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Of course Mrs. Katz was going to be a Beastmaster. Why would she be anything else? It was actually Cliché, though I'm sure that didn't count in real life.

“Oh this is lovely,” she said and twirled in her new outfit. “It’s just like my mummy wore when I was a little girl.”

It was a fifties style dress, with a v-neck. And on her head she wore some kind of Shawl. It was lacy and one arm was crossed over the other and thrown over her opposite shoulder. It was delicate and intricately spun. Sky blue dress with grass and flowers on the bottom and floating dandelion puffs all over it, pure white lace shawl.

Her shoes were more dressy, too. Matched her dress with a lace pattern on them in white.

All of her available armor options were apparently wayyy too hardcore for her, so she ended up upgrading to a ‘personalized’ outfit. Which I did not know about. The system actually offered for her to design her entire outfit based on an idea in her head of how it should look. When I looked into the codex, it revealed the cost of the item was reflected in its effects and what materials it was made of. The Personalization was just an optional upgrade for people who wanted to pay a bit extra for exactly what they wanted.

So Mrs. Katz had the best gear of all of us. And I wondered-- feared-- what would happen to the professions where people crafted things if the System could just do it exactly how you wanted in your mind?

She instantly wanted to send some Coin to her kids, but Toria told her to wait until her kids could contact her and tell her how much they needed. She needed to buy food for her and the cats, too.

And that was about the moment our phones all started to chime.

“Network repaired, please enter screenname?” Toria read her own screen off in disbelief. “What are we supposed to do… our real names or is it a…”

“It says they can be changed later,” I said. “It’s like an address to send a letter to. Just use your real name for now, so your brother can get hold of you.”

“Right!” She started tapping on her phone.

I put my screenname in, instead of my name. Anyone who knows me, knows me by that name, not my real one. BlissfulDreams.

My first middle name was ‘Bliss’ and that’s why Sophia called me Blissy. I had two middle names because mom couldn't stand me not being 'special' somehow. And Dad had already threatened divorce if she named me the name she had in mind. So, she compromised with a 'normal' first name and just used the names she wanted for me as two middle names. Mom called me Bliss growing up, despite my wish to be called by my first name, so that's why Sophia didn't really know 'Lila'. Plus... Blissy was cuter to hear her say.

I only resented being called that by my mother because I had no choice in it. It's not a terrible name on its own. Though, Coupled with the other middle name, I can understand why Dad put his foot down.

“Ohhh I hope this works,” Mrs. Katz said and finished typing. “Delia Katz-Bergen. Michael Katz.”

She frowned at her phone.

“Wait for an hour and try again, it’s possible they just aren’t concerned with the phones yet. They may be in a dangerous zone,” I said. “They’re likely evacuating.”

She nodded slowly, clutching the phone close to her chest.

Toria’s phone went off immediately as she finished typing. She gasped. “It’s Jeremy!”

She rushed off into the bedroom and answered the call.

I wasn’t going to try calling anyone until later. I only had a few friends online and everyone else I knew, was in this apartment.

“Oh my…” Mrs. Katz looked down at her cats. “I can feel their emotions, a little… I think. But… I can’t use my Pack Bonding on them. Why?”

“Check the codex,” I said. “For Toria, it was a Journal.”

“Yes, I have a Journal here,” she said and then her lips parted and hung open. “I see! Beasts and Animals are different. Beasts are large, wild things that are aggressive toward humans. Animals are domesticated.”

I checked my own Codex and it too had a card about that. It also made me realize there was probably a distinction between Beasts and Magical Creatures as well. Earlier on, I'd read that the Beastmaster had the option of taming Beasts or Magical Creatures. Which meant they were different, in different categories... Ranks, maybe? The Codex pinged again. Magical creatures are Beasts filled with mana. Like Unicorns. It specifically says 'like Unicorns'.

Unicorns exist? I tried to get more meaning from the Codex entries, but all I found was the one I missed earlier and it was about Pet storage. Useful to know, but not viable at the moment.

“Jeremy said he’s still at college,” Toria came tromping back in. “He said neither of us should move, except to get somewhere safe. We shouldn’t try to find each other until the army can make a path or something.”

Where’s the army… I realized with her mention that I'd heard not a single bit of rapid gunfire. Pistols going off, sure. Shotguns in the distance, maybe. But automatic rifles like the army used? None at all.

“The Army is being held back by something, or they’d already be rolling the tanks down the street,” I said and went to the window to look out. No army.

Toria huffed and ran a hand through her hair, knocking her hood off again. “Oh god, what kind of monsters showed up everywhere for them not to-”

A ringing phone and Mrs. Katz sighed with relief. “Delia, baby, are you alright?”

She had a conversation in which they basically seemed to affirm that this was crazy. A lot of 'yes, I know, isn't it novel?' and 'Oh that's just awful, I agree'.

Then Mrs. Katz gestured me over and handed me the phone. “Tell her how to do classes, like me.”

So I explained the process and told her everything we knew. I instructed her to tell as many different people around her as she could and to immediately choose any children’s classes because they might choose them by accident and be stuck with ‘chef’ or something when what they actually need is a combat or healing class to protect themselves with.

She thanked me but sounded shell-shocked. I gave the phone back to Mrs. Katz and went over to speak with Toria.

“We need to get everyone in this building down to the lobby and figure out who’s staying, who’s going and what kind of resources and protection we’re working with, here,” I told her

"Why would anyone leave?" Toria blinked. "We just need to barricade the doors or whatever, right?"

While it was true that this was a semi-defensible location, being an apartment building with all the amenities and all, at least for now...

"Some people are going to want to go home and find their families," I said. "A lot of divorcees and college kids live in apartments. We aren't that near any colleges, but there have to be other groups staying here that have families elsewhere, like you and Mrs. Katz."

"Shit, I hadn't thought of that," She bit her lip and squeezed her fists together. "Uh... fire alarm!"

"Noise," I replied.

"Right," she smacked her fists together and began squeezing them tighter, eyes narrowing at them and gnawing her lip. "I don't know what else we could do... there aren't any announcements over loudspeakers like there'd be in a school."

I lifted my phone and said, "Any 'whole area' text messages? Like in rpg games?"

The phone chimed and-

To access the 'Message All' feature, you must have the name of the place you wish to message the residents. Or the names of all the people you wish to inform. You must enter the name into the address path.

"There's a feature," I said. "What's this apartment building called, or what's the address?" I never remembered addresses. I kept them saved in my phone and then brought them up when I needed them.

"You still don't know our address?" Toria sighed. "I'll do it. What should we say?"

"Just be authoritative-" I cut myself off and think about the last time Toria tried to be authoritative. "Just put the address in my phone and I'll write the message."

"Hey, I can be tough!" she said with a frown, but snatched my phone anyway. "Here, it's done. The building doesn't have a name, we're not like Heartwood Acres or something."

Everyone, please read this message. This is a resident from the 8th floor.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

We all need to convene in the lobby. But please only send one person per apartment or floor so that we don't overload it. Before you leave, check on your neighbors. If they appear to be convulsing or in pain, find items around their apartment and bring them to them. I know it's disorienting right now, but it's the only way to ensure they don't have a heart attack or worse from the Spirits refusing to occupy something unless they're touching it.

Come to the lobby when you're certain everyone on the floor has been awoken and tended to. If some people are awake and have no vessel, that means they are now entirely unable to access the system. Write down their name and bring it with you, but tell them they can stay in their apartment until we've discussed what's going on.

It was the best I could do. It was authoritative and reassuring enough, but people still might question why I'm the one saying it when they see me. People usually did. It's not like I think I'm in charge, but it seems most people really don't like to be the boss or any form of leader in any situation. Someone has to do it, but everyone either balks or gets in an argument about who SHOULD be leader so they can actually put it off longer.

Just my observation though.

"Uhhhh," Toria stared at my phone as it began to chime and light up... over and over again. "Seems like you're gonna be busy answering those."

"Not necessarily," I replied.

The messages were mostly the same, except for a few that seemed to be the more lucid folks trying to get a grasp on the situation.

What's going on? Why was I in so much pain and why did that weird message say to grab some kind of heirloom?

Why is my menu flashing? Is there another thing I have to do or it's going to punish me?

The classes I have are terrible but it chose one for me before I could even think them over! How do I change it!?

My son collapsed and I tried to bring him his stuffies and toys but nothing is working and he's glowing, what the hell do I do!?

So I created a... FAQ. It was the easiest and quickest way to disseminate information.

Everyone, calm down and read your codex. Just look into your Vessel's eyes and open the menu. You just have to think 'menu', you don't have to say anything aloud. Open the Codex or Journal that is there. Read the entries. Ask questions to prompt more entries.

For now, I'll just say if you can't get the person to say a name, then finding something for the Familiar to occupy is meaningless. They have to name the Vessel after the Familiar occupies it. And if you can't find something for them to occupy in their 'most-used' objects, then try looking for something special they almost never use.

1. This is not the end of the world. And even if it were, we're still here and our kids are still here. We have to do what we can to look after them. If you want to kill yourself in fear, please wait until we've secured the building.

2. Do not make noise if you can help it. Walking is fine, but please do not thunder down the hallway. There are creatures outside roaming around, I'm sure you've seen them out the windows. Be as quiet as possible.

3. Any and all children left unattended should be taken to the lobby so they can call their parents from someone's phone.

4. Any and all dead bodies should be left where they are and covered with sheets until we figure out what to do with them.

5. Until the Army arrives, our main objective is survival. Reconnecting with family will come later. If you want to leave because you disagree, that's fine, but don't come back and lead the creatures to the apartment building, please.

6. The System has implied that at some point Classes can be changed, so don't panic if it chose your class for you, right now. Just choose a subclass that works for you and make do.

7. If you want to avoid it choosing a class for you, do not LOOK at your menu. Ask your familiar to read off your class list. Write it down, bring it to the lobby. We'll figure out what the best classes are for everyone together.

"Is this enough?" I showed the message to Toria. "It's all I can think of.

She adds a point 8. "We need to tell them to use their names as their username on their phone." Then a point 9. "Oh, we need to recommend they upgrade their starter sets, like we did."

I wasn't very good at remembering and putting together things that weren't vital for survival or piquing my curiosity. If I already completed a task, my brain decided it didn't need that information right now and filed it away somewhere I couldn't access it until I did.

"Okay," Toria finally hit send and handed me back the phone. "I also added that they can sell stuff in their apartment for more coins if they needed to, like the Codex said."

I thought about that for a moment and added:

On Inventory:

Ask your Familiar for however many boxes there are in your inventory. Put everything of one category into the boxes. You can dump food into ziplocs as long as they're in the same category. 'Fruits', 'Vegetables', 'Condiments and Spices' can all go in the same box. Then put it in your inventory by thinking about it going there. You can pack away all your food and it's much better than putting it in the fridge.

Get backpacks or duffel bags. Pockets have fewer slots.

"I didn't know that!" Toria said, watching over my shoulder. "We should pack up all Mrs. Katz and my food."

"Food?" Mrs. Katz looked up from her phone screen. "Are we going somewhere?"

"Not for now," I replied. "But the inventory system stores it in an optimal environment. Better than the fridge or freezer."

"How useful!" she said and looked at her ring. "Oh, it says I have six pockets?"

"Six slots," I replied. "Our upgraded starter sets also have more slots, though we only have five. You got an extra somehow."

"It says it was because I chose personalized equipment," she said. Then turned to look at me with confusion. "Why would that give me another pocket?"

"Probably promotional," Toria said. "To get us to spend more coins... but why? The System is like a computer program running on magic or something, right?"

Ping!

The System:

The System was created by Those Above, Beyond and In-Between to evaluate the needs, wants and wishes of Mortals. The system is alive but not a person. It is similar to artificial intelligence or Magical Constructs. The System was built to do a job.

"So it really IS like an AI!" Toria stated as we finished reading the entry. "But wait, what's a magical Construct? Could they make AI's in Magic worlds?"

"It's likely similar to a zombie being given a task," I replied. "But made of mud or stone or something similar."

"Golem," Mrs. Katz whispered. "It's a Golem."

"It's not a person but alive," I mused. "Like an animal that was trained to do a job. So it's less like a construct... or an AI... and more like a bomb dog."

"Ugh, who cares!" Toria threw up her hands. "Let's pack up the foo-"

Several rough knocks on the door.

I bolt over to it and unlock it. When I open it, I hiss, "What part of stay quiet did you not understand!?"

The woman on the other side is holding a small boy and flinches back. "I- what?"

"Oh, Felicity!" Mrs. Katz rushed over when she saw the woman through the doorway. "And little Max. You aren't supposed to make noise, dear, it will attract the monsters."

'Felicity' looked confused and blinked. "What? I just got up from a fainting spell and I need someone to take Max so I can go to the hospital."

"You JUST woke up?" Toria asked. "Oh, you don't have a familiar, do you. But Max is holding a toy. Its eyes are moving."

The boy was indeed holding onto an action figure of sorts. One of those transforming toys that turned from a truck to an animal. It was supposed to just be a versatile toy, I guessed. And its eyes were indeed blinking and moving.

"Okay, I don't know what weird game you're playing-" she began to get belligerent and loud.

"Did you not see my door broken in?" I hissed.

Her eyes went wide. "Are you alright? Did they hurt you?"

She thinks it was a burglar.

"It wasn't a burglar, come on," I took Max from her and handed him to Toria. "I'm handling this one, you stay with the kids and Mrs. Katz, I'll find everyone else on this floor."

"What is going on!?" Felicity barked and I-

Well, I smacked her across the face.

She looked flabbergasted as she held her cheek.

"Every time you make noise like that, you put the children in danger," I hissed. "Shout again and I'll beat your ass until you can only whimper. Now move!"

She seemed to do as I said because she was frightened of me and not because she understood.

It was a short walk and she only slightly hesitated in front of my door. When I looked back, Toria hurriedly shut and locked the door to Mrs. Katz apartment. Thankfully she has that much sense.

"What the hell is that?" Felicity asked in a breathless voice as she walked into my apartment and caught sight of the Warg.

"It's called a Warg," I said. "And there are a lot of them running around outside. Now, answer me. Did you get a Familiar?"

She looked at me and asked, "how did you know about the voice?"

"Because we ALL got a voice or a message," I replied. "If you only just woke up, that means you went a long time without finding a Vessel and the Familiar likely vacated your body." I gestured down at my feet where Phobos was twining around my legs. "This is my familiar."

Felicity appeared to be on the verge of a breakdown with the way she was breathing. Her hands went up to press on either side of her head.

"Are you going to break down and leave your son completely defenseless?" I asked. "I think that can wait, can't it?"

"Not everyone is a fucking robot!" she snapped, at a lower volume. Then seemed to instantly regret it, but well. It's said now, isn't it?

"You are an adult though," I replied. "Your son is not. And this building is still not secure. So what will it be? Will you break down or get to business and save it for later?"

I've never understood how a person can just do that in a crisis. Or how it works. But if you're still lucid enough to talk and aren't just screaming and banging your head on things, usually you can be talked down and directed to a task. So far as I can tell.

She swallowed and tears sprung to her eyes. "I just need a minute to come to terms with reality not being right, can't I have a minute!?"

"I have to go and check on everyone on this floor, so fine," I said. "I'm just saying you shouldn't have a panic attack. They make you weak and sluggish. I should know, I used to have one every day. It won't be helpful to you. Control your breathing."

And then I turned and left my broken down apartment to try the first door on the left, going the other direction from Toria and Katz's apartments.

It was unlocked and the occupant looked up from slumping on the sofa as I walked in.

"Ugh," he shook his head. "Did you hear me retching? I'm fine. I'm... ugh. Had too much to drink last night."

Wonderful.