Looking around the roof Mike made sure everyone was busy.

The players seemed to have accepted the idea of a safe zone readily enough. They were either mesmerized by the distant monolith, zoned out focusing on their HUD menus or taking a moment to finally relax.

Mike couldn't blame them. But he empathized more with the two guys who hadn't yet joined the system. Technically he could have made one of them a player in the stairwell. He'd grabbed the crystal before he thought about it - ruining that chance.

Without a HUD showing them the comforting blue barrier indicating safety, neither of them seems able to relax.

Maybe they're the smart ones. Mike privately considered.

They hadn't exactly tested the blue barrier's effectiveness. Just because some alien information in their heads said the blue lights meant safety they all believed it. If the information contained inaccuracies they would only be able to blame themselves for being careless.

Mike kept his cynicism to himself. It wouldn't help anything to scare people. Quietly, to himself, he swore to keep up his guard until he was sure safe zones were actually safe.

In the mean time he found a spot with his back against the roof access shed so nothing could sneak up on him. Taking a deep breath he focused first on the menu, then the store.

New options appeared.

The store was broken into departments. The [Armory], [Pharmacy], [Laboratory], [Workshop], [Bookstore] and finally [General]. A quick peek inside was enough to estimate their purposes.

The Armory sold weapons, armors, and other combat related items.

The Pharmacy held medication from the mundane to the miraculous. Everything from rash creams to stimulants was available.

Considering Sara's health was the reason he was looking at the store in the first place Mike spent a bit more time browsing it. Eventually he found a section of magical cure alls starting with a one hundred credit [{Small} Health Potion] for recovering from small wounds.

The Laboratory allowed purchase of  low end bloodlines, enchancements and other permanent capability improvements.

The Workshop was less clear cut on its services. It seemed to offer upgrading, breaking down and generally studying of items for improvements like a research center. It was also possible to use the Workshop for maintaining cybernetic enhancements installed in the Laboratory.

The Bookstore contained information for purchase. It was further broken into sections for Skills, Grimoires, and Knowledge.

Skills offered system related abilities for immediate use. While Grimoires did the same for magic.

The last section - Knowledge - contained actual books without the experiences necessary to immediately use what they contained. Knowledge was comparatively cheaper. It offered alternative means to learn skills and magic. More effort for less credits.

General contained everything else. Camping supplies, clothing, tools, food, mineral resources and more. It was by far the largest section and was divided into countless subsections. Days would be lost attempting to catalog it all.

The system was much more efficient than a normal brick and mortar store. Rather than being forced to find the right section etc. for what he was looking for all Mike had to do was winnow the selection down through mental suggestions. Eventually the filtering would narrow his results to what he actually wanted to find.

Finished with his preliminary overview Mike purchased the small health potion. A nearly transparent blue hour glass surrounded by a cirlce appeared at the center of his vision. It turned over roughly once a second for a half dozen times before it disappeared.

A blue box like the reward for becoming a player - or the drop item from killing a zombie - appeared floating in mid-air, in front of him.

Several people looked over at him. It was obvious they were interested in what he was doing. No one was on good enough terms with him to feel like they could question his actions. He was the violent zombie-killer. What if he didnt like them nosing around in his buisness?

Nobody bothered him. They needed him. But he might not need them.

Mike ignored everyone, oblivious to the entire byplay.

Touching the box made it dissolve, revealing a small glass vial, filled with red liquid. Grabbing it he stood and walked over to Yunah.

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Taking a knee next to her he nudged her with his elbow and said, "Try this. It's the cheapest magic potion I could find. I don't know enough about medicine to find anything real that might help her."

"Thank you," Yunah said the look on her face conflicted. She couldn't turn his gift down but she felt awkward accepting it.

Mike had never been part of her social circle - which had been quite wide due to her friendship with Sara. He owed her nothing.

Looking at the bottle in her hand she felt like she had to know why. She wanted to know upfront if there were strings attached. If he was, say, attracted to her or Sara, it would just be easier to accept his help.

In answer to her question Mike gave  her a half smile. For a long moment he considered how to say what he wanted to say before shrugging with a hollow laugh.

"It's selfish really." He said.

"How's that?" She asked confused how doing anything for her was selfish on his part.

"If you're really going to make me say it I guess the truth is my motivation isn't exactly pure." He paused meeting her eyes. For the first time Yunah noticed how intense their gold coloring was. Up close his gaze was mesmerizing.

It was strange, considering that from a distance his looks were average - at best.

Seeing she was waiting on him to finish the thought Mike made a split second decision to level with her. He was hardly a master of manipulation. If she caught him gaming her, she'd be offended.

"I don't know how all this is going to go down." He gestured vaguely at the rooftop.

"But I do know I need people watching my back. Competent people. People I trust. If I have to buy that trust in the beginning," Mike nodded to the potion, "that's fine by me. But this whole 'everybody for themselves but together' thing we're doing right now isn't going to work for me long term. I have people - family- I need to find and keep safe. Just look at the potion as my way of trying to get you to be part of my team. It's the whole 'coal in winter' idea. The potion is my way of saying I'll be on your side when you need me not just when things are going good."

"I think that's the most I've ever heard you talk." Yunah said with a curious tilt to her head.

"You're not exactly Miss Talks-a-lot yourself you know."

Yunah smiled slightly and to Mike's amazement stuck out her tongue at him.

They laughed together for a moment. As their laughter died down she looked at him. Her puzzled expression was back again.

"I understand what you meant. You probably could have said it better or at least clearer but I get it. What I still don't get is why me?" Before he could answer she backtracked a step, "I mean us. Why us?"

"You were right the first time."

"What?"

Mike rolled his eyes, answering, "You are the one I'm recruiting. Not Sara. I don't know if she will be any help or not. But you want to save her and that's good enough for me."

Yunah started to say something. Maybe to argue with him. Mike cut her off.

"Yunah. If you had to guess, how many people on this roof right now, know martial arts?"

"I don't know."

"Neither do I honestly. But what I do know, is you do. Maybe there's somebody else. If there is, I know they didn't step up and fight any zombies. You did. The system gave you a magic sword and you actually know how to use it. Do you realize how amazing that makes you?"

Under her breath Yunah grumbled, "it's not magic just sharp," but she couldn't argue with what he was saying.

Out of the eleven people on the roof three of them had fought zombies. Troy had fought them as a rearguard in several two on two or two on three fights. But only Mike and Yunah had faced off against multiple zombies alone, and killed them.

That was completely different than beheading a zombie Mike had already crippled for them.

Yunah was a certified bad-ass.

Mike might have fought considerably more zombies with less training. He was a big guy, made even bigger and stronger by the system. He barreled through zombies without a care in the world.

The system only gave Yunah a sword. It had been down to her skills and the ability to remain calm. And she'd done it.

A few awkward moments passed. Mike kept staring at her with his intense gaze. She continued to avoid meeting his eyes from embarrassment. Mike misread the situation - thinking she didn't believe him.

"You're sword may not be magic. But you really are amazing Yunah." He said. His voice full of confidence.

Despite her looks - or possibly because of them - she wasn't used to being praised. Not anything other then her looks, anyway. A slight blush tinged her cheeks.

Seeking a distraction Yunah finally unstoppered the potion and carefully poured a bit into Sara's mouth.

Unconscious Sara couldn't swallow well, wasitng a small amount of the red liquid.

Swearing gently Yunah took a mouthful and without thinking about how it would look pressed her mouth to Sara's, helping her swallow.

Nothing happened immediately but after several seconds and another mouthful Yunah could see Sarah's coloring coming back into her cheeks.

Excited Yunah looked up. This time it was Mike who couldn't meet her eyes. Confused as to his sudden shyness it took a moment for her to realize what was wrong.

Turning bright red from ear to ear she stammered out an explanation. She had no reason to be embarrassed. She had been saving a friend. But the embarrassment came all the same.

Mike laughed at her cute antics.

The tension broke immediately.

Feeling both giddy and annoyed Yunah smacked Mike in the arm. Only Sara would have recognized the gesture of familiarity from her usually soft spoken friend.

"Sorry to interrupt you," Rajesh's voice came from over Mike's shoulder, "but Troy asked me to get you guys for the meeting."

Mike rolled his eyes as he stood and turned around. Rajesh was caressing his system given hammer as two other players - a spear user named Dan and an athletic brunette with a pipe wrench and a huge flat head screwdriver - stood behind him like they were under his command.

Mike didn't like that idea very much.

Rajesh was one of the only level twos in the group along with Yunah and Troy. It was natural that he'd have some prestige.

But having prestige and forming a subteam within tht team were entirely different things. Worse still, Troy would've had to approve any sub team's creation, himself.

He felt more than a little annoyed. Was he already being replaced?

Mike grunted. He gestured for Rajesh to lead the way.

Yunah stood. Giving Sara another look she sighed then turned and stepped up next to Mike, but a step behind like Rajesh's goons. Mike smiled and shook his head. He already felt a million times better.