New World
Beep, beep, beep.
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>[Next Event]
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[Everyone has completed their quests, and now the territory you protected belongs to you.]
[All territory locks are lifted, and you can go outside. ]
[But after 24 hours, there will be a siege by monster waves, and you have to protect your territory from them.]
[Those who think they cannot defend their territory can become someone else's subordinate and transfer their territory rights to them.]
[people who make necessities and provide other services in their territory can sell them on the system market, and others can buy them on the system market, but remember coins are the only currency accepted.]
[Remember that the number of monster waves will depend on the territory and personnel within them.]
====
Tejasv was startled by the unexpected notification. He checks the notification for the next event and finds that he can leave his home. While he was anxious to check his surroundings, he first took a short rest to recover from the fight on the military base.
After a short nap and shower, he discovers that he has received notifications from different people about becoming his subordinates and handing over their territories. Tejasv put them aside for now, as he was more interested in seeing what was happening outside with his own eyes.
--
He steps out of his home and notices the illuminating wall has disappeared. He raises his hand in the air, trying to touch and feel if the wall is gone or not. He couldn't feel anything and found a clear path. He was feeling the same way a caged bird feels when it gets its freedom.
He steps into the alley in front of his home and finds it silent with no movement. He proceeds to the main road and finds most of the surroundings destroyed or damaged.
Either the vehicles were upside down or burned, the shops were on fire, and the smoke from them was touching the sky. It was looking as if an apocalypse had descended on earth.
Suddenly, he hears a voice asking for rescue; he reaches out and finds a woman hiding from some dog-like monsters. She was in a trash bin big enough for her, and the monsters were howling, listening to her voice.
They were waiting for her to emerge from that place. Tejasv goes from behind, and before they could react, he splits their heads open, and blood splattered everywhere.
He calls the woman ensuring her safety; she comes out, and the first thing she sees is a man with two axes with the headless bodies of some mysterious monsters on the ground. She runs away with a loud scream making Tejasv deaf for a while.
"So this is what my world has become," Tejasv sighs with a gloomy face.
Other than that woman, the only people he found were homeless or those who left their homes for some reason before the apocalypse. However, it's not as if they did not fight monsters; monsters that were released outside territories to attack them. That's why Tejasv saw many dead bodies in usually crowded places.
He gets information that many public areas have been overtaken by monsters released into the wild. Therefore, people present in subways, railway stations, and even in the toilets had to fight. The winners claimed those properties as their combined personal territories.
Tejasv guessed that if someone had to use those public facilities, they would have to pay in coins because these are not government properties anymore. The system introduced the system market and coins because of such future scenarios.
"So even the system discriminates between the rich and poor... nothing changed even in the apocalypse."
--
As Tejasv moves around the area, this same scene is nearly everywhere. Sometimes he had to face some monsters, but they were less powerful than the ones he had already defeated.
Tejasv visits some public places that are now territories. He visits there to check how their current owners are managing the place. He enters a supermarket, and a notification pops up.
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[Tariff fee - Ten coins]
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"Huh, what is a tariff charge...isn't it a tax for the import or export of goods? However, I'm not here to sell something".
Tejasv was startled by the notification presented to him. While he was trying to understand the situation, a man with short stature in his forties came from inside. He asked Tejasv about his reason for standing so long.
Tejasv explains that a window appeared before him demanding a tariff charge. The man lifts his eyebrow and states that he is the one who put that restriction on entry. He tells Tejasv, with his haughty attitude, that he is the owner of this territory and has the right to do anything with it.
Furthermore, he states that even humans are goods to him. Tejasv was annoyed with the man, but ignored him and entered the supermarket. Tejasv realizes the importance of territory and its positive and negative uses.
While shopping for daily necessities in the supermarket, Tejasv noticed an old man with tattered clothes begging for food from the market owner. He begs the owner to give him some food for his injured child, who got hurt by monsters.
The market owner shouts at the old man that: if he doesn't have coins, then he should die instead. While shouting, the owner even hit the old man to drive him away.
The old man sits on the other side of the lane and starts weeping. Tejasv felt disgusted with the owner's behavior. He picks up his item and leaves after paying the bill.
As he weeps, the old man notices some food and bandages nearby. He checks here and there to see who placed them. Walking away from him was a young man with two axes. Thanking the young man, he bowed to his knees.
--
On his way, Tejasv found many such incidents of loot, assault, murder, and even rape. Tejasv was lamenting his decision to check on others. He lost his faith in humans and thought about whether all of this was a punishment for humans.
Tejasv knew in his heart that there were still good people who must be caring and helping others even in these times. He closes his eyes and tries to feel the emotions of nature.
When he opened his eyes, he felt refreshed. Now he could see people helping each other, sharing their slices of bread. With these sudden changes, Tejasv discerns that it's not about humans who are virtuous or malicious, it is about how you interpret them.
Tejasv lost his mother instantly and couldn't even mourn for her, which is why he could only think of negative things. After clearing his mind, he could see even little positive signs around him.
--
Just before leaving the area, he heard someone shouting to rouse people from the slums. Tejasv finds it compelling that someone would gather a crowd in this situation.
He moves forward and finds a teenage boy, about 19 years old, in the center of the rabble, standing on some boxes, assuming it his podium.
Despite his thinness, Tejasv could tell from one glance that he was strong; he must have fought many monsters for survival. He addresses the people about how the world had changed, and the government could no longer help them.
He also says that the remaining people from the slum should come together and face the monsters during the siege.
It was challenging for people to calm themselves after the appearance of monsters, and now they have to face these monsters' waves individually. Tejasv could tell that these people were scared and trembling but didn't want to show their weak side to that boy.
They agreed to that child's suggestion and were ready to face the monsters as one territory. A sound alert appeared above the slums.
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[Slums ]
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Because many people regard that place as one territory, the system named it a single territory—"Slums". Tejasv believes this decision is best considering their position in these difficult times and will result in fewer deaths.
That child is the one who had to bear the weight of even one death since he had accepted the role of leader of this territory. Tejasv was keen to know how the boy would change in the future due to his responsibilities as a leader.
Tejasv approaches a man in the crowd and asks who is the boy giving a speech in front of people. The man replied that his father was a social activist who died while helping others, and this boy wants to become like his father. His name is "Akash".
"Akash! I'll remember you, until next time, boy."
Tejasv leaves the place with a look of satisfaction as if he had witnessed something good today.
--
Tejasv reaches his home and clears his mind. He already knew that humans could be benevolent or evil depending on the situation.
He decides that he will never follow the evil path, but that doesn't mean he will be a hero. He will be an advocate for his subordinates and against anyone who gets in his way.
With his newly gained enlightenment, Tejasv starts sorting his list to select the first subordinate.