My Agility was such that I had to hold back my speed as we ran. That was not to say that Cari and Gregory were slouches in their movement. I did, however, have time to watch their progression. In fact, I noticed that Gregory would subtly direct their route, taking quickly discovered shortcuts and avoiding areas with overt blockages. Until we reached a path that showcased one of Cari’s new abilities.

  Several buildings had partially collapsed and were leaning heavily upon each other. Her skin turned to stone and she gripped her vine and balled up, smashing into an oddly specific area of the building leaning against the least damaged one.

  BOOM!

  She ripped through the building, which promptly began a cascade of crumbling stone, concrete, and twisted metals.

  “Wow! That was awesome!” I shouted as we continued.

  “Right?! It’s called Wrecking Ball! Plus, I can use a skill called Structural Awareness to find structural weaknesses! It even works on some enemies.”

  “And Gregory can use a surveyor skill to track the best path?” I asked.

  “It’s called Pathfinder,” Gregory said as he pulled himself toward a recent axe throw.

  We continued our path toward the bubble, reaching its outskirts in a little less than an hour. We had seen a few monsters here and there on our route, but decided it was finally time to check on the other survivors.

  Taking a few extra minutes to watch the bubble, we saw a handful of groups of survivors patrolling its inside edge. A group of survivors saw a group of monsters and one of them ran deeper into the bubble, returning shortly with another group. One of them held up a sphere and an opening appeared in the bubble, whereupon the group shot out and fought the monsters, proving there was strength in numbers. After the monsters were slain, they dragged the bodies into the bubble and it closed again.

  “That was pretty intense,” Cari said.

  “Are they more powerful than us?” Gregory asked.

  I shook my head. “I don’t think so. They are severely spreading out the experience they are gaining by fighting in such large groups. Shall we go say hello?”

  I didn’t wait for their answer, leaping off the building and landing with a crunch several hundred meters to the ground below. I felt no pain. Falling damage became irrelevant when your vitality was 250 times that of a pre-System human. Running up to the bubble, I spotted another group approaching and tapped the bubble, giving them a friendly wave. They sent a few folks away as Cari and Gregory ran up behind me.

  “Damn, you’re fast!” Gregory said. “We’re holding you back in the speed department!”

  The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  “Nah, it’s fine!” I said, waving that thought away, “Gives me time to think and observe.”

  It wasn’t long before the group returned, a full twenty people of various races wearing an odd cross between modern clothes and fantasy rpg gear, each hefting some kind of weapon or magic. I was looking them all over and found that they were all closer to the mid thirties levels, closer to Cari and Gregory.

  All except one.

  Jarrod stepped from behind the group, his bow in hand and arrow nocked. He wore different armor that was made of hanging strips of camouflaged cloth.

  Human. Level 61.

  “Dan,” he said.

  “Jarrod.”

  “At least you didn’t break-in this time.”

  “Perhaps it would be best if we spoke rather than fought, though that could be fun, too.”

  “Not for you,” Jarrod said with a smirk. “You’re only level 27.”

  Out of a curiosity not at all suffused with a deep desire to put Jarrod in his place, I took a quick step forward, showing my speed as I stood only a few meters in front of him. “Levels aren’t everything.”

  Jarrod pointed his bow at me. “You want to fly away again?”

  I laughed and stood straighter. “Go for it. I’ll even stand still for you.” Cari and Gregory, thankfully, trusted me enough at this point to let me do my shenanigans without complaint.

  Surprised muttering spread across the group around us as Jarrod drew his glowing arrow taught on his bow. This time, unlike before, the arrow glew brighter and brighter, except for the tip, which inverted and became a darkness that consumed some of the light from the shaft of the arrow.

  The archer released his arrow, which to my insane perception and agility seemed to move quite slowly. I moved just a bit and my second mouth opened wide on my chest. The arrow entered my eagerly hungry core through my chest and disappeared. I just as quickly closed my second mouth.

  The muttering halted for several seconds before erupting into further confusion. Jarrod’s arrogant expression flashed surprise before he regained his composure.

  “You have a second mouth?!” he asked.

  “Of course! Don’t you?” I laughed. “Really? That’s your question? Alright, that was a little unfair. Try it again. No second mouth this time, I promise.”

  Jarrod said nothing, just firing another of those black-tipped arrows. Must be his strongest attack. This time he shot at my head, the arrowhead striking me between my eyes. A swirl of darkness and light erupted around me, buffeting my armor and stinging a bit as it tried to rip at my flesh. My Endurance was such that though it did hurt, it didn’t really do any real damage, and any damage it did was quickly repaired by my natural regeneration. My skin itched as it healed.

  I was blinded for a few moments as the attack finished its emissions. I blinked to a shocked crowd, and most importantly, Jarrod, who looked much more angry than surprised.

  “Don’t worry too much about it, J-Rod. I’ve recently consumed one of those black cube things at a black beacon and got a frankly ridiculous stat boost. Unfortunately, eating magic items doesn’t really give- GET BACK!”

  Cari and Gregory leapt backward as Jarrod shouted.

  “KILL HIM!”

  Bolts of magic, arrows and various other projectiles were launched at me as the melee fighters rushed in with swords, axes, and hammers. The cloud of dust from exploding magic hid me for just long enough for me to trigger my Ravenous Cloak and slink away, looping around to stand behind Jarrod as the melee folks tried to stab the me that was no longer there.

  I wrapped my four arms around Jarrod, who tried vainly to struggle. I deactivated my cloak and called out to the crowd.

  “Uh, can I please have your attention? I know we’ve gotten off on the wrong foot, and I’d really rather not fight yo-”

  This time it was me who was surprised, when the other 19 people all focused on Jarrod.