in all it seems to be a massive improvement from the overwhelming stress that had been choking the life out of Everwall’s citizens. For the first time, it seems that people seem to believe that they actually have a chance to do more than just survive.
It fills me with pride and a deep sense of accomplishment as I know that I’ve played a significant role in its creation. Whether it was removing the darker criminal elements or providing the city with a larger than life protector, I’ve helped bring these people a measure of hope and happiness. The thought makes me happier than I had thought possible. The stains left on my soul from the purge of Doc’s organization seem less severe in the light of the accomplishment.
Of course, not everyone is completely happy with my reveal. Passive Search, perpetually activated when I’m not around my parents, still picks up a fair share of resentment, fear, and downright hostility regarding my status as a randomly selected. I wish I could go to these people and convince them that I have their best interests in heart, as long as they align with my own, but I know that words will never convince the final holdouts. Only consistent action has the chance of doing that.
Approaching the home of my final potential recruit, I stop a dozen feet away and consider if what I’m about to do is truly necessary. The first two teammates, Alejandro and Hakim, had been ones that, after a small amount of convincing, I had agreed would be worth taking my time to train. Alejandro’s Skills have the potential to bring Everwall back into the modern era, perhaps even further, but they would be difficult to train outside of combat. I know, from first-hand experience, that nothing improves Skills like life-threatening combat. The higher the difficulty of the fight and the bigger the risk of death, the greater the increase.
Hakim, on the other hand, represents a blank slate. His determination and stubbornness will help him survive whatever I throw at him and his slightly uncomfortable idolization of me will convince him to submit to some of my more … risky ideas. He’s a little headstrong and I don’t know much about his personality but he strikes me as someone impressionable that I’ll be able influence in the right direction. I’ve gone too far down my own path to branch off in other directions but my time on Helldarvin had given me some interesting ideas for combat potential.
The final candidate, whose house I now approach and who I’m reluctant to speak, is neither of these. She represents the antithesis of my very being, a person of singular selfishness, intense emotion, and wild disregard for societal norms. I’d grown up with her, our parents having been friends, and I’d hoped that I’d seen the last of her when I went away for college. If I had given it any real thought I would have realized that this new world would be one that she would thrive in. She’d always done well in chaotic situations, the sheer unpredictability matching her very personality. If it weren’t for a particular Skill that only she has been able to discover, I’d have dismissed the recommendation instantly. Even with that Skill in mind, it had still taken my parents hours to convince me that she was necessary.
Knocking on the door to the house, a well maintained two story brick building in the nicer district, I cringe as it slams open, exposing the young woman inside.
“Cael! Long time no see!” She says, leaning against the door. Stylized black hair erupts from her head and cascades downward, carefully groomed in a way that hides parts of her face while keeping her eyes visible. Lean but not muscular and around average height, her appearance is one of sporadic changes, her lack of interest in fashion causing her to wear whatever she wants. Todays ensemble seems to be comprised for comfort. “It's been a while. By the way, I've got an idea for how the two of us could make some money. I saw you move some ground around, we could use to build some walls, charge some tolls to move through the ci-"
I raise my hand to shut her up, a familiar gesture between the two of us. Sighing in exasperation, I say, “Carmen stop. I’m actually here to talk to you about something serious. Can I come in?”
Her face morphs into a taunting pout, eyes lighting up in amusement. “Oh look at Mr. too big for his britches over here. ‘Something serious’ indeed.” Instead of answering my question, she turns around and walks back into the house, exposing the chaos and destruction that seems to follow her everywhere.
Couches and chairs with the occasional rip in the lining lie knocked over on the ground, most likely pushed over in some passing flight of fancy. Blankets seem to be spread haphazardly over a myriad of different areas like a patchwork quilt created by a newborn child. Bottles of an assortment of different drinks, both alcoholic and not, are placed around, all in different states of consumption.
Of course, Carmen ignores all of this as she walks over to a random area and sits down on a fuzzy blanket, stretching her legs out and falling onto the ground after a few seconds. Looking up at the ceiling as if it contains the secret to the universe, she says, “So what’s up Cael-Bale? What can little-ol-Carmen do you for?”
I wince at the nickname. While my life before Genesis hadn’t been perfect, the lack of her presence around me had been one of the things I was most appreciative about. If I had any belief in some sort of higher power, I’d be cursing it right now.
Feeling the familiar frustration building up, I respond, “Can you sit up like an adult Carmen, we aren’t kids anymore… Anyway, I’m here to ask you for a favor. I … I actually need your help with something.”
She springs up in action as soon as I finish, wide eyes staring at me in genuine surprise as a smile begins to form. “Well holy shit, I never thought this would happen. Cael King stepping off his pedestal for me? … What’ so important that you’d actually be willing to put up with me?”
We’ve never had the best relationship, especially in our teenage years when our personalities began to diverge even further, but that never seemed to annoy her as much as it annoyed me. In fact, if I were willing to bet, I’d say she derived some sort of perverse pleasure from frustrating and annoying me, an almost childlike glee from making me uncomfortable.
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
“The next Trial requires that I put together a team in order to complete some sort of task. I’ve already managed to recruit two other people but my parents … ‘suggested’ that you have a Skill that would be extremely helpful.”
She nods her head quickly, a speed that would give others mild concussions just being the norm for her. “Ohhh you’re talking about Foresight. Ya I think I agree with them, something like that could be useful. Predicting what Skills the enemy has before they display them, helping you make the right decisions, a Skill like that would be worth its weight in gold ….”
Appearing deep in thought, she stares at some unknown thing in the distance, waiting for me to continue. We both know where this is going to end, however, so I cut to the chase and ask the real question. “And what do you want in return?”
She grabs a pillow from one of the couches and throws it at me, hitting me straight in the face. I could have dodged it easily but that would just upset her even more, and while I’m willing to upset her for the sake of lessening our conversation time, but I still do want her to accept.
Her Foresight Skill sounds extremely useful. Combat Rank has massive utility, as it allows me to realize if an opponent is within a range that I can take on, but Foresight takes that to the next level, allowing her to predict things that don’t seem to rely on sensory inputs. The difference between a Mana user and a Physical fighter could be the difference between life and death when other people are involved. Her ability to see and predict things beyond the veil of human input, perhaps even drawing information from Genesis itself, is invaluable. No one, including Carmen, seems to know how it works, but I intend to figure that out if she accepts.
If only it could have been given to literally anyone else.
“Wellll … I want a bigger house! Your parents can keep that stuffy manor but I want to build a new house inside the city, one filled with everything I want. Also I want it to be the first house built. Before all the apartment buildings and everything.”
I stare at her incredulously, hardly believing what I’m hearing. On one hand, it really isn’t that ridiculous of a request. The issue with housing isn’t the lack of materials but instead the lack of time and space. The buildings damaged from the change are too decrepit to repair, instead needing to be torn down before new ones can be built on the land. On the other, the fact that she is requesting that it be completed before the apartment buildings is the height of selfishness.
My parents and Julian’s solution to the housing problem had been to plan out a series of sprawling apartment centers. The individual units would be small but they would provide better shelter when compared to the shacks that most people were holed up in now. A few creative souls had even managed to come up with potential methods of creating plumbing without access to an energy grid. They’d mentioned something about the flow of water and gravity but I’d focused on the Trial.
For her to request that her ‘house’ be built before the apartment buildings just shows how little she cares about everyone in this city. She had always been motivated by selfishness and I find myself a little disappointed to find that it is still the case. I’d been secretly hoping that, like me, Genesis had served as a catalyst of change for her.
Gritting my teeth together, I know that it’s the team’s best interests if I agree. My parents had expected her price to be much higher but the entire situation doesn’t sit well with me. Still … when comparing a little longer in uncomfortable quarters against the life of Hakim and Alejandro, I know the answer.
“Fine, you’ll get your damn house. Head to the manor tonight and lay out the plans with my parents. We are meeting up at the gates tomorrow, at sunrise. If you're not there then I’m going to find you, drag you out with me, and make sure that my parents mess up the designs. Deal?”
Squealing in selfish glee, she claps her hands together and nods her head. Almost as if to annoy me even further, she runs out the door singing the words ‘I’m gonna get my house’ over and over again.
Stepping out of her nice building, and closing the door behind me as she seemed to have no issue leaving it completely open in the middle of the day, I stare up at the sky and wonder if I’ve made a huge mistake.
----------------------------------------
The sun rises over the hills the next morning, beams of light breaking through the trees and cascading down to the ground. Dew coats the blades of grass rising out of the dirt and a slight mist hangs only a few inches off of the ground, giving the area a slightly mystical appearance. For some reason it makes me think of hope, of a land given new life with the light finally able to beat back the mists that were obscuring the way ahead.
Hakim stands at the ready a few feet away from me, a large pack filled to the brim on his back. The bag looks as if it weighs more than forty pounds and he tries to act as if it is nothing, his only reactions being the occasional wince when he thinks I’m not looking. His eagerness is somewhat endearing, especially in relation to what I have planned. He may be cursing me by the end of our training but I intend to make him into one of Everwall’s stronger citizens.
Alejandro leans against the wall with his eyes closed, a small cart covered in a tarp sitting on the ground next to him. Filled to the brim with everything his Class could possibly need, including a miniature forge that someone had managed to scavenge from one of the damaged buildings, he just rests as if he has no worry in the world.
I sit on the ground in front of both of them, my small pack of essentials lying next to me. If I’m honest with myself, there’s something alluring about returning to the wilderness, of escaping from the boundaries of society and entering back into the world of survival. I’m immensely proud of what I’ve managed to already accomplish at Everwall but I know that resting on my laurels is the fastest way to being defeated. The wilderness of Helldarvin was my crucible and I intend to turn Earth’s now unconquered wilderness into my teams. Well, that and getting some training of my own done. I’m more than a little excited to see how my Class has affected my ability to create Higher Energies.
“Wait wait waiiiiittt”, a voice screams from the distance. All three of us turn around to see Carmen running down the street, a large bag trailing behind her as it bounces and catches on obstacles. She seems to completely ignore the damage that she’s doing, reaching our position in a few seconds and collapsing into deep breaths.
Before anyone else has the chance to speak, I begin. “Now that we are all here, let’s head out. I want us out in the deep wilderness by the end of the day.”