The mess hall fell silent as Mr. Chen began speaking. At first, it was subtle, some paused mid-bite, their attention shifting. But soon, more and more people lowered their utensils and turned their focus entirely to him. From my vantage point on the second floor, I could see a range of expressions. Some faces were lit with excitement whilst others were etched with worry.

  Mr. Chen was soon joined by Prema, who took the microphone and continued to explain why the next step was critical for everyone.

  Farah moved beside me, her voice low but determined. “I want to do it too. Shaheerah and Frank are on board as well. We’re not sure about Mr. Chen and Prema, but... we’ll do it.”

  I met her gaze, offering a reassuring nod. “Good. It's important they see the leadership taking the first step. You all should lead the way.”

  Prema’s voice floated up to us from the mess hall below. “Once we activate our systems and unlock new abilities, we’ll have to fight… monsters. We need to level up so we can earn items and money to survive. Not everyone may need to fight, but it’s our understanding that everyone will need to participate if we’re going to leave the West.”

  I signaled for Shawn and Jess to join Prema and Mr. Chen to help address the crowd’s mounting questions. The fear was palpable, and understandably so. But I had faith in Shawn’s insanely high Charisma and Jess’s background as a doctor would lend credibility to our plans.

  My HUD pinged with a message from the group chat.

  Siva: You sure it's a good idea to send the necromancer to answer questions?

  I couldn’t help but smile as Shawn shot Siva a playful grin from the floor below. The Q&A session stretched on for a while, but eventually, it began to quiet down. By the end of it, Prema called everyone down as we converted the mess hall into a makeshift registration hall. People started bringing over sheets of paper and pens, and we manned the tables, collecting names for several hours. When it was all said and done, we were heartened to see nearly fifteen hundred people had signed up to activate their skills. We answered what we could during the registration process, but mostly, we just told them that experience would be their best teacher.

  Next, we sorted the list, prioritizing the top five hundred based on physical health and known aptitudes. Then, we narrowed it down further to the ten individuals we felt were best suited to begin the activation process that very night.

  I left Siva with Farid, a member of the settlement who had been a riding instructor before the switchover, to teach Siva how to ride my motorbike. Farid looked at me quizzically when I explained how imperative it was for Siva to learn fast, but he didn’t press the matter further.

  Meanwhile, we set Jess up in the medic training rooms to establish a makeshift hospital. The settlement had quite a few nurses, but this was the first time they’d had an actual doctor and healer among them. Jess would spend the night seeing patients and doing what she could with the help of the nurses.

  Shawn and I met with the ten individuals selected for tonight’s excursion. Among them were Farah, Shaheerah, and Frank from the council, along with seven others, a solid mix of men and women, the healthiest of the group. They introduced themselves, and I did my best to remember their names as we exchanged handshakes. Despite their grim expressions, they seemed determined.

  I gave each of them a reassuring pat on the back as they squeezed into the back of an ambulance, which we were using for transport, and we drove off toward the 7-Eleven at West Coast.

  “Everybody hang on!” Shawn called out, his voice full of mischief, as he drove up the curb, crashed through the shrubbery, and guided the ambulance right onto the void deck, coming to a stop just inches from the 7-Eleven. The door of the ambulance swung open directly onto the shop’s entrance. I added a few choice curses of my own to the ones coming from the back, but Shawn just grinned and claimed this was safer.

  We began the activation process, with Shaheerah being the first to enter the 7-Eleven as we stood guard outside. It took about forty-five minutes, and when she finally emerged, she looked radiant, almost refreshed, her new leather trench coat draped over her traditional Malay dress. She also had a new hijab. She explained that she had been “gifted” a starter kit, which included gold, health and mana potions, a free choice of armor, two spells, and a weapon.

  That… was odd.

  I thought back to how the system had enchanted Jess’s scalpel into a deadly weapon without any cost and wondered what the system’s angle was here. I quickly pieced it together, this wasn’t about generosity. The system was equipping people for a battle it wanted to unfold. Chaos, I realized, was part of its plan.

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  “You chose what?” Shawn’s voice snapped me out of my thoughts. I turned just in time to see a massive two-headed warhammer materialize in Shaheerah’s hands. The weapon towered over her, but she wielded it effortlessly.

  “What? What happened?” I asked, still trying to process.

  “I’m a Magus,” she said with a wide smile, “I cast spells and fight on the frontlines.”

  She stepped back, swung the warhammer above her head, and a faint glow emanated from the hammer’s heads.

  “What the fuck…” I muttered. I’d expected her to go for a healer or support class, not this. The others watched in awe as she continued testing her new weapon.

  Farah went next. When she came out, she was dressed in an intricate white gown, trimmed with purple and adorned with swirling motifs. Something sparkled in her hands as she raised them, gazing at herself with a sheepish smile.

  “Wizard. Chaos Arcana,” she said simply.

  Shawn and I just exchanged looks, both of us dumbfounded.

  It took nearly five hours to finish the activations for all ten of them, and by the time we were done, it was almost three in the morning. Throughout the night, we’d received several pings from Jess and Siva, checking in to make sure everything was alright. We kept them updated as best we could.

  In the end, we had a good mix. A Magus, a Wizard, two Clerics, two straight-up fighters, two healers, and two ranged fighters who were armed with shorter-range crossbows, not longbows like me.

  We were about to head back to New Jurong when Farah spoke up from the back. “Erm… how about we test out our new… abilities?” The others quickly chimed in, all expressing the same eagerness.

  I glanced at the clock on the dash, then at Shawn. He just grinned, put the ambulance in reverse, and said, “West Coast Park it is.” I remembered how easy it was to find mobs at the local parks, and West Coast Park was just a short distance away.

  As Shawn drove, a knot of worry settled in my stomach. I’d wanted to ease them into this, maybe some training at camp to help them acclimatize to their new abilities first. But this felt like rushing in headfirst. I pinged the party chat to explain what was happening and where we were headed.

  Jess: Guys, be careful. The last park we went to had Pontianaks.

  Siva: You want us to join you? We could find someone to drive us there.

  Shawn: Nah, it’s ok. We’ll be careful. If we can’t handle it, we’ll run.

  Chris: Shawn’s right. I don’t really like this either, but I guess this was the whole point. We’ll keep it short. There’s twelve of us, so we should be fine.

  Jess: They’re all level 1, Chris. We haven’t even done our own upgrades yet.

  Shawn: Actually… they’re all level 3. They got a bump.

  Siva: What the fuck? How?

  Chris: Shawn, stop typing and driving. I have no idea, but I’ve got a theory. The system wants the people to be appropriately powered for a real battle to wipe each other out.

  The chat was silent for a while before Jess replied.

  Jess: Be careful.

  We arrived at the park and stepped out of the ambulance, the cold mist swirling around our feet. The ground was damp, and the air hung heavy with an eerie stillness. Dim light from the old lamp posts cast faint halos of yellow, barely cutting through the thick fog, enough to reveal the outlines of park benches and the twisted shapes of overgrown shrubs.

  The atmosphere was strangely familiar, bringing back memories of Sembawang Park, but this time, it felt different, more haunting. The quiet was unnerving, broken only by the soft crunch of our boots against the damp earth.

  Shawn led the way, his figure cutting through the mist like a shadow, while I brought up the rear, keeping a watchful eye on the others. We moved in close, forming a tight, almost instinctual formation.

  “Do you hear that?” one of the crossbow-wielding archers asked.

  I concentrated for a moment, but didn’t have to wait long. A large group of something came rushing toward us from a distance. I equipped my dead-eye scope for a clearer view and froze.

  “What the fuck…” I whispered as I recognized the creatures. They were pangolins. Massive ones, the size of panda bears. Some were rolling in their ball form, while others sprinted on their hind legs. Their front claws were long and sharp, gleaming in the dim light.

  I was about to shout an order when, out of nowhere, a fireball erupted from the group and exploded against the first few pangolins.

  With a collective shriek, the creatures charged at us. I exchanged a quick glance with Shawn, then we both dove into the fray.

  ? Dream Of Alice ?

  by Alice Ludenburg