Marcus woke to the sound of Elena sharpening her bat against concrete.
The scraping noise dragged him from dreams of purple rifts and grasping hands. His body ached everywhere, muscles he didn't know he had ached him as he got up. The basement was dark except for the faint glow of their System windows, which apparently never truly disappeared.
"What time is it?" he croaked.
"No idea. My phone died hours ago." Elena didn't look up from her work. She'd found a rough stone somewhere and was methodically smoothing the bat's cracked surface. "But light's coming through the vents. Morning, probably."
Marcus checked his Status. His Faith Points had regenerated overnight to 130/150. The Faith Regeneration skill was already proving its worth. He also noticed something new:
[Party Status]
[Marcus Chen - Level 2 - HP: 100% - Faith Points: 130/150]
[Elena Vasquez - Level 2 - HP: 85% - Stamina: 90%]
"You're still hurt," he said.
"Bruises. Nothing serious." She finally looked at him, and he could see the exhaustion in her eyes. "Did you sleep?"
"Some. You?"
"Couldn't. Every sound made me think something was breaking in." She set the bat aside. "We need a plan, Marcus. That quest wants us to house ten people here in seven days. We need food, water, medical supplies, and a way to defend this place."
Marcus stood, joints popping. "The building has how many floors?"
"Six. Twelve apartments per floor. Most people evacuated or..." She didn't finish. "We should check them. Supplies, maybe survivors."
"And zombies."
"And zombies," she agreed grimly.
They spent thirty minutes planning. The apartment building's layout was simple, central stairwell, two apartments per side per floor, roof access. The basement had one entrance from inside the building and an emergency exit that led to an alley. Defensible, if they could secure the main entrance.
"Your Sanctuary Sense skill," Elena said. "What's its range?"
Marcus pulled up the description. "Fifty meters. Detects safe zones."
"Test it."
He closed his eyes and focused on the skill. It activated with barely any Faith Point cost, just one point and suddenly he could feel the space around him. The basement registered as green in his mind's eye, safe and secure. The floors above were yellow, uncertain. And beyond the building's walls, everything pulsed red.
"The building's mostly clear," he reported. "Some danger spots on floors three and five, but nothing like outside."
"Then we start at the top and work our way down. Clear each floor, gather supplies." Elena picked up her bat. "Stay behind me. If we run into anything, you buff me and keep yourself alive. Okay?"
"Okay!."
The walk up the stairwell was silent. Emergency lighting cast everything in a green light and their footsteps echoed too loudly. Marcus kept Divine Amplification ready, golden light flickering weakly at his fingertips.
The sixth floor was clear. They moved apartment to apartment, Elena kicking in doors while Marcus watched their backs. Most units were empty, evacuated in a hurry. But they found supplies: canned food, bottled water, first aid kits. Elena found a hiking backpack and started loading it up.
"This is good," Marcus said, pocketing pain relievers from a bathroom cabinet. "We could last weeks with this much—"
BRAAK!!!
A crash from down the hall cut him off.
They froze. Elena raised her bat, and Marcus pushed more energy into his hands. The golden glow intensified.
A door at the hall's far end burst open. A woman stumbled out, wild-eyed and clutching a kitchen knife. She was in her forties, professional clothes torn and bloodied. When she saw them, she raised the knife.
"Stay back!" Her voice cracked with hysteria. "I'll cut you! I swear I'll—"
"We're human," Marcus said quickly, raising his empty hand. "Look, we have the System same as you. We're not zombies."
The woman's eyes darted between them. Marcus could see her Status window flicker into view:
[Jennifer Park - Level 1 - Civilian Class]
[HP: 60% - Stamina: 30% - Status: Exhausted, Starving]
"Civilian Class?" Elena muttered. "Didn't know that was a thing."
"Please," Jennifer lowered the knife slightly. "Please, I haven't eaten in two days. I've been hiding since... since it started. I heard noises and thought—" Her legs gave out.
Marcus caught her before she hit the floor. "Elena, water."
They got Jennifer sitting, gave her water and a protein bar from their scavenged supplies. She ate like she was starving, which she probably was. As color returned to her face, Marcus explained who they were and what they were trying to do.
"A sanctuary," Jennifer repeated. "You're building a sanctuary?"
"Trying to," Marcus corrected. "We need ten people. You'd be number three."
"What do you need me to do?"
"Survive. Help where you can. Beyond that?" He shrugged. "We figure it out together."
[New Opportunity Detected]
[Jennifer Park is considering placing trust in you]
[Actions and words in the next few minutes will determine outcome]
Marcus chose his next words carefully. "I'm a Faith Keeper. My power comes from people believing in me, trusting me. I won't lie to you, it's dangerous out there, and I can't promise we'll all survive. But I can promise I'll do everything in my power to keep people safe. That's what this class is for."
The honesty seemed to reach her. Jennifer studied his face, then Elena's, then looked at the supplies they'd gathered.
"You came up here looking for supplies, but you're sharing them with me," she said slowly. "You could have just taken everything and left."
"Not really how my practice works," Marcus said with a small smile.
Jennifer nodded once, decisive. "Okay. I'm in. I'm a project manager....was a project manager. I'm good at organizing things, coordinating people. If you're building something, I can help."
[Jennifer Park has placed trust in you]
[Believers: 1 → 2]
[Faith Points: +25]
[Faith Point Maximum increased to 175]
The warmth flooded through Marcus again, stronger this time. Two believers. It wasn't much, but it was a start.
Elena helped Jennifer to her feet. "Can you walk? We need to clear the other floors."
"I can manage."
They continued their sweep. Floor five held the first real danger, two zombies trapped in an apartment, attracted by their noise. Elena took them down with brutal efficiency, her enhanced combat skills making her movements almost dance-like. Marcus kept Divine Amplification active, and Jennifer watched from a safe distance, eyes wide.
[2 Zombies Defeated]
[Party Experience gained: 20 EXP]
Floor four was clear. Floor three had another survivor, a teenage kid named Derek who'd been hiding in a closet. He was a Level 1 Scout Class. He joined them without much convincing; three days alone had made him desperate for human contact.
[Derek Parsley has placed trust in you]
[Believers: 2 → 3]
[Faith Points: +25]
[Faith Point Maximum increased to 200]
The second floor's danger spot turned out to be a Zombie Brute.
It crashed through a door as they approached, and Marcus's heart sank. Same gray skin, same grotesque muscles, same intelligent eyes that tracked them with predatory focus.
"Fall back!" Elena shouted.
But this time was different. Marcus had three believers now, more Faith Points, and he'd learned from their last encounter. He activated Divine Amplification on Elena, then immediately cast Protective Aura around the entire group.
[Faith Points: 170/200]
Elena met the Brute's charge head-on. Enhanced by Marcus's buff and protected by his aura, she was faster, stronger. She ducked under its swing and brought the bat down on its knee—the same tactic as before. The joint shattered.
The Brute roared and swept at her with its claws. The Protective Aura absorbed most of the impact, leaving only shallow scratches instead of the deep gashes that would have torn her open.
Derek surprised everyone by pulling out a pocketknife and darting in to stab the Brute's other leg. The Scout Class apparently gave him enhanced speed and stealth, the creature didn't even see him coming.
[Party Coordination Bonus Active: +10% effectiveness]
The Brute went down on both knees. Elena didn't hesitate. She brought the bat down on its skull again and again until it stopped moving.
[Zombie Brute Defeated - Level 5]
[Party Experience gained: 150 EXP]
[LEVEL UP!]
[You are now Level 3]
[New Skill Available]
[Elena Vasquez has reached Level 3]
[Derek parsley has reached Level 2]
Marcus leaned against the wall, breathing hard. They'd done it. They'd actually taken down a Brute without running away.
"We're getting stronger," Elena said, voicing his thoughts. She was smiling despite the blood and exhaustion. "The party system, your buffs, we're actually getting stronger."
Marcus checked his new skill options:
[Choose One:]
[1. Rallying Cry - Rank F: Remove fear effects from nearby allies]
[2. Divine Shield - Rank F: Create a temporary barrier on a single target]
[3. Sanctuary Expansion - Rank F: Increase sanctuary size capacity by 50%]
He chose Sanctuary Expansion without hesitation. They needed space for more people.
[Skill Acquired: Sanctuary Expansion - Rank F]
[Current Sanctuary Capacity: 15 people]
"Six more people," Marcus said. "We need six more people, then we can complete the quest."
Jennifer, who'd been quiet during the fight, spoke up. "There's a doctor two buildings over. Dr. Sarah Kim. We were friends before... before. If she's alive, she'd be invaluable."
"A healer class maybe?" Elena asked.
"Even if not, medical knowledge is worth its weight in gold now." Marcus looked at his party. Tired, bloodied, but alive. "Let's rest today and fortify the building. Tomorrow, we'll go looking for Doctor Kim."
They all nodded agreement then made their way back to the basement.
[Day 2 Complete]
[Sanctuary Quest Progress: 4/10 residents]
[Days Remaining: 5]