Richard stood near the orb after breakfast for instructions. Sleep felt nonexistent last night. Whatever sleep he got was completely overturned by the nightmares.

  Fang kept glancing at him, and Richard eventually ignored him. He wanted to forget everything that had happened last night.

  Dmitri walked over to everyone before pulling out a scroll. “I have a message from Order. She says, ‘Replacements cannot come until the newcomers you already have select their classes next week. Though some of them have leveled up fast, I will not come visit them until their lowest member has reached level ten.’”

  Richard glanced at his fellow newbies. So many things had happened that he didn’t think about when he’d meet with Order. He was close to hitting level seven after all the work he did yesterday. After today, he might hit level eight, and could choose another ability. There wasn’t an ability that got rid of a certain percentage of his exhaustion. That would be nice. He wondered what everyone else’s levels were among the newbies, since they apparently all had to choose their classes at the same ceremony.

  Dmitri placed the scroll back in his inventory. “All farmer classes level fifteen and under, go with Elwyndor to resume farming.”

  Richard wasn’t in that class at all, so he watched two people follow Elwyndor. Richard glanced down, sick to his stomach all over again, a stark reminder that their numbers had been cut in half.

  “Scavengers need help to gather resources, and this class is down to three people. Evan has agreed to go with them as a guard, but they need as many people as will go with them. There is safety in numbers, and we desperately need some items for the fertilizer that must be created and spread by the end of the day,” Dmitri said.

  Richard let out an unsteady breath. A man, Dennison, raised his hand, and Dmitri nodded. A woman near Richard raised her hand as well, joining the group. That was five. Dmitri still waited. Richard glanced at the farmlands and saw the mountain of work left to do. There were now about twenty survivors at base two. The hole was fixed, so everyone would need to help farm.

  Without realizing it, Richard had his hand in the air. Dmitri raised an eyebrow at him.

  “Could… I go?”

  Quiet whispers erupted from the group.

  “No.” Elias’s statement was obnoxiously loud among the whispers. “At such a low level, he’ll be a danger to us.” When no one responded to his concerns, Elias stared right at Marcus. “He’s not coming.”

  Instead, Marcus studied Richard. “We are going into the forest. Are you okay with that?”

  “Yes,” Richard said.

  “You are aware of how dangerous the forest is?”

  “Very.”

  Marcus let out a sigh, rubbing his chin. “Three extra inventory slots are three extra inventory slots. And if it raises his levels, then that’s great too.”

  Elias’s mouth fell open before he struggled to get it back. “You can’t be serious.”

  The scavenger leader shrugged. “We’re not exactly in a position to pick and choose.” He then nodded to Dmitri, who nodded back.

  “Alright, Richard will be a part of the group as well. Evan and Marcus, you will be personally responsible for Richard.”

  Richard noticed Fang staring at him. After ignoring him for a while, it almost made him jump a little to meet Fang’s gaze. Was he staring at him the whole time?

  “Everyone else, go to the farms.” Dmitri gestured behind him. “Let’s go.”

  Fang moved toward Richard. “What are you thinking?”

  “What do you mean? They needed help,” Richard said.

  “You haven’t even reached level ten. This is suicide.”

  “This entire existence is suicide.”

  He probably shouldn’t have said that. Fang’s eyes grew wide.

  “Richard—”

  He raised a hand. “I’m fine, Fang. This is something I’d like to try. I promise I’m okay.”

  “Do you know how many times you woke up last night?”

  Richard hesitated, actually curious about that fact. It felt like the same experience over and over, making him afraid he’d experienced other time loops.

  Fang raised three fingers. “Three times.”

  That went with how many he remembered.

  “Fang, I appreciate your help last night. Truly. But… I’m okay now.” Richard didn’t know how else to say it. Besides, Marcus was coming over, and Richard wasn’t interested in continuing this conversation for Marcus to overhear. “Good luck on the farm.”

  Richard walked toward Marcus. The scavenger leader studied Richard closely while pretending he wasn’t doing just that as he listened to whatever Timick was saying. Richard walked up to the two of them as Timick took a few steps back.

  “I appreciate your confidence in me, sir,” Richard said.

  Marcus shuddered. “Ugh, don’t call me sir. It makes me feel gross.”

  Richard cocked an eyebrow at him. “Really?”

  “Yes. Come on.” Marcus gestured for him to follow. “Timick thinks he’s got some armor and weapons that could help boost your levels and give you better protection.”

  “I am all for that,” Richard said as he fell in step with Marcus and Evan.

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  “Can I please start?” Elias called after Marcus.

  “No. We need to stay together as a group. Do not go out there by yourself so soon after Death came visiting,” Marcus said.

  Elias groaned loudly as Evan caught up with Marcus and Richard.

  “I’d like to double-check my weapons, too,” Evan said.

  “No harm in that,” Marcus said as they headed toward the armory.

  “What weapons do you need checked?” Timick asked.

  Timick and Evan started talking about the different weapons Evan was thinking about taking, and it soon turned into discussions of magical runes that Richard didn’t understand.

  “I’ve been meaning to have this conversation with you, Richard,” Marcus said. “But… things have happened that pushed it aside. Are you interested in the scavenger class?”

  Richard let out a breath, feeling uneasy. He wouldn’t mind having a conversation like this. It was a lot easier than the dreary conversation they could be having.

  “I’m not sure.” Richard couldn’t bring himself to look at Marcus. “I just know… farming is not what I want to do.”

  A sad smile flickered across Marcus’s lips. “Farming can get monotonous.”

  They entered the armory where guards usually did training, but there was no one there today. If Richard’s math was right, there were only two other guards, Izzy and Shrub, who were no doubt on the wall watching to keep people safe. Base two seemed like it was barely functioning with the people it had before. Now it felt dangerously unstable.

  “You won’t convince me to be a scavenger? Ask me to think hard about it? Reconsider if I give another option?” Richard asked after he and Marcus fell silent.

  Marcus shook his head. “Believe me, Richard. I know what people see when they hear about the scavenger crew. You know the danger. We don’t have the strength abilities that guards have. We hide. Slink around. Gather items. We have the highest mortality rate.” Marcus sighed. “If you want to be a scavenger, you’ll feel it deep in your bones like everyone else did. No amount of convincing on my part would change that.”

  Timick went behind a table as Evan pulled out a two-handed sword. Richard watched, fascinated, as Timick pulled out a carving tool. He then opened a drawer with different colored jewels and pulled out two pale colored ones and a mallet. Evan took another two-handed sword and brought it over to the desk.

  Marcus leaned over close to Richard. “I want you to consider after everything that happened, your instinct was not to remain within the safety of the walls, but to leave them,” Marcus whispered.

  Richard furrowed his brow. “Dmitri said he needed the ingredients for the fertilizer so it could be spread before the end of the day.”

  Timick whacked the jewel with the mallet into the carving instrument. The ever-present small smile on Marcus’s face grew. “And you decided you could do it.” Richard glanced at Marcus, who smiled more genuinely. “Just think about it.”

  Timick picked up the newly bejeweled carver and started etching an intricate rune on the base of the sword. They were silent as he etched the first one. The jewel burst into smoke when Timick was done, and Evan took the sword, sliding it into his inventory. Timick slammed the last jewel into the tool and etched a rune on the other sword.

  “It’s fascinating to watch a genius at work, eh?” Marcus asked.

  “What upgrades can he do?” Richard asked.

  Marcus shrugged. “Way too many to count, honestly. The limit is the kinds of gems he has. Some gemstones turn blades into elemental swords. Others give it certain abilities.”

  Richard watched as, once the intricate rune was finished, the pale gemstone disappeared in a puff of smoke that almost matched the color of the gem itself.

  Timick lifted the two-handed sword and handed it over to Evan. Evan held it against his back. Richard watched transfixed as the enormous sword was sucked into the void in his back.

  “What did it do?” Richard asked.

  “Evan now has two advanced two-handed swords. Once he activates the runes, he has five minutes where he can use both swords and wield them as though they are one-handed, and yet give the damage of the two-handed ones,” Timick said.

  “Holy shit,” Richard said before he could stop himself. He couldn’t help it. Duel-wielding double-handed swords? It was almost too confusing to put into words.

  Marcus chuckled. “And that’s one of the lower upgrades Timick can do.”

  Timick grunted, placing his mallet back in the drawer. “Lower upgrade, but those are the last gemstones I have that grant that ability.”

  Richard noticed how few gemstones there were in Timick’s drawer.

  “I will use them wisely. Thank you, Timick.” Evan then moved toward the center of the armory and pulled out one sword, giving a few practice swings.

  Timick glanced at the two of them, leaning his arms against the desk. “Alright, Marcus. What’s your suggestion?”

  “Definitely armor of some sort. And do you have a scavenger dagger?” Marcus asked.

  Timick nodded, pulled open a deep drawer, and brought out a dagger on a belt. He slid it over to Richard, who picked up the weapon before unsheathing it. It was short, but jagged.

  “So, um… do you all have more weapons? Or is this it?” Richard asked. He couldn’t help but notice that Evan got two humongous swords, and all he got was a dagger.

  Timick smiled. “I understand your concern. It doesn’t seem like much, but it still has a lot to offer.” Timick tapped the hilt. “No one else but me can see this, but this rune is permanent and gives the dagger a +10 damage. Meaning a stab from this small dagger can do as much damage as a regular sword. Not only that, but the compact nature means you can strap it onto your person without filling up any more slots in your inventory.”

  Richard glanced at the belt, then got distracted when Timick heaved a heavy vest onto the desk.

  “This is the heaviest armor I could give someone below level ten.” Timick then heaved on some thick, stitched-together leather pants. “I’m particularly excited about this one. Turns out splicer leather is excellent for armored pants. It should keep you safe.” Timick tapped on the small rune on the back. “Especially from regular forest animals that turned demonic from the apocalypse.”

  Richard stared at the stitched leather pants. He remembered his nightmares last night, both the one where the creature ate him alive, and also the one where he mowed the creatures down without a care in the world.

  “Richard?” Timick asked.

  He tried to smile. “Of course. Thank you. I will… thank you.” He grabbed the pants. “Sorry, it’s just…”

  “No need to apologize.” Marcus’s voice dropped. “I wish I could say it goes away, but it never does. And for the most part… you don’t want it to go away. It helps you keep your humanity.”

  Richard gave a defeated nod. He slipped on the pants as Timick and Marcus discussed knee protection. Richard received fingerless gloves meant for those ten levels or under, boosting his inventory by two stacked slots. Stacked slots, he learned, was the ability to stack multiple of the same item in one slot. With such low-level gloves, he could put five of one item in the two stacked slots. That seemed like a lot, but no doubt it was because he was at such a low level already that anything felt like more than what he had. Two more slots were added to his vision when he put it on, then he buckled on the dagger around his waist. Timick slid two different knee pads toward him, one to give him a +3 protection against elemental attacks, and a +2 protection against any necromantic attacks. They were mismatched, with one being more oblong and made of bone, and the other more circular and having a mossy feel to it.

  Marcus helped him with the heavier vest over his cotton shirt, buckling it in the front.

  “All you’re missing is the coat. But honestly… those don’t work unless you choose scavenger as your class,” Marcus said.

  “Damn, but the look suits you,” Timick said, giving Richard another glance.

  Richard adjusted the fingerless gloves, shaking his head. “Just… trying to help where I can.”

  “It’s all Order expects of us,” Marcus said.

  Marcus, Richard, and Evan left the armory. Timick was planning on studying a few more runes before joining the guards on their watch.

  Elias showed his obvious annoyance when the three of them finally joined the group. Richard felt way more prepared with this strange armor. He was especially glad of the extra slots in his inventory.

  The gates hardly opened wide enough before Elias slipped out, heading toward the forest. The others weren’t far behind, and Marcus made sure Richard was in the center of the group next to Evan. It wasn’t long before they approached the twisted forest. Richard let out a deep breath before he walked into its shadow.

  No matter how much preparation they could do, Richard still sometimes felt like they were at the mercy of this chaotic apocalypse.