June 27, 2025; "No need to be sorry, as far as I can tell we're all still decent." Clay didn't want to tell Dawn he had been enjoying himself probably more than he should have been. And nobody would get him to admit he'd copped a few feels... "Just trying to stay warm." He covered the two women back up as neither of them woke when he slid out from in between them. They had both snuggled into the spot his body had left. Instinctively moving towards the warmth.

  He stretched as he stood up straight, he couldn't fully because of how short the ceiling was but he smelled something he hadn't smelled in a while.

  "Coffee." He said as it clicked in his brain. His eyes immediately locked onto a percolator softly brewing on the Coleman burner. Luke sitting nearby, his pack now fixed and a spear being slowly sharpened in his hands as Clay could hear the soft, "wisk-wisk-wisk" as he rubbed the spearhead back and forth along a dark, flat stone. It mixed softly with the sounds of others sleeping still.

  He walked over to sit across from Luke by the coffee, flipping a milk crate over to sit on. He summoned his tin coffee cup out of his storage and waited patiently for it to finish brewing while stifling a yawn.

  He noticed the little golden orb blinking again and wondered when it had started. He focused and opened his status screen.

  Clay Benton, Human Male, Age 40

  Titles: Zombie Slayer

  Level: 10

  Class: Sovereign

  Health Points: 450 / 450

  Mystical Points: 82 / 82

  Strength: 30

  Dexterity: 30

  Intelligence: 24

  Wisdom: 22

  Passive Abilities - Adaptable Conversion; Eyes of Insight; Enhanced Virility; Touch of the Divine; Lesser Spatial Storage; Aura of Malice; Regenerate

  Skills - Vicious Strike; Frenzy; Eldritch Bolts; Web Bomb; Bone Spike

  Unread System Messages (2)

  "Hmm, two unread System Messages?" When the fuck did he get those? He shrugged, guessing it had to have been after he had passed out. He focused on the first one, and it popped open.

  "Congratulations! The host has acquired enough followers to be granted a Settlement Core. Settlement Core's can only be used once. Upon consuming the Settlement Core the host can designate a 1,000 x 1,000 yard area to become a designated settlement. The settlement will automatically be centered on the host's location upon using it. This area must be named upon consumption." Kris said.

  "Acquired Loyalty Monitor to Status Screen. Current Average Loyalty of host's followers: 52%" Kris said. "Please continue to increase your follower's loyalty."

  "Lucky Draw System initiated for gaining an average Loyalty of 50% or greater. Congratulations! The host received 5 lucky draws. Initiate your draws? Please select Yes or No." Kris said.

  "Uhh, Yes?" He said hesitantly. Not sure of what was going to happen next.

  "DING! The host has received one Mythical Level Item Blue Print, usable on any weapon in the host's possession. DING! The host has received three Godly Mystical Potions. When used they increase the user's Mystical Point total permanently. DING! The host has received the one-time use Skill Book Gravity Spike. DING! The host has received an Ability or Skill Upgrade Elixir. DING! The host has obtained an Armband of Spatial Storage. 5,000 x 5,000 feet area." Kris said. "Thank you for playing. Remember, increase your follower's loyalty to receive bonus draws."

  The items appeared in his storage space except for the armband which appeared in his hand at first but the silver band quickly turned into an armless wyrm in his hand. Without warning it rushed up his forearm and circled his arm just above his bicep. Then it bit its tail and formed snugly against his skin as he gained access to the spatial storage inside the armband.

  "Oh, wow!" Clay exclaimed as Luke looked startled by the armband's sudden animated transformation.

  "What the hell is that?" Asked Luke.

  "That's my new storage device." Clay said. "It does the same thing as my Spatial Storage except it's much, much larger."

  Luke looked at it and then shrugged. "That's pretty cool. How the hell did you get it?" He asked.

  Clay explained the new Settlement Core, the Follower Loyalty Monitor and the Lucky Draw as far as he understood it. Seeing him glance at the percolator Luke waved, "Coffee should be done, Mr Clay." He waited for Clay to pour his cup and held out his own which Clay filled before setting the percolator back on the burner. Luke took the lid off and slowly poured about two cups of water back into it from a water bottle, and replaced the lid. Before long it started brewing again, the smell like a hint of life before the apocalypse set in.

  He sipped his coffee, cradling his cup with a large calloused hand. "Um, that's good stuff." He said as he found himself looking back at the quilt he'd crawled out of and the two women still sleeping in it.

  "You realize that those two argued for nearly an hour before finally agreeing to both slip under the quilt to... Uh... Keep you warm." Luke chuckled as he shook his head at Clay's uneasy look.

  Clay sighed, he liked Luke, he had liked John too. He didn't have many friends and he knew it was because of those fucking walls his shrink kept informing him he threw up whenever he could. Unfortunately side effect he had to work through. He decided to try to talk to the man. Who knows. Luke might be the next Casanova waiting to drop some wisdom. "I have no idea why they decided I was their right guy."

  He shook his head, "Before all this..." He waved his hand at the door to the outside. "I hadn't really wanted to have a relationship. Yeah, maybe I was flirting with the idea with Jill, but it wasn't... serious yet." He took another sip before continuing. "The last woman I had any feelings for turned out to be a fucking succubus and took me for everything I had and then some." He shook his head as he went on.

  "I don't think I can go through that again. I don't know if I can let myself be in that situation again..." He stared at the quilt with Jill and Tonya wrapped up in it and his mind went in a hundred directions, and still, none of them had an answer for him.

  "Well, before this cluster-fuck, I'd of probably agreed with you." He chuckled at Clay's puzzled look. "Now all I can say is," he held up the spear tip to inspect it, Clay could tell the man had changed a lot since the giant bear at the interchange, "If it's really the fucking apocalypse." he used the spear for emphasis, "Then why the fuck are you worried about rules Mr Clay. You're obviously a very capable man in their eyes or I don't think their the type of woman who would willing to agree to crawl into a man's blankets together."

  He put the spear down and took a sip of his coffee. "And with things the way they are everywhere, can you put yourself in their shoes for a moment? If you did, what do you think you would see looking at yourself?" He started to put the stone away and added, "Look at everything they have been through with you since your journey began. How they were ostracized and not even allowed to enter the shelter in Chicago. And how you continue to step up and whether you see it or not, shoulder the responsibility of leading us."

  He looked at Clay, dead serious. "You wouldn't believe what kind of catch those women think you are. I don't know what it is. But if you didn't have it before the Sky Rain, you seem to have found it in abundance now." Luke took another sip as he finished putting things away.

  Clay focused on his Eyes of Insight ability as he looked at Luke.

  Luke Grimmor, Beastmen Male, Age 38

  Level: 8

  Class: Warrior

  Health Points: 370

  Mystical Points: 90

  Strength: 30

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  Dexterity: 26

  Intelligence: 14

  Wisdom: 16

  Damn! Luke had leveled up quite a bit. He'd have to check the others later. It still irritated him he only received the numbers and not the skills when he used that ability. He thought for a moment and summoned the Ability or Skill Upgrade Elixir. It was a gold-flecked purple liquid in a small vial with a cork stopper.

  He popped the cork and quaffed the elixir down in one gulp. He felt a warm tingling sensation at the base of his skull and he instinctively knew it had worked. He focused on his Eyes of Insight ability and felt something change subtly.

  "DING! Congratulations! Your Eyes of Insight Passive Ability has evolved into Greater Eyes of Insight. Grants the host the ability to see another creature's stats, passive abilities, and skills." Kris said.

  It didn't look like Luke had seen him drink the elixir. He was definitely going to take a look at everyone's fucking stats now! He looked back at Luke and focused on his Greater Eyes of Insight ability.

  Luke Grimmor, Beastmen Male, Age 38

  Level: 8

  Class: Warrior

  Health Points: 370

  Mystical Points: 90

  Strength: 30

  Dexterity: 26

  Intelligence: 14

  Wisdom: 16

  Passive Abilities - Luck's Muse

  Skills - Piercing Strike; Vicious Slash; Rapid Strike

  That was so much better! What the hell was Luck's Muse? Did Lady Luck have something to do with the man's survival back at the interstate interchange with the fucking bear? Vicious Slash and Rapid Strike sounded like pretty good skills too.

  He looked around and noticed he didn't see Sigrid anywhere. "Where's Sigrid?" He looked at the metal cellar door and could just make out a thin grey line around the edge of the door. Then he looked at the only room with a closed door. The room containing the Orcs and the woman Luke had saved.

  "She said she would be back in a couple of hours. That leaves about twenty or thirty minutes left before we should start worrying." Luke said. Seeing his look he hastily added. "She said she was going after some supplies she spotted on the way here." The man had sat back down and leaned back against the wall taking another sip. "I can't believe she found this percolator. God how I've missed this, more than anything else." He raised his cup as if in salute before he started humming something softly to himself.

  Clay looked back at the quilt with the two women in it, then the metal door leading outside, and then back at his cup of steaming coffee. "I'll have to find some way to show her my gratitude. I think I'd have to agree with you on missing this the most." He took another sip. He hadn't known Sigrid had found the percolator! Hell, he didn't even know she was going out scavenging.

  They sat and talked quietly for about fifteen minutes before a "Bang, bang, bang!" Sounded on the door. Not too loud but loud enough to get their attention. "It's Sigrid. Are you there Luke? Clay? Dawn? Anyone?" Came Sigrid's voice. Jill and Tonya stirred, sitting up even though the bangs weren't that loud. Both women hurriedly looked for him and blushed as he smiled at them.

  Luke hefted the spear and stood, quickly reaching the door to flip the small viewport open. He hurriedly unlatched the door and grabbed a large black trash bag that was thrust through the door at him. "What's this?" Luke asked propping the spear next to the door and taking the large bag. It didn't seem to heavy, but it had to be difficult to transport.

  Sigrid came through the door carrying two more similar bags and hurriedly closed the door with a look of relief on her face. She was flustered and obviously out of breath. Something large crashed to the ground not far away from the cellar. Her eyes were almost as big as silver dollars as she exclaimed, "Big fucking bird's!" She tossed the two bags to the side and stepped away from the door as a loud screech sounded from just outside the door. It was soon joined by another.

  The second screech had been farther away. After a few tense moments when everyone in the cellar was now awake and preparing for the worst, they heard a "whoosh" and the screeching got farther away. Sigrid let out an audible sigh of relief.

  "Where did you go?" Clay asked.

  She held a finger up to let him know she needed a moment as she gulped in air. "I noticed a house..." She took another breath, "We went by earlier with a pink bedroom. I could..." She took another deep breath, "Only find two houses with teenage girls' rooms. That's all I could find." She took another deep breath, she was starting to catch her wind. Clay figured she must have been running full out for a while by the sweat on her brow

  She looked at Clay as if delivering a report. "I think I managed to get them all some clothes, and more importantly, shoes." She was still breathing heavily as she took off her jacket. Sweat soaked her shirt. Clay summoned a bottle of water from his storage and handed it to her, she accepted with a "Thanks."

  "Great work Sigrid!" He patted her shoulder, "You saved us a lot of time and effort with these. Thank you." Clay flashed her a big grin. That was showing initiative! Maybe he wasn't babysitting her at all. He vowed to look at her in a new light, it didn't matter she was still young. She was competent.

  That was fucking saying something in the current situation. He took another sip of coffee. "And by the way, you're a fucking Godsend for finding that." He hooked a thumb at the percolator. She shied away from the praise as he turned to see the dark-haired woman Luke had saved the night before opening the door to the room she and the Orc girls had been asleep in, blinking sleep from her eyes as she held a blanket wrapped around her with one hand.

  "Is that actual fucking coffee?" She said seemingly forgetting the strangers in the room. Eyes locked on the percolator.

  Sigrid grabbed a large bag and said, "Hey, I found you some clothes." The woman instantly lit up with a smile. Sigrid wasted no time in grabbing another bag and started towards the room.

  Amy was stirring too, stretching, and putting her bedroll away. She took out her cup and walked over to pour her own. She carefully inhaled the aroma of the coffee before taking a sip followed by an "Ahh..."

  Clay looked at Amy, she had dried streaks from where she had been crying for days. But the dull defeated look that had been in her eyes wasn't there anymore. He smiled and said, "I know right? If anyone would have told me coffee would be this hard to get before the Sky Rain, I would have laughed at them." He shook his head and moved back to the door. He took the opportunity to use Greater Eyes of Insight on Amy.

  Amy Smitt, Saint Female, Age 30

  Titles: Combat Medic

  Level: 9

  Class: Healer

  Health Points: 280

  Mystical Points: 108

  Strength: 20

  Dexterity: 20

  Intelligence: 28

  Wisdom: 28

  Passive Abilities - Mystical Sync; Fearless;

  Skills - Healing Touch; Touch of Paralysis; Regenerate

  Oh, a skill called Touch of Paralysis. That could be useful as hell if you needed to make sure someone you had to work on couldn't thrash around. He'd have to remember not to get on her bad side. Having one healer who acted like Dawn was plenty bad enough. He still didn't know what he had done to piss her off but it must have been pretty bad. She was civil and polite but whenever he caught her looking at him he would put the looks she shot him as hateful and maybe a little hostile.

  Speaking of, he looked at her as she rolled her bedroll up and went to help herself to some coffee, and focused using his Greater Eyes of Insight.

  Dawn Grimmor, Human Female, Age 36

  Titles: Witch of Asclepius

  Level: 10

  Class: Master Healer

  Health Points: 290

  Mystical Points: 156

  Strength: 20

  Dexterity: 24

  Intelligence: 36

  Wisdom: 24

  Passive Abilities - Knowledgeable Insight; Sanctuary; Void Null

  Skills - Healing Touch; Purge; Restoration; Healing Light

  He took it all in but had only the slightest ideas as to some of those Abilities and Skills. What the hell was Void Null? It sounded pretty cool though. He remembered Healing Touch and Purge. "Hmm, that's interesting, she's made it to level 10 as well."

  Jill was the next one he used his skill on as she asked if he needed a refill and he accepted the rest of what was in that batch so they could make some more. He didn't care there were a few grounds in the bottom. It was fucking coffee! He focused on her nice posterior as she walked away, Greater Eyes of Insight.

  Jill Fairbanks, Beastmen Female, Age 39

  Level: 10

  Class: Mystical Warrior

  Health Points: 410

  Mystical Points: 134

  Strength: 28

  Dexterity: 28

  Intelligence: 24

  Wisdom: 26

  Passive Abilities - Track; Infravision

  Skills - Smite Enemy; Divine Wrath; Shield Bash

  That's fucking sweet! Jill's turning into a tank. He could hear the big birds screeching occasionally as they passed overhead. He figured they would go to nest during the day if they were the same mutated birds he had seen the night before. It had looked like a nocturnal bird of prey like an owl, just bigger and way meaner. It was still only about seven in the morning though so he figured give it a few hours and if Dawn said it was okay for them to travel they would head out.

  Those dead bodies nearby would attract way too much attention for him to even attempt to move past or through. Something would be fucking waiting.

  Soon Sigrid and Tonya came out of the room with the woman Luke had saved, whose name was Joanna. He used his skill on all of them starting with Tonya.

  Tonya Lovinngal, Orc Female, Age 33

  Level: 10

  Class: Enchantress

  Health Points: 290

  Mystical Points: 212

  Strength: 18

  Dexterity: 34

  Intelligence: 36

  Wisdom: 28

  Passive Abilities - Charm; Mystical Well;

  Skills - Bewitching Gaze; Mind Blast; Mirror Image; Dark Bolt

  Hmm, he'd never seen her use mirror image before, but had a pretty good idea of what most of the other skills did. Next was Sigrid.

  Sigrid Reicman, Beastmen Female, Age 22

  Level: 9

  Class: Sneak

  Health Points: 310

  Mystical Points: 94

  Strength: 20

  Dexterity: 36

  Intelligence: 32

  Wisdom: 24

  Passive Abilities - Track; Infravision; Pass Without Trace

  Skills - Flurry of Blades; Mark Target; Rending Claws

  Well, he hadn't expected her to be a fucking thief! Next was Joanna.

  Joanna Duns, Human Female, Age 29

  Level: 8

  Class: Sovereign

  Health Points: 340

  Mystical Points: 104

  Strength: 18

  Dexterity: 26

  Intelligence: 24

  Wisdom: 24

  Passive Abilities - Silver Tongue; Enhanced Virility; Endurance

  Skills - Bless; Wail of the Banshee

  Holy shit! "You're a Sovereign too?" He blurted out as he realized she had the same class as him.

  Joanna looked at him, her eyes going wide. "Yes! I had the weirdest dream..." She proceeded to repeat nearly word for word exactly what had happened to Clay when he received his System Seed early.

  That's when he remembered he had a second System Message waiting for him so he opened it as she was speaking. Everyone was riveted as they listened even the four Orc girls that came out finally. He focused on the message when his Status Screen opened and it popped up.

  "System Side Quest rewards increased due to increased difficulty. The host must return home. If completed, the host will be able to select from the following Abilities or Skills. Mystical Shield. Major Spatial Storage. Summon Golem. Greater Healing Light. Energy Lance." Kris said.

  "Increased difficulty my ass." He said.