Jonah stared wide-eyed and unblinking at the small propane camping stove in front of him. The simple can of soup that slowly boiled on top was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen. His body visibly shook in pleasure as its savory scent spread outward, temporarily dispelling the foul miasma he'd come to ignore months ago.

He reached out an unsteady hand to claim this sweet ambrosia, only to have it knocked away by a small, white hand. He looked up to see a woman only a few years younger than himself, staring down at him with disapproval. Her shoulder-length, curly brown hair, small mouth, and almond eyes gave her an exotic look that was more cute than beautiful. Not particularity Jonah's type, but he didn't doubt she was popular.

As it were, he simply returned the look and withdrew his hand, shaking out the sting. She wasn't one to hold back. He opened his mouth to speak when another voice called up to them from below;

[Reggy]: "Remind me why the hell I'm the one doing this again!?"

Jonah looked over the ledge to see the Englishman named Reggy (though he insisted on "Reginald") hauling supplies into Jonah's makeshift raft. A shining layer of light protected him from the acid, but the man appeared tired none the less. They had to move anything they might be able to use to Jonah's base, before the acid made the building unsafe to enter.

The woman, Gwen, peered down as well and spoke in a slightly annoyed voice.

[Gwen]: "Because Mr. Jonah here isn't in any condition for physical labor, and how could a gentleman ask a Lady to slosh around in snake guts. Have you no shame?!"

[Reggy]: "Lady my ***! I've seen you personally tear that big *** bear in half with your bare hands! Don't pretend you're some squeamish nanny girl."

[Gwen]: "Don't let the accent fool you, Mr. Jonah. Reggy was born and raised in America. He only moved to the UK a few years back and now thinks he's some kind Knight, since the Fall."

[Reggy]: "Screw you!"

Jonah just shook his head at the banter. He'd only met the two a day ago, but he'd already started to form an image of their dynamic. He guessed people able to adapt so quickly to this new world would have their ...quirks. But then again, he assumed that was the pot calling the kettle black.

[Jonah]: "You two seem... friendly."

Gwen blinked, and stared at Jonah, blank-faced, before turning back to stirring the soup. A moment of silence passed before she spoke again.

[Gwen]: "... Ignore it. It's difficult sometimes to - separate ourselves from our images. I'll admit, the man annoys me some times, but his heart is in the right place. That's a rare thing to find among Contestants, unfortunately... "

[Jonah]: "....."

The 'E-Ranked Goddess' and the 'Lightforged Knight.' Respectively, the strongest and second strongest Contestants on the planet.

When they had explained to Jonah who they were, he obviously had no idea what they were talking about. Not like he got Wifi in here. In turn, they'd been shocked he never heard of them before. When he explained his situation, and what' he'd been doing for the past few months, Reggy had straight out called him a liar.

They were the two most famous people in the world at the moment, with Gwen being the most powerful person in the Western hemisphere, and Reggy, the East. Officially, they were partners, but there had always been a bit of a rivalry between them, with the leader-board switching between them on a seemingly weekly basis.

The media ate it up. The "sportsmanship" between the two was a welcomed and much-needed distraction for the general populous. A bit of normality in a world turned upside down.

In a way, the 'normal' humans of Earth had become just as much as "Viewers" as their Alien observers had.

Gwen seemed a bit less skeptical, but she still looked at him suspiciously. None the less, she took the time to explain the situation in the outside world, and what had led up to their arrival.

The next few hours had been an emotional roller-coaster. He found himself bouncing between sorrow at the destruction of his city and the enormous loss of life, to joy that the world had managed to band together and fight back.

Then back to horror when they explained about the Titans, and the anomaly that was Níðhöggr. Pieces of the puzzle started to shift into place as Jonah began to understand their host's strange nature. He'd always assumed the Snake wasn't some regular mob; the shear rate of growth and concentration of mana told him that.

Was he the one that woke it up?

That was a dark train of thought that he didn't want to go down, or he might really go mad.

The thing that caught his ear the most, however, was when they explained the structure of the Association. When he'd learned his Uncle was leading the charge, he was ecstatic. He'd have jumped for joy if he didn't have a hole in his chest. Jonah knew Billy would thrive in their new environment, but he didn't imagine he'd do so well.

Ever since the accident, Billy had been a wreck. Out of all of them, he'd been hit the hardest by his sister's death. Jonah often even suspected that Billy blamed himself. Billy was a family man at heart, and oftentimes, he had treated his baby sister more like a daughter.

So when he failed to protect her, it destroyed him.

Maybe that was why that wilted old tree bloomed once more at the end of the world. He had something to protect again. He had a reason to stand up and fight. More importantly, he had SOMETHING to fight, other than just is own memories and mistakes.

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Of course, when Jonah explained who he was, the two had been even more skeptical. What were the chances, really? Reggy had suggested they killed him then and there, noting he might be some kind of Illusion or trap set by the Níðhöggr or even the Gamemaster. Gwen had managed to stop him but forced Jonah to show them his Status screen. Something he'd not even known was possible until she showed him the settings for it.

The two had stared at this screen for nearly five mins before breaking away. Illusions were powerful, they could simulate everything from sights and sounds, to pressure and pain. The most potent Illusionist in the world, the ranked 14th Contestant "Dreamscaper" could even cause physical damage with his Illusions.

But not even he could fake a Status screen. As far as they could tell, anything directly involved with the system was "untouchable."

They dropped the matter after that, though he could still catch the two staring at him out the corner of his eye.

Incidentally, when he asked if he could see their own, he was told it was rude to request a stranger's information.

.... Well, fine then...

----------------------------------------

A few hours later....

Gwen and Reggy stood on the small raft, preventing anything from falling, while Jonah waded in the acid and pushed the craft forward. After his first real meal in months that wasn't rotting monster meat or titan snake blood, he was feeling fantastic. As the near the encampment, Reggy whistled;

[Reggy]: *whistle* Woooow, I have to admit, I'm impressed. When you told me you build a camp here just using [Macgyver], I'll admit, I was skeptical.

Reggy's class, 'Lightforge Smith', was a hybrid Crafting-Combat class, so naturally, he'd picked up the skill as well, alongside other crafters. According to him, however, [Macgyver]'s benefits were minimal compared to a true crafting skill. It was useful for altering and adjusting blueprints to account for defects or deficits, but not much else.

Even him, who headed the Association's Crafting branch, had only managed to raise it to level 5.

When they escape, Reggy felt he'd have to further explore the skills uses.

In contrast, Gwen just stared slack-jawed at the rickety platform and shabby tent/hut that appeared to be made of bug parts. She was seriously contemplating turning around and taking her chances with the slowly resolving building.

Gwen hadn't offered much about her own class. All Jonah understood was that her "Queen of Slaughter" class let her directly purchase skills from the Shop with EXP, instead of having to use tokens. This resulting in a massive, versatile skill set that earned her the moniker of "E-ranked Goddess."

Why E-ranked? According to Gwen, skill cost increased exponentially, with even D-Ranked skills costing nearly 10x the price of an E-Ranked skill. Since 10 E-ranked skills would give her more options and flexibility than a single D-ranked skill, she tended to focus on them.

There was some wisdom in her strategy, but the gamer part of Jonah couldn't help but wonder if she'll struggle in the future because of it. Often in games, 'Jack-of-All-Trades' Characters shine in the early game but fall behind those Min-Maxed characters near the end.

Then again, this was real life, not a game, and if Reggy's comments were correct, she's not shown any signs of slowing down any time soon. He guessed they both had their secrets that weren't such public knowledge.

As they drew closer, Reggy's eyes flashed, and he vanished from the raft. Jonah lifted an eyebrow and stared at Gwen, who could only shrug. Once they arrived, The two began piling supplies onto the platform and soon found Reggy behind the Hut. The man was standing in Jonah's storage cavity, bent over a metal bench that he was sure as heck wasn't there before.

On the bench were several shards of worm plate, some leftover worm leather, and other bits and pieces of worm materials. Reggy moved between the various materials and examined them with various glowing tools of light, mumbling to himself like a madman the whole time.

As Jonah rounded the corner, Reggy seemed to teleport towards him and grabbed tightly onto his shoulders. His eyes flashed with a feverish light as he spoke, his voice quivering.

[Reggy]: "W-Where did you get this stuff?!

[Jonah]: "I...Wha..."

Reggy shook the young man with enough force to make him dizzy,

[Reggy]: "The materials, boy! The materials! I've never seen anything like them! They have to be at least level 35...no, 40! Minimum! That Barbarian and I only just hit level 25, where the hell did you get something like this?!"

But between the shaking and his own dizziness, Jonah could barely think, let alone form sentences. Gwen gave a sigh then slapped the manicked Reggy's head loud enough to echo through the chamber.

[Gwen]: "Yo, Crafting Nerd, give the man the chance to speak."

Seeming to wake from his fever, Reggy gave a cough, his cheeks visibly blushing as he nodded. From his fidgeting hands and eyes that kept wandering back towards his table, one had to wonder when he might relapse.

Jonah took a moment to catch his breath and gather his thoughts, before recounting his encounter with the Leviathan Worm, and the Sponsored quest. By the end of his tale, the look of suspicion and skepticism had returned to his guest's face.

[Reggy]: "Gwen and I might be able to take out a level 35 if we had the right gear and worked together. You honestly want me to believe that you killed a level 42 on your own, without levels or tools? You do understand how ridiculous that sounds, right?"

He flicked his wrist and a whip of light formed from thin air. Jonah grimaced and backpedaled a few steps.

Gwen pinched the bridge of her nose before smacking Reggy once more.

[Gwen]: "Reggy, stop. He's most likely telling the truth."

[Reggy]: "Ouch! What the hell is wrong with you, Gwen? You can't hon..

[Gwen]: "Jonah, when did you say this happened again?"

[Jonah]: "A-about two months ago... "

[Reggy]: "Gwen, what does that hav...wait... two months...hmmm."

[Gwen]: "Right. The time frames match up. If Jonah is telling the truth, that would explain why we never found any wounds on Níðhöggr. It wasn't that it wasn't hurt. We just never thought to look INSIDE. Hell, I don't think we could have even if we did."

[Reggy]: "... Fine"

Reggy flicked his wrist again and banished the whip.

[Reggy]: "Let's assume, for now, we believe you. The question is; Can you do it again?"

[Gwen]: "What are you getting at?"

[Reggy]: "Whatever he did, it put Níðhöggr out of commission for nearly two months. If we can repeat that, then maybe we can buy more time. Maybe even enough for rescue to come, or even enough for us to cut our own way out."

[Gwen]: "The Titan also leveled a city in the process, and we have no idea where we are. We could be under a major population center this time, instead of an abandoned monster nest. Or even miles underground."

[Reggy]: "Letting it roam around and cause more destruction isn't much of an option either. You forget that this thing will spawn an Army wherever it settles."

[Gwen]: "I don't think triggering an Earthquake is much of a better option, Reggy."

The two's argument was becoming more heated and aggressive by the moment, that Jonah could barely be a word in;

[Jonah]: "Ah, actually...Ummm."

[Gwen/Reggy]: ""What!?""

The two snapped. Jonah could only shake his head and try to speak up with his still raw and underused voice.

[Jonah]: "I think I could do... But there's a slight problem... "

with those words, Jonah's eyes drifted towards the massive building, taking up a good chunk of their available space.

[Reggy]: "... Well, ****..."