It turns out that suddenly altering the building, which had nearly five thousand people stuffed inside without warning or notice, was a bad idea. People freaked out when the entire building started shifting and contorting.
"What's going on?"
"Why are the walls moving?!"
"Is the school going to eat us?"
"Bobby, what drugs did you give me!?"
"Could you all please calm down?" Tom called out to the people who were freaking out.
No one heard him over the noise. Tom let out a sigh as he took a deep breath.
"Can I please have your attention?" Tom bellowed at the top of his lungs as he summoned a light above his head.
The people below barely noticed, so Tom decided to escalate. He cast a simple sound-amplifying spell.
"Alright, everyone calms your tits," Tom called out with volume so loud that people grabbed their ears in pain.
That got everyone to shut up real quick.
"Listen, we can't get the PA system working, so you're going to have to be very quiet and listen. If your neighbors start a side conversation, please punch them as hard as you can." Tom said, the magic carrying his voice as he spoke at a normal volume.
There were laughs and a few loud ouch noises.
"If you really, really feel the need to have a chat, leave the cafeteria so the rest of us can get this done."
Tom waited. When there was no movement and no sign of anyone talking again, he resumed.
Tom lowered the volume of his voice as he spoke his next words.
"Now then, we've recently remodeled the school with the system. Perhaps you've noticed?" Tom asked. That got a few chuckles.
"How did you do this?!" someone asked in shock.
"Settlement interphase and magic," Tom said. Before we start digging into that, I would like to apologize for not informing everyone that we were using the system to make alterations to the school. The process is safe, and more importantly, it has allowed us to expand the school so we can give people some proper housing."
Someone raised their hand.
"Yes?" Tom asked
"Yeah, um, who are you?" the guy asked.
"Oh," Tom said, a little stunned. I'm sorry. My name is Thomas Bruner. I am the leader of the Awoken Myths Guild and this settlement."
"Do you know what's going on?"
"What's a settlement?"
"Why are there three moons?!"
"What's happening?!"
Just like that, the floodgates opened, and Tom was suddenly bombarded with questions.
"Alright, so I've been hearing a lot of different theories about what's going on. So, I'm going to take this time to lay it all out for everybody so there is no confusion. My name is Thomas. I am the leader of the Awoken Myths Guild. We originally claimed Hopkins as a settlement from an army of demons, and as far as the system is concerned, we own it. We think what is currently happening is something we call a system apocalypse, an apocalypse where Earth becomes a video game, specifically the Legend of Noralon MMORPG video game, if the system itself is anything to go off of. Finally, the reason the building looked like it turned into liquid was because we just used a lot of settlement points to upgrade and expand the school's facilities. Are we all caught up?"
"Why do we need a settlement?!" Someone asked. "Why can't we just go home?"
Tom looked at him, confused. "I'm not sure you have a choice. The safe zone that keeps the monsters away is only available to settlements. If you want to claim a settlement, you need to kill a level 20 boss monster. Otherwise, you're going to need to be ready and able to repel monsters at any time because they can attack at any time."
"Where are the monsters coming from?!" someone asked.
"Great question. As far as we can tell, the Vancouver Zoo has become what we call a dungeon. It produces monsters and treasures inside of its depths in hopes of luring people inside and eating them. Unfortunately, no one is doing that, so the dungeon just keeps producing monsters, forcing the weaker ones out of the dungeon. Unfortunately, dungeon monsters are highly aggressive and will attack anything on sight."
"Why is this happening?"
"If you're asking how real life turned into a video game, I have no idea. I just work here," Tom admitted.
One guy stood yelling incoherently at Tom. Tom wasn't entirely sure what the guy was saying, but he figured out that the guy blamed Tom and the rest of the guild for the system apocalypse. A few people were trying to calm him down unconsciously.
"How do we know that? How do we know they didn't cause it?"
"How do we know you didn't cause it?" someone yelled back.
Tom realized it was Duncan with his arms wrapped around Eve like she was a life preserver with her.
"What?" The heckler sputtered, derailed.
"Maybe you are responsible, or easter bunny, or maybe Santa Claus got tired of delivering presents this year. I mean, as long as you want to throw around wild, baseless accusations at people, I figured I'd throw my theory in," Duncan said.
The heckler stood for a few seconds more, his mouth working like a fish trying to breathe. Then he balled his fists, sat down, put his head down, and started to sob. There were a few seconds of sympathetic silence.
"Is it true you can bring back the dead?!"
That question caused the entire school to come to complete silence. All of a sudden, everyone's attention was squarely on him. Even Chad dropped everything to hear his answer.
"Yes, I have a skill that lets me resurrect people. But I can only resurrect a person if I have their corpse, so my ability isn't foolproof," Tom explained.
That wasn't technically true. He could also resurrect a person if he had their soul, but unfriendly, he didn't have any way to contain a soul at the moment. The next question shocked him out of his inner monologue.
"Can you resurrect people who died a long time ago? Like last year?" some asked.
It got so quiet at that question that Tom could have heard a pin drop.
"I have absolutely no idea," Tom admitted. Bring me some, and we can find out."
People looked agitated, so Tom did his best to settle them down.
Tom sighed. "Look, I understand that this is stressful and scary, but we need to start taking steps now to ensure we don't get overwhelmed by monsters because the monsters will get stronger."
"With you guys in charge?" Chad called out.
"We are in charge of Hopkins, Chad," Tom said.
"And what if we don't agree to that?!" Chad cut in.
Tom rolled his eyes.
"Then you can leave. Let me be clear. Major Adams and I have gone around town and claimed additional settlements. These settlements have government officials in charge, and they have no connection to Awoken Myths, so that we won't be in charge of any of them. You might have noticed the beacons they've been activating throughout the day. They are already securing these locations with local law enforcement and will be coming around tomorrow to take people to the new location, so you won't have to be stuck in here like sardines." Tom explained.
This was met with a round of cheers.
"Bullshit," Chad cut in, silencing the crowd.
"Why the hell should we listen to you." Chad shot back.
"As I've said before, you are free to go to one of the other settlements," Tom said. And in Chad's case, you are not part of the guild and never will be, so feel free to leave."
"What if we don't want to leave?" Chad sneered.
"Then we're tossing you out on your ass, you shit stain," Skippy called back.
"I don't recognize your right to make those decisions," Chad shouted.
"I don't recognize your right to ignore reality, and yet you persist." Tom shot back.
He was getting tired of this conversation.
"Look, let me get to the bad news. We have recently heard from our friends from Newton that a goblin horde is on the move there. They have been kidnapping and attacking the residents there. So, starting tomorrow, we are going to start preparing for war when the goblins eventually make their way to our door. If you want to remain at Hopkins long-term, you will need to be a member of Awoken Myths.
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
If you want to be a member or want to stay a member of Awoken Myths, you will be expected to help out with the goblins. If you don't want to fight goblins, don't panic. It takes all sorts of things to make a community run. We will be providing proper signup sheets for tomorrow morning, including but not limited to scavenging, hunting, admin, training for combat, and perhaps most importantly, crafting. The RCMP will also be joining us, so please do not belittle this problem.
For people who do not want to work or be part of the guild, this settlement, we're putting up a list of locations next to the entrance tomorrow morning. I hope you have a good night," Tom said, ending his spell.
It wasn't quite the high note he had been hoping for, but no one was panicking. So, he considered it a win.
<[Universal] has Reached Level 19>
<[Wordsmith] has Reached Level 25>
<[Analyze Person] has Reached Level 23>
Alex nodded as he ended the message. "It was not your best speech. I give you a 6/10. Try taking your shirt off next time. Add in some sex appeal."
"Thanks, Alex, I'll be sure to do that. Luke, make sure you gather all of the dead in the small gymnasium. I also need people to come by to donate their mana," Tom ordered.
Alex nodded. "You'll need to issue a quest to get people to come over and help with the set-up."
"Joey and I are going to start recruiting people for our teams," Sam said.
"Try to get people who are members of the guild, and remember that everyone needs to complete the basic training quest line. I'm setting it up as a standard guild quest, so I don't need to keep handing it out to everyone," Tom said.
"I want to see Isaac come back. After that, I'm going to check up on the horses," Luke said, wandering off.
"Let's get to the small gymnasium," Tom said, leading Alex down the hallway.
They marched down the stairs in silence, spying on Duncan along the way, holding hands with Eve.
"Are those two a thing?" Alex asked as she pointed out the duo.
"Yes, didn't you see them before the meeting?" Tom said as Eve showered Duncan with affection, her hands roaming over his body.
"So do they have like a size fetish thing? I mean, Duncans was pushing seven feet tall before this, and Eves like four feet tall," Alex asked.
"How would I know?" Tom asked.
"You could use your [Visions of Akashic Records] skill." Alex pointed out.
"Oh yes, I'm going to bleed from my eyeballs just so I can spy on my friend's theoretical kinks," Tom said sarcastically.
"There's almost three feet between them. I think this is more than a kink. It's a full-blown fetish. Come on, let's at least follow them," Alex whispered in his ear, her hot breath tickling his ear.
"Um, ok," Tom agreed sheepishly as he tried not to blush.
The two of them cast an invisibility spell as they stalked after their friend and what had been the most popular girl in school. They exited the back of the school together, hand in hand.
"Do you think they're gonna do it?" Alex asked excitedly, nudging Tom with her elbow.
"You really want to watch our friend get it on with his girlfriend."
"Too Kinky?" Alex asked.
"You think." Tom snorted.
They watched as Duncan and Eve looked around, making sure no one was watching, before slipping outside. Tom and Alex exchanged a knowing glance.
"Come on," Alex whispered, grabbing Tom's hand. "Let's get closer."
Tom hesitated for a moment, but Alex's enthusiasm was infectious. They crept forward, moving as quietly as possible until they were crouched just behind the door with a perfect view of the two.
Duncan and Eve were sitting close together, their heads tilted towards each other. They were talking, but Tom could barely make anything out through the door. Duncan reached out and tucked a strand of Eve's hair behind her ear, a gesture that made Alex's heart flutter.
"They're so cute," Alex whispered, her eyes wide with fascination.
Tom rolled his eyes. "Cute? Not sexy?"
Alex shot him a look. "I can be romantic."
Tom snorted softly, but he couldn't deny that there was something wholesome about the entire thing. He watched as Duncan leaned in, his lips brushing against Eve's. They just sat there for a moment, eyes closed. Then, with gentle pressure, their lips met in a tender kiss.
Alex sighed, resting her chin on her hands. "I wish someone would kiss me like that."
Tom glanced at her, surprised by the wistfulness in her voice.
"You want to kiss someone three feet taller than you?" he asked.
"Wow, just kill all my fun. Put the fun in camps, you fun nazi." Alex said
They turned their attention back to Duncan and Eve, who were now fully engrossed in their kiss and completely oblivious to the world around them. Alex and Tom just kept watching until the couple started to get handsy. Very handsy
"This just feels wrong now," Tom said, breaking the silence when Duncan removed Eve's pants.
"Yeah. I was expecting this to be hot, but it just feels a bit weird." Alex admitted
Turning around, they shuffled away until they were sure they couldn't be seen, and they dropped their inviability.
"I still can't believe Duncan is with her, of all people," Alex said. "I mean, I was not expecting her to make out with our favorite gentle giant. But I have to give Duncan credit for getting babe. Give that man a medal."
"Tell me about it, right? How did we get from playing video games in your house to here?" Tom asked.
"We drove. Duh," Alex pointed out.
"Oh geez, I didn't realize that," Tom said sarcastically. "I mean, how did we end up in charge of a burgeoning settlement in an apocalypse While Duncan makes out with the short-stack doctor? It feels insane."
"It kinda feels like wish fulfillment," Alex admitted.
"Maybe you're secretly dreaming, and this is all just inside your head … Nah, I would expect more nudity if that were the case," Tom ribbed her.
"You know we have had a surprising amount of nudity. I mean, we got to see Ms. Lewis's knockers." Alex said.
"And you're back to being a perv." Tom shot back. "Honestly, this is nice. I need more moments like these."
"Why? Are you ok?" Alex asked, concern filling her voice.
"Do you know how many people I've resurrected?" Tom asked haun—over two thousand at this point. [Hand of Mercy] is already at level 26. I'm personally responsible for bringing back at least two-fifths of the entire population of this settlement. And now we're going down to the gym to resurrect, what almost half that again? That is not a great indication for the future."
"But those people are alive because of you," Alex placated him. "You saved those people. Do you really think a single person you brought back isn't grateful for what you've done to them?"
"I know you're right, and honestly, they're not dead right now, which is probably the only thing making this all bearable. I'm just starting to realize how much work it is going to take to make this settlement, and I'm not sure if I can manage it. Maybe we should have just roamed around killing monsters like you suggested." Tom ranted.
"You don't have to," Alex said. "That's why we set up the council, so we don't have to do any of this shit ourselves while we do what we want."
Tom snorted as they walked into the gymnasium, and he practically ran into Luke.
"What took you so long?" Luke asked as Tom wandered into the room.
"Bathroom break," Tom said as he stared out at the rows of bodies lined up in the gym and the many people waiting to be his mana batteries. " Let's get this started."
“Hi Tom, look what we did!” Chloe shouted at him from behind
Tom felt the corners of his mouth turn upwards in a grin as he turned around, coming face to face with a literal hellhound.
You may skip to the next chapter.
Name: Alex Ling
Race: Solalfar
Type: Humanoid / Unlife
LVL: 20
SubRace: Sun Elf
Age 18
Health: 800
Stamina: 1400
Mana: 2640
Health Regen: 12.0 per hour
Stamina Regen: 20.0 per min
Mana Regen: 27.8 per min
Titles: Beta-Tester, First, Awoken Myths
Immune
None
Resistances
Mind
Weakness
Vitality
Bane
Manslayer, Corpseslayer
Classes: Wizard 20
Total
STR: 40
AGIL: 40
DEX: 40
CON: 40
END: 80
PER: 40
INT: 132
WILL: 198
SPIRIT: 80
EGO: 100
CHA: 120
LCK: 40
Base
STR: 40
AGIL: 40
DEX: 40
CON: 40
END: 80
PER: 80
INT: 120 +10%
WILL: 180 +10%
SPIRIT: 80
EGO: 100
CHA: 120
LCK: 40
Personal: +4 INT +4 WILL +3 EGO +3 CHA
Racial: +3 WILL +2 END +2 SPIRIT +1 CHA
Level Bonus: +2 to all Stats
Bloodline:
[Bloodline of the Spector] - Epic: This bloodline endows its bearer with an ethereal connection to the spirit world, blending the boundary between life and death. Those who possess this bloodline gain ghostly abilities, allowing them to move unseen and untouched through the physical realm.
- [Haunting Presence] - Level 15 >> Level 21
- [Ethereal Form] - Level 10 >> Level 11
- [Invisibility] - Level 16 >> Level 19
- [Steal Life] - Level 1
- [Undying Focus] - Level 24 >> Level 25
Skill Slots: 16/60: Skill Points: 2
Personal Skills
- [Solar Metabolism] - Level 21 >> Level 28
- [Stable Chanting] - Level 20 >> Level 23
- [Storage] - Level 16 >> Level 17
- [Mapping] - Level 14 >> Level 15
- [Mana Supersession (System)] - Level 17 >> Level 20
Wizard 11/11
- [Arcane Awakening] - Level 27 >> Level 30
- [Arcane Shell] - Level 24 >> Level 26
- [Charged Attack Ⅰ] - Level 13 >> Level 15
- [Multi-Cast Ⅰ] - Level 11 >> Level 15
- [Synchronized Chanting] - Level 21 >> Level 24
- Capstone: [Grimoire] - Level 33 >> Level 39
- [Mana Sight] - Level 19 >> Level 24
- [Mana Manipulation] - Level 14 >> Level 19
- [Arcane Insight] - Level 1 >> Level 4
- [Persistent Casting] - Level 1 >> Level 3
- Capstone: [Meta-Magic] - Level 1