Blake stood atop the cab of his converted diesel truck as it puttered through the streets of Eager. Behind him, the truck bed was full of medical supplies, canned food, and spices they had scavenged. Attached to the truck was a twenty-eight-foot camper, filled with twelve survivors they had rescued over the last hour and a half.


    He shook his head at the small number.


    So many people are going to die because they won’t come with us.


    As they slowly weaved through parked cars on the road and turned a corner, they were forced to come to a stop. The road ahead was blocked, and there was no room to turn around.


    “I got it, Josh,” Blake informed his driver and jumped to the street below. He looped the bow through his shoulder, approached the car, and grabbed a hold of its bumper. He lifted the vehicle and began to drag it backwards, when the bumper suddenly snapped off the frame.


    Damnit! Why can’t they make these things sturdier?


    He threw the bent piece of metal to the side and hooked his fingers underneath the exposed frame. Once again, he dragged the useless hunk of metal off the road until the thoroughfare was clear.


    Josh tapped the gas and began to putter forward through the cleared street. As the diesel passed, Blake leapt atop the cab and ignored the dents his feet created. During a quick scan of the area, he saw a Kree-lub out of the corner of his eye, a hundred feet away.


    It looked like a mix between an alligator and an opossum, but was the size of a black bear. The Kree-lub’s entire body was covered in white and black fur, except its scaled tail. At the end of its three-foot tail, was sharpened bone, which could be whipped around like a sword. It had claws three inches long, and its fanged mouth could open wide enough to swallow a human whole.


    Blake readied his bow and retrieved an arrow from his quiver. As he pulled back the string and lined up his shot, he fed chi through the projectile until its metal tip glowed. Once he was certain the shot would land, he released his hold and watched as the arrow shot toward the monster.


    Before it could even react to the threat, the arrow penetrated deep within its side. A moment later, the entire creature exploded. Chunks of meat and sinew were thrown thirty feet in every direction. The side of a nearby building was completely coated with the dross, which slowly slid to the ground.


    That never gets old.


    He smiled as he slung his bow back on his shoulder. In his past life, he rarely used a bow. Arrows capable of this much destruction were expensive and took hours to construct. Since he was often forced to kill dozens of beasts per day, their use was not efficient.


    If he used mundane or level zero arrows, without the enchanted circuits, it would often take multiple projectiles to kill even a level one monster. That was why he did not supply any of the defenders with bows, they would need a supply of hundreds of arrows to last even a day.


    Blake’s quiver, on the other hand, used a combination of mana and chi to conjure arrows capable of channeling energy. The quiver was unique, as it was almost unusable to anyone else. In order to utilize it, the owner would have to be capable of using both of those energy types.


    Surprisingly, no monsters appeared after the explosion. He used Oblate Mind Sense and scanned the nearby area. The ability penetrated through the nearby shops and apartment complexes and revealed a multitude of responses, all identical.


    I really need to fix that.


    The spell could not currently differentiate between human and other. However, it could be evolved to do so. Before, it was not a priority for him, as he only used it within a scenario. There, he was the only human present, and any minds revealed were his enemies.


    Next level.


    While the Mind Sense only returned locations of sentient beings, he could still glean important information from the spell. For instance, inside the nearby apartment complex, on the third floor, was a clump of three minds, unmoving and huddled together. However, a few feet away were two others, which moved rapidly back and forth.


    Looks like some people are trapped.


    There was no guarantee that his interpretation was correct. However, it would only take him a few minutes to investigate the situation.


    Blake stepped off the slow moving vehicle and turned to address the driver. “Hey Josh, stop here for a minute. I need to check something out.”


    The man applied the brakes and slowed the vehicle and trailer until they no longer moved.


    “Don’t worry,” Scott told the driver from the passenger seat. “I got us covered.” He brandished his personal rifle and exited the vehicle, prepared for any attack. The man was one of the people present at the lumber mill when Blake and his convoy arrived. He wore a flannel shirt and jeans, and seemed very competent in the use of his firearm.


    Blake sprinted toward the entrance to the apartment. On his way, he was presented with a new directive.


    Directive - Save a family from their attackers.


    That’s convenient. Looks like I was right.


    Occasionally, the Architect would present him a directive to save individuals in danger, or to clear out a nest. The added incentive was welcome, but was not necessary. He would gladly do so without it.


    A few seconds later, he burst through the complex’s locked, metal door, and then raced up the stairs to the third floor.


    Okay, which apartment was it in?


    There were eight separate domiciles on the landing, most filled with families hiding within their homes. However, he was currently interested in only one of them. Unfortunately, none of the individual apartment doors were open.


    “Anyone need help?” Blake called out. He could have used another Oblate Mind Sense immediately to determine their location, but he hoped to avoid a splitting headache.


    There was no response.


    Blake was about to reuse the psionic spell, despite his aversion, when he heard a steady thump two doors down. He moved toward the sound, which grew progressively louder as he neared the last apartment door.


    He put his ear to the door and heard scratching and bangs within the apartment. Once he was sure he had the right room, he yelled, “Is everything alright in there? Do you need any help?”


    The noises momentarily stopped, and he heard a faint, “Yes! Please!” Multiple doors muffled the female voice, but he could clearly hear her desperation.


    I’ll be right there.


    Blake easily forced the door open, and destroyed the metal door jamb in the process. The moment he entered the room, he was met with the sight of two Indolenzas. They were sloth-like creatures which moved far faster than their Earthly counterparts. They both squeaked in their high-pitched war cries and leapt toward Blake, six inch claws extended.


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    Predictable


    The moment Blake saw the two monsters, he already knew how they would respond. He began the short spell form for Hastened Gale, and less than a second later, both two hundred pound creatures were flung away from him. As they slammed into the back wall, Blake unclasped his spear from his belt, rushed forward, and swiftly executed the Indolenzas.


    Once he was sure they were no longer a threat, he yelled, “It’s okay, they’re dead now!”


    That’s odd, the directive didn’t complete.


    While he waited for the family to appear, he cleaned the blood off the tip of his spear on a nearby blanket. Unfortunately, even after he put his weapon away, he still saw no sign of them.


    Are they afraid of me, or do they not believe me?


    Blake shook his head and approached the damaged hallway door. He turned the knob and gently tried to open the door. It was unlocked, but only moved an inch before it hit resistance.


    Once again, he notified them that he was there to help. “It’s safe now,” he said in a calm voice. “The monsters can’t hurt you anymore.”


    “Please! You have to help my daughter!” a terrified voice pleaded through sobs.


    With a clear invitation inside, he applied more pressure to the door until it opened another five inches. When he peeked through the gap, he saw that the bed had been moved to fortify the door.


    Blake could easily burst through it, but he was afraid wooden splinters, or the bed itself, may injure the family within. Instead, he gripped the hollow door between his fingers and ripped it off its hinges. He tossed the door into the hallway and stepped atop the mattress.


    On the far side of the room, was an overweight woman in her thirties. She applied pressure to a deep wound on her daughter’s leg, while a very young boy hid behind her. The injured girl was unconscious, but still alive.


    Blake could see at least half a pint of blood had soiled the carpet beneath them. The liquid was congealed, and the edges had already dried.


    Looks like this happened hours ago.


    “Don’t worry, I can save her,” he promised the mother.


    He stepped off the bed and knelt before them. “You can let go now,” he told her gently.


    She shook her head. “Every time I let go, it starts bleeding.”


    “I can heal her, but you have to let go first.”


    The mother sniffed and wiped her wet face on the sleeve of her shirt. When the tears were cleared, her eyes widened in surprise. “You’re him!” she suddenly blurted. “The one from the announcement!”


    He nodded and smiled. “That’s right, my name is Blake. And, if you let go, I have magic that can heal your daughter.”


    Luckily, she decided to trust him. She released her hold on her daughter’s leg and then wiped her bloody hands on the stained carpet. As she predicted, the wound began to ooze blood, so Blake quickly applied pressure himself.


    He could have given the young girl one of Oliver’s potions, but they were a precious resource, and the wound was not serious enough to warrant it. Instead, he used his newly evolved spell, Transferable Focused Regeneration.


    When used on himself, the ability worked the same as before. However, when he applied it to another person, it was dramatically different. He did not have to channel the spell continuously. Instead, nanomachines and energy would transfer to the wounded person and remain active for a full hour.


    The ability still applied to a small area, and sped up healing by a multiple of thirty. However, it did not use the Physical Stamina of the target. The spell used Blake’s own attribute to determine how quickly it healed. It repaired injuries almost as rapidly as Oliver’s healing potion.


    Unfortunately, it used a third of Blake’s chi energy to do so.


    A few seconds later, he removed his hand, and saw the wound had already stopped bleeding. The mother was about to hold pressure on her daughter’s leg when Blake gently stopped her.


    “It’s alright, she’s healing now,” he assured her in a gentle voice. “You don’t have to hold pressure anymore.”


    She held on tight to her son and gasped, “Thank you,” between sobs.


    “In a few minutes, she should be well enough to move. I’ll carry her back to my camper outside, and we can get you and your family to safety.”


    Blake noticed a notification blink in the corner of his vision and opened it.


    As the first of your species to heal another with a spell, you have been awarded an achievement. - [First Responder]


    The [First Responder] achievement doubles your Magic Stamina attribute for one hour each time you heal another human.


    Seriously? I’m the first? I guess that makes sense.


    Only chi could be used to heal. The few chi users who had actually reached level one either took another ability, or had yet to evolve Regeneration. As Blake considered what this meant for him, he realized how powerful the bonus actually was.


    The ability may use a third of his chi, but with this achievement, all of his energy pools would refill at twice their normal speed. This meant if he was low on aether, he could heal another person once every hour and quickly replenish all of his energy.


    That’s so broken.


    Another notification flashed across his heads-up display and he read it.


    You have gained 5m nano for completing a directive.


    I see. The girl needed to stabilize before it counted as complete.


    “It’s real,” she sniffed and looked him in the eyes. “It’s all real.”


    Blake nodded.


    Unfortunately, Blake knew that most people would refuse to believe the world was different until they had no choice. Their brains could not process the dramatic change, and seemed to shut down rather than accept their new reality. It was why most people stayed barricaded within their homes, despite Blake’s speech, three days before.


    So many people are going to die because they can’t accept the way things are.


    “My husband!” she suddenly blurted. “You have to save my husband!”


    “Of course. Where is he?” Blake asked.


    “He was at work when it happened,” she told him between sniffs. “I haven’t heard from him in three days!”


    “Have you tried contacting him through your interface?”


    She shook her head. “I was afraid to. My neighbor said the more you use it, the more it can control you.”


    Blake sighed.


    Her fears were unfounded, but the response was typical. Some people were afraid to utilize the interface. They thought it could somehow control them and take over their body if they touched it. In reality, Blake had found that the Architect could gain control over his body, but did not normally do so. That instance in the void was actually the first he had ever heard of that occurring.


    Lucky me.


    “Don’t worry, the Architect is an asshole, but he won’t take over your body. Just open up the interface and see if you can find your husband.”


    For the next few minutes, Blake walked the mother through the process. She struggled to follow his directions, but eventually they discovered that it was not possible to add him.


    Blake placed a hand on her shoulder. “I’m sorry, but your husband is gone.”


    She hugged her son tightly and began to sob. The young boy joined her, and Blake gave her some space.


    Suddenly, he heard three gunshots and then silence. The woman flinched and grabbed his arm as she began to hyperventilate. Blake held up a finger, and contacted Josh to make sure everything was okay. He was assured that Scott eliminated the monster, and the area was now clear.


    “It’s ok, just one of my guys taking care of a monster, it’s clear now. We should move, though, before more show up.”


    Scott could handle one or two monsters at a time, but the gunshots would likely attract the attention of a horde. Every creature within a few miles could hear it and would leave to investigate.


    Blake allowed her breathing to return to normal before he stated, “We need to leave now. Do you need to bring anything with you? Any medication?”


    She shook her head and continued to hold her son tightly. Blake bent over and lifted the injured daughter in his arms. He carefully stepped over the bed and into the hallway, while the distraught mother and her son followed behind.


    Blake exited into the hallway and kicked each door he passed. He offered safety to each of the residents, but only two families took him up on his offer. Most told him to go away or refused to respond. They either did not trust him or were locked in denial.


    We can try again tomorrow.


    Eventually, they would snap out of it, and Blake would welcome them with open arms, assuming they could make it to one of his faction cities. If not, Blake would attempt to send a convoy to collect them, but there was no guarantee it would be successful.


    If he tried to force the issue now, they would likely flee at the first opportunity. Besides, their budding town did not yet have enough room to house the entire city’s population. Once the city became more dangerous, he expected people’s minds to change.


    Currently, there were not that many monsters throughout the city, but that would change over time. Every day, more creatures would randomly appear. If they were not culled, their numbers would continue to climb until they became a swarm, something that would require someone as advanced as Blake to deal with, or a very large group of combatants.


    A few minutes later, they made it back to the truck. Blake escorted the families to the camper and opened the door for them. He gently laid the injured daughter down on the couch, and looked around at the crowded interior.


    Time to head back.


    With their new additions, Blake counted nineteen people within the camper. The majority were forced to stand in the aisle or sit on the bed, while the elderly rested within the chairs. At most, they could cram one or two more people within the tight space. However, they would likely find more refugees on their return.


    No matter how many were inside, it would be a bumpy ride.


    Once everyone was situated, he headed outside and shot the few monsters that appeared. After he killed them, he ordered Josh to turn the vehicle around so they could deliver their new faction members.


    It was time to head back to town.