Ch. 4. 14

14.

Local Leaders 

• Alan Murtaugh (22)

2. Santiago Silva (21)

3. Naomi Weaver (20)

4. Chloe Smith (19)

5. Cameron Murtaugh (19)

Regional Leaders

• Alan Murtaugh (22)

• Santiago Silva (21)

• Naomi Weaver (20)

• Dillon Brook (19)

• Chloe Smith (19) 

“By one?” Santi asked in disbelief as he stared at the list. Alan was laughing his ass off as he drank a beer and they all waited for the next round of notifications to arrive.

Congratulations! You have survived 91 Days of the Integration. Initial Phase Ending. Winners of the Monster Den Hunt shall receive their Rewards in direct relation to their contribution. 

Phase Two of the Integration will begin in Seven Days.

Integration is painful, but at the end of the journey there is unity as you join the Integrated Galaxy. Portals to key specific worlds and factions will open to allow the newly Integrated to begin acclimating to their new Reality. 

Santiago Silva 

Local-Rank 2 

Reward: Loot Box (Greater)

Regional-Rank 2

Reward: Title Monster Hunter

Passive Title increasing sensitivity for detection of monsters. (Scales with mana and perception) 

Santi looked at the title and nodded to himself. It was a strong passive title but not in the same category as the cockroach title. It was painful for him to push the golden box over to a smirking Alan who picked it up and tucked it under his arm. Losing the loot box over a stupid bet burned but he still had gained a powerful elite and hundreds of new citizens.

Alan had the good graces to not open the loot box and show off what Santi had earned. His own mythril loot box was a clear indicator of what the grand local prize would have been. Both of the boxes were scooped up as Alan walked away chuckling as he went to open the boxes in private. 

Chloe and Cameron had both taken their own boxes to the side and were opening them while Santi looked on. Cameron got a breastplate of silvery armor and Chloe a large hunting knife with a ruby in the pommel. Both were excited and were quick to show them off. 

“Did you learn your lesson about betting?” Bianca asked as she sidled up to him. Santi glanced over to his older sister who was wearing a look that their mother would be proud of. He rolled his eyes at her but had to agree. He had earned what likely would have been a good piece of gear and it had been lost because of his ego. He had been so certain that he could beat Alan and now he was paying for it. 

It wasn’t the end of the world, but it was frustrating and yet another small reminder that he wasn’t all-powerful. Santi sighed and shook his head as he spoke.

“Should have known betting him would cause him to pull out all stops to win. It’s unhealthy how competitive he is.” 

“Cam’s bad, but Mr. Murtaugh is obsessive about winning.” Bianca chuckled with him while their respective significant others put their new toys on and talked excitedly with each other.

“That last part of the announcement. What do you think it’ll be?” Bianca asked. She kept staring at Cam and Chloe, but her attention was focused on him. That his friends and family had realized something was off with his story was easy enough to figure out. He didn’t think they fully realized what it was though, least not consciously. 

After realizing his own memories of Delilah had been protected and altered, he’d realized that he’d had several gray-outs where part of him knew what it was. He had a feeling Tank and Chloe might have experienced something like that as well. Maybe even all the survivors of the first night who had been at the dorm party and had their memories suppressed by Akthyr. 

“Nothing good. We’re going to have to make this trip to SoCal quick. We go down there and clear the rift and hustle back up here. Maybe establish a few trading outposts or something. Collect a few more Pillars of Civilization.” 

“I’m nervous about leaving Mom and Yessi up here by themselves. What if something happens and we’re not here?” 

“Something will happen. Dad died when we were here. We can’t stop moving forward because we’re scared of what might happen. We prepare the best we can and just trust one another,” Santi said. He would be lying if he said he wasn’t nervous as well, but he couldn't show that to Bianca, not while she came to him for comfort. 

“What are those two idiots doing?” Bianaca said suddenly and Santi had to look over to where Cam and Chloe were standing staring at each other. Cam hit his hand on his new breastplate with a loud smack and a wild smile as Chloe hefted her knife and looked at least a bit dubious. 

“I think he’s trying out his new armor. And she’s trying out her knife,” Santi said blandly.

“I see that. I just wish Cameron wouldn’t be in said armor while testing it out,” Bianca said with a sigh. Her eyes swept around till she saw Tank watching the two with a look of disbelief on his face. Disbelief quickly morphed into disappointment as Chloe stabbed Cam. Sparks shot out across the dark yard as the blade skated along the armor, golden power swirling around it.

“It works!” Cam shouted with a wide grin and he looked over to where the Silva siblings sat. He saw the look on Bianca’s face and slowly the exuberance faded away and a bit of guilt set in. 

“Thanks Chloe. For the really, really, safe testing. Where I wasn’t in danger at all cause you definitely held back,” Cam said with a stiff grin. He patted Chloe on the shoulder and then walked over to them to sit down next to Bianca and just pretend nothing had happened. 

“Your armor is able to channel your shield spell?” Santi asked to break the icy silence as Chloe flopped down next to him. His girlfriend’s warmth was nice in the chill air of the summer night, the breeze blowing through the hills enough to make him slightly uncomfortable. 

“Oh yeah. It can channel any defensive spell or skill I have. Should keep my clothes from getting torn up,” Cam exclaimed. 

“And you?” Santi asked Chloe.

“Hmm? Oh the blade is able to store offensive spells and use them instantly.” 

“That’s solid. Would be good for surprising people who think you just have a piece of metal. Or setting it off once you’ve already stabbed them.” 

“That’s what I was thinking. Got a title too, but it’s weak. I’m able to detect monsters based on how high my perception is.” 

“And your perception isn’t very high?” Santi guessed.

“One of my lower stats. It’ll help when out and about. Keep me from being surprised by monsters at least.” 

“Fair…fair. Y’all ready for taking off?” 

The entire group still needed to pack their gear. No one was ready to leave quite yet, but they now had a time limit. Santi wanted to be back home by the time the invaders arrived. 

“I’m going to run back to Homebase tomorrow and make sure everyone is settled down and then I’ll run back here. We can take off day after tomorrow, right at dawn.”

“How long do you think it’ll take us to get down there?” Chloe asked.

“I think we can leave most the non-critical staff here. Just take our hit team of high levels and race down there. Two days maybe? I don’t know. Matters how many dens and random monsters are running around.”

“Hopefully no more cursed either,” Bianca cut in, to his side and everyone vehemently agreed. Mercy had been powerful and dangerous, but she wasn’t the worst thing that would be coming. Santi was nervous as he thought of the invaders, of their strength and knowledge that far out surpassed his own. He looked over to where Naomi was and wondered if she knew more. 

“The enemy of my enemy is my friend, right?” Santi asked his friends and family. 

“Sure, that’s the saying,” Cam said, nodding along. Tank looked at him with a quizzical look and the girls stayed silent as he thought. 

“What if we’re all enemies? Would you side with your local enemy to stop the outside enemy?” 

“I mean, yeah. We should. Look at how the natives did when Spanish Conquistadors showed up. Spain pitted them against each other and ended up holding it all in the end. Better the devil you know, right?” Cam said with an easy grin while everyone else just nodded. 

“United we stand, divided we fall,” Chloe said, nudging him with her arm. 

“What movie was that from?” Cam asked and the topic veered into lighter territory as everyone talked about their favorite movies and shows. Santi didn’t have the heart to join them. He continued to stare into the darkness to where Naomi was. 

“The devil I know,” he whispered to himself.