The day starts and I can see a few changes in the mood around town. I may have been able to easily brush aside the system's calming effect on newcomers, but few people, even now, had my willpower. I saw the signs over the week but now it was obvious the mechanism was totally gone. I hear a couple arguments and even one fight break out in hour preceding the morning meeting.

I get to the meeting cursing my memory. I should have asked Charlie yesterday when we were talking. I need to know what was so important in the book. There are even more people than yesterday in the courtyard.

Mayor douche bag provides only information we already have or useless stuff. I curse him silently. I should probably stop coming to the first part altogether. If it is anything important people will tell me. I wait to finally know the big secret. What could it be?

I stop my wandering thoughts and listen as Charlie starts.

"Good morning everyone. I'm happy to say we bought the license and it was worth it. A few people have been told of the information but we will provide an accurate and updated account of the information today.

"The book that we bought was named Introduction to the system – basics. From the name, we were not sure but after our scribe read it, we knew it was very important information. The main point is about our length of stay in the starting zone. I will talk about what is most relevant, any specifics you can look over at the guildhall.

"Everyone will stay here for a month without any requirements. After that, for each month we want to spend here, we will need to pay. It is an individual requirement. In the first month, the requirement is a very affordable 1 silver. That means everyone should be able to stay for at least 2 months. After that, we are not aware of how much money we would need yet. There are a few hints the costs are exponential.

"The time we stay here will be beneficial for each of us. We don't have concrete numbers but the starting zone has various bonuses. These bonuses affect our leveling speed, skill leveling, and even insight into the application of our skills.

" For each month we stay here we will be returned to Earth approximately a month later. But considering the bonuses we get on earth are significantly smaller, it will be worth to remain here as long as possible.

"The other mechanic determined by the last person to leave. Everyone on earth will benefit from the person who remains the longest in the starting zone. For each month Earth's grace period free of aliens is increased. No matter how much we try we would not be able to provide the capital for everyone to remain for a long period, though we will attempt to help as we can.

"We are in uncertain times and our information is still incomplete so the plans may change but we feel this is a good starting point. Enough about this, next we will be discussing the other topics for today.

We are happy to announce we found 15 new arrivals. They are all 12 years old as the first ones indicated. We don't have new information about where they stayed or in what conditions. They all have been adapting very well just like their colleagues who arrived on the first day.

"We also found our own clocksmith in the village and after some study, we will be building a town clock. It will be above the guild and have four faces. The design will be a very simple one and we will need to adjust it and "rewind it" every hour. We will not have a gong for the time being but it should be of help to everyone around town. At night it will also be illuminated, we aim to be visible for half a mile out.

"To finish, I will bring up something most people have seen around the village. We are greatly expanding our tree harvesting. We are building big warehouses to accelerate the drying and store all this wood. For now, they are not very good to build anything. Greenwood is not as strong, it rots and grows mold relatively quickly. We will have a few tiers of wood depending on their uses. The faster the drying the less use the wood has until it is only good enough for kindling. This effort needs help from everyone in the village. If anyone wants to come and work we will provide two meals and 15 copper in contribution per day."

Finishing up I see the crowd slowly disperse. I go to talk with Charlie and in a minute the crowd is thin enough.

“The scribe was not exaggerating yesterday. The information is quite important. Our efforts seem to have been on track."

"Yes, and we weren't even speculating openly on all of the implications.”

“You are talking about the second thing you mentioned right?”

“Yes, we are pretty sure what the best strategy is. Hold out as long as we can and concentrate wealth in the hands of a single person so they can stay as long as possible.”

“Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. And not only our wealth but the wealth from every single other village in our instance.”

"Just think of the conflict this might cause, everyone will want to be this 'chosen one'. They will have higher levels, better gear, and more experience when they came back to earth. If it is someone power-hungry we can only guess at our predicament."

"We should be very careful about spreading this information just yet. What are you going to do about the pay at the end of this month?"

“Most will have enough money and we will pay back what the rest need to stay another month. We will need the bonus levels back on earth. By the way, we will begin to send scouting parties tomorrow. They will travel 100 miles in a random direction, map the surroundings, and come back.”

“Time frame?”

"24 to 30 hours. We have four scouts at level 10. They got the agility and endurance to make the round trip. Tomorrow I will be talking about it."

"Good, we need to make contact as fast as possible and have an idea of their intentions and inclinations. Anything else?”

"Yes. We should take the time to discuss a few things regarding the infused wood and lumber. Also, we will need saws to cut the wood. We were thinking band-saws, the ones that need two men. With guides, we might even get usable planks."

“Ok, I will talk to the smith. Talk with you later.”

I head to the smithy and the wood sale goes smoothly. I receive and split 50 copper coins again. The day goes and around noon Mr. Blackwood asks:

"So are you ready to make the best bend-saw possible?"

I look at him for a moment but then it dawns.

“You want me to put mana in to heat up the forge?”

“Yes, I can make a passable saw with this temperature, but with a hot forge I could make teeth so sharp a single man could saw through anything."

“Are you sure? There will be people who complain if we don’t make the special weapon today.”

At those words, he grins and says: "I don't care what those people think and it is worth it. It is definitely worth it."

“Ok, I will do my best.”

"That is all you know how to do. I don't think I have seen you catch your breath for more than five seconds since the day you got here."

“I’m used to work tirelessly. Though I have to admit, I am resting even less than before."

I ask for Livia to fill the machine with mana. After I sit and sent a slow and steady stream of mana. I enter the almost trance-like state of meditation in less than a minute. I do my best and concentrate on making the mana as smooth as possible while sending only 1 mana every 20 seconds. I concentrate and think only of how smooth I am making the stream. I sense something coming closer and closer and I go deeper into my meditation. As I get closer it seems for every ten steps I take I only get one step closer. The closer I get the more this chase seems as if it will go on forever. I try and try, but an hour and a half in my meditation I hear the distinctive voice from the smith.

“That is enough.”

I look over and I see every single other person starring at the instrument he made. I look over the saw and it looks more like the stuff he produced to hang on the walls, those teeth look sharp. I inspect the saw.

Simple band-saw: A simple band-saw that was processed with care by a master blacksmith. It has passed through a hardening process. Attack: +4

As he sees me inspecting he speaks:

"This is a very good blade, it should be a great help to your project. I saw massive piles of wood and I know how much manpower goes into cutting everything up. This saw need care, otherwise, it will break. But its teeth will chew through anything."

“Yeah, I saw you hardened it.”

“Correct. It makes the blade and teeth more prone to breaking but it will take longer to lose the edge and will hold a better edge.”

“Now, how much?”

“With my special discount, 3 silver.”

I whistle. I look it over again and go to the back to get more wood. It really is a nice blade, totally worth the extra coins.

The work goes on until I hear a commotion outside. I think it is probably another fight or something but the smith stops about 30 seconds later. He then does something truly strange. He puts his hammer down and goes to the door. He never does that in the middle of work. Ever since I got here, every single time he puts his hammer down it is only to pick up another tool. Mr. Blackwood is staring at the distance. I cannot see or hear what has his interest.

I stop my work as well and before I am at the door I hear someone outside.

“Monster attack, everybody come help, monster attack…”

I stop the instant I hear: monster attack. What is it? How much danger are we in? When, how, and why all pass through my mind. I think of the best way to defend myself. I grab the last weapon we made, luckily it hadn't been sold yet. I grab all my coins and throw them on the table running outside.

I carry both my staff and my ax into battle. It is cumbersome, but I need to have options. I see almost everyone also heading to the gates at a fast pace. The village is up in arms and whatever is attacking us is going to regret it.

Most people still don't have proper weapons, but I see people with better clubs and staffs in hand. I even see a couple of wood spears, with the tip hardened by fire. My pace is fast and I slowly pass people until I see the gate.

I see someone from the guild organizing everyone.

"Everybody, gather up and don't go outside. The hunting team has returned early. They run into a monster too strong for them to kill. After trying to lose the monster they discovered that it has very good tracking abilities. It seems it some kind of…"

The world trembles and everybody freezes in their step. I feel a primal fear. The sound I hear vibrates everything, even my bones. This roar was not made by a small animal. A lion would not be able to do this. The sheer volume of air it moves is unbelievable. I search and find something being transmitted along with the sound. I notice very faint notes of mana.

So you are using a skill that instills fear and paralyzes your prey. I take only a moment to overcome the effects and can move. A few people fall flat-footed and take a few seconds to get up, but nobody seems injured.

I run and jump catching the edge of the wooden walls and peek over it. I see then a monstrosity. Not like the wolves, which look like normal wolves, just diseased. This enormous being is the size of an elephant. Its skin is dark and thin. I can see the bone under it protruding slightly. This enormous beast looks like an elephant or a mammoth. I inspect it and the results don't surprise me.

Inspection has partially succeeded. Name: Warped Mammoth Level: Unknown Information: Unknown

I keep looking at it and I can almost feel the rage coming from it. This is not natural. This beast, no this monster does not behave like a normal Mammoth as far as I can tell. It will attempt to kill all its wake. It also seems to have an uncanny ability to track, unless the scouts didn't know what they were doing. They should be smart enough to go through places their size would not be impacted but that hamper this enormous beast.

I hear the person organizing everyone continues talking at the back.

“This beast does not seem to have a very high endurance but it has very good tracking ability. Let’s just see what it does from behind the walls and act from there.”

In my mind, I can already see the panic setting in place if these are the orders. I don't think it is the wrong approach. I doubt we had the time to properly debrief the scouts and we are not really trained in group battles. This is probably going to be a disaster. Almost everyone here is green as they come in group battles. Even people how have seen war fought a different kind of war. Earth's modern warfare is quite different from what we will be encountering.

I see two people standing on a platform. Both have big arms and are tall. The bows as tall are they are. I see their faces as they draw the bows to their maximum length and let loose. They must be drawing at least 200 pounds. I barely see the arrows, so fast they leave the bow.

A moment later, as I turn to the Mammoth, I hear the impact. Looking at it, it doesn't seem to have been affected at all. The arrows hit his skin barely penetrated. Releasing my staff seems the best choice, it will be of little to no use. I hear the archers reporting.

“Minimum penetration. No visible effect. Continuing to shoot.”

They use minimal words and try to be as concise as possible. That is something everybody should learn. I see them drawing for a second shot. As they take aim, the massive beast heads for them. It runs in massive steps and comes at an incredible pace. It seems it may not have the best endurance, but it is fast.

Half-way to the wall the archers let loose a second volley. One of the arrows in a massive stroke of luck hits the left eye. I hear a roar from the mammoth and analyze the mana coming. The roar is even more terrifying than before. This close, even with less mana the effect is stronger. The attack may not have cycled it's "cooldown" or the beast may not have waited until it was at full power. Maybe a lack of mana is a limiting factor. It seemed to have released a massive amount less than 30 seconds ago.

I see the beast lower its head. One of the archers who was beginning to draw freezes and after a moment he jumps from the platform. I make s similar mental calculation than the archer. Three tons, traveling at 30 mph, heading directly to a wooden wall. The logs driven into the ground may be horse-proof or even bull-proof, but they are definitely not mammoth-proof.

I pull my body and run to the platform timing my speed to be just after he shots and before the mammoth hits. I see him shoot and I barrel into him pushing him as far from the wall as I can. Luckily he already had taken a step back and we go flying at an angle away from the wall.

A moment later I hear a crash sound and feel a vibration through the air.

The wall breaks and my back absorbs a massive impact. We are both propelled in the ground. I can feel I almost broke a few ribs but ended up with only a few scuffs. I look back and immediately see the wall. It is almost broken at the base and bend in by about 2 meters. I see I'm still very close to the wall and move a few meters back. I hook the ax as well as I can on my belt. Scrambling to catch one of the bows in the ground and a quiver of arrows I look back.

All around panic sets in. People are running and screaming like headless chickens. This is proof we not ready for this.

A moment later I hear the monster on the other side pushing the wall in and it slowly gives way. I run along the wall and climb balancing on the top a dozen meters away. I nock an arrow in the bow and draw it imitating the archers as well as I can. Even in my inexperience, I hit the side of the mammoth. When the wooden wall goes down a little more he stomps on it, making the process even faster.

I get a little closer and he turns in my direction. The narrow corridor between the house and wall slows him down, but he manages to go through. I carefully aim and when I'm only 10 feet away, I let loose an arrow straight in his eyes. This got your attention earlier. I don't manage to hit head-on and only perforate the eyelid this time. A moment later, I jump and run outside the walls. I get behind him, only 4 paces away before I shoot him in his most vulnerable place.

I hear his roar. Being so close now, I freeze for long enough I stumble. I scramble back as he tries to walk back but he doesn't have much luck. Take that you dumb beast. After a moment I see him push with his front paws and stand on his back legs.

Oh, shit. I run back without letting loose another arrow and throw the bow in the direction of the second archer. I take the quiver from my shoulder and throw it as well.

He runs behind me and in a few seconds, we both look back to see the mammoth going over the broken part of the wall. I hear him asking:

“What is the strategy?”

“We kite him to death.”

I try to come with terms with the long and arduous affair before me. I might die today. I push all the irrelevant stuff out of my mind and solely focus on our goal.