We were eating back at my house and Lucy, Sarah, and Spot joined us. Rebecca was still nowhere to be found, although I knew exactly where she was. Halfway through the meal, I got an alert saying all of my resources were used.

Huh? I thought it was just wood? I finished quickly and walked outside to see a wall that looked far better than what I saw before. Really?! What is this?!

“It looks like the Amigos make for some really good Builders. They went above and beyond!”

“I’m not upset at their ability, Navi, just frustrated they didn’t tell me! The requirements for the basic wall was just wood!”

“Maybe you didn’t have enough? It looks like some of this was also taken from the scraps around the place. Why not ask them?”

We all walked over to the Amigos as they were wiping towels across their foreheads. You guys are Undead, how do you sweat? Or is this just part of the ‘system’?

“Sorry we used some extra materials, Boss. We decided to make use of the metal and stone to help fortify the wall. You really wanted this place well defended so we had to make a walkway. There are also two entrances on the main road with gates and sentry posts.”

“Exemplary. But next time, I would like to hear your thoughts so I can prepare for any other necessities.”

“Of course, Boss.”

“Good. You may return to deconstructing the nearby uninhabited houses for more resources. Do you need anything?”

“May we use the Skeletons?”

“Of course, you are in charge of them. If you find any good looking corpses, bring them back as well. I can use Necromancy to make more minions.”

“Yes, Boss!”

Red Amigo gave me a casual salute before gesturing towards the Skeletons to follow him. Some Humans were placed at the gates to keep watch. I checked the emotions, but the feelings were split.

The elder people were happy for the protection while the younger people felt as if they were being locked in. I might have to change that.

“Hey Navi, is there any way I can give GP or anything to other people in exchange for their actions?”

“Like a Quest?”

“A what now?”

“A Quest! Sort of like a Mission, but smaller and ranked for difficulty like Bounties. People can issue Quests in exchange for an item. Only people who want the item will want to complete the Quest. The system automatically fixes everything.”

“Can I set it to only the people here?”

“Hey, Andrew, what’s up?”

Spot walked over, probably interested in what I was doing.

“Hold on, Spot. This is important.”

“Alright.”

“The easiest way to do that is to create a Clan and invite everyone here into it. You will be the Clan Leader and can issue Quests only other Clan members can see. This means other people within the Clan can as well.”

“That works. Sooo…send it like a friend request?”

“You are getting the hang of it.”

“While I’m at it, I can send the armor and weapon tickets to Chance, David, Spot, and Rebecca.”

“Huh? What’s this?”

Spot was a little confused as he saw his monitor change. I could hear a small child like voice talking to him.

“Congratulations, This State’s first Clan has been created! For those that are part of this Clan by the end of the day, they will receive 200 GP! Send a request!”

Soon, my monitor was flooded by requests to join my Clan. I ignored them and sent the requests to everyone in the community.

“Wow, 200 GP! That’s enough for two tickets! Awesome! This will help all of you get stronger quicker!”

Navi was fluttering around my shoulder, expressing her joy while looking at the monitor.

“Yep, but wasn’t that a State Broadcast? I have way too many requests to join.”

“Accept them. They can’t easily quit and they can earn you better points. And if they die, they will just make room for others.”

“I will wait for everyone here to accept. That way, everyone here is guaranteed a spot.”

“Eh? You say something?”

Oops, accidently said his name, huh? And he was standing there so quietly, too.

“No, take a little bit to get situated. I want you to do something later, though.”

“My, aren’t you reliable now? Hahaha!”

“What do you mean by ‘now’?”

“I am only teasing.”

I checked the monitor, indeed he was. I sighed before replying,

“I know. I am just tired. And Rebecca keeps avoiding me.”

“Well, no surprise there.”

“Hunh?”

Spot actually started to shake. I may have gotten a little ticked, but I don’t think I was emitting killing intent or anything.

“Uhh, what I mean was that she is afraid.”

“How so?”

“Umm, it’s not my place to say. If you can catch her, I doubt she would run away. She’d be too embarrassed to.”

“Great. A game of hide and seek.”

I leave Spot to look after Lucy and Sarah who were all fiddling with their monitors.

“You know, because of you making a Clan and inviting these people, they awoke their Fairies. And Rebecca awoke her Pixie.”

“Really? I guess unlocking the Summon, Inventory, and Friend tabs would do stuff like that.”

“You also unlocked the Clan tab, otherwise how did you open it?”

“Oh right. Well, tonight I will have to sit down and make Quests for people.”

“Yep. I wonder how far your control will extend by the time the State Broadcast appears.”

“Hush, there’s Rebecca.”

“Hey, before you go, don’t you feel bad for her?”

“Hm?”

“Imagine, a lady who went through so much pain and found herself as some sort of freak that wasn’t even the same race as her own child. She didn’t want the only person she chose to confide in to reject her.”

“Hah?! But she rejected me! And she still came back to me! Grr, she’s so selfish! So what her story is tragic! I need to…huh?”

“You feel it?”

“Why is Tragedy activated?”

“You don’t only grow from your own Tragedy, but other people’s as well.”

“Damn. With this, I should be able to catch her. Hiya!”

As I was talking, I pulled out a strip of leather and picked up a rock. I slung the rock away and activated Triggered by running out of ammo. I then shoved off the ground and heard Navi saying,

“Good, that’s using the rules to your advantage!”

In an instant, I was right behind Rebecca but out of nowhere, her wings unfolded and she flew into the air.

I caught myself and looked at her surprised face. Her skin was extremely white, almost like dried bones. She had two similarly colored horns on either side of her head just above her ears. They weren’t long, they looked more like little cones. She had slightly pink colored wings and a tail the same color. Her hair had changed from its previous brown to the very same pink.

All in all, she looked the same except the color change. And the horns…and tail…and wings. But besides that, she was fine. Unfortunately, she had a web of blue lines that looked like blood veins spanning across her face and arms. They looked a lot like tribal tattoos. But I just figured these were Mana lines.

Sort of like veins, but where Mana flows.

“You’re correct. Those horns are also used to attract Mana from her surroundings to quickly refill her energy. Of course, there are other ways she can rejuvenate…”

“Uhh…Anyways, Rebecca, what’s the matter?!”

“No! Stop!”

She covers her face with her fragile looking arms. If I didn’t know any better, I would think she was a glass cannon. But she’s made of tougher stuff. Although you can’t tell from her current appearance.

I readied my power output and jumped. With her eyes covered, she had no way of knowing what I was doing before I already got too close. Triggered was already wearing off since the effect didn’t last for long. It was only meant to get a good enough distance away to continue shooting.

But it was enough to grab onto her legs. Man, they’re soft. Were they like this before? Wow!

Soon, we collapsed onto the ground. I took the fall and managed to turn Rebecca so she landed on top of me, so she wouldn’t get hurt. But when we landed, I wasn’t even winded! That was a good six feet off the ground! Normally, I might have even broken something if I didn’t fall right!

But I wasn’t thinking about that, since Rebecca was reeeeeally close to me. I could smell her now, too. She smelled like oranges. Weird, I thought she would smell of flowers, or something. But I like oranges.

Her oranges were also pressed up against my body, making it hard to concentrate. Luckily, Rebecca wasn’t really paying attention to me as she was sobbing into her hands.

“Why are you crying?”

“I look like a freak!”

Let’s try defusing the situation.

“If you are a freak, then I must be the scum on the bottom of an ant’s foot!”

Eh…I suck at making jokes. I know I said I was sarcastic, but…

“Hahaha…you suck at jokes.”

“I noticed. Hey, you know, you smell nice. I thought our shampoo was lavender scented or something.”

“Hehehe, that’s part of her power! She can’t change too much about herself, but your senses get muddled and you believe she is the perfect girl for you. Your sense of smell, touch, and sight are probably being affected, huh?”

“Wait, if sight is being affected, why do you think you look ugly?”

“These blue lines! I look like I am dead!”

“Well…you did die, after all.”

“…”

Dammit, I don’t feel good seeing her like this. I was suddenly struck with the desire to kiss her. I gently grabbed her chin and made her look at me. I slowly got closer, but the other night started playing in my head and I almost backed away.

She saw the change in my eyes as she tried to remove herself, but I only grabbed her harder. I forced her to look at me. Then I kissed her.

Which surprised the both of us.

==================================

WOOHOO! Looks like MC has stepped beyond the boundary! But...he needed to be affected by magic, huh...

What a shame. I kind of want to post more chapters, but if I do that, I will burn out! Such a hassle...meh. whatever. Expect a second release, later!