"What are we doing here again?" Chris asked as the four of them walked into a small village near the Great Forest.

"A few things." Greg replied. "First, the Northern Wastes are a bit high level for us, so we need a better place to practice our skills and level up a bit. The edge of the Great Forest is perfect for that. Second, we need to start doing something about this whole noble/monstrous conflict thing, particularly since we're stopping the nobles from using nukes. If we're going to put them in danger, we need to do something to protect them from that danger, which means we need to get involved with the people who might actually suffer from that danger. Third, we need to start interacting with the monstrous races on some level, since we can't bridge the gap between both sides if we only ever work with one. And four… Well, we've been isolating ourselves, so we need to get out there and make some friends! You know, really integrate ourselves with the community."

Thomas glanced at him with a slightly twisted expression. "I had trouble integrating with the community when I was normal, let alone now that I'm… whatever we are. How the hell are we supposed to just insert ourselves into a completely foreign culture?!?"

Greg shrugged. "I dunno, talk to people? Get a job? I'm not exactly good at this shit either, but we gain nothing if we don't even try."

"I don't have to act or anything, do I?" Chris asked, raising an eyebrow. "We're looking for genuine relationships, not just to make people like us, right?"

Greg paused before nodding slowly. "Yes… think of it like your search for a girlfriend. It's more about finding a reason to care about this place than getting people to like us."

Chris nodded. "Okay, I can do that."

"Can you though?" Andrew muttered.

"Of course. I've never been opposed to having more friends, I've simply never seen a reason to seek them out." Chris shrugged. "I'm perfectly capable of forming connections when I need to."

Andrew gave him a skeptical look. "Sure you are."

Thomas rubbed his hands together. "How about we make a little competition out of it, eh?" He grinned. "First person to make a friend wins."

"Okay, what's the prize?" Greg replied.

Thomas frowned, considering it for a moment, before smiling wide as he had an idea. "Got it!" He exclaimed, before pausing and glancing at Chris. "Wait… Hey Chris, can you bring your world out real quick?"

"Okay?" Chris cocked his head, doing as he asked.

Thomas poked him, trying to transfer the system to him. "Ah, good." Thomas breathed out a sigh of relief as he felt a connection form between him and Chris's system. "I wasn't sure that would work. Okay, hold on." He refocused on his system, crafting a task and sending it to the rest of them.

[Group competition: Be the first to make a friend! - 44 pts.]

Thomas turned to Greg with a grin. "How's that?"

"Just a day or two of points?" Greg raised an eyebrow. "Not much of a prize."

Thomas rolled his eyes. "This isn't some major competition, you know. It's just the four of us, and all we're trying to do is make a friend. I'm honestly surprised it's even giving us as much as it is! One of us must really want to make a friend…" Andrew coughed awkwardly. "Anyway, if you want a better prize, you need a bigger competition. The more people involved, the more those people want it, the more points you get."

Greg blinked. "Wait… couldn't we rake in an absolute fuckton of points by setting up these competitions every day then?"

Thomas shook his head. "People have to genuinely want to compete for it to work, or the reward just isn't worth it. Like, I can't imagine Chris is adding more than four points to the total here, if that. You'd need a competition that everyone could get invested in, something they all feel they have a chance at winning, and that they feel is worth winning. That, or use an absolute fuckton of people, neither of which we have access to."

Greg grunted noncommittally. "If you say so. Anyway, come on, let's check out the town."

The four of them headed towards the gate into town. Andrew briefly wondered why such a small town would need such a large wall, before immediately realizing that in this World, towns without walls probably didn't last all that long. However, once they reached the gate, they immediately ran into a roadblock.

"Identification?" The guard at the gate asked.

"Can't you just see it?" Greg asked, cocking his head.

The guard frowned. "Where do you think we are, Nobilis? We don't have the resources to keep someone with an identification skill watching the gate twenty-four seven. We'll need to see some form of ID."

They all shared a look, before turning back to the guard. "We don't have any." Greg shrugged.

"Damn." The guard let out a weary sigh. He stepped to the side, picking up a phone and dialing a number. "Hey, we need an identification at the north gate… They don't have any… I know you're busy, but- okay, I get- listen! We can't send people away just because you don't want to get off your ass! Just get down here!" The guard growled, before slamming the phone down. "Ugh, sorry about that." He apologized. "Our only identifier is the local librarian, and she hates being pulled away from her books."

"I can appreciate that." Greg chuckled. "Sorry for the trouble. We didn't realize it would be such a problem."

The guard waved dismissively. "It's alright. We just gotta be careful around here, since we're so close to the Line. Never know when a monster is going to try and sneak in."

"Has that actually happened?" Andrew asked skeptically.

"Once or twice a year." The guard shrugged. "Not usually though the front gate, mind you, but occasionally some small group of low level monsters will manage to sneak their way through and try to climb over the wall." He chuckled, slapping the wall. "Thankfully this baby is electrified up top, so all that comes of it is a fancy light show and a weird smell for the next week or so. I think the last time we had a shapeshifter issue was something like two or three decades ago? But just because it's rare doesn't mean we can let our guard down, you know what I'm sayin'? One slip up and an entire family could be dead… I wouldn't want that on my conscience. Would you?" Thomas and Andrew's expressions twisted while Greg and Chris just shrugged. The guard shook his head. "Anyway, what brings you folks down our way?"

"What brings anyone anywhere? We're looking for a place to live and the opportunity to grow." Greg replied with a grin. "Not much place for us in the cities, you see, and while we could make our way using dungeons, that doesn't really help anyone, now does it? At least, not at our level. The military isn't exactly an option either, so that just leaves places like this, where no one would turn away a strong arm and a helping hand. At least, those are my thoughts on the matter."

The guard grinned back. "You won't hear a lick of complaint from me, that's for sure. We always need more people to keep a lookout around here. The town is safe enough, but the farms…" The guard's expression darkened. "You never know what could be hiding out in those fields. Usually it's just some beast that wandered out of the forest, dangerous enough on its own, but at least all it'll do is kill ya. When it's monsters… sometimes we manage to chase 'em down and get 'em back. Sometimes we don't. Either way, it ain't pretty. My Lucy got grabbed when she was young, and she still has nightmares about it. That's why I'm here, doin' what I can to make sure no monsters ever set foot in this town. So when I go home, I can tell my Lucy she's safe, and there's nothin' to fear."

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"Well… hopefully one day no one will have to be afraid, eh?" Greg offered tentatively, not exactly sure what to say to all that. He hadn't expected an offhand comment to get him the dude's life story. Then again, the gate wasn't all that busy… maybe the guy was just bored and desperate to have someone to talk to?

The guard nodded. "Maybe one day. But until then, all we can do is be as vigilant as possible. Speaking of, here comes Shannon." He gestured to a woman practically stomping her way to the gate.

"Are these them?" She huffed as she arrived, glaring at the four of them.

"Yup, just need their ident-" The guard began.

"They're noble." Shannon waved dismissively. "Is that all?"

The guard sighed. "Yeah, that's all." Shannon just humphed and turned, stomping away again. "Alright, yer all good to go. Enjoy yer stay now, ya hear?"

"We'll do our best." Greg nodded. "Oh, do you know anywhere we could stay for a night or so? A good place for food as well."

The guard pointed them towards the local tavern for both and they made their way deeper into town. "I'm honestly surprised you didn't already win the competition back there." Thomas commented, nudging Greg.

"Eh, just because the dude is chatty doesn't mean we're friends." Greg shrugged. "I mean, maybe if we talked more and got to know each other a bit better… but at this point, we're acquaintances at best. Hell, I don't think we even exchanged names…"

"You didn't." Chris provided helpfully.

"Yeah, see? Can't say someone is your friend if you don't even know their name." Greg continued.

"Fair." Thomas nodded.

"Speaking of, we should probably figure out what our game plan is here." Greg commented. "We can't just sit around and fuck around like we usually do."

Thomas blinked. "That- you can't sit around and fuck around at the same time!"

"And yet we manage to pull it off pretty much constantly." Greg chuckled. "But you know what I mean. We need some level of intentionality in all this, because our natural inclination is to go off and do our own thing, which… hasn't really been working out for us, you know?"

"It hasn't?" Chris cocked his head. "I think we've been doing just fine. We're learning, getting stronger, growing our forces… What more could we do?"

"See, this is my point." Greg replied. "Sure, we're growing personally, but we aren't accomplishing anything with that growth! Well, besides causing problems, but that's kinda the opposite of what we want to do. I mean, we talk about things we could do, eventually, when we're strong enough, and that's fair, but that doesn't mean there aren't things we can do now to help people."

Chris frowned. "Like what?"

"Well, that's what we're here to figure out." Greg shrugged. "All I'm saying is that while the big problems are an issue, we can't let it blind us to the little things we can do in the meantime. Besides, the best way to practice our skills is by doing things with them, so by finding things to do, we'll actually grow faster than if we just focus on practicing."

Chris paused. "I suppose that's fair."

"The real question is whether we're trying to do this with or without our abilities." Thomas muttered. "I mean, we could shove everyone into Chris's world, give them the system, and solve almost any issue these people could ever have."

"And we should absolutely do that. However, that's the end goal." Greg replied. "Just running up to people and saying 'hey, we can solve all your problems if you just willingly form an unbreakable bond with a man who may or may not get complete control over your life in exchange… I lost my train of thought, but if we just blindside people with it, they'll get suspicious. Like, you know, how pretty much everyone we've told so far has been. What we need to do is build a reputation first, so people trust us, and then we get them into the Army. Otherwise all we'll get is desperate people with nothing left to lose." He paused. "Also, there's the secondary goal of actually connecting with people so we'll care about this World, which won't happen if we just shove them into Chris's world."

Thomas nodded. "Okay, so no abilities then?"

"Well no, we should still use them, to show people what we can do, it's just not about pushing them on people." Greg shook his head.

"Okay…" Thomas muttered, frowning slightly. "Actually, no, I'm still not sure what we're doing here."

"As far as I can tell, we're inserting ourselves into a community so we can level up while building a reputation we can use to convince people to trust us enough to join our cause and developing roots so we aren't tempted to just fuck off and leave these people to deal with their own problems." Andrew summed up.

"Yeah, that." Greg nodded.

Thomas cocked his head. "Seems simple enough." He frowned at Greg. "Why couldn't you just say that instead of making it all sound so complicated?"

Greg threw up his hands. "Cause my mind doesn't work in a straight line and even I barely know what's going on up there! I just gotta ramble until I find my point sometimes."

"Fair enough." Thomas chuckled.

They arrived at the tavern and found a table, looking around. "So… how do we do this?" Andrew muttered, frowning slightly.

"Do what?" Chris asked.

"Make friends? That's why we're here, remember?" Andrew replied.

"Oh yeah…" Chris muttered, looking around. "Hold on." He got up, walking over to where a man was sitting alone. "Hey, do you mind if I join you?"

The man blinked, looking up from his phone. "Uh… sure, please." He gestured to one of the chairs.

"I'm Chris." Chris introduced himself, offering his hand.

"Daniel." Daniel replied with a smile.

Chris grimaced slightly, remembering the Daniel from his World for a moment, before quickly dismissing the thought. It was a common name and he couldn't blame the dude for having it. "So, you from around here?"

"Born and raised." Daniel nodded. "You? I mean, obviously not, cause then I'd know you, but… uh, what brings you here?" Daniel coughed awkwardly.

"Work, levels, resources." Chris shrugged. "Just trying to put the skills I've been blessed with to work for me, you know?"

"Aren't we all." Daniel sighed. "What Class do you have?"

"No Class yet, but I'm going for something Archery related." Chris replied. "You?"

Daniel blinked. "You don't have a Class?"

"Nope. My situation is a bit weird. I've only been able to really work on my Class for a few days now." Chris explained.

"Oh, are you an Uplift?!?" Daniel asked excitedly. "Wow, I've never met one of you before!"

Chris shook his head. "I'm not an Uplift. I'm… I suppose the closest example you would understand would be the recently incarnated form of an outer god, but with less incomprehensible horror."

Daniel's eyes went wide. "Wh-what?"

Chris pointed at himself. "I'm a dude, but I have multiple forms. This is a newer form, so it hasn't had time to grow yet."

"O-oh, I see." Daniel gulped.

"Yeah, it's neat." Chris shrugged. "So what's your Class?"

"I- I'm an Artificer." Daniel answered.

"An Artificer?" Chris cocked his head. "Like a blacksmith?"

Daniel shook his head. "No, blacksmiths are more about creating whole objects, like swords, axes, armor…. Well, armor has multiple pieces, but… uh, anyway, Artificers are more about creating components, which can then be assembled into larger objects, making our creations a lot more modular. In particular, I focus on drones."

"Drones, huh? What got you into that?" Chris asked.

"Well, our biggest issue around here is that we have too much area, and too few people to keep track of it all. So, if I can create drones to patrol the area for us, it'll make things a lot safer." Daniel explained.

"Outstanding." Chris muttered. "You know, I might be able to help with that. I can help provide resources at the very least, but I know a guy who made a pretty sophisticated AI, so he could probably help with drones too. I can have him work on some code for you."

"That- that would be amazing!" Daniel exclaimed. "But- why would you help me like that?"

"Why would I not? You're trying to help people. I want to help people, too. Helping you helps me. It's as simple as that." Chris shrugged.

"That- huh." Daniel blinked. "I- don't think that's how it's supposed to work."

Chris raised an eyebrow at him. "So? Outer god, remember? I don't care how things are supposed to work. I care how I want things to work, and I want to help you with your drones. Are you in or not?"

"I- I guess I sort of have to be, don't I?" Daniel shook his head in disbelief.

"Nah, I'm not going to force you to accept my help. But, now that you've put the idea in my head, even if you don't agree I'm going to find another Artificer to help." Chris explained.

Daniel coughed. "I- meant that the offer was too good to pass up, not that I couldn't say no."

Chris blinked. "Ah, I see. Well, then I look forward to a fruitful partnership." He nodded at him, before pausing as he remembered why he'd come over here in the first place. "You wouldn't happen to want to be friends, would you?"

Daniel froze. "I- I- sure?"

"Cool." Chris nodded as he got forty-four points.

"That did not just work." Thomas muttered incredulously.

"It did." Greg chuckled.

"My brain hurts." Andrew groaned.