Chapter 2: Silver City

I had chosen the perfect location to remain unnoticed amongst the sudden uprising of towers. In the middle of nowhere. The government would spend the bulk of their resources around the towers that rose within the larger cities. I looked up to the sky and noticed the dark purple was still active. This would remain for a total of twenty-four hours before disappearing without a trace.

All of the news stations would be advising residents to stay indoors and the entire city would be blocked off. I had booked a cabin in the woods where I knew a tower would show up. It was just far enough away that it wouldn't be strange if I happened across it. At least, that is what I would tell anyone who figured out I was here. Best case scenario was that no one would know and I would go stumbling back to the city once the restrictions were lifted.

Just another scared citizen trying to make sense of the strange occurrence of the towers. Until the third day, when the chaos of the first wave would start. It was just luck that I remembered the locations of the tutorial towers that were kept secret by the government. When I had been taken away to be thrown into a tower they had a list of locations for 'test sites'. I happened to glance at the list and remembered this place. Soon this place would become a top secret government facility that the unfortunate citizens, who lost the lottery, would be thrown into to see if they would come out.

It was a horrible practice that led some of the more powerful Awakened to openly oppose the government, eventually leading to the creation of the Guild for Awakened. Of course, they sent the military into the towers, but only a small portion of their units ever came out. The range of abilities people always came out with were different as well. The Guild classified people into different ranks based on their accomplishments. They liked to refer to Awakened as Adventurers.

Everyone starts out at Rank F, no exceptions. A normal person could probably make it through a F ranked dungeon, but just barely. Of course, there were people who were exceptional right off the bat, like before the towers. However, they still needed to rack up achievements in order to advance. Soon everyone's life would be surrounded by what was going on in the dungeons. People couldn't help it.

Adventurers would be ranked on popularity and take the place that idols once had. To me it was always very sickening. My experience of being forced into this life, and only able to break free thanks to The Guild, had given me a horrible outlook. The money I had worked so hard for became meaningless due to a new currency that was based on the loot from the dungeons. Soon the only way to make money was to bring back loot from the dungeon, because no one hired Awakened anymore.

Maybe it was the distrust from not knowing what ability they had or just that the Non-Awakened were scared. And then I got killed in a D ranked dungeon…

The forest was dark due to the sky blocking out the sun, but I had brought a compass in order to not get lost. Soon the cabin I had rented this week came into view. It was still peaceful here despite the change in landscape. I would be leaving early, of course. There was no way I would be able to survive like a normal citizen out here without a bunker or something.

I quickly packed up my things and grabbed my keys. I had moved to Silver City soon after I came back in time. Silver City was known for being the hub for all adventurers. Several profitable dungeons popped up there, but it was best known for having the least amount of casualties after the first wave. I did not want to be detected by the government until The Guild was established so I needed to act like a scared citizen until then.

The dirt road turned into pavement and I floored the gas to get to the city before traffic became deadlocked. People panicked in terrifying situations and that unfortunately would deadlock the roads in no time. The first few days after the first wave were engraved in my memories. Every news report, every scared blog post, and every video of monsters terrorizing the city. The scratching of claws on concrete and the terrified screams of anyone who happened to be outside would forever haunt my memories.

I took a deep breath as I noticed a road block ahead of me. I lowered my speed and stopped to roll my window down. The officer shined his flashlight in my face and then into the back seat of my car.

"The city is closed to visitors."

"I am a resident."

"License?"

I handed him my license, which he took to the group of police cars ahead of me. The city was already closed? That seemed strange. Soon, the officer returned with my license and the cars in front of me made a path for me to enter.

"Once you make it home, don't leave. The city is under lockdown due to the recent events. Here is a pass if anyone else stops you."

The officer handed me a half sheet of paper that said 'Resident Pass' on it. I narrowed my eyes at how ready the city seemed and waved goodbye to the officer. When I first came to this city, I thought it was strange how many workshops on survival were being held. Now they were prepared for the upcoming wave? As I passed through the borders of the city limits I noticed police and uniformed officers putting up barriers and fortifications.

This wasn't normal. I clearly remembered there being no warning before. Did someone else come to the past as well? Or did Silver City have advance notice from the start and just did not bother to tell anyone else? There were too many questions to answer. As I drove through the neighborhood of the house I rented, I was not stopped. I picked up my luggage and lugged it into the two bedroom house. I turned on the TV and listened to the news report, wondering what else might have changed.

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