“Are you okay?” His mother asked over holo-chat. “You don’t look so good.”

“I’m fine,” he insisted. “It’s just really hot here.”

Blake’s last water bottle materialized from spatial storage, and he sighed with relief. He took great gulps of the cool liquid and was disappointed when the bottle emptied.

“I can delay the interview until you’re back if you want,” she offered.

“No, don’t worry about it. Jordan already recommended them, and I trust your judgment.” He wiped the sweat from his brow. “This is pretty much a formality. I’m mostly just curious how they’ll take the news.”

“If you’re sure…” she trailed off doubtfully.

“Just turn off audio and increase the transparency of the holo-chat when they get there so I don’t distract you.” Blake smirked. “No one’s going to listen to a crazy lady that hears voices in her head.”

Donna snorted.

Okay, break time’s over.

Blake stood and retrieved his weapons. His original estimate of two hours to complete the scenario had been woefully inaccurate. The simple corridor at the beginning had turned into a warren of tunnels. At every intersection, he had been forced to explore side passages, some very hot and narrow.

It did not help that every group he crossed after his initial battle were clustered in twos or threes. The smaller numbers made for a safer fight, but were tedious to clear when spread throughout a maze of caverns.

As he ducked through yet another side passage, the interviewees arrived. He watched a transparent view from his mother’s perspective as four men in their twenties exited an older model car.

I guess they all know each other.

Donna opened the door to the restaurant and invited them in. They exchanged pleasantries, and after they were seated, Peter stopped by the table to ask what they wanted to order. His father had missed cooking, and did not want to let the food in the fridge go to waste. Since the restaurant was closed, they could not charge for the meal, but no law forbade them from cooking for ‘friends’.

After a few moments, Blake began to pay only scant attention. Their introductions were banal, and he did not really care about their previous work experience. Although, he did find it humorous that one person only replied with the shortest possible answers. It seemed to frustrate his mother to no end, and she was forced to pry responses out of him.

The quiet man’s appearance also stood in stark contrast to his friends’. They were all in their upper twenties, but where they were white and skinny, he was short, overweight, and looked Native American. He likely came from the reservation south of Pinetop.

Their meals arrived, and the interview was paused as they consumed their free food. After he saw it would be some time before the questions resumed, Blake muted the audio and lowered the transparency until his parent’s restaurant and its guests were barely visible.

Finally!

As Blake rounded a corner, he found the last three Manders against the wall. They immediately reacted to his presence. Two opened their jaws wide and began to cast their fire-based mana spells. The third, however, braced itself against the hot, glowing wall, ready to spring forward.

Blake rushed the three alligator-like worms with his sword raised and his shield extended. Suddenly, just as he was about to clash with the trio, he stumbled and fell.

What the hell?

His collapse to the ground happened in slow motion. Even his arms failed to respond with their usual alacrity. He was barely able to raise his shield and sword in time to catch his fall, and his hands burned as they seared against the smoldering rock.

Seriously? A freaking aether user?!

Blake finally recognized the spell used against him, Slow. Unlike Temporal Slow, which had been used against Lord Zeleck just before Blake went back in time, this spell did not affect the flow of time. Both spells were aether based, but this only affected his own movement and reflexes. His perception of reality remained steady, it was his muscles that failed to respond with their usual speed.

The fact that he was able to catch himself meant that he had partially resisted the spell. If it had fully applied to him, his face would have planted against the hot rocks rather than his hands.

Blake slowly pushed himself up to his knees and raised his shield, just as the two Manders finished their cast. Two separate blasts of fire engulfed him. His buckler protected his hands and head directly from the flames, but the temperature began to steadily rise.

The aether user remained stationary and maintained its spell. Unlike the other three energy types, all aether spells were channeled, and required a high amount of concentration to maintain. While an aether user could still fight and defend themselves while they sustained their spells, their prowess would be drastically reduced.

I need to stop this!

The fire showed no sign that it would relent. Already he coughed violently as the heat seared his lungs. If he stood still and waited for the spell to complete, he would likely be cooked alive.

Blake kept the buckler between himself and the two Manders as he rose to his feet and slowly inched toward them through the effects of the spell. His legs, no longer tucked behind him, began to swelter as he steadily closed the gap.

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When he was only a few feet from the source of the fire, he blindly thrust his blade forward around his shield. He felt the impact as his long sword skewered the Mander, and half the flames suddenly died. He tried to extract the steel from the dead monster, but his weapon refused to budge.

Damnit! I don’t have time for this!

Blake released his hold on the longsword and propelled himself in slow motion toward the last mana user. His shield slammed into the monster’s snout and instantly disrupted the spell.

The fire ceased, but the Mander did not remain still. Instead, it counter-attacked. Blake felt pressure on his right arm as the monster’s fangs closed around it.

While it was occupied, he raised his buckler and bashed its edge against the top of the creature’s head repeatedly. His movements were ponderous, and he lacked his full power, but with the monster immobilized, he prevailed.

The Mander fell limp with its fangs embedded in his bracer, either unconscious or dead. Blake tried to release its hold, but its jaws were locked tight.

Whatever, I’ll pry it loose later.

He advanced on the aether Mander, his shield before him on his left hand, while he dragged his last attacker behind. When he was only a foot away from the aether user, it sprang toward him. He felt it thump against his raised shield, and the second he felt the impact, the Slow was dispelled.

With his full speed finally available to him, he tackled the dazed creature and bashed it repeatedly. Four strikes later, the creature died, and the Collective informed him the scenario was completed.

Blake collapsed to the ground in exhaustion.

What would have been an easy fight almost turned deadly when the debilitating spell was used against him. Manders that did not use fire-based spells were uncommon, and alternate energy types were even rarer. Once again, if it were not for his abnormally high attributes, he would have died.

Maybe I should go back to level zero or the Ursa?

Classless Manders would be incredibly easy to defeat, and he would be unlikely to suffer an injury. However, he would need to complete five level zero scenarios to receive the same nano as he just did in this single run.

He stood to distance himself from the hot ground.

Meanwhile, without his scout, the Ursa scenario would consume his entire day. He could force his companion to follow his orders, regardless of their agreement, but he refused to break his word.

Let’s see what the rewards are.

Four rewards appeared before his vision. The first two were duplicates of gear he already owned, while the last was a necklace that increased his Physical Stamina.

The third option, however, was something new. It was a kite shield without the self-repair function of his current buckler. Instead, it attracted flames to its center and consumed them.

According to the description, the shield could only absorb so much energy before it lost cohesion and disintegrated. However, while it remained operational, he would be almost invulnerable to the Mander’s attacks.

Maybe I don’t need to change things up. At least, not while the shield lasts.

Blake selected the kite shield and considered Rajesh’s thoughts regarding the AI’s intervention in their lives. While he waited for it to assemble, he unmuted his holo-chat feed and increased the opacity of the video.

“I’m telling you, it’s the truth, and I can prove it!” his mother insisted. Blake could hear a bit of frustration in her voice.

The tallest of the white applicants shook his head, stood, and replied, “Sorry lady, but this seems sus. I’m out.”

“Same,” his friend replied.

“I’m not falling for another scam,” the third adamantly replied.

His mother followed them to the door, and tried to convince them to stay and see her proof. Unfortunately, her pleas fell on deaf ears. Finally, when they exited the door, she turned and sagged. Only one man remained, the quiet one from before.

She addressed the last applicant. “You aren’t going to leave, too?”

He shook his head.

Curious, she asked, “Why not?”

“Free meal,” the man shrugged. “Least I can do.”

“Well, like I told your friends, I can prove it.”

Blake could see the doubt written across his face.

Donna held out her hand. “Kuruk, all you have to do is shake my hand, and I’ll transfer the nanomachines to you,” she insisted. “Then you’ll see.”

His brows rose, and his doubt remained, but after a shrug, he grasped palms with her. After the shake was over, he dropped his hands and shook his head.

“It takes a few minutes,” she explained.

His eyes rolled.

Why didn’t she just transfer the nano from the beginning?

Blake was about to speak up when he remembered that she muted him, just as he had muted her during the battle. He was annoyed that he missed their initial reactions to her story, but based upon the final result, he could guess how it progressed.

Suddenly, Kuruk’s eyes widened in surprise. He raised his arm and swept his fingers through the air. He muttered curses under his breath, and began to panic. His mother saw the crazed look in his eyes and tried her best to calm him down. When that did not work, she turned to Blake.

“Blake, what do you… Oh my God! Are you okay?!”

Her initial question turned to alarm as soon as she restored her holo-chat. Blake felt along his face and winced when he felt the burned skin.

“I’ll live,” he promised. “I just had some bad luck, is all.”

He could tell that she wanted to ask more questions, and cut her off before she could do so. “Mom, go ahead and share this holo-chat with him. Now that he has nanos, he can see what you do.”

She frowned, but complied.

Kuruk jumped in surprise when he saw Blake appear before him and immediately asked, “What is this? Some experimental tech? I didn’t consent to be a guinea pig!”

The man was far more vocal now that he was panicked, and he rose to his feet. Before he could rush out the door, Blake said, “Technically you did, she said she was transferring the machines. Here, let me show you something.”

Blake raised his arm before him and displayed the corpse of the Mander, its jaws still attached to his bracer. While the fangs had not penetrated his armor, it was still uncomfortably tight around his skin.

“This right here is a monster, one of the many types which will attack Earth by the end of June.” He heard his mother gasp in shock at the sight. Kuruk focused on the creature, but remained frantic. “Everything my mother told you is true. But, unlike billions of others, you have a chance to survive if you join us.”

“How…’ he stuttered. “ How do you know? Why June?”

Blake winced. “Sorry, I assumed she told you about me. As you can see,” he raised his arm higher. “I was kind of busy fighting, so I muted the feed. As crazy as it sounds, I’m from the future. I have a chance to redo my past and save humanity from the invaders.”

“Is this, like, CGI or something?”

Blake sighed. “Look, it doesn’t matter whether you believe us or not, the nanomachines are inside you already. The question is, do you want to get paid real money for the next five and a half months, or go home empty-handed?”

Blake’s last statement finally had an impact on Kuruk’s state of mind. He took a deep breath and visibly calmed before he asked, “Can I have some dessert while I think about it?”