Simmons looked up at the sky. That great beast, Levemoth, was there again. Simmons grunted to himself with displeasure. He had grown used to seeing the damned thing as of late. It seemed Logan had been right. The monster’s appearances have grown more frequent since the Dorves had given them toys.

This time the giant monster was further in the horizon, raining its black scourge on someone else.

Must be another settlement.

He should voice this notion to Mr. Specter. The boss would have most likely considered it, but it didn’t hurt to make sure. Simmons had become increasingly aware as of late that his former employer was far from infallible.

He laughed to himself. Old habits die hard.

Simmons was a free man, no longer aligned with Mr. Specter, after service of over fourteen years. Fourteen good years, for which Mr. Specter deserved nothing but gratitude. Many a time Simmons had sighed to himself and hoped another 14 years would have been in the cards. But it was never meant to be.

Simmons had been one of many who had made their way to the pond to take their chances with the younger Mr. Specter. Simmons had conflicted feelings about the boy.

Before coming to this world, Logan had been a brat beyond reason. But now… As if a cruel flick of fate had made his father the more unreasonable one, and the junior the one to follow. Simmons had always been a follower since his childhood, and as a competent and intelligent one, he had a nose for good leadership. As of now, Logan had a stronger scent to him.

But the boy had vanished like a hat in a crowd ever since his great announcement. Simmons and a dozen other people had come to settle by the pond. Taking one last glance at the bellowing beast in the sky, Simmons looked behind him.

They were a sorry bunch. It had been a hard choice to leave back all the technology the Dorves had given them. But intuitively Simmons knew it was for the best. Life rarely offered shortcuts, and that’s how he liked it.

He was a level 9 [Forester]. That felt good. Simmons loved the fresh feeling of leveling up. He also loved the results of his labor. He was so strong. Simmons had been of large and powerful build ever since childhood, but he was brutishly strong now. It only took but a few swings of an axe to fell a tree now. Recently the axes had a hard time keeping up. Simmons needed Logan and his magicks.

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“Perkins, Sarah, Balmer,” Simmons called out. “Help me with this.”

Two of his fellow agents and a blonde woman of fierce disposition were helping him set up a wooden stake wall as a perimeter. It had fallen to Simmons to lead here, which was stressful. Leadership was a game of decisions and responsibility. Simmons preferred the simple things in life, such as leveling up. He was sure his [Lumberjack] sub-class would soon level to 37.

The leveling had started to slow down significantly, but that just made Simmons want to work harder. It was just the kind of person he was.

They heaved, and while Simmons did most of the lifting, it was good to have the other three hold the stakes up. His helpers were panting with sweat in the heat, but the shirtless and powerful Simmons was ready for another one. His attributes of 41 Strength and 44 Endurance made him a superhuman workhorse. At this point daily labor simply did not make him tired.

Now I just need a worthy leader to follow.

Simmons told the three to take a break and drink water. Then he went back to carrying the heavy wooden stakes closer to the wall. He wondered if Logan was alive. It was not yet time to worry. Not only had the boy come and gone several times since they got to this world, Simmons had seen the Specter junior vanish and come up half a hundred times on Earth.

A leader needs to be responsible.

Logan was young and he had other good qualities. Simmons trusted his instinct. Surely there was a better leader for this situation out there, but right now it was a choice between Malcolm and Logan Specter. Logan Specter was the clear uncontested choice. Simmons would not get into the habit of second guessing himself.

He looked at two young women sitting huddled up against his wall a few yards yonder. The other one was crying and the other was consoling the first, about to burst in emotion herself. Simmons sighed.

He knew he was supposed to go there, make them feel better and then get them back to work. They really needed all pairs of hands right now. But Simmons didn’t have the words for it. He was a man secure in himself. In fact, his confidence in himself was supreme. Pit any man against him, and watch him fail.

But to untangle someone’s emotional state and make them productive? Simmons might as well spontaneously learn chinese. No. Simmons just wanted to fell trees.

It wasn’t all that actually. His second subclass, [Arborist], was lagging behind. It was only at level 5. Simmons had an idea of how the subclass worked. It was about taking care of trees. It had spontaneously leveled up, when Simmons had decided to cut trees around a specific tree to let it grow.

Right now we are not in a situation where we need my second class.

They needed resources. Simmons had a subclass perfectly suited for that. He would worry about [Arborist] later. However, he yearned to level up more. It was the most satisfying thing about this new life.

If only Logan came back and took up leadership. Then I could get back to chopping wood.

Simmons sighed. Reluctantly he made his way towards the two sitting girls. He rubbed the back of his head, trying to think of something to say.