"That is quite the long story by now. If you don’t mind, let me tell the story tomorrow to everyone, when you become members of the Protectorate. And maybe you can think about how you would describe how you came to be a member, because we might need your voice then as well. Is that ok?"

  "Yes, of course, I am happy to tell my story."

  "Excellent. Looking forward to it."

  As the sun set, their speed declined further and more than one person stumbled and had to be helped up.

  But in the end, they made it, the system message and map alerting newcomers to the Protectorate provided a welcome Energy boost.

  People stopped as they stepped onto the clearing, fascinated by the starlight gleaming in the golden pyramid that topped the Protectorate Pillar and the white marble of the system-generated structures before them.

  Ben stepped forward, grinning widely, "Welcome to the Protectorate. It might not look like much, yet, but I hope you will call it home, very soon."

  As they closed in, the gates opened and Allison, Anne, and Barry stepped out.

  Allison laughed, "Son, what have you done, now? Bringing half the city to us…"

  "Hey mom," he also smiled at Anne and Barry, "a slight change of plan… I would suggest for now, we have people camp on the training grounds, and then tomorrow after breakfast we can have a welcoming ceremony and see about housing people more permanently. Does that work?"

  "Sure, we will make it work."

  "Sorry for occupying your space, Barry."

  "No worries at all, Ben, now that’s the kind of problem I don’t mind."

  Ben suspected that many had voted to keep walking just for the hope of a proper bed to sleep in, but the grumbling was limited, especially after Luz put together a nice late-night snack.

  He had a few quiet conversations in preparation for the next day, and then retreated to his cabin to fall asleep quickly.

  ***

  After breakfast the next morning Ben stood on the plaza, behind him the Protectorate Pillar, in front of him more than 100 people. For a moment, he had trouble reconciling his current situation with where he had been 20 days ago, alone in the forest. As always when trying to focus, he took a deep breath; then smiled at the group of people that waited for him to start.

  “Today, we are coming together to celebrate a group of people joining us in the Protectorate. We want to use this moment to introduce a new tradition which we call the Retelling. Citizens of the Protectorate, old and new, will tell short stories that help us all remember how we came to be together. This will hopefully remind us of who we are, why we are here, and why we want to continue to be here. My mother has offered to go first.”

  “Over 60 years ago, my father John founded a lumber business in these mountains. It was never a huge business, but enough to build a family—by both blood and bond. You might not know from looking at me, but I was born not too much later.” That got a few laughs from the crowd.

  “To be a good daughter, and because I was genuinely interested, I chose to study forestry at the university in Simonston, where I met my husband. He said it was fated,” Allison smiled, “I was the only woman in the course, he was the only black man. After graduation we joined the business, took over more and more responsibilities, had our wonderful children Ben and Julia, changed the focus of the business a bit, and lived a wonderful life together.

  “Unfortunately, my husband died less than a year ago. But I know he would be incredibly proud of all of us for staying strong together as a family.” Allison managed to say that with a heartfelt smile, but it was not just Julia, who had to wipe away a tear.

  Most of the newcomers didn’t know how to react and chose respectful silence.

  Barry took Allison’s space. “I was living my dream life, my dream job, a teacher, my dream hobby, martial arts. Then, an accident. The wrong meds. Dependency. Wrong choices. This is not a new or unique story. The dream life was over. But, not forever, because the Jackson family gave me a second chance. Now, in this insane, unimaginable world, with hardships for billions, I can live my dream life again, thanks to the Protectorate.”

  Ben had not asked Barry to speak. The Retelling was supposed to be a purely voluntary event. He felt the raw emotions of the man. It did not go unnoticed that some of the newcomers had frowned when he told his story, but to Ben that didn’t matter. Now it was his turn.

  Find this and other great novels on the author's preferred platform. Support original creators!

  “I learned on this trip that what happend 20 days ago is now called Arrival Day. What some of you might not be able to imagine, but on that day, I was still heavily injured from the accident that had killed my father. I could only properly walk with the help of an exoskeleton, which I’ve still got stored in my cabin over there.” He pointed to his home.

  “I was walking through the forest on my own to survey a site when the Energy blast hit us. As fate would have it, just a few meters from me an Energy-born creature took form. A creature you are now quite familiar with, a wolf. Only because of the insistence of Jamal and Michael was I carrying an axe with me. That axe saved my life. It turned out, that I was the first person globally to defeat an Energy-born creature, and that was the first time I interacted with Mesa. She awarded me with a perk that allowed me to heal faster. A perk so powerful that days later my spinal injury healed completely.

  “But that was not all. I managed to stumble into a dungeon involuntarily because I lacked the agility to get out of the way of a boar attacking me. It was painful—and honestly a little embarrassing—how hard it felt at the time, but eventually I defeated the dungeon.

  “Then I did something maybe reckless, or na?ve maybe. Instead of accepting the generous rewards for the first global dungeon clear, I asked for something else. Something that would allow us to stay here, in this high-Energy density area, stay together.

  “And that’s when Meta and Mesa offered me the Protectorate.”

  If Ben would have to summarize it, the reaction he got from the newcomers was, disbelief. Some quiet whispering could be heard, some skeptical, some awed, but people stayed attentive.

  Ben smiled at the group, “Would anyone else like to share something?”

  Sarah stepped forward, “when I first saw this place and then heard Ben talk about what he wanted to do with the Protectorate, I knew that this could be a new start for our family… and I think it is.” she seemed to get more nervous with every word. It was clear that she had more to say, but she cut it short, blushing heavily. Her father patted her on the shoulder.

  Finally, Cackett stepped forward, “Good morning, my name is Arthur Cackett. President of the Brickham’s Advisory Board. Which is where I heard the first rumors about this place. I dismissed them at first, but it became quickly clear to me that life in the city would become miserable quickly. So after some deliberation I joined the meeting in our parking lot. There, I met a young man—clearly out of his depth—wearing what looked like a costume.”

  Loud muttering broke out, Ben could see that Jamal was not amused, but his mother was smiling, and he himself… had to chuckle. If he was honest with himself, he was out of his depth and he was sure that his nervousness during the impromptu speech he had to deliver at the school parking lot had been visible.

  Cackett continued, “I decided to come along anyway, because I have no interest in seeing our city turning into a hellscape, and, frankly, nobody there needs a divorced, overpaid lawyer anyway.” Silence. Nobody had expected that level of self-reflection after that beginning.

  “So anyway, on our trip I learned that the young man I met in the parking lot seems to be a decisive leader—and a monster-slayer, apparently. And I am curious to see where all of this leads.”

  Ben waited a moment. “Thank you, Arthur, Sarah, Barry, Mom, for telling us your stories. “You already know our values. When you soon step towards our Protectorate Pillar to become a citizen, you will have to confirm your acceptance of those values.

  “When Meta and Mesa gave me the Protectorate, they attached obligations with it. One obligation is to grow this place rapidly. Another is related to those portals you see over there. These are dungeon portals. Dungeons break when they are not regularly cleared. That is one of the duties we have here.

  “Now, without much further ado, who wants to go first?”

  Ben almost cursed himself for not betting with Adam on who would be first in line, because he would have been right—it was Jane.

  The matriarch of her family stepped forward resolutely and put her hand on the pillar. A few seconds later she winked at Ben and stepped aside.

  One after another, the people who had made the trek up from Simonston turned into Protectorate Citizens.

  “I just learned that Jim—you remember the guy who lost it after the fight—and his family, as well as one older guy from Arthur’s group, have decided that they don’t want to become citizens and want to return to town at the next opportunity,” Adam said, stepping up beside Ben.

  Ben nodded. “OK, no problem for me. Let’s just make sure that citizens have preferential treatment when it comes to housing later.”

  “Sure. I’m not sure I ever mentioned this, but it turns out that the default setting of the apartments is that they can only be allocated to citizens. That means only those can use the kitchen, showers, etc., properly. There are ways to override, but I don’t see a reason to do so right now.”

  Ben agreed and turned to Howard, who had come to stand with them. “Thank you for the idea for the Retelling. I thought it went very well.”

  “It did. The emotional depth was astounding. It’s really a unique opportunity for me to see the founding of a myth live. Lots of my colleagues would be green with envy.” He laughed. “Anyway, I’ll work with the others to integrate the newcomers.” With that, he returned to his family and continued observing the ceremony.

  They learned that multiple people could go through the process in parallel, so families jointly touched the pillar to become citizens.

  Just about ten minutes into the procedure, a wave of Energy emanated from the Protectorate Pillar. They had reached Level 2 of the settlement.

  The Protectorate Pillar grew—not just in height by a meter, but also in width—now a solid obelisk that overlooked the settlement and the surrounding clearing.

  At the same time, the central plaza grew, now 30 by 30 meters. As when it was created, it somehow shifted the surrounding buildings without disturbing them further outside.

  Initially, the newcomers had held on to their loved ones as the change started, but quickly they looked in awe at the magical expansion of the white marble obelisk and square.