“You’re helping me because... you love humans?”

“Yes. Lots of love.”

Alissa stared at him blankly before she laughed, seemingly despite herself, her red locks bouncing with the motion. It was a hoarse, tired sound, but a genuine laugh nonetheless.

It took her a second to calm down, and another to regain her bearings.

“Now that’s something.” She sighed and swept away a tendril of hair from her eyes. “Okay, Mr. Rek that loves humans.” She grunted as she rose to her feet. “Do you mind answering some questions then? In the spirit of love, of course.”

“I love questions.”

“You love a lot of things.”

He nodded cheekily.

Her smile grew a bit before reality reminded her of the circumstances and it all slipped from her face. She sucked in a breath. “What are you?”

“Goblin.”

She blinked. “Like, from mythology? Lord of the Rings? That kind of goblin?”

“Don't know about rings. I come from a different land.”

“Land?”

“World.”

There was a hoarse sound of disbelief. “You’re an... alien goblin?”

“Hard to believe?”

“Er, kind of. What brought you here?”

“The System.”

She frowned. “Right. The screens mentioned something about a System, and an Induction. This System is responsible for it?”

“Yes.”

“Who runs The System?”

“The System.”

“What?”

“The System runs The System. Has since the start of all days.” He stopped and shrugged. “Or that’s the story. I don’t know. I’m only five years old.”

She gave him a long look at that revelation. “Well, you’re the greenest, meanest, most vicious five-year-old I’ve ever seen.”

Rek bared all his teeth in a wide grin. That was perhaps the nicest compliment he could’ve expected from her. He accepted it gratefully.

“What’s your goal here?”

“Invaders goal? Kill locals and settle land. Colonize. Glory. Fame.”

“Doesn’t sound a lot like human love.” remarked Alissa dryly.

He shook his head. “That’s invader goal. I am... different. My goal is to help.”

“Why? And not just because you love humans. There has to be a reason. A reason for all of this. Why was Earth chosen for this Induction? Why was the school turned into a fucking dungeon, of all things? Why is any of this happening?”

He blinked. Those were a lot of questions. Heavy questions too. Questions that he couldn’t answer. It was all that Rek could do to sigh and gesture that he didn’t know. “I am a tool. Small tool in big machine. Don’t know why Earth was chosen. Don’t know why school was chosen. Just happens. Lots of worlds are chosen. My world was chosen, centuries ago. Same thing happened there. Same thing will happen in others worlds too. That is The System.”

Alissa opened her mouth, a defiant tirade on the edge of her lips, only to be silenced by Rek’s raised palm.

“Questions good. But wrong questions. All these ‘why’s’ won’t help you. Only question that matters now is ‘how’. How to survive. How to make use of me to survive. Ask that question. That, I can answer.”

The woman swallowed. Her brow furrowed and she gave him a good, long look. Rek didn’t doubt that there was a mighty internal debate raging amongst her thoughts. He didn’t know what the sides were, but one eventually won judging by the way Alissa’s shoulders slackened. The redhead sucked in a deep breath before she addressed him again.

“I don’t know what your angle is. I don’t fully trust your whole ‘I love humans so I’m helping you’ deal. But, you did save my life. And you didn’t kill or eat me while I was unconscious. So... I trust... that you’re going the same direction as I am, so I’m willing to work with you.”

Rek grinned and strode towards her. The woman did not flinch away to her credit. She met his approach evenly, and stared him down even as he raised his palm towards her. “You don’t look tasty. Allies?”

It took her a second, but she eventually met his hand. They shook.

“I’m plenty tasty.” she said softly before she gave him a small smile. “Allies.”

He matched her tooth for tooth. His first human friend after returning. It was a milestone he would savour more deeply than the woman would ever know.

“Alright. We’re official allies now, right? That means we need to share information, don’t we?” she asked.

“Yes. Class and spells. Very important. I’ll start. Shaman. Three spells. Dancing Lights. Earth Bolt. Sense Spirits.”

Rek even provided a performance of each of his spells, save for Sense Spirits which had no visible effect he could show off. The woman seemed impressed, especially by his Earth Bolt. It was a lot of trust to place in her hands. A lot of damage could be done by someone knowing the full extent of his powers, but Rek was confident in his judge of character.

Besides, he’d gain more spells as he levelled so her knowing his starting kit was hardly crippling. And... worst comes to worst, if she betrayed him...

Well, he knew how that fight would turn out, and he would pray that her spirit find peace afterward. He hoped it wouldn’t come to that. Not with a human friend, at least.

“Your turn.” he said, gesturing her way.

The woman nodded. “Right. My class is Counsellor. Er, I have three... spells? Powers? I don’t know what they’d be categorized as. They’re all kind of... weird. The first is called Mood Sense. It basically does what it says on the tin. Like, I can tell that you’re pretty happy right now. The good kind of happy. Not murder-happy, like those other things were.”

Rek raised a brow. Interesting. It explained why she’d be more willing to be diplomatic with him if she could sense some part of his intention.

The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

“The next one is called Mood Adjustment. It, er, makes me... manipulative when I use it.”

“Manipulative?”

“Yeah. It basically lets me change someone’s mood. Like, if I wanted to make you sad or angry right now, I would say some stuff, and then the power would make you feel like how I want you to feel.”

Emotional manipulation? Colour him even more interested.

“Try. Make me angry.”

“Really?” Alissa seemed hesitant. Rek urged her on. No better way to understand her capabilities than to experience it first-hand. Though it was a good sign that she was unwilling to so easily use it on him. It spoke well of her character, even more so than her granted class did.

She eventually relented and stepped closer towards him. Her gaze affixed onto his, and Rek mildly felt her mana start to stir.

“You’re short! You’re fat. Your nose is too big! You’re too green! What are you, a monster or a MnM? Your mother is a radish and your father is an elderberry! You smell!”

The tirade was quick, and clumsy, and all so very adorable.

And yet, effective despite itself. Not the words she spoke. None of it was anything that would usually earn anything more than a chuckle from Rek, or a punishment if a subordinate dared to speak to him so freely. But from her? He could feel his anger start to bubble inside, cold at first but increasingly caustic.

Hot. He clenched and unclenched his fists. His expression kept even, Rek flushed his body with his own mana, combating and overpowering her influence with his own. It wasn’t as effective as having a proper mental defence, but it did the trick of easing away the anger.

Eventually, he realized that Alissa had stopped speaking and was just staring at him with unease. He swallowed back the last of his artificial anger and flashed her a smile.

She blinked, surprised. “It didn’t work?”

“No. It worked. I am just good at control.”

She seemed stunned by the admission. “Wow. I used that power on myself, you know. To help keep up my mood through... all this. So, I know how effective it is.” The woman paused, as if seeing him in a new light. “You should work as a teacher with a temperament like that.”

He laughed. “Maybe when no monsters are trying to kill us. Third power?”

“Right. The third one’s called Understanding. It lets me make a connection with whoever I use it on. Like, I can understand a little something about them. Maybe their motives. Their feelings? I haven’t used it all that much so... yeah.”

“Okay. Use it on me.”

There was no hesitation this time around. Alissa gave him a nod of acknowledgement, and then it was all action. He felt her power bubble up and then connect with him. It was more subtle compared to the Mood Adjustment. More creeping, than barging its way through.

The power prodded at his mind, seeking gaps as it tried to worm its way through. He could feel what it was doing. Looking at the woman, he could already feel a link come into being between them. Nothing so concrete as outright trust, or a definite bond. But a rapport. A foundation, through which more could be built.

Looking at her, Rek felt that she got significantly more from their connection.

“You really do like us, huh.” she said after a while.

“Yep. Love humans.”

“You sure do.”

“What else does it say?”

“Not a lot. It just tells me that you mean well. That’s it.” He hmm’d. A flush of mana severed the connection, and then the two were just stood quietly facing each other, a new light shed over their strange, unexpected acquaintanceship.

“You work as a counsellor here?” he asked after a while.

Alissa nodded before she reached into her jacket, pulling out a lanyard with her name, post and photo printed in neat lettering. “I’m the assistant school counsellor, though everyone usually just calls me the counsellor.” she said, gesturing at her title printed in bold. “Or, I guess I did, before all this happened. Is that why my class is also Counsellor? Kinda annoying that I wasn’t given a choice by the way. It just gave me a class, which is weird, if you think about it. I’ve played a few games and I’ve heard of stuff like warrior and archer, or shaman! Like you! But counsellor? Not really what you’d think of when you think of a class. Also, it’s weird that they’re called classes. I even have an actual character sheet. Why is it all so gamey?”

“Because System. It knows you well, so it chooses. Class is not your job. Class is... passion. Class is...”

“What you want to be?” she filled in.

Rek nodded. “More. It is what you are. What you love. System knows, so it gives.”

“So, there’s no chance of me getting a mage class instead, then?”

He chuckled and shook his head. “No. Is fine. Mages are overrated.”

“Says the shaman.”

Her harrumphed at the comparison. “Better than a mage. We listen. Stupid, arrogant mages never listen. Why they die so often.”

The woman said nothing at that, though her smile spoke of her amusement. Rek matched her cheek for cheek. He liked her smile. He thought that he’d like to see her wear it more often. It reminded him of... his smile fell at the thought of her. Better not to delve into those waters yet. Survive the dungeon first. Everything else could come after.

“So, what now? You know my class. I know yours. What’s next?”

“Next? I teach you everything else. Everything about the System. Then, we train.”

“Train?”

“Mmh. Need to level up. Very important.”

“Right. The game thing. We do that by killing monsters?”

“Many ways. Depends on class. Can level up by killing monsters. Can also do class things. Me? I need to pray. Conduct rituals. Do things shamans do. You? Do counsellor things. Counsel emotions. Hunters need to hunt. Dancers dance. Crafters craft. More efficient to do class things. Level up more quickly.”

“Oh. So, I can just sit here and talk to you about emotions and level up.”

“Yes. But also kill monsters.”

“But that’s not a class thing for me. Counsellors counsel, and all that.”

“Yes, but do non-class things enough and System will start changing your class to be more efficient in that.” Rek raised his palms and intertwined his fingers. “Join combat with your class. Do counselling and fighting together. Very important thing. Level thirty is your first class evolution. You want a more combat-focused evolution. Safer in an Induction.”

“There’s evolutions now?”

“Yes. Keep in mind.”

“Damn. Okay. You know, that kinda sounded like something my little brother would tell me whenever I used to ask him for game tips.” She paused at that, her gaze going distant. Seeing but not really seeing. Rek didn’t need to be a Counsellor to tell what she was thinking of in that moment. Or who. It only lasted a second before she refocused herself. Clearly, she understood the dangers of lingering on pains you couldn’t control in a situation like theirs.

Sucking in a breath, the woman continued. “So, I learn more stuff and we train, right? Feels like I’m getting a lot out of this. Er, do you want something from me?”

“Mhm. Earth knowledge. No questions now, but you will teach me when I need it. Also, be my envoy to other humans. Tell them that I won’t eat them.”

“Right. I can do that. ‘Don’t worry folks. This is Rek. He looks small and scary, but he won’t eat you.’ Like that?”

He smiled. “Like that.”

“Sweet. Um, speaking of other humans, what exactly do you plan to do when you meet them? The students and faculty, I mean.”

“Do?”

“Yeah. Will you help them, like you helped me? I mean, I haven’t exactly explored a lot. Just hid for a few hours until those things found me. But the school had a few thousand students and several dozen teachers and I didn’t see any on the way here. They... they couldn’t all be dead, right?”

He shook his head. “School is bigger now. Much bigger. Space distorted. Most are still alive, probably, but are spread far apart. We’ll find some eventually.”

“Okay. Um. Can we help those we find? It doesn’t need to be much. Just... just keep them safe. Please. The students, if not the teachers. They’re just kids and with your knowledge, they’d have a real fighting chance. And also, there’s that whole thing about power in numbers, right?”

He didn’t disagree with the sentiment. Building up his own group was a part of the plan, eventually. Saving students would make for a good foundation for that, and it’d certainly help his future human relations if he put in the work to earn a reputation as a saviour.

Still, he didn’t want her to think that he was some hero in spandex willing to throw away everything to the benefit of the next random stranger. An Induction was a cold place, and she would need to adapt. He made that apparent in his expression. “Plan to try, but only try.” he said with a frown. “New world isn’t a kind place. We’re alone here. No one will come to our aid if we get in trouble. Can’t help anyone if I’m dead. I’ll try if possible.”

The woman seemed troubled by that, but she seemed like the practical sort, even if there was a little bleeding heart in her. She accepted his reasoning with a small smile and a quiet thank you. “That’s fine. It's at least something, you know.”

“Something.” he agreed.

Alissa perked up a little after that. Her silvery gaze glistened with some emotion as she flashed him a bright smile. “I’m glad I met you, Rek. You’re a good... uh, ally. Alissa and Rek, partners in the apocalypse.”

"Yeah, good allies. Rek and Alissa.”

She snorted and rolled her eyes.

He grinned. Something told him that this would be the start of a long and fruitful friendship.