“Come on up,” Blake said from within the fire tower. “There’s plenty of room.”

Jordan climbed the metal stairs and entered the structure through the trap door in the floor. Once inside, he moved to the side, so the three new recruits could join him. After everyone was inside, they all gazed out the window and observed the wooded mountains beyond.

“Nice view,” Jordan commented.

Blake nodded his agreement. “Okay, you guys can stay here and wait, or leave and come back, I don’t care. I just wanted to show you where the portal is so you know how to join me when I’m ready.” He gestured toward the far corner, which was barricaded by surplus magical armor and weapons. “See that empty corner? Don’t go over there until I tell you to. Got it?”

When everyone nodded their agreement, he said, “Okay, I’m going to send out a group invite so we can all see the chat, and so you end up in my scenario once I’m done.”

Jason accepted the invite and asked, “What would’ve happened if we didn’t join your party?”

“Then you’d end up somewhere else on the Ursa planet instead of with me.”

“This is where you fight and level up like a video game, right?” Owen asked.

Blake frowned. “Not like a video game,” he corrected. “But otherwise, yeah, when I kill the monsters on the other side, I gain nano which can be used to level up and get stronger.”

Owen’s eyes lit up. “Can you power level us?”

“Yeah man, that’d be awesome,” Jason added.

Blake sighed. “Like I said before, it's not a video game. There’s no such thing as power leveling. Being in my party doesn’t split the nano equally or anything, it just means you show up in the same scenario. Unless you kill a monster yourself or contribute in some other way, you won’t get any nano.”

“That sucks,” Jason complained.

“Yep,” he agreed.

Blake retrieved the spear from the wall, attached his old buckler to his back, changed out his jewelry, and grabbed his duffel bag of supplies. With one last look around, he said, “I’ll be finished in a few hours, then you can join me.”

After the announcement, he turned and stepped into the portal.

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

Jason Karesek: Dude, how much longer are you gonna be?

Blake rolled his eyes.

Like a freakin’ two-year-old.

Lord Blake Summers, Scion of Humanity: I just started forty-five minutes ago, and I’ve only killed one of the Ursa so far. It’ll take me another few hours to finish, at least.

Owen Yates: Yeah, calm your tits, Jason. The mighty Lord Blake has spoken.

Jason Karesek: Oh man, I want ‘Master’ in front of my name, that’d be sweet. How’d you get Lord in front of yours?

Lord Blake Summers, Scion of Humanity: It’s a title for creating a faction, and I can’t remove it. Please stop distracting me with chat unless it's important.

Brent Weeks: As you command, Lord Blake.

Blake groaned. He knew the titles would become a problem. He, himself, ragged on his old faction leader in the same manner. Although, ‘Baron Bob’ was absolutely hilarious in his opinion.

Wait, Brent’s last name is Weeks?

Lord Blake Summers, Scion of Humanity: Hey Brent, are you related to Jordan?

Brent Weeks: Yeah, he’s my cousin.

Brent Weeks: Hey, I thought you wanted us to stay quiet?

Blake refused to respond to Brent’s question. Instead, he tried to focus on the task at hand, navigating the thick woods to locate the next Ursa. Once again, his vision was drawn to the local star as it hung low on the horizon. It shaded the nearby clouds with a green tinge, and looked alien to his eyes.

It’s definitely lower than it was before. I don’t have much time.

At best, he had an hour and a half before darkness fell. Without night vision, his task would become much more difficult, and would extend his time in the scenario.

I can’t use the stealthy approach.

Blake increased his pace to a light jog. His annoyance flared as twigs snapped beneath his feet and the undergrowth bent from his passing. He hated to cede the advantage an ambush offered, but he was on a timer.

At least there’s plenty of wood and stone.

He focused on the positives as he searched the woods for his next victim. Not long after, he heard a grunt and then growl as a nearby Ursa was alerted by his clamorous passing.

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

Blake weaved around a thick tree and came to a halt with his spear raised before him. When he saw the Ursa begin its charge, he immediately backpedaled and placed the tree trunk between himself and his enemy.

He waited patiently, with the butt of his spear braced against the ground, as the monster closed.

What kind of magic do you have?

When he saw that it refused to slow or change direction, even as it was about to slam into the thick tree, he became alarmed. The creature was intelligent and would never do something so foolish unless it was confident in some plan.

Blake immediately abandoned his plan and leapt to the side as the Ursa bulldozed through the thick tree. As he rolled along the ground and came to his feet, he cursed his poor luck.

Damn it! It just had to be Strengthen.

He mentally recalled the spell’s details. As the name suggested, the chi ability doubled the Ursa’s strength while the spell remained active. It used a large amount of energy to maintain, but could be disabled at any time. However, once deactivated, the chi user was forced to wait five seconds before the spell could be used again.

I need to stay close.

Blake prepared himself for a harrowing fight. If he wanted to drain the Ursa’s chi, he needed to crowd the creature so it kept its ability active. Unfortunately, that also put him in the most danger.

Whatever. It can’t hurt what it can’t hit.

He evaded an enhanced swipe and then dodged to the side when the Ursa lunged forward. It bellowed in frustration and continued its attacks, while Blake desperately avoided the powerful onslaught.

Jordan Weeks: Uh… Blake, there’s a problem.

Not now!

Blake dismissed the message without a response as a four-inch claw narrowly missed his arm. The constant evasion winded him, and he labored to breathe as he maintained his retreat. Each attack was deadly, and he could not afford to receive even a glancing blow.

Jordan Weeks: Blake!

Eventually, the Ursa staggered as it lost its prodigious strength.

Finally!

For the first time during the fight, he stood his ground as the monster bore down on him. When it lunged forward, he met the attack with a thrust of his own. His spear pierced deep into the Ursa’s jaw and slid along the bone.

Without the chi ability empowering it, Blake’s own incredible strength was finally a match for his opponent. The Ursa roared in pain as it was forced away from him.

Jordan Weeks: Look, kid, something happened to Jason and Owen, and I need answers here!

Blake pulled back on his weapon for another attack, and flesh came loose as the tip was dislodged. He ducked below a swipe, and thrust forward at its exposed neck. The metal tip carved through the thick hide and pierced through its ribs, where it landed deep within its chest.

He immediately tugged back and forth on his weapon. The Ursa howled as the mortal wound expanded, until finally it collapsed as its heart was destroyed.

Blake sank to his knees and took deep breaths to recover his stamina.

Jordan Weeks: Blake!!!!!

Lord Blake Summers, Scion of Humanity: Yeah. I can talk now, what’s wrong?

Jordan Weeks: Jason and Owen disappeared.

Lord Blake Summers, Scion of Humanity: Through the portal?

Jordan Weeks: I think so. They were screwing around with the armor you have stashed and Jason tripped. Owen tried to catch him, but they were suddenly just gone.

UN-freaking-believable!

Blake quickly checked his map, and sure enough, he saw two markers suddenly appear at the scenario entrance.

Lord Blake Summers, Scion of Humanity: Jason and Owen, DON’T MOVE! I’ll be right there. Don’t worry, Jordan, they’re here with me. Just stay put until I finish the scenario.

Blake minimized the chat and yanked hard on his spear. It took three attempts before his weapon dislodged. Once he had his spear in hand, he sprinted at full speed toward his party members. Ten minutes later, he burst into the clearing where Jason and Owen lay on the ground covered in vomit.

When he saw their amazement at the world around them, he yelled, “What the hell is wrong with you?”

They flinched away from his sudden anger, and Jason immediately became defensive. “You need to chill. It was an ACCIDENT.”

“Yeah, no need to yell,” Owen added as he looked around nervously. “You want to bring the monsters down on us?”

Blake stood frozen with clenched fists, and fought against the sudden rage that threatened to overwhelm him. He forced out a long, loud grunt of annoyance until his lungs emptied of air. Once that was out of his system, he took slow, deep breaths with eyes closed until his emotions came under control.

Why did I just get so mad?

After further introspection, he realized that he was starving. His hunger had shortened his temper, and he had eaten two meals just an hour before.

I need to get my class.

He resolved to grind out the last bit of nano, even if he had to run scenarios around the clock in order to do so. In his mind, his class now took priority over the faction.

Blake opened his eyes and saw that Jason and Owen stared at him in concern.

“Uh… you okay there?” Jason asked.

He ignored the question and stalked forward. When Blake stopped before the two recruits, Owen flinched as he reached down for the duffel bag full of food. After the long-haired man realized what he was after, he let out a chuckle of relief.

Blake unzipped the bag, retrieved a snack bar, and then bit off half of it. While he chewed, he contemplated his next steps rationally. The two recruits remained silent. Without enhancement, there was no way Jason and Owen could keep up with him. Gravity was almost thirty percent stronger on the Ursa world, which is why he found the two on the ground rather than wandering about.

Were they capable, he had no doubt they would have ignored his orders and explored the alien world. Instead, any movement on their part would be difficult and would tire them quickly.

Okay, so they stay here. There’s no way I’m carrying them.

Blake dropped the empty wrapper into the bag and retrieved another snack while he checked his scenario status.

Fifty percent done, two more Ursa.

He mentally shrugged as he finished off the junk food and opened his mouth. “Okay, since you two couldn’t follow simple instructions, your lives are now in danger. We can’t leave until I kill the last two Ursa, and you can’t keep up with me. That means you get to stay here and hope to God a monster doesn’t wander by.”

“Uh…” Owen stammered. “Can’t you just slow down for us?”

He shook his head. “Nope. Have you tried walking around?”

“Not yet,” Jason answered.

“Go ahead, I’ll wait.” When neither stood, Blake encouraged them. “No, I’m serious. Get up and walk to that tree,” he pointed at the thick, stout arbor, twenty feet distant.

They slowly climbed to their feet with a grunt of effort and began to stagger away. By the time they reached the tree in question, they were breathing hard and looked drunk on their feet.

“See…” Jason gasped out between heavy breaths. “I… told… you… we… can… keep… up.”

Blake rolled his eyes, dropped his pack, and sprinted toward them. Their eyes widened in surprise when just a moment later he stood two feet away, not even remotely winded.

“No, you can’t,” he replied, sardonically. “Now, keep your backs to this tree, and keep quiet. With any luck, the Ursa won’t find you before I kill them.” After a moment, he added, “Think you can follow simple instructions this time?”