It took a good amount of work for Alex and his team to keep everyone focused as they traveled back to the Bellevue. He understood their excitement but they were still out in open. Thankfully, they made it back without any problems and Alex threw himself down on one of the leather couches, rubbing his temples while the majority of the other teams ran over to Jeffrey to receive their xp.

“That was like herding cats.” Toby said, sitting across from him.

The others joined and they all looked tired. Trying to keep gamers attention off of free shit was like trying to keep your overly hyper nephew out of the pantry where the sweets were kept. Even Ty was caught sneaking a peak at the System Shop while he and Alex scouted on the way back.

“Okay, Ty.” Danny said. “Now you can zone out all you want.”

Ty angrily muttered to himself as he hopped into a leather chair and went over his Interface. Danny threw the others a smile and they shared a quiet laugh at the red panda’s expense.

“Any ideas what you guys want?” Rishi asked.

“I need to look over what is available again.” Alex said. “There are a few things I was hoping to get in the next zone but the potential of getting something at an even higher level is too good to pass up.”

“You still haven’t been able to condense your Soul again?” Danny asked.

“Nope.” Alex sighed. “It is becoming a ridiculous jump in Soul Points from the last time.”

“Well, I am definitely getting Soul Adept, but I have just enough to buy it with my own xp.” Rishi said. The others nodded their heads.

“We want to hit another black door before leaving the first zone.” Silvia said. “Almost all the Events nearby are on cooldown and I want to get more Legendary loot.”

Having more Legendary enchantment orbs would be an added measure of security before they reached the next zone. They were all level nine and were only waiting for the new players to arrive before they finally headed out. After a week of training them, they should be prepared enough for the others to head to the next zone.

Alex pulled up the System Shop. They had an hour before dinner to kill anyways and hopefully the crowd surrounding Jeffrey would die down after he figured out what he wanted. There were several things he still wanted to get that were just out of his price range but he did his best to shorten the list to a manageable level. Several things could wait for now. What was important was survivability. Who knew what the next zone might bring them and they still had the Tahloh to deal with, as well as any other Races that could be about.

Quick Step

50,000xp

Soul Perception

41,000xp

Soul’s Shield

38,000xp

Peeping Tom

18,000xp

Quick Step: This Modifier allows you to move faster than a speeding bullet! Move up to three feet in any linear direction instantaneously! WARNING! This is not an Evolution based Modifier and you must have Quick Step if you wish to purchase Stutter Step in the future!

Soul Perception: This Modifier allows you to feel danger instinctually! Your instincts will be empowered by your Soul, allowing you to evade ambush if you are close enough! Soul Perception will grow stronger as you condense your Soul!

Soul’s Shield: This Modifier will connect your Soul to your armor! Damage will be absorbed by your Soul, draining your Soul Points. WARNING! Damage absorbed will be in line with the Tier level of your Soul! (Tier 1 absorbs 2% of damage taken.)

Peeping Tom: This Modifier allows you to see your enemies’ stats as if they were a human! Distance is maxed at half the range of your Dexterity in feet. Thank the heavens for good ol’ Lady Godiva and her streaking ways! Pervert!

Alex was focused on his Class tab, as he had been ignoring it for the most part. The general Modifiers were helpful, some even seemingly overpowered, but there was a reason there was a Class tab in the System Shop.

Peeping Tom was still on his list because information was too important to ignore. Being able to see monsters, or more importantly, other Races, in comparable stats would be useful in avoiding any potentially disastrous fights. The problem was, he could probably buy it soon and didn’t know if he wanted to waste his points when he could potentially get something farther out of his range.

Soul’s Shield would help with survivability and it would grow as he did. But it was taking him awhile to get to his next Soul Tier. He might end up being stuck at Tier two throughout the next zone for all he knew.

Soul Perception was not only amazing for his survivability, but for the team’s as well. He could see this growing into a solid defensive measure while they were out and about. But if he bought this, he wouldn’t be able to buy anything else that he needed.

Quick Step didn’t seem impressive at first. Instantly moving a few feet wouldn’t save Alex from a bomb going off. It also was another Modifier that you had to spend into, meaning it got better as you spent more xp, but he was already doing that with his Soul Adept Modifier.

On the other hand, he had witnessed the benefits of his Soul Modifier and knew it was worth it. Also, unlike Soul Disciple, that was in the general Modifier tab, this Modifier was specifically in his Class tab, which means it was tailor made for his Class.

Alex grumbled as he felt his headache returning. They were all good choices. He could get Peeping Tom and Soul’s Shield together which wasn’t bad at all. Or, he could grab one of the others and spend the excess on a few items he hadn’t got around to buying, like a Storage Bag. His Storage Ring was nice, but he only had enough room for a few days’ worth of food and water packed into it.

Alex pushed away his Interface to see everyone still sitting on the couches, a glazed look in their eyes as they went over their own options. Looking over to the chair that Ty was sitting on, he noticed it was empty. His eyes went wide as he remembered Ty’s impulsive nature and jumped up just in time to see Ty standing in front of Jeffrey.

“Wait, Ty!” Alex called out, racing over to him.

The other’s pulled themselves out of their own Interface to see what was wrong. Seeing where he was running to, they all felt the same panic and jumped up, chasing after him.

They were all too late. Alex and the others made it only half way to Ty before his body took on a golden glow before fading away. Alex stumbled to a stop and looked at the red panda whoop and shout in celebration.

Ty’s animal instincts caught on a moment later as he turned to see the team looking at him. The red panda tried to hide his nervousness as he waved lamely.

“Oh! Hey guys. Sup?”

“What did you do, Ty?” Danny marched forward causing Ty to throw his hands out.

“Wait!” Ty yelled. “It’s really a good Modifier this time! I swear!”

“What is a good Modifier?” Silvia asked pointedly, standing beside Danny. The two were glaring down at him like he had been caught with his hand in a cookie jar.

“Well. You see…” Ty stumbled, trying to explain himself. “It’s an amazing Modifier and it will help everyone!”

“WHAT?” They all yelled causing Ty to jump.

Ty took a breath and set a wide stance. The team waited, their patience quickly running out. Suddenly, Ty moved his hand in a series of odd movements.

“Kage Bunion No Haiku!” Ty shouted.

Suddenly, there were two Ty’s standing side by side in the same stupid pose. The group stared for a moment before Alex spoke up.

“Dude, that is not how the saying goes.”

Both Ty’s dropped their hands and glared at Alex before speaking in perfect sync.

“Oh, what?! Just because we are Japanese means we are supposed to speak the fucking language, bro?!”

“Did he just say ‘we’?” Rishi asked.

“Oh gods!” Danny groaned. “There’s two of them now!”

“Oh, come on!” The Ty’s whined. “This is perfect! I have a decoy and he actually does damage!” Both Ty’s paused and looked at each other. “What do you mean, decoy?! You’re the decoy?! No, you are!”

They spoke in perfect sync the entire time they argued with themselves. Alex and the others lost it, laughing hard while the twin Ty’s kept arguing. Finally, the ability ran out and the clone disappeared.

“That’s what I thought, bitch!” Ty said to the empty space beside him.

That just spurned their laughter and Ty looked unamused, flipping them all off.

“Fuck all yall!” He shouted before stomping away towards the dining room.

Alex shook his head. “It’s actually not terrible. Depending on when and how he uses it, it could help us out.”

“Yeah, but how much do you want to bet that he was thinking that?” Danny asked.

“No bet.” Everyone answered, causing another laugh.

“Does everyone already know what they want?” Alex asked.

Toby winced. “I’m having trouble with that. There are a lot of good Modifiers I could get.”

Silvia nodded. “And the question is whether to get a few helpful ones or a single one that could be a game changer?”

“I narrowed my selection down to the Class Modifiers.” Alex said. “Still a hard choice but I think it will reinforce my abilities for the team.”

“That is good advice, Sir.” Jeffrey added from behind the counter. “While the general Modification are helpful to anyone, the Class Modification will help those that already understand their roles in a group.”

“I just wish I knew what was coming up in the next zone!” Danny said. “Then I could have a better idea of what we will need.”

Jeffrey smiled. “I believe your lycanthropic friend has the right idea. He knows his role and he’s expanding on his capabilities in that role.”

Alex gaped. “Did you just compliment, Ty?

Jeffrey’s eye might have twitched but Alex couldn’t be sure.

“Might as well eat dinner first.” Toby said with a sigh and they all followed the Panzer into the dining room.

Later that night, Alex and Danny sat in his room, discussing their options.

“So, your most important spells so far are your root spell, healing spell and regeneration spell.” Alex said.

“Yes.” Danny said. “But the Spell Modifier was a big part of each of those spells being as useful as they are.”

Alex had to agree. The Spell Modifier, that allowed Danny to tweak her spells had been the best thing she had spent xp on.

Magic users, or casters, had a wide variety of spells they could buy instead of just Modifiers. Modifiers were more akin to abilities though some acted just like a spell. The hard part for Danny was either finding another Modifier that would work as affectively as her Spell Modifier or buying stronger spells.

“The stronger the spell, the more it is likely to cost in mana.” Alex pointed out. “With your Spell Modifier, you don’t necessarily need more spells, just a few specific spells that you can change for multiple purposes.”

“Exactly!” She exclaimed. “And that’s why I want to spend most of my xp on the Mana Point Multiplier.”

Mana Point Multiplier: This Modification allows you to double your MP! However, it will cut your HP in half! Choose wisely, glass cannons might be powerful but they are prone to shatter!

Alex sighed. “I just don’t like that your HP would be cut in half permanently. Also, it doesn’t double your Intellect and Wisdom but rather, the Mana Points itself which means it won’t affect your regeneration rates or the power of your spells.”

“Point.” She stated, falling back onto the bed.

“You already have a decent pool considering you evolved your Elephant’s Wisdom Modifier.” Alex stated. “I really think your power is in your versatility. Not to mention you are our only healer. Still, I don’t think it’s worth the risk of losing your HP. We still need you to stay alive after all. When the healer goes down, everyone goes down.”

“So, you’re saying you want me to stick around?” She asked, giving him a bright smile.

“Please don’t leave me alone with Ty!” He said with mock horror written on his face.

She laughed and smacked his arm. “Liar! You love the little dork. If he wasn’t here, you would go bored not having anyone to have stupid conversations with.”

Alex shook his head. “I tried my best to lure you to the dork side. Even offered you cookies but you still wouldn’t take it.”

“Well, that doesn’t sound terrible at all.” She said sarcastically. “Alright, I know what I will get. One Modifier and one spell.”

Druid’s Blessing: This Modifier will allow you to regenerate your mana at double the rate! However, your health regeneration will be halved! Companions share this Modifier!

Cleansing Rain: This spell heals allies within ten feet of the Caster! Chance at removing poisons and curses! Know your role, Healy McHealface!

Danny growled. “I’m gonna punch the System in the face one of these days.”

Alex held back his amusement at the snark of the System. He was happy he wasn’t the only one who continuously dealt with it but he wasn’t about to share that with the pissed off Irish lass beside him.

“I’m going with Soul Perception.” Alex said. “It’s the best possible way to help the team.”

“Too bad you can’t mix the xp you have now to purchase the Peeping Tom Modifier as well.” Danny said. “Though that name is creeper.”

Alex froze. “Did Jeffrey say we couldn’t mix our current xp with the 50,000xp?”

Danny stopped. “I…I actually don’t know. I just assumed.”

“And you know what it means to assume, right?” Alex asked, his lips curling up into a smirk.

Danny narrowed her eyes. “Yeah, it means you’re an ass. Get up! We have to talk to Jeffrey.”

It was late but they arrived in the lobby to find Jeffrey still behind his desk. The knowing smile the older gentleman wore tipped them off.

“You know what we are going to ask, don’t you?” Alex almost sighed.

“I cannot tell you things which you have not yet experienced.” Jeffrey stated. “So, if you were to ask earlier if you could use your current xp with the gift xp, I would have been able to tell you so.”

Danny rolled her eyes. “Well, it doesn’t change anything for me. I spent most of my xp on the Soul Adept Modifier. What about you? Are you getting both Modifiers or is there something else you can afford?”

Alex pulled up the System Shop and looked over the Class Modifiers again. He didn’t bother looking above the 50k xp limit before. As he searched the pages, he finally came across the page he was looking for.

“Oh Shit!” Alex whispered.

Soul Sight: Upon activation, this Modifier allows you to see any Souls within a specific area surrounding the user! Walls and other obstacles will not hinder this effect. Cost is 500 Soul Points per Second. Distance is determined by the Tier level of your Soul! (Tier 1 = 5 feet).

The Modifier was amazing but the cost was steep. Ten seconds of use would cost him 5,000 Soul Points which was a little over a tenth of what he currently had. He read the description to Danny.

“Buy it.” She said quickly. “It’s a no brainer! That will give you the ability to protect all of us.”

“What if we run into Monsters that don’t have Souls, like the Nazi Wererats?” He asked.

Danny shook her head. “It doesn’t matter. We might run into those types of mobs every once in a while, but it will work for the other Races here as well. They have to have Souls to even come here.”

“How the hell do you know that?” Alex asked.

Danny rolled her eyes and pointed to Jeffrey.

“I told her, Sir. Miss Daniella is apt at seeking the nuances of the System and for every ten questions I could not have told her, there was at least one that gave her more information than she once had. I would hope that you would follow her example.”

Alex ignored the barb and looked over the description once more and then asked Jeffrey for his 50,000xp gift. Along with his 11,000xp, he bought the Modifier. While Danny did bought her Modifier and Spell, he looked over his stats.

Name: Alex Donner

Age: 24

Race: Human

Level: 9

EXP: 233/15,000

Class: Soul Survivor: Enforcer

Soul Tier 2: 49,783

HP: 455

MP: 300

Vitality: 33

Strength: 25

Agility: 27(54)

Dexterity: 29(58)

Wisdom: 22

Intelligence: 19

Modifiers

Upgrades

Regeneration

Crane’s Grace Tier 1

Armor Tier 2

HP: 5.8 per Min

Onomatopoeia

Weapon Tier 2

MP: 4.1 per Min

Sextant Nauticalier

SP: 11.2(x2) per Min

Soul Adapt

Soul Sight

The glow surrounding Danny caught his attention and he dismissed his Interface to see her smiling.

“It is so weird to know knowledge can just be uploaded into our heads. A little creepy, but it’s definitely better than hours of studying.” Danny said. “It’s like a rush of adrenaline.”

Alex smiled. “Yeah, or when your attributes raise by a significant amount. It’s like being in a euphoric high.”

“The insane hunger we go through after is a pain though.” She spoke. “I bought those MRE’s you keep in your ring. Not exactly the tastiest of choices but the calorie intake is huge and they are cheap.”

“It’s too bad everyone else used their gift already.” Alex said as he followed Danny up the stairs after bidding Jeffrey goodnight. “They might have been able to get something else as well.”

Danny shrugged. “It’s not a big deal for them. Toby’s Relentless Assault is great, as well as Silvia’s Flying Spear.”

“Now that is a crazy Modifier.” Alex said. “If she was just throwing the spear, I would have been impressed, but holding onto it as it flies towards her target is just insane.”

“Rishi’s going to have a damn army soon enough.” Danny added. “Making another Golem at twice the cost is pretty ridiculous as long as he can afford it. If it wasn’t for my regeneration spell, I would have told him not to get it. It would almost wipe him out of mana.”

“He’s thinking about our team tactics.” Alex stated. “He knows we will be fighting together from now on so why not use all of our abilities and spells to make his choice?”

“True.” Danny spoke. “You know, it’s only a few more days until the others get here, right?”

Alex nodded. “I know. I feel nervous about it. We have to stand there and watch them go through the realization that they have been kidnapped from everyone they knew and loved. Then we have to train them so they don’t end up dead.”

Danny leaned into him. “It will be fine. We do our best, no matter what. That’s all anyone can ask for.”

“Maybe.” Alex muttered just quietly enough for it to slip past Danny as she opened his door. Alex was probably overthinking it, but he wondered if there wasn’t more they could do.