Dragged into Another World's Apocalypse - A LitRPG Story

"Alright. Survivors will be our guild's name. It fits with who we are, and who we want to be." Cassis looked around the big table, meeting each pair of eyes in turn. "Next: who wants to be a founding member with me and Arianna? There have to be three founders."

He already had a few preferences in mind, but this guild wouldn't just belong to him. It would belong to all of them. This group—Arianna, his family, Camden, Samuel, Luke, Nadine, Benny, Elena, and Joseph—they were the core of what Survivors would become. They'd invite the other people they'd helped level up, of course, but these faces he saw around the table were the ones who would shoulder the real responsibility.

Luke and Nadine were technically only here to support them, since they already had their own guild. But they'd said they wanted to become allied guilds, so their goals needed to align. And honestly… Cassis had come to think of the two of them as friends, not just teammates. The same had happened with everyone else. Even Camden, surprisingly.

Though, of course, Camden and Liam had already told them they wanted to start their own guild with some of the other bracelet wearers. Cassis felt undecided if that was a good idea or not. But he had to be honest. If it was anyone other than Liam who was planning to do that, he would agree with them 100%. So he'd not make a big deal out of it, but secure another alliance with their guild. So that he could protect his little brother at least that way.

His mother was the first to speak. "Of course you and Arianna will be two of the founders. And you're both fighters—even if Arianna is a healer, she's still on the front line. It feels like the third founding member should be someone more administrative."

Cassis smiled. His mother really had a sense for these things. She'd worked as a secretary before the apocalypse. She'd even planned to keep going, since most of her work had been from home anyway, but when the dungeon breaks loomed, she'd quit so she could help fight. And in the course of events she'd reached E-rank and become a Knight (+1). She had only taken the most basic path, funnily enough, the exact same route he had taken in the previous timeline.

She was a steady fighter. No dramatics, always reliable… but Cassis knew she didn't particularly like fighting. She did it because she had to.

He caught Helen's eye. She was clearly thinking the same thing he was. She voiced it aloud.

"That's true. Someone needs to keep the organisation running. It should be someone with experience, but also someone who isn't weak. So, a competent fighter who can also handle administration."

A few members of the group smirked, realising where this was headed.

Samuel continued, picking up the thread.
"And it should be someone who takes care of the group. Since Cassis and Arianna will be off fighting and training most of the time, we'll need someone who stays here, someone steady."

Elena nodded and jumped in.
"And, well… we've become a real team throughout this apocalypse. The third founder should be able to keep us together, even when we're doing separate tasks. Like with the dungeon breaks, we needed a lot of coordination. An administrator would make things so much easier."

Benny added, keeping the momentum going.
"It should be someone steady. Someone used to taking care of others, guiding them without micromanaging. Someone who knows everyone and stays in contact with them."

Everyone nodded along.

Then his father spoke.
"So, Danielle, it seems like you should be the third founding member."

Cassis's mother stared at him, stunned, then realised everyone was smiling at her.

"What? No! That's way too much," she whined.

Cassis had to bite back a grin. He knew exactly what was going through her mind. She'd spent the last year raving about finally getting to retire next year. And when she quit her job to fight during the dungeon breaks, she had rejoiced. And now they were trying to saddle her with even more responsibility.

She protested immediately.
"I'm not that good at everything you all just described! Just because I was a secretary, and I can fight, and I stay in contact with people, and I like organising things, that doesn't mean I should be the administrator of an entire guild!" She shook her head vigorously. "And I don't even fully understand what a guild is supposed to do."

She looked at Cassis for help. He only shrugged, then smiled warmly.

"But Mom, it would be great to have you with us. You already know everyone in the neighbourhood. You have all the skills we need. And…" Was this too much of a burden? But it was the truth, and he needed her for this role. "I trust you."

Her expression softened immediately. Cassis knew he had her.

She sighed.
"Alright… if everyone is really sure they're fine with it?"

The others all reassured her with smiles and nods. They genuinely wanted her as one of the guild masters.

Cassis concluded, "Then it's decided. The founding members will be me, Arianna… and Mom."

With things decided, the system reacted immediately.

A translucent window opened before Cassis' eyes.

[Guild Survivors founded.
Founding members: Cassis Walker, Arianna Sloane, Danielle Walker.
Do you wish to add more members?]

Judging from Arianna's and his mother's distant looks, they were seeing the same notification.

Cassis cleared his throat and spoke aloud for the system to register:
"Invite Marcus Walker, Helen Segredo, Samuel Greene, Elena, Benjamin, Joseph, Noah and Jessica Morrison, Matteo and Felicia Bianci, and…"
He hesitated briefly. He wasn't sure this would work, but it was worth trying.
"…the companion foxes Thalia and Kael."

Another notification appeared moments later.

[All invited candidates have accepted membership.]

Even the foxes. Thalia gave him a satisfied nod.

"We'll invite the others soon," he said. "But first, we should organise ourselves."

His mother agreed immediately. "Well, you wanted me for my experience, so yes, we need a clear structure right from the start. We're small now, but we'll grow. And structure will matter."

Cassis thought for a moment. "I want us to grow a little. Everyone in the neighbourhood, of course. But soon I'd like to attract some talented people. Just not too many yet. If we're huge from the start, we'll have problems in the future."

His mother nodded knowingly. "That's what I expected. Still, structure now, successful growth later."

She pulled out her tablet with deadly efficiency.
"Well then. Titles. Let me make a spreadsheet."

Cassis was suddenly very, very sure they had chosen the right person.

Arianna, who had been quiet for some time now, stepped beside his mother and looked over her shoulder with interest. When she finally spoke, her voice was steady.

"Then we should have three main departments headed by the three of us and everyone else leading a sub-department belonging to one of ours. Cassis should be Head of Combat and Strategy. And if possible, I'd like to be Head of Magic. You'll be Head of Administration."

Cassis had almost forgotten that Arianna was also one of these extremely organised people as a former accountant. Sometimes he just had a hard time reconciling her chaotic personality and combat style with this more logical side of her.

His mother typed rapidly.

Helen raised her hand next. "I'd like to be Head of Intelligence. My class is the most suited for gathering information… and Samuel and I have a few connections we can make use of."

Samuel and Helen exchanged a knowing glance, probably thinking of the Shadows and some of their old missions. His mother wrote the title down.

"Good. Intelligence will fall under Cassis," she decided. "It's related to combat strategy anyway. Helen, you'll also be Chief Strategizer for now."

His father spoke up next. "I'd like to work with Arianna on mana studies." He rubbed the back of his neck, almost sheepishly. "Since becoming an Earthen Mage (+1) and building the wall, I've been… well, obsessed, honestly. I even got the profession Builder. Irene will probably join us as well. She advanced to Earth Mage. It sounds like a weaker version than mine, I think. But she helped with the wall and also earned the Builder profession. And she finally became an Alchemist. Mostly analysing monster parts and plants, but she's very enthusiastic."

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He said the last part with a soft fondness, like he was bragging about a second daughter.

"I'll put you both under Mana Studies," his mother said. "But Marcus, you'll also have to be the financial officer of the guild."

His father stared at her as if she had stabbed him. "I'm already managing the NGO! Do you want me to never rest again?"

She smirked. "You'll get exactly as many breaks as I get with this new job. Especially since you'll be in my department."

He let out a defeated groan. "Fine. I'll do the finances. How much work can it be?"

Cassis shrugged. He genuinely had no idea.

His mother moved on, completely unfazed. Samuel was her next victim… err, officer.

"You're a lawyer. So you'll be our legal consultant, and our liaison with the government, under my department. And since you're rich, you know people. Helen already said you have connections. You'll also coordinate with Marcus about land issues because…" She shortly looked at her own system messages. "The guild can claim territory, apparently."

Cassis read from the system.

"It says we can register this neighbourhood as guild territory. But property owners need to approve."

His mother nodded triumphantly. "Perfect. Then Samuel, as the largest landowner, will coordinate that. Territory Manager—check."

She moved on without hesitation, and without listening to Samuel's grumbles.

"Joseph, you're Head of Agriculture. Your mana farming experiments mean you fall under Arianna's department as well."

Joseph beamed. "Excellent. Love it."

Then came Benny and Elena.

"Every organization needs public relations. Elena, since you already do PR for the NGO, we'll expand that. Benny, as a journalist, you'll be perfect working with her. Now we have the Heads of PR and Communication."

She sighed deeply as she wrote. "That also falls under my department."

Cassis watched the spreadsheet grow, line by line, role by role.
This was really happening.

Their guild, their guild, was taking shape.

For now, they'd given roles to everyone present. Cassis was about to suggest what else they still needed when Matteo suddenly called out, louder than necessary, "What about me? What should I do?"

Cassis froze. Ah. Right. Matteo.

The boy was too young to have a profession, and he didn't have any relevant skills yet, neither system given, nor from real life. Cassis tried to phrase it gently.

"For now, you can't have an office because we just don't know yet what kind of abilities you'll gain once you stop being a 'Dependent.'"

Cassis practically spat the last word. He hated that Matteo would turn fourteen soon and lose the system's protection. The boy would have to start fighting far too early.

Matteo still looked dissatisfied, so Cassis hurried to add, "But your job right now is to learn as much as possible so you're prepared to join my team for levelling. That makes you part of my department."

That did the trick. Matteo lit up with a wide grin.

Felicia raised her hand, but Cassis didn't even wait for her to scribble anything on her notebook.

"Felicia will naturally be in Arianna's department," he said immediately. "She's a mage."

Felicia nodded, relieved. She was still young, and Cassis was glad it would be years before she had to truly fight. She was too gentle for this violent world. At least she had the foxes to help her.

Thalia raised her head and stared at him steadily.

What now?

Before he could ask, Arianna answered for her. "Thalia is part of our fighting forces, so she'll be under Cassis' department too. I think Kael will be, as well."

Thalia huffed, apparently her agreement, and nodded.

Oh. Well, Cassis could live with that. Thalia was an asset in battle. And if Kael grew into even half the strength he'd possessed in the other timeline, they'd have another excellent assassin alongside Helen. The cub had already grown a lot since they'd met him; he was losing his round baby face and starting to look like a juvenile fox.

His mother took over again, clapping her hands lightly for attention. "Alright. That's all of us organised. We still need other roles, of course, and I think some of the neighbours and other team members will be perfect for them. Others can join your sub-departments."

She tapped something on her tablet. "I have a few ideas already. But for today, let's end this meeting. Tomorrow, we'll talk with the rest and do more organising. We might even be able to claim the territory then." She paused, peering at her system window. "It seems that gives us some… buffs?" she repeated, the unfamiliar term lilting up in confusion.

Cassis nodded. "The buffs should help in combat, I think, but the system doesn't specify what kind we get yet. We'll have to see."

In the other timeline, guilds with territory received combat enhancements. Usually very good ones. He could only hope things worked the same way this time.

One by one, the others trickled out, promising to meet again tomorrow together with their other prospective guild members. Arianna told him she'd visit Joseph for a bit since he wanted to show her his newest success with mana farming. Then she walked out without a backward glance.

He sighed. Arianna had talked to him on the airplane, though only about her class options. She'd smiled at him after the car ride when they arrived here, but afterwards she'd been mostly quiet during the guild discussion. At least quieter than she usually would be in such a situation. And now she was leaving.

No! She wasn't leaving, just visiting others for a bit.
Yeah, he was thinking too much.

"What happened?"

His mother's question ripped him out of his thoughts.

"What?" he asked slowly.

"What happened? With Arianna and you?" she clarified.

He was dumbfounded. How did she know? She must've read his expression, because she continued, "There's some visible tension, and she avoided contact with you. So, what did you do?"

Cassis raised one eyebrow. "How nice of you to think I did something."
Well… he had done something, but still, why did his mother immediately jump to that conclusion?

"I know you. I raised you. You have this guilty look on you. So, whatever happened, it was your fault."

That's what he got for arguing with his mother.

He rubbed his face with both hands. "I don't really want to talk about it. Let's just say I did something stupid that had some negative consequences for her. And then I lied about it. She found out, and now she's angry at me."

It was the truth without revealing too much.

His mother looked at him sharply. "Why the heck did you lie about it?"

He hadn't expected that. He thought she'd scold him for the stupid thing he'd done. Again, she read him like an open book.

"Of course you did something stupid. You're young, and the two of you haven't been together for long. Mistakes are bound to happen. But the lie is the bad thing."

Did women have some kind of connected mind? Three women had now told him that what he'd done wasn't as bad as lying about it. He'd had valid reasons for his lies. He'd been afraid Arianna wouldn't be able to forgive his wish, leave and then die because she hadn't been strong enough back then. But first Helen, then Arianna, and now his mother had all said the same thing: the wish wasn't the problem, how he'd dealt with it was.

He still didn't fully understand… but it had to be true if all three said so.

"Danielle, I think this is one of those times when I should talk to him man to man," his father interjected.

His mother considered it, then nodded. "Alright. But you'd better apologize and fix this. You're a great team, and she loves you dearly. She also fits well into our family."

With that, his mother walked out, leaving Cassis with his father.

"Son, let's talk about how to have a successful relationship."

Cassis was dumbfounded, then finally found his voice. "Dad, I'm… 28 years old. I hardly need your advice on relationships."
He'd almost said forty-two but remembered just in time.

His father looked at him sharply. "Judging by how few girlfriends of yours I've ever met, and how much of a mess you've made of this relationship, I think you do."

He paused to let that sink in, then continued, "I met your mother when I was around your age, married her the following year, and just a few years later you came along. Since then, I've made mistakes, your mother has made mistakes, but we've overcome them all. We've been happily married for thirty-six years. I am uniquely qualified to give advice on this."

Cassis felt insulted and comforted at the same time. His father was right. The man had lived with his mother for so long, and Cassis had never even noticed them arguing. He nodded. Maybe this would actually help.

"So, son. You said you did something stupid. That happens. And there were some negative consequences for Arianna?"

Cassis nodded.

"Alright. Is she angry about those consequences?"

Cassis heard her voice clearly in his head: "I hate that you see me being in this world as suffering. I love this world. I feel alive — even with the danger and fighting. Maybe even because of it."
He didn't understand it, but he trusted she'd told him the truth. She was angry with him now. There was no reason she'd lie to make him feel better.

"No," Cassis told his father. "She had some trouble because of it, but she's okay with the consequences."

His father nodded, as if he'd expected that. Cassis looked at him questioningly.

"She would have left you if it was something truly terrible," his father said. "She has that much respect for herself."

Cassis considered that and realized his father was right. Some of the guilt lifted, but not all.

"So she's really angry, probably disappointed and hurt, because you lied to cover up your mistake," his father continued.

Cassis nodded again. She'd said so herself.

"Then you need to apologize for lying and swear you'll be truthful from now on. Maybe even beg for her forgiveness."

Cassis shot him an annoyed look. "I already did that."

His father smirked. "Even the begging?"

Cassis glared. "Of course."

His father clapped his shoulder. "Good man. Now you need to prove to her that you're serious."

Cassis was curious. "How?"

"It depends on the woman," his father said. "But mostly, there are a few points you can try:

Ask her opinion on things, and how to continue. It shows you value what she thinks.

Tell her everything that happens to you, even insignificant, everyday things. Some things have different meanings for women than for us. And she'll notice that you are making an effort to include her in your daily life.

Gift-giving. She'll say she doesn't want or need anything, but thoughtful, and I really have to emphasize,

thoughtful

, gifts show you're thinking of her. Just don't give her too many or even expensive ones. I have a feeling Arianna is similar to your mother in that regard. She'll like smalls things or even self-made ones better.

Be considerate. Watch her and try to see if she needs you with her or needs space. If you can't tell, ask. She needs to know you respect her wishes.

Give her space while still being present. A short good-morning text, asking about her day, a little note with a joke, making her coffee or tea without being asked. Small things that show you're here without pressuring her."

His father nodded to himself. "Those are the most common and basic things a man in the doghouse can do."

Cassis was surprised by how simple these things sounded. "Do you think that's enough?"

"It should be," his father said. "Your mother always caved after a few days of that. Though it's important to continue even afterwards, so she knows you didn't do it just to get back into her good graces. And once you're back together, keep communication open. No lies about anything. Otherwise, she'll lose trust in you, and that'll be the beginning of the end."

Cassis swallowed. That sounded bad. He wouldn't let it get to that. And honestly, the things his dad suggested were easy enough to try. He'd start immediately.

"Thanks, Dad."

His father smiled, then finally headed home.