CHAPTER XVIII: EVERYTHING IS GOING TO BE ALRIGHT

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{09:40 LOCAL TIME 1TH JULY 1ME}

UNCOMMON PERIOD

MORTAL REALM

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LONG BEACH

PRIME

Five troopers left the Combat tent after thirty or so minutes. Clyde looked at the Beast Horde prompt. Sugar wrote something in a magical notepad.

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< UNCOMMON BEAST HORDE >

{WAVES COMPLETE 3/5

Time until next wave 2H:19M:43s}

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“Okay so NPC can’t have full-on Knight like Jobs at their tier, that is good to know,” Soto said.

Every time the Colonel or Soto tried to give out Noble Jobs, they ran into some issues because NPCs were not allowed to take certain Jobs without certain prerequisites, and the Prime team wasn’t going to waste time trying to figure out those combinations right now. They were going to the Hamlet, and get answers about the new world, hopefully, they could fill in the blanks that they hadn’t figured out yet.

“Yeah, that is odd, but we could get more information as we get out into the world. We are lost out here.” Clyde said. “The Hamlet has probably been enduring for six months, so I am sure they can answer our inquiries.”

“Okay, just you and me heading out there, Boss?” Soto asked as he took a drink from a water skin and ate a dry ration. “Is that a pound cake? That is good.” He looked at the dry ration loot drop he had gotten from the Shadow Bear’s loot globe. “I shouldn’t ask how do we get pound cake from a dead bear right?” Soto asked.

“No, you shouldn’t,” Clyde answered.

“Are y’all hungry as hell? Because I haven’t been able to stop thinking about food since we stopped fighting.” Sugar asked, chewing on beef jerky.

“As you get higher in Tier, your consumption will go up as well,” Bour said. “It is why high-tier Professional cooks are the biggest determining factors of the growth of a Stronghold. About ten percent of your NPCs have a cooking trade or General Skill.”

“Fighter classes require the most food, then Rangers, and then Mages,” Adia added. “Humans usually lean heavily toward Fighter Classes, so the top Profession that humans have is Cooks. It is a good balance. Each race has different strengths and weaknesses at the beginning of their journey down their desired path.”

“Are one of you two coming with us to the Hamlet?” Clyde asked the mentors.

“Yes, but we won’t be visible most of the time. Bour answered as Adia nodded.

“Can one of you stay behind?” Clyde asked.

“We can’t help in this Period, the Mana levels are too low,” Adia said.

“That is okay. I just want to make sure that I can get all the information of who attacked us and what not.” The Colonel added.

Adia and Bour play rock paper scissors, and Bour loses six times in a row only to win seven straight times and get the best of thirteen. Sugar, Soto, and Clyde watch them play the game while exchanging looks of confusion. Adia stomps off and left the tent a little pissed off. A massive crash is heard after she leaves. Maybe she was a lot of pissed off.

“Alrighty then.” Bour said, “I’ll be going with you lot, She will stay here, and watch over the Fort. She’ll be fine, she has always been a sore loser that one. She can always whisper speak to us if things get too crazy here. I am ready whenever you are.”

Clyde looked at Sugar. She looked back at him and nodded approvingly.

“Good,” Clyde said.

“Great.” Sugar sighed. “I feel a lot better with one of you here.

“Wonderful, can we get going now?” Soto asked eager to see their first humans in the real world.

“We should take our Patrol leader and his team with us for some reconnaissance,” The Colonel stated. Also, to figure out a good patrol area.”

“Agreed, I’ll go get them. The name is Buzbee, right?” Soto asked.

Sugar brought up her list and shared it with everyone on the team, and Bour.

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< JOBS FILLED >

{Fort Commander: 1st Lieutenant Sugar(C)

Fort Head Medic: Corporal Yazmin Torres(C)

Fort Head Guard/Defensive Leader: Sergeant Johnny Torres(S)

Fort Turret Leader: Corporal Christopher Modeski(S)

Fort Patrol leader: Corporal Beau Buzbee(C)}

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Soto left to go get a party together. Clyde turned to Sugar. “You should familiarize yourself with this tactical table. It will be your greatest asset.” The Colonel walked over to the table and started to zoom out.

“My dad and I used to do land navigation when I was a kid I may need a refresher.” Sugar said. Looking at the tactical table.

“It’s actually easier than that.” Her team leader said, “This is like a GPS that you can temporally share with Noble Job members of the Fort, and they can use it as long as they are in the AOI of the Fort.

“That’s really cool.”

“It is,” Clyde agreed. He smiled sadly. “I am leaving you something very important to me. My troops are my family more so than my real family. It isn’t about trust here, I trust you to have my back, but leadership is a completely different ask. Leaders are not born. They don’t grow on trees. No leaders are made, forged in the fires of combat, may that be combating family problems or international ones. Leaders come out of those problems with solutions.”

The Colonel put his hands behind his back and walked around the table continuing. “A leader is first and foremost a problem solver, we are the buck, and it stops with us.”

“What stops with us?” Sugar asked.

“If you don’t know the answer to that, then you may as well give me back your noble Job.”

“Shit.”

“Yes, shit. Shit stops with us, Lady Sugar.” He sighed, “We can’t avoid hierarchy in this world. People with imaginary power ran our world for generations. Do you think someone who can crush others like bugs would follow a weaker person now? The second and almost universal duty of leaders is to get better, and that is your first problem to solve. Better is tangible, better is measurable, better is progress. That doesn’t mean leaps and bounds; it means holding ourselves accountable because we have seen what happens when bad leaders are given their power. Better doesn’t mean no bad leaders. It means the time a bad leader is in place is shorter because the foundation is secure. But all of that requires experience. We have decades to live at this tier, centuries once we get to the Cultivator tier. Learn and get better. That is all I ask of you because you will be a great leader because I don’t train anything less.”

“How do we get better in this world?” Sugar asked, “How do I get a better period?”

“Get stronger. We have to stay ahead of the people we protect, or we no longer control our own destiny. We won’t hold anyone back; that would be stupid. What is coming next is even worse. Besides, we have a massive head start.”

“You’re that Colonel aren’t you?” Sugar asked.

Clyde looked at her with haunted eyes, but a stoic face then he nodded.

“The Colonel, one of the founding members and leader of the JTF. The leader of the Silk Road expedition. The largest massacre in the history of the world.” Sugar looked sadly at him. “How can you believe in us still?” She hugged Clyde, much to his surprise. Kekere leaned in on his cheek, feeling his inner turmoil. “They set you up, they killed their own people, they unleashed war crimes on their own people, and not just normal people, their own soldiers, the ones they sent.” She looked up at the Colonel as his heart started to race. “They killed your brother. And you still captured them alive and brought them to justice. I wouldn’t have been nearly as kind.” Clyde’s heart slowed. His eyes became soft.

“Then you are at a younger age than where I was when I learned that lesson. I passed the buck that day because I was asked to prove we weren’t monsters.” He pulled himself away from her. “My brother was an enlightened. Both of them were. Well, one still is...”

“Colonel?” Sugar asked, startled by his sudden motionlessness. “Colonel?”

“Give me a second, please.” Tears start to form in his eyes. “Actually, get Soto.”

Clyde let his Presence out with a little pulse of energy, forcing Sugar to retreat out of the tent with the pressure.

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< ABILITY GAINED >

{LEGACY GAME FIRST BONUS}

Ability NAME: TWIN LINK

LEVEL: MAX

Description: The player and his twin are irrevocably connected.

ABILITY EFFECT: The player can communicate telepathically with his twin across any distance once per day per twin.

MAX EFFECT: The player can project his likeness anywhere the player is to talk.

GAME FIRST EFFECT: The player can sense his twin anywhere in the Game.

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< TWIN LINK ACTIVATED >

{Your twin and you can now talk.}

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“Damn, son!” A very familiar voice spoke into his mind, but it sounded like it was right next to him. “This is the first time you thought about me since you got out of a big ole Dungeon. I, am, appalled.”

“Andre?” Clyde tentatively said his twin brother’s name out loud. The words never left his mouth they went directly through the Twin Link, it felt right, he felt... complete again.

“Of course, it’s me, little bro, Chef in the flesh. I couldn’t let you deal with all this nonsense on your own. I’m sorry you had to find out about it this way. I wanted to...”

“Shut up! You're back, Dre, we're good.” Clyde yelled before calming down. “Where are you? Are you near family? Where is Angel and them? Where is Miriam, Lisa, and Domenica?”

“Whoa, Whoa, Whoa, settle down there little Clyde.“ A massive explosion was heard through the link. “Oh shit. This isn’t a good time. The Uncommon Horde was used as cover for quite a few Tier 6 creatures and a Tier 7 Matriarch Neotropical Otter. She is so cute but also pretty fucking deadly. They are attacking the coastal towns of Trinidad and Venezuela. Let Soto know that his girls are great, and his cousin is with me. All of the New York family is fine at the DC family compound. Minki is doing amazing I still don’t know why you insist on calling her Miriam, but she is still pissed off about you, that girl can hold a grudge, and Domenica is on a mission with AJ and DJ’s team. Trinidad and Tobago HQ is dealing with higher-tier beast and monster attacks because of our higher-than-normal Mana levels.” Another explosion. “Don’t worry brother we will follow and support any plan you come up with, we believe in you, you are our leader, forever our Colonel. Everything is going to be alright now that we are back together. Take care for now, okay.” Another explosion. “Chef out!” The twin link shut off.

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< TWIN LINK DEACTIVATED >

{Your twin and you can now talk when you both think of each other again. In the future, the other twin will get an alert when the other needs to speak to them after the cool-down.}

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“Dre always had to have the last word.” Clyde wiped his eyes from the flood of tears that started falling from them. His twin brother was alive, he could feel their bond and it was strong. He looked up and Soto was standing in front of him.

“What happened?” He asked seriously for the first time. His hard brown eyes looked straight at his best friend.

“I just... I just talked to Dre, and he is alive and in Trinidad. Your brothers, sister, and aunts are in the DC family Compound. Your daughters are with him, I think, but they are well. Miriam is doing better than well. And DJ, AJ, and Domenica are in Dungeon, I think.”

Soto stepped back and then sat down, but before he could hit the ground a stool grew out of the ground catching him. “Oh, that’s cool.” He said distractedly, then he let out a big sigh. “I was worried, brother. I was trying to keep busy so I wouldn’t think about it too much, but I was really worried. But if they are in DC and Trinidad, then they are safe with Roger. Chef being alive is...” He shook his head. “I don’t know, that is amazingly scary and confusing as hell. But if he gave you all of that information, I will believe it for now, but we have to head to DC to verify. That could take months. But we should do it anyway because taking the capital will give us the whole continental United States. My noble knowledge gave me that information when we gave out the Noble jobs.

Clyde nodded his head. “Everything is going to be alright. We have a plan. One step at a time, with the family safe, we can do our job, hooah?”

“HOOAH!” Soto replied.

“Can anyone tell me what fuck is going on?” Sugar finally asked after the sad atmosphere changed to one of determination, purpose, and jubilance.

“My brother isn’t dead anymore. I am guessing some type of magic. But I really don’t care, he is alive and that is enough for me.” He shared the Twin Link Ability with his teammates. “I can feel him and even can sense which direction he is. He was a very powerful psionic as an Enlightened. I can’t imagine what that would look like in the GREAT GAME.”

Sugar looked at him. “That is awesome. I hadn’t thought about my family since I was dealing with all the craziness. But if we get to a major city, they should be around. Are there even major cities in this world still?”

“Yes.” Both soldiers answered.

“They won’t be nearly as uniformed as the ones in the old world, but they would be marvels by any metric if done right, and we will make sure it is done right, Hooah?” The Colonel hyped up Sugar.

“Hooah.” She replied with a smile.

“You have my base, Lady Sugar. Do the impossible.” The Colonel chanted.

“Yes, sir!” She yelled back with a salute.

The Colonel returned the salute and walked out of the Combat tent. “I going to piss, then I can go meet you at the south gate.” Clyde jogged off to the latrines, excited to christen one before it got disgusting, as they always do with soldiers in the field. Unfortunately, when he got to them, they were all occupied, but that didn’t last long. A short female with curly brown hair, dirty blond highlights, and worn-out army figures, step out waving her hands in front of her face. She looked up at the Colonel wide-eyed and said hesitantly. “I wouldn’t go in there for a bit, sir. Those rations ran right through me, sorry.”

“All good, Private?” Clyde inquired.

“Miller, sir, Molly Miller, I wasn’t in the Military. My ex-husband was a marine, and I always gave back on New Year’s since he had died in the Silk Road after we broke up.”

Clyde winced. “I really have to pee, Burns. It's good to meet you. I can hold my breath. Let’s talk later, okay?”

Molly laughed and opened the door for the Colonel. “Be my guess, but I warned you.” The smell that came out was a springtime breeze. “That is not what my poop smells like, but I wish it would. The Latrines must have a self-cleaning function. That is cool.”

“Yes, it is. I got to go.” Clyde stepped in to do his thing, he wasn’t the first, but he felt like he was, and sometimes that was all that mattered. “Everything is going to be alright.” He hummed the Bob Marley tune.