I awaken in the late afternoon. I check my phone and confirm that it’s still the same day it was before. May the twenty-fourth, although whether a month is still roughly a moon cycle or there are three hundred and sixty-five or so days in a year is anyone’s guess at this point. Truly amazing how many of the universal truths we take for granted are now thoroughly up in the air ever since the System arrived.

  I find my arm lying on the floor underneath my cot. It takes a few minutes of wrangling it about, but I’m eventually able to get it slotted on and working again. Damn, the whole thing is scuffed to the nine hells and back. The glyph arrays are… functional, although from the way my arm doesn’t respond as swiftly as it should, I suspect they’re not undamaged. Another item on the agenda for today.

  My stomach rumbles. I sigh. I’ll put eating lunch and dinner on the agenda as well. No one else is around right now. I hope it’s not because there was yet another attack. That really would be luck befitting me. Although Chloe, the personification of Lady Luck, is here, so maybe her good luck will counter my bad and we’ll end up with the adventuring company ending up somewhere north of neutral in the end. I chuckle at my attempts to cope.

  Ow! I feel pain across my forehead as the incessant pinging of the System finally gets my attention. I pull up a Status window and realize that the damn thing has been trying to get me to finish my level gain for the past nine and a half hours. Damn thing is so impatient, I was busy recovering from the [Ether] strain that this hellish thing decided I should get in the first place! Just let us use our Skills and spells until our [Ether] gets down to zero like almost every video game allows us to do!

  In either case, I assign all four of my free points to my [Mind] stat. It seems that, for at least the time being, I’m going to be working in a larger group. And having experienced the all-encompassing pain and helplessness that comes as a result of running out of [Ether], I’m not keen on repeating the enjoyable sensation anytime soon.

  A few more status windows pop-up as the pain in my temples finally dissipates.

  [Maximum Health increases by [Vitality] x2 + Current Level + Rand[1, 3] = 156]

  [Maximum Ether increases by [Mind] + Current Level + Rand[0, 2] = 113]

  [Level: 27; Experience: 165,495; To Next: 9,180]

  [Current Stats: [Health]: 2,598 / 2,598 ; [Ether]: 1,657 / 1,657]

  [Current Stats: [Strength]: 25; [Speed]: 25; [Vitality]: 63; [Mind]: 85]

  My stomach is still upset with my lack of nutrition since earlier this morning; I wouldn’t be surprised if Kristil or Chloe or someone else pops in and informs me that I puked sometime after the battle ended, given how rough shape I was by the end of us. Oh goodness, that would be so embarrassing. The sort of story that Chloe would tell to everyone the two of us meet from now until the end of eternity, because it’s just such a fond memory for her. I shudder at the thought.

  I decide, however, that I need a soak before I eat. My hair is greasy, my skin still covered in grass stains and dirt and gunk and I smell like shit. I hope to all the goddesses of the pantheon that I didn’t manage to soil myself while I was out. That would be embarrassing enough to die.

  My fears are assuaged as I head into one of the three bathtubs in the complex. I turn on the water before tracing out a basic [Heat] glyph to heat it up. Steam rises, coating the mirror in condensation, and before long, I’m enjoying that beautiful sensation of water nearly scalding my skin, turning it from a pale beige to a subtle hue of pink as dirt and grime slides off. The soap is adequate, along the lines of the complementary vials given in mid-tier hotels, but as it slides along my skin, it feels heaven sent.

  I lower myself a bit deeper into the tub, feeling the soothing touch melting all my lingering aches and stiffness. For a few moments, I lie back, close my eyes, and simply exist. No thoughts about the future, no doubts or regrets about the past, just the present, just this instant in time, existing without a care in the world.

  A knock on the outside of the door snaps me out of my soaked meditations.

  “Sera? Are you in there?” Chloe asks.

  “Yeah, I’m here, and I’m fine. Just wanted to freshen up a bit after I woke up.”

  “Can I come in?”

  “I mean, I’m soaking in the bathtub right now, but I suppose you can if you want.”

  The outside goes silent for a few seconds. Then, contrary to my expectations, Chloe does sheepishly open the door. I flicker on my [Ethersight] and can easily see her blush as she tiptoes inside and allows the door to close behind her. She does her best to keep her gaze averted, but I notice in the corner of her eye how it sometimes looks over to me. And honestly, it makes me happy, knowing that she likes what she sees. Excited, even.

  “How is everyone else doing?” I ask.

  The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

  I decide it’s about time for me to get out of the bath, but with only one arm, it proves to be a bit of a challenge to towel off while maintaining some semblance of decency. Chloe doesn’t seem to mind, and helps dry me off while looking away from me.

  “We managed to avoid any casualties this time around,” she says. Relief fills me at hearing as much. “Unfortunately, we also weren’t able to get any new information about the Order of the Wilds either.”

  “I think we did gain some useful information,” I say. “Namely, that they are so crazed and fanatical that any survival instinct was completely overridden.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “They were fighting an offensive battle on our turf. Let’s say they were motivated by revenge, because we killed their other [Ooze Summoner] yesterday. At least, that’s the most logical conclusion on the surface.”

  Chloe nods.

  “If I were in that scenario and one of my allies was slain so easily, despite having an advantage of levels and surprise, I would feel compelled to revise my threat estimation. And more importantly, I would think strongly about retreating and regrouping, coming back with more people, or deciding upon some other way to go about revenge. One which didn’t involve a full-on attack. But these cultists fought to the bitter end, even when the tables were clearly stacked against them. That… says something about their operation. I’m not sure what, but it’s important information.”

  Chloe helps me finish getting dressed and putting my arm back on before we make our way back for dinner. Salisbury Steak, mashed potatoes, and gravy, along with some generous portions of green beans. I don’t even like green beans, but after today, I’m scarfing them down along with more than a small portion of the meat and potatoes. I think the dining staff are being a little more generous than usual, probably because I missed lunch due to extreme [Ether] strain.

  Lindsey is the first one to greet the two of us. She gives me a smile before handing me back my dagger and sitting down across from Chloe and me.

  “Glad to see you didn’t decide to sleep through the entire day, Miss Tiredpants.”

  I roll my eyes. “Yeah, sorry about that. [Ether] strain is a bitch, and [Glyphcasting] ain’t cheap on the reserves. I’ll try to do a better job of not also getting poisoned next time, which yes, for the sake of disclosure, I attribute to over-relying on a new Skill I got just before the battle started in earnest. Thanks for the assist with helping me get that skill, by the way.”

  Lindsey smirks. “Well, glad to see that you’re not taking things too hard and are already on top of the after-action report. Just wanted to say that you both continue to amaze me out there. No formal training, barely adults yourselves, and yet, here you are, fighting with the best of us.”

  “I’m just doing what I can to help,” Chloe says. “It sucks seeing people fighting one another like this, especially now, when we all need to be banding together to overcome the challenges that still lie ahead. I might not be able to save everyone, but–”

  Lindsey turns to Chloe. “You’re a wonderful and compassionate person, Chloe. I mean no disrespect or ill-will when I say this, and I ask that you please not take this the wrong way. But I’ve known some people in the force over the years who’ve expressed similar compassion toward their fellow humans. Some of them were forced into the military because they had nowhere else to turn. Some were using it as a chance to access GI benefits, others were hoping to work as a military medic or chaplain or otherwise operate away from the front lines.

  “Unfortunately, there’s a time when all of them have to come to terms with the fact that someone they know is going to die. Maybe on the field of battle, maybe not. I’ve known of a few soldiers that were unable to transition back into civilian life once their terms were up. Some went back to the forces. Some took their own lives.”

  Chloe looks away from Lindsey. Her hand wanders over to mine, and I hold her gently, offering silent reassurances that I’m here and will support her to the best I’m able.

  “I don’t want you to lose that compassionate spirit. It’s what makes you who you are. Selfishly, I’m sure that’s part of why you’re such a capable healer as well, able to uplift spirits with your presence, just as your spells and [Skills] tend to our sickness and war wounds. But I don’t want you to spiral into a loop of feeling that you could have done more.”

  Chloe starts to interject, but Lindsey doesn’t give her the chance.

  “And I know that you do, because you and Seraphina over here are two peas in a pod, and I know she always feels like she’s got to keep the weight of the world on her shoulders. I’m glad that you both are conscientious and eager to do your part, but I also want you to understand that the two of you are just two people, and can’t be expected to do it all by yourselves.”

  “We still want to help, “ Chloe says.

  “And I wouldn’t dare think of trying to stop the two of you from doing so. Especially because I know everyone here is going to need to band together if we plan to stand up to whatever else awaits behind this so-called Order of the Wilds.”

  I continue listening in to their conversation, taking another massive bite of the gravy-laden meat and savoring the flavors. Definitely a pretty heavy flavor of black pepper mixed in with the other seasonings. Pungent… Absolutely heavenly. I offer my commendations to the chef on such a meal.

  Chloe mentions my thoughts on the Order and its general lack of preservation instinct, and Lindsey posits an additional hypothesis, one I hadn’t considered before. She argues that if the so-called Order of the Wilds really is about returning civilization to nature, then they’ve probably got some twisted ‘survival of the fittest’ philosophy at play. Those who fight get strong, and those who don’t get strong, perish, just as ‘nature’ intended. Personally, I think that’s a bunch of bullshit; the competitive advantages of humanity are our intelligence, our access to tools, and most importantly, our access to language and the ability to integrate and communicate on a global scale. But I can see how her conjecture is at least a logical one worthy of further consideration.

  “So what happens tonight?” I ask.

  “Rest. I suppose you two can take a watch shift if you need something to do, since I doubt you’re tired right now. That, or you can do some crafting, or whatever else.”

  “I think that sounds like a good idea,” Chloe says. “I don’t mind volunteering with her to keep watch for a little while.”

  “I appreciate it. I’m going to get some rest now, and I’ll be back around 10:00 PM to relieve you from your shift.”

  “Thanks, Lindsey,” we both say in unison.