I crouched behind the burned-out remains of a truck, looking towards the town. It was the first sign that some bad shit had gone down but not the only one. Number two of the poo parade was the roaming groups of armed Sulid and other humanoids I could see. A once thriving community of nearly fourteen thousand people reduced to roaming mobs of monsters and other things. They say trouble comes in threes and the third would be the numerous sounds of gunfire in the distance.

"Well this is just wonderful," I sighed.

"Paul, what are you doing?"

I nearly leaped out of my shoes and I definitely didn't scream like a little girl when the unknown person managed to sneak up behind me unnoticed. I turned around to see someone I was not expecting to see again. Standing there without a care in the world was the green-skinned merchant extraordinaire.

"Frathsar? What... How...? I saw your corpse," I said in surprise.

"Apologies friend Paul, you weren't meant to see that scene. I was forced to abandon my cart and use an illusion scroll to escape the Sulid war party, knowing my shield would not outlast them. I had to keep far off the road. Turns out your people shoot first and ask questions later as well. Then I spotted you heading into town. How did you make it past the war party I expected them to arrive by now?"

"Well, I finished off the goblins then went to catch up to you. On my way, I found your burned out cart. As I approached the town, I ran into the same group that attacked you and had to fight them off. With a bit of luck on my side, I managed to catch them in a trap, killing them all."

"Well... I'm unsure how to respond. Thank you for dealing with that threat but you shouldn't put yourself in such dangerous conditions. You may also want to buy a skill to see through illusions. I would sell you one myself but alas I cannot access the majority of my wares until I can gain access to the Bazaar."

"The bazaar?" I asked deciding to wave away the merchant's concerns over my safety.

"Ah yes, forgive my forgetfulness. The Bazaar is the System market where all worlds can trade amongst all others. The building only appears in certain cities which is why I still have a job. I buy items from the Bazaar and sell them amongst cities that cannot or do not have access to this resource. My cart only contained a small selection of items I was bringing to a city up north in my previous world. The wares I was carrying were based on what those towns normally bought in the past. The loss of such goods will be a blow but I will survive and recover."

"Not sure this town will have a Bazaar," I said as I looked over the hood of the car. I could see some fighting in the distance, "I am not even sure this town is safe to enter."

The merchant glanced in the distance and pointed, "There are Royal Guard soldiers they should be able to quell the fighting and bring stability to this area in short order. Or at least provide us with someplace safe for the night."

I looked to where he was pointing but the distance was too far for me to make out the individuals he was referring to.

"Your perception must be higher than mine. Who are these Royal Guards?"

"They come from the previous world I was part of, it seems they have been transported as well. If I'm not mistaken I see the tower of the barracks in the distance. The whole building must have been transposed to your world. The system likes to do things like that. I suggest we make our way there for some safety."

Frathsar looked me up and down. "You have become much stronger since we parted ways but what happened to your armor?"

I looked down having completely forgotten about the large hole burned through my armor.

"Oh right, yea I took an acid orb to the chest in the goblin dungeon."

"You took on the entire dungeon? I had assumed you only killed the goblins outside the dungeon. That was foolish of you. Death was almost certain, how did you survive?"

"It wasn't all that hard," I muttered, "I have the ability to heal."

Frathsar looked at me in astonishment.

"The ability to heal outside of clergy is rare indeed," he looked around to make sure nobody was close enough to hear then leaned in towards me, "You should try to keep that a secret, people from my world, especially the clergy, would try to kill you. For them, healing is the domain of the gods, and only the devout are allowed to channel divine powers."

I chuckled..., "Wait you're serious. Hmm, it seems like a limited world view but who am I to say. It's not like my world didn't have its fair share of religious persecution. Alright, I will try to keep the skill hidden from people of your world."

I thought it would be unlikely to remain hidden long. I wouldn't sacrifice my safety or those of friends for the sake of some unknown deity or priest. I thought there might be a way around this but would have to think about it some more.

"With our combined skills, I think we shouldn't have much to worry about if we travel together. Although I do not have any combat based abilities, I do have some illusion and misdirection skills that should keep us from most of the fighting. Do you have any of the potions left?"

"I have the healing potion left."

"Good, good. Use that if you have to heal. Let us make haste to the barracks."

I shrugged and stood up.

"Alright, let's go."

***

Meanwhile, on the other end of town, a bloody fight had just ended. Spent casings littered the ground.

"You.. you can't do this," The Officer said through gasping breaths, his lungs filling with blood. They had managed to save over fifteen hundred people from the monsters before they were forced to take refuge at the High School. They thought they were safe, but they had become a buffet for the true degenerates among humanity.

A small woman walked up to the dying officer and smiled, "I can do anything I want," she said, pointing at the dying man, a glow on her finger.

She had finished off the last remaining officer, it was now time to power level the rabble, what little she had gathered in this podunk little town. They had already shipped off over five-hundred of the surviving populace south. Unfortunately, for the rest of the survivors, they were out of collars. She expected at least a quarter of the slaves would survive their trip. It hardly mattered, there was always more. She watched as her men rushed into the building. Gunfire and screams followed. Occasionally she would pick off someone attempting to flee. They were the chattel, or people too afraid to use the System given gifts that were bestowed upon them. They didn't deserve to live in this new world.

***

The building Frathsar was talking about and our destination, looked to be about four miles away. I could just barely see something sticking up over the other buildings that I didn't recall being present when I drove through a few days ago. If I had to guess it was just to the south side of downtown.

You have been invited to a party by Frathsar do you wish to accept Y/N

I thought yes and saw a green icon appear above Frathsar along with his health and mana bar.

"This will help us support each other and if we get separated will provide us with an icon we can see as long as we are within a few miles. I will cast my spell on us, it is a minor redirect spell that prevents direct sight of us from unaware foes. The effect is broken by attacking or with a high enough perception. Keep an eye out for any particularly wary foes."

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

"Sounds good, I will cast my buffs, although, I may not be able to cast them all right now. I can boost agility, HP, and defense."

Frathsar nodded and I cast Wind Walk, Endure, and Rock Skin on us. That left me with fifty mana and just a slight ache in my head that quickly went away as my mana started filling back up. I would wait to cast Giant Strength and Shield until they were needed.

We made our way at a quick jog towards downtown. I had a good estimate of what my endurance stat meant now since the start of my journey. I could clear the distance of a half marathon in record time just barely. So I figured having 15 of a stat would be prime physical condition and I had slightly over that for endurance. I only managed to figure this out because of the wind-up wristwatch I found in the back of the Sulid wagon. The only item I found worth anything.

The hour wasn't correct on the watch but it was a close estimate of what time it should be. It worked well enough for me. A quick glance at the watch showed it to be a bit after 5:30 pm.

After a few minutes, we had to cut down a side street as a battle broke out between what appeared to be locals from their guns and a group of Royal Guard and for good measure a group of six Sulid.

We didn't get close enough to see levels but I saw the Royal Guard and red hats cut apart the Sulid then start going at each other. I left them to their fate I had no intention of getting involved with the locals, it was bad enough I grew up in this town.

I had bitter memories from the long drawn out court battle to try and prosecute the drunken man that slammed his car into my family's minivan, killing all of them. Turns out he had been the mayor's son and the judge let him off with a piddly sentence of six month's house arrest. That wasn't even the worst part, the town re-elected both the mayor and the judge more than once after that. Now, I didn't think so highly of myself to expect my family's death to mean anything to these people. That didn't mean I had to care about them either. It was the main reason I moved away in the first place.

Moving down the streets, our luck ran out a few minutes later when we were walking around a corner and literally ran into a group of five Sulid.

"Oof," escaped my lips as I ran headlong into a Sulid.

We both went down and I heard the burbling warble of their speech before one stabbed me in the leg. I screamed from the pain and the poison coursing through my veins.

I struggled but couldn't get my staff into a good position so I pulled out the pistol and just unloaded the second magazine knowing it wouldn't do a whole lot of damage. I was right it didn't kill the creature but it did force him back giving me enough time to get to my feet and face off against the three. What I found odd was the fact that they were all looking at different me's. I silently thanked Frathsar for the assist as he remained well behind me. Using the brief pause I checked out their levels

Sulid | Warriors | Level 8

Sulid | Brutalizer | Level 10

I took a step back on my good leg while casting Rejuvenate making sure to avoid putting too much pressure on my wounded leg. I knew Frathsar told me not to use healing in public but the spell didn't give off any tell tale signs so I figured it was safe enough to use here. I would cast cleanse as well but that spell produced a glow. I could use this injury to my advantage, the Sulid probably figuring I was worse off than I was as the wound was already closing. I took another step back and all three leaped together to try and spear their respective me as I landed on what they thought was my bad leg.

The leg was still sore but it held up as I pivoted out of the path of the spear and cast Flurry of Blows catching the surprised Sulid off guard. The effect of the spell was even more pronounced against an actual target than my earlier test. My staff shot out in a blur six times catching the creature in the face and chest. Blood and viscera splashed across me as my third strike ripped through the creature's skin striking deep into its chest causing it to collapse in a heap dead.

Before the other two Sulid could take advantage of the fact that they knew which image was the real me, I smashed the one to my right with an Earth Fist to its knee causing it to face plant the ground. I parried a stab from the one on the left and took another step back the pain only a dull ache now, casting Giant Strength. This caused me to take another stab but it hit my armor only causing minor damage since I was still poisoned from before. I kicked out at the creature but he was quick to hop back out of range. My battle lust was in full swing.

"No, no Pepe, you come back here," I said, rushing forward.

I cast Aura Strike on my staff and went at him with abandon. My staff was a blur of strikes thrusts and spins. He was able to dodge most of them with ease until I finally managed to land one strike to his hip. It wasn't a strong strike but it applied the debuff effect I had been waiting for.

"Paul, behind you!"

I threw myself to the side missing the fatal blow from the other downed enemy but wasn't fast enough to avoid the strike completely. I rolled back to my feet and jammed the healing potion into my leg. My heart pumping wildly as adrenaline and poison flowed through my veins. I tried casting Rejuvenate again but it was still on cool down. I could feel myself slowing due to the damn poison and I risked casting Cleanse knowing they would come at me when they saw the spell go off.

One did rush towards me, the other dropped over dead as a burst of bluish-green blasts came from Frathsar's direction. This also pulled the last remaining Sulid's attention just long enough for me to hit him with a quick jab to the throat.

Critical strike: You have crushed Sulid Brutilizer's windpipe, suffocating

I had decided to add disabling strikes to my popup messages so I could know the effect and capitalize. This one was pretty easy to see. The creature dropped its spear and clawed at its throat trying to get air. I lifted my staff over my head and with all the strength I could muster brought it down with a loud crack and squelch as liquid dribbled out of the creature's ears and its eyes rolled back in its head.

Critical strike: You have crushed Sulid Brutilizer's skull, brain-damaged

"How are you not dead," I said in surprise.

One more strike across the head was enough to finish the creature off.

"Level tens have a lot of health," I muttered, forgetting Frathsar was here.

"This one certainly did, Must have had a high endurance or some other boosting spell."

I just grunted in acknowledgment.

"What did you hit that one with?" I said, pointing to the one with burns all over it.

Frathsar pulled out what looked like a pistol and waved it for me to see. "Mana pistol," he said simply.

'I needed to get me one of those,' I thought.

"Time to loot?"

"If we are quick about it," he said, looking around to make sure there was no one in sight, "I can store everything in my bag until we are safe."

I quickly tossed everything that wasn't money towards the Merchant and it disappeared into his magic bag. I could really use one of those. The money got automatically split between us as we were in the same party.

"I don't need any of those items if you just want to pay me for my half I'll be fine," I said, prepping to leave.

I had to retrieve the backpack that had dropped off me when I collided with the Sulid.

"That is acceptable," Frathsar said, making a flicking motion towards me as the money entered my account, "I will recast my illusion spell and we can be off."

I took a deep breath, refreshing my short term buffs on both of us since I had easily recovered my mana in the time we spent looting. I also tried something I had been pondering for a few hours and cast Aura Strike and Flurry of Blows on my staff at the same time. I wanted to see if the effects would fade over time if they would stack or remain. The spells took effect but there was no indication on my display for these abilities so I wouldn't know until I attacked again.

"Paul, what are you doing?" Frathsar said in a whisper.

"Just testing a theory with my abilities, why?"

"I can clearly see that, the vacant look in your eyes is a dead give away. It is commonly seen in children of the system when they are accessing their menu. What I mean is, you need to pay attention to the here and now, this isn't a safe place to be going over skills or trying new ideas. Also, you could ask me and I would answer if I have the knowledge." Frathsar said, chastising me.

He was right of course I needed to keep aware of my surroundings.

"Sorry, maybe you could answer a question for me?" I said quietly, not wanting to draw attention to us as we traveled down the street.

"If I can I will, just be quick and quiet about it, please."

I nodded to the scaly merchant.

"I cast two attack skills on my staff and was wondering if they would stack or fade before we ran into any other fights?"

"That is a simple question. Let's stop at the next corner and check it and I will explain."

We got to the end of the block and I surveyed around the corner, no more barreling around corners without looking. It was clear for at least a block down the side street but I could see a group of Sulid moving this way from a few blocks over.

"We have a few minutes at best," I said, pulling back from the corner.

"Very well, that should be more than enough time. If you want to know if your skills are still active you only need to check your cooldowns. If they are not clearing from cooldown they are still active. Also, be aware of stacking too many abilities on a low-tier item at a time or the item may... hmmm suffer catastrophic failure."

"You mean explode," I said, eyes wide.

"In some cases yes, it depends on the abilities that are in play. Opposing abilities like fire and water, for example, would most definitely explode after a short duration. On the other hand, the weapon may just fall apart, of course, other things could happen as well."

"That staff," he said, pointing at my weapon, "While not the strongest weapon is sturdily built and may, may, I mind you, hold up to three abilities at a time. No guarantees though so use caution."

I nodded my head in understanding and quickly brought up my cooldown menu as it wasn't on my H.U.D. to keep my vision clear of distractions. Both skills were grayed out and the cooldown timer was at its full duration of 15sec and 1min for Aura Strike and Flurry respectively. This was good news and bad. I was kind of hoping to cheat the system and use the skills back to back in a fight. No such luck. I moved the two icons into my vision to see if they would stay grayed out since it had only been a few minutes, might as well learn if there was a time limit on this use.

"Alright, let's go," I said after I finished up and checked the corner again. The Sulid had made better time than I had expected and we needed to leave pronto before they got too close and breached the minor illusion.