Chapter 56

Chapter 56

Forty-five days just didn't seem like enough time, and yet time was something they were now out of. Tonight marked the end of the so called 'Safety Period' that had prevented higher grade monsters and beasts from ravaging the world. Earth had been sectioned off, with some areas acting as cages for the bad things that resided within them. Tonight, those shackles would be broken, and the world would face the real Descent.

Beasts were one thing, they were just normal Earth animals that had been highly mutated by the introduction of mana in the atmosphere. Sure, they were intelligent, and some were even downright cunning, but they were the lesser of the two threats. Monsters on the other hand, were coalesced mana given form. While there were unintelligent monsters out there, the vast majority seemed to be almost sapient, or actually reasonably smart. The goblins had been the first example of monsters that the community, Sanctuary, had run into. They were stupid compared to humans, almost to the point of being feral, but they used weapons, and their numbers and quick reproduction made them a serious threat to all human life.

The goblins that had spawned near Sanctuary had been quickly wiped out, but many needed to be hunted down to prevent their extremely fast reproduction cycle from coming back and biting Sanctuary in the ass. Drew would have loved to place the blame of everything on The System, but all of these issues were just side effects of the integration into the mana-baring multiverse. None of it was done by a malicious intelligence, but rather, it was just part of the process. A process that had likely killed so many human lives, that he wouldn't be surprised to learn that the species was on the verge of extinction.

If the area he lived in was anything to go by, then the world was likely down to twenty-five percent of its previous population, and that was optimistic. If those sectioned-off zones contained anything more powerful than E Grade beasts and monsters, there would be no hope for the population within them. Forty-five days just wasn't enough time. Drew had evolved his race, class, and profession, but very few in Sanctuary had gotten that far yet.

So far, only the people, and the dog, he had given his tokens to had managed to get that far. Mark had evolved his class into a Shadow-Touched Rogue, and his wife Miranda had chosen the Cleric class, which ended up being a double-edged sword. Her class and its abilities only functioned at half power until she made a pact or was blessed by a Divine being. Seeing as Divine beings were very much real, and knowing the way they typically treated their worshippers... she was less than thrilled with the idea of getting involved with one. The Baleful Lady had offered some recommendations to Drew to give to Miranda for gods and goddess that weren't complete douchebags, but Miranda was still going through the 'interview process' with them.

Given the information they had learned from The Baleful Lady, Miranda was approaching each god cautiously, and asking many, many questions. Something that, according to The Lady, was not common. Luckily, Miranda didn't need to be whisked away to another realm, but could do most of the communication via prayers or mediation. Drew understood her reservations, but he really wished she'd hurry the fuck up and choose something soon, because time was not on their side. Neither one of them had evolved their race yet though, they were still struggling through the profession levels.

Due to her unique circumstances with Freya, Amber had gotten the Beast Master class, which synergized extremely well with her existing abilities and the relationship she had with the family dog. Freya didn't have a class or a profession, but was just a race, so technically speaking she was the highest level of anyone in Sanctuary, Drew included. She leveled slower than everyone else, but her stats were pretty damn high, and she'd evolved into a slightly bigger version of her previous form. Her natural armor was incredibly tough, she was extremely fast, and her intelligence was pretty high too. She had pretty much everything other than magic. Fast natural regeneration, lots of health and armor, and she could do decent damage.

Drew's mom was very close to getting the perfect evolution title like he had. She wasn't there yet, but she would be shortly. She'd gotten a strange profession called Guru, and if Drew was being honest with himself, he had no fucking idea what it did. Beefcake on the other hand, had come from his realm already in E Grade. Besides Freya, he was the highest leveled being in Sanctuary, and had been the whole time. Although, he didn't have a profession when he'd come through the portal, he'd picked one up a couple weeks ago. He was now a Martial Instructor. He'd taken over for Sindra after she'd left, and had been busy training people in physical training and combat. With so many newcomers from the nearby town, along with the original population, he had been leveling up the profession fairly quickly.

Spock was already evolved, having also gotten the perfect evolution title. He'd picked up a profession called Antiquarian, which was a fancy way to say that he loved books. Or rather, that books were so rare now, they were practically considered lost knowledge and he gained experience from memorizing and collecting sources of lost knowledge and culture. Books, music, art, they all counted towards his progression in his profession. Overall, that development wasn't too surprising given his love of books. No, it was his class that was the real surprise. Previously, he'd had been a Medium Warrior, a frontline fighter that was more of a generalist than the fast Light Warrior, or the tanky Heavy Warrior. Drew had expected him to advance in a similar direction, but Spock hadn't been happy with his original choice.

Spock was now an Arcanist. Which was an offshoot of mage-style classes. Drew couldn't remember the exact words Spock had said about his feelings on the warrior class, but it translated to him not really wanting to be directly responsible for a being's death. His new Arcanist class was highly specialized, and allowed him to stay true to his goal. The class was heavily focused on control. Control of both the environment, and his opponents. That was all well and good, but after hearing some of his abilities Drew was more scared of Spock than facing a wave of monsters alone.

If Drew was to put Spock's class abilities into DnD terms, he would have classed them as a mix of wizard and bard spells. That wasn't the original conclusion he had drawn, at least until he remembered the laughing spell. It was a curse that caused any intelligent being to laugh so hard that they lost complete control of their body, which brought a whole new meaning to 'rolling on the floor laughing'. It couldn't physically kill anyone, but it could make the target shit themselves empty, and it lasted several minutes, which sounded extremely painful. Then there was Spock's new Bonded Familiar that came standard with the class.

In his case, it was a miniature Dicken, or demonic chicken. Nothing that was overtly frightening by itself, until Spock used the active part of the ability. The tiny Dicken would fly towards the target, pecking its eyes out, and taking choice cuts of meat. Right before the ability ended, the Dicken would explode which basically tared and feathered the victim. So, not only was the victim likely blind, and dongless, they were left completely humiliated to boot. The only thing missing was salt in the wound, but the tar and feathers were the subsitute in that case. It would have been more fair if the target could actually counterattack the Dicken, but no, it was ethereal. Only specific kinds of weapons, or magic would work against it. Spock's other abilities were less gruesome, but no less effective.

Drew continued his stroll through Sanctuary, taking in the new sights and sounds. A lot of progress had been made recently in getting the community up to snuff. The original fenced and walled areas had been greatly expanded, and they now had a small, but growing residential district. Wooden towers had been added to the newly fenced areas to provide security and lookout for any incoming dangers, and there was talk of a new wooden palisade in the works, which would boost the defensive strength of Sanctuary by a fair margin.

The people living on his property had pretty much become citizens of the newly founded small town... tiny town. But still! A town nonetheless. Well, it would be officially 'newly founded' as of today. Drew was going to be placing his [Pillar of Civilization (Unique)]. It summoned a one-time use building that allowed a settlement to become System recognized. It was supposed to offer new options via The System, but Drew hadn't learned anything further about it, and he hadn't felt like bothering The Baleful Lady with the question. Several homes still needed to be finished, but for the most part, everyone had a house to sleep in currently, even if they had to share for a couple more weeks. Considering it had been forty-five days since the end of the world, that construction speed was incredible.

Most of the menial labor had been carried out by the undead, as they required no rest of any kind, they didn't eat, and they didn't bitch. In Old Earth, he'd be a very rich man selling them to all the retail companies, they would have been better than self-checkout lanes! For Sanctuary however, they saved a boatload of time and energy for the living, which freed them up to do actual construction work. Unlike Old Earth, New Earth didn't have coffee yet, nor food trucks either, which meant the workers actually did their jobs instead of sitting on your lawn and littering all day. Levels and stats had a lot to do with the speed also. Strength and agility, along with perception really made building quickly much easier, and it could be done with less workers.

The therapists that The Baleful Lady had loaned him were also paying dividends. It turned out that the multiverse could be pretty damn messed up, so they had a lot of experience while still remaining humble and kind. Not every patient had recovered, in fact several seemed like they'd be under care for the long-term, but improvements had been made. There was no medical tent anymore either, it was now a hospital, a real one! It wasn't modern, and it didn't have fancy technology, but the rooms were no longer made from tanned leather and soundproofing magic. So the therapists, and healers now had actual offices, and patients had their own rooms. Compared to six weeks ago, Sanctuary was practically full of luxuries.

Really, the only thing holding the community up from progressing any further in technology was the low population, and lack of a currency system. Currently, everyone worked together to accomplish common goals, but long-term there would need to be a currency or merit system of some kind. A prime example was the distinct lack of a tavern of any kind. Why would someone create one, when people could only pay with goods and services that the owner may not even need? It was a conundrum that Drew didn't know how to solve. Maybe they would get one in the near future despite the issue, or maybe they wouldn't. He didn't know.

So why was Drew actually strolling around the community? Partially to experience all the changes firsthand, but also to look for a damn spot for the Pillar. He thought the lighthouse was large, but the Pillar was huge! Well, it was huge compared to the amount of land he had, especially with all the new buildings that had been erected on it, or nearby. It was bigger than a large suburban house from Old Earth, that much he was certain of. Normally, that wouldn't have been a huge problem, but between the new buildings and security, things were a bit tight and it limited his choices. The best spot was in the pasture next to the new residential district and the main part of town, but Drew wanted alternatives.

****************************************************

There were no alternatives. He had wasted a good hour looking around, and the only spot that remained within the secured area of the community was in the pasture. Drew sighed internally as he accepted what he had to do. It wasn't like it would take up much space within the pasture, it was just... Drew liked the idea of giving the animals there a lot of space to roam and enjoy life. Now he'd need to have the pasture, and security expanded to make up for the Pillar. There was no rest for the wicked.

Drew made sure to push, or in one goat's case, carry all the animals to the opposite side of the area to prevent any of them from getting hurt. Animal safety finished, Drew activated [Pillar of Civilization (Unique)] and moved far away. The after-effect was nothing like the Baleful buildings. Those had been grown. This time it felt different. Nothing was grown, nothing magically appeared. A large stone pillar just fell from the sky at astounding speed until it levitated above the ground daintily, before placing itself down gently with a faint...

*THUD!*

Perfect.

The whole effect had been similar to watching a meteor come crashing to the Earth. Dark humor-wise, it seemed appropriate given that it was the apocalypse. Drew smiled at that thought. The Pillar, was actually more of a obelisk, it looked to be made of polished stone similar to marble, yet it had faintly glowing runes that periodically brightened before fading, covering its surface. Drew approached the new building, and circled around it once. It had no doors or windows. Strange. He reached out and touched the stone, and a rumbling sound echoed from the Pillar outwards. The stone began shifting, indentions soon began to form on the surface and within minutes, openings that led to the inside of the apparently hollow pillar had appeared.

The interior of the building was disappointingly barren besides the single stone pedestal that lay at the very center. Drew approached the only piece of decor and examined it.

"Why does everything have to be a pain in the ass now? Old Earth used to have fucking instruction manuals at least." Drew grumbled to himself.

Drew spent an embarrassing amount of time trying to figure out what he was supposed to do next before giving up and placing his hand on the pedestal.

*PING!*

Claim Pillar of Civilization?
Yes/No

"Sure." Drew said, rolling his eyes.

Please read the Terms and Conditions...

A ridiculous wall of text entered his vision, and began to scroll through the contents. When it became clear that he was going to spend all night just reading the stupid agreement he reached out to The Lady.

"Hey, sorry to bother you, but I've got this pillar of civilization here and it's having me read through a book and a half of crap. Is any of this shit actually important?" Drew sent to The Lady.

"Champion, it is good to hear from you. Your ears must have been burning, as I was about to reach out to you. To answer your question, no, the information within the agreement is not relevant to you, as you have access to myself and my Cadre. Although, I must insist that you reach out for help regarding important matters. I can't solve every issue if you've made a decision that dooms your planet."

"Uhhhh... did I just doom my planet?"

"No. But the Pillar is incredibly important, and I really wish you would have consulted me prior to summoning it."

"I feel like I'm going to regret asking this, but why?" Drew asked.

"You lack common knowledge. To put in terms that you would sympathize with, it's a bit like watching a child poke a sleeping bear with a stick. The child doesn't know the bear would happily maul its face off, but to anyone else seeing the situation they'd wish to remove their own hair in frustration."

"Sooooo... I'm the child and you're the mom figure basically?"

"Correct."

"What type of trouble did I just cause?"

"Thankfully, nothing serious. This time. Within an hour or so, the pillar will emit a barely visible shield that extends two miles from it's epicenter. Anything within that bubble is considered your claimed territory, and as a bonus, no monsters may spawn within it."

"Oh, well that's great news."

"Yes, well, it will also draw all nearby beasts and monsters to the shielding area like moths to a flame."

"Shit. I poked the bear, didn't I?" Drew asked while rubbing his temples.

"Yes. Yes you did."

"The System's safety period runs out tonight too... that's... not good."

"That is why I wished to contact you. I have surveyed your general area and have determined that there are no current major threats to you or your people nearby, that said, you should expect company." The Baleful Lady said.

"No immediate threats is good news. What type of company? Hogs, birds, more goblins?"

"None of the above. I have learned what The System has planned for the end of the safety period."

"Yeah, it's the collapse of the security zones holding back all the nasty critters." Drew said while nodding his head.

"Yes, there's that, however that's not all. As I've said, the general area is currently safe. Mostly. Given everyone's levels."

"I'm beginning to get a bad feeling. You said currently twice when describing our safety, and that last part didn't sound very reassuring."

Drew was starting to sweat a bit.

"For good reason. There will still be beasts and monsters coming. Most of which you haven't seen before. The real issue is what comes afterwards."

"Alright, what comes afterwards?"

"When the safety runs out, the zones unlock. That much you know. But The System typically holds some kind of event during this time period. All of the Gods and Goddesses, and even The Primordials such as myself were unaware of what event would happen. We were notified right before you reached out to me."

"Righttttt, and what's the event? A scavenger hunt? A tournament? Some kind of awful escort quest?"

"Incursions. Your planet is about to be invaded."

"Uhhhh... what?"

"That's the best way to phrase it. Gates will be opening throughout your world, and those gates will allow temporary passage from other worlds within the multiverse. Historically, this event is rather rare, typically only happening to planets that have created or brought a great deal of culture to the cosmos. Ultimately, the people that are coming may or may not be friendly."

"So... invaders? Or more like immigrants?"

"Both. Some will likely wish to claim the planet as theirs, along with the planet's resources. Others may be more benevolent, wishing to join hands in friendship and alliances, and others may be neutral, bringing trade or culture of their own."

Fuck. That was not good.

"Is there any way to tell the good ones from the bad ones?" Drew asked.

"Not everything is so black and white, but I would imagine that if they begin killing innocent people, or taking slaves, that it would be a fair indication of their intentions."

"Fan-freaking-tastic. Are any of these gates going to be opening up nearby, and if so, will they bring friend or foe?"

"I don't know. The System decides some things randomly, and even I'm not given a book on how The System makes decisions or why. The best I can do is offer conjecture."

"Wait... Sindra..."

"Sindra? My Valkyrie?" The Baleful Lady asked.

"Yeah... and Jonathan, the Soulsmith you sent me. They both said things to me. They said our TV shows and movies had become extremely popular."

"TV shows? But you don't have working technology anymore."

"No, but before The Descent, my mom made a deal with the devil, or rather demons. They offered her Beefcake as her warlock companion in exchange for the ability to download and use all of our TV shows, games, movies, etc."

"...and then they broadcast the new content to countless quintillions of souls throughout the multiverse, bringing your planet's culture to the masses." She quickly concluded.

"Right. Jonathan had previously told me that one of the movies had become very popular with his people and they wished to immigrate here, and Sindra has also mentioned something similar about seeing our stuff around." Drew affirmed.

"That may be a blessing in disguise then. If the people of the multiverse view your people favorably, they are more likely to seek you out as friends. I still cannot be certain whether any Gates will be opening near you, or who they will bring however."

"In the past, what has happened to the newly integrated civilizations that had this event occur?"

"They either prospered from new trade, alliances, and technologies, or they were obliterated and taken as slaves."

"Wonderful."

Drew was stressed. He wasn't panicking, but he was definitely anxious. Overall, it was horrible news, with a slight sliver lining of hope.

"I recommend you make ready to come to my realm." The Lady interrupted his thoughts.

"Excuse me? Why, do you think we're that fucked?"

"No, but I will not allow my champion to die meaninglessly either. Call it precaution, but I'd like you and a small group of your people to come here."

"I cannot abandon everything we've built here. My family, friends, and now citizens."

"I'm not asking you to. I'm offering the services of my realm. I'm not suggesting you abandon anyone, quite the opposite in fact. I wish for you to use one of the training dungeons that have been built here to level up in a quick manner."

"Dungeons? Are they anything like they are in games?"

"They are similar, yes. If you're able to utilize the dungeon, you'll be able to catch up to the invaders in level. Remember, almost everyone in the multiverse starts out in E Grade, your people started in F Grade, and I seriously doubt any of the large forces of the multiverse would fund expeditions with their lowest Grade members taking part. I'd expect C Grades to be commonplace, E Grades to make up lower positions, and likely a B Grade leading the expeditions, or a C Grade from a noble family. It is imperative that you are ready to meet them in battle."

"What about my people? Surely they cannot all go with me, can they?"

"No. I've just rerouted Sindra and several of her sisters to assist in the defense of your settlement, but they will not be there until morning. Additional forces will be arriving shortly after."

"So, if we can survive the night, Sanctuary will remain relatively safe?"

"Defensively, yes. My Cadre will be offering support with security, and helping your citizens level in relative safety. Loss of life may still happen however. There's no way to know what is coming through those Gates. Also remember, beasts and monsters..."

"Yeahhhh... well, I'll take relatively safe over a snowball's chance in Hell."

"That is an entertaining idiom. When Sindra arrives, she will send you and the people you select to my realm. Let's have some hot chocolate when you arrive. Good luck Champion."

********************************************

"Sooooo, that's the jist of it." Drew finished.

"Really dude? You have access to a goddess and you didn't bother to ask her about the stone thing out there?" Mark said.

"I didn't want to bother her!" Drew defended himself.

"You're her freaking Champion dude! You have a red phone straight to her office. Ask her the damn questions!" Mark continued.

"Alright, alright. You're right. I get it."

Drew sat at the kitchen table, along with everyone else. He'd caught them up to speed quickly after running back home from the Pillar.

"But there's a chance that good people will come to help us?" Miranda asked.

"Yes." Drew nodded.

"In that case, I'd like to stay here with my husband. Healers will be needed, and we only number four in total." Miranda said.

"I agree. I'd like to stay with her here. We've built a life here with these people around us, and I'd like to help protect them. Plus you said we have aid coming soon." Mark said.

"Okay, that's fine. I won't force anyone to go, but from the way The Lady worded it, it will be highly beneficial."

"I'm not missing my TV Shows." Drew's mom butted in.

"I cannot venture that far from my mistress, and I believe my help with training will lessen the burden of the Valkyrie. She can focus on security while I help get people." Beefcake added.

"Boo Bear?" Drew asked.

"Hell yeah I'm coming! I have to thank Hades for this bow, and help keep you safe." Amber replied with a smile.

"I'm pretty sure you just want to meet him." Drew said snarkily.

"Nooooooo..."

"I'm guessing Freya will join us as well since you're coming?" Drew asked.

All eyes turned to the German Shepherd who had been busy licking her own ass. Her ears perked up when she realized everyone was staring at her. She looked to Amber with a tilted head. Amber squinted her eyes slightly and the dog nodded.

"She said she'd like to come." Amber nodded.

Of course she did. The dog who'd just been licking her own ass was going to join them. Drew felt himself absolutely brimming with confidence as he held his head in his hands.

"Drew Wright, I too wish to join on this adventure." Spock said.

"Really?" Drew asked.

"Indeed."

"I thought you didn't want to kill anything?"

"That statement is valid, however I can provide support to you, Mrs. Wright, and Freya the Shepherd."

Drew scratched at his chin. Having Spock with them would be helpful. An extra set of eyes and hands in general would be great, especially if the Shepherd was coming. Knowing her, she'd end up chasing a flying bone into a pit-trap or something. Having Spock with them would provide Drew with real confidence. Besides, he did like Spock, and they hadn't gotten to spend a lot of time together recently.

"Sure, we haven't done anything together in a while, it sounds like fun. We'd love to have ya." Drew smiled.

"I am most excited. We shall be like Odysseus on his voyage to the underworld."

******************************************************************

The citizens of Sanctuary were organized, as everyone had been warned of the impending danger. They were all armed, awaiting word from Drew on any incoming movement towards the community. Drew had his birds overhead and scouting, constantly relaying anything they saw. His undead minions were all ready and on high alert. Scolder was nearby with the few remaining members of his pack, and Stevie, the giant undead pig was ready to charge any large waves of ground critters. To say that there was a tension in the air would have been a massive understatement. Everyone remembered when The Descent hit and the madness that came from it.

People were sweating, despite the relatively nice temperature, and many were shuffling back and forth, trying to stay busy and keep their minds off the possible danger that was ready to spring towards them at any moment. When The System's timer hit zero the notification came.

*PING!*

Congratulations on surviving the Safety Period
Zone Restrictions have been lifted
C and B Grade beasts and monsters are now free to roam where they wish
Mana Saturation of Planet now complete
E Grade beasts will now be seen more often
E Grade monsters may now spawn freely

Then there was silence. Everyone stared at their pop-up windows, waiting for something to happen, for some notification to come. They had been warned of the incursions, but The System had made no mention of them in the announcement. Like everyone else, Drew looked around his menus and screens before opening up his notification icon. Beast and monster kills flooded his screen but he wiped them away. Those were not what he was looking for, and he didn't feel like parsing through them at the moment. One notification remained.

Pillar of Civilization Established
Pillar of Civilization Claimed
Settlement Name?

Oh...oops! Hmmm. Sanctuary.

Sanctuary Established

Owner: Drew Wright
Settlement Size: Micro
Population: 147
Faction: N/A
Religion: Various

Title Earned [Pillar of the Community]

Okayyyyy, but what about the incursion?

With no announcement of the invasion, Drew decided to fiddle with his Status and Attributes, if combat was going to happen at all he might as well be at peak condition.

Status

Name: Drew Wright

Race: Dhampir (Grade - E) - lvl 27

Class: [Necromancer] – lvl 28

Profession: [Baleful Warden (Unique Grade - E)] – lvl 26

Health Points (HP): 3310/3310

Mana Points (MP): 3370/3370

Stamina: 3000/3000

Stats (Attributes)

Strength: 209 (309)

Vitality: 250 (350)

Endurance: 238 (318)

Toughness: 250 (340)

Agility: 185 (245)

Perception: 130

Intelligence: 322 (357)

Wisdom: 187 (222)

Willpower: 150

Free Points: 0

His status looked good, and he'd gotten a few levels in the past couple of weeks, which considering the level of the enemies he'd been facing, was pretty damn good. Everything he'd faced recently had been lower-leveled, so it was nice that he was still progressing despite that. Drew thought about checking the information on his new title and pulled it up, using the same logic that if it gave him a boost, it'd be better to have it now rather than when he needed it.

[Pillar of the Community]
Grants access to administrative actions and options for settlements under your ownership. Allows for the assigning of roles, and offers governmental selections.

It didn't offer anything immediately helpful from the looks of it, just town building stuff that he could take a look at down the road.

*PING!*

Event Notice
Incursions have begun
Gates from other worlds have opened on your planet
Repel the Invaders to close their Gates, or befriend them to create alliances and trade opportunities
Event Rewards: Pending outcome

The darkened sky lit up as columns of light entered the atmosphere of the planet. Drew scanned the horizon and saw different colored beams in every direction. He found it difficult, if not impossible to determine where the lights were landing, but watched nonetheless as they plummeted to the Earth below.

"Champion, it has begun." The Baleful Lady spoke to him from her realm.

"Any idea on what we're looking at?"

"The lights are showing the locations of the newly spawned Gates."

"Are any close by?"

"Yes, several."

"Any idea if they're friendlies or hostiles?"

"Not yet. I will update you as I find out more information."

"Thanks, I appreciate it."

"Also, it seems your Pillar has attracted some attention."

"How bad?" Drew asked

"Not great."