TJ’s stomach dropped with the insinuation that there was something that they needed him to do. Even so, he stood up and wiped what little remained of his breakfast at the ers of his mouth off. His patchy stubble was ing in, and he could hear Mari’s teases about the ‘stache ringing around his head. Now that he was somewhere even a little safer, it was surprising how much more his mind could wander.
“Alright. Tell me.”
“Walk with me.” Zig responded and TJ followed. Stanton too stood while shouting a thank you for the food to nobody in particur before following them out. Zig didn’t ent on his presence, and Farid ah followed along as well. Their path quickly led them out of the firehouse and towards the general store a hundred yards or so away. At the door stood a man and a woman, the man the level 3 Zealot from the day before and the woman a strao TJ. The man held a makeshift club in his right hand and a full coat of mail fell over him with a glitter of slight iridesce. The woman didn’t react except to nod at Zig and cock her eyebrow at the man.
“Hey Jeff, Sarah. You eaten?” Zig asked as she waltzed right past the two guards.
“Not yet.” Sarah responded while Jeff tio give TJ and Stanton distrustful looks. “The hell’s the matter with you?”
“I just don’t know about these two.”
Zig stepped back out of the store to gre at the guard. He was a somewhat handsome but generic looking guy. Brown hair and eyes, tall, straight teeth, and not in shape, but not fat. Pretty unremarkable person to see throughout the state.
“Two guys, just like us, in the middle of the apocalypse, but instead of being put close to town, they were miles and miles away instead of as close as we were. Now, they’re here and happy to work with us to make sure we make it through this “Tutorial”. What’s the damn problem?”
“Laura Appraised them–they’re both at least level 5, which means that they have at least 10 levels between their Css and Occupation. Snake guy TJ here is level 7, which means that he could have a Skill from level 5, 10, and 15. Laura’s the only one in town who’s been able to get even close to that level, and she’s not a fighter. Not meaning a whole lot of offeo you two, but you’re dangerous, and the System has said that this is a petition. If you wao kill our stro healer and our leader at the same time, it wouldn’t be hard and I don’t think any of us could stop you. If yood guys and are looking to help us, I don’t mind if you think I’m an asshole. If you’ve got bad iions, then I'll do whatever I to keep people safe.”
As Jeff had begun speaking, TJ felt his blood boil, but as he reached his clusion, the rage drained away to a sort of appreciation, though TJ still didn’t like him.
“Don’t know if this’ll help,” TJ cut in, “but I’m not level 7, but 6. Level 7 in my Css and 5 in my Occupation.”
“And it doesn’t matter if he isn’t!” Zig added. “We’re going to work with him for now because the other option is to throw away or hide or hate the most powerful people that we know are iorial right now! Now get out of the way and shut up!”
The feisty woman didn’t say anything more and pulled TJ by the arm into the store. Stanton followed behind, no expression on his mustachioed face. They walked into the store, the lights all out. A couple fshlights were pced in strategic locations to allow for some light to be spilled basically everywhere, but without power or any windows, the buildi more like a cave with aisles than a grocery store. It was small, with maybe six or seven aisles, and nobody was ihat TJ could see.
“Sorry about him.” Zig sighed. “He’s just… whatever. Not my monkey, not my circus. Not really, at least.”
“It’s fine. I disagree, but I uand what he’s saying.”
Zig sighed explosively, blowing her bangs out of her face. TJ ged the topic, “Where’s the name Zig e from? I’m assuming it's not the one you were born with.”
“Yeah. Go by Zig. Niame from when I pyed petitive ultimate frisbee. I’ve preferred it ever since I got it.”
“Something about how you run or something?”
“Something like that.” Zig allowed as they turned a er and there, in front of ay refrigerator, was a folding table set up as a desk with Laura sitting with a half dozen stacks of paper id before her.
“Thank you, Zig.” Laura said as she looked up from whatever she was writing. “And thank you, TJ and Stanton, for ing.”
Last night, between his panid the darkening skies, TJ hadn’t paid much attention to what Laura looked like other than her business attire. Now, lit by several fshlights and a keroseer as well as seeming to no longer be afraid at the sight of him, he could get a good measure of the mayor of their Tutorial. She wore no gsses, though TJ felt as if she should have, and her gray eyes were striking, framed by her chocote skin and curly bck hair. Her fingernails were trimmed and well-kept without any polish, and she tapped habitually oable as she thought over whatever her request was. Again, she wore a pantsuit, this one navy with white stripes over a white button-down shirt.
“Heard you need some help and think we might be yuys.”
“Stanton, if you’ve recovered enough to participate in this jourhen we’d be happy to have you along. Frankly, you were the first person I’ve healed that was quite so o passing on, so I ’t say what sort of dition you’re in at the moment.”
“I’ve beeer, but I’m fine. My HP, MP, and Stamina are all recovered and I don’t have any afflis at the moment. Happy to help keep everyone safe.”
“I’m gd to hear it. We o stick together, and every day that passes makes us less and less secure. It is my uanding that the System has said that we will o defend the town from the creatures’ assault before the end of the Tutorial. You two are the stro fighters we have, except for maybe Zig here. I hope you’ll be willing to help us.”
TJ nodded, but with a sinking feeling in his gut, he felt like he o speak up. “I think we’re both willing to help out at least some. I know I am. But… I… I don’t care about the rest of you as much as maybe I should.”
Laura frowned and leaned forward, but she seemed more curious than anything else.
“Expin.”
“I have a son, he’s just about three and I’m all he’s got left. The System says I’ll be able to be with him again if I make it through this Tutorial, so I’ll do whatever I to make it through. I’m willing to help out the town with things that’ll help us on that path, but I ’t be some captain or leader or hero or anything. My focus is on Junior, aing ba. If yonna ask me to do something really dangerous because it’ll be better for everyone else, I’ll feel really bad about it, but I’ll have to tell you no.”
Laura nodded slowly, digesting his decration. Stanton didn’t say anythiher, his face impassive while Zig scowled and looked at TJ.
“That makes sense, and I don’t mind it, for now.” Laura finally answered after nearly a full minute of pting. “Remind me of what the Tutorial’s requirements are?”
TJ realized that she was asking the System, not him, but he mentally requested that the System pull up the requirements.
In this Tutorial, Tutorial 107.48.891, the Quest Goals are as follows:
Within two weeks (336 hours) of Iioer the city limits of the city Pine, Arizona. Time remaining: NA–you have ehe designated area. Total epsed time: 72:46:31Within 18 hours of the end of the sed week of Iion, defend the Pine, Arizona general store from assault.Defeat the assigutorial Boss.
When he looked at the first Goal, TJ felt like he o rub at his eyes. It’d only been three days since he was taken away from his previous life?
“Looking at the requirements,” Laura tinued, unaware of his realization and struggle to believe, “it seems to me that it’s in your best is to cooperate with everyone else in town. I agree that there are certain assigs that I will want to make that will not necessarily further your explicit goals, so I will hold back from even asking you to plete them. Thus, I will request that you uand that every assig I ask you to perform will directly improve our ces of succeeding on eae of the Tutorial’s Quest Goals.”
TJ felt his stomaknot and nodded. “That’s more than fair. Thank you for uanding.”
“I’ll try. Now, I introduced myself to you st night, but allow me to do so once more. I’m Laura McDougal, and I’ve bee the leader of this town, for now at least. Under normal circumstances, I ’t imagihat I would speak about this as didly as I’m about to, but the reality of the matter is that with 178 people in this small part of oown with no additional food or supplies ing in, we will soon starve. At least, we will if we rely entirely on the food tained within this siore and the nearby homes and buildings. The hunters have been tasked with finding and hunting anything that is edible, but all they’ve seen so far is a goblin-like thing called a pukwudgie. You mentioned seeing them st night.
“As of yet, we aren’t willing to begiing something like a person, but the time is quickly approag. In your reting, you mentioned seeing coyotes and a mountain lion. I ’t imagihat we would be able to find those bodies and bring them into town, but they do promise the possibility of finding something worth hunting for food, for now at least.”
“Weird you haven’t seen any deer or elk.” Stanton cut in. “There’s usually hundreds of them around here.”
“Which brings me to the point of what we would like to ask you to do. We don’t have as much water as we need, either, and the sole creek with running water we’ve found is almost a mile away. Colleg the water and bringing it back to town is intensely difficult, aill o boil and the water after that as well. In addition, we’re making efforts to collect all the food, perishable and otherwise, that we from the surroundings. All the houses within the half mile or so that the monsters don’t seem to enter have been scoured , and we o find every additional source of food that we .”
“Is it a half mile from the ter of town, or from this store?”
“I’d imagi’s this store. The Tutorial has assig some measure of intrinsic value due to our Quest Goals. There is also the not insignifit possibility that the safe area will shrink or altogether disappear at some point.”
“So you need people to get water and to keep searg for food.” TJ pleted the meandering versation. “I’m fio go with one of the teams searg for food. Stanton, what are you pnning on doing?”
“I’ll go with the water team. Taking care of a group holding a position is a good fit for my abilities.”
“There you have it.”
“Great. Now, before you go, would you two tell me your Csses, Occupations, and Bloodlines, as well as any powerful or potentially impactful abilities they give you? Also, any other abilities you have that may assist the rest of the town would be greatly appreciated.”
“Why do you o know that?” Stanton asked, his eyebrows raising nearly all the to his hat.
“I am in charge of 178 people, and every person is assisted by knowledge. I am piling, expining, and w however I to ehat we all make it out of this hell alive. For your information, I am a Disciple level 5, Bureaucrat level 5. My Bloodline es from the Afri goddess Inkosazana, and I am limited almost eo healing and to running some sembnce of a civilization. Is that a suffit answer?”
Stanton merely grunted and TJ broke the growing tension.
“TJ Harris, Neophyte 7, Savage 5.” Zig didn’t hide a quiet hissing breath at the name of his Occupation. “The Savage occupation mostly means that I was taken outside of civilization when I was left here. It’s why I don’t have real shoes, because I get a bonus to my attributes when fighting if I don’t have equipment from before the Iion when I fight. Normal clothes don’t t, but the shoes do.”
“Stanton. Acolyte 6, Druid 4.” Of course, the old man didn’t offer any more information, nor did Laura request it. Then, after Laura asked a couple questions, the two men walked out of the store and into the light of day with Zig behind them.
“Stanton, go with Nat’s group. It’s her turn to lead the water team. TJ, you’re with me. Let’s see if we ’t find some food, huh?”
Thanks for reading! If you're dying to read more, joireon, where you read up to 28 chapters ahead!
Join the swarm! https://disc/RqzsKj8hkD
