Chương 48: Chapter 45: The Birth of Novus

I exited my player interface and turned to leave the room, ready to check on the rest of the team. But as I spun around, a strange new detail on the wall behind the principal's desk caught my eye. Right next to the open master key locker, a heavy stone console had materialized flush with the drywall. The face of the panel was carved with ten smooth, oval divots. Nine of them were roughly the size of a fist, clustered in a neat pattern, but the single socket at the very top was easily twice the size of the rest.

On a whim, I focused my eyes on the stone work and cast an inspect, not really expecting the system to read a piece of the building. To my surprise, a pale blue window surfaced: [System Terminal Located] Designation: Main Control Hub for "The High School." Would you like to rename this settlement? [Yes] / [No] I clicked [Yes] without hesitation.

If this campus was going to be our permanent home, a safe haven where our families could actually rebuild a life, I didn't want it to just be known as the local high school anymore. It needed a name that stood for a clean slate, a fresh start in this bizarre new world we'd been thrown into. I thought on it for a moment, then typed in Novus —the Latin word for "new." It fit what we were trying to do here perfectly.

The screen shifted instantly, populating a much wider settlement interface for our newly christened home: [Settlement Initialized: Novus] Classification: Place of Learning As knowledge is power, you will unlock unique passive bonuses for your community by revitalizing various sectors of this property. A block of informational text detailed how the infrastructure worked. The hub could manage and automate a dozen different specialized facilities, but the entire system was currently completely dark.

By installing a primary Core Crystal into the apex socket, you will initialize basic structural automation, enabling defensive options such as a fortified perimeter wall and heavy ballistic emplacements. Secondary Mana Crystals can then be placed in the surrounding sockets to activate specific faction modules. The interface provided a clear architectural blueprint of the campus, and I could see that the school's existing layout lined up perfectly with the modules we could unlock.

The science wing was designated for the Alchemy and Enchanting workshops. The industrial metal shop would become the Forge; the wood shop would house the Builder's Lodge; and the agricultural greenhouse and floral rooms were mapped directly to the Farmer's Lodge. There was even a slot to turn the Fine Arts building into a Bardic College. Curious to see what it would take to get the security features online, I tapped the prompt for the main defensive wall.

A red warning banner flashed across my eyes: This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. [Action Restricted] Error: Settlement hub cannot be initialized without a matching Crystal Core installed. My heart sank a little. I closed the terminal window with a frustrated sigh, having absolutely no clue what a crystal core even looked like, let alone where we were supposed to harvest one. The same went for the smaller mana crystals.

But the moment the screen minimized, the system chimed again, dropping a new notification directly into my active log: [Quest Gained: Empower the People] Objective: Travel to the designated coordinates provided on your tracking display and retrieve the hidden Crystal Core. Reward: 1x Settlement Crystal Core, Moderate Experience Points. Note: This quest line is shareable with all active party members.

I pulled up my mini-map, pinching the screen to zoom out across the valley until I spotted a bright, pulsing waypoint detailed far to the west. The map tile itself was completely dark and unrecorded because I hadn't traveled out that way since the world changed, leaving the destination a total mystery. Realizing there was nothing more I could do at the desk, I walked back out into the main lobby to brief the rest of the crew.

When I finished explaining how the control panel worked, Alex leaned against his shotgun, a knowing look on his face.

"Traveling out to a remote, uncharted location to bring back a glowing core? Dad, that sounds exactly like a classic dungeon dive." I dropped my face into my palm, letting out a heavy, tired sigh.

"We are so not ready for a dungeon dive right now," I said, looking back up at the group.

"Our absolute number-one priority has to be getting our families, our equipment, and all our food supplies moved over here and secured. Once everyone is safe inside these brick buildings, we can start talking about running crazy errands for the system." Joe nodded his head in agreement, leaning heavily on his axe handle.

"The rest of our people over at the neighborhood houses are ready to move when we are. The second we finalized this plan tonight, we had them start crating up their supplies."

"Good," I said.

"We've been doing the exact same thing at my place. But before we bring the convoy over, we have to handle the grim business right in front of us. We need to police the perimeter, clear out these bodies, and most importantly... we need to give Johnny a proper burial." I rubbed the back of my neck, thinking through the logistics.

"I noticed an old Caterpillar backhoe loader parked over by the agricultural compound earlier. If we can get that machine fired up, it'll make moving the debris and digging a final resting place a whole lot faster." Jace's eyes lit up from the back of the group.

"I know exactly where the keys to that Cat are, Dad. I took Ag Mechanics last semester, and the instructor always keeps the master equipment rings tucked inside the top drawer of his office desk."

"Perfect," I said, pointing a finger at him.

"Jace, you're with me on the equipment run. Joe, Pete, Alex—start sweeping the perimeter and check those fallen bodies for anything useful we can salvage. Alex, pass that tactical shotgun over to Jace for the walk. Isadora, you take your rifle and keep a close watch on Travis while he keeps that drone in the air. Let's stay sharp." With no further questions, the team split apart into the dark, each of us quietly moving out to handle our tasks.