“While we only have a few books so far in the library, they have already unlocked a wealth of new insight for us, Ben. I am pleased. Quite a few things are coming together nicely.” Barry always seemed calm and collected, but now he almost seemed serene.
“Oh, now you have made me curious! Please enlighten me.” Despite his curiosity Ben had intentionally left the library books to others. He would read them, but he felt it would be the wrong signal if he tried to monopolize knowledge, even briefly.
“Well, first of all, it confirmed a finding that we had already seen in practice: your attributes are not set in stone, you can improve them with training. So if you had a Body attribute of 10 at Arrival Day and you put in the work, you can increase it to 11 or higher.”
“Excellent. I haven’t gained anything yet, but maybe it’ll come.”
“I wouldn’t hold my breath, if I were you,” Barry said with a smile. “The reason why you haven’t had any gains in that way is, that it becomes increasingly difficult to do as you reach the limits of the natural human body. And you are arguably beyond that already.”
“Understood. Slightly disappointing, but understandable. But… logically, if you can gain something, you can probably also lose it. So staying in shape still matters.”
“Definitely. For many reasons,” Barry confirmed. “Now, what you already know is that it is possible to gain attributes via perks. What you might not know is that all three attributes have a set of three common perks, that, if you get them all, will upgrade to an uncommon perk and that perk gets you +1 in that respective attribute.”
“Wow. That is huge news. That provides a clear path to a perk upgrade, and, in my case, a path to a tier upgrade, because most likely, depending on how my unique perk is counted, I just need one more perk to hit Tier 2!”
“Exactly. And based on what we discussed, it makes sense to time that perk upgrade so that you get it when you have achieved the maximum of what your body is naturally capable of, which is the case with you.”
“Okay, don’t keep me waiting—what are they?”
“For Body, it is [Agile Body], [Strong Body], and [Fast Body].”
Ben’s heart skipped a beat, eyes widening. “That means I am potentially just one common perk away from Tier 2, Barry! Ahh, do you actually know what happens when one reaches a new tier?”
“No, I don’t.” He shook his head. “You will have to tell us when you get there. I have worked with Tracy to define a training program that will aim to increase your chances of getting the ‘fast’ perk as soon as possible.”
“Oh, yes! Count me in. When can we start?”
Barry laughed, “tomorrow morning.”
Ben deflated slightly but didn’t object. He didn’t even know whether it was worth getting excited about, but getting to Tier 2 felt like a huge milestone.
“Talking about mornings, I think you already approved Tracy to include the monks in the morning fitness routine. I have also had the opportunity to talk with the abbot, a wonderful man by the way, despite being a man of non-violence, he reminds me so much of my first martial arts teacher… Anyway, I discussed with him that he or some of the other monks would start offering the first Protectorate Academy class that goes beyond fitness and fighting: meditation.”
“Oh, Barry, you are spoiling me with good news today. You know how much I benefited from breathing exercises and meditation when recuperating from the accident. If at all possible I will attend those classes as well.”
This felt like enormous progress. Barry sensed Ben’s excitement and smiled. “I think that was enough good news for today, I will tell you about my experiments with Professor Gunther at another time.”
“What, no, you can’t do that to…” Ben was interrupted in his protestations by a blinking blue symbol in his vision. “Hold on, Barry.”
He opened the message.
Mission alert – Evacuation
Several settlements in high-Energy zones are being overwhelmed and pose a hindrance for efficient operations for Meta.
You are to offer the members of the community the opportunity to escape their circumstances. No further efforts will be made to protect them.
Once you are ready, find and acknowledge this mission under your [Knight Protector] perk and a portal to the settlement will be opened on the central plaza; it will remain active as long as the mission is ongoing.
You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.
Target: Antarctica Research Station.
Importance: Medium
Urgency: High (24 h)
Another mission, so quickly after the first one. He was happy if they could save people, but wondered whether he would ever have time for anything else in the future?
“I am sorry, Barry, it seems like I need to go. Let’s catch up at another time.”
With that Ben jumped up and jogged to find the rest of his team.
***
They stood around the portal that Ben had just summoned. They were all wearing winter coats on top of their usual armor. For Ben, that meant that he had to carry his axe in his hand, not on his back, as usual.
They were staring at a landscape of ice and snow, and a strange blue structure that was difficult to make sense of.
“Boss, if we ever get paid, I want to get paid extra for missions in the snow. I don’t like it.”
“Jamal, you have been with us for god knows how many years. It snows here at least four months each year!” Allison chuckled.
“I still don’t like it, Boss mom.”
“I’ll show you ‘Boss mom’!”
“Folks, let’s go!” Ben intervened.
They stepped into what you could describe as a winter wonderland or, depending on your preferences, an icy hell. Ben could handle snow, but the nearly monochrome landscape—white and gray ice under a matching sky—felt bleak after a while. But for now, it was exciting.
The structure before them was interesting. Large blue buildings, a bit more streamlined than shipping containers and about twice that size, stood on comparatively thin legs. About half a dozen of them connected, with one larger domed red structure in the middle.
Except for the fierce wind, there was nothing to hear and nobody to see. Standing still was not an option, so they jogged along this weird metal snake in one of the most remote places on Earth.
There were stairs that led to a door, which fortunately was not locked and led into an empty room for changing out of the thick winter wear required for anyone wanting to exit the station.
The room was bitterly cold and nearly dark, the small window in the door the only source of light. The hallway was even worse. The corridor to the right lay in complete darkness, while a faint glow seeped from a doorway to the left.
“This is spooky. More importantly, how were people supposed to survive here without electricity for almost a month?” Allison asked.
“I have no idea, but I agree that this feels uncomfortable. Let’s assume that if there are people around, they will be where there is a bit of light.” With that, Ben turned to the left and opened the door, which led into a small room that probably served as an airlock between modules. When he tried to open the next door, there was resistance, but with a forceful push he managed to remove the obstruction that turned out to be just a couple of blankets that had been piled against the door, maybe to provide additional insulation.
“Matthew?! Is that you?!”
Ben heard a loud female voice shouting and a couple of footsteps rushing toward him.
The room he entered was large; it was an open space, with some additional platforms mounted on one wall for more private living areas. One side of the module featured a glass wall that admitted pale light.
More than twenty people huddled in the frigid, rank room.
The woman who had shouted earlier was leading the group of five that had gotten up when the door had opened. She was probably in her late thirties and looked, like those around her, utterly exhausted. Not the fatigue of a missed night’s sleep, but bone-tired from weeks of stress and dwindling hope.
“You are not Matthew… Who are you?” she asked.
Slowly, more people roused themselves from whatever corner they had been huddled in. All of them were wearing multiple layers of thick winter clothing.
“Hi, my name is Ben. These people are Anne, Michael, Jamal, and Allison—my mother. I am happy to explain what we are doing here, but maybe we wait until everybody is with us. Are there people in the other modules?”
The woman looked at him and his team, eyeing their weapons. “What is going on? How have you made it here? Did Matthew send you?”
By now, the 23 researchers had stepped up to them.
“I am sorry, but I don’t know who Matthew is. We have a mission from the system, Meta, to rescue you and bring you to a safe place. Without power, this place can’t keep you alive; we can take you somewhere warm.”
Excited chatter rippled through the crowd. Hope had returned.
“We can’t leave. We must wait for Matthew!”
“Ally, have you lost—”
A young man started shouting but was interrupted by an older man, who pulled the woman into a hug. “Ally, you know that if Matthew could have returned with the expedition, he would have by now, and you also know that he would be the first to tell us to get to safety!”
The woman started to sob, while the older man turned to Ben and team. “Matthew is… was our station commander. He and a significant part of our team were on an expedition on Arrival Day. We haven’t heard from them since.
“When you said that you can bring us to safety, how did you want to do that? There are no ships around, and certainly no sailing ships that can operate without engines…”
“The system has provided us with a portal just outside the station. One step through the portal will bring you to the place we call home. It could be a home for everyone who wants to contribute to what we are building; otherwise, we can also help you get to the next city. Perhaps we can discuss the details someplace warm over a cup of tea?” Allison answered.
Disbelief mingled with hope among those who’d endured three weeks here without power.
It took just a few more minutes of discussion, and there was agreement to come along. Nobody wanted to stay behind. They returned to their modules to pack a few belongings—minutes Ben spent scanning the sparse shelves of novels and non-fiction books that stood in one corner of the structure.
After less than 30 minutes, they were ready to exit the station. This time no last-minute attack delayed them, and they brought everyone safely to the Protectorate.
The newcomers were speechless. The emotional shock of being saved, the magic of the portal, and the mind-boggling aesthetic of the settlement made people question their sanity.
Ben and his team escorted the group to the inn, where members of Jane’s family served them hot drinks and some snacks.
Adam, who had joined them, gave a clear explanation of what they knew about the world, the Protectorate, their values, and their options.
He asked them to make up their mind within the next four days, but it was obvious many had already decided; only the most overwhelmed withheld judgment right now.
