The next four days went by peacefully. Rosalynn and Reid were running a very successful advertising campaign for the camp. Painting it as a safe place on Celes. The small camp of a few thousand grew rather quickly into a couple larger camps of several tens of thousands in a few days.


    Aureus and Caroline started collaborating on building up the camp, and it was starting to look like a proper place to stay. We took to creating multiple walls as the camp expanded. There was the innermost camp with the thickest walls and two walls in concentric rings after that. Several smaller camps created similar patterns with two walls as they were built around the edge of the center camp. The aerial view looked similar to a flower with 6 round petals.


    I made it known that I was worried about the dangers that a growing population could bring. It was a double edged sword, there were many more capable party members now, but there were also many more to protect that we didn’t even know if we could trust. Despite my worries, everyone settled in their own areas comfortably.


    Reid had already amassed a cult following within the camp… literally. His patron god was extremely pleased and sponsored Reid with another cosmetic change, his hair was now nearly white. The rest of the party also received a small sponsorship of a jar of strawberry candies that I was very thankful for.


    A few factions naturally started forming, a loyalist faction behind Rosalynn, and then the pro-Mia faction and anti-Mia faction and the religious factions. The faction that disliked me did so mostly due to the fact that I was over-leveled. Especially since I was just refusing to self-sacrifice for their comfortability and planning to leave soon. They couldn’t trust me, and I didn’t blame them but I couldn’t trust them either. I never could get behind the “with great power” mentality, not completely. Some of them were part of the loyalist faction while others were just bitter outsiders.


    One group that aligned themselves with me did so almost immediately after they arrived. I ran into their leader Mateo as I was out helping some of the lower leveled members. He was a huge beast of a man with an equally huge shield. They were a little under 200 people, but after they arrived his group – or my faction – grew to about half of the total population. They were a jovial bunch and we got along pretty quickly, I was thankful for that. It would have been very uncomfortable if I didn’t get along with my… Well, followers?


    Mateo drug me into the makeshift tavern they’d created the afternoon of the fourth day, “Mia, you’ve got to relax for a bit. Take a load off. You’ve done everything that you can today, let’s have a drink!” He clapped a huge palm onto my shoulder and I sunk into the stool with a thud.


    “Fine, fine. I’ll take a break with y’all today, but only cause I’ll be leaving soon.” I rolled my eyes as he handed me a bottle of whiskey. Mateo and his group came from a local military base and had apparently raided every single alcohol store on the way here.


    “Cheers! To the boss!”


    “To the boss!” The tavern resounded back to him.


    “I don’t understand why y’all call me the boss.” I said after a swig of the whiskey. I cleared my throat, I’d never been one for whiskey. I preferred a screwdriver or a margarita, or just straight vodka with a chaser if it came down to it.


    “Because you’re the boss… duh.” Ethan slurred out, he was a tall and slim man. He got along with nearly everyone much like Mateo, but they had different energies about them. He felt more like everyone’s little brother while Mateo was a reliable leader.


    “Yes, that definitely explains it.” I rolled my eyes at him. “Y’all must be getting influenced by Noel,” I muttered under my breath.


    “It’s because you’re here despite it not being good for you.” Heath muttered. Heath was a smaller man in his forties, he was quiet but comfortable to be around. A man that had a homey feel to him.


    “That’s not really true though…” I mumbled glancing over at my timer on the quest I had.


    [ Time Limit: 3:01:19:22 ]


    “Of course it is. You shouldn’t sell yourself short, we heard both sides when we came here. You had a huge fight with the existing leaders when you arrived because you were worried about the lives of the people here. And despite that you stayed to try and help all of them even though they were rude to you.” Mateo elbowed me with a huge grin. He was technically right, but I didn’t stay with such pure intentions.


    Before I could argue that I was also selfish,  and only confronted Rosalynn’s group because I wanted my party to be safe – the group around us cheered in agreement and we got pulled into various drinking games. I tried to let myself get swept away with the atmosphere. The looming anxiety of the timer and what was coming coursed through me. The lower the number got the more it felt like I was sinking underwater, the weight of the ocean sat on my shoulders and made it hard to breathe.


    Being with Mateo’s group helped at least a little to take my mind off of it, and the whiskey was taking the edge off. I wondered if it was so obvious to him that I was worried, if I was so easy to read, and what I was going to do if I lost people again. Despite myself I had gotten invested, I wanted to keep everyone safe, but I wasn’t going to sacrifice myself or my family for them. What if they died too? I never was good at building up walls, that’s why I always tried to isolate myself, I wouldn’t need to build walls if there was no one around to smash them.


    “-that’s when I punched that bastard in the face, you should have seen the look on his face! He was-” I was laughing along to Mateo’s stories again when I felt it. Something familiar, a familiar energy was starting to fill our surroundings. Something was about to happen. I could feel it. I glanced over at the GGC.


    [“Abandoned Bloodied Sword” whines that she should have snatched up Mateo as a contractor first.]


    [“Reflection of an Empty Throne” shakes their head and says that she just enjoys his storytelling abilities.]


    [“Playful Cat Hates Yarn” laughs at “Abandoned Bloodied Sword” and says that Mateo’s skills and personality don’t suit her.]


    [“Whispering Playwright behind a Mask” shakes their head and states that they want it known for the record that they suggested you go home.]


    [“Traveling Spring Painter” lowers her head and says that you made the right choice.]


    [“Seeker of Magic and Knowledge” frowns, saying that he doesn’t understand why humans drink such mind numbing liquids.]


    [“Seeker of Magic and Knowledge” sponsors you.]


    A light and clean feeling washed over me, I jumped up from my seat. I was sober. My head snapped quickly to my quest window in a panic.


    [ Time Limit: 3:00:00:24 ]


    My eyes widened. Of course. What was I even thinking? The quest was to protect the weak and teach them how to protect themselves. Why did I think something big would happen at the end of the timer? Of course the thing I needed to protect them from would happen sooner than that. Stupid. Gods, how was I so stupid?


    Mateo’s hand lightly grabbed mine, the whole tavern had gone silent. They were all staring at me, that look of expectation and dread. What was I supposed to say? I didn’t even know what was going to happen.


    Aureus where are you?


    I’m on my way Master.


    Do you see anything?


    No, not yet.


    I equipped my staff and dagger, and looked over at Mateo who at this point was also standing and preparing himself. The silence in the room was heavy, it made the seconds ticking away on my timer feel even longer. When the timer hit 5 seconds that familiar heavy presence pressed down on us, for five long seconds we gritted our teeth and forced ourselves to maintain consciousness.


    ~~*~~


    System Update


    V 1.0


    Additional Features:


    Guild Functionality (basic)


    This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.


    Events Tab Creation


    Shop Tab Creation


    Forum App Creation


    Note: Patch notes will be available after the update is completed.


    ~~*~~


    [ Congratulations, you’ve survived the open beta! ]


    [ System Update to V 1.0 in progress … ]


    [ System Update Wave beginning momentarily … ]


    [ Monster repopulation calibrating … ]


    [ Map expansion calibrating … ]


    I felt numb, I wasn’t sure whether to rejoice for the new features or despair because a wave was coming. What did the repopulation notification mean? I stared dumbly at the prompt for a few seconds before Noel pulled me out of it. “Mia, what’s our plan? This was unexpected. Should we follow the outline?”


    “Oh… Uh… Okay, so first things first get everyone who is outside of the walls inside again and all of the non-combatives and kids into the center of the encampment. We need as many walls and defenses between them and the monsters as possible. After that we need all able bodies on the walls or in front of them, if it’s going to be a rat wave then we will need to thin the numbers quickly or we will be overrun.”


    “Okay got it.” Noel gave a quick nod and disappeared.


    I turned to Mateo and his group, they were all still pretty drunk, “I just want y’all to sober up. And quickly. Go see if Reid can help with that. If you’re certain about your safety, split up and go to the outer walls, really only the lower level combatants should stay in the inner walls. The goal is to reduce the numbers as much as possible as they get closer to the center of camp, the lower level combatants should be able to pick off the stragglers if we do it right. We should assume some of them will get through the walls. I’m going to survey things on Aureus and meet up with Rosalynn’s party.” I didn’t wait for a response and walked right out into the large clearing in the center of most outer camps.


    Aureus was already there, his face serious but also excited for the carnage to come. I was pretty satisfied that he’d already managed to grow to such a huge size, he was nearly as big as a Clydesdale and I struggled to pull myself up on his back without his help. As he grew his face became more mature looking and his pudgy limbs became more toned. He now had two horns, and his coloring had started to shift. To my surprise his main coloration became more rose gold and the darker bronze lines in his back mellowed out into a lighter more golden color.


    I patted the side of his neck with a smile. Let’s go to Rosalynn, quickly. We took off, and I held on for dear life even though I knew he’d never let me fall. Damn, I really shouldn’t have put it off when Caro suggested she should create a saddle for me. If I’d known this would happen so soon I would have asked her to work on it sooner.


    “Mia! What’re your people doing?” Rosalynn asked as we landed in the center.


    “I sent Noel to retrieve anyone outside of camp and instructed that all non-combatives and kids should be brought to the center. Also I sent Mateo and his group to Reid to sober up before heading to the front lines.”


    “Those drunkards.” Rosalia muttered, but I could tell she was anxious.


    “I thought you liked Mateo and Ethan, I guess I should let them know you won’t be joining them for cards later.” I joked, she just rolled her eyes in response. “Either way I think we should go with the original plan. Any able bodied person should be up and prepared to fight, the higher leveled people need to be the closest to the brunt of it and the lower leveled ones should be closer to the center. But I do think we should station a team of higher leveled people here too for any contingency. I didn’t expect this so we should be ready for any variables.”


    Pride swelled in my chest, I had been preparing for this for days and talking with Mateo and the other military guys had really helped. Especially Heath, he was quiet but seriously skilled at strategy. I just wished he''d contribute more actively.


    “Okay, then what’ll you be doing?” Damien asked.


    “I’m planning to survey everything aerially and help out where I am needed. Keeping an eye on everything is important especially since just one sector falling could lead to disaster for the vulnerable people in the center.” I paused for a moment, “Also we don’t know how long this will last so we should have people resting in shifts just in case this lasts for hours or days.”


    “Reid set up a field hospital in the center right?” Jeong asked.


    “I think so, I was going to visit him and try to figure out a way to keep the people on the front lines from getting overly fatigued or injured.”


    “I’m a little worried, we don’t have that many high leveled people compared to how much we have to protect…” Rosalynn sighed, I understood her plight. People relied on her and Damien just as much as they relied on me. It was exhausting, I didn’t understand how they had done it for as long as they had.


    “I know what you mean. I’ll try to buy us some time to get prepared. I’m more worried about any variables that the update may bring. I doubt they told us everything that was going to change.”


    She nodded, but didn’t say anything in response. A nagging feeling that something was missing lingered in my mind as I took my leave and headed to the religious sector of the center. We landed next to a large statue of a god. I assumed it had to be Reid’s patron god. It had long hair and large pointed ears that went directly up, he had robes on and no shoes. Surprisingly enough he also had six fingers and toes. He stood tall in a praying position with a weightless appearance, his hair and robes floated about him. Was that accurate or just a random depiction?


    “Reid?” I called out as the dust settled. Several people in robes came out to meet me and I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. It was really impressive how quickly he had established this church.


    “Mia! I’m so glad you visited! Caroline''s inside as well.” Reid ran out to meet me and helped me down from Aureus. His hair was noticeably longer than it had been the last I’d seen him. It was lightly brushing his shoulders as he looked down at me with brightly glowing golden eyes. His robes were a gift from his patron along with an ever-glowing lantern he often wore around his waist. He was looking more and more ornate with every passing day.


    “You know I didn’t come for a chat, I need to discuss the battle preparations with you. I can’t go in, I have to go quickly after this.” Some of his followers were busy brushing dust off of his robes and my clothes as well. I had given up on trying to stop them from attending to me since the last time I’d visited; they saw our party as holy figures for some reason and there was no arguing with them. I decided I needed to ask Reid some time about what drugs he gave them.


    “We have time! I’ve barely seen you recently, come on!” He pulled on my arm childishly, but I didn’t budge.


    “Reid, people could die.” I said bluntly.


    His playful demeanor disappeared, “I know, but the wave hasn’t started yet. Noel already stopped by to let me know that the preparations are finished. We’re ready and you can’t do everything on your own. Just come in and talk to me about the plans.”


    I sighed, my anxiety was electrifying my muscles. I wanted to go fight this instant, but relented and followed him inside anyway. Caroline was pacing in Reid’s private prayer room but perked up when we walked in.


    “Mia! It took you forever to get here! Did you talk to everyone else first? I’m last on the list?!” She joked, but I could tell she was hurt.


    “Well, you’re always running around everywhere. I didn''t know where you’d be. I would’ve gone to your workshop, but you’re never there. Really I don’t understand how you get any work done.” I replied with a shrug.


    “Anyways… So what''s the plan? What do you think we should do?” Reid asked.


    “Okay, well as we talked about before, I want the highest level people to be at the forefront killing as many as possible. As the wave gets closer to the center the lower level our people should be. The idea is that they should be able to mop up the stragglers that somehow make it past the elites before them. But the thing I’m worried about now is, we don’t know how long this is going to take. I don’t think we have enough people to trade off either. So I wanted to know what your church could provide.”


    “Shouldn’t you have a team of elites in the center too? Just in case?” Caroline asked.


    “Yeah I already mentioned that to Rosalynn. It’ll be fine. Actually, you should join them, it’d be nice to have you there to help out if needed and repair equipment in a safe place as well.”


    “We can send out groups of priests and believers in shifts to the front lines, and I was planning to go myself as well. I was going to travel to areas that were struggling based on Noel''s reports.”


    “Are you sure? That sounds dangerous, shouldn''t you just stay here and heal those who return?” I asked.


    “No, I can just have Noel help when needed and my higher level followers will be around too, don’t worry.”


    “Yeah, I’ve got him covered. It’ll be fine, we can just change the plan if things start to get tough.” Noel chirped as he draped an arm awkwardly on Reid’s shoulders. Reid was always taller than Noel, but it felt like his god was making him even taller these days.


    I groaned, they were going to be the death of me. Why were they so unbothered? Had I pampered them too much? Was I being overly dramatic? It couldn’t just be so easy if the rewards were so good, or were they that good because the gods were desperately trying to keep me here instead? That god “Reflection of an Empty Throne” seemed to think the rewards I had gotten were too good.


    “Fine. I trust you. Let’s all stay safe.” I pulled them into a hug. I fought the urge to cry, we were going to be fine.


    “Oh yeah before you leave, let me give you a blessing.” Reid said as we pulled away from the hug.


    “A blessing? What?”


    “My class was adjusted when the update was released, I was changed from an adventurer to a Candidate and my class evolved from Priest to Saint. I’ve got a more diverse skill set now!” He puffed his chest proudly as he explained.


    He led me to a bench and placed his hand above my head, the light in his eyes brightened as he started a prayer, “Oh Golden Light that Shines On All, bless this mortal with your divinity!” A bright light filled the room as he spoke and grew brighter until he finished the short prayer.


    [ You have received the Golden Light Buff. ]


    [ Regeneration of all stats increased by ten percent. ]


    [ Damage taken decreased by ten percent. ]


    [ Light damage added to all attacks. ]


    [ Buff expires in six hours. ]


    My tension melted away and a warm energy pulsed in my chest, I felt amazing. “Dang, I wish I had you put this spell in the slots on my staff instead of just the healing one!”


    He laughed, “No, that wouldn’t have worked. I didn''t have that ability until I became a saint.”


    I pulled Caro into a hug again, “Stay safe.” she whispered in my ear.


    “I-” A loud explosion shook the ground before I could respond. Without thinking I was taking off, leaving the building and running towards Aureus, leaving my party complaining behind me. Once we were in the air I saw that one of the six petals of our defense was completely destroyed.