"So what was that spell back there?" I asked Fiona, wondering about the ability she used on the Vindicator as we made our way to the Bazaar. I knew she hadn't leveled and she wasn't the type to keep skills hidden if they would be helpful in battle.

"Well, I got the inspiration from watching you in the last battle. I decided to see if I could combine some of my skills. As you saw it was quite effective."

I nodded, thinking about what skills she might have combined. Obviously, she used her Water Whip and if I had to hazard a guess the other skill she combined with it was Bleeding Edge or at least those are the names I gave her skills.

It was odd to me that combining skills wasn't common knowledge, or maybe it was and there was a reason people didn't do it. I knew one possible reason, I thought, looking back on the elemental I inadvertently created. Despite that, I would continue to utilize any advantage I could get if it meant my foe's defeat and my survival in this new world.

The three of us continued on in silence, having to duck into alleys and buildings as we got closer to downtown and the Bazaar. We started to encounter more enemy patrols the closer we got. Looking at my watch I estimated we had forty minutes left until people were forced from the Bazaar.

"That building over there should have a decent sightline to the Bazaar," Wellman said, pointing at a five-story apartment complex.

I checked to see if it was clear, "alright, let's go."

Wellman rushed across the street, followed by Fiona and then myself. We made it to the front door without issue. Heading inside, while making sure to step over the broken glass and twisted metal littered in the entrance. The damage didn't look to be recent. Dust already coated the remnants of the door. Once inside I led the party up to the fifth floor.

Every door on the top floor was busted open, looters must have passed through taking anything of value. Bullet holes and dried blood littered the walls along the hallway.

"We were forced into a firefight here," Wellman said, recalling the event.

We just listened, letting him retell the events.

"We confronted them, trying to get them to leave the area. This was during the first days after the system came. You have to understand, everything was chaos around here during those first days. The looters didn't feel we had any authority to enforce our demand. In the end, they forced our hand," Wellman said, anger tinging his voice, "This way, the apartment on the corner has the best view."

We followed him to the end of the hall and entered the room. It was a mess, furniture, and items scattered all over the place. We pushed them out of the way, making a clear path to the window. I pulled the curtain aside a bit to get a view of the Bazaar, what I saw was not good.

"They have the entire building surrounded," I said, standing back to let the other two look for themselves.

There had to be hundreds of enemies down there. I guessed most of them were slaves but that didn't matter. It was too many to take on. I mulled over the problem while Fiona and Wellman checked out the scene.

"Well that certainly isn't good," Fiona said, "We don't have much time until the Bazaar closes and all those people inside are forced to either fight or submit."

If we had more time I could set up more of the slave collar bombs but I only had the two. I could still use them but they wouldn't be a huge game-changer against this many hostiles. I think at this point all we could really do is disrupt a section of the blockade, giving the citizens the possibility of escaping or fighting.

I checked on our buffs making sure to refresh any that were close to expiring.

"Looks like we need to do this the hard way. Wellman are you able to take shots from up here?"

The Scout looked out the window again surveying the scene.

"Not accurate ones. Plus I only have three more full magazines."

"That's fine. When it kicks off, try to pick your shots as best you can. Fiona, you ready for some payback?"

"Absolutely," she said with a grim smile.

The two of us rushed down the stairs and I handed Fiona all of my healing items and half of my mana items. At first, she tried to decline my offer.

"You need to take these. We are going to have to split up. I won't be able to keep track of healing you and fighting with this many enemies."

Of course, she didn't like this but she accepted it.

When we got to the ground floor she stopped me, giving me a deep kiss before saying, "Stay safe."

"You too," I said, worrying for her for the first time since we met. I had to push those thoughts away. She was an adult and a warrior, with far more experience than I had.

"Oh one more thing," I said, handing her one of the small storage rings with my improvised bomb inside.

"Toss the slave collar and say the word Heka, it should activate the runes. Just don't wait too long, they aren't exactly stable."

She nodded, placing the ring on her opposite hand. The fact that it was her ring finger wasn't lost on me. I chuckled internally as she gave me a knowing smile. 'I guess we were engaged now,' I thought ruefully.

We split up halfway to the Bazaar and would approach the building from opposite ends of the same block. This way we could try to pull as many enemies as possible to us while remaining relatively close. I took a deep breath, readying myself for what came next. I rushed from behind the building and towards the blockade.

I was spotted almost immediately after leaving my cover. It seemed most of the hostiles were watching for anyone approaching the Bazaar. I didn't use any skill to close the range faster, I needed to know something. A few magic spells flew my way but either petered out due to range or missed me because the person's accuracy was garbage. I didn't see the Chaos Mage here, which made me nervous. I could only hope she had already left for Chicago.

As I got closer the spells became more accurate and I had to duck and dodge. I must have pulled nearly a dozen attackers. Too bad they were mostly slaves, there would be no pulling punches here.

I pulled out the modified collar and whipped it like a frisbee. Although it didn't catch the air nearly as well, my enhanced strength and agility made up for it. The disk sailed right for a group of four. They were smart enough to avoid getting directly hit with the collar but I activated it as soon as it passed by the front two.

There was a loud whomp sound as the item exploded, showering those close with bits of hot metal.

Striker takes 153 damage

Frost Mage takes 184 damage

Duelist takes 110 damage

Temporal Archer takes 105 damage

The four I damaged had classes that were easy enough to figure out, except the Archer. Was it the spiritual meaning of the word or the time-related? I guess I would find out as he launched a silver arrow at me. I was going to smack it away with my staff but thought better of it, instead ducking below the shot. I heard a ghostly howl as the arrow flew by my head.

I pulled out some more slave collars. Whipping them at the other groups, causing them to scatter. These weren't modified but they didn't know that as they instinctively dodged away from the possible explosion.

This bought me time to close in on the first group. The archer was up and about but the other three were in bad shape. Still trying to recover from my initial attack. I didn't want to waste my Blink Step just yet. 'Just a few more feet,' I thought, dodging another ghostly arrow just barely. I cast Earth Fist on the archer, throwing off his aim on his next attack.

These people must think I was nuts or something. Running in to engage twelve people at once. And they would be right, this was fucking nuts but my blood was pumping and my adrenaline was spiking. This was a battle high and every time I experienced it I wanted more. I used Multicast to reset the cooldown of Earth Fist, then used that to launch myself into the air. I spun my staff while casting Seismic Strike, smashing the end of my staff down on the ground as I landed.

Another theory of mine was proven correct. The waves rippled out much stronger than normal from my impact point. I had wondered for a while if additional force could add more damage to spells as it did with normal attacks. If you paid attention the system would clue you in to some of these eccentricities. All twelve individuals were close enough to be hit by the effect, knocking them all to the ground. While it wasn't a significant amount more damage, it helped.

I took advantage of my enemies' weakened state to whip a Stunning Gust at the Mage, figuring she was the closest to death. With my air attribute imbuement still active the attack was a vicious slash of concentrated air that nearly cleaved the woman in half. The elemental affinity enhancing the attack.

I had no time to dwell on this, I changed target to the next individual.

***

Fiona followed Paul's instructions, throwing the collar and injuring five enemies with the resulting explosion. Unlike Paul, she couldn't fight against large groups of people at the same time. So she reflected every magical attack she could. Backing between two buildings to limit the number of enemies that could come at her at a time.

***

The Dark Guardian tried to slash at me as I engaged with the Duelist. A convenient bullet struck him in the shoulder knocking his attack off course. Instead of losing my head I only received a small cut. These two attackers were far more troublesome than almost anyone else I fought. The exception being Sharla. I made a mental reminder to thank Wellman for the assist.

All my effort was in keeping the damn Duelist's blades from slicing me up. He was fast, I suspected it was either a skill or someone had buffed him. I took a few more shallow cuts as I backed away. Trying my best to keep the other enemies in front of me. I wanted to pace myself and save my trump card for Sharla if she showed up but I was fighting a losing battle. I used Rejuvenate to heal my cuts.

It wasn't quite time, I needed to drag out this fight a little longer. Even now I could see a few more people starting to run towards us to get in on the action. I guess I should feel honored that they thought so highly of my skills. The Striker tried to leap in to attack me while my concentration was on the Duelist but I saw him coming, smashing him in the groin with Earth Fist.

The awful scream drew all the male attackers' attention. There is just something so horribly wrong about attacking someone like that. Even I could feel my boys shrink up in discomfort. Despite my discomfort, I capitalized on the second of inattention. Striking out with Flurry against the Duelist. I had to give the man props for his skills, he still deflected ten of the twelve strikes. Unfortunately, for him the ones he missed cut his belly and throat wide open.

The Archer also capitalized on my attack, hitting me in the side with one of his arrows. I stumbled back, the pain was excruciating.

You have been inflicted with Weakness, -1 Endurance for 1 hour

I pulled the offending arrow out with a pained grunt, casting Healing Touch. I tried casting Cleanse but it failed to remove the debuff. I needed to take this archer out of the fight, he was smart enough to take advantage of any opening I gave him. To do that though I would need to use Blink Step as he was well outside my melee range. He also just so happened to be one of the few Black Dragon members attacking me, the other was already dead.

I glanced at my mana, seeing I was at just over 120. I ducked the next arrow and pulled a mana vial, downing it before someone could stop me. I now had enough mana to work with, I pulled the black Dragon armband out.

"Run, away!" I shouted.

The slaves all bolted, before the Archer could intercede I cast Blink Step, rushing at him. The man managed to get another arrow off, hitting me in the leg. He was forced to drop his bow and pull out a short sword to defend himself. I slapped the blade away, using my momentum to shove the blunt end of my staff into the man's throat. There was a sickening crack as his windpipe gave way, I followed this blow up with a stab through his back, right into his lung.

The man choked to death on the ground, not being able to recall the slaves that ran off. I kind of felt sorry for them because they would probably keep running until they died or another member stopped them. I didn't have time to concern myself with their fate. Six more individuals approached, all wearing armbands. I could see even more coming behind those. Before I could lose hope my watch let out a single beep letting me know it was time.

Flashes of light appeared from the Bazaar as hundreds, no thousands of people appeared. Even soldiers from the missing command poured out, all ready to fight. The six nearest me witnessed the enemies pouring from the building, apparently thinking they had enough time to take me. I decided to disabuse them of that notion. Not having to hold back now, I chugged another mana potion. Dropping the empty vial to the ground, smiling as they rushed me.

Since no spells were cast I assumed they were all melee fighters. Before the first one reached me I cast Area of Denial. His glowing purple axe impacted my barrier, bouncing off. I decided to see who I was up against

Viking Pillager | Level 11

Amazon | Level 10

Skin-Walker | Level 11

Mercenary | Level 9

Hunter/Rogue | Level 7

Martial Artist | Level 8

There were quite a few big hitters and some unique classes. Although, I had to wonder why the dual classer didn't just take a ranger class instead. Oh well, that was his issue to deal with. Before the lot could come up with a plan I struck, using Seismic Strike, quickly following it up with Flurry against the Pillager. He died from the wounds before any of his buddies could help.

The Amazon was the first to recover from my spell. She slammed her spiked mace down on my shield to no effect. I flicked my staff out, imbued with Aura Strike. It only cut a shallow gash on her arm but it was enough for the spell effects to take hold, slowing her down. I dashed in, taking advantage of her weakened state to land three more slashes. I followed this up with an Earth Fist to her back as she tried to escape my assault. I had aimed for just below her ribs but she slipped causing the attack to hit higher, breaking three of her ribs.

It would be enough to keep her out of the immediate fight. I turned to the Skin Walker. He was using massive bear claw hands to try and rend my dome apart. I jabbed my staff towards his eye. He jumped back avoiding the staff but not the last second Stunning Gust I cast silently.

The man was surprised by my attack, the blade of air carving out his right eye. He had turned his head just enough to avoid a lethal blow. The spell effect activated, causing the man to fall to the ground, immobile. That left three on one and my barrier was down in another ten seconds. I wasn't sure I could take on the last three. Not with my mana this low. I was also out of items to refill my mana quickly.

I decided to make the best of it, running at the Hunter. I jabbed and slashed at him, keeping him off balance as I bumped him with my shield. Eventually, I got a few good hits in, taking him out of the fight just as my shield dropped.

I stepped back as the Martial Artist over-corrected, trying to hit my now non-existent shield. I kicked my staff's blunt end out, smashing him in the jaw as he toppled forward. He was quick though, managing to spin out of my reach and get to his feet. Blood dripped from his jaw but he was quick to recover. The injury barely seemed to affect him.

The Mercenary tried to close in on me with his dagger. Every time he got close I whipped my staff at him, forcing him to dodge back. The Martial Artist, on the other hand, fought as a man possessed. Kicking and punching at me like a demon, his appendages leaving a faint brown afterglow. Neither of these two had the speed on me but they did have more strength. I was forced to dodge blows instead of blocking them. Each block left my hands numb from the effort.

The martial artist landed a roundhouse kick to my side, knocking me to the ground. I grunted from the impact.

"Uff, someone ate their Wheaties today," I said through blood-flecked lips.

"You are a poor fighter," the Martial Artist said, "Only your class skills have brought you this far," He added, approaching to finish me off.

"Jokes on you," I said, pulling out six collars.

His eyes went wide as I threw the collars at him. He dove to the ground covering his head.

"Two for flinching," I said, hitting him in the back with a Stunning Gust, leaving a large cut across his spine. He tried to get up, the spell effect not activating its stun but my attack left his lower body paralyzed. At least until the System healed him.

I turned my focus to the Mercenary who surveyed the scene, and the battle behind him. He looked at me then pulled the armband off.

"They don't pay me enough for this bullshit," he said, running off.

I went around finishing off the rest of the Black Dragon members near me. Starting with the Skin-Walker since he was the least injured. Then the Amazon, followed by the Hunter. I then kneeled next to the Martial Artist.

"Skill is good and all but I prefer to be unpredictable," I said, stabbing him through the heart.

As I got up I looked at the battle or what was left of it. It looked like the Black Dragon forces had been routed but it had come at a high cost to the military and civilians. I couldn't see Fiona but I knew she was still alive as her icon was still active in my display.

I took the time to look at my messages. The battle was essentially over.

You have reached level 12, modifiers increased by 1, 2 free skill slots available

Penetrate: Decreases target armor by 3 for 4sec, Cost 15 mana, cooldown 10sec

Banshee's Wail: A focused shockwave of sound emanates from your mouth stunning all those within a 10m cone in front of you for 5s and reduces Wisdom by 1 for an hour to all those affected. Cost 40 mana, cooldown 1min.

Penetrate was a bit of a let down so I skipped that ability. Banshee's Wail, however, gave me another nice ranged ability. So I picked that up, deciding to hold off on picking my other skill. It wasn't like I was lacking skills to use. In fact, it was getting harder to utilize all of them. I decided to look at my full stats since it had been so long.

Paul Fuller | Mantra Enchanter | Level 12

Strength: 12(+2) modifier x13

Endurance: 16 modifier x31

Agility: 15(+2) modifier x13

Perception: 15 modifier x13

Intelligence: 19 modifier x31

Wisdom: 14 modifier x13

Charisma: 11 modifier x13

Luck: 14 modifier x13

HP: 496(545)

Mana: 589

Mana Regen(min): 182

Skills:

Rejuvenate, Minor Wind Walk, Minor Giant Strength+, Enhanced Shield, Area of Denial, Healing Touch, Improved Earth Fist, Aura Strike, Endure, Rock Skin, Cleanse, Flurry of Blows, Seismic Strike, Stunning Gust, Second Chance, Impact, Blink Step, Multicast, Godly Might, Eye of the Storm, Imbue, Banshee's Wail

I decided to collapse on the sidewalk, my energy spent. About a minute later I felt a hand on my shoulder, looking up I saw Fiona. She looked almost as haggard as I felt.

"How did it go?" I asked.

"I survived," she said in response, "We should go collect Specialist Wellman."

I had completely forgotten about the man in the heat of battle. I held out my hand and Fiona helped me up off the sidewalk. About two-thirds of my mana had recovered by this point but I still felt bone-weary. We made our way over to the building, hoping the man would meet us at the entry but he wasn't there. With his skills he was probably keeping an eye on the fleeing enemy, so we climbed to the fifth floor to retrieve him.

"What the hell Wellman, the least you could do is meet us downstairs," I said, entering the apartment.

My eyes were blinded as a searing bolt of electricity struck me. I went down in a heap, unable to so much as move as the energy locked up my body. Fear flooded my brain, I knew who had attacked.

There were sounds of fighting so I had some hope that I could get out of this alive. That was quickly dashed, I heard Fiona scream and fall to her knees.

"S-St-Stop," I managed to stutter out.

"Oh, our prey decides he wants to talk. Very well," Sharla said in her sickly sweet voice.

"Sp- Spare her pl-please."

"Oh, you want us to spare your lover. Very well, I will make you a deal," she said, tossing a unique slave collar at my prone form, "If you put this collar on willingly, I won't kill your woman. I will even make this a binding oath in the System."

I managed to lever my head up to look at Fiona. She was on her knees the Duelist standing behind her, resting his blades on either side of her neck. This was the same man that seemed to follow the Chaos Mage everywhere she went. I checked his status, seeing that he was now level 16

Fiona looked at me, pleading me not to put the collar on with her eyes. I couldn't let her die though. I cared for her more than I wanted to admit. So I reached out with my still shaking hands and snapped the device around my neck. I could feel the magic take hold. I also felt the System enforcing Sharla's contract.

"There, that wasn't so bad was it," she said smiling, "Don't move a muscle."

She nodded once to the Duelist and his blades sliced Fiona's head clean off. I tried to scream, to rage, to look away, to do anything but her command was absolute.

"Watch her life ebb away and don't move or make a sound," Sharla said, her voice turning vindictive. She didn't even break her oath as she wasn't the one to kill Fiona.

The worst part was the message.

Fiona has died, Second Chance activated

Fiona's eyes popped back open on her severed head. Her lips making sucking motions as she blinked rapidly, trying futilely to accomplish something that just wasn't possible. My vision too blurry with tears to even see her face clearly as she died a second and final time. Her icon greying out to notify me that she was gone, it matched the greyed out icon for Wellman. They had slain him as well.

It felt like someone had ripped out a chunk of me, leaving a bottomless void. The only thing I had to fill that space was rage, cold, hard, and impotent. I had no outlet for this emotion, the collar preventing me from harming either of these two.

"Get up slave, we have places to be," Sharla said, laughing merrily as we left the building.