[Countdown: Day 9 of Day 365 before species culling. Only the worthy survive.]

[Current rank: 3 out of 6,007,582,599.]

[You are currently in the 1%.]

Logan woke up to the regular System Ding! and opened his eyes, then promptly jerked back with a startled shout. Two large black eyes were an inch away from his face!

“Fuck’s sake, Ernie!”

Ernie was resting on top of his chest, his tentacles clinging to Logan’s armour while he peered at him with eager eyes.

Logan blew out a breath. “What are you doing? Are you trying to scare me to death?” At least Ernie wasn’t in danger of turning Logan into a minion, since he’d shared that just touching Logan wouldn’t do anything. He had to have intent. Plus, Logan suspected that he couldn’t do it even if he wanted to.

Not to a bonded companion.

“Ernie is trying to solve a puzzle!” Ernie blinked and then clambered off Logan and onto the pile of blankets Logan had left for him next to his campsite. Logan had arranged it into a nest, like a dog bed for an octopus.

He couldn’t help but compare Ernie to his ex-girlfriend’s cat. Each night Logan had stayed over, he’d woken up with the thing sleeping on his head. Logan had thought it was a murderous cat, but his girlfriend had just seemed amused, saying that it liked to ‘cuddle.’

After calling it a night yesterday, Ernie had refused to go back to the lake as if losing sight of Logan would mean they’d be parted again. Larry, the Undead Sturgeon, had stayed just beyond the shore throughout the night, his head bobbing up and down in the water as he strained to watch Ernie. The flash of those saucer plate eyes in the dark had been thoroughly disconcerting.

“Fleshy-human Logan is almost E Grade… Level 95! And yet his presence doesn’t match his level.”

“What do you mean?” Logan ran a hand over his stubble. It had turned into a short, scraggly beard. Rubbing his eyes, he squinted through the smoke. Thankfully, the wildfire situation wasn’t worse than when he left—the area had the same layer of smoke, but there wasn’t that burning, nasty taste in his mouth that heralded the signs of close burning. Hopefully, that meant Hope’s End was still intact.

Ernie poked his side with a tentacle.

“Your aura is very juicy, very intimidating! Ernie encountered nasty critters in the ocean that were close to your level, and yet the rabid humpback whales didn’t radiate…” Ernie twitched, and his eyes glazed over. “You feel like you could slaughter a giant squid,” he whispered in awe.

“The aliens in the attribute trial called me a stealth player. My attributes are higher than my level should support. I suspect that when I meet someone who’s the same level, I’ll… well, they called it a ‘stealth player’ for a reason.” Logan cracked his neck and rolled his shoulders. “That’ll help with leveling. Slaughtering, you know, all that shit you love.”

Logan scratched his head and then winced when he realized that his hair was standing on end. Come to think of it, he needed to clean up. He resembled a crazy mountain man rather than an uncle. He didn’t want to scare his nieces.

Thinking about Lara gave him an anxious feeling in the pit of his stomach. As soon as he’d clambered onshore, he’d willed out his cellphone, but the battery had been dead. He had to hope that they were on the same schedule and that nothing had happened. That meant he had three days before he needed to meet them.

Plenty of time.

After they’d clambered out of the water yesterday, Ernie had told him the whole story. By turning a horrible situation around, he’d managed to gain a power that gave him unlimited minions. But it was a long game. Since the queen serpent was so powerful, Ernie had been trying to assemble an army to have a chance against her. Now that Logan was back, he wouldn’t have to wait that long.

But the problem was Logan’s locked skills. Although they might be able to defeat the queen with Ernie’s minions and Logan’s attribute increases, Logan had learned his lesson in the fight with the Silverdagger Clan. Attributes were one thing.

An overpowered skill was another.

To feel confident, he needed access to [Liche Devourer] and [Life Fabricator]. That meant grinding out levels until he obtained a higher Karma pool and Karma regeneration rate. All in all, it was a good strategy, since he’d need higher Karma for the Save Humanity Quest.

And he knew just the place to do it.

But first, he needed to do an inventory. Logan hadn’t wanted to stick around in the trial viewing arena, which meant he’d yet to review his loot. A smidgen of discomfort rushed through him at the thought of the bodies inside his spatial collar. If he left them there, would they be in statis forever? Or would they gradually rot like a piece of meat? Logan had to believe that it was the wizard-shit all over again—not just a storage space, but a place that kept things stagnant.

The nice thing about his spatial collar was that he could rummage through items and latch onto something. Instead of having to remove corpses, he could remove everything around them.

With a blink, Logan took out the armour, weapons, and jewelry. Thorin’s massive sword plopped onto his blankets with a thud, Arsen’s two daggers clanged on top. Next was Errol’s whip, curled up like a massive cable.

Lastly, Asthea’s crossbow.

And four bracelets. Holy crap, he’d forgotten about the spatial storage bracelets! One after another, Logan scanned them.

[Spatial storage bracelet. E Grade.]

[Spatial storage bracelet. D Grade.]

[Spatial storage bracelet. C Grade.]

[Spatial storage bracelet. B Grade.]

Excitement surging, Logan picked up the first one and—

Ding!

[Would you like to process a spatial storage transfer?]

[Yes.]

[No.]

That was a thing you could do? Huh. Logan mentally confirmed his acceptance and then picked up each bracelet, selecting ‘yes’ each time. His heart racing in excitement, he rummaged through the items.

Wow. Logan knew his S Grade spatial collar was overpowered, but he hadn’t realized how small the others had to be in comparison. Errol’s E Grade bracelet held… a hair tie, silver filaments, and fingerless gloves. That was it! On the other hand, his whip was immense, so the man would have needed to free up space.

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The D Grade bracelet held sheathes for the two daggers, waterproof waders, a smattering of bandages and a… leg. It was one of those roasted animals the Silverdagger Clan had gone nuts over. Arsen had been holding a snack.

As for Thorin, his bracelet held a whole gallon of nonaonalic juice, the sides frothing with fuzzing brew, a blanket, hair ties and hair filaments, as well as an extra pair of…

Ugh.

Underwear.

But Asthea’s B Grade spatial bracelet held the most. Three roasted animals, five jugs of nonaonalic juice, a spare set of armour, a crazy amount of hair accessories, and small bottles of blue face paint. But that wasn’t all.

Bombs.

She hadn’t used them all in the tactician trial. They were the size of a hand grenade on steroids, with black, slick looking metal, with auras off the charts.

Damn. Those might come in handy in the future.

Ernie made an excited sound and nudged the weapons on top of the blanket. “Loot! Loot! Look at the loot! Such shiny things.”

Logan scanned the weapons with [Idiot’s Inspect].

[Silverdagger Broadsword. C Grade. Built for a warrior class, this broadsword can cut through metal and armour.]

[Silverdagger Daggers. B Grade. Crafted by Helga the Mighty. Works best as a set as their power diminishes when separated.]

[Silverdagger Crossbow. A Grade. Your aim will always be true.]

[Silverdagger Bullwhip. C Grade. Made from nonzilcick metal. Flexible but strong. Built for a warrior class.]

As for the Silverdagger armour, although it looked sleek, Logan knew it wasn’t that strong. The cannon balls had torn through Thorin and Errol in the agility trial, and the tiger guard dogs had slashed through Asthea in the endurance trial. Still, they were better than nothing. Nothing compared to his Logan-exoskeleton, but Lara might get some use out of it, and Jack just might be able to fit Arsen’s.

On top of that, Lara might get a kick out of Asthea’s fur-lined cloak. She could walk around with a crossbow and a kickass outfit, looking like… well, Asthea. Logan shifted, a prickling sensation that he suspected was guilt making him turn his mind away from thoughts of Asthea like turning off a switch. He had to. He suspected that if he took the time to think about what he’d done, he’d spiral, questioning his every action.

He needed to be ruthless.

And that meant no regrets.

As far as weapons for Logan… he wasn’t sure.

The Cursed Rope had gone rabid when it attacked Asthea, but it had done it for a reason. To help Logan grow strong. In the fight with the blobs, it had obeyed his orders. He was hoping that he could train it… like a vicious dog that needed a disciplined, steady hand. It was too valuable not to use otherwise.

On the other hand, he might not want such an overpowered weapon in all situations. But like hell did he know how to use a dagger, and in fact, he’d much rather use his talons. After all, he could do whatever he wanted with his talons—make them short like knifes, or longer than Arsen’s daggers. And not just that, but once he got access to better material, he could make them more lethal.

The sword was another option, but again, Logan walking around with a sword double the size of his baseball bat was comical. A sword just wasn’t… him.

Errol’s whip was a possibility, but he wasn’t excited about it.

As for the crossbow, that was going to Lara. Lara was already a great crossbow shooter, and with a weapon that allowed her to never miss…? That would help her get into the one percent.

Decision made, Logan willed the loot back inside his spatial collar, and then stared at the two items on the ground that he’d avoided examining until now.

Rings.

[Doppelganger Skill Ring. C Grade. Harvested from a nonalson lizard and crafted with the utmost care. This skill ring will generate a maximum of five user copies.]

[Strength Ring of Pure Grit. B Grade. When worn, this ring will grant the wielder double strength. The Strength Ring of Pure Grit is part of an attribute set. Upon ownership of all five rings, the rings will dissolve into your skin and become part of your body. Thereafter, the doubling power will turn into tripling power.]

Just looking at Thorin’s skill ring gave him the creeps. That was the remains of a sentient animal. It would be the equivalent of taking a shard of bone from a human and crafting it inside jewelry. Evil shit. Worst of all, it had an aura to match. An aura that was enticing, luring him forward. It was as if the ring were alive.

“What’s that?” Ernie asked.

Logan frowned. Ernie deserved to know, but if he did, he’d want to drop everything and rescue his brethren. Right now, Logan had no idea what they were up against. These ‘Sky People’ could be level 1000 for all they knew.

But it was a priority.

After he found Lara and the kids and got them to safety, there was nothing stopping him from searching for these fuckers at the same time as tackling his Save Humanity Quest.

“It’s nothing good.” Logan willed the ring back into his spatial collar and then stared at the other ring, hesitating. So, the fuckers had a Strength True Grit Ring after all. He would eat his missing toe if the System let him use it, though. Not after he’d already obtained the set.

Holding his breath, Logan picked it up and then slotted it on his index finger of his other hand.

One second.

Two.

Three.

Nothing. His muscles didn’t bulge; he was the same as before. It might as well be a dud.

Sagging in disappointment, Logan removed the ring and willed it back inside his spatial collar before straightening and pinning Ernie with a look. He had one more thing to take care of before they continued. “Back up for a minute, will you? I’m going to take out the Cursed Rope. It’s been misbehaving lately, and I don’t want you to get hurt.”

Ernie’s colors fluctuated, turning pale like a dead fish, before mirroring the green blanket underneath him. “The flying rope? Pah!”

“I mean it. It’s… well, it’s not the same.”

“Oh, the tables have turned, yes? Before, it was I who could squash you like a bug!” Scooting, he backed up five feet. “Levels levels levels. I need more levels. I don’t like this feeling! Not at all!”

Logan rolled his eyes. “You have fifty minions. Don’t worry about your level.”

Furrowing his eyebrows and scrunching his nose, Logan willed out the Cursed Rope. It was in its inert form—still a brown, frayed rope. But as soon as Logan flexed his wrist, it inflated like a helium balloon, swelling to six feet in length, the width the size of a sewage pipe. Glee glee glee. Too much put away, too much put away.

Ernie made a sound of awe. “The rope grew!”

Crackling with blue electrical currents, it tried to fly away, but Logan kept a firm grip on its tail. You were a very bad rope last time. A bad, bad rope. How do I know you’ll behave? There was a reason I put you away.

It sent a feeling of annoyance Logan’s way. The user needed to get strong, the user needed to get strong.

Maybe I did, but I’ll be the judge of that. If you’re going to attack my friends, then you can’t come out to play. You’ll be put away.

Logan hardened his mental voice into a whip. Forever.

Uncertainty came from the rope. I can obey, I can be good.

If you’re good, that means you attack only who I say you should. Leave Ernie alone. My friends and family are off limits.

Too many rules, too many rules.

Logan ground his teeth and seriously considered starting a campfire and throwing the thing on it to fry. In fact…

Logan pictured the fire as if he were deploying [Life Cycle Master]. It was all down to visualization. In his mind, Logan walked towards a bonfire that was so bright it towered over him. Heat, flames.

In the scene, the Cursed Rope was inside his spatial collar, dormant. When Logan removed it from his collar, he didn’t give it a second to inflate or to communicate. For Logan willed the collar to deposit the rope inside of the bonfire.

In the scene, the Cursed Rope shrieked and made a sound like a dying animal. But in its inert form, it was a pile of dry fibres. Kindling.

Fuel for a fire.

Back in the real world, alarm and panic came from the rope. I can obey, I can obey! I can be good!

Logan snorted. Somehow, he wasn’t holding his breath. But it didn’t matter, since right now, he needed the rope for one thing only: killing the hell out of some shit.

With a blink, he willed the camping supplies back into his spatial collar. “Let’s go.” Reforming his talons, he walked towards the lake. The Cursed Rope crackled in the air and followed.

“Logan?” asked Ernie. With a flying leap, he latched onto Logan’s back and clung to his armour with his suction cups. “Where are we going?”

“We’re going to level up. I need to unlock my skills so I can save Lara and the kids.”

Logan walked into the lake, the water rising chest deep. With an excited bob of his head, Larry the Undead Sturgeon swam closer with eager eyes, his ratty tailfin swinging from side to side.

“But level up where?”

“The snake swarm deserves a… what do you call it, Ernie? A plethora of blood and guts, a hailstorm of pain?”

Ernie’s voice was full of held back emotion. Excited, but tense. As if it were too good to be true. “Slaughtering?” he whispered, quivering.

“That’s right. We’re going to slaughter them into extinction.”

“Are we going by boat?”

Logan shook his head. “Nope. Hold on, will you?” Logan dipped into the water and activated [Deepwater Explorer]. His insides were vibrating, and his talons were twitching. Next to him, the Cursed Rope darted over to him and looped around his arm like a snake around a branch.

This was the tricky part. It was only theory; he had no idea if it would work, but he was holding back too much violence for it to not work.

Underneath his facemask, Logan smiled.