“Jarek! God, Jarek!”

The moment I appeared in the warehouse-like building of Veyrier Town, a familiar voice greeted me.

I barely had time to take in the sight of a half-dozen figures, bundled up in thick clothes, staring at us, when one of the fur-bundles tackled me.

I suppressed the reflexive urge to defend myself, and I let Justin’s muscular figure wrap me in a warm hug.

I relaxed my body, and hugged him tightly back.

“I’m here,” I said, finally feeling my heart relax.

“Damn, it’s good to see you,” Justin said, releasing me enough to get a good look at my face.

Justin’s usually clean-shaven face had a bit of fuzz on it, not enough to be considered an actual beard.

He had dirty blonde hair, and my heart melted at his earnest, innocent smile. Justin was young enough not to remember Dad’s death, and he had Petra and myself to fall back on when Mom died. Petra had taken all of the weight of the family on herself, then, pulling a complete 180 from a sadistic older sibling to a responsible caretaker at the drop of a hat.

Somehow, Justin managed to graduate high school as a well-liked, upbeat, popular kid.

I could already see the hints of that in the crowd. Another boy about Justin’s age stood slightly behind him, awkwardly, and a few of the people around us were smiling for us happily.

I took a moment to glance around, and I felt the hopeful feeling in my chest fade.

“Where’s Petra?”

Justin took a step back at the chill in my voice.

“She—she was taken by the leader of the kidnappers, when the leader fled.”

Around me, I could see Lea and her soldiers passing out food and water to the dozen people who had been kidnapped.

“Is Ezma here?” Uman’s wife raised her hand from the back of the room.

“Wait here. I’ll take you to Uman soon.” Then I turned to Lea. “Nobody is allowed in the mines, or the upstairs office!”

“Walk with me,” I told Justin, turning towards the basement.

I moved in long, quick strikes, and Justin had to jog to catch up.

“Why did the leader take Petra?” I asked, through gritted teeth. And why can’t my life be easy, for once.

“Jamison—the leader of the kidnappers—kept Petra in the cells in the basement. He probably took her as a hostage.”

My gut clenched. “Why was she kept in the cells?”

If he even laid a finger—

“It was her idea,” Justin said quickly. “Her highest stat is Mental Power. Conditions in the mines weren’t good for her. She convinced Jamison to keep her in the prison. He knew that that we were your siblings, and that there was a chance you would come to find us, so it wasn’t too hard. She has a Truth-telling skill, and she would perform routine checks with Jamison to make sure the other kidnappers were staying in line. She was also working on an escape plan. She would smuggle me extra antidotes, when she could.”

Petra always figured things out. She would be alright.

“Where do you think Jamison would run to?” I asked. “What do you know about him?”

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We had descended into the basement jail, and when I asked the question, I could tell that the remaining kidnapper in prison had heard it as well.

“I think he was military,” Justin said. “But I don’t know. Jarek, is it true you survived the Hell Mode Tutorial? And that you defeated the Zone Lord?”

“Hard Mode,” I corrected him, absentmindedly. “Dawnbreaker is the only North American to complete the Hell Mode. But yes, I dealt the killing blow to the Zone Lord.”

I couldn’t help but remember that moment again, the pride I felt when I killed the shade, and the way River’s corpse had fallen to the ground.

I turned to the swordsman I had locked away 24 hours ago in the cell.

He was shivering—he had a coat, at least, but it was really cold, out in the middle of northern Canada.

“What’s your name?” I asked, figuring I would start easily.

The man didn’t say anything.

“Let me explain,” I said, letting some intensity heat my voice. “I don’t give a fuck about who you are. I want to find my sister. You lied to me once already—you said she was in the mines. Now—”

“I didn’t know!” The man wailed. “I didn’t know she was kept in these jails! I’m new!”

“Don’t interrupt me,” I snarled. “If you help me find Petra, then you get to go free. If you don’t, then I will kill you. Where would Jamison take Petra?”

“I don’t know—no, wait, I think—he was from the States, and he had connections with the military! That’s all I know, I swear!”

“What military base?” I asked, immediately. “Where was he from? Fayette City? Dauphin City?”

“F-fayette City, I think,” the man stuttered.

The conversation continued for a few more minutes, until I was convinced the man had no more valuable information.

Then I went to find Lea. She was ordering her men around the town, making them look busy, but I had no idea at this point what they were doing. All the former prisoners had been taken back to Montreal, except for Ezma and Justin’s friend, who followed Justin around like a shadow.

“I want to hire your men to watch over the town as things get settled,” I started. “What do you think a reasonable price would be?”

“We are not a mercenary group,” Lea said, as if that answered the question. “And with the monster tides, I don’t have the manpower to spare.”

“100,000 coins a day,” I said. I didn’t have the time or patience to barter. “Just keep the town safe from monsters, and nobody goes into the mines.”

I reached out my hand, and Lea shook it. I passed her 200,000 coins, unsure of when I would return next.

Then I turned towards Justin’s clinger-on. “Is he with you?” I asked Justin.

Justin’s face reddened slightly. “Yeah, this is Feng.” He reached back to Feng, who was hiding in Justin’s shadow, and held his hand. “He’s a friend from school. An exchange student from Beijing.” Justin paused again, then added, “We’re together.”

I blinked. “Cool,” I said. I reached my hand out, and Feng hesitantly released Justin’s hand and shook mine. “Jarek,” I said.

“A pleasure,” Feng said. He spoke with a mix of a British and Chinese accent, with a hint of nervousness in his voice.

Feng and Justin were opposites, in many ways. Justin had a rounder, smiling face, and dirty blond hair that was long enough to curl slightly, and a sturdy frame. Feng, on the other hand, had straight black hair and a narrower face. His eyes were darting around quickly, hinting at either discomfort or attentiveness.

“Alright,” I said, taking a deep breath. I wasn’t used to telling people what to do. It felt weird, disjointed. It was so much easier following other people’s directions. “We need to get Ezma reunited with her husband, Uman. Then, I’ll take you both to California. You should be safer there.”

Assuming Ryker doesn’t have it out for me, too.

I continued, “Hopefully, Uman can help me figure out how to find Petra. I’ll find her, and then we’ll be back together again.”

“We can help too,” Justin said. “I’m a swordsman, and Feng is a healer.”

I took another glance at them. Justin was level 10, and Feng was level 9. At the moment, neither of them had any Schema-recognized equipment that I could see.

I could see Feng clench Justin’s hand tightly when he said it, and I was glad that at least one of my two new companions had some semblance of sense.

“We should do things one step at a time,” I said. “If you are interested, I will pay someone to power level you, and I can kit you out in E-rank equipment.”

I could see Justin’s eyes widen comically, and Feng just smiled and nodded at me. There was something…fulfilling, about being in this position. After all this time, I could finally take care of my little brother…and his boyfriend.

It seemed I really had been out of the loop for too long.

“What ranks are your classes? F-rank?” I paused for confirmation. “I’ll find an E-rank class for you both before you level, then, and it would be best if we can find D-rank classes soon, too.”

Of course, I wasn’t going to make them fight monsters if they didn’t want to. But with the way the world was developing, it was quickly becoming clear that I wouldn’t have the power to always keep them safe. The best path forward would be to give them the tools to keep themselves safe. Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for the rest of his life.

“You guys can rest when we get back to Reed City. I have contacts who will help me find Petra. You’ve done enough,” I led Justin and Feng towards the Teleportation Circle.

“Says the killer of the Zone Lord,” I heard Feng whisper to Justin.