Before even getting up, Luke texted Alan to let him know he'd be out of reception range for a little while, then Ray, telling him to get ready. He thought for a moment, then texted Mateo, Colt, Penny, and Hannah as well. Only then did he try to get off the inflatable mattress on the floor.

  "Ow. What the hell?"

  It was his legs. They weren't working. Well, not working like he wanted, at least. Just thinking about moving them in any significant way made the muscles in his legs scream in protest.

  "Damn squats!" he shouted into the relative light of early morning.

  Delayed onset muscle soreness, or DOMS for short. He'd trained so hard his legs were like noodles when he needed them the most. Big mistake.

  Luke opened the Integrated Shop and filtered for usable weapons for the Lifeweaver class. To no one's surprise, using a staff was the only option. There were a couple of different types to choose from, and a few with added bonuses, but he just picked a regular quarterstaff, like the one he'd smashed to bits against the side of Relian's face. It popped into existence in his hand, and Luke used it for support, heaving himself off the ground. This wasn't his first time with DOMS, of course, but he'd never experienced anything this bad.

  Plopping down into a chair left behind by the previous tenant, Luke gave the problem some thought. The act of growing stronger happens from micro tears in your muscles. Then, while you rest, new muscle fibers grow into those tears, strengthening the muscle. He wasn't sure if the new fibers were to blame for the DOMS, or if that was just a byproduct of the process, but Luke didn't have time to wait for his legs to regain their proper function.

  To that end, fueled by his recent healing of the kid in the wheelchair's legs, Luke quested inward with Thread of Mana. Sure enough, his muscles, especially his quadriceps at the front of his thighs, were a mess. Unsure what to expect, Luke went in with pin-prick precision, adding healing mana to many areas around his thigh muscles and calves. Even with the careful work he was doing, it required a whole lot of mana, but it worked.

  Luke stood, testing his legs. Much better. This meant healing muscle fatigue was possible, which had some interesting implications for his training as a whole. If he could heal the fatigue, couldn't he just keep going as long as he had mana to spare? In theory, this allowed him to train like a madman, then just heal himself, reaping the benefits without having to walk around like an old man for days afterwards. Mana was still a serious bottleneck, but at least there were ways of mitigating that requirement. To that end, Luke opened the Integrated shop again, this time buying a couple of healing potions before spending his remaining credits on mana potions.

  Ready, he tested his legs and headed out, following the tugging sensation telling him the direction of the portal before it had even opened. On the way, he got replies from everyone except for Ray. None of them were looking to jump back into a portal so soon, except for Mateo, but he was taking care of his abuela.

  "Ray?" Luke texted his friend again. Judging by the time, he was probably sleeping.

  Heading outside, Luke checked the headlines again to get a sense of what was happening in the world.

  Integrated on Integrated violence! A new concerning trend.

  Is your boyfriend Integrated? Read this for tips and tricks!

  Tensions rise along the Eastern European Border. Rumors of Integrated soldiers.

  Is China opening an Integrated training facility? Find out inside!

  Fearmongering. Never change, news. Luke sighed and looked around at the empty street in the cool June morning. Checking his phone again, it wasn't even five in the morning yet. No wonder there weren't many people up and about. Even the streets were clear. Luke wasn't sure he'd ever seen that before. Closing his eyes, he felt the direction of the tugging. It was faint, like the portal would open somewhere far away. Not wanting to waste a good opportunity for training, and with his legs almost back in working order, he ran.

  This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author's work.

  It took him the better part of an hour to find his way, and Luke stopped several times to make sure he wasn't going the wrong way. The closer he got to the spot, the more sure he felt about the positioning. Luke came to a stop, panting, by the side of a large indoor shopping complex. This was the spot. He'd arrived.

  As he stood there, looking around after getting some water out of his backpack, Luke wondered what he was supposed to do next. The portal hadn't opened yet, but when it did, should he enter it alone or stand around waiting for other Integrated to come along?

  Just as he finished that thought, Ray texted back. "Go away. I'm sleeping."

  Great.

  A whirring sound reached Luke, who looked up to see an E-scooter coming down the street. Another Integrated. The tall sword sticking up behind his back was a pretty obvious sign, if not the leather armor in black he wore. The guy was about Luke's age, and just a tad shorter, with short-cropped black hair, thin eyebrows, and intense eyes.

  He came to a stop and eyed Luke, not saying a word.

  "Seeker?" Luke asked. "I'm Luke."

  The guy frowned, locked his scooter to a bike rack, then gave a curt nod. "Curtis. And yeah, Seeker."

  "How did you get a profession?" Luke asked.

  Curtis reached over his shoulder and touched the sword, tense, like he was thinking about using it. "Tutorial Dungeon. Found a scroll."

  "You want to head inside together when it opens?" Luke asked.

  Curtis frowned and worked his jaw. "I wanted to go inside myself."

  "I'm a healer," Luke said.

  That seemed to ease Curtis's mind a little, because he let go of the sword and scratched at his well-defined jaw. "Fine then. As long as you're not inside the range of my sword. I'm not a babysitter."

  Well, this was sure to be just a lovely time.

  "You're going to be like that the entire time?" Luke asked.

  "Like what?" Curtis grunted, his face darkening.

  Just as he was about to call Curtis an asshole, the portal winked open a step behind Luke, who looked over his shoulder and saw that it was light blue. He turned, eyes meeting with Curtis's arrogant glare. Luke created a party for himself and gave Curtis the finger as he stepped backward into the portal.

  "Asshole," Luke said, disappearing through the swirling motes. That'd show him.

  Hefting his quarterstaff, Luke took in his surroundings. It was a modern city, much like his own, except it was in ruins. Standing by the side of a wide, multi-file road, Luke looked up at the tall buildings. Most were half-crumbled. He saw broken-down cars that seemed familiar, yet not, and other buildings covered in overgrowth. Trees stood everywhere, growing through concrete and stone. Birds flew in the air, large and black ones he didn't recognize. Nature had reclaimed this place, wherever or whatever it was.

  "You know, I could kill you for that. In here, no one would know."

  Luke spun around.

  Inspected Integrated: Curtis. Reaver. Level 4.

  "Thought the portal wouldn't let you through," Luke said with a frown. "And I'd like to see you try. Bet you can't even lift that huge sword. I'm more than twice your level."

  The massive, two-handed sword materialized in Curtis's hands, and he raised it without even straining, then slammed it into the pavement, bits of asphalt scattering in all directions.

  Luke hefted his quarterstaff, not taking his eyes off the asshole in front of him as Curtis raised the blade again and pointed toward him, holding that massive slab of metal straight out in front of him without even a tremble.

  The sounds of shoes slapping against pavement reached between them, and they both eased off, turning to see a woman coming running toward them. She wore a deep blue dress with small white flowers printed on it, and as she drew closer, Luke saw she was a little older than he'd thought at first, perhaps as old as fifty, with graying hair and not the blond locks he'd thought he saw. The dress was torn in places, the woman's pale skin bruised.

  She kept running toward them without slowing down.

  "Who are you?" Luke shouted. He looked around, not seeing anything resembling a threat.

  As she rushed the final steps toward them, Curtis's sword arced over his head, cutting into the woman's shoulder. The thick blade continued through her chest and came to a stop only when it reached her belly, almost ripping through her entire body.

  Luke stood there and watched in horror as the woman fell without a sound, blood pooling around her.

  "What the fuck?" Luke said, turning to Curtis, ready to jump out of the way if Curtis swung that thing at him.

  But Curtis just pointed to the corpse. "Look at it."

  It was the shape of a person, but just blank, like a mannequin without even a face. The dress was gone, showing a featureless body.

  Luke got down on his knees next to it.

  Inspected Corpse: Hollow. Level 4.

  System Message: New Quest: Destroy the Hollow Queen. Reward: ?

  This might get interesting.