Julian groaned as he slipped his dirty clothes back on, tugging on the cloth undershirt getting caught on his wet skin.

  I wonder if this place has a laundromat. Even if it did, I doubt you can throw leather in a washing machine. He thought.

  He’d need Hannah’s help to put the plate armor back on, but decided he wouldn’t need it for dinner with the Captain. What were the odds that both of them had become leaders of Outposts here in the trial? That man had saved him more than once, and it pained him to think he’d died trying to do it again.

  He did his best to comb over the black and brown hair that was starting to look shaggy. His wife had nagged him about getting a haircut for a week leading up to his death, and now he wished he’d listened.

  Wherever you are, baby, I hope you’re ok. Be strong for the kids. Julian gave a silent prayer before opening the bathroom door.

  “Are you ready?” He asked Hannah.

  “Go without me. These sheets are too comfortable.” She swooned, stretching out in her queen-size bed.

  “Ha ha, very funny. You’re coming with me.” He laughed, yanking the covers off the bed.

  “You’re a jerk. You know that? Always dragging me around to fight monsters with you instead of letting me sleep.” Hannah complained.

  “Yep! I’m the worst. Now put your shoes on.” Julian instructed.

  “Ok, Dad! Whatever you say!” Hannah mocked, slipping the leather boots over her wool socks.

  They wandered down the hallway as sunset hues filtered through the windows. They’d gotten used to living without knowing the exact time, but paused when they saw a clock hanging in the elevator bay. Apparently, sunset in the trial was around 5:15 PM, meaning it was likely getting close to winter. If there even was a winter here in the trial.

  It took a few wrong turns in the lobby before they found the restaurant, and stood in line to buy their dinner from John’s mirror. They saw a few people treating themselves to food from back home, but most had the discipline to stick to the meat, potatoes, and vegetables John sold for cheap. The duo did the same, buying stacks of boxes filled with basic rations and dozens of water jugs to refill their depleted slipsacks. They’d been feeding a small army for a few days and would need more supplies to get everyone back home.

  “Julian! Over here, my boy, I’ve got a table set for us!” John called out, waving them to a corner booth underneath an empty wine display.

  “Too bad it’s empty. I could go for a nice glass right now.” Julian sighed, sliding in. The leather wasn’t anything special, but he luxuriated in the cushioned bench beneath him.

  “Had to lock up all the alcohol we found. People were hitting the bottle pretty hard after we saw that vision on the first night.” John commented. “I’ve still got a bottle or two hidden, though.”

  Three wine glasses and a bottle of red appeared from a slipsack tied to his waist, and he worked to pop the cork. He’d set the table with plates, silverware, and cloth napkins, and poured the steaming food from his cardboard container onto a dinner plate. For a moment, it was as if they were dining at a real restaurant.

  “This is amazing. I can’t believe a place like this exists.” Julian chuckled

  “I know. It was funny, most of us who landed close to the hotel thought we’d snuck into heaven. Lush forest with a comfy hotel nestled right next to a river. At that point, the animals were all still level 1 like us and hadn’t started attacking yet. It wasn’t until the vision that we knew this wasn’t paradise.” John explained.

  “Well, count yourself lucky. Almost everyone who arrived near Veils End was attacked within minutes, and with how many bodies we found, I’d guess less than 10% of us survived the first night.” Hannah grieved.

  “That bad? What do you think made the wildlife so aggressive?” John asked.

  “They’re not animals from Earth. They are similar… birds, hounds, boars, but all mutated into a mix of living and undead.” Julian explained.

  “Did the Necrolords bring them?” John asked.

  “The who?” Hannah asked.

  “The Undead army,” Julian explained, “the System called them the Necrolords in the vision, remember?”

  “No, I don’t remember.” Hannah groaned. “Apparently, I’m just constantly ignoring important stuff. This is just like the whole grade fiasco all over again.”

  “Anyways,” Julian laughed. “No, I don’t think so. We haven’t seen any of the bats, bone spiders, and wolves from the vision yet. Those seem to be completely undead, while these are just mutated. I’d bet their species aren't new to the System, though, since they started attacking everything with essence the second we arrived.”

  “That’s good at least. We’ve been wondering how long it will take before the Undead arrive.” John worried.

  “Our guess after traveling out here is it will still be a few weeks before they reach Veils End.” Julian contemplated.

  “Great! That means you have time to gather everyone and bring them here.” John smiled.

  Julian lurched, knowing this conversation would come up but still unsure what he should do. He didn’t know if it was pride or vanity, but he didn’t want to give up on Veils End. He wanted humanity to make their final stand there, where life met death both in land and spirit.

  “Or, it gives us time to bring all of your people there.” Julian retorted.

  “Why would we do that? Didn’t you say you were all living in a zombie-infested mining town? You can’t think that’s better than this hotel.” John commented.

  “It’s not as bad as it sounds, and there are advantages to living in a harsh environment,” Julian explained. “We’ve built a wall around the city like yours, and our town has access to a mine filled with essence crystals and iron elementals. A friend of ours is working in an abandoned smithy to forge iron armor for everyone and is adding metal reinforcements to the wall. There’s also another girl who got a profession that lets her draw magic symbols to strengthen it all even more.”

  “We’re not supposed to talk about that.” Hannah hissed.

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  “Oh, come on, this is John. My Captain for the last 6 years! We can tell him.” Julian persisted.

  “That all sounds great, but why not keep working on those resources and then bring them all here once the Undead start showing up?” John suggested.

  “I guess that’s possible, but setting up defenses like that is going to take more than a day. We have no idea when exactly the Undead will arrive, and all our preparation will go to waste if they catch us off guard.” Julian countered.

  “So bring it over piece by piece instead of all at once. We can set up a trade line between the two outposts and shuttle components over as they are completed. I’ll admit, I don’t even know what an essence crystal is, so I’m guessing we don’t have any around here. That outpost of yours has its advantages, but we need to bring everyone where we have the best chance of survival.” John asserted.

  “I agree with the sentiment, but am still not so sure about your conclusion. Who’s to say this hotel is our best shot?” Julian contested.

  It was a friendly debate, but Julian still felt defensive about his new home. He felt his hands get clammy as he attempted to stand up to the man he respected so much for the very first time.

  “Well, we’ve got over 700 people staying here with room for around 500 more. We’ve got our own defenses built up around the perimeter that could be improved with the resources from your own Outpost. Everyone’s well-fed, clean, and comfortable.” John began.

  “Every outpost is well-fed thanks to the mirror, and I’m not so sure that clean and comfortable is a good thing.” Julian countered.

  “How so?” John asked.

  “What level are you?” Julian pressed.

  “My Warrior class is level 18, and my Outpost Commander profession is level 14.” He answered.

  “And I’m going to assume you’re one of the strongest people here?” Julian continued.

  “Yeah. There are a few who are higher leveled in either their class or profession, but I’d guess I have the highest race level with my focus on both.” John replied.

  “You’d be barely above average back in Veils End.” Julian asserted. “I’m not saying that to hurt you, I’m just being honest. I myself hit the cap of Level 25 in my class and am close to pushing my race level to the same. What are you up to now, Hannah?”

  “23 for my class and 20 for my profession.” She answered.

  “And if you had to guess, what’s Harvey at?” Julian continued.

  “A billion? I don't know, last time we left for this long he leapfrogged both of us.” She chuckled.

  “I was gonna say somewhere close to you, but sure. We can go with a billion.” Julian smirked.

  “What’s so special about Harvey?” John asked.

  “Nothing. He’s just a guy who got thrown in the fire and came out stronger because of it. I met Harvey running after what I thought was a screaming woman. I found a zombie holding a robe under a tree, killed it, and found him scared out of his wits, clinging to a branch. He had a stain on his soul that dropped his Willpower to 1, and it looked like he might have a brain aneurysm every time he heard a twig snap.” Julian shared.

  “Hey! Don’t make fun of him!” Hannah snapped.

  “I’m not! I’m trying to set the stage for how miraculous his turnaround has been. He started his life here screaming and afraid, and became one of the strongest people in Veils End in a little over a week.” Julian boasted.’

  “I don’t see what that has to do with our discussion,” John questioned.

  “My point is that almost everyone in Veils End has the same story. Sure, fewer of us survived, but those who did are alive because they learned to be ok being uncomfortable and took control of their destiny. Do you think Harvey would have ever set foot outside this hotel if he’d found it back when he was level 1, Hannah?” Julian asked.

  “I wouldn’t have, so definitely not.” She nodded.

  “John, how many of the 700 Veilstriders here are actually out leveling every day?” Julian asked.

  “I don’t know… maybe half?” He replied.

  “Ok, and are those half spending all their time not spent hunting working on their professions?” Julian continued.

  “No. People still need time to rest. That was true even back when we were fighting fires.” He asserted.

  “So you have half the people here doing nothing, and the other half fighting the apocalypse part-time.” Julian challenged. “In Veils End, we’re working from dawn til dusk, and most are leveling their professions deep into the night. We won’t win against the undead if we treat our progression like a part-time gig.”

  “I see your point, but it’s too late. The people who are still level 1 don’t have a chance against a level 9 squirrel at this point, and there’s no low-level wildlife left. Some of us are just going to have to hunker down in the hotel.” John admitted.

  “This hotel’s going to be a death trap the second that bone dragon shows up. I give it 10 minutes before it finds a way to collapse the whole thing.” Julian continued.

  “So… what? You expect me to force these people out into the wild just to die?” John accused.

  “Not at all. They can get a few profession levels under their belt to at least have a few more stat points, and then you can send out hunting parties where the stronger Veilstriders incapacitate the beasts and let the weaker ones finish them off. It’s what we did for the women we brought from Treetop Village, and it brought most of them to level 10 in just a few days. That way, by the time each group reaches Veils End, they’ll be strong enough to start building some momentum.” Julian encouraged.

  “Or, they can go out, get some levels, and come home to a warm shower and get a good night's sleep. You might be right about the dragon collapsing the hotel, but we don’t need to leave yet.” John countered.

  “Yes, you do. Do you really think someone who kills their first level 10 bear is going to go out hunting again the next day after sleeping in an air-conditioned room? I’m sorry, John, but they won’t.”

  “I’ll make them do it.” John quipped.

  “We need every able-bodied Veilstrider as strong as possible when the time for our last stand comes, and comfort breeds weakness.” Julian asserted, pointing his steak knife at his old Captain.

  As he finished, a voice rang out all around them. It wasn’t the godly voice of the System they’d heard in the vision, but the gentler administrator who’d explained the details of their trial.

  Attention all Veilstriders, a new Quest has been added to your quest screen. For the next two weeks, all Outposts will be judged to determine the cumulative strength of all residents. When the timer expires, only the strongest outpost will retain access to vital functions like the Loom and John’s shop. Residents of disabled outposts will all receive directions to the remaining Outpost, where you will make your last stand against the Necrolords. Good luck!

  Julian forgot he even had a quest screen and opened it for the first time since the vision ended.

  Quest:

  Rise or be Remade - Integration Trial

  The battle between life and death rages, each standing in opposition to the other’s goals. Defeat the Necrolord Army, Slay their Champion, and Escape the trial. 0/1

  Reward: Variable based on performance

  One for All - Consolidation Event

  Without uniting as one, the Veilstriders have no hope of overcoming the Undead. To ensure no one shirks their responsibility to humanity, only the strongest outpost shall remain active once the timer expires.

  Current Leaders:

  1. Veils End

  2. The Hell Hotel

  3. Riverbend Refuge

  Time Remaining: 13 days: 23 Hours: 59 Minutes: 59 Seconds

  “That was not my fault.” Julian panicked.

  “Well, you got what you wished for. The Hell Hotel won't survive without the mirror, and nobody’s getting any stronger without the Loom.” John snickered.

  "Pretty fitting name, I would say," Hannah chuckled.

  “I’m serious. This wasn’t some weird way to try to force your hand. I’m sorry.” Julian stammered.

  “Don’t worry, son. If you were the one in charge of the System, you could end this whole ordeal for us. I guess it just means you’re right, but I’m not ready to force my people to walk through the wilderness for four days to find your little shanty town. I guess this means we let the System decide who’s gotten the strongest when the time comes.” John concluded.

  “I guess so.” Julian apologized.

  “I’m guessing you’ll want to head home then, but know our door’s always open to you,” John said, standing to shake both of their hands.

  “Ours will be too.” Julian smiled, “And we’ll make sure to build a few more beds for when you arrive.”