The Manaverse

Granite City

Just Outside of the Safe Zone

Kyle, Gunther, and Lily slowly made their way to the edge of the Safe Zone and past the strange, unseen barrier.

It was an instant change in the atmosphere. For some reason, it felt chaotic in comparison to being in the Safe Zone. Kyle experimented, stepping back and forth. The shift was not only consistent, it also became more apparent everytime he crossed the line.

Kyle took them slowly through the streets, peeking around corners and buildings as they went. Watching for Gunther and Lily's reactions when monsters were near, they were able to bypass a few packs of monsters Kyle knew they couldn't handle.

That was the strange part. He saw only a few monsters when he was used to seeing larger groups of them. He guessed that if his traveling group had actually gathered all of the chips from their attackers along the way and funneled all of the resources into one person, that person could have completed this branch of the quest already.

It was a few hours later, just after he had stopped for lunch, when Kyle heard the sounds of battle.

Peering around a corner, Kyle watched as a group of fifteen men and women were fighting a new variation of bird monsters. They looked like they had been canaries before, with their bright yellow feathers. He couldn't get over the red eyes monsters had. Kyle had seen an albino mouse before and this was different. It was a deeper, more demonic color.

The soldiers were using bullets sparingly. Most of them were using bully clubs, military issued knives or some carried riot shields and defended the others. They were efficient and brutal. Despite being outnumbered, the soldiers made quick work of their foe.

Kyle hung around, hoping he would get lucky. Yet, as soon as all the monsters were dead, the soldiers used either the harvesting ritual or a couple used the same skill he had, turning their kills into nothing with a touch.

Kyle slipped away and changed his search to follow the soldiers. He was okay with them killing all the monsters if it allowed him to find survivors. It was only a half hour after he started doing so, when he found the first batch too.

The small family was trapped in their basement when a four story apartment complex fell on their house. Kyle was able to clear enough rubble away to slide them through a gap and out to the street. The father, his two children, and his late wife's mother were all mostly in good shape, if a little weak from the small rations they had when they retreated to safety.

The youngest child, Rebecca, was hurt. Her leg was badly mauled by a monster before they had gone into the basement. Her family had cleaned and dressed the wound, but it was still very apparent.

If Kyle hadn't had a close call already, the sight would have opened his eyes. Instead it reinforced the lesson. This wasn't a game. Despite the unusual changes that made it feel like it was, the world was still very real. And dangerous.

While escorting the family to the Safe Zone, the group was attacked. Instead of fear or surprise, Kyle felt excitement and eagerness.

Gunther became alert just before a familiar monster came around the corner of an alley. The dog monster had the coloration of a yellow lab. Gunther barked loudly and the monster lunged at him. Kyle was proud as he watched Gunther leap back just far enough to avoid the attack.

Using his thoughts, Kyle activated his new skill. He immediately felt a warmth flow from his chest through is right arm. Then his bat started to glow. The feeling never went away and his mana bar began to slowly fall. Using his hips like he was hitting a ball, Kyle swung hard.

The bat hit with a crunch, the monster's skull caving in as it died. The patch of skin around the impact site had minor scorch marks from his Skill. Before the monster had finished slumping to the ground, the group was at attention once more, looking for more monsters.

It was only after Gunther and Lily relaxed that Kyle was able to let his guard down. The family was cowering behind a stalled car. They, too, began to relax when they saw Kyle do the same.

Kyle deactivated his attack skill and placed his hand on the creature. It left behind some meat and a few Mana chips. Everything disappeared into his bag.

"Let's go. We aren't too far now." Kyle said before getting them moving once more.

The party made it past the barrier with no further encounters.

The father, whom Kyle learned was named Hanson, asked Kyle about the harvesting. Kyle had no problem explaining everything he knew. His guide only had to interrupt him once with a correction.

It turned out, the only one who had a system guide awaken was the grandmother, Sally. She spoke with her guide quietly off to the side as they walked. Kyle didn't interrupt or try to overhear the one sided conversation. Just because he knew she could think to her guide, he understood that speaking the words aloud helped keep her calm.

Kyle noticed that the survivors became more relaxed when the crossed that line, actually entering the Safe Zone. He wondered if that was because they knew they made it thanks to the System telling them so, or if the barrier actually had some kind of effect on them. He was going to pay closer attention to that going forward.

Kyle led the family to the registration booths, which were still packed with people. He then turned the meat he harvested over to the casino employees in charge of the "quest kiosk" before setting out again.

He only made it a short distance before he noticed Elizabeth treating a party of people who had just returned from exploring the ruined city. Kyle walked over to her casually. When he explained about the child with the injury, Elizabeth immediately got up to go over and heal Rebecca.

Before she did, she turned and gave Kyle a small smile. Her eyes showed genuine concern.

"Come back alive, okay?"

Kyle looked at her and nodded solemnly. "I'll do my best."

Then Elizabeth turned and disappeared into the crowd.

Kyle watched her go, staring after her for a few too long seconds before he decided to head out of the Safe Zone once more. He sighed to himself, already knowing it was going to be a long day.

North East of the Safe Zone

Granite City

Magatha sat slowly. The hard, stone bench wasn't the best on her back. It was better than nothing, however, and was the only place to sit in the walled garden.

After she had fled the park, three strange children in toe, she had received the first notification from the System. After that, Magatha did everything in her power to keep the children safe. It was tough, and on more than one occasion she almost lost each and every one of them to a hungry monster.

Yet, they had made it through the countdown. Then she was told she needed to head north by her System Guide, Francois. He was supposedly her fifth cousin, or some such nonsense, and had died of old age just before the Initialization. He was granted permission to be a System Spirit Guide and if Magatha survived long enough, he would get to do so again for someone else.

Along their way North, Magatha had encountered a plethora of families, all emerging from their homes and shelters heading towards the Safe Zone. Then they found the schoolchildren of Granite Elementary School. They were protected by a single teacher who had been fatally wounded earlier that day. Magatha watched as the teacher took her last breath, promising to watch over the children to ease her passing.

Now, Magatha was in charge of all of the children of their wave of survivors. Most were orphans. It was this calling that made Magatha survive this long. If not for the children, she might have given up all hope in the face of this disaster.

Magatha let out a small sigh, looking around at the garden once more. The still flourishing flowers let off a pleasant and relaxing scent. After being cut off from the main group of survivors by a herd of deranged cow monsters, they had gotten lost for a while before Magatha could figure out which way to go. Apparently, none of the children had access to the System Windows until they were in puberty, so they had no map.

Using the suns movements and her familiarity with Granite City, Magatha had successfully lead the children in what she thought was the right direction. They had finally entered the wealthier part of the town, which told her they were on the right track.

That's when the cats had come. There were six or seven of them. Magatha recognized the one leading them. It was the same cat monster that had killed the older gentleman at the park. Except, now, the monster had a deep wound on its chest that was scarring over.

Thanks to a timely intervention from a giant green skinned monster, Magatha had escorted the children into an abandoned mansion just off of Paradise Way. It was spacious enough for all of them and was easily secured against most monsters.

The children were eating dinner while she took the chance to sit in the late afternoon sunlight. She had locked the door on her way out, so even if something crawled in through the garden, the kids were safe.

Magatha let out another small sigh. Ever since the Initialization started, she hadn't had a moment to sit or relax. She breathed in deeply once more, taking in the garden again. She knew she wouldn't have a moment like this for a while.

Magatha didn't react when the cat monster appeared, walking along the wall of the garden. She looked up and met the creature's red eyes. All she could see there was hunger and a killing intent, wrapped in scarlet.

"Are you mad we got away the first time?" Magatha asked the cat. "Couldn't let it go, huh?"

The scarring wound glimmered on the cats chest as the monster curiously tipped its head. It was like the cat was nodding sardonically, telling her she was correct and was about to die.

Magatha tutted loudly. She stood slowly and picked up the heavy gardening rake she had left nearby for this exact situation.

"This need for revenge will get you killed, you know?" Magatha said sympathetically as she readied the iron tool. She doubted she would survive this encounter.

The cat paced the wall, watching her, studying her. Magatha knew that she would be unable to make it back through the door before it reached her. She would do as much damage as she could before she died.

Magatha watched as the cat lowered itself to pounce. Her muscles tensed up as she noticed the slight shift in the cat's stance indicating the attack was imminent. Her future would be decided in the next few moments.

Then she blinked dumbly as another, small cat landed on the wall. It was a brown and black tabby. The small cat immediately tackled the monster off the wall.

Shortly after, Magatha could hear the growls of a dog and exertions of a man in combat. She shuffled to the rod iron gate to get a peek. A man with strawberry blonde hair was waving a baseball bat at the retreating form of the cat monster.

"One day, cat! One day, I will claim your mana chips!"

To Magatha, the man sounded kind of mad. He continued his raving for a few more moments before turning towards her.

"Oh, I'm sorry." He said before he bowed to her.

Magatha opened the gate and looked the man over. His clothes were shredded and blood stained. She could make out a few wounds that were scabbing over and a couple were still leaking blood slowly.

"It's okay. I think. Have history with that monster or something?" She asked, her tone reserved. She still could not decide what to make of the man.

"Let's just say there is a grudge held on both sides." The man straightened up and looked at her with a small smile. "Call me Jut. I am here to escort you to the Safe Zone."

Despite her misgivings and doubt, a small wave of relief flooded Magatha. The Safe Zone. Now her children could be safe, finally.

Yet, looking at this man, there is no way he could escort them anywhere. There was more blood on the ground than could possibly be healthy.

"While I appreciate that, Jut, are you sure you don't want to come inside and get patched up a bit? You're pooling." Magatha asked, trying to keep the concern from her voice.

He looked down at himself and visibly paled, which only made Magatha more concerned. He was already an unhealthy color from the blood loss.

"That...may be a good idea. She's gonna kill me this time." Jut mumbled before falling forward, passing out.

In the strict and commanding presence of a school teacher who has dealt with rowdy children for far too long, Magatha had the oldest of her children quickly get Jut inside and into a bedroom.

It was many hours later that Magatha finally felt that her visitor was going to live after stitching many of his wounds closed.