We decided to end it there while I began accepting more people into the Clan. I had the Amigos get to work on constructing houses this time. I had no idea how it would go, but I just left it to them. We would need more buildings if over 200 people were going to live here.

I walked along to the wolf’s body while editing the Clan’s main page. I spent some time to make a burning skull as our logo or insignia. Reese was kind of upset I made him our mascot, but I neglected to tell him I used this symbol when playing videogames before this shit fest happened.

I decided to try out my Necromancy. I felt a tug of energy, like from when I shot the Burning Brand. The wolf’s carcass started to move and it propped itself up before howling.

Or acted like it was howling. There was no sound, save for the clicking and clacking of bones. The Bone Wolf had become just a skeleton.

“Hey, Reese! You have a matching pet!”

“Har de har har. Hey, was that magic?”

“Yeah, why?”

“Because I have Fire Magic.”

“Cool, must be because of your Pyromancer Job.”

“That and I’m already a Skeleton Mage. I am able to use most forms of basic magic. But Pyromancer increases the effectivity of Fire Magic.”

“Nice. What’s wrong then?”

“My Skill, Swelter, activates using SP, not MP like Fire Magic.”

“Hm…Well, keep up the both of them. You never know.”

“Alright. I am going to check on the walls again. See you later.”

“Hey, wait.”

“Hm? What’s up?”

“Thanks for helping us.”

“No problem. Since me and my friends can still live, kinda, I don’t think we will hold any hard feelings. In fact, we got stronger!”

Reese walked away, whistling a familiar tune as he had his hands in his pockets.

He was right, being a Monster had way too many advantages. Why even bother staying Human? Yet for some reason, I desired for the Humans to remain Humans. Not because I was afraid of the power they may obtain, but because I didn’t want them to lose their Humanity like me.

I still had an hour before the supposed time of the normal broadcast, so I called for Navi, who was resting.

“Hey, what did you mean earlier by you telling Reese to smoke?”

“That’s because I can do things in your stead.”

“So I could essentially leave everything to you?”

“Yes, but I don’t wanna…”

I know that feeling.

“Okay, then why are Rebecca and Reese so nice and attached to me?”

“…well, that’s because of your Puppetmaster Skill. It is still affecting them…kind of.”

“Damn. I guess I should feel kind of happy, but is there some way to remove the effect? I feel weird to be manipulating people like that.”

“Don’t worry. To them, the feeling of following your orders will be as natural as breathing.”

Yeah, but that ruins the need to interact with them. They are almost like brainwashed cultists.

“Hey, when does the Top Ten begin?”

“It should be today. It has been 14 days since the beginning of the apocalypse.”

“Wow, two whole weeks! What kind of things can I expect from the Top Ten?”

“GP, Titles, and even random items. By the way, the timing is almost up for the Clan.”

“I know. I just have to accept some more. I narrowed the search of people who sent me invitations to those who are at a Level 4 Bounty or above.”

“That means they might be a Noble. Wouldn’t that mean they would try to contend with you for your spot?”

“Well, I can just kill them if they threaten anyone here.”

“Nope. You’d automatically lose your position as Clan Head. You would also lose your GP and probably receive a Curse or Demerit for killing someone who is supposed to be family. It’s not just you, it applies to everyone in the Clan. No infighting.”

“Nice.”

I had accepted the last of the requests that I could and declined all the rest.

I had at least three other Level Fours that were part of the Clan, but none of them were like me, Monsters. How is this possible? Could Variants be so rare? I guess the system tried really hard to remove them. As it was, I saw several people trying to get close to the community but were repelled by the guards’ attacks every time.

The Amigos were doing a great job and even bringing me the bodies they found. Most were in terrible condition with only bones mostly remaining. But that was fine. I summoned some more Skeletons and had them help with patrolling and guarding the place.

Movement outside the community ceased as it was almost time for the broadcast.

“Today is a really interesting day! We have a lot to announce, so keep on watching! First up, we have several Humans who managed to become Bounty Level 3! Heroes! They’re finally here! Unfortunately, some of them work for the Lich Lord! How could this be?!”

The voice went on to explain about the new powerful people within our Region. Obviously, Spot was on there. He gained a new Skill, but I wasn’t paying attention. Not until the next segment, that is.

“Next up, we talk about the Lich Lord again! On today’s Daily Tragic Show, we are the ones facing tragedy! The Lich Lord has established his own Clan and accepted several powerful Heroes into it! Speaking of which, everyone who actually joined him gained 200 GP since they joined the first Clan in this State!”

I could hear dings from all the people nearby. I had told them to wait until after the broadcast and to pay attention to the Clan’s chat. I hope the people listened.

“Besides that, we have more BOSSes! The man once known for killing the most zombies in one day, Reese, has been turned by the Lich Lord and became Level 3! He is now the Pyromancer! Not to mention the Bone Wolf! Killed by his subordinates and revived by his sinister power, The Bone Wolf has risen again and is now an Alpha Bone Wolf!”

Sure enough, the two began changing. Well, just the wolf. Reese had already received his reward from earlier, but now he was officially a BOSS. He probably gained a Skill or Title. The Bone Wolf grew in size and a horn appeared on his snout. I checked him, and realized his place had changed. He was now under Pets, not Minions.

He had gained Summon Bone Wolves. Wow, a Spell like mine. He also still had the Alpha Skill which Spot had obtained after killing it in the first place. Now he could summon subordinates and lead them just like me. How weird.

“Onto a more empowering announcement, we are glad to introduce the Top Ten! This list will be displayed every week! But now, we will announce any alerts as soon as they happen. Good luck!”

The voice clicked off and was replaced with a list with five people on it and one big arrow at the bottom right, pointing to the next page.

I was first, followed by Reese, then the Alpha Bone Wolf. Spot and Chance took the 4th and 5th spot while David and Rebecca took the 6th and 7th spot. Next was the Thunder Phantom, Ice Specter, and Brandon. Wow. They all worked for me. I feel kind of bad now. Well, this is just our Region.

I received a Number One Title which granted me a week long boost to my Stats that didn’t count towards next week’s Top Ten.

I also received more GP and some resources. Reese and the wolf obtained lesser versions of the boost and lesser amounts of GP and resources. Anything the wolf obtained, I gained. It was the same for my minions at the last three spots. But all they got were GP. And not a lot.

I sent the message in the Clan chat to spend the points on a weapon ticket and an armor ticket.

I quickly called Lucy and had her switch her luck to Reese. I felt a strange pop, but ignored it. Reese pulled out a cross necklace that he wore around his neck. It apparently increased magic effectivity. So it’s not always a full set of armor or clothes, huh?

But the weapon…It was a tommy gun! It even came with a little gun strap he could wear underneath his blazer! I saw him glance around before slowly pulling the tommy gun out with one hand, cigar lit in between his jaws, and sprayed spit fire all over the targets at the firing range.

I bet he thought he was so cool.

He was. I did laugh, though.

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

Somewhere else

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

“So. They disobeyed, huh? Either that or they were captured and are under the BOSS’ control. Blast ‘em. Send some people that are still at Level 0.”

“Are you sure, General? There are quite a few powerful people there and civilians.”

“Doesn’t matter. They sided with a monster. They don’t deserve to live.”

“…Yes sir.”

The young man radioed in a heli attack and gave the coordinates.

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

Back Home

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

I had Lucy give me back the Luck Boost and went on my way. Lucy herself was on top of a roof trying to aim at the targets just like Spot. Lucy had gained a special pair of glasses that enhanced her vision and a bow that had the chance to Critical Shot. She went into a really focused mode and her hands began to glow. Just when she was about to fire, a strong wind made her lose her balance as she slipped and fell, shooting straight into the sky.

Everyone saw a bright streak shoot into the air before a massive BOOOM!!! happened in the distance. Several thousands of feet above our heads, Lucy’s Critical Shot collided with a black shape in the sky! What the shit?!

“Ouch…sorry, my Luck Boost is currently disabled. I used too much Luck.”

“Huh? How does that work?”

“Well, I notice you guys use MP, but I have LP. Whenever an action uses Luck, my LP goes down.”

“How much do you usually have?”

“I don’t even reach 50% by the end of the day, even if it didn’t fill up again.”

Wow, so broken. Like my pride. To know that I survived only because of her, I felt a little weird. But now that we didn’t have her Luck for the night, we might have to deal with difficult people! Shit! The Radar is full of people! And none of them are part of the Clan!

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

Back at the other place

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

The young man listened to his radio before shaking as he turned back to the General.

“We…we lost them, sir. They were shot out of the sky!”

“Dammit!”

The grumpy old geezer smacked his fist against the arm of his chair in anger.

“Get me through to the Pentagon. We need to prepare.”