Blood and puss and a nasty stench as bad as melting monsters erupted from the wound and Joey fell back to the ground, convulsing as he physically died just as he’d spiritually died a moment ago.

The Spectral Mauler erupted out of the body, hissing in anger as it shot toward Burns to consume another host.

I intercepted it with Soulrend and carved it to pieces. Again, my Tesla Coil bracelet grew warm as I dealt more and more damage.

“Congratulations, Lucas! You have defeated Spectral Mauler.”

“You didn’t have to stab him through the heart,” William shouted at Burns, fists clenched. “Maye we could have saved him.”

Burns held his gaze. “I’m sorry, my friend, but Joey was gone. The monster could have hurt others. I had to stop it, and half measures would have left people in danger.”

William sagged and whispered, “I had still hoped.”

“Don’t let hope cloud your judgment,” Burns said softly, gripping William’s shoulder. “We cannot afford to hesitate.”

He was right. As much as I would have loved a chance to try a full restoration potion on Joey, I doubted it would have worked. The Spectral Mauler had eaten his spirit. There was nothing left to heal.

I triggered Soul Feed, but the influx of cleansing, healing energy didn’t fill me with wonder like it usually did. I stood over Joey’s body and just stared. The cold gray light of predawn matched the cold, dead shock settling over my heart.

“I couldn’t save him.”

Jane stepped to my side and wrapped an arm around my waist. “You were the only one who could even try.”

It wasn’t enough. The weight of pain and regret felt crushing and I couldn’t understand why at first. I’d only known Joey since yesterday, but I’d saved his life. We’d fought together and he believed in me, believed I could somehow save him and a lot of other people.

He’d pushed me out of the way to fight a monster he couldn’t hope to defeat. In the end, he’d sacrificed his life to give me a better chance at surviving. He’d thought me that important.

I wasn’t strong enough.

I might be stronger than just about anyone else already, despite what my levels looked like, but I was still a weakling compared to the monsters we had to defeat. Joey’s death drove that home like a fiery dagger through my soul.

The cold pain faded under a new heat blossoming through me, stoked by helpless rage at whoever had tossed us into this meat grinder.

“I will get stronger,” I vowed, and I would not remain helpless forever.

“We all need to,” Jane agreed.

Saying it wasn’t enough. A rush of rage boiled through me, setting my muscles quivering. I had to move. With a growl, I stepped to a nearby boulder. It was big, at least 4 feet in diameter, so it made a great target. I ripped it out of the ground.

It was heavy. Insanely heavy, and strained the limits of even my superhuman strength. That just made me angrier and I roared as I hurled it away with every ounce of strength. The boulder soared out of the ravine and far out over the slope.

That helped. I felt better. Nothing like a bit of mindless exertion to clear the mind. Panting, I turned to see every eye fixed on me, universal expressions of astonishment on every face.

“What?”

“You threw that boulder,” Burns said slowly and gave me a nod of respect.

I shrugged. “Yeah. Had to let off some steam.”

“That thing had to weigh almost a ton,” William breathed.

I blinked. “No.”

He nodded. “At least.”

“Huh. Stats are pretty cool, eh?”

“How many points do you have in Strength?” Jane asked with a laugh.

“Quite a few.”

I tried to play it cool, but inside I was just as awed as they looked. Yeah, I’d realized I was getting ridiculously strong, but if I’d paused to think about it, I would never have tried to lift that stone.

We couldn’t afford to limit ourselves like that. We were no longer on Earth nor constrained by Earth body limitations.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

William laughed and clapped a couple times. “Never a dull moment around you, Buddy.”

That broke the staring contest, thankfully, and people turned away. Jane stepped close and squeezed my bicep, raising an eyebrow in appreciation.

“Competitive indeed. I love what you’re doing with yourself.”

I grinned and gestured at another nearby rock. “Want to have a go?”

She pointed, and the rock rolled down the hill a few feet. “Don’t underestimate the power of the mind.”

“Nice.” I turned back to where I’d killed the Spectral Mauler.

Even though the black, smoky body of the monster had faded and I wanted nothing else to do with it, I forced myself to trigger Harvest. I needed to be stronger, so I could not ignore any opportunity to gain new power.

“You have successfully Harvested the spell Phase Walk from spectral mauler.”

“Phase Walk. Spell. Mana cost: moderate. Transform yourself and everything you’re carrying to ethereal form. Duration: 5 minutes. Uses remaining: 2.”

That was a great spell. I considered it a tribute to Joey’s strength and sacrifice. I couldn’t help Joey any more, and I needed every tool to keep myself, Jane, and the other survivors alive.

I hadn’t been sure it was wise to replace Thunder Punch when I still had one use remaining, but I felt like the gamble had paid off. Those Spectral Maulers, like the Essence Wights I’d fought before, proved insanely hard for most people to kill. The ability to turn ethereal myself could give me a massive advantage.

I then accepted the prompt to loot the Spectral Maulers. In the process, that also looted Joey’s corpse. I grimaced at that, but couldn’t undo the decision. He hadn’t had much. A shockingly low amount of mana crystals, a few potions, and a single interesting item.

“Bachelor Pad Ring of Confidence. Uncommon. Increases Fear resistance by 15% and fosters a sense of self-confidence, even when you have no idea what you're talking about.”

Was that how he chatted so confidently with the ladies? I slipped the ring on my finger and did notice a surge of confidence. Hopefully it would help in interactions with people and not encourage me to do anything reckless in battle.

From the monsters, I got a bunch of basic loot, plus two interesting items. The first was a potion of slow fall. It apparently did exactly what it sounded like. I could drink it to float slowly down from great height, even if I didn’t drink it until I was already falling. The other was a slender ring woven out of black metal.

“Uncommon Soul Fortress ring. Plus 5 to constitution. 20% Increased defense against physical attacks.”

I gave it to Jane. She had also chosen the Linguasight utility spell so could identify it. When she did, her eyes widened. “Lucas, you should keep this.”

“No. Your skills are more mind-based. That leaves you more vulnerable to physical attack.”

I didn’t add that plus 5 to constitution would only give me half a tier-1 point, which would not make as much of a difference to me.

“Thank you,” she said, slipping the ring onto her right ring finger, then smiling from the influx of energy.

“It’s more an insurance policy for me anyway,” I said with forced good humor. “Tomas would kill me if I let anything happen to you.”

Her reply was cut short by Susan, who strode right up to me. Her maroon dress was still slightly askew, with bits of dirt clinging to one side, and her blond hair was a tangled mess, but she looked whole.

“I’m glad you’re awake.”

She placed her hands on my shoulders, her hazel-eyed gaze intense. “Lucas, you saved my life. I owe you. Anything you want, it’s yours.”

Then she closed the distance, pulled my face down, and kissed me as soundly as I’d ever been kissed before.

Time seemed to stop as warring responses boiled through me. My first instinct was to recoil and protest that I had a girlfriend, but I hesitated. Susan’s warm touch, her soft lips pressed to mine, and her obvious passion opened a floodgate of emotions, everything I’d been suppressing since I woke up on this crazy planet.

Fear and doubt and gnawing worry rose like an angry tide, but Susan’s passion helped ease that tide like a balm. Then a surge of desire, so intense it shocked me, boiled through me, driven by a surge of pride. I’d saved her, so it was my right to enjoy the spoils.

I fought the overwhelming urge, but couldn’t help wrapping my arms around her slender waist and leaning into the kiss. She responded with even more passion, igniting a hunger in me so raw and wild I finally understood what was happening.

I’d been a wolf most of the night, and some of those instincts still lingered. I’d thought I was free of the wolf. Apparently not. That was where those overwhelming emotions stemmed.

Understanding helped me gain control, but the deep kiss still lasted a lot longer than I should have allowed it to. Once I regained control, I still hesitated before pulling away. The intense physical contact helped settle my mind and helped me feel grounded in a way I had not yet found since we’d been teleported from Earth. It was a precious gift, and I allowed myself to enjoy it for a few more seconds.

And she was an unbelievable kisser. I’d always thought Isabella was a fantastic kisser, but Susan left me gasping, my lips tingling, my mind whirling when she finally let me go.

Jane regarded me, one eyebrow raised, but then she flashed her mischievous grin. “Lucas, you should see your face.”

She was great friends with Isabella, and both she and Tomas knew I was planning on proposing. I took it as a good sign that she hadn’t just thrown Susan’s lips across the clearing.

“Um, you don’t have to do that,” I stammered to Susan, still regaining my composure and fighting down a wolf urge to step forward and seize the beautiful woman again.

Now that she’d let go, my shame for letting some other woman kiss me returned in full force. That helped me shove the wolf instincts aside. I loved Isabella. I’d already let Ruby distract me. I couldn’t let Susan do it too. But by all that was holy, I’d needed that.

Susan shrugged, a fluid roll of one shoulder, her gaze locked on mine. “We might be stuck here in a death game where we can die any second, but that doesn’t mean we have to be lonely.”

“You’ve already helped more than you know.”

“That was just a glimpse of what my gratitude is worth,” she said boldly.

“Um, thank you. For now, I’m afraid I have to pass. I’ve got a girlfriend on Earth.”

“That’s fine, but she’s a long way from here. If you think she wouldn’t mind you finding a little comfort in this insane world, just say the word.”

She walked off with a noted emphasis in the sway of her hips. I couldn’t help staring after her until Jane shoulder-bumped me. “At one level, she’s got a point. What happens in Vegas—“

“I get that reference!” Cyrus interjected excitedly. “You humans engage in such convoluted games to justify actions you might otherwise find unwise.”

“Yeah, we’re not always the smartest bunch,” I said, but held Jane’s gaze. “I hadn’t asked for that.”

“I know, but don’t lose your way, Lucas. If we ever get out of here, Isabella will want you back.”

I nodded and took a deep breath. “When we get out of here. Not if.”

“When,” Jane agreed, her eyes glowing with magic.