I read the quests out loud so everyone could hear.

  [CHAMPION QUEST: Gate Locations]

  [Kill any Champion in single combat, without consumables. Any direct assistance provided by anyone else, even accidentally, will forfeit the kill.]

  [CHAMPION QUEST: Spawn Locations]

  [Elite mobs have spawned across the world, visible on the defending Champion’s map. An Elite mob is at minimum, three rankings, and at maximum, seven rankings above the rank of the defending world, and remains tethered to the area in which it spawns.

  Each Elite mob killed by the defending Champion, with or without assistance, will make available the location of all spawn locations for that species. The defending Champion must be in the party that defeats the Elite spawn.

  This quest persists beyond the current battle, until all the Elite spawn have been defeated, or the defending Champion has been killed. Any spawn locations achieved will always be available to the defending Champion.]

  [CHAMPION QUEST: Defensive Structures]

  [Defending Champion must defend their flag for thirty consecutive days. The flag cannot be planted or handed to someone else and must remain on the defending Champion’s person for the entirety of that time.]

  [CHAMPION QUEST: Mana-Stones]

  [Within the land known as Egypt, the region of the Great Pyramids has become an instance, and is populated by multiple Elite mobs, as well as Champions from other worlds. Champions and Elite mobs can be at most of the rank of the highest Champion in the current battle.

  The instance is not exclusive, and should it be cleared by anybody other than a party that includes the defending Champion, or if the current battle ends before completion of this quest, the quest will become void. The maximum party size that the defending Champion can join is ten. For all others, it is twenty-five.

  Upon completion of the quest, location data for mana-stones will persist beyond the current battle.]

  [All quest rewards, except defensive structures can be traded on the Universal Survival Protocol Exchange. Should the information be traded, it will not affect the defending Champion’s access to the information.]

  None of them looked easy. Why would I expect it to be? Blondie had said they’re screwing me over. Not a single quest seemed like a good option. I mean, they all seemed useful for sure, but all looked stupidly difficult. How was I supposed to defeat a Champion in single combat? Or take on Elite mob? And then the mana-stone one meant getting to Egypt and taking on Elite spawn and other Champions. Why the hell were there other Champions anyway?

  “Map,” I said. The screen changed to a view of the world, like it would be on a digital screen, colour and all. I zoomed in on Britain. I could see my flag – it was just a purple dot on the map, but the other one, still near York, was black. I supposed that was so I could know where my own flag was if it got taken.

  Then I noticed another dot near where I was. I zoomed in further. My flag dot remained the same purple colour but got bigger in line with the zooming. The other dot became a black circle, with the image of a wolf inside it. It didn’t seem to be more than a mile or two away.

  “There’s an Elite wolf not too far from here,” I informed the others. “Maybe a mile or so away.”

  “It’s where the den is,” Kaelyn said. “It’s where I stumbled across them.”

  I nodded. “The quest said they’re tethered, so I’m hoping it can’t travel too far from where it is. Maybe it sends out the other ones for food.”

  I zoomed out again to the whole map of Britain and saw there were a couple more dots and zoomed in to see what they were.

  “There seems to be some sort of flying lizard thing up in Edinburgh, and what looks to be a cross between an elephant and a rhino near Manchester. Horns on its head, and tusks under its chin.”

  “How do you know what they are?” Kian asked. I looked up and explained how the map looked to me. He and Charlotte brought up their own maps, and said they could only see the flags, and mine was black like the rest on theirs.

  “System,” Carmen said to my right.

  [“Hello, Sufferer,”] the System responded in that mechanical voice it had.

  “Uh? Sufferer?”

  [“Oh, am I mistaken? Are you not River, the Thief’s mate?”]

  “I’m his girlfriend, yeah.”

  [“So, Sufferer it is. How may I help?”]

  Carmen hid a smirk. Charlotte pursed her lips like she was holding back a smile. Kian gave me a toothy grin, like he’d just had a child. Even Kaelyn, who had so far had little emotion on her face, had the slightest pull at the corners of her mouth.

  “I wanted to ask about the power rankings,” Carmen said. “How do they work?”

  The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

  [“Your power tier is based on a combination of your overall enhancements and abilities and your strength as a combatant. Your ranking is based on your overall kills, quests completed, and SE coins earned. To increase power tier, you must be the highest rank for that tier.”]

  “So, we have to buy enhancements and abilities?”

  [“You do. But why would you not?”]

  “If two combatants are the same power tier and ranking, can they be considered equal?”

  [“Not necessarily. Technically, they would be of an equal standing, but there’s a variety of factors to consider. The synergy between their enhancements and abilities. Their combat prowess. Their skill, understanding, desire. Multiple things.”]

  “Could a lower ranked combatant defeat a higher one?”

  [“That would depend on the combatants.”]

  “I guess what I want to know,” Carmen said, “is whether River has a chance against the other Champions or the Elite spawn currently.”

  [“I cannot answer that. I am not allowed to provide the Thief with assistance.”]

  “Is it really assistance?”

  [“Is it not?”] the System countered. [“Whatever I say will give you information.”]

  Carmen smiled. “Whatever you don’t say will also give information.”

  [“How so?”]

  “You didn’t say he can’t.”

  [“That doesn’t mean he can. My lack of answer is simply that. I cannot confirm either way. But I can tell you this. If River was paying attention, then he already knows the answer.”]

  “What does that mean?” I asked.

  [“Ah, Thief. It means what it means.”]

  “Okaaaaay? What should I have been paying attention to?”

  [“It is not my place to teach you.”]

  I sighed. “Whatever. Can I make a request of you?”

  [“And what would that be?”]

  “Can I change my title?”

  [“What would you like to change it to?”]

  “Something better than thief?”

  “How about ‘the Gambler’?” Kian said.

  “Yeah…” I began, then saw Carmen’s cutting look, “…no. Let’s think of something more suitable.”

  [“Gambler is quite apt. Your request has been granted and will take three to five days to process.”]

  “Why so long?”

  [“The System Manager is busy.”]

  “…Aren’t you the System Manager?” I asked.

  [“And I’m busy. If there is nothing further, I shall leave you.”]

  “No, there’s nothing further. Thanks,” Carmen said.

  [“And I wish you respite from your suffering. Goodbye.”]

  I ignored that last bit from the System, though I could still see the others’ lips twitching. I looked at Carmen. “What are you thinking?”

  “It’s more about what you’re thinking. How important do you think the quests are?”

  “I can’t really tell. I mean, do we really need the gate locations, when we know where they’ve already arrived? For the spawn locations, it would be handy, I guess but is it really necessary? That’s how they all seem to me. Nice to have, but not necessary.”

  Kian spoke up and we turned to him. “The defensive structures one sounds like it is? Have to imagine it will be worth it, especially to capture and defend the flags?”

  “Would they be as difficult as they sound if they weren’t important?” Carmen asked. “But I don’t think we can do the Champion or Elite spawn ones at all. And the mana-stone one is not even a possibility right now. So, it,” she waved an arm at Kian, “only really leaves us the one quest that we could try and do, but even that would be difficult.”

  “Or we don’t do any of the quests?” I offered. “If I give the flag up, even if one of the others claims it, they’ll need another three flags and will need to hold them all for over two months. We can use that time to get stronger. We can get stronger and then take the other Champions on before we run out of time.”

  “You’d need to be on the move all the time,” Kaelyn said. “Even if they can’t find you with the flag, the moment you stay still, if they find out, they’ll come for you. And they won’t stop looking for you. At some point, you will need to stand your ground.”

  “So, you think I should try to complete the thirty-day quest?”

  Kaelyn shrugged her shoulders. “You’ve had a taste of some of the easiest beasts you’ll have to face and look how that went. I think having the defensive structures will both make it easier to defend, and will buy you the time to get stronger, rather than always having to be on the move and looking over your shoulder.”

  “But how do we even know if the defensive structures will be worth it? It could just as well be a wooden wall with a paper door, for all we know.”

  “I don’t think the System would provide such a quest for it to be nothing worth having.”

  “Really,” I replied, with a strong dose of sarcasm. “This System? Really? You don’t think it would do something like that to me?”

  Kaelyn saw the funny side and smiled. “You make a good point, but I think it’s worth the risk. You will have to fight. There’s no avoiding it. We have to trust that the structures being offered will be better than anything you could have currently.”

  “I think she’s right,” Kian said. “If we think about the power rankings, some of these worlds are stronger than ours. Like, if they know about our world’s capabilities, we have to assume they must be strong enough to defeat us. Maybe those defensive structures are strong enough to resist their attacks?”

  His words made me think about the power of the gem I had. None of them would know about the new ability I had learned – I hadn’t told them about it yet – and I was only a Common, Rank D. I knew I must be able to do much more with the gem, but I also knew that the other Champions must already be much stronger than me. I wouldn’t be able to face them in my current state. Being able to stay somewhere and not fear a direct attack, buying myself the time to get stronger was a good choice. Assuming the System didn’t screw me over. But what did I have to lose? My life? That was under threat from the moment I touched the Divine artifact.

  “How would we even have the chance to defend for thirty days? We’d be sitting ducks.”

  “The army?” Kian said. I gave him a look, making it clear that wasn’t an option I was particularly enamoured with. “We need help. I know the governments a load of shit but you’re the one with the gem. You hold the cards. Ask for their help on your terms.”

  “I dunno, man. The moment we go to them, you know they’ll be looking to control my every move.”

  “But you’re the one in charge. The quests give you leverage. It’s in their interests to help you. It’s in the world’s interest. And it’s not like they can take the gem off you. Besides, do we really have any other choice? Quest or not, you’re the one who said we need to get serious. This shit is way beyond our days on the streets, bro. We need help.”

  He was right. This was way beyond any of the battles we’d had on the streets as teens. I had considered the government’s help earlier. When the rules of the USP had been announced, I was a little relieved, knowing that at least no-one would be hunting me down from Earth. Well, at least I hoped no-one would.

  I should get their help, I supposed, but I just had a thing against authority. I preferred to go quietly under the radar. I didn’t even think – I knew – that as soon as they got their hands on me, I’d be at their beck and call, to do with as they wished. But I didn’t see another option. We did need the army’s help. At least until we got that first quest completed. And with some military cover, we might even get the chance to take down some non-elite spawn and purchase more enhancements and abilities.

  “Where would we even go to get help?”

  He frowned at the dining table as the smell of frying eggs and the sound of sizzling sausages wafted into the room from the kitchen. I couldn’t help but have a quick glance, Mary’s shadow hovering over the cooker as Tom walked between the stove and the island, plating the food. It smelled delicious.

  “Parliament,” Kian said finally. “They must have bunkers below parliament or the Prime Minister’s house.”

  “What if they’ve already moved somewhere else?”

  “I’m sure there’s still got to be some sort of military presence there, and at worst, there’ll be police.”

  I found myself nodding along in agreement. “Okay.” I looked at Kaelyn, then at Carmen. “Agreed?”

  They nodded.

  “Oh, shit,” Charlotte said, before I could respond. All eyes turned to her.

  She looked doe-eyed and sheepish, eyes tentatively flicking from person to person.

  “What have you done?” I asked.