As Chloe and I make our way back from the command building to our room, I can’t help but worry about one thing. Colonel Wilson was a bit too quick to acquiesce to my requests. He certainly had more cards he could have played to tilt the negotiation further in his favor.

  Right until I realize that I’ve just been played like a damned fiddle. He was always going to let me go on the dungeon run. There’s simply too much upside, and it’s in accordance with the idea of conducting surveillance on the surrounding wilds for any information on the recent attack. The raptors having spawned from an overflowing dungeon is a possibility. In the absence of contrary information, maybe even the most likely possibility for why there was such an attack and in such large numbers.

  No, he was generous because he was trying to extract a little more out of me in exchange for letting me do something he was already prepared to order me to do anyway. Damn him to the lowest hell for that.

  Chloe doesn’t seem to notice my frustrations, or at least, she doesn’t pay them any mind as we grab our backpacks and begin packing away everything we’ll need. Not just clothes and spare rations that taste better than hardtack and MRE’s, but also gadgets, gizmos, and other doodads we’ll need to make our next trip into the wilderness pleasant and safe. At least, as much as one can be while surrounded by System-enhanced monstrosities.

  We go ahead and steal a few apples and oranges from the bowls in front of the meal line. A few people give us some dirty looks, but a word about going on deployment into the wilds and not wanting to come down from hardtack-induced scurvy is enough to nip any animosity in the bud. With those and a pear to split while we wait to head off, we make our way back to the common field.

  As we arrive at the rendezvous point near the western edge of the base, we’re greeted by a friendly and familiar face.

  “Good to see you again, Sera, Chloe,” Alexey says. As always, his thick Eastern European accent makes him a bit difficult to understand, but there’s no one I’d rather have watching my back or leading me into battle.

  We’re joined by Nicholas yet again, which surprises me, considering what I now know about his rank in the command hierarchy. Then again, I’m sure command wants its own report separate from the enlistees, and we work well enough together. In addition, we’re joined by Brent and Lindsey, both of whom don’t surprise me with their appearance.

  Jackie and Anna both aren’t here. Those two have always seemed to be pretty good friends, kinda like me and Chloe in a way. And with Jackie and I still not getting along particularly well, I can see why the two of them would be on another assignment.

  Instead, we’re joined by two people I don’t recognize. The first is another woman with short blonde hair. Not quite a pixie cut, but not much more than that. What’s more, she’s got a good half foot of height on me, is dressed in almost as much armor as Brent, and has the muscles to flip a car. Wouldn’t be surprised if she actually can lift a car, if she’s level 20 or higher and has a [Strength]-focused build.

  The other person is a rather scrawny looking man, probably not more than a year or two older than Chloe and I. His armor is made entirely of leather, wood and… leaves or scales. I can’t tell which. He carries a wooden staff which doubles as a walking stick, and seems to be something of a living, walking garden, his face and hands covered in dirt and with little buds growing out of his hair. A class feature, I’m sure.

  “You’re the famous Ms. Mortensen,” the woman says. “A pleasure to meet you. Oh, sorry, the name’s Alana Morris. Frontline fighter with a focus on defense and counterattack. Real similar to Corporal Lancaster–” Here I learn Brent’s last name and rank. “–but with a couple of passive abilities that help improve the survivability of my allies.”

  I can see why she’s been selected for this mission. Jackie was probably the closest person they had to a [Combat Medic] before. But with Chloe here and more than capable of healing an entire squad, the team needs someone who can focus on making sure she doesn’t go down in a fight. And similarly, my [Glyphcasting] can do a lot of what Anna’s fire evocations can do, but again, at the cost of needing more time and [Ether] to form spell circles.

  “Tristan Morris,” the nature man says. “Younger brother. [Nature Summoner] class. I can create facsimiles of various creatures to do battle with, as well as manipulate nearby flora.”

  Sounds like the standard druid slate of abilities. Considering his outfit, I’d say that extends all the way to the prohibitions against using metal tools and armor. While I understand his combat role, I think he’s being tapped for this mission more for whatever noncombat Skills he has at his disposal. If the saurian attack was the result of some disturbance outside of town, then he’d seem like the best person to try to identify and reverse it.

  Chloe takes a moment to introduce herself as well before we’re all called to attention. Another speech similar to the one we’ve already heard the first time we went on an expedition together, and before the bottom of the hour, we’re on our way out the western gate and into the fields surrounding the city.

  They’re really quite beautiful. Both the natural beauty of spring with blossoming trees and plants all around, augmented further by strange new wildlife that I’ve never seen before. Not all of it is even remotely pleasant. Watching health points tick down because a level 7 Mosquito decided to help itself to my blood was most definitely not the highlight of the morning. And I didn’t even get any Experience for swatting it like the bug it is! That much simply isn’t fair. Thankfully, the number of System-enhanced insects isn’t too significant, and most of them are level 1 and 2, completely unable to even scratch our skin.

  Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

  Other than my close encounter of the bloodsucking kind, the rest of the morning is smooth sailing. Every one of us is already at least level 22, with high enough [Speed] and [Vitality] such that we can all easily travel forty miles on foot with an eighty-pound backpack and not be too worn out when we break for a late lunch.

  Which, as seems to be our tradition, is more MRE’s. Maybe I’m just getting used to the taste after so much time working with the other soldiers. Maybe it was the light breakfast I had. And maybe we just had a bad slate of rations the last time around. But the meal I have of spaghetti and meatballs is actually pretty good. Okay, no, it’s not amazing. Not as good as my mother’s homemade sauce, or even the fancy stuff that Chloe’s mother likes to buy from the high-end supermarket. But far better than a sharp stick in the eye, that’s for damn sure.

  Shortly after our meals are heated up, as Chloe and I are savoring the mediocrity, Alana and Lindsey start chatting with one another.

  “So, how’d you end up out here, anyway?” Alana asks. “Thought you were heading to Ranger School after your first four years were up. Figured you’d be off who knows where instead of out here in the sticks.”

  “Got injured about a year ago after finishing Ranger Academy. Nasty foot injury, ended up breaking it in about seventeen places.”

  Chloe, Tristan, and I all grimace as Lindsey continues.

  “Three surgeries, in a cast for ten weeks, then a lot of physical rehab and even now, it’s not quite to a hundred percent. Was going to see about getting tested and readmitted into the service at the end of this month. In the interim, I took the last bit of my break to go visit an old college friend who became a professor at the university. And that’s when the System arrived, so I decided to report in the next day, ready to serve once more.”

  “Guess it’s something similar for me. Came back home to visit my parents while I was on leave, and then surprise, it’s the System!”

  “Sorry,” Lindsey says. “If I’d known you were here, I would have stopped in and caught up sooner!”

  “Wait,” Chloe interjects. “How have you two not seen each other until now? Wouldn’t you have been in regular contact while on base?”

  “We’ve both been on a lot of patrols,” Alana says. “Lindsey’s been off on two patrols, I’ve done a lot work over on the east side keeping the peace, and neither of us even thought to ask about the other. The army is massive, and even more so when you factor in all the other branches of the armed forces.”

  The two make some hand signs I can only assume are secret personnel signals. No one is on high alert, so at least it’s not a signal alerting the two to an imminent attack. If I had to guess, they’re giving one another the friendly equivalent of the finger, all while grinning and giggling like schoolgirls. Kinda makes me wonder how the others in our high school class are holding up.

  I turn to Chloe. “How are you doing?” I ask.

  She sighs. “Just trying to do what I can do. Same as you and everyone else, I suppose.”

  I scooch in closer and give her a hug. “Anything you want to talk about?”

  “I’m fine…” She trails off. The clear sign that she’s got something she wants to talk about, but feels like she’s going to be a burden if she brings it up. I’m not sure what I can say, but Alana cuts the tension with aplomb.

  “Chloe–” She pauses. “Uh, Ms. Jacobs.”

  “It’s fine,” Chloe says. “If I can call her Lindsey and Sera, Sera, then I should be able to call you Alana and you should be allowed to call me Chloe.”

  “A good sentiment to have, especially out here. One of the most important things any unit needs to have to be effective is cohesion. That means each of us knows and can perform their duties efficiently and effectively, and that we’re all prepared to work together, not just as individuals, but as a unified team. Your job is to heal us. But my job is to protect the two of you. From monsters, yes, but also whatever else might trouble you. So please, allow the two of us to share in whatever is weighing on you.”

  Chloe pauses. “I don’t–”

  “It is no imposition,” Lindsey says. “You are already going so far above and beyond what duty demands of either of you two. The least we can do is try to be a voice of friendship and mentorship as we all adjust together to whatever this System is going to throw at us next.”

  “I… It’s about my parents. The two of you were talking about your family and friends, and it got me worried about my parents. I’m sure Mom’s holding up the best she can, but I haven’t heard from my Dad even once in the past month and I’m scared that something happened to him.”

  Alana gets up and sits down next to Chloe on the opposite side of the log. “Soldier?” she asks.

  “Classified government work. Not sure what or even where he works for sure. I want to believe he’s still out there.”

  “He is,” Lindsey says. “It’s classified, so I can’t tell you much, but I know well enough that there’s some incredibly secure facilities designed even to weather something like this. If he’s high-ranking enough that he can’t even tell you what department he works for or where he’s stationed, then I bet he’s in one of those facilities.”

  I pull her in a bit closer. “I’m sure he’s alive as well. And I’ll do everything I can to make sure that we stay alive long enough to see him safe and sound.” Not just for her sake, but because I’m even more convinced now that he’s my best shot of getting in with the best researchers and scientists the government has in employ. And that is crucial for me to advance as a [Planetouched Mechanist].

  Just as we begin cleaning up, Lindsey stands up and rushes to her weapon cache. I stand up and draw my blowgun just in time for a low rumble to shake the forest. It seems our intrusion into the wilds has not gone unnoticed. Time to greet the welcoming party.

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