Chapter 3: The Town of Last Hope

Stanley opened the door and found his brother Bradley waiting outside.

Bradley was a year older than Stanely at 18 years old. He had short brown hair and was a few inches taller than Stanley. He was also handsome and always had a smile on his face.

If someone saw the two of them together, they would be hard-pressed to tell that the two of them were brothers. After all, one had taken from the father and the other from the mother.

Bradley was clad in thick leather armor, which every Defender was forced to wear when they were on the job unless they had a power that conflicted with the armor.

“I haven’t seen you in a few days and you already look like shit,” Bradley said with a playful smile.

“I feel like shit,” Stanley said.

Bradley’s smile softened a bit as a frown replaced it. “Is it still the trauma?” he asked. “Do you still see mom dying?”

Stanley nodded. “It’s like I’m right back there in our old house, watching her get…” he shook his head to get rid of the thought. “I had a training battle with Marcus today. I couldn’t even swing the sword at all because of it.”

“Marcus… is that the thin guy whose hair can turn sharp like needles?” Bradley asked.

“No, that’s Nale. Marcus is the big fat guy that can lower his body weight when he closes his eyes,” Stanley said.

“Ah, right! That guy,” Bradley said. “You used to be able to beat him before, right?”

“I did,” Stanley said. “But nowadays… I’m useless.”

“Hey! You’re not useless,” Bradley said. “Have you eaten anything?”

“No, I just came back from the training ground,” Stanley said.

“Great! Come with me, I’ll treat you to some food. There’s a rather popular restaurant that has opened up in the 3rd quadrant,” Bradley said.

Stanley hesitated a bit. “Do we have to? The quarters have enough food for us, don’t they?” he asked.

Bradley got closer. “Do you like that food?” he asked. 𝙚𝙙𝙤𝒗𝒆𝒍．𝒄𝙤𝙢

Stanley couldn’t deny that the food wasn’t delicious at all. They only ate it because there was nothing else to eat.

“Fine, let me change. I’m dirty from all the training,” Stanley said and walked in. Bradley walked in as well and looked around the room.

“Are you sure we shouldn’t just get a place to stay on our own?” Bradley asked. “I can afford it, you know.”

“You are gone all the time, and I need to be training most of the time too,” Stanley said. “Not to mention, there is a rumor going around that even 3rd years will now have to take part in patrolling the veil. If that is true, then having a place will make no sense if no one is there to live in it.”

“It’s not a rumor,” Bradley said.

“Huh?” Stanley paused and turned around.

“It’s not a rumor. It’s true. The mayor is going to announce it in a few days,” Bradley said.

“How do you know that?” Stanley asked.

Bradley shrugged.

“You’ve been hiding something from me for a while now, and you don’t tell me at all. What is it?” Stanley asked.

Bradley smiled. “I’m not telling you just yet. I don’t want to disappoint you if it turns out to be nothing. I promise, as soon as it seems like it’s possible, I will tell you what it is,” he said.

Stanley snorted a bit and quickly changed to something else. Then, the two brothers left the Defenders’ at the center of all four Quadrants and moved toward the 3rd quadrant of the town.

The Town of Last Hope was separated into 3 sections.

The first section, starting at the crevice of the two cliffs, consisted of the most important thing that the town’s survival depended on.

The waterfall.

There was a waterfall that fell in between the two cliffs. The water from the waterfall was the main source of water for the entire town. If not for it, the people in the town would’ve died of dehydration ages ago.

Not only was the water important for normal survival, but it was also their only source of electricity. A hydro powerplant was set up where the water fell, providing the town with electricity that they desperately needed.

The water from the waterfall was manually split into many streams and tributaries so that water could be sent to all areas of the town.

As the town was on a downward slope, they needed to do nothing more than make the path, and the water followed it on its own.

Not only that, but the first sector was also home to the Mayor, who was the most important individual in the entire town.

The mayor was responsible for many important decisions about the town and held one of the rarest powers in the entire town.

The power to heal the wounded.

Because of how important he was, the mayor stayed in his fortress on the first section of the town where no one was allowed to go at all or they would be immediately punished, sometimes even by death.

The First section was about 500 meters from the corner of the cliff to the edge of the Mayor’s fortress.

Right after the First section came the Second section which was where the normal people lived.

The Second section was the largest piece of land in the entire town, coming to about 30 square kilometers in area, holding over 20 thousand people in it.

The area was then separated into 4 quadrants for easier management. The higher the land on the slope, the more expensive it was. So, there was a natural sorting of rich to poor in these quadrants.

The Defender’s headquarters lay directly in the center of all four quadrants. After all, the Defenders were not just saving the people from the monsters outside the town, but also from the ones inside of it.

They were the ones that stopped crime in the town.

Finally, the Last section was the land where the Dulls lived. It was the farmland where the food and crops for the entirety of the town were produced.

The Last section had a massive area too, but because it was a long strip of land, its width was rather small, making the distance from the Veil terrifyingly low.

As such, it was the first thing to be attacked if the monsters did manage to slip past the Defenders that patrolled the veil.