By the time I had reached Fanny’s farm by the countryside it was already dark out. A vibrant moon shone overhead, lighting the path as I swung open the gate to the house. I could see a little face peeking out from behind a curtain in the front window. As I moved closer to the house the little one popped back out of sight. Straightening up my clothes, I cleared the dryness from my throat before knocking on the door. Light flickers behind the window curtain as a figure checks out who’s there. As the door gently glides open I’m greeted by Fanny’s smiling face.
Fanny, or as I know her best, Tilda_Bear, has always been a cheery presence in the guild. As our resident healer she’s always been a shining light for whenever things get down. Her smile today was bright, but it also seemed to hide a greater emotion, fear. Her family resided out here, in the countryside, away from all the safe zones and city epicenters. If a bomb had gone off, they would’ve been completely fine, but in this new world, here they were unprotected, and vulnerable. I hadn’t seen many monsters on my way out of town, but what few I had encountered had thankfully been only low leveled ones. With the passing of phases in the system’s ring of updates, I could only imagine what dangers lurked behind the next.
“Are you just gonna stand out there?” Fanny asked.
Mroah! Grendel purred from inside the backpack, trying to force his head out of the top flap.
“Is that Grendel I see?” she spoke, almost trying to wrestle the backpack away from me. She plucked him out of the bag, placing the purring baby down against her shoulder. Grendel purred loudly, his head rubbing up against Fanny’s long black hair.
Stepping into the house after her, “He must remember that mountain of treats you gave him last time you visited. He’s never this cuddly with me.”
Fanny swept Grendel around the living room, almost dancing with him like a mother holding her newborn baby. “He’s just happy to get some attention, isn’t that right my fluffy baby boy,” as she spoke, she nuzzled his face against her own.
Peering around the house I realized how long it had been since I was there. Pictures hung of fanny in costumes, memories of conventions from years past. Ribbons clung to push pins in colors of blue and red. A family picture hung above the mantle of the fireplace, drawing me in. It was a picture of Fanny, her brother’s arms wrapped around her neck into a hug. Her father stood behind like a wide oak tree, watching over them both.
The floorboards creaked as a tall lumbering man ducked underneath a doorway into the room. He looked surprised to see me, but happy nonetheless. A small boy followed suit behind him, teetering back and forth, unsure of who I was.
“Oh… hi Eric,” as I spoke he hid himself behind his father.
“Oh don’t mind him,” spoke Mr. Tillman. “He’s been quite shy since starting school. Even more so with all the monsters and whatnot running about,” he gently patted his son’s head. “Likes to stick to his room lately. Suppose it's safer than being outside in the fields. You never know what’s going to happen these days.”
“Has he been to school since?”
“Not for a few days now, they sent everyone home. Last I heard, the school building got all mangled in vines due to some sort of update to the area. Damn updates. If it weren’t for the farm I don’t know what I’d even feed these two.”
The clock on the wall chimed. Counting, I realized it was already midnight.
Ding.
Huh, that’s new. I stared around as every single one of us had a screen plastered in front of us.
[Phase 4: Setup Complete. The stats and skills cap will now be raised 10 -> 100. New skills can now be unlocked through various means.]
Eric started to bawl as tears streamed down his cheeks. I don’t even know if he can read yet. He probably doesn’t know what the screens say. “Eric, honey don’t cry,” Fanny said as she wrapped her arms around him. She took his hand in her own and motioned with it to swipe away the message. “See now it's gone, come here,” she brought him in for a deeper hug.
“He’s been like this since it started, it's hard for him to understand what’s going on,” she explained.
Like I thought. In a world where anyone can get stronger, those who don’t fully grasp the situation kinda just have to follow along with whatever everyone else is doing.
The television flickered to life, sending Eric in another crying fit. This time Mr. Tillman took him back to his bedroom in order to calm him down. Fanny and I stayed to investigate the strange electrical activity.
“Do you guys have any power?” I asked, noticing the slew of candles that had been set ablaze throughout the house.
“We have a generator in the barn, but dad thought it would be smarter to hold off from using it for now. So we’ve just been using candles and other low-tech options. This thing shouldn’t even work right now.”
“Howdy and a good time we’re having!” A voice spoke out behind the static. Crackling mixed within the broadcast sounds until it cleared. The video itself also cleared as a small feline creature stretched in front of the camera.
“Is that a cat?” Fanny asked.
I would have thought so too if it weren’t for a second set of eyes peering around as the two main ones closed for a moment.
“There we go! Much better! Welcome one and all to the first ever census check in!”
“Is that cat… talking?” I asked.
Grendel strutted on the carpet behind us, trying to find a comfortable spot to curl up.
“You’re probably all wondering how a cat is talking. I am not a cat, in fact I am a Cation of the Cathodens.”
Suddenly Grendel began violently hacking up a hairball. Fanny and I turned to check on him before returning back to the screen.
“But enough about me, It's census time! First on the list for system setup completion is the North American district. According to our readings, these humans are already beaming to prove themselves as capable fighters. Statistically, they are more likely to build into strength, sporting a few of the highest strength wielders in the world as of now. I don’t know about you all, but strength can be a bit bland of a build. And hey, don’t forget to look out for your fellow players! As of now, about 1/8th of the world’s population has already succumbed to either monsters or as a part of reversion. Until next time, it's Belyn signing off!”
The television switched back off as suddenly as it had flickered to life.
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