Jaco took a step back as he judged his latest work. Through his manipulation of earth, he’d created a small building. It wasn’t anything fancy, just a single room structure that didn’t even have any windows. At the front was just a single hole that acted as an open doorway.

The Druid could have made it better and more intricate if he’d really tried. But what he was aiming for was simple efficiency, as there was only so much time in the day. This was just one shelter out of dozens he had already created for the camp. And since there was still more to be done, he just focused on making sure that each person could have a roof over their head.

“Damn, just how much Mana do you have?” Burt asked as he approached from behind. His brow was covered in sweat from also working all day to aid the camp’s reconstruction.

“The benefits of high Spell Power, I guess. I never really had to build actual structures like this with my Ability, so it took a bit of practice at first. But now I think I’ve gotten the hang of it and can keep going without wasting as much Mana per shelter,” Jaco said.

While the other man was dirty and covered in sweat, he was almost unfairly clean and well kempt. Though that was just the reality of being able to do all his current labor with magic alone.

Burt shook his head with a bit of disbelief. “And once you’re done, you said your plan is to work on rebuilding the wall next, right? At this rate, I expect to wake up one day and find out you rebuilt the entire city by yourself or something like that.”

“You know, that’s not a bad idea. Maybe after the Chosen Few are dealt with, we could start focusing more on actually clearing out all the monsters in it. Then from there, I might actually be able to do just that.” Jaco assumed that the statement was made half-jokingly, but he really did consider it.

“Hmm. Just the other day, I doubted that we’d ever be comfortable with actually living in that city. With all the bad memories it has for everyone that’s seen so much death and destruction. But with the recent attack, I guess that idea doesn’t really matter anymore.”

“Well in any case, I should probably get back to it. See you later man,” Jaco said. It was nice to talk, however, there was still work that needed to be done.

“Right, same here. See you.”

Having already done most of the work already, it didn’t take him that much longer to finish the rest. Amongst the list of issues that the encampment was dealing with, accommodations for living space was now one thing that could be crossed off. And it was completed by a single man within the span of just a few short hours.

Let’s see here, all in all, that actually did end up draining just a bit of Mana. For the wall, I’d rather try to get it all done in one go if possible. So maybe I should take a small break and take a crack at it once my Mana supply is back to being completely full. Plus, I think Burt mentioned that it’d be meal time right around now. Yeah, using that as a break could be a good idea, Jaco thought to himself.

While a lot of space within his Bag of Holding was being taken up by the Infernal armory, he did still have quite a bit of saved food and water in there as well. It was a good thing he’d decided to take what he could find while exploring the inner city.

Because Jaco didn’t need to eat or drink as much, it could be shared with those who could better use a meal. Since a lot of supplies were destroyed during the attack, food rations included, it’d be one more way he could help out. Speaking of which, he wasn’t sure what he would do next after the wall was finished.

Jaco considered the idea as he walked across the camp. But as he did so, something caught his attention. He saw Alex moving toward him from off the side. He wasn’t even sure if Alex had even noticed him, as there seemed to be something wrong. The teen’s head was down, and he didn’t even seem to be paying any attention to any of his surroundings.

For a moment, Jaco considered if it’d be better to leave him alone for the time being. But after a moment of thought, he decided against that idea. Instead, it’d probably be better to see what was the exact issue and find out if there was anything he could do to help. So with that in mind, he began to walk up to the teen.

“Hey Alex, are you okay?” Jaco asked. The young Warrior paused mid-step and looked up at him, only then realizing that he was even there.

“I-I just found how many people in my team… didn’t make it.” The teen’s eyes were red with tears already shed.

Jaco’s eyes widened slightly. Of course it would be that. Just a couple hours ago, Alex had been his normal self. But now that enough time had passed for him to actually process those deaths, it was probably hitting him like a truck. Before Jaco could say anything, Alex continued as his fists tightened.

“Jordan, Mark, and Tiffany were all with me when that Chosen bastard killed them. But… I sent Evelyn to take two others to check the area for any undead that got past the frontlines. And- and they were torn apart in a corner where nobody else was,” Alex’s voice caught as the last sentence was barely more than a whisper.

I… I’m sorry Alex. Maybe if I’d just gotten here sooner…” Jaco trailed off as he tried to find the words.

The teen shook his head. “It’s not your fault, Jaco. It’s mine. I should have taken them to the city more. If they had been higher Level, then they could be alive right now.”

Jaco clasped a hand over his shoulder. “There’s no way anyone could have known that’d happen. The attack could have come a few days ago just as easily as it did today. But if anyone’s at fault, it isn’t you or me, not really.”

“The Chosen Few,” Alex said, his eyes narrowing with a flare of anger. “I need to get stronger, strong enough to avenge them. I only have a few Levels to go before my Class Evolution. But… I can’t just leave on my own yet, not without there being a risk. So what am I supposed to do now?”

Jaco sighed as he thought about it for a few moments. Right now, he was sure that Alex wanted nothing more than to rush to the city and grind for Experience. So just the self-awareness to still restrain himself even while clearly emotional was something worthy of respect. For the time being, however, what he probably needed most was just time to process that internal storm of emotions.

“I’m sure you already know it’s there, but there’s a hill over by that edge of the camp that I liked to sit at.” Jaco gestured in its direction. “It’s got a nice view and doesn’t really get visited very much. I think that should still be true, even now. So if you just need to be alone for a while, that could be a good spot.”

Alex glanced between it and then back to him before giving a small nod. “Yeah, yeah I think that might be a good idea. But if anyone needs me-”

“I’ll tell them that you’re preoccupied for the moment,” Jaco said to cut him off. “You have every right to put your own mental health first for the time being. If what anyone else needs isn’t an urgent emergency, then it can come later. Alright?”

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

“...Alright,” Alex eventually acquiesced after a couple seconds of hesitation. Then as the Druid stayed behind and watched, he then walked off toward the direction of the hill.

Jaco hoped that having some time alone really would be the best thing for Alex. He couldn’t imagine the mental state that he was in right now. While he was still not caught up on the details, it seemed the teen had really built something for himself. After the death of his best friend, Liam, he’d been a wreck.

But at some point between now and then, he’d actually found the drive to grow stronger and even become the leader of his own group encompassing the teens of the camp. Yet all of that had just been shattered like a pane of glass being smashed by a hammer. However he ended up needing to deal with that grief though, Jaco could at least do his best to help. Whether it was giving Alex space, someone to talk to, or something else, he’d try to provide it.

In any case, he then went over to his original destination. Jaco stopped by the new meal prep area and proceeded to offload his personal supply of food and water. As he did so, he kept an eye out for Granny, the friendly older lady who was the main caretaker of the camp’s regular meals. Yet even after looking around and concluding his business there, he hadn’t seen her.

Jaco felt a small pit form in his stomach at the apparent absence of the elderly woman. A part of him hoped that maybe he was wrong, and that she was just busy somewhere else. Yet there was every possibility that the reason Granny was missing was because she was one of those who hadn’t made it.

Hopefully he would see her around later and simply disprove that idea. Otherwise… maybe he’d need to ask about checking the list of the deceased to know for certain. Jaco shook his head. To distract himself, he went ahead and opened his Sheet as he walked.

General Info:

Species: Hell-Touched Human

Level: 40

Class: Druid

Evolution: True Shifter

Secondary Class: Blight Warlock

Level: 7

Stats:

Strength: 139

Agility: 90

Endurance: 132

Will: 114

Spell Power: 155

Unspent Points: 0

Class Abilities:

Passive: Animal Instincts

Passive: One With Nature

Passive: Permanent Aspect One

Passive: Wild Constitution

Active: Lesser Elemental Offense

Active: Minor Plant Control

Active: Lesser Beast Transformation

Active: Minor Primal Ferocity

Active: Lesser Manifestation of the Wild Elemental

Secondary Class Abilities:

Active: Lesser Pestilent Swarm

Active: Lesser Zone of Blight

Active: Lesser Rotting Summon

Not much had changed over the course of the siege of the encampment. Even after killing those three members of the Chosen Few and his fair share of the undead horde, it hadn’t been enough to gain him a Level Up.

The only thing of note since he last took a look was that after all that killing, his Secondary Class’s Level also had not increased. He hadn’t used any of its Abilities while fighting, so that confirmed that it only earned its share of Experience upon doing so.

Other than that, it was also clear that its Levels hadn’t increased each of his Stats like his regular Levels did. Instead, it seemed that only the Stat Modifications it provided to Will and Spell Power were in effect. He supposed that was part of why it was only considered a Secondary Class, and not just a second one. That small difference in potential wording seemed to reflect the lesser benefit gained from increasing its Level.

Even so, Jaco wasn’t going to be one to complain. Between the initial flat boost from choosing the Class and what the Modifications provided so far, his Will and Spell Power were already 26 Points higher than they otherwise would have been.

He did wonder if the Modification from the Blight Warlock Class would also carry over to whenever he increased his main Level. Which would be extra nice, since that’d mean he could double dip that bonus. But that was a question that’d be answered as soon as he hit Level 41.

Some time then passed as Jaco went about his business. And after a little while, he eventually walked into Noah’s tent. The leader of the camp looked up at him as he entered.

“Ah, Jaco. What can I do for you?” he asked while putting down a pencil.

“Two things. Just wanted to report that both the new housing and wall are all basically done. So now I just wanted to ask about where else I might be needed.”

The Mage rapidly blinked a few times. “Wait, really? Already?”

“Yep. Although I’ll admit that the wall itself is pretty rough around the edges. It’s basically just a big circle of stone with a hole where the front entrance is supposed to be.”

“Well, I’ll be damned,” Noah said as he leaned back into his seat. “When we talked about it earlier, I honestly thought that even with your powers, it’d still take at least a couple of days. But just the fact that it only took a few hours just goes to show what your Level actually means, huh?”

“I guess so. Anyway, is there anything else I could help out with for the time being?” Jaco inquired.

“Hmm, there actually is something that I’ve been thinking about for a bit now. You have an Ability that lets you manipulate plants and such, right? How would you compare it with your other Abilities in terms of its power?”

“Yeah, although I really haven’t been able to get much use of it. Kinda hard to in an urban environment without much plant matter. And it’s usually not worth the Mana to use it on my armor and wooden staff for more than enhancing their repairs. Since anything I could do with that has always been solved by another, faster-acting Ability.” Jaco was curious to find out where the other man was going with this, and why he brought it up.

“Right. But with how high your Will and Spell Power is, I imagine that you could still probably do a lot with it, right?” Noah asked.

“I suppose? Like I said, it’s been a while. But even though it’s still just a Minor Ability, it should be able to do more now with how much my Stats have increased. Did you have something specific in mind?”

“Well as you know, we’re currently figuring out what to do in terms of rations,” Noah began, to which Jaco just nodded.

“The regular solution would be to send out the scavengers to look for supplies. But with the Chosen Few now a looming shadow, I’m unsure if I would just be sending people for them to pick off. Yet I do know that there’s some farmland not far from here. And while our current supply was lost, there should be plenty of seeds and such still stored in that area that we haven’t collected yet. So here’s what I’m thinking.”

—--

Evelyn followed behind the Mage named Sam as she led her into a tent. The sword that would normally have been at her side was currently absent. Although she’d voluntarily given it up, the missing weight that should have been on her hip felt wrong.

Yet what else could she have done? After what Levi said during that standoff earlier, there was no way she’d be able to keep her secret now. But while Evelyn could have just run off, exactly where could she have even gone.

The Chosen would just find and kill her eventually if she went back to the city. And while she could have just picked any direction and started moving toward the horizon, who knew what was out there. The idea that anywhere on this planet was safe felt laughable at best. All running into the countryside would do was make her hope that she could make it while all alone.

That there weren’t any monsters stronger than her upon going far enough out. That she’d be able to scrounge up enough food and water to survive after enough time passed for that to matter. Even if it took months for starvation to be an issue thanks to the System, that’d just result in a slower death in the end.

No. I’m done running away and just hoping that there isn’t another fire waiting on the other side. The truth of who I am should be obvious by now, and they clearly know from how they’ve been looking at me since Levi basically spelled it out, Evelyn thought to herself.

Sam had only now requested that they go somewhere private to “talk”. While Evelyn still felt hesitant, she knew when it was time to understand what one’s actions entailed. And then the consequences that they would eventually bring.

Although she didn’t consider herself to be like the rest of them, the fact remained the same. She was a former member of the Chosen Few. Now, she fully expected to receive judgment from those who’d just been severely hurt by that group,

What said judgment would be like and what it’d mean for her, there was only one way to find out.