I groaned and braced myself against the wall as waves buffeted the ship. I was tempted to pull out another healing pill to fight the nausea but at the rate I was going, I would be out before we reached the continent. The government planned to board us onto a military boat. The extra armor would keep us safe against the waves. That idea failed almost immediately. As soon as we were away from shore it was like Poseidon had grown furious with us.

"Sea travel isn't your thing huh?" A way too chipper voice brought my attention back to the four members of my group. I turned and nodded at the young researcher. She was an Asian woman in her twenties who was studying botany before the System arrived.

"No, I am a city boy at heart." I chuckled and took a seat. "So to make sure I got everyone's names." I pointed to the botanist. "Lin Mei" I gestured to the bald man light-skinned man who reminded me a bit of Mr. Clean. "James Andrews." When he nodded I turned to the soldier who joined us. He still had the military buzz cut and stood at attention whenever anyone in military fatigues came anywhere near us. "Peter Thompson and" I turned my attention to the older African American woman with an Afro puff in her hair. "Elizabeth Williams"

"I must admit I am a bit surprised. I would have assumed that the highest-ranked person would have been a soldier or some kind of killer" Elizabeth said with a curt smile. "Not that I am complaining"

I laughed and nodded. "What can I say? I am more than meets the eye."

She took her time, looked me up and down then smiled. "Indeed, you are."

"I think we should go over our orders again," Peter said while he passed me the manila folder. Our orders were pretty straightforward but not simple. Officially we were tasked with exploring the continent, making contact with people, and rescuing who we could. The truth of it was more complicated. We were able to collect whatever we wanted and the government would keep thirty percent. Which was a bit pricy considering we cultivators were expected to defend the researchers the whole time but they had key skills. Most of the researchers had at least one identification ability.

I wasn't exactly in need of resources so I wasn't too worried about that. The part I was worried about was the people. "Outside of Peter how many of you have seen combat or rather how many of you have fought or killed?" When none of the others raised their hands I slowly nodded. I didn't think their safety would be too big a problem but I couldn't help the anxiety in the back of my mind. I still wasn't sure if it was my danger sense or just normal worries.

"Alright, so what is it you all want out of this?" I held up a hand to stop any questions. "I am not asking about a job or anything like that. I am sure you all realize that the old world is gone. So what is it you want? If you want levels I can get you a simple weapon or two and defend you as long as the monsters aren't too tough. If you are only in it for resources or research that's a different matter altogether."

"I am here to do what I can for my country," Peter replied and I gave him a sympathetic nod. He genuinely believed that America would return and the idea wasn't terrible. I mean the old country was gone and democracy was also shot for the time being but the strongest military in history might make a return. Especially if I helped...

"I am alright. I am not much of a fighter. I will do my part to help you warriors out but I am going to stay in my zone." Lin replied.

"Same for me. I am too old to go running through the forest. If you have any way to help me learn some more about the beasts I would appreciate that. Not sure if they count as animals anymore but that was something I was curious about." Elizabeth added.

"I might be able to give you some bodies to look at. Not sure about living samples though."

"Same for me," James said. "I am not against fighting and can defend myself but I wouldn't call myself a warrior."

I nodded and leaned back. "Alright, so this is what we are going to do. If and when we encounter enemies Peter and James I want you to sit back. Your job is to protect the noncombat folks. Prioritize survival. I should be able to handle anything that comes at us but on the off chance I have to go all out. You all are to escape. I will use my communication spell to get in contact with you later."

"You want us to leave you? No sir. I won-" I held up a hand to stop him.

I turned to look Peter in the eye. "I get it but this is a different situation fam. Your levels are too low to make much of a difference and it will be harder for me to fight if I have to protect you. Furthermore, if something did happen to me it would be your job to keep the others safe."

Based on the tightness in his jaw I could tell he still didn't agree. Thankfully he decided to let it go. I opened my mouth to begin again when my unease increased. I got to my feet and looked around. I held up a finger and stepped out into the hallway. "Am I going crazy?" I muttered out loud while I strained my ears for any sound. I gave it a few minutes before I gave up and went back inside.

"Sorry about that. I think the ocean is getting to me. Where were we? Oh right. We need to discuss how to handle the resources we find."

"I assumed the contract would be enough?" Peter asked with only a little bit of irritation in his voice.

I held up a hand as if it could ward off the misunderstanding. "No, no I mean what do you all want to do? Some natural treasures have to be used immediately or they start to lose effectiveness. I don't have enough boxes to store everything we could find. On top of that, we need to decide when breaks will happen. If I find a strong enough treasure I might want to consume it right away."

"I don't think that will be a problem. As long as we are safe the time you can do what you want with your free time. If we need to stop we won't do so until you're ready."

I nodded and shifted my attention to the others. When no one objected I decided to let the matter rest.

"How did you get to be so strong?" Elizabeth asked unprompted.

I couldn't help but grin at the question. "Would you believe it was because of my dashing good looks?" My grin smiled as she blushed and looked away from me. The improvements to my appearance were my favorite of the new world's improvements. "The actual answer is through the Tutorial same as everyone else I would imagine. I completed my missions alone and they just snowballed into better opportunities. Once the tutorial ended I hunted down any strong monster I could find."

"And people from what I've heard," James added. His statement drained the levity out of the room and the grin from my face.

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I sighed as the words became an almost tangible weight on my shoulders. I didn't regret any of them outside of the Commonwealth's innocents. I wasn't even sure I wished the other deaths had gone differently. They were an opportunity to improve my strength and to get used to fighting people. "Yeah, I have killed more than a few people which you have undoubtedly heard about. If you had seen the state of those towns you would have agreed with them. As for the Commonwealth. I apologized the best I could."

"So what can you tell us about the monsters you have fought already? Any of them have a clear weakness?" Elizabeth asked in what I assumed was an attempt to shift to a lighter topic. I decided to go along with it.

"Most of them have weak minds which is another reason why I am particularly effective. Most of the monsters have exoskeletons or thick skin. Very few have the proper defenses to fight me. I would be careful of the plants too. I fought a fungal monster that could take over bodies like in that one video game."

"So we have to be scared of the beasts, the plants, and other cultivators. On top of that geography isn't exactly in our favor anymore." James stated. "Do you think the System does this kind of thing on purpose? Like to fuck with worlds of people?"

I shrugged. "No idea fam. What I do know is that we have to get stronger if we are going to rebuild"

"Now that's something we can agree on," Peter added. "I think we should go over a few hand signs. There isn't enough time to get all of them but we can get a few."

I decided to go along with it. We spent the next two hours going over nearly a dozen military call signs and hand signs. The whole thing made me feel like I was in an action movie. In truth, it wasn't the most useful thing in the world since I could communicate mentally with people but it made Paul feel better.

"Now that's done I am going to go and grab a bite to eat," Elizabeth said as she got to her feet. "I am told that we managed to hunt some weird-looking crabs and I have been dying to have some."

I grinned at the thought and stood up. "Let's meet back here in two hours. It would be good to spend some time getting to know the other groups. We never know who we will come across once we split up." Once I had everyone's agreement I followed after Elizabeth.

"So is Amari your real name? Or did you pick a new one once all this started?"

"Real as far as I know."

"Such a mysterious young man." She flashed me a smile as we rounded a corner and headed down a flight of stairs.

"I wouldn't go that far. I am or rather was an orphan. Jefferson, my last name came from the orphanage but Amari was on a small bracelet on my wrist. Or so they tell me."

"Oh? I suppose that makes this part a bit easier. I have met some people who are still looking for family." Her voice had a somberness to it that made me think there was a bit more to it than that.

"I don't know if it's easier. Indeed, I don't have to scramble to find people but it also means that no one is looking for me. Regardless I have managed to turn it into something special."

"Have you tried to find other family members? Grandparents, Aunts, uncles-" I held up a hand and had to force a smile as I considered what I wanted to say.

"I hadn't found anyone before the world changed so I think that ship has sailed. So what can you tell me about these crabs? Are they completely new or are they like those really big ones you find on islands?"

She faltered a step before nodding. "If you mean spider crabs then I think so. From what I heard they were around twice as big and much more aggressive."

I licked my lips and rubbed my hands together at the thought. "Sounds like I am going to eat good today."

Unfortunately, the meal wasn't anywhere near as good as I had hoped. The craps were massive but the meat was tough and was slightly bitter. It wasn't to the point that I thought it was spoiled but it also wasn't the best taste. After the early lunch, I decided to head to the front of the ship. The deck was much less pleasant.

The boat was choppy when I was inside its belly but now it felt like I was on a seesaw. I alternated between the strands of lucidity and adamance to make me feel better but it didn't help much.

"It's a bit ironic that you have a hard time with the sea. I suppose it's good that our new world isn't aquatic." Romulus' voice interrupted my thoughts.

I grimaced and turned to face him. The man had gone through a mini-evolution since the auction. He now wore a beautiful white breastplate with the image of a radiant sun in the middle. More importantly than that his aura had been reforged. I couldn't be completely sure but it felt like he had a strand related to fire and one for light. Either that or he had one strand that represented both concepts. "Remind me to stick to solid land after this."

"Are you able to swim?"

I shook my head. "Nope, never bothered to learn. I intended to live my entire life away from all this but here I am."

He shook his head and leaned against the railing. "There is something I have been wanting to discuss with you. If you have a free moment." I raised an eyebrow and nodded. "What are your plans? I don't mean for now but rather for the future?"

"Haven't decided yet. I am going to leave to explore the stars but other than that I don't know."

"And once you leave who is going to govern the planet?"

I rubbed my chin and considered the question for a moment. I wasn't sure how I should reply to that. "I don't know. Assuming I take over my council would make most choices for me. I would likely have to come back to deal with the major issues."

"I would like for our people to cooperate and form a proper alliance."

I slowly nodded. The question wasn't a surprise though I had expected Amahle to be the first person to suggest it. The idea wasn't bad at least not right now. "What kind of alliance were you thinking about?"

"For now just a formal agreement. You will help defend the people of New Rome and I will do the same for yours. We could sit down to discuss details like trade at a later date."

I couldn't help but laugh at that. "No offense but I didn't take you for a politician."

"A king should be capable of ruling. A king must rule in all ways not just the violent ones."

I offered a handshake to seal our agreement. "Tell you what. I can't make anything permanent until I get back but I am okay with it."

He shook my hand but before either of us could do anything else a scream of danger shot through me. My eyes widened as I circulated my cultivation manual. I scanned the ship and the waves expecting a kraken to reach up and start tearing the thing apart.

"What is it?" Romulus asked. His spear appeared in his hands in the next moment.

"I don't know. Danger-" My words were lost as an explosion went off below me. In the next moment, the ship groaned like a monster had just awoken. I glanced at Romulus before activating Apportation. The swirling portal appeared a second later. I felt the ship tremble beneath me as I stepped through.

The time before the portal reopened felt like an eternity. I mentally cursed myself for not activating Ethereal Convocation first. When the portal opened I stepped into the meeting room. Elizabeth, Paul, and James were already waiting. "Do any of you know where Elizabeth is?" I barked as the ship groaned beneath me. The image of the Titanic sinking refused to leave my mind.

"No, I saw her heading down to the bathrooms just before I came back here," Paul answered.

"I assume there are lifeboats on this thing? I need you to guide everyone to them. Get yourself ready to drop into the water. I will find Elizabeth and bring her. If the ship goes down before I can get there you leave." The trio spoke up and over one another but we didn't have time. "Those are your orders! Now get going" I released my aura just a bit. Just enough to get them moving. Once they were gone I broke out into a sprint. I activated Ethereal Convocation connecting to both Paul and Elizabeth.

"Where are you?" I shouted through the bond. The fraction of a second it took for her to respond felt like an eternity. I rounded a corner and bolted down a flight of stairs as another explosion ripped through the air.

"Down by the engine room. I am stuck"

I shifted direction and rushed forward. The lower levels were starting to flood and I had to work to fight back the fear growing in my heart. I ignored the unmoving bodies around me as I approached the engine room. The halls had transformed into a tunnel of twisted burning metal and water that was up to my knees. I scanned the debris for any sign of Elizabeth.

"I am here. Make some noise."

The sound of something hard hitting against metal filled my ears a second later and I could almost swear it was the sweetest thing I had ever heard. I rounded a corner and what I found knocked the air out of my lungs. She was pinned against a wall by what looked like a twisted metal locker.