I could have endured a hug from Ruby a lot longer than she let me. Just like with Susan, I felt a primal urge to take what I wanted from her. It was my right as the strongest hunter, the one who had just helped save the pack.

Back off. This is my pack, I mean team, and I don’t work that way.

Despite the inner struggle, I still thoroughly enjoyed the hug. Way too soon, she drew back, laughing, and I couldn’t seem to see anything but her face.

Then Steve clapped me on the back so hard I staggered. “You lucky devil! How did you survive that lion?”

“It’s kind of a long story.” I returned his grin and I told them about it, or as much as I could. I still generated way too many questions I couldn’t answer. Hearing my own story drove home how lucky I was to have survived.

“Werewolves and zombies?” Steve exclaimed, shaking his head in amazement.

“What did it feel like to become a werewolf?” Ruby asked, her voice soft, with a tone of wonder.

Jane had joined us while I talked, along with William and a few other people. My story triggered a wide range of reactions, from awe to incredulity. Many asked questions too.

While we talked, we finished looting the fallen bulls. A couple teams were still dispatching wounded monsters, while others worked to heal wounded survivors. Thankfully Eva let me loot all the bulls I’d killed with a single prompt.

I got a ton of basic loot, from hundreds more mana crystals, hamburger, and steaks to a dozen various polearm weapons, horns, and hides. I now had a single tier-3 mana crystal in my inventory, equivalent to 1000 tier-0 crystals. That felt like a big milestone.

As the entire field around the settlement’s raised hill transformed into a cloud of stinking black smoke, we headed between the tall spires of rock marking the boundary of the hill’s flat top.

“Welcome to Stepstone,” Steve said grandly as we entered the settlement.

“Stepstone?” It wasn’t a terrible name, but didn’t wow me either.

He shrugged. “First group to arrive got to name it. We’re not going to be here long enough to argue about the name.”

“You guys only got here yesterday?” I asked as I took in the orderly streets, lined with Base Camp tents and quite a few wooden structures. Most were variations on log cabins, but the biggest structures, standing near the center of town, were made out of finished lumber.

Ruby nodded. “A few teams had arrived the day before, and people have been arriving in small groups ever since. I think we’re up around 300 now.”

“How are there buildings?”

The Base Camp utility skill made setting up and moving camp as easy as thought, but wooden buildings required tools, finished lumber, and all sorts of things I couldn’t imagine we had available. We’d only arrived mostly naked 3 days ago.

“A few people who were tradesmen back on Earth got some really cool trade-related abilities,” Steve said.

Ruby added, “The teams who got here first got special loot boxes with gear and spells to help in creating infrastructure.

Steve said, “Yeah, one woman got a tool called an adz. She taps a log and poof, it disappears, replaced by a pile of finished lumber. Weirdly, she always warns folks not to waste the lumber, and to recycle whenever possible.”

“Huh. Weird.”

“It’s not weird for her to hold onto her core values,” Ruby objected.

I shrugged. I wasn’t about to judge someone in this crazy world.

Steve said, “Another guy got an anvil and set of blacksmith tools. They’re enchanted, so he can make basic weapons and all sorts of building materials like tools and nails from raw materials.”

“Wow.”

Ruby flashed that beautiful smile of hers. “Your idea to have me make that scroll of healing potion my first permanent really resonated with folks. Some others had random scrolls to build or craft, and they’ve started choosing those.”

“I’m impressed so many people chose non-combat options.”

I understood at one level, but the thought of relying on everyone else to kill the monsters and fight their way up to the top-stage nymph queen boss while I stayed behind building houses or crafting things made me cringe.

Someone should do it, though. There were still . . . I checked my menus and grimaced. Remaining survivors: 699. We’d lost too many during the fight with the bulls. If we could gather all of the nearly 700 survivors into Steptone, we’d need all kinds of equipment and supplies. Not everyone could be fighters.

I thought back to the discussion about how to ensure both combat and non-combat folks reached level 10. It was a daunting question, and as I scanned the people we passed, I spied a decent percentage who were still lacking levels. Thankfully, more than half had reached at least level 10, but a small percentage were still hovering around level 5. How was that possible?

Of course, that’s how everyone would look at me too. Most people probably assumed I was becoming a drain on the rest of the survivors, someone who might have to be left behind.

“Do you need any healing potions?” Ruby asked, pulling me from my thoughts. “I’ve been making them as fast as I can regenerate mana. Every fighter has at least a couple.”

“That’s fantastic. Good work. I’ve got enough for now. I’m lower on mana potions.”

“Here. There’s a woman who copied my move, but with mana. They’re only standard level, but we’ve got a lot of them.”

Ruby produced half a dozen potions and I dumped them into my inventory.

“Do you guys need any gear?” I asked in turn. “I’ve got some polearm weapons and I can give you each a laser rifle, if you want.”

I pulled one out of my inventory. Ruby marveled at it, but declined. “I’m focusing more on a support role.”

“What about those dance fighting and nunchuck skills?” I teased.

She glowered and I pushed the energy rifle into her hands. “Even though you want to be more support, you might have to deal with monsters.”

“That’s true, but I can’t see myself blasting holes in people like Star Wars storm troopers.”

Steve chuckled. “Of course you can’t. Storm troopers are terrible shots. I’ll take it if you won’t.”

He grinned as he examined the rifle and took a practice shot. The beam of energy tore a chunk from near the top of one of the rock pillars clear across the settlement. He laughed.

“How about this?” I asked Ruby. As far as I knew, she only had the hunting knife I’d given her. She needed better protection, so I extracted one of the shotgun-like zombie stun guns from my inventory and explained how they worked.

“This is more my style,” Ruby said, hefting the bulky weapon and looking absolutely boss in the process. Quite a few people around us gave her appreciative looks. Then they started hounding me to share guns with them too.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

I hesitated. I had a few left, but not nearly enough to equip everyone asking for one. “Supplies are very low. I’ll discuss the best way to distribute them when I meet with the settlement leaders.”

“So why do they get one?” a chubby fellow carrying a cudgel demanded.

“Because they’re my team.”

He left, sulking, but no one argued that point. Teams mattered. They might have been random, but every one of us had found our team before anyone else. We’d fought and bled together, and most of us had lost teammates.

Steve and Ruby took me on a brief tour of Stepstone. Work crews were already returning to the effort of shoring up the gaps between the stone spires ringing the hilltop. We might have to leave in 4 days, but with over 100 bulls still visible in the distance, no one wanted to shirk on defenses. They worked with good cheer, though, since we’d already defeated the stage boss.

The bulk of Stepstone was divided into open lanes where teams could claim spots to settle. A large percentage of folks had picked Base Camp, so rows of giant magical tents filled the space. I did spot makeshift shelters of teams who had not chosen Base Camp, or where the person with the spell had died.

The crafters and town leadership had claimed the center of town. The blacksmith shop was a long, open-fronted wooden building like a huge garage, packed with workers. The lumber mill was just a small wooden building with long racks standing mostly empty behind. The lumber was being used up as fast as it got produced.

“An armorer?” I asked as we passed the next building.

“The woman in charge can make a lot of basic-level leather gear. She claims once her spells and skills upgrade, she’ll be able to produce higher-grade gear and unlock the enchantments listed in some of the animal parts we’ve looted.”

“That’ll be awesome.” I had a few specialty hides I’d have to bring to her once she leveled up enough.

In front of the town hall, we paused at a wooden bulletin board, hung with dozens of slender wooden blocks, about the size of coffee table coasters. Each one had the photo of a person, along with their name and team.

“One of the movie grips got a spell to take snapshops with his gaze and transfer them to solid objects,” Ruby explained.

“And he made it permanent?” That seemed idiotic.

Steve shrugged. “Said it keeps him grounded. He’s been adding photos of everyone with family members they’re trying to reunite with.”

“That is actually a great idea. I’ll have to get my photo on here. Still hoping to find my brother and friends.” I scanned the photos again with a lot more interest. I spotted Jane, but no one else I knew.

“He hangs around here late mornings,” Steve said. I made a mental note to seek out the guy.

The next building made me laugh. “We have to stop here.”

Neither of them argued as I joined the steady stream of people pushing through the wide doorway leading into the brightly lit tavern.

Yeah, a real-life tavern, complete with a rough wooden bar along the far wall and unpeeled log picnic tables scattered around the room. A healthy crowd had already returned from the battle and were crowding the tables, drinking from authentic-looking metal steins. Buckets of waffle fries sat on every table, and people were devouring them fast, even though I spotted no catchup.

“Where did all this come from?” I asked as we headed for the bar.

Steve said, “The owner’s a guy named Sam. He’s on team Lord of the Rings. He was the lead gaffer for the movie.”

I laughed. “Sam? Gaffer? As in Sam Gamgee’s grandfather?”

Steve nodded. “He’s already asked me to work here when I can. He’s got most of what I need to start mixing drinks and making margaritas.”

Cyrus had hit it out of the park with that team assignment.

As we worked our way through the line, Ruby added, “Apparently, Sam started with brewing skills. He was in one of the first teams to arrive, so got a slew of new abilities, including making barrels and steins.”

Despite the crowd, the lines moved along steadily. The room buzzed with excited chatter as people talked about the battle or celebrated the defeat of Tecton.

I spotted the stocky older fellow wearing a totally cliche white apron behind the bar, flanked by half a dozen men and women taking orders. His full beard was streaked with gray, he’d lost most of his hair, and he was smiling and laughing with his customers as if he was serving them in some quaint medieval town instead of on a death battle planet.

“Sam Sternberg. Level 18 Baby human. Team Lord of the Rings.”

“Level 18?” I exclaimed into one of those occasional lulls in conversation. A lot of people turned to look at me, many giving me knowing smiles.

Sam heard me too and gestured us forward. “New in town, eh?”

“Arrived just in time to help with the herd.”

“Well done. I hear we’ll have a lot of steaks for a while,” Sam said with a grin. “What are you drinking today?” He spotted Steve and his smile widened. “Want to jump over here and help out for a while?”

“In a few minutes. I promise.”

“What have you got?” I asked, eyeing the long plank table against the rear wall, packed with heavy oak barrels with spigots hammered into the front faces.

“Mostly ale so far, but we’re working on stronger stuff with Steve’s help.”

“How much?”

“1 tier-0 mana crystal.”

I tossed him the glowing coin and he produced a metal stein filled with a frothing brew.

Identify kicked in immediately and Eva read, “Basic ale. Beverage. Brewed by an amateur, this ale contains almost as much alcohol as children’s cough syrup. A minor sedative, it offers negligible boosts to courage and self-confidence. Stackable.”

Sam noted my expression and sighed. “Still the same terrible description?”

“Yeah.”

He shrugged. “Try it yourself. Everyone keeps saying it’s the best ale they’ve ever tried, although the bit about too little alcohol is unfortunately true. I’m working on that.”

“So it’s more like frothy ginger ale?”

Sam grimaced. “No need to be rude.”

“Sorry.” I glanced around the room at the men and women drinking Sam’s ale. “Probably good that we can’t all get drunk too easy. Tempting to drown the insanity for a while, but we’d all end up dead faster.”

“Even when we increase the alcohol content, getting drunk will take work. Our natural regeneration sobers us faster than back on Earth. Healing potions restore a lot of the effects, and antidote potions wipe away the alcohol in seconds,” Steve said.

That meant my increased tier-1 body regeneration would sober me even faster. How much would I have to drink to get a buzz? Questions for later.

“Do you mind if I ask how you reached level 18? You can’t be doing much fighting, not while building an entire tavern.”

Sam chuckled. “I get asked that a lot. When I got my tavern-keeper skills, I got an upgrade scroll. It changed my leveling system to gain experience based on mana crystal revenue.”

I gaped and he laughed, throwing his hands out wide. “The better my tavern, the more people come buy my products, the more experience I gain.”

“You’re the first person I’ve met with a different leveling system,” I finally managed to say as my mind raced with the possibilities.

Cyrus interrupted and almost universally, people cringed and looked around. Most were obviously not as accustomed as I to the running dialogue with the invisible AI.

“You’ll begin to unlock classes soon. Depending on which classes one selects, other alternate leveling paths could be unlocked.”

“So when do we get classes?” I asked into the hush that followed his words.

“Soon.”

He didn’t say anything else, so I changed the topic. Gesturing around the tavern as conversation picked up again, I asked, “It doesn’t bother you that you’ll have to abandon this place in a matter of days?”

“Who said anything about abandoning?” Sam asked, his good humor back. “The walls are made out of free-standing sections we connect with poles. Even without helpers, I could disassemble the entire building and dump everything into my inventory in a matter of minutes.”

“Wow. Good thinking. Are all the buildings made like that?”

“Mostly. Now, if you’ll excuse me?”

Sam turned to take another order and Steve made his own apologies before heading around the bar to get to work mixing drinks. Ruby led me back to her tent and we settled into comfortable chairs near the fire where I finally tried Sam’s ale.

“This is really good.” It had a rich taste and was a lot sweeter than I expected. It reminded me of an old-fashioned ale I’d tried once.

Ruby flashed a smile and pulled another tankard out of her inventory. “Steve got 3 entire barrels as a bonus for agreeing to work for Sam. Shared one with me.”

“Think he’ll share another with me?”

“Probably. Sam is always low on inventory now, though, so it might take time.”

I decided to check my loot. Ruby had not participated in the fighting, so hadn’t gotten to loot any of the bulls, but was happy to see what I got.

Most was familiar, including mana crystals, hamburger, steaks, cow hides, and horns. I now had enough to stock a restaurant and a leatherworker’s shop for months. I shared a bunch of the steak and hamburger with Ruby to improve her Base Camp menu.

“I upgraded the tent defenses again, as well as the bathroom, and even added a bunkroom.” She gestured at a new door I hadn’t even noticed. That utility spell was proving to be invaluable for not only surviving, but surviving in style.

I shared one of my magic lanterns with her. The tent had enough light, and she could eventually upgrade it with outside floodlights, but she lacked any personal lights.

From Tecton, I ended up with more mana crystals and the first interesting loot of the day.

“Scroll of Ground Walker. Uncommon. Walk on any earthen surface, no matter how steep or slippery. Duration: 60 seconds. Quantity: 3.”

“Scroll of Rock Hide Armor. Encase your body in a layer of living stone. Provides excellent defense against all types of physical attacks and moderate defense against magical attack. Duration: 30 seconds. Quantity: 3.”

“Those are amazing,” Ruby breathed as she read their description. “I wish I had another slot to make a scroll permanent.”

I handed her one of each. “Use them if you need them, or save them for later.”

“Are you sure?” she asked, but did not hesitate to accept them.

“We’re a team. We take care of each other.”

“Yes, we are,” she said, her voice soft, real emotion in her eyes. I had struck some kind of cord with her, but I had no idea why. It seemed pretty simple to me.

My diamond loot box appeared in front of me, providing a welcome distraction. Ruby sucked in a sharp breath. “Diamond? How’d you get that?”

“Want to talk about it, or see what’s inside?”

“Open it already,” she laughed, and I mentally clicked the prompt.

The giant sparkling diamond flashed in a fanfare of trumpets before disappearing. A huge item took its place, thumping heavily to the floor. It took a second to realize what I was seeing.

I sprang to my feet and laughed. “My bike!”