Surviving the Simulation: The Grand Crusade

After the intensity of an entire day's worth of fighting, mopping up the last members of the gnoll war party was anticlimactic. Zoey had been correct. By holding the doorway, the two had effectively bottled up the remaining attackers for Rex. A pleasant side effect to the situation was that once the attackers' morale broke, they had nowhere else to flee, resulting in a costly but complete defensive engagement.

Rally the Defenders
Quest Completion! Congratulations, you have successfully defended against the attacking Gnoll war party.
Rewards: Experience Points, Two Hundred Gold, Virtue Forged Chest plate, Luminescent Vigil Helm.

Rally the Defenders and Counterattack
Quest Notification! Discover the origin of the attack on the safe zone. Wipe out the source of the enemy force to prevent another safe zone attack. The next attack will be in three planetary cycles.
Difficulty: Hard
Reward: Experience, gold, and two item rewards.

Accept Quest? Yes/No

Upon notification of the quest's completion, a ragged cheer rippled through the defenders. A few dropped their weapons where they stood. One woman sank to her knees in the gravel, hands trembling as she sobbed into blood-slicked gloves. Others simply stared ahead, hollow-eyed, as if trying to convince themselves it was over.

Xander wasn't confident the safe zone could survive another attack. If he had to estimate, the battle had left twenty percent of the defenders dead and another thirty percent injured to varying degrees.

Somewhere off to his right, he heard a voice mutter, "Council didn't even show." Another chimed in, "Bet they're already arguing about supplies while we're cleaning up bodies."

The bitterness didn't spread, but it settled in the air like smoke.

As the battlefield faded into quiet, Xander and Zoey broke away from the regrouping defenders and made a beeline for the spot where Alex had fallen. The scorched and cracked rooftop edge showed a smear of blood where Alex had hit, but not enough to suggest anything fatal. On the ground below, they found more signs of impact: scattered debris, a few crimson streaks, and a shallow trail that led toward a nearby alley before vanishing. No body. No trail past that. Just… nothing.

"He's hurt, but he's not dead," Zoey had said, her voice tight. "He wouldn't let himself die that easy."

Xander wanted to believe that. Had to. But the knot in his chest didn't ease.

"Good job, everyone!" Rex called down from the rooftop, his voice carrying more grit than triumph. "We still have a bit of work to do before we can rest. Let's police this battle zone. Take any weapons you find and place them near the entrance. It's grim work, but we also need to dispose of the bodies or they'll attract more dangerous things than we want to deal with today."

As Xander and Zoey turned to head back toward the school, a younger defender trotted up. A guard someone had stationed near the infirmary earlier.

"Hey! Sorry, are you two part of the team that came in with Alex?" the guy asked, glancing between them.

"Yeah," Zoey said. "Why?"

"He's alright," the guard said quickly. "One of our patrols found him near a collapsed storefront a few blocks back toward the school. Said he'd taken a hard fall during the boss fight but was walking and talking."

Xander felt the knot in his stomach loosen just a fraction.

"Thank god," Zoey said.

"We took him to the infirmary," the guard added. "Didn't seem too bad off. Scraped up, maybe concussed. Someone said Victor talked to him not long after."

"Thanks," Xander said, exchanging a glance with Zoey. She looked relieved. Mostly.

They turned back toward the school in silence, their adrenaline finally ebbing. Xander didn't want to act superior, but given their recent experience, he thought he and Zoey were justified in skipping the battlefield cleanup. Covered in gore, sweat, and fatigue, all he could think about was whether someone had figured out how to rig up a working shower.

The guard's update about Alex helped ease some of the tension in his chest, but only a little. He hadn't seen him yet and until he did, that knot wasn't going anywhere.

Still, there were other things to focus on.

One thing Xander had always appreciated about the rural Midwest was how most people were quietly prepared for disaster, even if they never called it prepping. Basements full of canned goods, shelves of nonperishables, backup generators, hunting gear… it wasn't a subculture here, it was just common sense. With enough duct tape, salvaged plumbing, and shared stubbornness, Midwestern communities could turn a school gym into a town hall and a locker room into a half-decent wash station.

Starlight Oasis had done the same. It wasn't pretty, but it worked. And sometimes, working was enough.

A cold shower later, Xander sat in the cafeteria, waiting for Zoey and the dinner service to start. He was hungry now, but didn't want to use up his energy bars when he could just suck it up and wait another thirty minutes. Rex had stopped by on his way to the showers to let Xander know that Victor and the librarian would like to see them later in the evening to discuss what happens next. Rex had not waited for an acknowledgement before heading out. Xander noticed Rex was walking much slower than he had earlier in the day, and with a slight limp. Xander made a mental note to hit Rex with a healing spell when he came back, before taking a moment to check his notifications.

+2 Mace Combat | Congratulations! You've improved in smashing things with your smasher. Look at you leaning into your anger management issues!

+2 First Aid | Congratulations! You really need better gear, so you can stop having to waste so many bandages.

+1 Light Armor | Congratulations! Letting the monsters beat on you probably isn't the best way to play, but you do you!

Xander was sure he wasn't imagining it. The Simulation was certainly getting quite a bit more snark to it. Either the AIs were integrating new language models to reflect current idioms or the Administrator that was mentioned at the start of all this was actively trying to make adjustments. The last thought almost made Xander instinctively blurt out his go to gripe of no wiki or message board, but he refrained as he didn't really see the point. If wishes were horses, we'd all be eating steak, as his grandfather used to say. Not that Xander really understood what that actually meant. Still, Xander promised to lose his shit if the Simulation started using slang from the younger gamer generations.

Skills were getting harder to level up as he gained class levels, or there was some type of penalty applied to fighting in large-scale battles. Xander felt dismayed by his meager gains from a full day of fighting. But when he really considered it, he only had two major battles and played a supporting role most of the day. He grimaced for a moment as the possibility occurred to him that support classes would be at a disadvantage if they didn't gain skills as quickly as those who were in the thick of the fighting.

Before Xander could look at the two pieces of gear he had received as quest rewards, Zoey sat down at the table holding two trays of food. Sliding one over to Xander, her eyes glazed over in a manner that showed she was looking at her interface.

"Decent archery gains from that battle, but that was about it. How about you?" she asked before taking a bite of her sandwich.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

Pulling out his notebook, Xander flipped back a couple pages from the bookmark. "About the same. Focused gains, but slow. I've got some general thoughts on why, but nothing solid yet. Maybe large group battles give slower gains, or as you gain class levels skill levels become harder. Could also be confirmation bias as well and we're just imagining it."

"Item rewards were pretty good though," Zoey countered as she showed off her new boots and hip quiver.

"I haven't looked at my reward items yet. Got wrapped up in some thoughts about the Simulation and our next steps," Xander said. "Also, I'm going to need to find more supplies. I was planning on asking Victor or Rex for a cut of the recovered gear. Any issues with that?"

"I don't think Rex will have a problem with it. Victor, I'm not sure about," Zoey confirmed. "Hopefully, some folks get crafter classes and we have actual use for this gold we're accumulating."

"I think we're going to see that happening at the Starlight Oasis sooner than we'll see it here," Xander said, looking around. While many people had gained some levels from what he had analyzed, he still didn't see anyone with a class other than his group and Rex's.

Zoey and Xander finished their meal in silence, each lost in their own thoughts. Xander was positive that there was an overflowing dungeon some place. He knew the Simulation hadn't revealed all of its secrets yet, but given what they knew, a dungeon overflow was the most likely scenario. Though, doubting himself for a moment, he wondered if maybe the Simulation had regional events or something similar.

Thirty minutes later, the pair found themselves back in the conference room, but this time, they were the last ones to arrive. Along with Victor and the Cynthia representing the safe zone, Rex was there, along with a new attendee, standing close to Victor and talking in hushed tones. The pair took their seats and moments later, Cynthia stood up.

"First, let me thank everyone here for stepping up against the invaders. I don't think for a moment that I would have been able to direct the battle, as well as Major Rex."

"We placed the spoils of the battle in a makeshift armory we set up a short while ago. I realize my inaction left us ill-prepared, but I'm dedicated to making up for that mistake and lost time."

Raising his hand, Xander waited to be acknowledged before speaking up. "Ma'am, my team and I burned through quite a few supplies during that battle. I'd like to request to be resupplied from the loot collected post battle."

"No, I'm sorry that won't be possible," Cynthia responded in a dispassionate tone. "We'll be keeping the supplies for residents of this safe zone. If you would like to commit to staying here to help us rebuild, then we would be happy to outfit you."

Both team leaders held a look of shock on their faces at the declaration. They'd contributed blood, sweat, and tears to saving her and her people from extremely poor leadership. Xander's face changed from shock to one of hardened resolve.

Fine, he thought, if they don't want to do a little quid pro quo, then they're on their own to find what was causing the attacks. I have my mission to complete.

Across the table, Xander could see that Major Rex had come to the same conclusion.

"I see…" Major Rex said in an icy tone as he got up from his chair.

Before Xander could follow suit, Victor chimed into the conversation. "Ma'am, while I agree we need to prioritize the needs of the safe zone, we also can't afford to alienate the folks that helped us out in our extreme time of need. Not to mention we'll continue to need their help if the second part of the quest is to be cleared. We cannot deal with the root cause of the attack right now on our own. How about we take this to a council only session to align? Gentlemen, we're all tired after an exceptionally rough day. Let's break this meeting here and come back at it fresh in the morning?"

"We're going to check in on Alex," Zoey said as she rose from her seat, brushing dust from her sleeve.

"Actually," Victor said, pausing mid-turn, "Alex won't be there."

Xander frowned. "What do you mean?"

"He volunteered to scout something," Victor replied smoothly. "There's a stretch of buildings northeast of here we weren't sure about. Possibly a second gnoll position. Nothing confirmed, but a patrol flagged it as a potential enemy movement earlier today. Alex offered to look."

"Alone?" Xander asked.

"He said it wouldn't take long." Victor gave a practiced shrug. "We didn't want to lose momentum if another attack was brewing."

Xander didn't argue, but that feeling in this pit of his stomach from earlier was back.

Without replying, the two teams got up to leave the room as Victor, Cynthia, and the third man started conversing in harsh whispers. Once the door shut behind them, the whispers turned to a spirited debate and while Xander couldn't hear the actual conversation; he was sure he knew what was being said.

Zoey glanced at Xander, a frown on her face.

"Someone wants to play the eff around and find out game. I'll pack all our belongings and do one last check for Alex before I go to bed."

"Yeah, that was something for sure. Rex, would you mind chatting with me for a bit in the cafeteria before you crash? I'd like to get your thoughts on the current situation and what your next steps are. I think we're going to both need people we can trust in the coming days and while we're heading different directions, I'd roadmap out a little farther," Xander said, his project manager mind kicking in trying to plan out a large project timeline. This wasn't a project, but talking with Rex about more than the immediate next step would benefit them both.

Xander and Rex talked for several hours, each outlining their immediate plans and then speculating on what needed to happen next. Both agreed that securing trade routes between safe zones was going to be critical. Resources, information, and personnel would only matter if people could move safely between pockets of civilization.

Rex leaned back in his chair, arms crossed. "Still don't know what I'm going to find in Rantoul. The order to regroup there came in last-minute. No context, just a fallback directive with priority tags. Honestly? It felt less like a military op and more like someone pulling strings behind the curtain."

Xander frowned. "You think someone in the government knew this was coming?"

"I think someone knew something. Or maybe they caused it. Can't say for sure," Rex replied, then shrugged like the thought didn't sit well either way. "Either way, Rantoul wasn't just picked at random."

Xander nodded slowly, mind turning over the growing pile of things that didn't add up. "And what about Victor?"

Rex raised an eyebrow.

"I've seen people hustle for power before," Xander continued, "but he always seems to know what's coming before it hits. First the safe zone logistics, then the equipment caches, now the council. Feels like he's incredibly lucky… or incredibly connected."

"He's definitely something," Rex muttered. "Can't tell if he's a snake, a tactician, or just playing the long game."

They let the silence stretch for a moment, both aware that what they were really circling around wasn't just Victor or even the Simulation. It was the growing sense that the rules of the old world hadn't disappeared. They'd just changed uniforms.

Once their respective missions were complete, both men agreed to try reconnecting, most likely at the Starlight Oasis. Getting JT involved in any rebuilding efforts would be key, and if they were going to weather whatever came next, they'd need people they could trust.

Talking with Rex had done wonders for Xander's attitude after the disastrous meeting with Cynthia. By the time the two were through talking, he felt they had formed a loose alliance about how they could contribute to helping any safe zones they discovered. The St. Joseph safe zone's strategic river access facilitated the movement of people and goods, but he doubted the leadership's capability to lead survivors. Certainly biased, he still considered JT the far better option of the two sets of leaders he'd encountered.

Deciding to look at his new gear before calling it a night, Xander sat in a quiet area of the school that had little traffic. If he remembered correctly, he was in what used to be his old English classroom. Pulling out a chair, he placed the two items he'd received as a reward on the desk in front of him.

Virtue Forged Chest plate
Quality: Uncommon.
Enchantments: Aura of Valor
Description: Forged in the fires of conviction, this armor bears the weight of duty and reflects it tenfold onto those who fight beside you. Once per day, the paladin can activate an aura that inspires courage in allies nearby. This aura boosts their morale, granting a temporary 50% increase in their resistance to fear-based effects for 2 minutes.

Luminescent Vigil Helm
Quality: Uncommon.
Enchantments: Harmony
Description: Wrought to hold the light in the darkest hours, this helm bears a silent promise: the shadows may strike, but they will not claim you. A passive ability that offers 10% damage reduction from attacks fueled by dark magic, making it particularly effective against dark aligned classes.

Both items were good and Xander was happy that both synergized with his paladin class, not to mention the helmet, looked kind of badass. The spectral wisps from his eyes flowed like smoke out of the eye slots.

Being quest rewards, he thought, that synergy was probably on purpose.

He missed his spear, though, and made a mental note to bump 'find a new one' toward the top of the priority list. Technically, they had acquired one from Skarnak the Verminlord but only dark-aligned classes could use it, and even if that hadn't been the case, it looked like an angsty thirteen-year-old with a bone fetish designed it. Sure, he'd take tacky over dead. But even in the apocalypse, a man had to have standards.

His new armor felt solid. The helm, snug. The chest plate felt slightly warm from aura enchantment, like it was waiting for the next moment when fear would try to dig its claws into someone he cared about. And it would. He wasn't naïve enough to think otherwise.

He found a corner behind a pair of half-toppled bookcases and rolled out his bedroll. It wasn't private, but it would give him a few seconds of warning if someone came looking. Not that many people would.

He glanced down the hallway at the cafeteria entrance one last time. Still no Alex.

He'd tell himself it was fine. That Victor's explanation checked out. That Alex was out there, probably pissed off at how long the scouting was taking. But that didn't make it feel any less wrong.

Xander lay back, eyes on the cracked ceiling overhead. If tomorrow brought fewer surprises than today, it would be a first.