It costs two rewards? I wondered, staring at an arming sword that shone platinum in one angle and crimson from another. Its appearance was almost hallucinogenic, one of those holographics that change images when you look at them from a different perspective.

  I read the description:

  Name: Low Adamantine Blade

  Grade: D

  Description: Sword that can slice through most Level 35 hides or shells without skills. It can also be infused with mana and techniques to cut through beasts far above that level. Weapon modification skills are magnified.

  Cost: 2 rewards

  Warning: The effect of this weapon is determined by your own strength and magic, as well as the defense of individual creatures. There is no guarantee of your success or failure with any weapon.

  I immediately thought back to Joel’s arrow hitting the Crimson Spider in the eye, only for the spider to shake it off. Without Mana Sharpening, I would have died (or at least had to jump a few stories to the street—a viable option in retrospect). A weapon like this would have changed everything back then. I was also drawn to my ability to magnify my Mana Sharpening technique. That was an unexpected boon.

  I lifted the sword gingerly, rotating it left and right with my wrist.

  Should I get quality weaponry for my team, too? I wondered. I still have three… No… I’ll wait.

  Emily was staying inside for the most part, so I didn’t need to worry about that. So, I accepted the sword and continued searching, stopping in an area called “Wards.” They looked like railroad spikes, sporting a sharp end to stab into the ground, and a flat top to hammer them down. It even came with a hammer. The center was a different story. It had a neon-blue stone in the center of a network of geometric lines and symbols. I picked up the tag.

  Pocket Ward

  Grade: F

  Description: Creates a barrier around an individual when they eat or sleep. It’s able to withstand attacks below Level 25 with ease, up to Level 30, depending on the skill. Use decreases the duration of use.

  Now that is helpful, I thought. That will be useful for… everything. But…

  I put it down when I saw a sign that read “Alchemical Supplies.” There, I found things I needed much more.

  Perception Healing Kit

  Rank: D

  Mind Recovery Elixir (x2): Heals the mind after use of perception-heavy skills

  Core Recovery Elixir (x2): Heals cores for overexertion

  Note: All items in this kit are Rank D

  Thank God, I thought. Not using my powers was getting dangerous.

  I bought three of those kits, ignoring the temptation of a healing kit. That brought my purchase spree to an end, leaving me with a full outfit, food supplies for my team, the recovery kits, and the Adamantine Blade. I collected the items in a duffel bag and looked at David and Brooke. “Care to help me move all this food?” I asked.

  “Pleeease,” David said. “I’m so hungry I could die.”

  I smiled, and we got started, moving all the supplies to Level 4, Meeting Room 1. It was the room we were assigned to, and for good reason. We currently had the largest team, so we were given the largest room. It usually had a large square table for thirty people to sit facing each other, but the tables were pushed to the corners, leaving space for over 160 people (if the room’s occupancy limit sign were to be believed). It was more than enough for our people to lie and spread out.

  I finished unloading the food with my team and then addressed them.

  “Just as a fair warning, I control the food supply. If you steal food, it will result in immediate elimination.”

  A misty wind whistled beyond the diamond bar windows outside, and a faint rain drizzled onto the glass. It matched the somber, nervous silence in the room.

  “The condition for eating is simple: you have to contribute. That’s it. You can hunt, provide goods and services, scavenge for supplies. Be useful. If you do that, you’ll find yourself eating well. If you complain or refuse—you’ll starve.”

  I never raised my voice, but they could feel the gravity of my words.

  “Now, break into teams. Fledglings in one group, Chosens split apart into groups of five. To be more specific, teams you’ll get along with. I don’t want one person who hates or fears each other standing beside them. If you’re a dickhole like the psychopaths on my team, you’ll be isolated until you earn my trust. Until then, you’ve lost the right to cozy up to useful people you were bad to. Now move.”

  In an aggressive twist, four people fled from the man with the long, sandy hair I had seen on the tenth floor. He looked a bit ragged, and his clothing was baggy. He didn't look homeless, but he was rough in a way that an unemployed person on the end of their rope was rough, and there was a strange aura around him. He saved a team and was the only one to be rewarded for doing so. Despite that, his team ran from him. There had to be a story.

  For whatever it was worth, he stood in place with a wry smile rather than a furious mug, avoiding eye contact as the “problem children” (as I called them) gravitated around him.

  I need to keep an eye on that guy, I thought.

  Stolen novel; please report.

  “Okay, I learned a lot from that,” I said. “Now sit down. I’m going to send representatives to take down your skills and classes. I suggest you comply. I’m currently in charge of the powerhouse team with ample food and resources; if you want to be part of it, don’t be greedy.” I pointed at David, and then the problem children. “Can you?”

  “Sure thing.” David saluted me and walked to the team. Brooke joined another team. Emily, Danny, and I went to the fledgling team.

  The twelve of us sat in a large circle. I began.

  “Let’s start with your classes,” I said. “Give me your class name first, then the briefest of explanations.” I pointed at a man with red hair and freckles.

  “My name’s Eric and I have the Restoration class,” he said. “It might sound useless, but…” He lifted his hands, “Restore!” A golden ripple moved through the room, moving slowly enough for people to watch, in surreal disbelief, as all the blood and guts and dust and debris on their clothing dissolved into a cloud of acrid smoke, leaving them fresh and clean.

  Eric blushed from the cheers and giggles and praise that flooded in.

  I laughed and whirled to face my delighted team members. “Having fledgling rules!”

  They cheered again. We got back to work.

  “Uh, yeah, well, I’m good at things like this,” Eric said nervously. “I’ll also be able to restore abandoned equipment and clean up things like… I don’t want to volunteer, but… those corpses outside.”

  “I think everyone can agree that you’re vital,” I said. “Welcome aboard.” I turned to the next person, a gruff man with a hefty beard. “Okay, let’s continue. Please keep in mind that I’m terrible at names, so they’ll go in one ear and out the other. But they’ll never stick unless we say ‘em. So keep going.”

  “I’m Brent, and Im’ma Mechanic,” he said. “I can touch shit and see what’s wrong with it, and let me tell you, just about everything I’ve touched is damn near fucked.”

  I laughed. “And you can fix it?”

  “To workable condition? Sure. I can shape metal and objects. Melt metal and reform it. Stuff like that.”

  “Beautiful.” I pointed to a fashionable man with an asymmetrical bob haircut. “You?”

  “I’m Vern. I’m an artist. It’s super vague, but… I guess I can bring what I paint to life. I’m sure it’s complicated, but for now, I’ll be able to paint weapons as sharper.”

  “Damn. That’s cool.” I pointed at a middle-aged woman. “You?”

  “My name’s Samantha Keller. I’m an Alchemist. I can use plants and herbs with mana to create products that heal people’s bodies, minds, or cores… among other things. It’s like… magical medicine.”

  I thought back to the health, mana, and perception elixirs. She’d be useful, for sure.

  “That’s perfect.” I pointed to the next man.

  “The name’s Sal. I’m a Forger, but you can think of me like a blacksmith. I make armor and weapons.”

  “Invaluable.” I pointed at a well-dressed man wearing a dress shirt. He was clearly a professional who was at work when he was abducted for the tutorial.

  “Hey everyone. My name’s Diego, and my role’s the “Manager.” Like Henry, I can use telepathy to work with people and share images to explain to others what’s going on. I can also access mental projections of projects and their current statuses, and give ‘bonuses’ to people in the form of Karma.”

  “What’s Karma?” I asked.

  “From what I’ve gathered, it’s how support classes level up,” Diego answered. “By using our skills to people’s benefit, we are given Karma points that work kinda like AP. They allow us to barter for goods and services as a form of currency, or allow us to buy stray soul force. I’m sure we’ll learn more about it as time goes on.”

  “Good to know…” I muttered. I looked at the brunette who uncovered the sniper’s strategy. “Hey there. What’s your class?”

  “Strategist,” she whispered. “I can create maps of beasts and areas, and show them to discuss strategies on how to handle things. I’m also able to process a lot of information to come up with solutions.”

  “That’s exactly what we need.”

  “It’s not that good,” she whispered, eyes fixed on the thumbs in her lap. “It comes with costs.”

  “Fine by me. Your name?”

  “Evelyn,” she said faintly. “Evelyn Brine.”

  “Nice.” I turned to Danny, who was hiding slightly behind Emily. “Can you tell us your class, Danny?”

  Emily coaxed him so he spoke up. “I’m… Danny. I’m called… the me… di… a… tor.” He spelled it out for himself, counting syllables on his fingers. “I can help people… stop fighting.”

  “Interesting… how?” I asked.

  He shook his head. “I… I don’t know. There’s so many big words. I just see things.”

  “See what?” I asked.

  “Emotions. They’re little strings that connect each other. I can see the people who are angry with each other. Their strings are red. I can also see when people are sad with each other, or… don’t believe each other.”

  “No way…” I muttered.

  “But I don’t know all the colors!” Danny cried, seeking to add a qualifier like Evelyn. “I think I know colors. Purple feels like you don’t trust each other. And yellow seems like there is trust. You and Emily have big yellow lines, and no purple lines, so that makes me think it’s what it is. But you and Brooke have yellow and purple lines and so… it doesn’t really make sense. And you have reds and blues and greens, too.”

  My nerves sparked like frayed wires, making my body stiffen. “Emotions are complicated. Let’s talk later, and you can tell me all about it.” I didn’t look forward to hearing about Brooke, but Danny’s eyes would probably save people from people like Troy, who could seem trustworthy on the outside but cruel on the inside.

  I turned to Emily. “Is there anything you can safely share?”

  Emily nodded. “I’m an Accountant. People can deposit stats and Karma, and I can invest them in other people. I can also appraise items, and create insurance.”

  “Wait, you can loan stats?” I asked.

  “Yeah. And the loaners will earn stats as interest. And I can also rearrange stats for a price. It’s pretty high concept, but I’m sure it’ll make sense once we use it.”

  “Yeah… that’s incredible… We’ll talk about that later. And as for you?” I addressed the most distinctive person in the group. She was a woman in her early twenties, sporting feathered blonde hair with pink highlights. She was vibrant and had a bright smile. She was just one of those friendly people that you just liked at first sight.

  “My name's Sasha—and I’m a Chef. I can separate spices from food, reverse spoilage, infuse food with body-bolstering skills, and most importantly… I can cook us some food right now. Is anyone hungry? I’m dying.” She cracked a smile, and everyone smiled back. Then, the fledglings turned to me expectantly.

  I swept my gaze over the other teams. “What do you guys think? You want a magical cook to make you dinner?”

  A collective downpour of scattered approval followed. Hell yeahs, if you want, sure thing, boss, and the like. So, I nodded.

  “Okay, let’s see if we can’t earn some other Chosens. Let's have an… apocalypse party. What do you think?” I pulled out a crate of Champagne (the good stuff that actually came from Champagne, France) that had come with our food supply. The approval got louder—

  —so, I said, “Then go downstairs and get some people. Everyone is welcome. Well, except the mercenaries. But whatever, we’ll bounce the door, so send everyone up.”

  The group did, and I smiled faintly. The mercenaries and vultures had tainted this world with despair and cruelty. If I wanted to retain my humanity and inspire a world that was free of that bullshit, I had to fight back against it. This was my first shot, and even if it failed, at least we’d have a night to remember.