The Manaverse

Slatewell Academy

Slatewell Safe Zone

Roxy, the Canine-kin, absentmindedly scratched behind her own floppy ears. Her tail wagged gently behind her as she graded her students' first pop quiz. Her short, dark hair was tussled after teaching math all morning and her stomach rumbled softly.

Roxy didn't know why she got the Teaching Skill. Whether it was because she had just received her degree in education just before the Initialization of the System or because she really enjoyed the act of teaching was anyone's guess. Either way, she would now spend three days a week teaching second through fifth graders math and she loved it. Today had been her fifth full day.

The Academy was awesome as it allowed the teachers to generate tests, quizzes, and study materials on small tablets at each desk. The building was thirteen stories tall, with each floor belonging to a particular grade. Each floor had hundreds of rooms, a few massive lecture halls, and a small library. There was a cafeteria and grassy area that served as place for PE and recess for the children. A huge gymnasium was attached to the North end of the ground level.

Overall, there weren't any downsides to the Safe Zone's building. Roxy enjoyed being there. It was what she saw while she was actually there that haunted her.

The devastating truth was plain for all the teachers to see and it made Roxy's insides twist and roil. In a city of eight hundred thousand, on any given date, twenty percent of the population was usually under the age of eighteen. This varied from city to city but was generally close to one fifth. However, instead of there being around a hundred and sixty thousand children, there was around six thousand.

Point seven percent. Only point seven percent of the population was under eighteen. The numbers of the elderly were about the same as well. It was a devastating blow that would likely have dire consequences in the future. Just the thought made Roxy shiver in concern. That was why she planned on doing her best teaching and hunting.

That was partially the reason the Safe Zone initiated classes so quickly, to get children's minds off of the initialization and onto something productive. However, their intentions fell flat as the academy felt eeriely empty. It was meant to handle a student body twenty times the current size and they should be struggling with too little space, not too much of it.

A sharp knock at her open classroom door made Roxy's ears and tail perk up and she banished the dreadful thoughts. She looked up to see the Headmistress of the Academy and Educational Director for the Safe Zone, Catherine Kammy.

The human woman was barely older than Roxy and held an amazing position, so she looked up to her new boss. She was always kind to Roxy and made it really easy for her to get time off for hunting with her team.

Today, the Headmistress was wearing a dress suit of black with red trimming. Her dark hair was pulled into a tight bun and her glasses were sharp. Her smile reached her eyes as she crossed the room.

"Roxy, how was your first week?"

Roxy rose and met the Headmistress. "It was great. Thank you again for getting me in last minute." Roxy was very grateful too. With the lack of children, many people who wanted to be teachers were left with out the job they wanted.

"I am glad to hear it. Any trouble with any of the students?" The Headmistress asked with a warm smile.

"A few rascals in the lower grades, but nothing I can't handle." Roxy returned the smile, thinking of the little pranksters. "Returning them to something familiar seems to be helping many of them to adjust, even if it's just a little bit."

Roxy was still having a hard time dealing with the changes herself. But, was she really part dog now? What does that mean? It was hard to swallow. Yes, she loved dogs, and picking Canine-kin was better than choosing the other one. She had no idea what it even was until she was told by Diana. Her second option had been a prying mantis humanoid. There was no way she was going to be a bug.

"It's only a band-aid, but it will also help the parents keep their children occupied and give them opportunities to work they wouldn't have otherwise." The Headmistress smiled grimly and continued. "Well, I wanted to stop in since I knew you would be hunting tomorrow. Thank you for all your hard work this week."

Headmistress Kammy made to leave, but stopped at the door. "Make any new Adventurer friends?"

Roxy shook her head. "Not really. Just my team. I've been here or hunting most of the time." Roxy's eyes widened with a great idea. Maybe the team meeting someone their age who was so high up the ladder would light a fire under them. "Headmistress, I-"

Her boss cut in gently. "You can call me Catherine, Roxy. There's no need to be so formal."

"Oh, okay. Catherine." Roxy was glad. She wasn't one for being that stuffy. Not that she couldn't do it if needed. "I'm meeting the team at Radiance right after this for an early dinner. Want to join us?"

Catherine's smile froze. "You mean that Adventurer run shop with the prepared foods?"

Roxy nodded. "Oh, yes. They have the best chef. They also have great items for sale."

Roxy absolutely loved Radiance. Granted, it was the only food service besides the ration stations for a while and their items had just barely started improving.

It took Catherine a long moment to respond, but her expression lit up as she nodded. "You know. I could use a break. You wouldn't mind the company?"

Roxy shook her head. "The more the merrier." She couldn't help her tail. It started to wag.

Roxy set her work away and joined her boss at the door. The women walked together through the Academy. To distract themselves from the bleak, empty building, they discussed the first week and the few entertaining or challenging moments they had both gone through.

The walk South was oddly less populated than normal. The two didn't have to bob and weave as much as they normally would have walking through the area. Catherine made as if to turn towards the Market District. That surprised Roxy. Who hadn't heard the news? She immediately stopped Catherine with a gentle touch.

"We have to go to the outer ring. They just opened up a real shop yesterday." Roxy said cheerily, gesturing towards the Eastern gate.

"Oh. Right. The last time I saw their stall must have been longer ago then I thought." Catherine shook her head. "How these workers can put up common structures so quickly still makes my head spin. Even if I do work in a magical building that was built in minutes, it seems intensely fast."

Roxy chuckled. "Well, there are a lot of people with nothing better to do. Boredom can be a powerful motivator."

Roxy's words were proven correct when they passed out into the outer ring after waiting in a long line. Just beyond the gate was a three way intersection. Each path was a dirt road with many buildings a long their edges.

Going straight would lead to the Eastern exit of the outer ring. There were less open plots along that road, yet one of the few remaining spaces had something going on. There was a crowd of people surrounding the plot.

Before their eyes, a building was being built. It was like watching a spider build a web under time dilation. Walls, stairs, doors, glass windows, and the roof all rose into place. The crowd dispersed just as the women passed and there was a simple building left behind in their wake.

The small building wasn't luxurious, but it would pass for a small shop with a living space above it. Like it's neighbors, it was made from stone metal and granite blocks. It gave the structure and very uniform and square appearance.

Catherine paused.

"This is even more than I expected. That was crazy. It took them less than a few minutes."

Roxy blinked too. "I knew they could go up fast, but that was ridicules. There's no way it has water or electricity. Is that building even safe?"

Catherine shook her head and they kept walking. "I will have someone find out." Her eyes were focused like she was reading something. "Where is this new shop?"

Roxy pointed. Around three blocks down the path towards the exit gate was a large building. It was about the size of a shopping center, which was pretty large compared to most of the buildings being built around it. Unlike it's neighbors, it had no open property space left over. It consumed the entire space between two other buildings and didn't even leave room for an alleyway.

"That has to take up two full plots of land." Catherine said in a hushed murmur. Roxy didn't think Catherine knew she could hear her.

As they got closer, the building's details came into view. The entrance was two sets of double doors right in the middle. The building itself was made from Stone metal and granite blocks with large, simple windows indicating it was at least three stories tall. The front, above the doors, had Radiance spelled out in carved stone, block letters. Each letter was painted one of the six colors of Magic.

"How?" Catherine sounded stunned. "This seems a little too incredible. Did they build it in a week? After seeing that small shop go up, did it even take a day?"

Roxy shrugged. "I heard the builder knows a lot people and roped a lot of those people into helping. They started it six days ago and finished yesterday morning. We shouldn't need to worry about getting a table though. Let's go. I'm starving."

They were able to enter the building easily enough, even though they had to wait in another line. A small group of people in leather and stone metal armor waited for them to walk through before they exited the building.

Just beyond the front doors was a long hallway that ran the length of the building that was busy with traffic. Despite that, the hallway had a few couches stuffed with people who were sitting and chatting. The walls were decorated with what looked like children's art work. One side had three sets of swinging doors that lead into a bustling restaurant area. The other side had multiple wooden doors that opened and closed often, letting people walk out or in.

"The shop is on the left." Roxy gestured as she lead Catherine through the first set of swinging double doors. The room they entered was broken into three distinct areas.

The middle section was a large open space with round tables. There was line of people ordering food and retreating with steaming plates to an open table. It was nearly jammed packed with people.

The far left section was set up like a restaurant, with booths. These tables had wait staff floating between them, delivering food. The decor was nicer and there were short wall dividers giving those diners some privacy.

The final section on the right was laid out like a bar. Behind the namesake bar was a collection of pre-System liquors and glasses that were locked behind a grate. The sign above the bar read "The Stony Jigger."

A small sign sitting on the bar read: "Opens this Sunday, 7:00 pm - 3:00 am."

Roxy lead them to the restaurant where they were met by a hostess. She had to be in her late teens. She was dressed in blue uniform with a short black tie and matching skirt.

"Welcome to Radiance. Walk-ins or reservation?" The hostess asked with a very shallow curtsey.

"My team should be holding a table under Sky?" Roxy spoke up, excited.

The hostess checked her pad and nodded. "Right this way, please."

The hostess lead them to a corner booth. At the booth, Roxy's team sat around a circular table.

Creek Shadow, a blue skinned Faerie with sharp teeth and claws was gesturing as she spoke. Her axe wasn't strapped to her back thankfully, but she was still wearing her Stone Metal armor. "I'm telling you, it's true. The second floor is full of gear with stat buffs. No one has been to the third floor yet. It has a magic door that won't open. We will have to check it out after we eat. Oh, hey Roxy." The Faerie woman waved as the two approached.

An elf with brown hair smiled and rose to embrace Roxy in a quick hug before making space for her. She was wearing a full set of leather armor. "Who'd you bring with you?" She smiled warmly to Catherine. "I'm Diana Wynd."

"I'm Sky." A Roc-kin with blue feathers and a beak waved from behind the table. He was wearing a cloth robe that was dyed to accent his plumage.

"Hey, everyone. This is Catherine. She is the Headmistress of the Academy. I figured she'd be hungry after teaching all day, so I invited her along. Hope you don't mind. Catherine, this is Mike. He's one of our damage dealers. You've met Sky, our healer, and Diana, our Archer and Creek Shadow is our tank." Roxy pointed to everyone in turn.

Mike was human with a dark complexion and silver irises. He stood and offered Catherine his hand. "It's our pleasure, Catherine. Please join us."

"Thank you. I don't mind if I do." Catherine shook his hand with the same friendly smile she always gave Roxy and the two joined the team.

Just as Roxy hoped, her team took a shine to Catherine. Her boss also seemed to lighten up, fitting right in with Adventurers. They talked more about the possible hidden mysteries of the third floor and Roxy made everyone laugh when she told a story about her mischievous second graders. Catherine even got everyone to chuckle with tales of her own, acting out a scene from the classes she had taught and how much trouble the students could get into in their first week.

A few minutes passed before a waiter approached their table. He was a Latino dressed in a nice button down and slacks. His half apron was professionally tied and he gave off the feeling of a Stone Ranked being.

"Good afternoon. I am Jose and I will be your server today. Would you like more to drink, or are you ready to order?" The waiter asked politely as he handed out menus. "I know most of you were here yesterday."

Roxy's grin appeared when she saw that the menu had expanded. Most of the items were still meat dishes, but she didn't mind. Their team's diet consisted of mostly monster meat as it was, but the variety was nice. There were a few salads and sandwich options too.

They each ordered water or a simple tea. They looked over the menu and chose from the short list. The pad Jose was taking the order on was a small panel, similar to the tablets Roxy gave out to her students to work on at the Academy. She chose two meat skewers with a red sauce.

"So, you all seem used to this place already. Was it this busy yesterday and is their selection really as good as you say?" Catherine asked after everyone had ordered and few minutes more had passed in a comfortable silence.

Mike answered. "Busy? I'd say so. They usually sell out of cooked meat when they were at the stands, but I heard the chef formed a team of cooks and they are able to keep up now. The gear for sale far out paces the System Shop stuff too. That much I know."

Diana spoke next. "They are so busy they had to hire people. Some of my former college friends work here. Like Jose. He used to work for the original Stony Jigger before the fall. He still does, technically, but he's working here for now."

"That is because Derrick has been too busy working on improving his Building Skill. But, he said he intends to expand the bar's hours once everything settles down a bit." Jose added to the conversation as he arrived carrying cups on a platter. He quickly handed out everyone's drink. "The food will arrive shortly. Is there anything else I can get for you?"

They all politely declined and Jose hurried on his way, checking on diners and getting refills.

Catherine looked around the table." Do any of you know these Crusaders? I've heard of them, quite a bit actually, but I've never met one of them. They seem pretty amazing if they have this operational business already."

"Not really." Sky said. His voice became more and more excited as he spoke. "We did talk to Brick and Jut once though. They gave us Skill Orbs a while back that gave us the main skills we use."

Diana rolled her eyes. "Are you going to tell everyone about that? It's kind of embarrassing, you know."

Creek Shadow shook her head. "Oh, come on, Diana. Don't start that argument again. We just got Sky off of it."

"He's already enough of a fan boy. Please don't egg him on." Mike said teasingly as he nudged Sky.

"I have a healthy respect for their achievements, that's all." Sky harrumphed.

The teasing commenced, ending with the group laughing once more. Even Sky, who had been the target of the light ribbing, joined in.

"So wait. They didn't ask anything of you in return? They just handed the Skill orbs out? That's a little too generous if you ask me." Catherine said in disbelief.

Diana sighed and gave in. "I mean, yeah. It was. They do that a lot though. And we didn't really need it. We would have figured it out."

Roxy jumped in. "The hostesses is from the orphanage. They hired her and a few of the others who are almost adults. They seem to be trying to give back as much as they can.

The promised food arrived and diverted the conversation momentarily. Roxy let herself fade from the conversation as she enjoyed her food. The seasoning was rich but not enough so to drown out the savory tones of the meat. It was heaven.

When Roxy tuned back into the conversation, the team and Catherine were discussing the Dungeon.

"So, you haven't cleared the dungeon yet? I've heard not many people have." Catherine asked curiously. "Think you're getting close?"

Creek Shadow shook her head. "Yes and no. We've cleared the eighth hallway, but the Bone Horror seems to get us every time."

"It's that damnable stinger arm." Sky moaned. "A jab from that one shots me."

The team all groaned in commiseration. Mike even let his head fall into his hands.

"Yeah, it almost got us too." A new voice cut in. "Aim for the joints and legs. That helps."

Roxy looked up and felt her ears stiffen. Her tail started to swish rapidly. She patted Sky gently on his leg under the table. The Radiant Crusaders' Guild Leader was standing at their table.

Everyone else froze. All except Catherine.

"Who are you? It is kind of rude to interrupt someone's meal and butt into their conversation." Despite her scolding, Catherine sounded...flirty?

The red haired, human looking man blushed. When he did, the green scaling under his eyes stood out.

"You are right. My apologies. But, if anyone is allowed to be a little rude, it would be one of the guys who owns the place. I didn't know the Beastly Five had gained a new member... I am Jut Zoak." He offered Catherine a hand.

Catherine shook it and turned scarlet. She looked mortified. Before she could speak, Sky was nearly on his feet. "Oh, we haven't chosen and actual name yet, and Ms. Kammy works at the Academy with Roxy. We wanted to show her Radiance."

Roxy's delicate ears picked up Mike hissing "brown noser" to Sky which made him sit down again.

"We very much appreciate that. Thank you for your patronage. However, this beautiful lady is correct. I am being rude and I do have an appointment upstairs. Here take these and we will talk more later." Jut handed five chips to Diana and turned to leave.

Roxy took one from her friend and examined it. It looked like a Mana chip, but instead of being a flat square, it had seven edges instead of four and was as big as a half dollar coin. It was made from the same, glass like material Mana chips were made from and had a stylized RC inscribed on one side.

Item:

Radiant Invitation

Type:

Access Node

Slot:

N/A

Rank:

Normal

Durability

100%

Rarity:

Common

Quality:

Average

Restriction:

Team Member of the Beastly Five

Duration:

2 Hours

Description:

A one time pass that will allow a member of the Beastly Five access to the third floor of Radiance.

Roxy looked up. Every one of her teammates looked as stunned as she felt. "Has anyone been to the third floor before?"

Her team all looked at her and shook their heads silently. When Roxy looked to Catherine, the woman was gone. Before she could get up to look around, her boss reappeared and took her seat again.

Catherine had a large smile on her lips that faded when she looked around the group. "What's wrong with all of you?"