An hour went by as everyone waited with held breaths. The entire crowd had dispersed for the most part, everyone going home to talk with their families or friends. It was a close end result.

World Wide Quest: The FIrst Trial

1) Monster Swarm - 31%

2) Treasure Hunt - 27%

3) Special Dungeon - 32%

4) World Race - 10%

---

Special Dungeon has the highest vote. In 45 days a portal will open near every Hearth Crystal. Every person who voted, regardless of the winning result, has the opportunity to enter. If you do not enter, you will be placed in last place on the leaderboard.

Mathew let go of a breath he didn’t know he was holding. Yet a new one was now held. He had 45 days to get ready for a huge world wide event. The System was testing them, and he was going to make it regret that choice.

“Henderson, Mr. Melton, everyone, we have forty five days to prepare. Suggestions?”

“I’ll work on forming teams with my people.” Henderson said. “You should do the same Mathew. I suggest bringing teams with you to clear out the Undead Dungeon. You know, the teams of people you are technically in charge of.”

“And I’ve given out quests and taskers to each of them who are willing. There are three actual teams, a couple of duos, and a handful of solo people. Lindsey and Zack have been helpful with them all.”

She nodded, seeming to accept that answer.

“I do like the idea of bringing them with me to the Undead Dungeon. Not all of them, just the most trusted. There is the scouting team that found the Dino Dungeon. I’ll absolutely bring those guys, they deserve it. Leo will be with me, obviously. Maybe a squad of guards to protect me, and to show off to the other safe zones? I am going there diplomatically as well. We want to make allies, not enemies.”

“I’ll make my own squad. I know a couple people who would work well with me.” Leo said. “Mathew make your own, but have them separate from the guard forces. You are a leader primarily. I agree that a show of force is smart.”

Mr. Melton nodded, “I like that. Anyone you can spare Captain Henderson?”

“A few. Old world military. Lucas and Samuel included.”

“Yes!” Lucas cheered. Everyone gave him a flat look. “Hey, I missed the Dino Dungeon. Undead sound fun to kill. Everyone else is skyrocketing past me in levels.”

The talk moved forward with making plans not only with combative forces, but progressing Blue Oaks. “Not much can be done in fourty five days, but with the power from the new Hearth Crystal gained we can add one new function. I suggest either the mana condensor or an upgrade for The Workshop specifically. We will need to equip people, might as well enable our crafters to make better things.”

Mathew shook his head. “Mana Condensor, amplify mana for The Workshop, training grounds, hospital, resting areas like the Barracks, and any hot zones needed. Include the Hearth Crystal in there as well.”

“Why do that?” Leo asked.

“I’ve been studying mana lately. Nowhere near a topic expert, however I know everyone uses mana. Think of it as nutrients or fuel. It flows through us, and mana exaustion is very real. We can increase training, more enchantments from the crafters, and so much more across the board. It’s a hunch, but the Hearth Crystal is our main source of everything here. More mana for it will only benefit us. We will find all the other functions working easier and lasting longer. If we want to get that wall upgrade, we are going to want more mana to power it.”

Nobody else had anything else to say. There only remained a week until they left for the city. Mathew would spend every day getting ready for both it, and the Dungeon. His imaginations of having an easy life was over. He needed to remain as the strongest within Blue Oaks. His position was that of being the strongest and most useful. His laws reflected his level and power. Anyone could break them, but those with powers related to laws depended upon Mathew’s own power to reinforce them.

As he headed back to his room, several thoughts came to him to get ready. On one hand, Mathew was tempted to focus only on himself. Grinding till he hit Level 25 and received his rank up. All the power included with that will ensure he was one of the stronges in the world.

The Leaderboard on the Hearth Crystal shows a dozen people over Level 25 now, with even more at Level 24. Three of his brothers were above level 20. Mathew was close, even with the Undead, he knew he could reach the next rank before the trial.

There were many different directions he could take this. Be selfish, and sprinkle the leftovers rewards to the town. He could help bolster a small team, ensuring victory and the rewards being split up evenly. There was also the fact he was in charge now. Public image needed to be kept in a positive light.

Mathew glanced at his menu to see how much UC he and the town had. It wasn’t much. He had over 100k, and the town coffers were reaching toward 100k itself. After the first payments to everyone, the money tanked heavily.

With the taxes, that should equal out then eventually become profit. Even more as they expanded.

The two Hearth Crystals needed to join Blue Oaks. Mathew had no clue how long the Dungeon would last. If it was large enough for the entire world, just what sort of trial could it be? The only Dungeon he was in took a few hours to beat, but it was a Novice rank. The Special Dungeon could be Student rank for all he knew.

He was at an impass. This wasn’t a new feeling, but at such a scale, he was a bit intimidated. He couldn’t reach an agreement with everyone and everything. Nothing can really be bought off, nor could he blackmail, seduce, or give ‘promises’ to the opposition to bend to his side. It would take pure raw talent and power. Both of which he had more than the average person did. An Axiom, a strong item that will probably get him killed one day, two quests to guide him, and a faceless merchant to spend all his money at.

Mathew closed his eyes in thought for a moment. The Dungeon wasn’t an end all be all. There was no punishment for not defeating it, only rewards. Blue Oaks on the other hand was different. He had tied himself to this place once and for all after today.

People would slowly find ways to manipulate him like Vee did. He was lucky. His Axiom and skill [Contest] did their jobs. So much so the skill had gone up three levels. Mathew knew it would be one of the slowest to improve over time, but that’s fine for now. Undead, to his knowledge and Zack, had no real mental manipulation abilites. Just really hard to kill.

Fire and Divine attacks were the best to defeat them, if the old fantasy games were true. Mathew knew several bullets to the brain did them in just as well. With his magic, he could kill Undead easily if they were low level.

What would the Dungeon have? Undead? Infernals? Random monsters? It was too vauge, and Mathew hated not knowing. Di wouldn’t be able to help. Both restricted many times on what he could sell as information, and the fact the man wasn’t all knowing. How could he know what The System would create?

Mathew was going to prepare the best he could. Like a boy scout. He had access to making bags bigger on the inside. It would be difficult with his extra training, but he could get it to a higher level, maybe even Begginer rank.

The idea of possible upgrades for the spell enticed him. Not only the raw size of his bags, but possible reducing the weight, or putting bags inside of bags. Then he realized dozens of people from Blue Oaks would be going into the Dungeon. Equiping everyone with a bag for free to bring back stuff would be a great PR move on his end. He made a mental note to have Melton help organize that.

Mathew returned to his home, and started to pull out more books and information crystals he acquired from Di. He wanted to further study the Undead the best he could. If they were really going to go in and remove the problem quickly, he needed to prepare. He also had his Ritual book out, just in case a ritual could be useful. Blood Scent was viable. Bringing all the Undead to a defendable area to wipe them all out in a single attack. A few stragglers could exist, yet compare that to the hours and days of doing it the slow way was worth it.

The only downside was the Mana Core requirement. He had a suspicion a couple people had mana cores and were holding out on him, or just didn’t want to sell. He silently prayed that either safe zone in the city had at least one or two. He would spend almost all his money on them.

Money was a problem. He was tempted to sell the whip twice now to Di. Yet, he refrained. If it was as valuable as Agnox claimed, he could use it for other means. Bribery came to mind. Anyone could kill a few monsters or clear out a Dungeon and get UC.

Yet, finding such a weapon would be impossible on Earth. He fully believed a whip user existed somewhere. Why not keep it for a rainy day? He had no feelings of using such a weapon. He was enjoying his knives. His accuracy with them was amazing when his target was still. Small movements were just as easy to hit.

The fast moving or aggressive ones were the most difficult for him. Throwing knives were completely different than regular knives. A lesson he learned the hard way from Henderson.

He had only a single lesson with knives, apparently a favored weapon of the military when guns were not an option. After that, he went to Di to acquire a proper set of throwing knives versus normal knives. Giving him nearly ten total blades.

He carried five on him at all times, four throwing and his main melee one. The image of how he dressed now caused him to chuckle. He looked ridiculous. Standing in his room, he caught a glance in the mirror.

Mathew had little time these days to admire his personal image. Something he took pride of as a lawyer. Suits that cost at minimum four digits. High quality tea. A home security system from a company that rivaled the one his brother owned. Not to mention all the other benefits.

Now? He was dressed in armor like a fantasy mage or rather monk. Leather armor under blue robes. A belt of knives while he walked around with a magic stick on his hip. The colors sure clashed, but that can be fixed later.

What really caught his attention was his face. His hair was long and shaggy, a beard he forgot was growing, now sat fully on his face. Mathew McGonald, the lawyer, was gone. Now stood Mathew McGonald, the leader of Blue Oaks. Summoners. Contract Scribe. Not to mention his actual titles.

He frowned at himself. A few scars on his face from the nearly dozen battles he's been in. Even his two eyes didn’t match anymore. The one that was damaged now was a few shades duller than the other. The eyes that were the spitting image of his mothers.

Out of all seven sons, Mathew had his mothers eyes. The two blue orbs that caused you to think an ocean was inside of them. He hated his eyes. He took pride in his image, and always considered wearing contacts. Yet, clients loved his eyes. A pretty blue eyed and brown hair man was much more interesting than brown eyes and brown hair.

Mathew went to his old bags, the ones he brought two months ago. He looked into them. “Two months and I changed this much? What will happen after a year? Fuck this is crazy.”

He shook his head and started to shave his beard. A clean shaven face to show off his jaw line. Mathew then used a knife to attempt to trim his hair. He didn’t tempt fate by getting short hair. Long hair was becoming popular with many people.

With minor acceptance of his work, he left the bathroom. He was lucky the lights still worked. A nice benefit of being in charge. Twice he was offered to move to one of the officer houses that were not destroyed yet.

Mathew denied the offer from Mr. Melton. He didn’t need a big house, yet. Once the base was finished getting rebuilt and properly defendable, he would commission a home of his own. He imagined having rituals to defend the place. Such spells had to exist, no?

A nice mana condensed area so he refueled quickly. A place for him to practice his mana control and spells. Gaining better control, getting stronger, better. All to himself. No mansions full of empty rooms like his parents.

A few servants sounded nice. A butler, or pretty maid to serve him tea. The idea of tea caused him to glance to his kitchen. He checked the time from a wall clock and nodded. “I got time for a cup…or two.”

Mark McGonald closed his blue screens, seeming upset with the end result. “That is disappointing, but our second choice won.” He turned to his daughter. “Go fetch your mother, we have to prepare. Your uncles and I are going to keep discussing personal matters. Don’t forget to continue your training for the day.”

She bowed slightly and left. Mark looked to his two brothers. Jonathan and Adam McGonald. It was unfortunate only the three of them could meet up at their old childhood home. Benjamin was in Europe, and has yet to be reached, but known to be alive thanks to the leaderboard. Luke was safe on the west side of the country, in what used to be Washington State. His security company was very defensible, and had zero problems with anything up until the satellite communication fell through.

Mark had a bounty out for any one with communication magic or abilities. He had two brothers he dearly wished to make contact with. Another he considered reaching out to. He even sent a team to the bunker his youngest brother was supposedly at. Yet they found nothing but a raided area. No survivors. No bodies that resembled Mathew either.

He went as far as checking his brother's home. No bodies, supplies obviously removed. Security system factory rested. It was safe to assume their traitorous brother fled like the coward he always was. He was alive, but where?

“What do you suppose we do?” Adam asked. “We planned on just defending our safe zone with the four Dungeon Cores powering our zone and rotating the guards.”

“Told you it would win. Too many cowards in the world. People don’t want to fight.” Jonathan scoffed. “I say we just take our elite team. Us three, our niece, a couple gear carriers and clean out the place. We are close to Level 25, damned quest, but we are close. Threw us for a loop, but it’s easy enough of a quest to complete.”

“Easy Jonathan. Just because you can sneak around doesn’t mean you are invincible.” Mark said. “We do this right and safe. We will go in as one giant team if able, but a contingency plan for max group sizes to be thought over.”

“Why? No other Dungeon had such a limit.” Jonathan commented.

“Because, I said so. You wanted to be incharge of logistics, so get to work.” Mark said to the third eldest.

Jonathan grumbled but nodded and left.

“Hmm, talking to me alone. That can’t be good.” Adam said with a smile. He adjusted his glasses and put his hands together.

“I want to find Mathew.”

Adam sighed, “You worry too much. We will find him eventually. If he was in control of a Hearth Crystal it would be named ‘Mathew’s Play Palace’ or something along those lines. It’s not like we are keeping ourselves quiet either. ‘Clan McGoanld’ is obvious enough.”

Mark stared at his brother. “He is a McGonald. The information we gained from interrogating that human leader of that Dungeon is tremendous. Families in the size of thousands expanding over dozens of planets. All self-sustaining. It’s the true path our family was meant for. If our mother was still alive, she would want this too.”

Adam just smiled slightly, “You care too much. Everything will work out. It’s not like he is needed for our goals.”

“He’s family.”

“With family blood on his hands.” Adam reminded Mark. “We ousted him for a reason. Let’s keep it that way. He will come begging for forgiveness and protection eventually.”

Mark looked up at a family portrait, his youngest brother's face cut out. “Still…” He let out a long sigh and looked at his brother. “How is your progression in preparation for the quest?”

Adam stuck a finger into the air and a light came off of it. “A lame spell, but a spell nonetheless. How's your daughter? Are you really going to bring her in with us?”

“She is the reason we survived this long. Who would have thought fantasy videogames were the reason we are alive.” Mark shook his head.

Adam stood up, “Well I’m going back to my own safe zone. I have people to prepare. A shame that Quest appeared in the middle of our meeting. I could have secured more votes.”

Mark watched Adam leave and rubbed at his head. “Mathew you bastard, if you are alive just stay hidden. Otherwise you are going to cause more problems than solutions.”

Mark left the room and saw his wife standing at the door. “Abby, good. I’m tired and stressed, can you make me some-”

She held up a tray. A kettle and two tea cups were on it. “Oh, now I remembered why I married you.” He smiled and leaned down to kiss her. “Remind me to buy you some flowers..”

Abby just rolled her eyes. “Come on. You know I don’t need anything like that. Now, another child on the other hand...” She gave him a look while reaching up for another kiss.

Mark returned it and wrapped an arm around her. The two of them walked down the hall. A full painting of his mother was hung at the end right before a set of stairs.

“I never was ready. I miss her.” Mark said looking up at a painting of his mother.

“And I don’t. She hated me, you know it.”

“She thought it was for the betterment of the family. I still married you.”

“Yea? And she wouldn’t dare even come to our wedding!”

“She didn’t come to any of the weddings for any of her sons.”

“That’s a low bar and you know it.” Abby pointed out. “Come on, let's go upstairs. I want one last night of quiet before the next forty five days of work starts.”