Nathan woke up feeling like he’d just run a marathon. Every part of him burned with pain. It felt like a tendon in his soul had been sprained, stretched, and bent to a degree that it never had before.

  His eyes blinked awake, unable to see from the light.

  “I feel like I got run over by a train,” he said.

  “Holy shit he’s awake!”

  Footsteps.

  “Good.”

  “Thank the gods!”

  “Thank my shotgun. As far as I’m concerned, I’m the one who saved the day.”

  “You literally got knocked out three minutes into the fight.”

  “Eh. I don’t remember that.”

  “BECAUSE YOU WERE KNOCKED OUT!”

  The voices banged against his ears like a hammer.

  “Chad, all of you, please shut up,” Nathan said.

  A sheepish laugh. “Sorry, man.”

  Nathan pushed himself to a sitting position.

  They were currently underneath a pale green tree. The sun cast its rays through the leaves, dancing patterns across the ground. A gentle breeze swept through his hair.

  He’d been lying in some kind of cobbled-together leather bed. His body was covered in bandages. Around him, each of his companions stared at him. Emi had a look of naked concern. Mara just seemed happy. Bjorn only cast a glance before turning his neck back to the horizon. Chad hovered right next to Nathan.

  Pain spilled through his chest and he gripped his heart.

  Chad reached out a hand. “Dude, you okay?”

  Nathan grimaced and relaxed his hand.

  “I’m alive.” He blinked hard, clearing the spots in his vision. “What the hell happened? Is everyone okay?”

  “Yeah, man. Whatever you did patched us up real good,” Chad said.

  “Everything healed,” Emi said. “It’s still sore, but we’ll be okay.”

  Bjorn grunted.

  “You, on the other hand, gave everyone a scare,” Bjorn said.

  “What do you mean?” Nathan said.

  Chad exhaled through his nose. “Dude, you weren’t breathing.”

  Nathan’s eyes widened.

  “What? Are you sure?”

  “Certain,” Emi said. “You were like a corpse. Really gave us a bit of a fright.”

  “A bit? You were screaming like a little girl,” Mara said.

  “I think that’s better than what you did,” Emi muttered.

  Nathan’s eyes darted toward Mara. “What did she do?”

  “She took that Callen guy’s corpse and set it on fire.”

  Nathan’s jaw dropped.

  Mara grinned. “It was funny.”

  Nathan was about to respond when Bjorn cast a glance at him. His eyes were dead serious, a muscle tension that hadn’t been there earlier.

  “I think we need to discuss the information Callen gave us,” Bjorn said.

  “What information?” Nathan said.

  “The Pandore. He suggested it will give you your arm back. What are your thoughts?” Bjorn said.

  Oh.

  Nathan glanced at his arm stump. He’d been able to distract himself from thinking about his amputee status with the action, the battles, and the fishing.

  Now he was faced with a real opportunity. He could get his arm back.

  But...

  “Nathan deserves it,” Chad said.

  Everyone turned their heads at him.

  “He’s been kicking ass, he’s saved everyone from danger at least once, er, except Mara. He put this group together. He deserves it.”

  “We have to think tactically about this,” Bjorn said. “Nathan is already powerful, even without an arm. Wouldn’t the Pandora better serve someone else?”

  “I agree with Chad,” Emi said. “If Nathan wants the Pandora, he deserves it.”

  Ah, damn it, this isn’t something I wanted to talk about right after waking up from a coma.

  Mara looked at him. “How do you feel about it, Nathan? What do you want to do?”

  He’d gotten somewhat used to not having an arm. He’d learned how to get around his disability, to fight and use every resource at his disposal. Besides…

  Do I deserve to have my arm back? It was my own fault that I lost it. Chad was nearly killed—he needs it more than I do. If he doesn’t want it, then surely Bjorn could use it.

  Nathan looked at his arm stub.

  But it sure would be nice to not feel like half a person anymore.

  Nathan shook his head. “I need to think about it.”

  “What’s there to think about?” Chad asked. “Dude, it’s your arm. Why wouldn’t you want it back?”

  Nathan averted his eyes.

  Chad sighed. “Whatever, man. I’m not changing my mind.”

  “If Nathan is unable to come to a decision, then we need to get going and find the Pandora,” Bjorn said. “We don’t have time to lollygag.”

  Nathan nodded.

  They moved out.

  It was a cool summer evening and the group had just finished setting up camp. Fireflies glowed around them in blinking patterns. They were attracted to Emi and swirled around her like she was a Disney princess. Mara kept swatting at them. Bjorn didn’t seem to care in the slightest.

  Nathan looked over his new achievements.

  [Defier]

  You helped take down a monster that should’ve turned you into a fine paste. Sure, you didn’t land the final blow, but without your clever meddling (and dumb luck), this victory was impossible. Remember: it’s not about who lands the last hit—it’s about who tells the story first.

  +10 Strength, +10 Dexterity, +10 Constitution, +10 Magic, +20 Luck, BONUS: +10 Soul

  [Iron Resolve]

  You pushed your body past the point of sanity, proving that your brain isn’t the one in charge anymore. Bruised, battered, and possibly concussed, you stood your ground. Some would call it bravery; others, questionable life choices.

  You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

  +20 Strength, +20 Constitution

  Nathan whistled aloud. Fighting impossible odds was pretty damn good for his stats. He was doubtful if much on this Circle was much of a threat to him anymore.

  “Hey, Chad,” Nathan said. “Did you get any achievements for beating that nutcase?”

  “I did, actually.” Chad popped open his menu. “One. It’s called ‘Slayer of Titans.’”

  “What kind of stat bonus did you get from it?”

  Chad stared at the blue window.

  “A lot,” he said.

  Nathan raised an eyebrow but didn’t press any harder.

  Out of curiosity, he checked on his harpoon-throwing quest.

  [Throw Harpoon] (Bronze) (91/100)

  Oh, wow. Nathan was close. Really close. Just a few more kills and Nathan would get another bronze-ranked skill.

  It was as he was thinking this that a brand new blue box appeared.

  Message from Gius:

  The new watchtower worked. We’ve received a countdown. Please come quickly.

  Nathan opened up the portal to his Soulbound Town. He requested that his allies stay behind—he’d check out the situtation first and see what was going on.

  He was greeted by a dozen mushroom guards. They saluted all at once.

  “My lord!” they all shouted.

  Nathan stiffened, then bowed back.

  “A-at ease,” he said. “Can you take me to Gius?”

  “Of course, my lord.” One of the guards stepped forward, spear in hand. “Please follow me.”

  As they walked, Nathan couldn’t help but marvel at the improvements the town had made. Stone walls—real ones, not the crappy ones that they’d slapped together last raid—surrounded the town. A man poked his head out from the second story of one of the houses and waved a hand at Nathan. Nathan waved back.

  The guy looked so shocked at Nathan that he fell backward with a loud bang. Nathan winced.

  What was up with that?

  A group of three or four children were playing ball. Each of them was dressed in relatively fine clothing, and all their faces were clean. As Nathan passed, they stopped, their eyes widening.

  “L-lord Nathan!” one of the kids said. “You’re lord Nathan, aren’t you?”

  “…I am?”

  “Is it true that you fought a two-headed scorpion with both hands tied behind your back?”

  Nathan’s eyebrows furrowed. “…No?”

  One of the other kids shoved the one who’d asked the question.

  “Of course not, I told you it was a one-headed scorpion. Your dad was just making stuff up!”

  “Was not!”

  The guard slammed his spear into the ground. A loud click echoed out and the children paused.

  “Lord Nathan is very busy with affairs of state—“

  “—affairs?” one of the kids muttered. “My mom was talking about that with my dad after they started fighting again..”

  The guard’s left eye twitched. “…and he has to go deal with them.”

  The kids whined. One in the back took a step forward.

  “Thank you, my lord,” the quiet boy said. “My father almost died during the first raid. You saved his life.”

  Nathan almost took a step back. He managed to stop himself.

  “N-no problem.” Nathan inclined his head down. “I’m thankful your father managed to survive.”

  They walked away.

  I’m glad that kid’s dad made it out.

  Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a watchtower. Nathan had commissioned it sometime after the first raid—it was expensive. Why? Because it was able to warn of incoming raids.

  “Is it just me or are there more people here?” Nathan said.

  “Of course, my lord. We finally have access to food, so many of our children have started to grow up.” The mushroom man smiled. “Case in point: me.”

  Nathan furrowed his eyebrows together.

  “…your face looks familiar.”

  The guard chuckled. “You don’t remember me, of course,” he said. “I’m the kid that bumped into your leg during the first raid.”

  Nathan’s jaw dropped.

  “You gained four feet in the couple of days I haven’t been here?”

  “Mushroom people have enhanced physiology, my lord. The only reason we weren’t multiplying quickly was because we didn’t have the food to support that. Now, however, we do.”

  Nathan stepped forward and felt something squish against his feet. He pulled his foot back, revealing a trampled flower.

  “Life’s coming back, too, huh?” he said. “Shame about the flower—“

  In front of his eyes, the flower straightened up. Grass sprang to its sides and in moments it looked like Nathan hadn’t done anything.

  Nathan turned and stared at the guard. “Uh… was that you?”

  The guard rubbed the back of his neck. “No, my lord. I’m afraid that our plants are just a bit more… resilient, as of late?”

  “Resilient? The thing snapped back into place on its own. Imagine if you saw a guy break his neck and then walk it off a second later.”

  “Well, us mushroom people don’t die from neck snaps, but I hear your point, my lord.” The guard shrugged. “I’m afraid I have no answer for you. It scared everyone at first, too, but we got used to it.”

  Before long, they arrived at the meeting hall. The whole thing was upgraded from last time to be a bit bigger. Wings for extra rooms had been attached to the sides, and someone had taken the liberty of putting banners with Nathan’s face all over the building.

  “…what’s up with the banners?” Nathan said.

  “Well, we’ve been so prosperous that the town decided we needed a new flag. In honor of you, my lord, the people created these flags.”

  How did they manage to draw that? How did they print it…? Also, they got my nose wrong.

  “I’m a little bit concerned about this,” Nathan said.

  “Why’s that?”

  Nathan stared at the guard.

  The guard looked back as if there was nothing unusual about Nathan having his face on a flag.

  “Never mind,” Nathan said. “Is Gius inside?”

  “Indeed, my lord. The council is not in session yet, so you should have a few minutes to talk with him.”

  Nathan walked to the door. The guard opened it for him and gave him a nod.

  The door shut.

  Nathan looked around the hall. Ornate torches had been set up around the room. The roof had been raised, granting the space a wide, open feeling. A window in the roof cast light on the table. At the end of the table, Gius was seated at the right hand, surrounded by dozens upon dozens of documents and papers.

  “Gius?” Nathan said.

  Gius sat up in his chair. “Lord Nathan!”

  Nathan walked over to the end of the table, noting Gius’s features. His eyes had deep bags underneath them.

  “I got your message,” Nathan said.

  “Indeed. We’ve already held a preliminary meeting,” Gius said. “But the council agreed that you should be alerted.”

  “You already discussed what you were going to do?” Nathan said.

  Gius nodded. “We’ve made defensive plans, my lord. Fuge has been working hard since the last raid to ensure we are prepared for another attack.”

  …I feel like I should’ve been involved in these plans.

  Whatever. Nathan had bigger fish to fry.

  “Do we have a time window on the raid?” Nathan asked.

  “Yes, my lord. Thanks to the watchtower you unlocked, we have the exact time. Three days, or seventy-two hours from now.”

  “How are we feeling about our defenses?”

  “Good, my lord. The town walls have been built and are of solid construction. The main concern is the wave events. Please check your Strategy View.”

  What the hell are wave events?

  Nathan opened up the blue window.

  His Town Points hadn’t budged too much from the last time he’d checked—Gius had probably been spending them on defenses. His Authority had dropped to 65%.

  At the top of the window, there was a timer. 72 hours. Right below there was some text. Next Wave Event: Thunderstorm.

  “What’s all his stuff? Thunderstorm?”

  “Again, this wasn’t supposed to be unlocked till the third circle. I’m not sure how this raider is obtaining these abilities,” Gius said. “Nonetheless, raiders can spend town points on battlefield enchantments and attacks. They will only get progressively worse and worse. If we’re extremely unlucky, we could be looking at something like a hurricane or an earthquake.”

  Nathan groaned.

  I swear, it’s like the system is out to get me.

  “Have you guys been working on disaster shelters or something?” Nathan asked.

  “We’ve established some preliminary plans, my lord. Right now, we’re converting some of the basements and underground storehouses into designated shelters.”

  “That’s a good start. We can make sure there’s food and water and stuff down there. We’d also have to add supports—“

  “We know, my lord. It’s all been taken care of.”

  Nathan blinked. “Oh yeah, you guys know what’s going on.”

  Gius smiled thinly. “Trust me, my lord, I have a great deal of experience in things like this. You don’t need to worry yourself about such things.”

  “How’s that shop coming along?”

  “Still under construction, my lord. It probably will be for several more weeks.”

  Nathan sighed. “Darn. Well, if you didn’t want me doing anything, then why did you call me here?”

  Gius winced.

  “Well, we were hoping that you could bring back the Lady of Destruction.”

  “The… the what?”

  “Your friend, the red-headed woman. She was a master of the explosive arts. Fuge has requested that she create more of her weapons.”

  “You’re going to need to explain the whole title thing.”

  Gius coughed.

  “I’m afraid that you and her have become quite mythologized as of late, and it seems I picked up the speaking habit.”

  “Does this have anything to do with my face being on a bunch of banners?”

  Gius’s hands twitched.

  “Those are still up there? I said they should be taken down.”

  “Yeah, they’re still up there. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing at first.

  Gius shut his eyes and took a deep breath.

  “When you… saved… the town, many of our people were in a rather hopeless position. What you did seemed to galvanize them. They see you as some sort of heroic figure from myth. The same goes for your redheaded companion. Some go even further. Because of you bringing us the Divine Seed, some believe that you are, in fact, divine.”

  Mistakes have been made.

  “That’s… really awkward. Please tell me the council doesn’t buy into that stuff.”

  “Of course not, my lord. If we did, our goals would become… difficult.”

  Nathan breathed a sigh of relief. It was good to hear that some people weren’t batshit insane.

  “Since I have the time, could I meet with the council?” Nathan said. “I haven’t had the chance to, you always say that they’re too busy when I come to visit and check up on things.”

  Gius froze.

  “Oh, they’re far too preoccupied, my lord—“

  The door slammed open.

  “Gius!” a voice yelled out. “It’s about time that we have that discussion. You have to stop this foolhardy plan, he’s clearly proven himself—“

  Familiar eyes met Nathan’s own. A mushroom woman with leather armor and a sword on her hip.

  “L-lord Nathan!” Fuge said. “You came so quickly!”

  “Fuge!” Nathan said. “It’s good to see you. How have you been?”

  Fuge’s posture adjusted. She clicked her heels together and gave a quick salute. “My lord. I have been well.”

  So formal!

  “Uh, at ease?”

  Fuge’s posture relaxed. “It’s a pleasure to see you, my lord. I’ve spoken multiple times about wanting to discuss things with you, but Gius is the only one with access to the messaging system… and I’m always conveniently preoccupied with other things when you’re here.”

  “Yes, you’re busy attending to defenses, right?” Gius said. “You should get back to that.”

  “I can afford ten minutes to speak with my liege lord, Gius.”

  Nathan looked back and forth between the two.

  I think there’s something I’m missing.

  “I was actually hoping that you could talk to me about the defenses,” Nathan said.

  “Of course, my lord,” Fuge said. “I would be happy to explain things to you.”

  Gius sat up from his chair. “I’ll come along as well.”

  Fuge shot Gius a look. The expression faded too quickly for Nathan to make out what it was.

  “Very well. Let’s go.”