The Manaverse

Hunter's Rally

Granite City

"Welcome, Hunter's of the Slatewell Safe Zone. Without further delay, let the first annual Hunter's Rally begin." Adam announced.

Many of the hunters cheered but fell quiet rather quickly so Adam could continue.

"Let me start by saying thank you. You may not be fully aware of what you contribute to the Safe Zone. Every one of you provides food and supplies that are used to feed and care for millions of survivors. Thanks to your hard work, we have rounded up nearly every stray food stuff in the city. All of which will feed us all while we are in lock down."

As Adam spoke, a large group of Safe Zone staff, the people running the medical tents, and other non-hunters lined up behind him. His bodyguards all stepped back to form the front row.

"Your diligent effort keeps the monster populations under control. That alone saves all of our lives everyday. Who would have known that the bravest amongst us, a number less than point two percent of the surviving population, would risk life and limb to protect humanity. For that, Granite City thanks you." Adam said and stepped around his microphone stand.

As one, he and all of the people behind him bowed or curtsied deeply to the crowd. After holding that pose for a long moment, Adam stood and started clapping. The group behind him and many of the hunters followed suit.

The numbers boggled Jut's mind. Point two percent of millions was around thousands of people. How were a measly couple thousand people supposed to feed millions with no farming and no supply shipments coming in?

When Adam retook his position at the mic and the crowd behind him dissipated off stage, the crowd went silent again.

"With the help of the System, we have kept track of which Parties contributed what items and what Monsters you have slain. Each item turned in and each act of a monster slain accumulates points that we have tallied."

Jut's stomach sank. He did his best to not react but that idea made his blood run cold. Did the Safe Zone staff have access to the location of their kills? Or was it they had access to their location at all times? Did they have a record of their actions too? Not that he wanted to do anything shady, but the thought of the staff spying on him at all times made Jut feel paranoid.

"The Parties with the highest point values have been ranked. Each category will have valuable prizes and rewards. However, before I turn to that, I do have a few announcements."

"First. Many of the non-hunters have received various skills, such as Smithing or Weaving. With the non-food by-products you have turned over, these individuals have been hard at work over the last few days. Your invitations will count as a voucher. Each voucher will allow the recipient to receive a full set of light or medium armor with one weapon of their choice." Adam said with congratulations and raised his hands.

Many, Jut and Kit included, cheered for this. Jut wanted something to cover himself that would provide more protection. He was tired of his t-shirts getting destroyed. The stores and boutiques were running low and so was his collection of extra sets of clothes.

"Next. The Safe Zone allowed for the generation of Mana Chips that were provided to the Staff who were not able to hunt for their own. This feature will be going away later tonight."

The jovial attitude from the moment before became heavy as the hunters thought about that. There was no way someone who didn't have access to a steady flow of Mana Chips like they did would be able to complete the Quests provided by the System. As it was understood that the System used these Quests to guide them to a point where they would have a better chance at survival, it made a lot of hunters consider the situation.

"We at the Safe Zone," Adam said. "Have decided that services and supplies will no longer be handed out for free. They will all cost one Mana Chip. These Chips will be evenly divided amongst those who provide those services and item distributions. That is, until System currency of copper, silver and gold coins becomes more readily available."

Some people in the crowd were grumbling or complaining, but Jut was okay with that. He knew he would gladly pay the Chips for healing after a bad afternoon out. It also made him wonder how many Chips Isabelle and the other non-combat people had been able to gather so far.

"Lastly, three new System building's will be granted to the Safe Zone and some existing buildings will be converted. The Leadership has decided that we will choose the following three. An Adventurers Guild, a Graveyard, and a System Store. The main Casino and residential towers will be converted into a Town Hall and Residential Wings."

"The Adventurers' Guild, Residential Wings, and Town Hall will better help organize the population and Safe Zone services so this area will feel less like a refugee camp and more like this City's hub."

Adam turned grim as he continued. "The Graveyard is to provide as a resting place for our lost. We don't know too much at the moment, but we do know that these services will be required after the up and coming lock down."

Adam let that sink in only long enough to underline the seriousness of the statement.

"More information on these buildings will be provided when they are complete and their Lore becomes available. The final building is the System Store. This building will allow you to sell your monster loot and goods to the System for coins. Others can then buy these items for coins. We will link all quests to this specific store. So, instead of turning over the loot to the Safe Zone Staff, you will all sell the items for coins to the Safe Zone through this store instead. These transactions will be recorded automatically and count towards Quest completion. Those Quest completions will grant bonus rewards of more coins or useful items at the Adventures' Guild."

Jut realized what Adam was not saying. He was saying that the Safe Zone, and thus Adam, would keep the profit from those sales, probably to pay the quest bonuses. At least, some of that money would.

It was likely that the crafters would now sell their products to the System Store also. The Store would mark up the price and sell the items to the public. Not a bad idea, but Jut wondered if others could open their own stores too. Or was this going to be a monopoly?

"Now. We will begin the awards assembly. Then the ballrooms will be open a few floors up. We will have food, dancing, and live entertainment." Adam gestured and two sharply dressed people came onto the stage.

The man was recognizable by anyone who had a television. Kirk Callahan, the head anchor at Granite Daily News, was wearing a full tuxedo and looked like he normally did when he was giving the nightly news report. He took the mic from Adam who offered it to him.

Next to Kirk was a famous actress originally from Granite City. Nora O'Neil was an Irish-American actress with long, red hair. Her soft blue dress was just as formal as Kirk's tux.

"That was Adam Slatewell, Lord of Granite City, everyone. Please give him a hand for his wonderful speech." Kirk said into the mic.

By now, the crowd had gotten into the groove of cheering as they should, so a lot of people cheered as Adam left the stage with his body guards. There were swaths of people who didn't cheer, however. Jut was one who scowled and watched the man leave instead.

Lord, huh? A bit presumptuous? Or a perk of owning the Safe Zone? He thought.

Lore Locked.

Alex's chat window popped in and out of sight quickly. Jut could have sworn there was more text but he couldn't read it all. Before he could think more on it, Kirk continued. The crowd obediently went quiet.

"With that, we move onto the "main event", or the Award segment of the night." Kirk made air quotes with his fingers. "We all know it's the after party everyone is excited for." Kirk smiled suggestively then went on. "There are three categories for the Hunters this evening."

"First is the Gatherers. These groups turned in the most items to the Safe Zone. Second will be the Hunters. They killed the most monsters. And lastly will be the best three groups overall with the highest combined points. Measures have been taken to avoid any repeated groups winning rewards. We will read off party names. If your party doesn't have a name, we will call the first hunter's name on the registration card they turned in. In third place of the Gatherer's category, we have the Carters."

A middle-aged woman went onto the stage. She looked like a regular house wife to Jut. Maybe her family banned together to hunt? She was extremely nervous and almost stumbled on her way up to the stage.

"Third place in all three categories will receive ten Gold Coins for each member, twenty-five Mana Chips of various colors for each member, and an apartment-style residence for up to five members in the updated Residential Towers."

The woman shook both of the announcers' hands. Nora pulled a sack from her inventory by her waist and handed it to the woman. She fled the stage, blushing deeply. Her family cheered wildly the entire time.

"In Second Place is the Foragers. They will receive twenty-five Gold Coins, thirty Mana Chips, and a deluxe apartment in the updated Residential Towers."

A man Jut didn't recognize received this award. He was middle eastern and a bit on the lighter side. He bowed to his cheers after taking the larger sack from Nora. He waved as he exited the stage.

""First place receives fifty Gold each, fifty Mana Chips each, and the penthouse suite on one of the Residential Towers. In First place and the group with the most points for turning in items, is the Iron Fists."

Another man walked up front. He was white and looked pretty average with brown hair. He copied the man from before and bowed to the crowd before getting his award.

Jut squinted to make out a hammer attached to the man's waist. Maybe he was a crafter and a Hunter? Jut was going to ask Jonny to teach him to smith of he could. He wanted to make stuff and get better rewards from the System Store.

The second category was announced by Nora. She playfully tugged the mic from Kirk. With a sweeping gesture, she began.

"The second category is for the best Hunters. These brave men and women killed the most Monsters." Nora said in a sultry voice. "They are the ones doing the most to keep us safe. In Third place we have the US Military."

Jut clapped for Fredrick as he went up on stage. The cheers were underwhelming to say the least. Jut didn't know if that was because it was expected, or if people were just being rude.

Kirk shook Fredrick's hand and Nora hugged him while giving him his group's reward. Fredrick saluted and left the stage without much fanfare.

"Taking Second Place is one of two fully female parties on all the lists, both of which are in this category. It's the Scarlet Harlots."

The woman who took the stage was likely the most beautiful Asian woman Jut had ever seen in his life. She was dressed more exquisitely than Nora, had cleavage a blind person wouldn't miss, and jiggled as she walked. She blew the audience a kiss and took her reward back to a table with four other women sitting at it. All of them were dressed very provocatively.

Kit patted his knee and leaned into his ear, speaking only as loudly as she needed to for him to hear her.

"They are a group of strippers from that gentleman's club on third, the Sapphire Dove. We've hunted with them a couple of times. They are vicious."

Jut felt his face heat up at the implication and Kit's touch.

Nora continued, her voice becoming more seductive as she spoke. "As I said, this next group is also an all-female team. They were a killing machine and killed far more monsters than any other group. You would be mistaken to not hit up these cuties before they are taken. First place goes to the Vixens!"

Jut heard Kit squeak. He looked over at her as she stood, blushing deeply. When it finally dawned on him that it was her group that won, Jut tried to cheer the loudest. He couldn't compete with the catcalls and jeers, but he did his best.

"That's so amazing," Jut told Kit as soon as she made it back to her seat. She was still blushing deeply. "Congratulations, Kit."

"Th-thanks, Jut." Kit stammered softly as she sat and the Kirk took up announcing the final category.

"Okay, ladies and gentlemen. We move on the the best three hunting groups in Granite City. Some of you may be wondering how there could possibly be no repeats in this category. Surely, the groups with the most Monster kills or those who gave the Safe Zone the most materials has to have made the final cut?" Kirk paused for a only a moment to allow the audience to ask themselves the same question. "That would be true if there weren't more ways to contribute to the Safe Zone. The Safe Zone also granted points to those who brought in survivors, took time to distribute supplies between hunts, and many other small things."

"In third place, we have a group who rescued seventy people from the disaster that was the Rodeo Casino. The Flying Cobras. It should also be known that this group would have taken fourth on the list of most Monsters killed."

A large man wearing a bikers jacket and had a decorative bandana covering a shaved head walked down to collect his group's prize. And equally large biker woman punched his arm in delight when he returned to his table.

Kirk kept going without missing a beat.

"The overall second place team is a group who would have placed fifth on the gathering list and fifth on the Monster kill list. What set them apart was the one hundred and seventy-five survivors they rescued. Can I please have a representative of Demon's Shadow come forward."

The crowd went nuts over the numbers and they drove away all other sounds. Yet, Jut shivered and heard nothing. All he could do was see the man walking down the steps. He was blonde with curly hair, and Jut recognized him. It was his last roommate. The few times Jut had seen this mysterious man, he had been sleeping, or coming in when Jut was leaving. He had never spoken to him. What made Jut shiver was the sensation he felt roiling around the man. If he could give the feeling a name, past just feeling insecure, it was terrified.

The feeling vanished after the man disappeared back into the crowd. The noise of the crowd fell in on Jut and Kit's soft touch on his wrist made Jut focus.

"Are you okay?" She asked him as everyone quieted down.

Jut smiled and shook his head. "It's nothing. I'm fine."

Kirk stole Jut's attention again. "This final group was a total surprise. Even Nora and myself couldn't believe who had won."

Nora chimed in. "This group has no name, and we have been told they turn in almost zero Monster meat and they hold fiftieth place on the gatherers chart. They are also thirty-fifth on the list of total numbers of Monsters killed."

Kirk picked up the announcement. "This group did score high in two places. They cleared away the damage on fourth street, allowing a group of forty-eight survivors to sneak past a large group of Minotaur and opened up everyone's patrol routes."

Nora cut in, stealing Kirk's next lines. "And they have saved over five hundred and twenty survivors in total. I have to add, many of those were orphans who had been trapped by many Monsters."

Jut felt his stomach sink to the floor. His quest More Survivors had read five hundred and twenty-eight that morning.

"Would Brick Almight please come down? If he is not in attendance, we will move to the number two name." Kirk finished.

Jut felt a major stab of relief when he could make out his friend walking down from the other side of the room. To Jut's surprise, Brick looked right at him when he stepped onto the stage and winked.

The former soldier also made direct eye contact with Fredrick. Jut could not see the commander, but he had flinched when he noticed Brick's stare.

When Brick arrived at Nora and took their group's reward, he leaned in and whispered to her. Nora blushed slightly but snatched the mic from Kirk and handed it to Brick.

Jut was nervous. He thought Brick was going to go on a tirade about how the Safe Zone had deliberately prioritized the collection of materials over saving lives and how this is the result of big business somehow further ruining the apocalypse. Brick had gone on this tangent many times while they were on their breaks over the last few days.

Yet, Brick smiled and did something Jut would never forgive nor forget. As he spoke he pocketed the giant pouch.

"While me and most of my team could take credit for this award, the true hero tonight, the man most responsible for this award was not a soldier." Brick shook his head. "No. He is a regular dude. One with no formal combat training or experience in a fight. But, he still stood between a Minotaur who had decimated an entire team of soldiers to buy thousands of people time to flee." Brick gestured largely as he spoke, perfectly emphasizing his words. "The real "Best Hunter" isn't a group. It's our local grocery store stock boy, Jut Zoak."