I floated back, scowling at Tony, who lifted a hand in triumph while Burns shouted a wordless cry of victory. Had Tony not seen me there, or had he just not cared that he almost split me in half at the same time he helped kill Tecton?

“Congratulations, Lucas! You have defeated Tecton Earthwarden. Bonus experience gained for defeating a higher-level enemy. For beating the stage-level boss, you receive enough experience to reach your next level, as well as a new title.”

“Title: Musketeer. All for One. One for All. Plus 5 tier-1 points to all base stats. Loot boxes from bosses and monsters 25 levels or more above your own automatically upgrade 1 tier. Quest complete.”

A diamond loot box appeared hovering in the air in front of me. Whoa.

“How did I get a double upgrade?”

Cyrus’ voice laughed in my ear. “Your Musketeer title upgrades it 1 tier. Your Trailblazer title granted you a second upgrade for this one.”

I’d take it, and the level was even more welcome. I glanced quickly at my stats. Cyrus had dumped both stat points from my new level into Strength again, while all my base stats jumped by 5. I even got 5 points in CHA somehow. I wasn’t about to point out the discrepancy.

As the new stats took effect, a river of power roared through me, shaking my ethereal body like a leaf. I threw my arms out wide and fell into a slow backward somersault as I gloried in my strength.

If I felt this strong in ethereal form, how good would it feel when I returned to my body? The 2 points I got from each level resulted in a noticeable uptick in my power. Now in a single shot, I was getting 30 points! That was 15 levels worth of stat increases all at once, and those were tier-1points!

Most of my stats pretty much doubled to on average around 10 each. It was like transforming from Aquaman into Superman in the blink of an eye. Even in my ghostly form, I sensed I was reaching a fundamentally different level of power than any human had ever imagined.

It was a heady feeling and I wanted to revel in it, but couldn’t afford to get distracted while the rest of the battle was still going on. As much as I wanted to see the loot, I minimized the box. We still had work to do. No one else noticed my double-upgraded loot box. Emerald boxes appeared in front of both Tony and Burns, and they both laughed with delight.

“I got a level and a second title!” Tony exclaimed. “And a message that I can permanent my next spell.”

Burns grinned. “I got those too. Third title for me.”

“Third?” Tony looked impressed.

Burns shrugged. “I’d like to think I earned them, but probably just blind luck.”

I didn’t mention that Musketeer was my 6th title. I really wanted to ask about the spells they planned to permanent. They were probably the first of all us survivors to reach level 25, and now we knew the level where we could permanent another spell.

They both reluctantly minimized their loot boxes for later. I triggered Soul Feed and a torrent of white power rose up off the corpse and coursed through me, reinvigorating me and boosting my physical stats. My Tesla Coil bracelet had already drained quite a bit of power from Tecton, but I still hated to see some of that billowing white cloud going to waste.

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“Good job keeping him distracted,” Burns said, grinning at me. “I can’t loot him unless we all agree.”

Together we looted Tecton, but I didn’t look at what loot I received. As the other two raced after, I flashed toward the rear of the herd. They were still pounding the defenses around the settlement, but the lines were holding. Barely.

Most of the bulls didn’t seem to realize Tecton had died. I had hoped they’d break and scatter immediately, but I guess they weren’t that smart. So I pulled out the cow bell again and rang it. This time no other will impeded my own

I commanded, ‘Flee to the west.’

Most of the herd obeyed immediately, turning and rushing away at full speed. Those engaged in close combat took longer to respond. Some were cut down in the moment of distraction as they tried to disengage. The rest raced away, following the herd.

“Did you do that?” Burns asked as I slowed and canceled Phase Walk. Colors brightened as I phased back into the physical world. I could really get used to that spell.

For a second I couldn’t respond, but just threw my head back and breathed deep. All my senses had improved from that last stats influx, and I felt so strong I wanted to laugh and go bench-press a small mountain.

“Lucas?” Tony prodded, looking at me like he worried I had lost what little brains I’d retained from Earth.

“Sorry. Yeah, that was me. No need to keep risking everyone’s lives when I can just send the herd away.”

“We could use the experience,” Tony said, shifting Tecton’s huge ax on one shoulder. I didn’t comment on the fact that he’d looted the weapon without asking if I wanted it. I wouldn’t use it. Wasn’t my style, but it would have been nice if he’d asked.

I shrugged. “I doubt they’ll leave the valley. We can send out hunting parties later.”

“I suppose that works. Good job today, Lucas. I’m happy to see you survived the lion. Looks like you took my advice to heart. It’s good to see you committed to the cause.”

He must have noticed my higher level. I was still below average, but level 7 looked a lot better than level 1. I didn’t bother correcting his assumption. If his interpretation of events made him less of a pain in my neck, that was fine with me.

“How did we not get any more levels from defeating so many bulls?” Hector asked as he and the others from Tony and Burns’s retinue caught up. Most of them looked battered from Tecton’s spike barrage, but had already taken healing potions.

“Experience sharing,” Burns said with a shrug.

Tony nodded. “We’ve been piecing that together too. Since nearly everyone had to join the defenses, we’ve got nearly 300 people the system will consider actively part of the battle. We took out more than half the herd, but that’s about 100 monsters split among all of us. Not much experience each.

“We’ll have to take into account who needs the experience the most as we schedule the hunting parties to go after the rest of the herd,” Burns said.

“My thoughts exactly,” Tony agreed. Neither of them mentioned how the 3 of us had gotten a new title and a level for defeating the boss. If each stage-level boss granted loot that good, they might be planning to keep those bonuses among the 3 of us.

How did I feel about that? I needed far more experience than anyone else, and a bonus level might mean the difference between making it to the next stage or not. Tony and Burns were leaders, and we were perhaps the 3 strongest people I’d met so far. We’d likely be the ones fighting the bosses anyway.

Did that mean we should keep the extra loot a secret? I stewed on that as they discussed plans for the settlement. They got into details like rosters for hunting and ways to ensure everyone got to at lest level 10 in the few days between now and the end of the week.

I left them to it. They could deal with all the leadership hassles. I still needed 3 levels in 3 days. I felt more optimistic than ever since getting dropped to level 1, but I couldn’t waste time with committees and meetings. I needed to hunt, and it was clear I needed to hunt alone. I needed stronger monsters and a lot of them.

I considered that as I followed the small group back to the main defensive lines. Everyone raised a cheer as we approached, and I have to admit, it felt good. I didn’t even let the fact that they mostly cheered Tony and Burns bother me.

I wanted to reunite with Ruby and Steve, and I’d love to invite Jane to join our team, but I couldn’t see how that could work. They’d slow me down and siphon precious experience.

Then Ruby appeared from the crowd and rushed over to me, her long, red hair streaming behind.

“Lucas, I’m so glad you survived,” she cried and flung her arms around me in a bear hug.