That one threat was enough to make Luis spill the beans. The name of his organization was not one Luke recognized, but he didn't pay much attention to that sort of stuff. From Luis's rambling, they found out that while there were some members who needed urgent care, they were looking for ongoing help with healing, and, once Luke found himself mixed in with the gang, they'd get him addicted to drugs as a way of getting him to stay. Not the brightest plan, considering how that would affect his ability to heal.

  "What now?" Luke asked.

  "You move into the apartment we've prepared and let us deal with the petty criminals."

  "I said I'd think about it," Luke said. "And by deal with, you mean talking with the police?"

  "That is not my call to make."

  The time of the portal opening was getting closer, so Luke didn't waste any more time questioning Viola, who by her own account, knew little anyway. After assuring Viola he'd be careful, he left the guild headquarters in Chicago behind. Luke gave his attention to Weaver's Perception and checked the maps app on his phone, going by direction and distance to pinpoint where the portal would open up.

  Luke: "Curtis. You back in Chicago?"

  Curtis: "No."

  Luke: "Mateo! Penny! We've got another portal. Two, if we're quick."

  Luke: "Hannah. Ready for another dungeon?"

  He was about to send a message to Nate and had to stop himself. Pushing through the moment of sadness that tried to reach up and choke him, Luke reached out to Ken as well. The mage was still under doctor's orders to keep out of trouble, so that was a no-go.

  Penny: "Tonight? I'm sorry, but I can't."

  Luke: "Why?"

  Penny: "I'm being a student, like you told me to. Party."

  Luke: "Fair enough."

  Mateo: "A thousand apologies, my friend, but my wife is away on business and I don't want to leave my beautiful children with a babysitter on such short notice. If I did, the mere thought of the wrath that would descend on me when I told my wife makes my bones quake!"

  Luke: "I understand, Mateo. Next time."

  Huh. That narrowed things down a lot.

  Luke: "Ray?"

  Still no answer.

  Luke: "Hiroki?"

  Nothing.

  Luke: "Milla! How is the DIA team in Chicago doing these days?"

  Milla: "Spread thin. Why? They're getting pretty desperate about me coming back to active duty."

  Luke: "Got a portal opening soon, and no one wants to come."

  Milla: "Friendless as ever. Poor little brother. Sorry, can't help you (not sorry)."

  Luke: "That's mean."

  Milla: "Love you."

  Not wanting to dismiss Nash's decision about the party staying out of dungeons, Luke didn't want to call on Sam or Mas, either, and the two would need a tank or at least a melee fighter standing between them and whatever dangers the dungeon would hold, so it wasn't a good fit, anyway.

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  With no real options, Luke arrived at the spot where the portal would open up, having run the whole way there. If he reached out through that social network thing, he'd be sure to get a bunch of weirdos wanting to join, and the guild was probably monitoring his phone, too. Creepy fuckers. Checking over his shoulder to make sure no one had followed him, Luke sat down on a bench overlooking a small park, waiting.

  There was always the option of going in alone. As a healer, that wasn't the smart option, but he'd evolved past that, at least a little, hadn't he? Threads of Mana was as much a weapon as a way to heal injuries. Also, he'd held his own in several fights thus far, and running away if things weren't going well was always an option.

  Hyping himself up for a couple of minutes was all it took for Luke to convince himself it was a great idea to enter the portal by himself as soon as it showed up. He got the sense it would be an easy one, and more Integrated would show up after a little while, so what was the harm?

  "Famous last words," he muttered to himself as he stood and approached the floating motes of light dancing in front of the portal.

  A shudder went through him as he stepped through the portal and found himself transported to some far-flung place in the system, or perhaps to a small world of the system's making, put there for Integrated to train and grow more powerful. The jury was still out on that one.

  New Quest: Defend against the undead scourge.

  Reward: 10 attribute points.

  "Ten? Damn," Luke whispered to himself as he emerged.

  It was daytime on the other side, and Luke found himself just outside of what looked like a medieval village with houses in stone and wood painted with whitewash. Some rooftops were of thatch, while others were built with a ceramic-type material he didn't recognize. The ground was a mix of grass and hard-packed mud. It was empty. Complete silence reigned. Skulking between buildings with enough distance between them to dissuade fire from jumping from one to the next, he peeked out from behind a corner to find a square with permanent-looking tents and tables. For merchants to peddle wares, Luke guessed. Not a soul in sight.

  "What the hell? Where is everyone? Hello!"

  Roads led away from the village in three directions, and it looked like one headed towards mountains in the distance, past the portal, while the other snaked its way to a sprawling forest. The roads were as empty as the houses. The third road led toward and over a small hill he couldn't see past. Was he too late? Had the undead mentioned in the quest already made their way through the village? No, that wasn't it. With no blood or corpses to find, the clues didn't point toward a massacre. They must've fled.

  A low growl made Luke whirl around and retrieve the Tempered Staff from his inventory. There in the middle of the street, a single monster regarded him, ready to attack. Humanoid but with long teeth and eyes black like tar, it wore clothes in tatters, and dirt covered it from head to toe, dirt and blood. It bellowed and charged in a straight line.

  Low Zombie. Level 9.

  "Level 9?" Luke asked, shaking his head.

  The zombie rushed forward and met its end when Luke introduced cold metal to its skull, caving it in with ease.

  "If only intelligent monsters can go through portals, this one would die the instant it touched the motes," Luke said with a sigh, bending down to take the corpse into his inventory. It smelled awful, like, well, a corpse left out in the sun. Thankfully, the inventory suppressed all that. Just for shits and giggles, Luke attempted to enchant the corpse.

  Low Zombie Corpse of Intelligence.

  "So stupid," he told himself as he walked toward the street where the zombie appeared.

  Clearing the village limits on the opposite side from the portal, following the road over that hill he'd seen before, a vast landscape opened up before him, and it became clear why the village was empty, as if the zombie wasn't enough of a clue. In the distance, a larger town burned, and small dots milled about, tearing down buildings. At the other end of that town, a high-walled keep with a moat looked to be holding out against a horde of monsters. Spells of green light, fireballs, and darkness flew against and over the wall, causing devastation.

  "That'll be the defend part," he said just as two more zombies noticed him on that hill. The land between him and the town was full of torn-down buildings, burning fields, and even a windmill that looked untouched. Monsters were plentiful as well. Luke would not have a leisurely time even reaching the town in the distance.

  Low Zombie. Level 9.

  Zombie. Level 11.

  Again, Luke used the Tempered Staff, straining his shoulders as he swung from left to right, killing the Low Zombie and pushing the other one off balance before performing an overhead swing to crush its chest in, then another to squish its head. Wielding a staff crafted from metal was different from his old wooden versions. It didn't break, for one, but the weight of it was something else. A couple of swings and Luke was already panting, his chest heaving. That did not discourage him, though, because it meant he just needed more Strength and Agility, and he'd be gaining both just from using the weapon. Too bad Hiroki wasn't here to see this. Then again, he'd berate Luke for not holding the stances to perfection. Pointing out the added weight would not have been a valid excuse.

  No other Integrated had appeared yet, but Luke saw no reason to wait. A few zombies here and there, he could handle. So far, he hadn't even used Threads of Mana. As soon as he'd taken the corpses and looted a couple of credits off them, something new appeared on the road, something hulking with a menacing glint of intelligence in its eyes. This one might require a little more work.