Lee looked up at the ceiling of the garage. He could sense the people running around in the courtyard above, doing their workouts to start the day. He'd been invited to join in, to raise his Attributes, by the teacher whom Lee still didn't know the name of...

"He is Tethered… least I could do is know his name." Lee sighed and let it go. There would be time for that after the attack, after he'd done everything possible to prepare.

Lee placed his hand on the shield. "Tough, Absorb impacts, and…" He couldn’t figure out how to deal with the absorbed energy after that. He wanted to have a super shield slam or some other bonus, but the problem was the activation… the bearer would have to touch a Rune on the inside of the shield, in the middle of the fight. It was less than ideal.

He was saved from the struggle by an approaching group of people. Lee looked up and saw no one he recognized. Two men, carrying swords and the new, though unenchanted shields, were flanking a man in a suit and tie. "Really?"

The trio walked up to him and the man with the tie smiled brightly at Lee.

"You must be Lee!" He held out a hand. "I'm Wilson Peters. I'm sure you remember the name?"

Lee blinked at him and reached up to shake his hand. "Have we met?"

The man hesitated for an instant before clasping his hand. "Ah, I'm the Fort Commander." He said. "And if I'm not mistaken, you must be the deputy Commander, Lee Cascade?"

"That's where I heard that name!" Lee chuckled. "I was gonna find you yesterday but... something came up." His smile fell.

Wilson frowned slightly before he smiled. "Well here I am!"

Lee struggled to his feet. "I've been wanting to talk to you." He said. "Are we ready for the next attack? Do you need your gear enchanted?" He gestured at the two… bodyguards? "I would have gone to find you earlier but… well I'm kinda stuck inside for now."

"Yes, I heard about that." Wilson nodded with a sympathetic smile. "Apparently you were unconscious for awhile after an incident that nobody wanted to talk about."

Lee chuckled weakly and his laughter died a moment later. "Yea… I… well I almost died." He trailed off and swallowed nervously at the memory. "It was bad… but, I'm better now… mostly, and ready to help out."

Wilson smiled wider. "Excellent!" He looked up at the ceiling where glowing lines of light that Lee had installed that morning illuminated the garage. "This building has great features. Did you make this?"

Lee nodded. "Yea, that first night… oh you mean the lights? Yea I put those in this morning. It's a bit less gloom and hellfire now." He added with a glance to the forge and the silently working woman in front of it.

"You made the Buff in here?" Wilson asked, sounding surprised. "Can you put it on the other buildings?"

Lee shook his head slowly. "No… I almost died doing it… and the next day, I nearly died then too… and the next day… and then…" Lee shook his head. "I almost died a lot… but I guess everyone has now." He stared unseeing at the concrete floor for a moment before shaking off the thoughts and looking back to Wilson. "But I'm still alive so what can I say!"

Wilson frowned. "That's a shame. What about the lights?" He pointed at the ceiling.

"Trapped in here, remember?" He paused. "But, I can make portable lights. Just bring me whatever item you want to glow and I can knock it out no problem." He remembered the refrigerator. "Also, I can make it cold, for refrigeration." He clarified. "Get me a tray of silverware and wear some thick gloves. And water..." Lee stopped to think as he muttered to himself. "I can't put the Rune in the tubs myself, but maybe a…"

"Actually," Wilson interrupted his musings. "We have a 'Water Mage' that is creating water."

"Even better." Lee said. "If he… or she, needs more Mana, just send em to me. That reminds me…"

Full Mana Access Granted: (Wilson Peters)

The man jumped in surprise, flushed, and then his eyes unfocused.

Behind the trio, Lee saw Jake walking down the ramp into the garage. The man looked a bit beat up. "He must have gone to the Lair."

"Who is 'Three'?" Wilson finally asked curiously.

"That's the building." Stanley smiled. "Get it? Building 3?"

"Yes… but how does it give Mana?" Wilson asked.

"Ah, the Mana Well. That was part of what helped me enchant the building…" He didn't mention the Source.

"Plus now you can refill your Mana just by touching the building or walking inside."

"I see…" Wilson looked thoughtful.

"That reminds me." Lee said. "How did you create the Fort? Was it a Skill or an item, or just a feature of the complex?"

"It was… part of my Class." Wilson hesitated briefly. "I'm just trying my best to help people survive in these difficult times."

Lee assumed he didn't want to disclose the details. A lot of people were doing that… like Jake. Though to be fair, Lee wasn't explaining his Class either. He just let everyone assume he was an Enchanter. Except of course, for Alejandro and Maria who had a front row seat to the events of that first night.

"Speaking of Classes." Lee said. "Any crafters that want to work here…" He gestured around the mostly empty parking garage. "They are more than welcome. All the Mana they can use."

"I can see the appeal…" Wilson glanced at May, still working in silence. "Your idea?"

Lee laughed. "The quiet? Yeah, that shit was loud as… too loud."

"Also I think we should bring all the children and any noncombatants inside this building tonight." Lee said and Wilson frowned.

"This is the safest place in the Fort." He didn't really need to think about that. "I know it is."

"I'm sure you know what you're talking about." Wilson said slowly as he glanced around. "I'll tell everyone."

Lee looked down at his project. "I need to keep working on this." He glanced at the two bodyguards who had remained still and silent the whole time. "Do you guys need Mana?"

"They are fighters." Wilson supplied. "More Stamina based as I understand it."

"Well, then come back later, before the timer ends. I should have enchanted shields soon… just take one with glowing squiggles on it and leave those."

"I'll make sure they do." Wilson said and smiled at Lee. "Thank you for the effort you're putting in. If only more people shared your work ethic." He shook his head and turned to go. "I have a lot to see too, if you'll excuse me. It was nice to meet you."

Wilson hesitated, just barely, when he saw Jake standing behind him but he recovered quickly and nodded to the hunter. "Lieutenant."

"Wilson." Jake said dryly and grinned at the man.

Wilson left with his men and Jake strolled over as Lee sat back down.

"How'd it go?" Lee asked him. "In the Lair, I mean."

"I kicked ass of course." Jake plopped down onto the cement.

"Got your ass kicked a bit too, by the looks of it." Lee grinned at him.

"It's not easy to solo a Lair!" Jake defended himself. "But I made it look easy."

Lee rolled his eyes. "So, what'd you get? For killing the Queen."

Jake pulled a large glowing Core from his pocket. Definitely a Shard, by the size of it. "Oh, stuff." He tossed it into the air and caught it again. "But I can't give away all my secrets like that."

"Touche." Lee grinned. "Did it destroy the Lair like Alejandro thought?"

"Nah, said something like, 'since Lair is not cleared out completely, a new Queen may rise'." He shrugged. "The little fuckers all ran away when the Queen died so… anyway, I'll give you a day after the countdown ends before I leave but I'm not hanging out here forever if nothing happens."

"Fair enough." Lee agreed and Jake started for the stairs. He paused before he'd gone far and turned back to look at Lee.

"Wilson was lying to you." Jake said.

"About what?" Lee asked, surprised.

Jake shrugged. "Dunno. But he was lying about something there. Keep an eye on him, man talks like a politician." He started away again and waved over his shoulder. "Later."

"Huh." Lee didn't know what to do with the information so he put it out of his head and focused on the shield.

"If I want it tough and absorbing impacts, then I need a link as well to connect those… but I'll need to do something with the absorbed energy…" He touched the shield and Mana moved. "I'll need five Runes for this one… shouldn't be too much harder than four."

He started the RuneScape and it proceeded smoothly until he was forced to mentally nudge an out of place line back into the proper position. Another point started straying while he did that, and as he forced that one back into place he felt the whole thing starting to unravel.

Lee abruptly realized that he wouldn't be able to pull all the Mana out fast enough if he aborted. If the metal shield exploded like the plate… "Stay calm…" He managed to maintain his cool and kept his tenuous control going as he forced out the final Rune.

The rush of Mana surging in to complete the activation was accompanied by a gasped intake of breath from Lee. "Damn!" He yelled. "I'm the best!"

Lee looked over his creation and silently decided to maybe be a little more cautious. "That could have really sucked…" He thought.

He didn't think it would have killed him… most likely… but he would have needed healing… from Maria! Nope! Better to play it safe.

Lee set aside the shield and started crafting a simpler RuneScape to save inside his Soul. He would make sure Alejandro got the extra special shield. A gift… "Should I make Maria something?" He wondered. "What does she use… a knife… shit." Lee sighed but decided that he should make sure she also was as prepared as possible to protect her family. "She's going to kill me… probably with whatever knife I enchant for her."

Sometime later, Lee felt the people overhead disperse and a few start coming down the stairs.

A message appeared while he was focusing on the people and Lee jumped in surprise.

Greenfield Village Fort Upgraded: Earth Wall +1% Defense to All Defenders within the Wall.

"Oh. Nice!" It wasn't a big boost but every bit counted. He assumed it would get better if they upgraded the wall. Maybe to Stone. "What if I enchant the wall… how much Mana would it take?" Lee gave up on that idea. For now. He would need to find a way to get extra Mana outside of Three.

Lee was already finished with the shields by then since there were far fewer of them than the spears the day before. May had also begun forging some knives after he asked for them and after she'd gotten tired of tearing apart cars for their metal.

Alejandro came into the garage just as Lee finished his knife RuneScape and started rapidly applying it to the available weapons.

The Banana Summoner came down with Alejandro and Lee struggled to remember his name before giving up and asking him as he walked past.

"Dennis." The man reminded him with a smile before stepping into the zone of silence around May.

"Really need to remember people's names…" He turned to Alejandro and presented the shield he'd made sure no one else had taken. "Take this." He told the man. "It should be able to block anything that shows up, even those…" He didn't need to say more, Alejandro understood from the look on his face.

"It should Absorb some of each hit and boost your stamina each time." Lee continued the explanation. "You should test it and let me know how it goes." He pointed out the remaining shields that hadn’t been claimed yet. "These will block just as well but don't have the absorption."

Lee got Alejandro to hand over his sword and after putting a RuneScape similar to what he'd used for the spears, with a Rune on the scabbard to keep it from getting damaged, he gave him the knives for Maria.

"Please try to get her not to threaten me with these…" He said quietly as the man took them. "They are very sharp and she might accidentally kill me… hopefully accidentally…" He muttered while Alejandro chuckled.

Bradley barely flinched as his Mana bottomed out once again. It was a feeling he had been getting accustomed to over the last few days.

Greenfield Village Fort Upgraded: Earth Wall +1% Defense to All Defenders within the Wall.

That did make Bradley flinch in surprise. "Shit!" He glanced at the two men Wilson had sent to guard him but both had that unfocused look in their eyes of someone reading a system message. He sighed in relief. "They didn't notice…"

Bradley was tired of the looks and whispers that came his way. Someone had spread the story about the snake and his subsequent panic attack the next day. Now every time he flinched or ducked at a loud noise or shadow above his head, he felt the judgment. "They think I'm a coward."

He started walking towards Three. "They should try getting eaten… see if they can…" Bradley clenched his fists, nails digging into his palms. "I thought I died!" His nails dug in harder. "Suffocating, burning…"

He stopped next to the wall and placed a hand on it, pretending to be checking its integrity while leaning into the wall for support. The dizziness faded slowly and he used the time to feel the Mana flowing in the earthen wall.

The Mana in the wall was still partially his own, but it was also partly Earth Mana now.

Bradley liked the Earth Mana; it had a solidity, a placid calmness to it. It was soothing.

Ever since his Rank Up to E and subsequent Evolution the night before, it had become much more noticeable to his senses.

He finally continued to the building, bodyguards trailing behind, and stepped inside. His Mana refilled before he made it to the bottom of the ramp and he felt something… something akin to coming home, a welcome… Nope. Bradley forced his mind away from that threatening memory.

Alejandro was talking with Lee.

Alejandro. The man who pulled him from the belly of the serpent… and Lee, the old man who allegedly killed the snake. Bradley didn't know if he believed the last bit but Alejandro claimed it was true and then there was that… event, a couple of days before…

Lee… the Enchanter who 'allegedly' killed the massive snake, who also created an enchanted building that gave everyone unlimited Mana, and then he'd fought against Undead monsters… inside his Soul? "Dammit no!"

"Bradley!" Lee called to him as he approached. "I saw the message. Nice work on the wall!"

"Thanks." Bradley smiled, slightly embarrassed at the praise.

The old man was definitely looking better than he had. Wilson and Alejandro’s not quite forced Lair runs and Core farming had been paying off.

Everyone who could contribute without fighting had been spared but most of the rest were sent to kill ticks and now some kind of rodents as well. At least from what Bradley had heard.

Lee was still staring at him with a puzzled look on his face. "Did your Mana change?"

Bradley nodded. "I got an evolution when I ranked up last night. I'm an [Earth Mover] now and 'attuned to the earth', whatever that means."

"Huh." Lee grunted but kept staring.

Before it got too uncomfortable, Bradley turned away to find a place to rest.

"Wait up!" Lee called. "I just remembered. Think you can put a cover on the courtyard?"

Bradley looked back. "A what?"

"The courtyard." Lee climbed to his feet. "I want to shelter the children and non combatants inside Three tonight, for the attack."

"Thanks for reminding me." Bradley thought with a bitter taste in his mouth.

"The inner courtyard is a nice big area but the open roof might be a problem." Lee continued. "If you can cover it with stone, I can make it durable."

Bradley shrugged. "I'm not sure… it might be too wide."

They all trudged up the stairs to the roof and Bradley confirmed his earlier assessment.

"If I try to bridge the gap it will be too thin and collapse." He explained to the others. "I could create arched beams that would hold themselves up but since i have to create the stone up here, it will take way too long and won't be anywhere near finished by tonight."

"Damn…" Lee murmured while he stared at the gap. "Maybe I can…" His voice trailed off and Bradley heard Lee muttering as he started walking around the perimeter with Alejandro in tow and he turned to head downstairs, already nervous about being so exposed. His mind was conjuring visions of giant hawks and other flying horrors when he turned.

"Sup." Jake said nonchalantly from where he was lying atop the small roof above the stairs.

Bradley jumped in surprise and felt his face flushing when he heard Jake chuckling.

"Relax man." Jake said and sat up to look down at him. "Just enjoying a nap in this nice warm sun before tonight."

Bradley wanted to glare and yell at the man… but he didn't. "Coward!"

Yet even as he wanted to yell at the man, Bradley dearly wished he could be more like Jake. He was fearless and confident, and didn't care what anyone thought of him...

Bradley ducked his head, stepped into the stairwell and then paused in the shade.

"How do you do it…" He murmured under his breath as he stared down the dim stairs.

"It's easy." Jake said from directly behind him. "I just do whatever I want."

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

Bradley jumped again and tried to run down the stairs but a hand caught his arm and dragged him back into the sunlight.

"Bradley… chill." Jake chuckled as he let go of him.

Bradley spun to yell at Jake but his anger faltered when he met Jake's eyes. There was something wrong with them, something wild and dangerous lurking in those eyes that looked not quite human.

"I want you to do something for me." Jake said calmly to the flustered Bradley.

"W… what?"

Jake's smile grew wider and Bradley could've sworn the man's teeth were too sharp. "I want you to jump as high as you can."

Bradley blinked. "What?"

"Trust me." Jake said, still showing far too many teeth in his wide smile. "High as you can. Straight up. Go!"

Bradley crouched, now nervous and just wanting to appease the man, he jumped.

Bradley managed to hold back a scream as the roof fell away beneath him, barely. He didn't quite manage to hold it in when his ascent stopped and he plummeted back down.

Surprising himself, he landed easily, with barely a stumble and stared wide eyed at a grinning Jake.

"We are not human anymore Bradley." Jake said softly. "Not really. We aren't bound anymore by the limits that we used to have." He held his arms out wide. "It's a new world, no more worrying about student loans, your job, your promotion, your retirement accounts, your taxes, none of that matters anymore. We are free!"

Bradley just stared at him while his pounding heart slowly settled back down.

"You can do literally whatever you want now." Jake continued as he hopped easily on top of the stairwell roof and laid back, hands behind his head. "You should be pushing to find your new limits… and then keep pushing right past em."

Jake closed his eyes and Bradley felt something happening behind him. He turned and saw Lee crouched near the edge of the interior courtyard. Alejandro had a hand on the other man's belt and was holding him back from toppling off the slanted roof and into the courtyard below.

Glowing Mana blazed beneath Lee's hands as he placed them on the shingles.

The glowing Mana spread and circled around the roof until it completed the circuit and the whole thing flashed brighter for a moment and then dimmed.

"Jake!" Lee yelled across the roof. "Give it a test would you!"

Bradley turned back to see a grinning Jake, his bow in hand and an arrow on the string, Mana glowing fiercely on the tip.

He leapt straight up, high into the air and fired down into the courtyard.

The arrow zipped away in a streak of blue light and struck an unseen barrier above the courtyard. A violent and brilliant explosion sent Bradley staggering back with a cry of alarm. When the spots in his vision cleared, Bradley saw Lee walking back towards them. His eyes widened when he realized that Lee was walking over the courtyard, his feet appearing to step on thin air.

"Thanks Jake!" Lee waved a hand. Behind him, Alejandro was walking the long way around, like a sane person.

"If you plan to keep your head down…" Jake said quietly behind Bradley. "If you want to hide away in a safe place and go back to being an obedient little drone." Bradley turned angrily and looked at Jake as he continued in the same soft voice.

"If you want to live a quiet life… run away Bradley. Run far away from here and from that man."

Bradley followed his gaze to Lee, the old man still walking slowly over the invisible barrier. Jake's words stirred something inside him, reminded him of a memory that he shied away from. Bradley turned away, sought out the Earth Mana, needing the solidarity, the calm.

Jake was looking at him and back to Lee. "You don't feel that, do you?"

"Feel what?" Bradley said distractedly.

"The pressure… or noise, coming from him. I didn't feel it earlier in the garage."

Bradley didn't respond. He didn't want to think about…

"It's like his Soul is… screaming." Jake mused aloud. "I wonder if the building was blocking it… but now that we're outside…"

"I don't feel it because of the Soul Tether…" Bradley flinched and tried to force the thought away and focus on the earth.

He felt the Mana underneath him, inside the building. There was some Earth Mana in there, infused throughout the structure. But something else was thrumming inside it, deep inside, something that was hidden and muffled from his senses, a vibration that became stronger and more noticeable the more he tried not to feel it. Like trying not to think about a purple elephant. And it filled him with growing dread. The memory he had been avoiding for days crashed back into him.

He was in the parking garage, staring at an old man collapsed on the ground. "Something is very, very, terrifyingly wrong here…"

He tried to pull away, to escape from the memory, but it was too late.

He was frozen, staring at the old man, his mouth suddenly dry when there, for a moment, he saw it. The world seemed to tilt ever so slightly, its fabric bending and flexing, leaning towards Lee, being drawn into… him.

Lee laying there, within a vortex of Power…

It swirled around him, flowed towards him, sank into him, Raged back out and poured into a towering structure looming behind him, stretching to the heavens. The tower blotted out the sun, the sky. Everything and everyone was cast into its shadow.

Visions of horrifying monsters danced through his mind.

The old man fought against them, trapped in a dark place with another man that looked just like him and a pug… Together they fought against the horrors, fought and won… but at the same time, they lost.

Bradley saw and felt it all. The pain. The fear. The rage. The triumph. The… dying.

But then that looming tower had reached out, had touched him and asked for his help. Bradley didn't know why he had agreed, whether it was the fear that felt so much like his own, or just the peer pressure when he felt others instantly accepting.

In the end, he had done it, and now he was connected to the tower… to Three. And from it to Lee.

As he stared in horror, trapped inside that memory, Bradley felt the tower stirring. Turning. Seeking.

It found him… saw him… and nothing happened.

The deadly attention that he felt… just passed over, and moved on.

His heart was thundering in his chest, blood roaring in his ears.

"You know what I'm talking about, don't you?" Jake chuckled. "No one will tell me what happened the other day. They all get that same look on their face."

Bradley swallowed but didn't speak.

"That limitless Mana isn't free, you know." Jake continued in a more serious tone. "That, plus whatever is going on with him, it will draw trouble."

"But…" Jake whispered behind him. "If you are willing to fight for your place, ready to stand against what will be coming, then stay here and hold the line."

Bradley slowly regained control as he watched the seemingly oblivious old man walking closer, his footsteps slow as he trod on the invisible surface. No vortex, no monsters, just an old man.

"W… why don't you…" He couldn’t seem to get the words out but Jake must have guessed his question, because he responded.

"I am not really a follower, more a free spirit. As much as I am curious about what will come here, I can't just sit around. So I will go out there and find my own path. If I find myself nearby someday, I'll be sure to check in."

Bradley nodded his head numbly as the memory finally faded away completely and he saw only Lee being helped up the slope of the roof by Alejandro.

Jake returned to his rooftop nap but Bradley spent the rest of the day in a daze. Jake's words and his own visions circling inside his head.

That was how he found himself that night, sitting against a wall in the courtyard, watching Lee create another force field around the large gathering of children with plenty of adults mixed in.

Watching Lee fall asleep afterwards. The man had been going nonstop all day and apparently it had finally caught up.

He'd watched the anxious faces of parents holding children close, while others hugged their children before picking up weapons and heading outside to defend the Fort. His own lack of family was bittersweet, he didn't have to fear losing anyone, but only because he had already lost them.

Alejandro and Maria had left their children under the dome. The boy held his sister in a hug as she cried and reached after them. The small boy's face, an imperfect mask that failed to hide his own fear and yet he tried anyway, for his sister's sake.

Dennis was in the crowd, offering bananas of increasingly ridiculous colors and whatever flavor the children requested. Doing what he could to distract and entertain. The reactions to his efforts suggested that some flavors went over better than others. From somewhere in the crowd a woman's voice demanded shrilly that he not feed GMO's to her child.

Bradley was still thinking about what Jake had said, about how high he could jump… "Not Human anymore…"

The upgrade to E Rank had changed him, but it did so subtly. He had felt stronger afterwards but he wasn't suddenly flying into the air with every step. It was strange…

Bradley knew he could punch through a brick wall now, easily… though not in this building of course. He wasn't that crazy.

But could he punch a giant snake… would it even feel it? Could he wrap himself in stone if he was swallowed again?

Bradley trembled at the memory and another nagging thought intruded.

Could he hide in here with the children and other non combatants? All of the adults in here had no fighting ability, most still F Rank. And yet many of the people on the wall outside, holding spears, also didn't have fighting Classes.

They had desired to help, had joined in the training exercises, had gone out and collected Cores to get stronger.

Wilson had given Bradley the Cores to Rank up. No fighting necessary, his ability to make a wall having been deemed important enough to warrant the cost.

Was that enough? Had he contributed enough? What did he want to do…

Bradley stood and walked over to Lee. "What am I doing?"

He knelt and gently nudged the sleeping old man. Lee opened his eyes slowly and blinked at him.

"Can you let me out?" Bradley asked him, almost having to shout over the cacophony of voices. "This is stupid."

Lee looked at him in confusion for a moment and then glanced at the glowing line of symbols on the ground next to him. He nodded and touched the line. It dimmed but didn't disappear and Lee gestured for him to go ahead.

Bradley stood and walked over the line. It brightened behind him and he forced his feet to keep moving while the voice in his head screamed that he was an idiot.

He stopped with a hand on the door that would take him outside. "No need to be that stupid about it." He turned away and went to the stairs. A minute later he stepped out onto the roof.

"Glad to see you aren't a coward after all." Jake's voice sounded from above.

"I am." Bradley whispered, his eyes on his feet. "I'm an idiot. A terrified idiot."

Jake laughed. "Only an insane person wouldn't be scared."

"What does that make you?" Bradley shot back with a small smile.

"Certifiable." Bradley could hear the grin in his voice. "Have you ever seen the stars like that?" Jake asked.

The sudden off the wall question caused Bradley to glance upwards. "Whoa!"

"No. No I have never seen…" He trailed off as he took in the canopy of brilliant lights. It was breathtaking. The lack of light pollution and maybe even their new and improved eyes, culminated in a truly awe inspiring sight.

Eventually Jake broke the silence. "You think there might be monsters on the moon now?"

"What?" Bradley glanced at the man lying on the roof. "Why would you even think…"

"Come on! Have some imagination!" Jake laughed. "We know there must be other worlds out there. Those monsters come from somewhere."

Bradley saw Jake's arm stretched up towards the moon. "How strong would we need to be to get to the moon?"

"I don't know…" Bradley stared up at the moon, his mind now caught up in the idea.

"Imagine walking on the moon…" Jake whispered. "On Mars… visiting Saturn, Jupiter! How many whole new worlds are out there, just waiting for us…"

Bradley couldn't think of anything to say, so he just laid down and stared at the sky.

You have been conscripted into the Minor Raid Dungeon [Assault on Greenfield Village Fort]

Invaders are coming! Join with your allies and prepare your defenses! Fight!

Rewards will be granted based on Contributions to the Defense or the Assault once the Invaders have been Defeated or Driven Out or when all Defenders are Defeated.

Bradley scrambled to his feet. "Shit! I forgot to watch the time."

"Relax." Jake said dryly. "We get five kilometers, remember?"

"Right." Bradley thought as he peered off the roof and out into the moonlit darkness. The top of the wall was only about one story lower than where he stood but it was far enough away that he couldn’t see directly behind it. Though he could see and hear the nervous conversations and shuffling of the people on top of the wall.

"What if they attack on the other side of the Fort?" He wondered aloud.

"They won't." Jake sounded far too confident. "They will attack here."

"How do you…"

"It's like a game, right?" Jake said. "They attack us to get loot and probably Cores or experience or something like that. If you're looking for the good loot and the good xp, where would you focus your attack?"

"Right…" Bradley thought. "Go straight for the boss."

He watched the darkness, tense and waiting for something, anything, to happen. After an interminable period, there was a distant shout. Bradley tensed but nothing else happened.

"Here they come." Jake murmured.

Bradley glanced up and saw the man standing on his small elevated patch of roof, bow drawn and an arrow on the string. A glowing light appeared on the arrowhead and quickly grew brighter.

"Let there be light." Jake said, a grin on his face now easily visible in the glow of his arrow.

He released the arrow with a thwip and a flash.

Bradley's eyes followed the flash out past the wall and into a neighborhood street. The shot exploded in a bright boom and revealed… something.

"What is that?" Bradley saw moving 'things' tumble and break where the explosion landed. Something or somethings screeched or screamed, and then darkness descended once again, deeper now after the flash.

His heart was pounding and Bradley wiped sweaty hands on his pants as he strained to see. There was something moving out there. Rapid movements but still no clear visual of what they faced.

Then something climbed over the top of the wall below and Bradley saw.

It was a nightmare mix of a spine-covered sea urchin with spider legs that apparently allowed it to easily scale the wall. The front pair of the six legs unfolded into scythe-like praying mantis claws as it stopped. The monster towered over the man who had tripped in surprise and fallen back onto his butt when it appeared.

Bradley couldn't see a face or head on the thing. It was just a huge ball of spines and legs.

The monster didn't hesitate as it surged forward, scythe-like limbs swept up, and a spear stabbed into its spiky body.

A line cracked open across the whole front of the thing and it screamed through rows and rows of needle teeth.

"It's all head… and mouth!" The mouth was large enough to swallow a human whole and Bradley was frozen in terror at the sight.

Another spear sank into it from the other side and the two people, screaming their own battle cries or maybe just their own cries of fear, pushed forward as the ball of thorns seemed to sag, and then it was pushed back off the wall and toppled out of sight.

Another spiny ball of horror crawled over the wall behind one of the spear wielders who stabbed the first one.

Before the man could turn to face it, a claw stabbed straight through him and lifted him up to the widening maw.

Then Maria was suddenly there. She spun. A blade flashed in the moonlight and the man dropped, the impaling limb severed.

The creature screamed and raised another bladed appendage as Maria ripped the impaled and severed limb from the man's gut, her hands glowing brightly as she slapped the bleeding wound and roughly flipped him over to lay her hand on the exit wound.

A spear stabbed into the monster looming over her and it staggered but kept pressing forward, reaching for the healer.

Bradley finally acted. He thrust his hands towards the wall and the earth that he had raised up, the earth that still had his Mana inside it.

A smaller wall rose up rapidly in front of the monster and behind Maria. The claw crashed against and into the earth where it stuck fast as the wall continued to grow upwards.

Bradley clenched his fists and the new wall broke free and flew towards the outside edge, half carrying and half pushing the creature back until it was forced over the edge.

Bradley sagged and almost collapsed from draining his Mana faster than he ever had before, but he forced himself to remain standing as he watched Maria finish with the wounded man, thrust his spear back into his hands and sprint down the top of the wall towards another screaming man.

Three had already refilled his Mana when the next ball of death swarmed over the wall and Bradley thrust his hands out. This time a much smaller pillar of earth rose from the wall, it narrowed into a point and crashed into the creature's body. It didn't penetrate very deeply but it halted the forward momentum and gave the defenders time to line up their spears.

The spears plunged easily and deeply into the monster and it screamed as it was pushed back and over the edge.

Bradley turned to the next and the next. Mana flowing continuously into and out of him as he blocked, pushed, and ensnared monsters.

Alejandro made an appearance, blurring into place when two climbed over together directly behind another. He swung his shield and light flashed as all three were launched from the top of the wall and into the dark.

A wounded man didn't rise after Maria treated him so Bradley deformed the inner side of the wall to slide the man down next to Three. Moments later Maria blurred down to him and collapsed against the building. Then she straightened and blurred back to the top of the wall, knives flashing as a monster was divested of its claws and legs.

The battle was a dark nightmare full of screaming humans and monsters. Smaller versions of the creatures started appearing, only these exploded in a burst of spikes when stabbed.

The few men with shields, as well as Bradley with his walls, helped immensely with those. He couldn’t grow or move his earth spears fast enough to kill the monsters, or maybe they weren't sharp enough. Either way Bradley knew what he would be practicing after this night.

He could hear screams coming from farther away but he couldn't spare any attention. His focus on the area of the walls before him.

More and more monsters crested the walls and Bradley was unceasing as he fought back and did his best to keep people alive.

Then a light appeared outside the walls, flaring up brighter and brighter, and revealed the largest monster so far. Its claws weaved before it and magic flowed from them, coalescing into a swirling ball in front of it.

"There you are!" Jake's voice nearby startled Bradley and he glanced over when light blossomed on the man's arrow.

"I've been waiting for you." Jake said with a feral toothy grin as he stared at the monster.

Bradley realized that he hadn't noticed any glowing arrows in the battle so far, though he had heard the bowstring plenty.

The monster in the distance turned slightly towards Jake as both of their attacks grew towards a crescendo.

Then the monsters spell completed and launched forward, while Jake held his shot a moment longer.

Bradley poured out his Mana and the far side of his wall leapt away and up, reaching for an interception with the creature's spell.

Jake released his arrow.

A beam of light streaked near instantly across the distance and vanished into the monster.

Then it exploded.

Bradley saw the flash but he was focused on the spell that impacted his flying wall and detonated. He had an instant to recognize the cloud of shrapnel coming towards them and he forced more Mana out even as Three tried to refill it. He reached out to the incoming threat and crushed the shards into smaller and smaller pieces until a cloud of dirt rained down harmlessly over them.

Congratulations! The Enemy Raid Leader has been Defeated!

Bradley slumped as relief and exhaustion dragged at him.

But it wasn't over yet, more monsters still crawled over the walls. The death of the leader didn't seem to have slowed them, if anything it had driven them into a frenzy.

"Dibs!" Jake yelled and leapt from the roof down and out to land on the wall. He dodged around one of the monsters and then jumped over the edge and into the dark.

More people fell and Maria was a blur as she zipped between the wounded, with occasional detours to Three and the injured people that Bradley had slid off the wall. Likely to regain her Mana from the building.

Alejandro was a tireless machine, sprinting constantly between attacking monsters, blocking, cutting, and sometimes simply tripping a monster on his way towards another, allowing others a chance to impale it.

Jake reappeared on top of the wall and then jumped easily to the roof, whereupon he reclaimed his spot above the stairs.

At one point, Bradley saw a defender fall and before he could react, the invisible girl appeared with a spear already sunk into the monster. It fell and she vanished.

He heard Jake muttering about 'idiot girl' above him and Bradley shouted at him to help more.

"I don't wanna steal all the kills!" Jake shouted back. "You guys need the practice anyway."

Bradley gritted his teeth as he struck and blocked but the reduced number of defenders on the wall was taking a toll. As more were wounded and dropped, the remaining fighters had to fight against ever more enemies at once.

A group of four spiky spiders climbed over together and Bradley managed to block them from killing the lone defender in their way, but unfortunately that allowed them to clamber down and inside the walls, heading straight for the building he stood on.

As he tracked their progress, Bradley saw a woman down among the wounded near the building. Her hands glowed green and the light pulsed over the wounded as she moved from person to person.

The monsters were heading straight towards her and then the invisible girl appeared again, blades flashing in the moonlight, removing legs and claws from the creature's as she flickered in and out of sight, dancing between their attacks.

"Not bad." Jake said loudly from next to Bradley as he looked down at the fight. Then he laughed when the girl got brushed by a claw and tumbled to the ground in front of a gaping mouth.

Before Bradley could try anything, there was a rapid, almost machine-gun paced, sound of a bowstring snapping and all of the monsters around her collapsed.

"Don't just lay there!" Jake yelled down at the girl and she vanished.

The fighting continued. Some of the wounded rejoined the battle after the green glowing woman's hands touched them.

Finally, after an eternity of panic, Mana draining attacks and blocks, the tide slowed and stopped.

Congratulations! The Dungeon Invaders have been Defeated or Driven Out. Dungeon Defense Successful. Victory!

Area Protected from All Dungeon Incursion Varieties for a duration of (10)(Local Days)

All Regeneration(Environment, Resource, and Individual) +25%

Recover. Rebuild. Rearm. Prepare to Defend The Dungeon.

Your Contributions to the Defense have Earned you:

+1 All Base Attributes

+1 Class Level

Bradley gave up and collapsed onto the roof. His whole body ached from the excessive Mana use and he just wanted to sleep.

"Guess you made your choice." Jake said and Bradley turned his head towards the voice. He rested his cheek on the roof shingles and looked at the archer. The man didn't even look winded.

"You could have helped more." Bradley accused.

Jake just shrugged. "Eh. I wanted to see what your chosen allies were capable of." He glanced over the edge of the roof towards the wounded area. "I didn't let anyone die. At least on this side."

Bradley just sighed and closed his eyes.

"Watch out for giant birds." Jake whispered.

Bradley opened his eyes and sat up abruptly. "I… I'm going inside."

He staggered down the stairs to the third floor and a few doors down to an empty apartment. The door swung open as he stepped up to it and Bradley stumbled inside bleary-eyed.

Ever since that day… since he'd accepted the Tether and gained 'Permanent Residence', Bradley had known that this was 'his' residence. There wasn't a notification or anything obvious like that, only a feeling. A strong feeling that led him to this empty, unfurnished apartment.

When he came through the door this time, there was a glowing light on the ceiling. "When did I get a light…" He thought tiredly and then forgot about it as he slumped down onto the carpet covered floor.

"I really need to get some furniture…"

The floor felt great however, so soft, so warm… if only that bright light on the ceiling would turn off, it would be… The light went out. "Perfect."

Bradley slept, a small smile on his face.