The Manaverse

Granite City Orphanage

Granite City

With less than one hour before the Lock Down ended, Jut was getting antsy. He kept imagining the barrier coming down to reveal a new wave of monsters, ready to devour anything living in the Safe Zone.

While it was true that animals could often pick up on their owner's emotions, it was more so with Gunther now that he was Jut's designated Pet. Now it was like Gunther not only felt when Jut was upset, but understood what he was upset about. The Rottweiler was currently pacing outside of the orphanage, waiting for Jut to finish checking in on Magatha and the children. He kept looking up at the barrier and Jut could hear a small growl in his mind every time the dog did.

To his surprise, it made Jut feel a bit safer. Gunther could, in turn feel that, and became more thorough on his my mini patrols. The sight made Jut smile.

To take his mind off the up and coming end of their temporary detainment, Jut read over Gunther's Status and the new skill he had access to.

Name: Gunther

True Name: Stalker of the Pack

Rank: Normal

Race: Magical Beast - Mammal

Species: Earth Canine

Racial Abilities: Canine Senses

Pack Mentality

Characteristics:

Body: N/A

Strength: 18

Constitution: 19

Agility: 14

Mind:

Intelligence: 4

Wisdom: 3

Willpower: 2

Skills:

Infuriating Bark

Magical Strikes (Companion)

Windy Steps (Companion)

Consequence (Companion)

Harvest (Companion)

Magical Strike (Companion)

Magical Restoration Aura (Companion)

Scaled Skin (Companion)

Healing Strike (Companion)

Gusty Strike (Companion)

Firm Footing (Companion)

Walking (Companion)

Barter (Companion)

Affinities: Fire Magic (Companion)

Soul Magic - Monster (Companion)

Skill: Infuriating Bark

Rank: Normal

Type: Guardian

Cost: None

Duration: 30 Seconds

Range: 10 Meters

Cool Down: 2 minutes

Effect: Become the center of the enemies' focus for a short time.

Jut had almost fainted the first time he saw Gunther's stats. His pet's base body stats were nearly twice as high as his own. Yet, the poor dude had very little in way of the mind stats. Is that why Gunther seemed sharp for a dog but not quite as smart as a person? Would that change over time as his pal got stronger?

Jut was already planning what to do with the Infuriating Bark Skill. He could now fill in for Brick on the front line and dish out many stacks of Vulnerable while doing so. He had already requested Brick make him a Stone Rank set of partial plate mail so they could work on the tactic together.

What Jut wanted to see most was for Gunther to his Skills. Will he just "know" how to? Or would he have to show him what to do? Thoughts of Gunther's teeth or claws glowing the blue of his Magical Strikes Skill had him grinning.

Jut closed his eyes to think over the possibilities, pausing in the middle of washing the dish in his hands. A voice pulled Jut's attention, so he focused on it.

"Mageefa, Is Clara gonna be okay?"

"Yes, sweety. She just needs some time to adjust. That's all. Come on, Mr. Jut is doing our dishes for us." Then a door closed.

Jut looked around, his eyes flying open. There was no one near him. He was in the kitchen, washing the breakfast dishes, alone. He tried to listen for the voices, but they were gone. A few moments later and Magatha padded loudly down the stairs with a toddler in her arms.

"Almost done, young man?" Magatha asked cheerily. "You can't be late for the big moment."

"I, uh- " Jut looked at the two dishes left, cursed mentally and scrubbed them both down thoroughly. "I was spacing out. My bad, Miss Magatha."

A hand landed on his arm, making him look at the Matron.

"It's Maggie to you, boy. And go. I will finish the last of it. You've already done enough. Your team is waiting for you. Tell them thanks for the prepared meals, will you?" Magatha said kindly.

"Yeah. Okay." Jut said as he finished the last dish and set it in the drying rack. "Say, Maggie?" Jut turned to Magatha.

The Matron tipped her head. "What is it, Jut?'

"Do you know a person named Clara Sheffer?"

Magatha scowled momentarily before nodding. "Why, yes. I do. I was just checking in on her just now. She's a recent addition to our number and isn't handling it too well. How do you know her?"

Jut's mind sped up so fast it stuttered into a near panic. He found her? She's an orphan? How "recent" was "recent"? A familiar window broke him from his trance of free falling thought.

I understand the importance of this new information, but you need to wait to investigate further. Look:

00:00:12:00

Shit. Thanks Alex. The chat window and timer retreated quickly.

It took every ounce of willpower Jut had to put the new information about Clara Sheffer in a box and save it for later. Twice, before he answered Magatha, he almost tore up the stairs, saying fuck the barrier dropping. Images of his friends fighting monsters and the possibility of their deaths made him do the right thing instead.

"Maggie. Clara is the subject of a Quest I have." He looked around in paranoia. It gave him the feeling he was looking suspicious as he did so. He then whispered just loud enough for the Matron to hear him. "I need to talk to her. Keep her here until at least tomorrow? I promise, I'll explain everything before you decide if I can meet her."

Magatha nodded once with one raised eyebrow. "Of course. She's not going anywhere. Stop by anytime. You know you and the Crusaders are always welcome here. Go, boy. Go." She shooed him out the door.

Jut whistled once and Gunther caught up to him as they jogged down to the eastern entrance. They made it a single street away before they had to slow down for the crowd. While not as crowded as a normal day over the last two weeks, if normal was even possible now, there was still at least three thousand people gathered around the slot where a gate would go up.

Jut was surprised the Safe Zone had created the forty foot tall, twenty foot wide wall, but they had and quickly too. It wouldn't stop anything that could fly from getting in, but the fact that the Safe Zone took the time and effort to build it made Jut's spirit soar. It should at least slow most monsters down.

Standing up on his tip toes, Jut couldn't see his team in the crowd. The problem was that everyone around him was Stone Rank. He couldn't pick out his team that way like he had become used to doing. While the decision was a smart one; have all of Normal ranked fighters meet at the south gate where the Adventurers had put up barricades and have the Stone Rankers split up between the West and East exits, Jut didn't feel like ten thousand people would be enough. Even if there were five thousand Normal Rankers at the South gate.

It was frustrating, and it's not like many more people could fit in the open space, but Jut let the feelings pass the best he could. That's when a familiar voice made the crowd start to part.

"There he is. Our fearless leader. Get your ass up here and tell everyone how the Orphanage is doing, oh Captain, my Captain."

Brick emerged from the hallway of people that just formed and pulled Jut to the front of the crowd. The normal chatter of a large crowd faded away as Jut, Gunther, and Brick stepped into another small bubble of space where his team was. Joy, Diggy, and Isabelle were all geared up and ready to go. They each waved to him.

Feeling like he was being looked at by a thousand people was made worse by the fact that it was true. However, Jut spoke loudly and confidently. He was just loud enough that at least a few dozen people around them could hear him. He gently stroked Gunther's ears as he spoke, the dog sitting at his feet, his tongue lolling out.

"They are good. They need more food and blankets, but good over all." Then he dropped his voice so only the few people around his team could eavesdrop. "How many more times are you going to put me on the spot like that, man?" He gave Brick a deep scowl.

Brick laughed. "Until I don't have to anymore, Bro. You're not allowed to sit on the sideline when you're awesome." He pat Jut on the back playfully.

Jut wanted to argue, shout, or flee. But, instead, he pulled up the timer. Less than three minutes were remaining.

The chatter of the crowd returned to normal and Jut focused on the blue barrier. His team, being the front runners in the dungeon, were asked by the other Adventurers to lead the defense of one of the openings. They, of course, agreed immediately.

Jut nudged Brick. "Tell them again."

"Aw, man. I did already."

"Just do it again. We can't be too careful"

Before the two could bicker any more on the matter, another person spoke up.

"I got it, Jut." Fredrick said, stepping closer to their group. He offered a hand to Jut and they shook. Then the man turned and began yelling loudly enough that a good amount of people around would hear him. Many people covered their ears because of his volume. A bunch of Beastkin further back did the same.

"Listen up. We are down to the wire. We don't know what to expect, so stay calm. Remember, this is NOT the dungeon. Death is not only real, but a probability. No one fires off an attack until you hear Adventurer Almight give the order to. Whatever order is given, follow it closely. Those who cause friendly fire will be removed from the fight. We are the first and last line of defense for our home. Are we going to let the Monsters take it from us?"

The crowd, feeling anxious as the timer appeared in everyone's vision once more, answered him as one.

"No!"

00:00:00:10

Fredrick raised both of his hands. "Are we going to let them kill us, or our families?"

"No!" This time the crowd's shout was even louder.

00:00:00:06

"Granite! Granite! Granite!" Fredrick started the cheer.

It was picked up by every Adventurer in the crowd. They stomped their feet in rhythm and it instantly changed the atmosphere around them. It made everyone buzz with adrenaline and focus on blue wall. It shook the ground and shattered the air. None were more enthusiastic than the Crusaders either.

Those sensations of power and readiness only increased further when they could make out a responding "Granite, Granite" that had to come from the Southern gate's crowd.

00:00:00:00

When the timer hit zero, it was an instant shift from chanting to near silence. It was like someone had hit the mute button on the entire crowd.

A strange humming Jut had never noticed before stopped. He wouldn't have noticed it either if the crowd hadn't gone so silent either. Then, at the center of the dome overhead, the blue vanished and began to fade downward. In an almost identical fashion as when the blue wall had appeared, the barrier faded away, revealing the land around the Safe Zone.

Before the barrier had appeared, there were only buildings to be seen around the Safe Zone. All were tall. Whether they were mansions, apartment complexes, or the occasional skyscraper, they blocked most of the skyline unless one was up high. The edge of the Granite City had faded into a flatland that rose and fell in gentle hills. The wild grasses used to lead up to the base of the tall mountains, far to the North. South became more barren the further one went until they reached the remainder of the desert. West lead to the ocean while East led to the flat plains the stretched across the middle of the country.

Now, however, the sight the people of Granite City were met with was like someone had scooped up their plot of land and dropped them somewhere else. Almost like they were on another planet.

For what Jut guessed was going to be the swath of land owned by the Safe Zone, the ground was not just flat, it was completely level without anything to see but dirt. Almost professionally so. And it wasn't the usual dry, light, mineral-less soil he was used to either. It was a deep, dark color, promising amazing crops in their future.

At the neatly straight edge of the flat soil, that likely circled the entire Zone, tall trees could be seen. To the North, mountains taller than before rose much closer than they should have. There were similar trees covering the mountains to the North East. The South was just as tree covered, but a break in the horizon looked like a river that hadn't been there before.

All of the buildings were gone. There was not a single sign of humanities' interference. None. The miles and miles of pavement had just vanished. The feeling of sadness was intense. It was a searing emotion felt by the entire crowd. Everything that was before was no longer. There would be no going back now, only forward.

Jut was from the North of the country. This scenery felt just like that. He had adjusted to the flatter, hotter climate of Granite City slowly, but did so by the time he was fifteen. After his folks moved North again around a decade later, he had visited them a few times. This terrain would have fit right in up there. Like someone had dragged the North South for the coming winter.

The strangest difference, the one that stole the breath of every person in their crowd was the Sun. The Sun had grown and changed color. It was now a deep red and filled the sky more significantly. Yet it didn't feel any hotter than Jut had become used to for this time of year. How was it even possible?

The next incredulous sight was the three, not one, but three moons. One was the original moon, glowing a whitish, yellow. It even had the same familiar features as before but it had grown to twice it's original size. The first other moon was the exact opposite. It was a deep, dark black color that drank in light instead of reflecting it. The final moon had streaks of green and blue across its surface. It looked like a tiny planet all on its own. Could they survive up there? Would they ever find out now that their technology was stunted?

How did the System create this much change in only two weeks? Where did all of the Manaether come from to make these kinds of changes? Was it the Gods and Goddesses, like Ophelia, that designed this new scenery? Many questions tried to take over Jut's thoughts again. But he didn't need Alex this time to keep himself focused.

In the distance, a single black shape stepped out of the new forest. Even from what had to be almost five miles away, they could see it making it's way towards them. That's how flat and open the space was.

Brick, taking over as they had discussed due to his military experience and associations, issued the first order.

"Guardians, to the front! Melee, slot in! Form a Semi-Circle around the gate. Ranged fighters, fill in behind. Three volleys deep at least. I want a clear fall back path. Those who don't fit, scale the walls or spread out behind them." The order was passed along through party leaders and the crowd moved quickly. Pretty soon, they were all in position.

The dark shape was joined by at least three hundred more over the course of seconds. The shapes began to move faster. They came into easy view of the many front liners using pre-system binoculars provided by the Safe Zone.

Monsters. It was a swarm of Monsters charging at them.

"Of course there is going to be a Monster Wave. Of course." Jut cursed loudly, pulled out his wand as he prepared to fight.