Broken Anomaly

Three days had gone by since Eric’s speech, and the atmosphere around the settlement had transformed significantly. The tension that had followed those from the city had completely dissipated, replaced by a collective sense of purpose and desire to make this place their home.

Each of the new arrivals had settled into a job that they found most suitable for themselves. But the reality was that there wasn’t much to choose from.

Running the dungeon wasn’t an option since it was crowded even before the new arrivals came to Solace. In fact, the few teams that had already been running it became so efficient at doing so that they depleted the dungeon at a much quicker pace than before.

This left them with a considerable amount of free time. Free time that they had to occupy by doing other tasks, such as moving tree logs or helping with the forest clearing.

They also couldn’t start helping with construction or carpentry because of the difference in level. Or they could, just not as much as they would like, as they were essentially reduced to helpers.

The reason behind this was simple: there was a clear difference in the quality of construction between someone with a carpentry or construction skill of 8 and someone who still didn’t have either of the relevant skills.

At level 8, the “established” carpenters were already experimenting with making boards and refining their skills further, while those who had their skill at level 1 were lucky if they knew how to identify which wood was usable and which one wasn’t.

So, while they did accept new people, it was a small number to avoid endangering the quality of their work. That small number was barely enough to make a dent with the number of new arrivals.

However, there was also good news. Two new types of jobs had opened up: gardener and porter. Though, in reality, the gardeners weren’t doing much actual gardening, or they were just doing one aspect of gardening, constant harvest and not much tending.

After they were able to make a thorough assessment of the garden, they discovered that everything that was sprouting was doing so at an accelerated pace. The ground was full of various fruits and vegetables, many of which had already spoiled.

So, the gardeners’ job was mostly to harvest at the right time. Some crops, like lettuces, were ready multiple times in a single day, while others took longer, like the watermelons, which were still growing even after being harvested three days ago. Additionally, the garden had expanded into the forest, creating even more work to be done.

The porters, as their name suggested, were in charge of moving things from one place to another.

Another good thing that they had noticed recently was the amount of monsters in the vicinity. While it was still the case that very few monsters were attracted to the safe zone, many more were appearing beyond it, allowing more people to sell at the system store. This allowed them to barter and increase the amount of credits the hub had.

They also discovered that some monsters had small mana crystals inside them, near different organs. The only reason they found this out was because of the subtle increase in credits that the System offered in exchange for those with crystals inside.

The subtle increase started at 1 credit for crystals resembling a pinch of clumped salt, while the highest value they encountered reached 10 additional credits for crystals that resembled small pebbles.

Martin and Luis, the resident aspiring alchemists, were the ones buying up most of the corpses now, using credits given to them by Stella. They quickly proved their value by offering her results the very next day.

They had gone to Stella, full of excitement about their discovery. This wasn't just any discovery; it was their first, and that made it special to them. They explained to her that the size of the mana crystal was irrelevant, the System actually paid more for crystals with darker hues.

This result had been more than enough for Stella to justify her decision to grant them additional credits, providing them with a certain degree of freedom in how they could spend it. Before, the credits were allocated solely for purchasing monster corpses, but now they could use them as they wished, as long as it benefited Solace.

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In a small wooden room that was constructed as a test for the newly made wood boards, Stella received a short report.

“Everything seems to be working out,” Stella said, her eyes looking through various system windows. “Any sign of the three idiots?” she asked, frustration evident in her tone and expression.

“No, not yet,” Lydia replied, backing away slightly. “Should we go look for them?”

“No. Well,” Stella took a moment, “Look for Eric. We actually need him,” she said, having come to a decision as she looked at a system window.

Solace (Settlement)

Level 2/2

Crystals 1/2

Population 837/500

“Why’d you take the crystals?” she muttered under her breath, cursing at Eric and his inability to think ahead. “Fucker didn’t even tell me where he put the hub crystal.”

Stella had begun evaluating potential candidates that could help strengthen the foundation of Solace. Han, the only remaining member of Tony’s group, was the first one that came to mind. She wanted to grant him access to the hub and allow him to choose a class. Having the main construction worker get better would only strengthen their little settlement.

The only other person she considered was Sam, the older man who had come from the city. From their brief interactions, she had come to know that before working in the city, he used to work on various farms, performing different roles.

According to him, husbandry was what he was best at, although he admitted that crops weren’t his strong suit. Still, that made him more qualified than anyone else, at least as far as she knew.

Lydia left Stella’s small office, and Stella slouched in her chair, her mind wandering to what Marcus might be doing.

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Nothing. That’s what Marcus was doing as he lay on the floor of the workshop, which was now exclusively his. He appreciated having a workplace all to himself until he caught himself turning his head, looking for Stella. But him missing Stella wasn’t the issue, the real problem was that he was stumped, no new ideas were coming to him.

When he returned from the labs’ building three days ago, he had expected to be flooded with inspiration for what to do next. He even brought back a generator, which would allow him to use electric tools. Or it would have, if he had fuel. So, he went to the parking lot, filled some bottles with gasoline, and brought them back, along with some car batteries.

To his great misfortune, the generator used diesel. So, he shifted his attention toward the batteries, immediately discovering why no one had used a vehicle to leave, the batteries were dead.

As he rested on the floor, feeling the vibrations of the people walking outside, he contemplated how to best approach his issue.

“Even if I use an alternator, I would still need something to run it at thousands of RPM. That’s a no go.” He rested one foot on the other. “What if Stella learns lightning spells? No, she’s already busy as is.” He swapped the position of his feet.

“Uggh,” he grunted in desperation. “I don’t know how, but this is Eric’s fault. He would’ve helped me solve this,” he said as he scratched his head, messing up his hair.

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Far to the north, almost a week’s travel from Solace, the landscape went through a sudden and abrupt change. The ground was no longer soft with occasional patches of grass, now it was nothing but hard and dry, with the only vegetation being dried out tree husks far in the distance. The desert appeared to stretch on forever, its reddish hue a perfect contrast to the sky’s blue.

Alex opened his last bottle of water.

Having been inspired by Eric’s apparent escapade right after giving a speech, Alex decided that he also had things he wanted to pursue. Or, better said, he wanted to want something to pursue.

The truth was, he was a man of routine. He was perfectly fine doing the same thing every day, and he would even find it fun at times. It’s why he valued his friends so much, because without them, he would return to the comfortable monotony that was his life.

Feeling no inspiration as to what to pursue, he searched his pockets for a coin. In the end, he asked a passerby, and they handed one over. After a series of coin tosses, he ultimately decided to head north, not knowing that he would end up in a desolate land.

He waited for night to arrive, hoping that the darkness would allow him to leave unnoticed. Though, when he thought about it, no one ever questioned where he was going, he could’ve left at any moment. He dispelled the thoughts that were basically calling him an idiot and left his cabin, aided by the cover of the night.

The fighters that had arrived from labs had basically become the official security forces of Solace. Though few in number, nobody wanted to be shot at by a nail gun, and that served as enough of a deterrent.

Alex had to maneuver around the few patrolling guards, but he was eventually seen by one, who didn’t really say anything to him, they only made a face full of confusion.

When he arrived at the supply storage, he was surprised to find that someone had beat him to the punch. Anna was there, her figure barely visible in whatever light managed to enter through the storage’s openings.

She rummaged through some boxes, finally storing a few water bottles in a small backpack. She didn’t react at all to Alex’s arrival, as if she had expected him to do the same.

As they procured whatever supplies they wished, no words were exchanged. In that moment, they weren’t friends, they weren’t the maybe something that could be, no, they were simply two people about to embark on an adventure that would either make or break them.

They walked side by side until they reached building D. There, Anna stopped and waved goodbye before heading east.

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Anna, unlike Alex, didn’t need to toss a coin to decide where she wanted to go. She had known her destination for a while. Eric’s departure had only sparked the powder keg that she herself had planted. Seeing Alex also ready to venture out strengthened her resolve even further. She would reach her home, or she would at least try.

After a series of prolonged runs, she finally exited the forest and entered some green plains. She walked forward, keeping track as best she could of the distance she had traveled. Then, finally, she arrived at about the point where her residential area should have begun.

From where she stood, Anna should’ve been able to see the large archway over the main entrance. The security guard, Bob, would have waved her over with his usual smile, and he probably would’ve handed her some mail that had been left with him. But as she began to walk, all she found was emptiness.

“Here would be Regina’s chihuahua, barking at anything that moved,” she said to herself, pointing at the empty space where the dog should have been. Nothing.

“That’s where the fire hydrant that my brothers broke is supposed to be,” she continued, her voice hollow. Again, nothing.

“Big road to do donuts in...” She trailed off, staring at the endless green plains that had replaced the familiar streets of her neighborhood. There was nothing.

No matter where she looked, there was nothing but green plains. Despair began to creep in, her mind began to race as she continued walking forward.

She had done everything right. During her free time, she measured the distance between the school buildings, comparing them to their original layout. It hadn’t been hard to figure out since she had found the blueprints in the admin building. She had confirmed that the distances were consistent, regardless of which buildings she used to measure.

Then she remembered the road—the road where they had fought the crabs. While it was broken, it hadn’t been stretched or moved, and it wasn’t a building. Every piece had been in its rightful place.

“But what about the pond? That grew, it basically became a lake,” she began, her mind racing. “The System didn’t do the same thing everywhere,” she quickly concluded in a dejected tone, the realization weighing heavily on her.

Her next step felt odd as the soft grassy plains suddenly gave way to something harder, like concrete or stone. She shook her head, bringing herself back to the present.

She froze momentarily, immediately recognizing what she had stepped on. She had only seen it once, but it was quite a unique structure. Blue lights began to pulse from the archway, giving life to the symbols that were hidden.

She could run, but no matter where she looked, she saw nothing but green plains. There was simply nowhere to hide. The blue lights began to make their way downward onto the platform.

She touched the stone, expecting a system message or prompt to appear. Her expectations were betrayed as the system remained silent. From atop the structure, a brilliant white light emerged, piercing the sky.

Anna's instincts kicked in. She knew there was nowhere to hide. She knew that the System had not given her a way out. The only thing she could depend on was herself. She swung her bag forward, quickly removing her sword from inside.

Then, finally, the System responded and gave her a window, just not the one she wanted.

New quest!

Quest: Anna’s second incursion. Objective: Clear the nearby incursion by destroying the gateway. Rewards: +5000 - ? Exp. +8000 - ? Credits. Dependent on clear time. Additional rewards for the number of enemies defeated.