The day was boring in the best possible way. Joe dug a boy scout standard latrine with lashed cross branches for a seat. He used the tops of the two small trees he dropped to make a privacy barrier. It wasn't perfect, but it would work. Mike managed to salvage some random tools and a small amount of wood and scrap metal. His eye skill was starting to pay off, and Joe was invested in getting him leveled up at some point soon. The kids were kept busy moving things and getting water. Joe risked a quick sprint back to the apartment to grab his pot and a few odds and ends. They needed clean water, and no one spotted Joe on his quick trip.

The only thing that wasn't entirely boring was the work taken on by Carl and Diana. The beginnings of a garden were laid out, and hopefully, everyone liked zucchini because that's the only seeds they'd found so far. Carl was finally using his skill, and the results were interesting. It did force the seed to sprout in a matter of seconds, but if it wasn't in very moist and rich dirt, it died quickly. Then there was the fact that Carl could use it a grand total of four times an hour without passing out from mana loss. Diana hadn't made headway on moving mana the way Carl could with his skill, but Joe hadn't expected it to be easy.

The group gathered for a late lunch/early dinner meal. It was another sad affair made better by Nik contributing about a pound of dried venison jerky from his pack. No one said anything about him holding out until that point. Everyone was happy to have meat, even if it was smoked and hard as a rock. The water was still warm, but it was safe and plentiful. Running back for the pot and some blankets had paid off.

Joe looked around and felt happy for the first time in a while. There were still many dark chains dragging at his heart, with his dreams from the night before still sticking in his head. Still, he was able to let them go for a time and just be part of the group. Joe enjoyed the moment as long as he could, but the sinking sun forced him into action. He stood up and grabbed everyone's attention. All eyes swiveled his way, with the fighters looking serious and the newcomers apprehensive. Joe didn't blame them.

"It's about time to go. We'll come in south of the townhouses and try to scope the rift from there. Any sign of the hounds or ambush, and we bolt. Any questions?"

"Why the teams of two?" Deena spoke up, and a few heads nodded with her. "Wouldn't it make more sense to have us all together and have more monsters to farm?"

"I'd considered that, but the bosses are weaker with only two people. If we're careful, it should be possible to get some people to level three or at least finish out their bonus attributes and level some skills."

No one argued with Joe. The allure of leveling up was potent. The only reason they were all free was that they had the strength to keep going. The berries were a very close second. The whole group pitched in to clean the area, and the people staying behind were barricaded upstairs. They had found a pair of bookcases that closed off both ends of the stairs almost perfectly. Joe didn't think it would keep the hounds out, but it would buy time. In the event of an attack, they were to all go to the roof. A single narrow window from the bathroom led to there, and it would hopefully keep everyone safe.

Joe led the way into the dusk, each of them staring west from time to time despite the setting sun. They made good time despite every team carrying a scavenged ax in addition to their usual weapons, and it wasn't long before Joe saw the empty townhomes standing in a row near the rift. He motioned the others up and asked if anyone could spot any guards. Nik didn't see any, and no one disputed him. Joe had the others hold their position while he slowly walked forward between the houses. He had the best chance to get away if there was an ambush.

No one was nearby. Joe made a loop around the houses, inspected the rift to the best of his ability, and didn't see anything suspicious. That didn't mean nothing had changed, however. The flimsy fence was gone, poles and all. Joe guessed that it had been used to reinforce their wall around downtown. He didn't blame them if they had seen the hounds around. Honestly, it made his life easier as they now had a straight shot between Diana's house and the rift. He went halfway back and waved everyone over.

Diana fished out a key on a string around her neck and let everyone inside the house. It was untouched, and she let out an audible sigh of relief. The townhouse was still furnished, and Joe's eyes were immediately drawn to the recliner in the living room. He stopped himself from trying to figure out how much strength he would need to jog it back to the house. He didn't stop from immediately sitting in it and making himself at home. It was a plain house, though the furniture seemed sturdy. The faint scent of lilac seemed to ghost through the air from time to time, and people moved around.

Carl and Mike gave their ax to Deena and then went to the roof to keep watch. Joe sat in the recliner until the last possible second, throwing a regretful look over his shoulder as he left. The other two teams headed out straight towards the rift. The ladies entered, and Joe counted to thirty before he and Nik ran inside. The world bent in half and then spat them out into the sunny meadow Joe knew so well. Nik didn't seem particularly disoriented, standing still and scanning the area. During the day, Joe had filled him in on the fact that everything here had poison or venom. The ladies were nowhere to be seen, so thirty seconds was enough to separate the groups.

Nik had agreed to let Joe run the first four challenges solo so he could see what they were and plan accordingly. Joe had been itching for this moment ever since his redneck glaive came into his life. It was time to see what his new baby could really do. He took off in a near sprint, sure Nik could keep up. A quick look over his shoulder assured him that was the case, and he stopped worrying about the other man. The way he held himself made Joe suspect he could handle himself in here even without help or crib notes.

The first meadow opened up, and two ugly dwarf gnolls howled in Joe's direction. Joe didn't pause and sprinted forward with a great overhead slash. The gnoll dropped in two ragged pieces, though the weight and resistance almost pulled the muscles in Joe's back. Worth it, he thought. The second one died quickly as well, and Joe moved forward. Nik would collect the loot for this run, and then Joe would return the favor on the next.

Joe killed off all four challenges in record time, though he was left panting at the end. A snake had almost gotten him on the last one. Those damn things were too fast for the massive glaive to hit them reliably. Fortunately, a heel stomp to the spine had slowed it down enough for Joe's weapon to do the job. Weirdly, Joe wished that he hadn't filled up his bonus Attributes. Doing the rift this way would probably be a great way to earn Strength or Alacrity. The two men retreated to the entrance area and talked for fifteen minutes before moving forward again.

Nik was up and moved forward at a slow and steady pace. Joe was holding his bow, and the hunter was approaching the first meadow with a large knife he'd brought. It was curved over the top and looked both awkward and terrifying. Joe thought Nik had called it a kukri knife, but he wasn't sure. No matter what it was called, Nik knew how to use it. Within thirty seconds, the gnolls were on the ground, and the hunter didn't have a scratch on him. Joe knew a lot of practice had gone into movements that smooth and confident. Boosted Attributes wouldn't provide skill.

The next three meadows met roughly the same fate, with Nik gliding through combat. Despite the slower pace, he looked tired at the end, and Joe noted that his Vigor was probably on the lower side. He didn't want to fight the man, but there was no point in growing complacent. Joe let him rest a minute and handed him back his bow once he looked ready to go. They approached the clearing, and that damn fox was pretending to nap again. It must be set to do that every time, but it pissed Joe off.

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"I'd appreciate you putting an arrow in it to start the fight. After that, I want to see what I can do now. We've got history."

"I'll step in if it looks bad. I doubt everyone would be thrilled with me if you died in here."

"Oh, by all means. Macho bullshit only extends so far. I am not too proud to have my life saved. Just ask Diana."

Nik didn't say anything else. He drew his bow in a clean motion and sighted for a moment. The instant that Joe heard the soft twang of the string, he was off towards the fox. It was already letting out its warbling wail due to the arrow lodged in its left flank. Joe shrugged off the effects and chopped down with every bit of his strength. The glaive was a thing of beauty as it cut off the monster's right arm with only minimal resistance.

Joe was stunned, and his balance was off. He'd expected far more resistance and had trouble recovering his stance from his massive swing. The fox had also been stunned from the sudden onslaught, but now it was doing a hopping charge with its too wide mouth open and ready to bite. Joe planted his feet and thrust the glaive straight at the beast. The fox tried to dodge to the side, but Joe was faster and managed to pin it right through the shoulder. He twisted and yanked the glaive free, and the other arm came off with a sickening crunch. Joe didn't waste any more time and beheaded the monster with a single strike.

The fox's ugly head rolled free for a moment before fire consumed it and the main body. Joe sat down for a moment and waved Nik over to join him. The older man was muttering as he took a seat near Joe.

"It's fuckin' unnatural to see these beasts ignite and drop coins behind."

Joe nodded while answering. "Yeah, but everything about the whole world is unnatural now. I just focus on moving forward. I'm sure someone will figure all this shit out someday. I'm pretty sure it won't be me. "

"Do these coins have any use?"

"Not right now," Joe replied while shrugging. "If and when we meet some other sentient races, they'll probably use them as currency. I figured if we could build a furnace, Mike could use the copper and iron to make things."

Joe stood up, and Nik joined him after a moment. Both men ignored the pillar and stretched lightly to warm up. They'd decided before the run to work together on this part. Nik would focus on the birds and snakes while Joe focused on the gnolls. Whoever killed their targets first would help the other. It wasn't a perfect plan, but it was simple. Complicated plans had a tendency to fail with catastrophic results if things didn't go well.

The next four meadows were pretty boring again. Joe had the stats to physically dominate the lower number of monsters in the two-man rift, and Nik was fast and skilled enough to down the birds and snakes without much difficulty. A snake almost managed to bite Joe on the last challenge. He wasn't worried about it, having experienced that poison before, and he'd managed to overcome it. Besides, Nik was briefed on the berries use if someone was poisoned. It would be OK. They retreated for fifteen minutes and reran the clearings.

This time there was a definite competition going on. Each man tried to kill their targets faster and move on to the other monsters. Joe ended up with a slight advantage due to his willingness to take risks. He had several healing and toughness skills to go with double-digit Vigor. Joe didn't want to be injured, but it didn't frighten him as much as it would before. He shook his head and thought of the crap he would catch from Diana if she could see him now.

Nik was actively panting when they finished the last meadow before the treant. Joe had pushed both of them forward with the goal of forcing some Attribute growth for Nik. They sat down for a moment, and the older man went rigid and scanned the air in front of him. His face broke into the first smile that Joe had seen from him. He gave the man a minute before handing him a berry.

"What was it? It's OK if you don't want to share, it's just been a tradition in our group."

"Strength," Nik said quietly after a moment. "Part of me was sure you were full of shit. This is a game-changer."

"Yeah, it is. Now eat the berry and focus on feeling the two kinds of mana and adjusting their movements. I doubt you'll get another bonus right away, but you can build towards it."

Joe sat down and worked on his own project while the other man meditated. First, he triggered Bite vocally and focused on the mana flow from his head and chest. Joe didn't know if that was standard or different for everyone. He made a mental note to talk to Diana about it later. After that, he focused on the feeling of the skill activating and mentally focused on the word 'Bite.' Joe wasn't surprised when nothing happened. He'd considered it unlikely to pick up the trick quickly, but he was sure it was possible. He kept his focus tight and tried over and over again. Joe focused on different aspects of the skill each time and continued with iron determination until he heard the other man stir next to him.

Joe stood up after a moment. They both walked forward until they could see the tree sitting in the middle of the clearing. Nik had his ax, and Joe still gripped his glaive. Joe wasn't sure how it would work, but he was sure it would be better than a knife. Both men moved forward with the plan they'd discussed earlier in the day. Joe would run to the far side and grab the tree's attention. Nik would move in, and they would take turns chopping off its legs until they could focus on the trunk. Joe had told him to stay clear of the mouth and tongue due to the ever-present poison.

The plan worked pretty well. The treant focused on Joe first, and he dodged back towards the pillar. The monster followed for a moment, and Nik managed to take out one of its legs in a single swing. The treant screeched and reversed course, giving Joe a perfect opportunity. He took it and severed another of the monster's limbs. The glaive powered into the dirt and stuck for a moment before Joe could free it. The monster's tongue lashed out, and Joe dodged back and to the right. He didn't try to dive with the giant weapon in his hand. Instead, he cleared as much space as possible while staying on his feet. Joe still took a burning swipe across his left arm, but it hadn't managed to wrap around the limb. He grabbed a berry and swallowed it whole while focusing on retreating without being trapped against the thorn wall.

Another limb fell, and the monster slowed to a near crawl as Nik backed away. It sat for a moment before continuing after Joe. Perhaps it saw him as the easier target since it had managed to hit him. Joe smiled grimly at the thought. This tree had no idea what Joe could do. The berry and his skills had already eradicated what felt to be half the poison in his wound, with more vanishing by the second. Joe waited for Nik to sever another root before he moved in again. The monster was swaying and starting to topple.

The tongue came out again as Joe was closing in, and he was ready for it. Joe accepted another swipe on his right arm and brought his glaive down right in front of the treant's face, severing the appendage. He ate another berry to be on the safe side and then started doing his best lumberjack impression. Once the roots were gone, Nik joined him, and after five minutes, the treant lay dead. Both men backed off before the fire came and inspected the loot afterward. The coin was the same, but it was a single acorn sitting on the grass this time. Joe pocketed it and sat down to process the two berries he'd eaten. He motioned for Nik to do the same with one since the man hadn't been injured.

Time passed quickly, and Joe managed to devote most of the mana to clearing his poison before letting it do its own thing. He still followed the flows, focusing on the natural state of the mana and trying to let that guide him towards silent activation. A grunt from Nik drew his eyes open, and he looked over in surprise. Nik looked back at him after a moment and then ground out a single word.

"Glamour."

"Nice," Joe said enthusiastically."Now the real question is will you wait for your last Attribute or go ahead and level up?"

Nik thought for a moment before replying. "I'll wait."

"Probably for the best. You can always check and see if new skills are available. I'm going to boost some of mine, and then there's something I want to try."

Joe left Nik sitting and strode to the pillar. He put his hand down and, after a moment, was unsurprised that there were no new skill unlocks. He hadn't expected them, but then again, he hadn't expected anything last time either. Joe saw that he had three essence levels from this run and chose to level up Minor Regeneration and Poison Resistance. The thrill of power entering his body as the essence drained away was less than a full level up, but it still felt good.

After Joe opened his eyes, he looked around the clearing. The open path forward called to him, but he ignored it and moved towards Nik.

"I think this will work, but I'd like you to keep an eye on me just in case."

Nik's eyebrows raised slightly, but other than that, he just nodded. Joe moved towards the meadow's edge with a small empty pouch in his left hand. He pushed his right arm into the hedge as carefully as possible, reaching for the red berries behind the row of protective thorns. The burn of multiple thorns piercing through Joe's skin was followed closely by the unmistakable sensation of poison working into his arm. This was going to suck.