I cradled the boulder like Atlas carrying the world, then dipped into a deep lunge. Trembling with the effort, I slowly, arduously forced the stone higher. As the pain increased, my attention started to slip. The storm magic sphere I had painstakingly created over my shoulder started deteriorating, the magic leaking into the atmosphere.

Trying to turn my focus back on the sphere, I almost dropped my burden. Centering myself with a yell, I returned my focus to my body, desperately trying to reach my goal. With a furious shout, I stood yet again.

The instant I reached the apex, my muscles finally gave out. Before the boulder crushed me, I shifted my weight to the left, forcing the massive chunk of limestone off my shoulders. It slammed into the spring's shallow water with a sickening crash. My mana construct dissolved as my body gave out yet again.

Utterly exhausted, I allowed myself to fall back into the pool, luxuriating in the instant relief it brought. The icy springwater ate away my muscular pain with a voracious intensity. I had already been through three repetitions of intense exercise, followed by healing.

It was the most anime-protagonist thing I had ever done. I was actually a bit peeved at how well it was working.

*ding*

Race Skills:

Stormborn: 2->4!

Magic Skills:

Novice Storm Magic: 9->13!

Archetype Skills:

Born to Roam: 12->15!

Current Stats:

Strength: 14->17!

Agility: 14->17!

Constitution: 16->18!

Charisma: 11->12!

Considering my rapid skill and stat gains, it seemed like the system agreed with my methods.

It certainly helped that I was healing faster than ever before. When I bathed in the summoned water at the camp, it took between thirty minutes and an hour for muscular soreness to heal. Even then, I left a healing session with at least some soreness and pain remaining.

With this water, though, the soreness had been healing completely after only twenty-ish minutes. The injuries to my calf and wrist, courtesy of the budget-blastoise, were recovered entirely in thirty. Something about the water coming out of the Edwards aquifer was special.

I had no way to know for sure, but I suspected that this water was impregnated with mana. As interesting as that was, it was equally concerning. The Edwards aquifer was a series of limestone caves and tunnels forming a giant underground lake beneath the city. And that was all before the waves started changing the way land worked.

I suspected that just like the land up above, the tunnels below ground had gotten a magic makeover. There was no telling what kind of monsters were growing there. It was yet another potential problem that no one could do anything about.

The instant I finished healing, I turned to the massive boulder that had been both my bane and companion for the past four hours. As fast as I could, I threw a jab at the rock. The instant my fist touched the stone, it split right down the middle, cracking in half. A grin rose to my lips.

I hadn’t even felt pain.

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

I wanted to go out and slay some monsters immediately, but unfortunately, I needed to return to camp. My machete had been destroyed, and while I was certainly still a threat armed with my fists and magic, I missed the comforting weight that my weapon brought. Lifting out of the pool and flying directly upwards, I slowly crested the lip of the crevasse.

As soon as I did, I froze in surprise. I was, surprisingly, not alone. The group of four wore gear that looked like something out of final fantasy. They seemed as shocked as I was and stood rooted in place, staring at me as I loomed over them.

The first one of the group to react was a seemingly ordinary man wearing leather armor with red and gold accents. He was likely a superhuman. Shaking himself from his panic, he quickly entered a defensive stance, raising a shield to cover his body, shortsword held aloft. His movement also brought the rest of his group around, and they rapidly took up poses.

Facing me with a determined snarl, he shouted, “Crimson Falcons! Let’s go!”

As they started moving towards me in a coordinated cluster, I raised my hands in surrender, trying to defuse the situation.

“Whoa, whoa, let’s hold our horses.”

The instant I spoke, the man in red, who I assumed was the group's leader, froze in place. Comically, the other group members continued forward, running into his now stationary back. One by one, they collapsed on the ground into a pile of groans and swearing.

The first one to get up was what I assumed was the healer of the group. It was a she-elf clothed in white robes, carrying a wood staff topped with glowing green leaves.

“Damnit, David! This is why we talk first!”

The next to rise was the leader, who I guessed was named David.

“Sorry, Bea. My bad.”

“Don’t apologize to me! Apologize to her!”

One by one, they rose until I found myself facing a group of adventurers yet again.

The man in red approached with a confident strut until he was a few steps before me.

Quickly bowing his head as he trembled with emotion, he bellowed, “My most sincere apologies, kind stranger! I thought you were a monster! What can we do to make amends?!?”

It didn’t take long for me to come up with an answer.

“Well, you can end that awkward apology as soon as possible. Who are you people, anyway?”

Turning a glowing smile toward me as he raised his head, he gestured to his group like a showman at a circus.

“I’d be proud to introduce us! We are intrepid adventurers in this new world! I am David Kingston, our tank. With me are Zach Lin, assassin, Beatrice Waller, healer extraordinaire, and Morgan Walsh, frost sorceress!”

Considering their stereotypical attire, it was easy enough to guess who was who in their group.

“I’m Victoria Gale. Most people call me Vic. I suppose it’s good to meet some friendly faces out here. What are y’all doing here, anyway?”

Unsurprisingly, it was David who answered my question.

“I’m glad you asked! We are here on a brief quest for the growing town of Bridge to clear the area of monsters. We came this direction after hearing a loud crashing sound. We were concerned a Stone Deer herd was in the area.”

“Ah, yeah. That was me. Sorry about that. I didn’t think about the noise my training would make.”

“Oh? Training, here? You must be another adventurer, then! Would you be willing to trade information?”

Though wary, I didn’t see much reason to turn him down. If his group wanted to attack me, they could have long ago. Plus, I wanted to get any information I could on the new settlement.

“I’d be willing to share some of what I know. I’m from another town a bit farther north, and we’ve encountered our share of dangers.”

Over the next few minutes, we traded information on the various monsters we’d encountered during our travels. I was surprised to learn that the Crimson Falcons had been a party long before the first wave. They were a group of LARPers on a trip to a convention in Austin when the waves struck, and they stuck together after.

I was equally surprised to find out that they were highly competent adventurers. I hadn’t noticed when I first arrived, but each of their group carried a backpack with trophies of the various monsters they’d killed. I saw plenty of Treerat tails, Stone Deer horns, and even a Mana Hound ear.

They were particularly interested in my second-hand descriptions of the monster cat and the Cannon Turtles. As I started talking about them, the gloomy-looking cat beastkin assassin brought out a notebook and hastily jotted down information.

When I started talking about the cult of Gors, they froze in shock. Surprisingly, it was Beatrice, the healer, who interrupted me.

“So these cultists… they follow an evil god created by the system? And you’re certain they can’t be reasoned with?”

The members of the Crimson Falcons traded glances that I couldn’t quite decode, but I could sense a hint of urgency.

“Yeah. They have some kind of magic hard-wiring for murder and mayhem built into them. By signing up with these evil gods, you get power, but also a healthy dose of crazy.”

David nodded once, before his expression grew stony.

“This is… well. ‘Concerning’ doesn’t describe it well enough. The presence of these cultists would explain a few things about what we’ve been facing back home. Zach, can you send word back to Elder Matthew? They need to be informed of this immediately.”

Zach rose rapidly, spun in place, then dashed into the woods, moving west along the riverbank.

Slowly, the other members of the Crimson Falcons rose, dusting themselves off and preparing their gear.

David turned to me yet again.

“Vic. It was a pleasure meeting you. You may follow us to Bridge if you wish, but we must depart.”

“Wait! Why the rush? What’s happening back at your base?”

David grimaced.

“Those cultists you mentioned? I’m pretty sure they arrived at our doorstep yesterday.”