Slatewell Safe Zone

4:45 PM

Granite City

Kyle let the safe zone notification transition to the next one. As much as sleep was calling for him after the stressful flight here, he wanted to get some real food, take his animals out, and explore the casino a bit. First, he had to finish processing what the system was trying to tell him. The next window was a new quest.

You have been granted a [Quest].

Quest Basic Rituals Objective Perform the [Monster Harvest Ritual] 0/1 and [Ritual of Ascension] 0/1. Rank None

Rarity Abundant

Difficulty Easy

Description The [System] has granted every [System Guide] the basic knowledge of the [Monster Harvest Ritual] and [Ritual of Ascension]. Perform these Rituals. Reward

[Skill Orb].

Type: Random.

This [Quest] is not voluntary and has been accepted on your behalf.

Kyle was beginning to reconsider his concern that the system was trying to control everyone again. Why did it keep giving him quests he couldn't refuse? Sure, he had no intention of refusing. He did want the rewards. He was just tired of not having any control over his life.

Why was I not able to see the quests other than when I first read them? He asked his guide. The chat window popped up as he expected.

The Survival Quest took place before the planet was connected fully to the System, so there would have been no way for you to read it over again. The Travel to the Safe Zone Quest was logged in your Lore Book.

Is there no way to get easier access to them?Without bothering you or searching for them everytime? He didn't have a problem asking his guide or using the lore book, but he wanted to see if there was some kind of shortcut.

His guide opened his main menu. It had changed again

Character Lore Book Skills Quests

There you go. All you needed to do was ask.

Kyle scowled. If you could have added something to the menu, why not include an inventory tab too?

Without a response, the word "Inventory" appeared under Character. Kyle shook his head and decided to not ask anything further. He did catch some new text on the chat window before it hopped behind his current notification.

That's boring... always having a shortcut....

Kyle ignored the words with an eye roll and went back to the notification.

You have been offered a [Quest].

Quest More Survivors! Objective Search for and rescue more survivors from the area around the [Safe Zone]. 0/XX Rank

Special

Rarity

Rare

Time Limit

7 days

Difficulty

Hard

Description

You have shown yourself to be a defender of men and women. Not everyone has the capability to make it to the [Safe Zone] safely. Find and help survivors make it to the [Safe Zone]. Status

Survivor's remaining: XX/XX

Survivors rescued 0/XX Reward

Based on success rate

Accept/Reject

Kyle sat and considered the message. Why was the system not telling him how many people were left? Did it not know? Or was it some kind of mind game?

Had he really been a defender of men and women? He didn't think so. Sure, a monster lunging for someone nearby would receive a bat to the face but he hadn't actively hunted opportunities to defend anyone. He guessed he had just been more effective than others doing the same thing.

Kyle accepted the quest. He was pretty confident he was going to need a break from the vast amount of people around him sooner rather than later. Why not try and earn some progress on a quest while he was at it?

Then there was nothing else that followed. Kyle was a little disappointed. He had been expecting more information or guidance as to what was going on. As there was nothing, he sighed and turned towards Brick's bed.

"Wanna take the pets out with me and hit the food court?" Kyle asked Brick.

Brick smiled and got up immediately. "Oh, Hell yeah. I'm starving. Let's go."

The entire way down their tower and out to the grassy area, Brick gabbed about the system, the quest he got, and how he couldn't wait to fight more monsters. Kyle kept his responses neutral as he wasn't sure exactly how he felt about everything so far. He found it odd that Brick only received the ritual quest.

Kyle wondered if he was the only one to get the second quest to save survivors. He decided to keep the information private for now and fill Brick in later.

After the animals were finished with their business, Kyle left them in the pet room and he and Brick headed straight to the main building. They struggled a bit less getting back there as many people had relocated, presumably to their assigned rooms.

The sliding glass doors revealed a grand entrance room with ivory floors and red carpets. The reception desk had a line of large men and women lined up, picking up the quest to clear the safe zone of monsters. Past a short flight of stairs was a food court that exited off to the slot machines.

People were everywhere, eating, chatting and congregating. There were so many people, the opulence of the room was drown out by them. It took every ounce of willpower Kyle had to wait in line to get food.

Brick and Kyle only managed to snag a table because a group of people left just as they were walking by.

"Want to pick up that quest?" Brick asked Kyle, gesturing over to the line at the receptionist desk.

Kyle considered it for a moment. He wasn't really looking forward to killing anything. He was especially nervous about dying this time around. He looked back at Brick who looked to be sitting on the edge of his seat, eager for Kyle to say yes.

"I don't know man. I almost ate it today. Maybe we can pick it up and start it tomorrow?" Kyle answered cautiously.

"Right...sorry. I didn't forget, I just..." Brick looked a bit upset with himself.

Kyle shrugged and gestured at the soldier. "It's all good. I know your excited. Let's finish up and check it out at least." Kyle relented.

The line had shortened dramatically by the time they had thrown their trash away. Kyle wondered what would happen to all the garbage now that the world had ended. He guessed they would probably burn it all.

They took their place at the end and no one joined up behind them as they waited. When they reached the front, they were the only ones left. The female receptionist, wearing a familiar, casino uniform blouse, looked relieved when she noticed they were the last ones.

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"A little overwhelming, dealing with this many people, I'm sure. I'll try to be quick so you can be done." Kyle said in a polite tone. "Two for the quest Mr. Slatewell talked about, please."

"I appreciate the thought, and yeah, it has been a bit hectic. Two. Okay. Unfortunately, the initial Secure Quest has been filled up and I have no more entries available. I can, however, offer you the Gathering Quest. If you are interested." She explained, her eyes focusing on what had to be a screen Kyle couldn't see.

So. Adam had an actual System quest-giving mechanism. Kyle wondered how he could gain access to that while Brick asked the same question Kyle should have.

"What does that entail, exactly? Gather what?"

With a few typing gestures, the receptionist began talking as a notification opened in both men's visions.

"You've no doubt received the Rituals Quest after arriving. If you turn over the animal meat and parts that result from using the Harvest Ritual, you will gain in house credit for food, then coin once we know where to get it reliably. It is open-ended and has the potential to be quite lucrative."

Brick and Kyle looked over the text.

You have been offered a [Safe Zone] [Quest].

Quest Gathering for the Zone Objective Turn over any system generated food or materials from the slaying of monsters. Rank

Normal

Rarity

Common

Time Limit

Open-ended Difficulty

unknown Repeatable

Yes Description

Gather system generated goods and turn them over to Slatewell [Safe Zone] Staff. Rewards

Based on items presented. 5 Days worth of food for one person = 1 days worth of meal credits at the Slatewell Food Court

Accept/Reject

With a smile and a nod, both Kyle and Brick accepted the quest and left the main casino.

"Now what?" Kyle asked. He already had an idea in mind, but wanted to see where Brick stood.

"I say we figure out those Rituals, or whatever. I want to see the next step of the chain." Brick suggested enthusiastically. "I have to check in with the military leader, Fredrick, tomorrow morning, but we can hunt a bit tonight."

"I don't know. If I have to be healed by that Elizabeth again, she might just kill me." Despite his words, Kyle was excited to fight some more. Although, he wasn't fond of the idea that killing was becoming easier for him. Each monster he killed was one less time they looked like pets and he wasn't sure that was a good thing.

"Ah, don't worry. We will go really slow and careful and only look for two monsters. After that, we'll call it and perform those rituals before turning in. We can be careful, right?"

Kyle shrugged and followed Brick. He still wasn't fully convinced it was a good idea, but he was getting tired of tripping over so many people. They went back to their room again and picked up the pets.

Kyle was surprised he actually felt safer with them near rather than concerned for their safety. Both animals had proved their ability to take down monsters.

Gunther and Lily both acted excited when Kyle told them they were going hunting for monsters in a playful tone. Kyle hadn't expected them to understand what he meant, but it was unmistakable that they did. Gunther lead them outside while Lily kept to the dog's flank, looking around as they moved.

Kyle was left feeling dazed and confused as the group started towards the street that they had just marched down a few hours ago. As they passed the podium, they stopped to listen to Adam give the same speech he had earlier, only to a group far smaller than their original one. It seemed he was going to personally greet each group of new arrivals.

"I'm glad somebody is stepping up and giving out direction," Brick said somberly. "I wonder when we will hear from the US government."

Kyle wondered the same thing, only giving noncommittal guesses. There wasn't a television in the casino that received a signal and Kyle didn't want to risk his tablet more than he needed too. He figured completing the quests was the best way to move forward.

They walked back down the street and Kyle looked around. The further away from the casino they went, the more the crowd thinned and waned. By the time they reached the spot where Kyle had been attacked by that damn cat, there was only a few people here or there, milling about, sitting on a stranger's patio furniture.

Kyle was shocked when they reached the edge of the safe zone without being attacked once. He looked at Brick, showing his confusion.

"Why weren't we attacked? Did the monsters all die attacking us?"

Kyle knew his question was illogical and dumb, but Brick answered it seriously. His tone carried no judgement or annoyance.

"That's unlikely. If I had to guess, the people who picked up the quest at the casino cleared the main streets first. Not to mention that thousands of people make a lot of noise compared to two. It's more than likely we will have to travel a bit that way to find anything." Brick gestured out of the Safe Zone. "I find it interesting that my map indicates the edge of the Safe Zone is about five kilometers from the center. Maybe the safe zone is exactly ten across?"

Kyle wasn't sure. He grew up using miles and could barely tell you how far five kilometers was, if at all. He wasn't surprised the system used the metric system of measurement, but he knew he was going to struggle with it.

Brick had been right. It took them another half hour before they came across a group of monster rats.

They managed to see the beasts before they were noticed. The master's were hanging around a house with it's front door caved in, probably scavenging food. He wasn't sure if monsters needed to eat or not, but now wasn't the time to think about that.

Brick rose his hand in a stop gesture. Kyle stopped and looked at the soldier.

Brick whispered audibly. Kyle was surprised how quiet he was able to be.

"I see six, maybe seven. I have an idea and think I can kill them all. Or, at least corral them easily enough so you and the pets can."

Brick explained his plan and Kyle only shrugged. He thought it was sound and didn't have any better ideas.

Kyle let Brick use his bat. He stood to the side as Brick stepped between the stone pillars that cornered a decently sized stone fence. Brick yelled loudly at the rats, getting their attention.

Instantly, many pairs of large, red eyes turned in Brick's direction and he squared up defensively. A flood of furry bodies hurled itself at Brick, all of the monsters moving at once.

Brick, seemingly unconcerned, took position and began methodically swinging Kyle's bat into the crowd of Rats. Each time, the bat would glow faintly. The first few were knocked backwards with a sickening crack as the bat made contact with their skulls, sounding like it hit much harder than Kyle could have swung it.

The front row, being knocked into the second, made the rats stop. They looked around and appears to be assessing their situation, which gave Kyle pause. The rats shocked him further when they started acting like they were going to use a formation to rush Brick.

However, whatever intelligence they were going to show was futile when Gunther and Lily entered the fight.

Jaws and claws tore rat flesh to pieces. Lily joined the tossup by hopping onto the stone fence and landing on the back of the biggest rat. Gunther was unstoppable as he ripped and tore with each bite and shake of his head.

Kyle only killed one rat that managed to pass under Brick's swing and tried to flee. He had pulled out his knife and made swift work of the rat, not taking a single point of damage.

When all the rats were dead, the party stood there, looking around for a while longer. Partly to see if more monsters came running and partly because they had just killed nine rats almost as big as Gunther. It was messy and disheartening. Kyle still couldn't feel good about having to do it. Killing is killing and they had provoked this fight.

Brick and Kyle had to look away as both animals were instantly tails up, face down, consuming two of the rats. When they were done, blood dripping down the faces, Kyle was only able to get one chip from each of the feasted on bodies using his skill. Apparently, the animals had consumed what would have become more loot.

That's when Kyle discover that even though his skill was using the monster harvest ritual, it didn't count for the quest. He guessed he had to perform the actual ritual. The System Guides came to the rescue.

"My guide says to draw a circle around a monster corpse, then activate the ritual by paying the one mana chip cost." Brick said as if he was reading. "Apparently, Normal ranked rituals do not require any special items."

"So? What? We just put dirt in a circle around the body?" Kyle asked, kind of confused.

Before he could ask his guide or consult his lore book, Brick used the tip of the bat to draw a crude circle in the dirt around one of the corpses that didn't fall on concrete.

On one knee, Brick placed a mana chip on the ring of his circle.

"Oh, I have to be touching it and will the ritual to happen." Brick said aloud, likely to aid Kyle.

Just as when he used his skill, the monster began to dissipate, breaking down out of reality. The difference this time was a green light shot from the green mana chip, through the crude circle, and enveloped the monster inside first. Left behind, after there was nothing left of the rat's corpse, was a rats tail and five mana chips.

Kyle instantly tried it. He picked up a monster corpse and placed it in the circle Brick had used, which was still intact. He took a red mana chip from his dimensional pouch and placed it on the ritual's ring. He focused on his desire to harvest the monster and it worked exactly the same. Only, the red light flowed more like a flame racing across dry tinder whereas the green sailed along like a breeze.

Kyle too, picked up a rat tail and four mana chips. When he checked his quest in his quest menu, it did show one out of one on the monster harvest ritual requirement. It bothered Kyle that he wouldn't have known if he hadn't looked for himself. Then again, did he really want a billion notifications or words flashing in his vision.

He replayed the event again, but this time tried something different. Instead of using a mana chip as fuel, Kyle placed his finger to the ritual ring and imagined the same feeling he got when he activated his skill. He tried to recreate the same sensation of his mana leaving his core and entering the ring through his finger.

To his delight, it worked. The ritual activated and left behind loot. It still consumed a little under twenty five percent of his mana to trigger the effect, but it had worked. The two took turns activating the same ritual circle with chips until there was not a single corpse left.

Kyle was the first to ask. "What is the ritual of ascension?" His question was directed to his guide, as he indicated to Brick, who let Kyle direct this one. The chat window his guide spoke through popped up instantly.

Lore Found: Ritual of Ascension.

Place 10 Mana Chips in a basic ritual circle and activate the Ritual of Ascension to create a Mana Fragment. 7 Fragments make a Mana Shard. 5 Shards make a Mana Stone. 3 Mana Stones make a Mana Gem.

There is more, but it is locked.

Thanks. I appreciate the information. Kyle thought to his guide after he repeated the information to Brick. His guide said you're welcome before the chat box disappeared once more. Kyle shook his head.

"Let's see it." Brick gestured for Kyle to go first this time.

Kyle nodded and pulled eleven mana chips out and set ten of them in the center of the circle. The ring had become a burnt crust of dirt. He set the chip in the crusty ring and thought about activating the ritual.

The effect was underwhelming as it was identical to the harvest ritual. The mana chips disappeared and left behind a different object. Kyle examined it closely.

The first thing Kyle thought was that the mana chips were like square coins. The fragment looked like a four sided die, or a little pyramid showing three sides. When placed into his pouch, the counter under fragment did go up by one so he knew that he had succeeded.

"Time to condense our collections, don't you think?" Brick suggested, smiling brightly. Kyle grinned.