In minutes, we piled a huge mound of wood, even though we lacked an ax or chainsaw. Ruby had decent stats already, and I was even stronger. I could fling entire tree lengths easily. It was actually a lot of fun.

I had understood conceptually that I was far stronger than before, even stronger than power lifters on Earth. I didn’t really get it, though, not at a visceral level until I did the work of a tractor and barely broke a sweat.

“How are you so strong?” Ruby asked at one point, leaning on a log she’d just carried to the pyre. “You’re only level 1. While we’re on the topic, how is that possible? Even if you spent the first few hours hiding in a hole, just killing the ogre should have leveled you up a couple times.”

“First, how can you tell? You didn’t get Linguasight, so you don’t have the Identify skill.”

“No, but I still see basic information. The system told me that monster was an ogre.”

“Rockslide Ogre.”

She shrugged. “I had no idea. When I look at you, I see your name and level.”

“Huh.” I hadn’t actually triggered Identify on Ruby yet, so I willed it to activate.

“Ruby Lopez. Baby Human. Level 8. Class: N/A.”

“I get your race and class. That’ll be more useful when we get classes.”

“If we get classes,” she muttered.

I nodded. “My level’s kind of a long story, actually. I got a unique loot box that dramatically improves the effects of my stats, but makes it a lot harder to level up.”

I couldn’t get into details of my tier-1 body, but the explanation was enough for her to understand. I liked Ruby. Hell, back on Earth, if I wasn’t nearly engaged, I’d ask her out. We were teammates, and we needed to trust each other, but Cyrus had made it clear I couldn’t share my secrets with anyone.

“That’s rough,” she said, pursing her lips as she considered my words. “Being stronger is good, but if you don’t reach level 10 . . .”

“Oh, believe, me, I know. I’m working on it.”

“You can’t have far to go to reach level 2 after killing the ogre. That was amazing, by the way. I thought you were dead.”

“So did I for a minute.”

Her words filled me with pride and I tossed a huge log onto the pyre while hardly noticing the weight. My boosted stats from absorbing the ogre’s energy had faded, but I could still manage.

We moved Joseph’s remains onto the huge pyre with as much dignity as we could. I was glad I looted him. The process restored his corpse to a form we could actually move. As he was before, I would have needed a shovel to scrape his pieces off the ground.

I extracted 2 torches, handed 1 to Ruby, and together we lit them, then touched them to the pyre. The wood and leaves caught quickly. As the fire roared high, we retreated, watching it burn. The heat turned the cooling air blistering hot, driving us back even more.

Ruby started to talk softly, her eyes glued to the fire.

“That was my first movie. It was my big break.”

“Did you land a major role?”

She laughed, looking honestly surprised. “Stop kidding. I’m not an actress. My training was in paralegal and business management before I landed the job to serve as Elizabeth Maberly’s personal assistant.”

I whistled softly to hide my surprise. How could Ruby not be a famous actress? “Do you know if Elizabeth was on set when we got teleported here?”

She nodded. “I wish I knew if she was still alive.

Elizabeth Maberly was an up-and-coming actress in her early 20s, famous for her good looks and the racy roles she’d played in some European films. She’d won the starring role in the movie. I think she was supposed to play a warrior princess love interest. The thought of maybe meeting her had motivated Jane, Edmund, and Patrick to try out as extras, although for different reasons.

Thinking of them, I hoped they were okay. I would find them, find Tomas, and together we’d figure out how to win.

The sun had long fallen behind the insanely high mountains and darkness was settling slowly over the meadow. It didn’t look like it would get too dark as long as no clouds rolled in, though. The sky was blazing with stars, but in patterns totally different than Earth.

I wasn’t much of a stargazer, but I knew to look for the Big Dipper and the Milky Way. Those were gone. Instead, two huge moons were creeping over the mountains. One was orange and had bright blue rings. The other looked black, like a strangely glowing hole in the night sky.

We stood in silence for a few minutes, just watching the fire burn. I figured it would keep monsters back. Well, unless a fire-breathing dragon wanted a warm bed. The thought made me feel tired. If something like that showed up, we were dead.

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To take my mind off of the sudden itching between my shoulder blades, I asked, “What spells do you have?”

Ruby grimaced. “I used up all my temporary spells just surviving to this point.”

Not good. She was almost level 10 and she wouldn’t have a spell to permanent. That would be terrible. She didn’t have Harvest, so the only way to get new spells would be through loot boxes. Making Harvest permanent was an even smarter move than I’d realized. With it, I would end up with a huge advantage over most other people, at least for a while.

Ruby hesitated, then said, “My Bio Morph utility spell has a special upgrade that allows me to use body enhancements for combat.”

“Whoa. How did you get that?” If I’d had access to an upgrade like that, I probably would have chosen Bio Morph. Possibilities flashed through my mind of fighting with razor-sharp claws and fangs.

She sighed and fingered her thick, long red hair. “I got a potion to change my hair from black to red. It came with the Bio Morph upgrade.”

“It sounds like a great upgrade,” I said more softly, sensing her mood.

She sighed again and said in a whisper. “I liked my hair like it was.” She glanced up and blinked away actual tears. “I had the same hair as my mother.”

I stared, and words burst from my mouth before I realized what I was saying. “I was going to propose to my girlfriend next week.”

Why would I share that with her? I couldn’t believe I’d just said that.

Ruby’s eyes widened and she smiled through her tears. “Congratulations, Lucas! I’m so happy for you. Sorry, I’ve been acting the eejit, whining about my hair when you’ve been separated from your true love. I’m so sorry.”

“Thanks, but you’re not an idiot. That upgrade could prove invaluable.”

She sighed. “I know. I just miss my mom. Not as much as you must miss your fiance, though.”

“We’ll get back to Earth,” I promised, although I had no idea how.

I really wanted to change the subject. Sharing about Isabella with Ruby had not been the plan, although maybe now it would be easier to keep the right perspective.

Ruby glared into the sky. “You’re right. We will. Even though they’re playing games with us, we’ll win.”

“As long as we work together and find more survivors, I know we will.”

“Thanks, Lucas,” she said, smiling in a way that made my heart flutter. “I needed the confidence boost. I’ve been feeling like I’m getting railroaded into a role they want me to play, and I don’t have any choice.”

I stepped closer and placed a hand on her shoulder, pulling her gaze back to me. I met her brown-eyed gaze and said, “I understand. I didn’t get 4 extra inches of height or get forced to change my hair color, but I had to make some tough choices too. I get it.”

She looked like she wanted to ask me about those choices, but I’d already said almost too much. I didn’t want Cyrus swooping in and killing her within a day of finally finding my first living teammate.

Thankfully she moved on, took a deep breath, and added, “I also have a hunting ability. No idea where that came from, but it’s supposed to help me sense my quarry.”

“Perfect!” I laughed. At her confused look, I added, “Can’t you choose to hunt our next teammate?”

“Why didn’t I think of that?” she exclaimed, then frowned in concentration for a moment. “I don’t feel anything.”

“Try it again in the morning. We should probably camp for the night.”

“My other ability helps me sneak. Improves my stealth. How about you?”

That was another great ability. We could work with those. I told her about my abilities and spells.

“You still have both of your starting spells, plus three single-use spells? How?”

“I survived some crazy monsters and got some lucky loot.”

“That loot that stunted your leveling really screwed your chances. Are you worried you won’t make it?”

“I’ll make it,” I assured her.

She accepted that and looked around. “Where should we camp?”

I was tempted to suggest the huge tree, but we could just as easily run into climbing monsters. Fighting up there would leave us at a serious disadvantage.

I also didn’t want to wander into the dark woods. Distant roars and howls still reverberated in the distance, but maybe more monsters came out at night?

So I nodded toward the fire. “This thing is going to burn for hours. It gives us some light and protects our backs. Why not right here?”

“Works for me.” She walked several paces away, and suddenly a huge tent popped into existence in front of her.

She laughed. “It’s bigger than I expected.”

It looked like one of those big, blocky 10-man tents families used at campgrounds, except the fabric shimmered slightly with some kind of camouflage magic. I could still see it, but I bet monsters or even people outside of our team would have trouble finding it.

“It’s massive,” I agreed, moving to the entrance to take a look. Ruby stepped through and held open the flap for me.

She gasped and I could see why when I followed. We stepped into a comfortable living room that could have been plucked from a modern home. It came complete with a couch and three overstuffed chairs arranged around an oriental rug, facing a free-standing fireplace. A globe of soft, amber light shone at the peak of the ceiling, filling the entire tent with a warm glow.

Against the back wall, which was a lot farther away than should be possible inside that tent was a kitchen counter, complete with wooden cupboards that looked like white oak, and a gleaming blue marble countertop.

Sitting on the counter was a blocky, stainless-steel appliance with a hopper-like opening extending from the top and a glass door on the front. Identify kicked in.

“Field kitchen oven. Produces delicious food from a default menu. Add any organic material to expand the menu choices.”

To the left of the oven sat a rose-petal shaped bowl colored a delicate pink with a spout hanging over the top. That was the fresh water sink. Two doors led off the main room, which was already too big to fit in the tent. A quick peek in one showed a comfortable bedroom with a queen-sized bed, complete with a comfortable looking mattress and soft comforter. At least a dozen pillows were piled all over. The other room turned out to be a washroom with a basic shower, sink, and toilet.

“This is incredible,” I breathed as Ruby inspected the oven. I was very happy with my utility spells, but if I ever got a fifth, I had to get Base Camp.

Then again, Ruby had it, and it was big enough for our entire team, once we found our last person.

“Do you want chicken cordon bleu or sirloin steak and potatoes for dinner?” she asked in a shaky, wonder-filled voice.

“Steak for me. I wonder if they’ll get the taste right.”

Ruby sighed then, leaning against the counter, her expression falling. “I cannot tell you how grand it feels to have a place like this to retreat to at night. If only we’d teamed up a bit sooner, there might still be four of us to share it.”

For a moment, I wasn’t sure what to say. I hadn’t known Andy or Joseph, but they’d died violently in an alien world. If I’d moved faster or been smarter, could I have saved them?

Having the tent did feel like a godsend and I took strength from the temporary reprieve. “I think the best way to honor them is to keep each other alive and try to help as many others as we can.”

Ruby nodded, wiping at her eyes and sniffling once. Then she straightened and said, “Yes. Let’s do that.”