Claude took a moment to recover, and they all walked towards the city hall. By then the rest of the captains had made their way there, and Sam briefly explained what had happened to Claude as they walked.

“So you remembered what my bracelet looked like, and were able to pick out the real Claude like that? I believe a little bit of praise is in order,” Jeffrey said, laughing.

“When I caught you with that bracelet, I was going to blast you back to kingdom come for being an alien. If that failed, then I would have probably killed you some other way. It should be me that you’re thanking,” Sam replied, smiling. The others frowned and reevaluated Jeffrey.

“Wait, there’s something that I’m missing here. What exactly happened between you two before the tournament?” Lao asked, looking between Sam and Jeffrey.

“I’ll tell you later. Let’s deal with the more pressing problem first,” Sam declared, walking a little bit faster. By the time that they reached the city hall, the alien had woken up, and was in the process of crawling out of the building. Sam walked over slowly and picked it up by the scruff of its neck. He was unable to tell the gender of the alien. It had an androgynous face, and seemed to not have normal human biology. Of course, the four arms were a dead giveaway that this was not exactly the most similar of aliens to humans. It spat at him bitterly as he picked it up, shooting a small glob of bluish phlegm at Sam that missed him, but splattered on the ground, burning a hole in it. Sam raised an eyebrow.

“Huh, acidic spit. Now, who exactly are you?” He asked, shaking the alien a bit.

“I will never tell you, scum. Such a creature as you is beneath me. I am a proud warrior of the Kalvan people, and I will never betray their name,” the alien said. A moment later, everyone started laughing.

“Seriously? Just how skewed are your stats?” Sam asked, grinning. “Maybe consider investing a few more points into Intelligence next level up.” The alien realized what it had done, and growled. It was too late however.

“Jeffrey, do you know who the Kalvan are?” Sam asked.

“Ehh, vaguely. I remember one of them coming to the palace during a trade meeting. I remember it because that was one of my great uncle Thalon’s greatest victories. The entire race is quite low in intelligence, it seems. I have no idea why a member of the Kalvan would be sent on a mission like this though.”

“How dare you besmirch the name of my ancestors!” The alien screamed, struggling mightily. It was actually quite strong, causing Sam to readjust his grip. It was clear where all of those lost Intelligence points had gone. He smacked it lightly, which ended up rocking the alien’s head from side to side. It glared up at him from the side of its eyes, and Sam shook his head.

“Is there a prison here or somewhere to keep this spy?” Sam asked.

“Uh, I’m pretty sure that there is a minor holding facility on the other side of the city. We built it in case something like this happened. It can only fit one person, but that’s all we need. For a proper prison, we would have needed someone with experience as a warden, which we lack,” Solitaire answered.

“Oh. Well, that seems fine. I’ll take it there. Can the rest of you check the city for any more imposters? It doesn't matter how you do it, just make sure that we are safe.”

Sam ran off, holding the alien under his arm as it struggled futilely. With its broken legs, each motion inflicted great pain on it, which discouraged it from struggling too hard. Sam ran through the grid of streets that segmented the rapidly growing city, and saw a few people going around and doing everyday things. Things that didn't really fit in with the monster filled world that they lived in now. People were hanging out laundry to dry, going to buy groceries, even just chatting with each other on the sides of roads. This city was slowly becoming an oasis among the chaos, and Sam smiled. Perhaps, after all of this was over, Earth could be repopulated again.

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However, that was just a naive dream. Once the System had arrived, Earth had been irrevocably changed. There would be no going back from this. Every future generation would be born into the System, and would have to learn how to fight for their lives. There was one silver lining however. If people continued to level up, then their lifespans would increase quickly enough for them to be able to live for far longer than any pre System human had. Perhaps Sam would see this bright future for himself. In any case, the most likely cause of his death was battle, and not old age, as long as he continued leveling up like this. Eventually, he might even become immortal. Sam didn't know what rank that happened at, only that such a thing existed.

Sam ran the last stretch of the way as he felt the struggles of the alien intensify. It was beginning to heal somewhat, and Sam wanted to drop it off before it recovered. A small, squat stone building stood at the end of a row of houses, and it had no windows. This was most definitely what Sam was looking for. He dashed over to it, and opened the door with his fingerprint. It was keyed to him and the captains, and it slid open smoothly. Inside was a sparsely furnished room, with a bed, a toilet, and a table. He set the alien down on the bed and ran out the door before closing it tightly, and making sure that it was locked.

He took his time walking back to the city hall, wanting to give his captains plenty of time to finish their search before he arrived. With this in mind, Sam took a long and meandering path through the city, stopping in a small alehouse along the way. There were only a few people inside, which is why he had entered. If there had been more than a few, then it might have incited a stampede. The thing was, the city was far larger than the number of inhabitants required, and therefore most of the establishments within it were either empty, or only had a few people in them. A city that was ten miles in diameter was not that large, but it was very large for a mere 2500 people. Sam walked up to the bar, and noticed that the bartender was trembling slightly.

“Look, if it makes this easier, I’m off duty, ok?” Sam said. The trembling did not ease in the lightest. “Anyway, I’ll take a pint of your best ale.” The other man nodded wordlessly, and slid a large glass cup over to a spigot on the wall. A stream of frothy pale ale came out, and filled the cup to the brim. Shaking slightly as he brought the cup over, the man saluted. It was one thing seeing Sam from afar, but actually pouring a drink from him was something else entirely. Sam didn't really like the hero worship that most of the people in this town had for him, but it was inevitable.

Sam smiled at the man, and sat down. Taking a long pull from his tankard, he sighed. It was some seriously good beer. One of the benefits of the System was that professionals and non combat classes became extremely good at their craft as they leveled up. This brewer here could make beer far more refreshing than anything that humanity could have hoped to make before. By the time that he reached F Rank, he could probably mass produce it as well. Sam realized that he was staring at the man as he thought about the future of the city, and the other man looked extremely unnerved. Sam averted his eyes, and the other man scurried away, clearly glad to have escaped. The other people in the room gave Sam one last look, and left as well, leaving him there to drink in peace. Sighing, Sam left as well. There was no fun in being on his own in a bar. Gone were the days when he could just hang out and relax with his buddies…

“Actually, who the hell am I kidding? I never had any of those, as I sure didn't ever have time to relax,” Sam thought bitterly. It was true. In his relatively short life before the System, filled with tragedy and woe, moments of true happiness were few and far between. Now however, it was different. If Sam had a choice to forsake the System for his old life, he would have refused. Of course, that would have been the right thing to do, seeing as it would have saved billions of people, and his Dao would likely have forced him to do so, but luckily that was just a hypothetical. In any case, would his Dao make a choice that led to its own destruction? That was actually a good question. Seeing as there was probably a concept, and therefore a Dao, of self destruction, or something along those lines, there had at least been a few people who must have experienced it. It was yet another question to add to his list for his next delving session into the Interwebs. For now, it was time for him to check on the progress of the others in finding any imposters.