The Town Hall was large. Skyscrapers in general were, which became awfully evident when elevators didn’t work and you were forced to walk through all the floors to get to the higher floors. Blair was in a noticeably hurry. Being on one of the higher floors meant that the wolves would have to get past several floors full of people to get up to her and not being on the highest floor meant that the eagles would be busy pecking the ones at the top floor to death.

Blair’s survival strategy was to stay in the middle, sandwiched between several floors so she was more likely to be the last one standing.

However, the less logical side of her thought of all the opportunities being on the frontline provided. Or was that the logical side? Getting strong was the most logical choice in a situation like this, even if it meant putting herself in a little bit of danger. On the other hand, endangering herself in pursuit of more power was a nonsensical notion in this lawful society they lived in…

That reminded Blair of the only fact that mattered: nothing was the same. All these laws were nothing but a facade. There was a murderer roaming the streets of Gloom Town, hiding in the same building as them and no one could do anything.

The laws didn’t forbid killing.

“Is the injury healed yet?” asked a familiar voice that Blair recognized to be Suzaku’s. It was quiet even amidst all the havoc that having everyone in the same building caused. There were over seven hundred people at least and that was assuming they’d lost more than Blair theorized.

“Yeah. I took off the bandage, by the way,” said Blair and turned around, only to notice that his hair was no longer styled. Instead, some of it awkwardly hung to the front of his face and to the sides of his head.

It was apparent that he’d washed his hair, at least.

“How does it feel? Do you feel that stretchy thing? Like your skin’s about to part when you move roughly?” asked Suzaku, firing off several interconnected questions in one breath.

She was on the 3rd floor, which was where the makeshift hospital was. It was clearly where he spent most of the day, tending to wounds. When people were getting injured or killed off every day, it was hard to keep a hospital empty. If the world hadn’t collapsed, he’d have been working overtime.

“No, I am completely fine,” said Blair, a tad bit more confident. She was getting used to Suzaku now, and that meant she was getting comfortable. Just enough to express emotions in front of him instead of acting like the cold and perfect diva that Blair’s mother trained her to be.

“Hm, that’s good news. Actually, can I look at the injury? I need to get a proper idea of what Vigor of Ancients does. There haven’t been many people who survived with large enough wounds like you,” he said and placed a hand over his mouth after staring down at her chest. He let out a deep breath and sucked his teeth loudly, “Never mind. I completely forgot that you were, you know, a woman. You don’t have to.”

That was oddly offensive.

“Yeah, I shouldn’t take off my shirt in public. Maybe when we have more time. If both of us survive,” said Blair and put a wry little grin on her face.

“I won’t have more time, don’t worry,” said Suzaku and promptly turned to look at the stairs. It was crowded —everyone was climbing up. If she got stuck on the bottom floor, it would be a disaster. If she survived that disaster, though…

That’d be rewarding.

“It sounds like you’re guilt-tripping me,” said Blair with narrowed eyes, her tone joking.

“I- Okay, I’ll just go and find sis,” said Suzaku and turned on his heel.

“You don’t have to,” said Paula as she popped in seemingly out of nowhere. It was obviously from among the crowd that were surging to the stairway, but it felt like she’d just teleported over there.

She’d gotten a dramatic change in clothing. Instead of her tight skirt that had a cut running up to the thighs to provide maneuverability, she now wore black bell-bottom trousers. Her blouse was tied around her waist and that revealed a white tank top, showcasing toned muscles on her arms.

It was evident that she was an athlete of sorts, and from how competent she was with her rapier, Blair’s common sense pointed at fencing.

That comment about being more comfortable with a rapier the first time they’d met only served to further prove her theory.

Whenever she moved, a silver cross kept attached to her neck with a chain moved ever so slightly, making a slight clicking noise. It wasn’t one of the simple ones either. The edges were wide, reminiscent of a Templar Cross but not quite. There were a few gemstones along the crossbar as well, glistening in the sunlight that shone on them through the broken windows.

“Why are you psychos standing out here in the open instead of charging up the stairs like everyone else?” she asked with one side of her lips curved up.

“I was looking for my backpack and it had turned into something like that,” said Suzaku and stared at the seemingly endless horde of people. It wasn’t a charge, per se. It was orderly, but it was slow and there were too many people.

“I’m just- I’m bad with crowds,” said Blair and looked out the window. She could see some Dire Eagles circling the area, signifying that the Monster Wave would be coming soon. Maybe she could try her luck and get inside the horde?

It was just a theory but Blair trusted her guts more often than not. The only time she didn’t trust it was when it told her to grab a burger from a fast-food chain. Now that there were no unhealthy foods, she trusted her gut wholeheartedly.

Her gut said that it’d be coming soon.

“M’kay, good luck to you two. I’m going ahead,” said Paula and faded away into the crowd, proving that if you bothered to get into the flow, you could climb up the stairs quickly enough. It was just suffocating was all.

“You’re not going with her?” asked Blair as a matter of courtesy. Quietly standing side-by-side was exceedingly uncomfortable, after all.

“Honestly? I’d rather not run into her at all,” said Suzaku, and the hand that held the single strap of his backpack that he kept over his shoulder twitched. It wasn’t the kind of twitch that eyes did. It was pronounced and instead of only once, his hand quivered several times.

“So I guess your relationship isn’t good?” she inquired further.

“No, she’s just annoying,” said Suzaku and showed a sliver of an emotion that manifested as a small smirk. It was odd to see someone that barely showed any emotion smiling. Then again, Blair supposed not many people could play the straight man act at all times.

That was an anticlimactic answer.

“I might try my luck at it,” said Blair and turned her gaze at the stairs. It was a bad design to have only one stairway but when there was still electricity, it had made up for that with a multitude of elevators.

“Didn’t you just say you get uncomfortable in crowded places?” asked Suzaku.

“Yes, but my instincts and logic are telling me that getting as high as possible yields a higher chance of survival,” said Blair and joined the crowd, then glanced behind her back only to see Suzaku standing in place.

He wasn’t the only one either. There were others too. Most of the doctors and nurses were still on the third floor, most of them dressed in the same blue scrubs that they wore. From her understanding, most of them were from the same clinic —there was only one in the immediate area.

There weren’t enough of them to man an entire hospital so it was possible some of them were in another Zone. How the System separated people that were in the same area into other ones, Blair did not know. It could be random or it could be based on proximity, but it was obvious that everyone in the Gloom Town area wasn’t inside the Zone.

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There was no way for one of the busiest parts of the city to have so few people during work hours when the newly-named Town Hall could fit more than half that number. The fact that the same landscape repeated several times supported her theory that the others were in Gloom Town as well, just not this one.

Scaling six floors was tiring, but that was the cost of safety. That put her on the ninth floor and that’s where the actual blockade started. There stood several people with weapons ready near the windows and several others near the stairs. Most likely the Guards.

This was a post-apocalyptic world no matter how you looked at it.

“Found her,” said one of them loud enough and their eyes turned to Blair. A man that had the outfit of a typical security guard with a light blue shirt that had a badge on its left arm walked up to her. The walkie-talkie holster near his belt was empty. It was in his hands and he’d evidently spoken into it.

“Great, bring her to the blockade,” said a voice that came out of the walkie-talkie. It was filled with as much static as you’d expect from it. The moment he heard that, he tapped on the ‘turn off’ button and it made one last crackle before turning off.

The fact that it didn’t look like an ancient artifact meant that it was on the security guard’s person at the time of the transportation. It was the only communication device that they had that worked as far as she was aware. There was that Communication Card thing but she didn't see anyone using it so far.

“Miss Blair, you’ll have to follow me,” said the security guard and lazily gestured with his hand.

Did she do something wrong?

“The Mayor says that you need to help set up the blockade because you made the plan,” said the security guard. He wasn’t necessarily old, but he was clearly on the older side of middle-aged. In his late forties, most likely, with wrinkles around the eyes and brows.

“I-” started Blair but her introverted side muffled everything that came after it.

Blair walked out of the steadily moving line on the stairway with a frown on her face. She was one of those girls who had a resting bitch face and whenever she had a poker face, it turned into that. Forcefully, she put as authentic a small smile she could and huffed.

“Good job, by the way. That 300 plan sounds like it’ll work,” said the guard and flashed her a smile, then he gestured with his head. He led him to one of the corners of the floor. It took them a while to get there and there rested an awkward silence on the way, so much so that Blair felt the need to start a conversation.

That, and she wanted answers.

“How’d you recognize me?” asked Blair and raised an eyebrow.

“This time? By your bloody sweater,” he said and that gave her goosebumps.

She was actually known for her bloody sweater?

“Even if you had normal clothes, Guards have a skill called Inspection. It lets us identify anyone with a Civilian Card,” he said and Blair raised both her eyebrows.

They had something like that?

“And ugh, what else? I mean, what else do you have?” she asked.

“It doubles the Credits you get for killing monsters and that’s about it,” he said and that reminded Blair of the 15 Credits she’d gotten. It was from killing 3 Monsters, evidently. There were rumors about Guards being paid

The guard gestured with his head again and she turned her gaze in the general direction.

There was another stairway in the building but they were forbidden from using that to prevent chaos. The mayor was helping block the stairway with everything they could find: desks, chairs, broken computers, boilers, and whatnot —just about everything you could find in an office.

She could see the Mayor and three others lifting a massive desk that no doubt had to be built after its parts were brought into the room. There was no way things as large as that could be carried.

The fact that they were carrying something that large wasn’t eye-catching, oddly. The fact that they had their weapons in their mouth was. Seeing someone biting the handle of a sword to keep it in their mouth seemed surprisingly practical.

The weapons had Strength and often Agility buffs. That meant they could carry heavier objects by abusing the increase. An increase of 1 Strength meant that they’d be 10% better, and an increase of 2 Strength meant that it was a 21% increase.

That had to be a drastic increase.

If her memory served her right, the maximum weight for a squat was for more than a thousand pounds while the Average Joe was a little over 200. That meant that a 20% increase would put it at 240 bounds, which was a noteworthy increase. Considering that the average Strength for humans was 5, that’d probably mean someone with that much could lift a 200-pound barbell while squatting.

That, or it was the average of all men and women, making the number lower.

It was humbling that even despite the increase she got from the Steel Spear, she was still below average.

Maybe working out would help?

“Boss,” grumpily said the security guard and he left for the job.

“Oh, sorry bout that. Was a little busy,” he said after helping throw the desk onto the pile of barricades. He huffed once and stared down at the almost fully-filled stairway. No wolf would fit through that. Now, it all depended on whether they could force their way through that.

“Why’d you call for me?” asked Blair, almost a little pissed. She gave him an idea and now there was no need for her to be present.

“Because you have a great head on your shoulders. We might need you during the Monster Wave,” he said matter-of-factly and gestured at her with his head. In a far louder voice, he spoke, “She’s the one who got the idea, guys.”

There was a collective nod of approval and that’s all there was. It was the kind of attention she didn’t mind. It wasn’t the mind-numbing clapping that they did whenever she was on stage, and that gave her an excuse to look at them without seeming weird.

Most of them were men. There were women in the group but they were the minority. One in ten people, and that put the number of women at only four if you included Blair. That meant there were around forty of them on the ninth floor.

“You still haven’t explained what I’m supposed to do,” she said and made a discernible frown. Both of her eyes were narrowed and she sneaked a glance at the windows.

It felt like they’d be coming in any time now.

“You should become a Guard. We have a few open spots and no one’s interested since, let's be honest, it's not the most exciting job,” said the Mayor and tapped an invisible screen.

You have been offered a [Guard Card] in exchange for your [Citizen Card].

“I’m not interested either. I’m-” started Blair and gulped, and this time, she was serious. It wasn’t an act that was orchestrated to make herself look better. Her common-sense pointed at one, simple answer so she almost whispered, “I’m afraid.”

“Alright. No one should force you to risk your life,” said the Mayor and nodded his head sagely. The moment Blair turned around, though, the Mayor added, “By the way, Guards can access a Raid Dungeon. It’s a training area in which you basically can’t die, in case you don’t remember the Tutorial. We can only unlock it once we have all fifty spots filled.”

That stopped Blair.

The prospect of getting Cards without risking her life was too enticing to give up that easily. It was dangerous to even think of fighting against the wolves in the blockade but she thought they had a chance. Fifty of them and at most, there’d be four wolves coming in at a time.

It was definitely doable.

It all came down to whether she wanted to risk her life once a day to get new Cards and fight without the crippling fear of death or not.

The less sane side of her that was looking forward to the Second Wave resurfaced. There was a part of her that wanted to fight —that wanted to kill. When she was fighting, she felt like her mind was devoid of any worry. It made her life simpler, even if it lasted for only a minute.

Her mind felt clearer after a fight like she’d had the briefest yet most satisfying nap she’d ever had.

After a few seconds of standing in place, she nodded her head.

“What’s the reward for the Raid?” she asked after turning on her heels again.

“It says you’ll get a Green Card. No idea what it’ll do, though,” he said and smirked, “You’re in, right?”

Blair begrudgingly mumbled, “Accept.”

Her Inventory Deck summoned itself and popped open. Only her Citizen Card flew out of the deck holder and it started spinning excessively until it looked like a cylinder. After a few seconds, it stopped and what she got was a card that looked similar to the Citizen Card but the details were different.

Settlement: Gloom Town

Status: Guard

Rights:

* Right to bear arms.

* Right to challenge anyone but the Mayor to a Duel at any time.

* Right to participate in the [Settlement Raid].

Duties:

* To fight against the Monster Waves if not injured, elderly, young, or disabled.

* To be an active member of the community.

* To obey the directions of the Mayor and Council Members to the best of your abilities.

* Failure to abide by any of these duties will result in [Forced Expulsion].

This card may be used as Ante in a Duel for a [Citizen Card], [Council Card], or a [Mayor Card].

Weren’t these the exact same rights and duties as the ones that citizens had?

No, there was a single difference: there was a right that granted access to a Settlement Raid.

Congratulations! You’ve attained the Skill [Inspection].

Her Guard Card vibrated for a few seconds and as if it was a movie character peeling itself out of a 3D screen, a card popped out of it.

The front had the sign of a knight helmet that obscured the face. From the shadows made by the helmet, two red glowing eyes were visible. It had a gray border like all the other cards. She turned it around and stared at the text below it.

Name: Inspection

Level: Inapplicable

Rarity: Common

Description: Allows you to Inspect anyone that holds a [Citizen Card], [Guard Card], [Council Card], or [Mayor Card] of your Settlement.

Cost: 1 Capacity

It used Capacity, which was the mysterious third pool that she had beside Mana and Stamina, which meant this had to be one of those Psionic Skills —the ones that came out of Green Cards. She turned to the Mayor and mumbled underneath her breath, “Inspection, activate.”

A red outline appeared around him and a screen appeared next to his head, depicting his information.

Name: Jeremy Redwood

Status: Mayor

It barely had any information and it was clear that it didn’t grow as it increased in levels, because it said that levels were inapplicable.

That was odd.

That was when the next status screen interrupted her.

The [Monster Wave] will start in 300 seconds. Please prepare for battle.

It was coming.

“Alright! Let’s test out this strat!” shouted Jeremy and loudly clapped his hands once.

“Why’d I accept that?” Blair whispered under her breath and softly shook her head.