"This is the apocalypse. Not zombies, nuclear fallout, or fucking global warming. You heard the announcements and saw the screens. These are aliens, and this is a game to them. And what are games if not ways for children to break their toys? It won't be quick. Or painless. No, they'll dangle our freedom like beef jerky and watch us rip each other to pieces for a bite."

I gestured to Mei for her to show them. She took out a small primer with a clear image on the cover.

"This is one way they'll give us hope."

Mei passed the book around while I cleaned my fingernails. Alice didn't say anything, allowing Aaron to speak her confusion.

"It's blank."

Lucas grabbed the book and confirmed that it was blank before tossing it to Nadim.

"Unless it tells us how to kill them, it's more useless than blank paper."

"Check the item's name."

They couldn't be blamed. The notion of using the system remained a foreign concept, and I'd asked Mei to keep mum so I could make that point. Nadim read the description out loud.

"Spellbook: Potato? This is a spellbook... for potatoes?"

Nadim's eyes lit up like a kid in a candy store.

"A Spell? Like a Magus? Or maybe a ninja."

The others passed it around, confirming that it was indeed a spellbook. They threw out theories on their own about how to use the item. It made me acknowledge they weren't entirely empty-headed.

"Is it invisible ink?"

"Maybe we need a magic-looking glass to read it."

"Trying to read it through the system gives an error message."

"It says I don't have the right class."

I smiled for once. They didn't like that.

"The book means for us to become mages. Or wizards, or sorcerers, or whatever the aliens call magic users."

I carefully stretched my back. The stinging pain was ever-present. With my [Clear Mind] trait, I could formulate a plan, and even speak with verbiage.

"This is a game. They intend to make us into their little figurines on their three-dimensional chessboard. Fuckers think we're playthings, asking us to sell our souls, having us fight to the death... make them laugh."

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I threw a stiff middle finger to the ceiling.

"You want a show. Well, I'll give you a fucking show."

Bringing my attention downward, I had the decency to look each of them in the eyes.

"Listen to me. I don't know you people. I don't like you, and I'm pretty sure you'd be dead without me."

"You-"

"Sit down you overgrown shit."

When Lucas postured like a child on the playground, I got in his face and made him sit the fuck back down. I bet he was thinking up a dozen ways to chop me in half, but he didn't have the balls.

"We get points for killing. I got points for killing Remmy, too."

Oho~ He didn't like that. Not at all.

"These points might as well be experience points. Maybe we don't have enough even after that rainbow sludge fucked-off, or maybe there is a place we need to be to 'level up'. Only in a safe zone can a player buy items and spend their points. And I know where that is."

Jutting a thumb in my chest. I asserted myself. They all looked at me like they hated me, to varying degrees. Nadim seemed only slightly troubled while Lucas looked like he needed to shit. I was pretty sure Zoey's face was stuck in an eternal sneer anyway.

Mei was the only one who dared to speak, and she did so in calmness, bringing me back to a seated position. I admired her for that.

"Zeke already told me all this, although with a little less oomph. In game logic, safe zones are guarded by bosses, and bosses can only be found where enemies gather."

Aaron came in with a valid question.

"And how do we know this for sure?"

"I interrogated a dwarf. Several of them."

"Course he did. Fucking lunatic, eh?"

"What we should focus on, Zoey, is that we have to go to where the enemies are. Either this fort-looking place or the Scout Station. The other locations may or may not have a boss. Since attacking a fort seems stupid, we should head for the Scout Station as soon as possible."

"What about Asteria and the girl eaten by the blue dinosaur? Should we not wait for them?"

"We can't wait."

"You just don't want to get rejected again."

My nose scrunched up at the thought. Yeah. I really didn't want to see her anytime soon. Though, I wouldn't give Zoey the satisfaction of agreeing with her.

"They went in the opposite direction and by the time they get back, if at all, we'll be attacked a dozen more times and bled dry. The sooner we go, the better our chances are of chopping the heads off whatever snakes we run into."

"Why would you even help us, eh? There's no reason you can't run there yourself and get yourself killed. Better for us too."

I didn't bother answering and went back to cleaning my nails.

Despite Zoey's aversion to killing, we thought a lot alike. Having someone to soak up the damage was beneficial. Meatshields were useful. Meatshields that charged on their own were more useful.

Mei took over the role of convincing them. I said what needed to be said and ensured my place in the group—The distasteful alpha who lets his omega run things.

"While I don't entirely agree with Zeke, he makes sense. We'll leave behind some messages for Asteria and Valorie, along with some signs..."

I'll be erasing those.

"...pointing to where we went. Hopefully, they'll catch up before we fight this boss."

Not a chance.

"Still, this is a watering hole not just for us, but probably for the dwarves and monsters. I'd rather not stay in a hotspot, would you?"

Wielding only the crude shank I was allowed, I stood to my feet. Stepping over my rock bench, I strolled over to the far entrance where I could already see a few dwarven spear shafts peeking around the corner.

They could continue to bicker all they wanted.

Those points were mine.