I wiped my blade on the carcass of a Level 35 Direwolf, ignoring the weight of Clark and Theo’s eyes on my back.

It had all happened so fast that many of the carcasses around me were still bleeding out. Hundreds of wolves had rushed me the moment it was clear I was charging towards their leader. But I had plowed through, killed all the elites, and the weaker wolves fled soon after.

Theo and Clark had killed as many of the weaker wolves as they could.

It was a strange feeling, fighting these wolves. It felt more like a massacre than a battle. I never felt like I was in danger, even when I was surrounded by wolves. As I fought, following Samantha's combat shadow, some twisted part of me wished for a harder opponent. Most likely, that was Samantha, messing with my mind.

There had been three Direwolves, and I made sure to place their corpses in my Interdimensional Pouch. Samantha explained that after skinning and tanning them, the hide would turn into an E-rank pelt and the claws could become E-rank daggers.

In terms of leveling and gaining coins, it felt like the whole day had been wasted. It was nearing the end of my first full day back on Earth, and I hadn’t gained a single level since I’d arrived.

The only consolation was that the level 35 Direwolf dropped a Town Token.

“And what are you planning to do with the Town Token?” Ryker asked. We were sitting at the dinner table in Ryker's Schema-built home together. He had the decency to wait until we both had food in front of us, but I could tell it was a question that had been on his mind for a while.

It was just the two of us at the table, along with Ryker’s grandmother. His grandmother looked to be over 90 years old, and she seemed to be living in her own world, not paying either of us much attention. Ryker and I were eating wolf meat, prepared by one of Ryker’s people. His mother had a bowl of canned soup.

Ryker and I were the last people you’d expect to see together at a dinner table. Ryker was massively built, probably around 40 years old, with a variety of tattoos covering his tanned, muscular arms. His man bun somehow managed to change his intensity to a stylishness. He carried himself with a casual confidence that the apocalypse hadn’t managed to steal from him.

In contrast, I carried myself like a scrawny nerd who hadn’t realized that I was already in my twenties. My pale skin told a story of more exposure to computer light than sunlight.

“I’m still waiting to hear a good offer for it,” I shot back. “Along with the Town Tokens I’ll collect tomorrow. I don’t want to take a loss on this.”

Ryker snorted. “You’re overvaluing Town Tokens, if you don’t think my offers have been good enough.”

Town Tokens could be used to form towns, predictably enough. But they could also be used to pay for upgrades to an existing town. Pretty much every building inside Reed Town had been constructed by the Schema from a prefab template, from the protective walls surrounding the town to the home we were sitting in right now. As a town mayor, it was only reasonable that Ryker would want as many Town Tokens as possible.

“I told you earlier that I have family in Boston,” I said.

“Alright,” Ryker responded. “Let’s build a Teleportation Circle. We can head over to Boston together, find your family. I understand how important family is,” as he spoke, he caught his grandmother’s trembling hand and guided her spoon to her mouth.

It was a warming sight, seeing his massive, powerful hand move so carefully and lovingly. His grandmother didn’t even seem to notice.

“I heard that town Teleportation Circles won’t let you travel that far,” I said. “Only cities can cover that distance.”

“And where’d you hear that?” Ryker asked, clearly not expecting me to answer. “Same place you heard that the world is broken into Districts, Regions, and Zones?”

I just nodded, biting into my roasted wolf.

“If that’s true, then what next? How will you get there?” Ryker asked.

There were a few things I appreciated about Ryker. One was that some things were never in question. He had a clarity and drive that was refreshing for me to see. Something told me that if it was his grandmother in Boston, he would walk all the way across the states in order to find her, if necessary.

“I’ll find a city, or help upgrade a town to a city. Then teleport over to a city near Boston.”

“Reed City does have a nice ring to it,” Ryker said with a grin.

“Let’s not put the cart in front of the horse,” I said. “Tomorrow I’ll hunt other nearby District Lords. We’ll see how many town tokens I can collect that way.”

I wiped my blade on the carcass of a Level 36 Giant Ant, then placed the carcass in my Interdimensional Pouch, making sure to collect the Town Token too.

I wiped my blade on the carcass of a Level 33 Giant Spider, then placed the carcass in my Interdimensional Pouch, making sure to collect the Town Token too.

I wiped my blade on the carcass of a Level 35 Giant Slime…without much success.

Re-entering Reed Town, I sighed in frustration once again. It was late afternoon of the third day since the Atropos Schema first appeared in the world. I had killed four District Lords, and captured the Hyron Moss, but I still hadn’t gained a level. Between the Giant Ant, Giant Spider, and Giant Slime, none of them had given me any trouble at all. The biggest trouble was getting to them. Predictably enough, they were each in different Districts. Fortunately, Reed Town had acquired a few bicycles, so I didn’t need to walk everywhere.

Why are they all so far apart? I was more tired from biking than from fighting.

In the nine hours or so that I was absent from Reed Town, it had developed at an impressive rate. There were more people, and they seemed happier. There were a few more buildings, and various tents set up seemingly at random. The wall around the town had been upgraded by the Schema to become a stone wall, with various outposts for sentries. Presumably, Ryker had been busy acquiring Town Tokens of his own.

People stood in the streets in makeshift stalls, hawking their wares.

There was food aplenty from wolf meat, and there was a crowd of chatting--smiling--people near a well in the center of the town's plaza.

I made my way directly towards Ryker’s home, hoping to find a meal available, and looking forward to his jealous expression when I showed him all my Town Tokens…

I heard an unfamiliar, impatient voice as I entered Ryker’s home.

There was a woman I’d never seen before, standing next to a bicycle that was leaning against the wall of the house.

Her hair was tied up in a ponytail, and on top of her leather vest she wore a series of Air Force pins.

“Sergeant Wallis,” Ryker said, sounding somewhat exasperated. “Food first, business after. Leave your bike outside and join us.”

Ryker glanced at me and gestured to the same chair that I had sat at for yesterday’s dinner.

Sergeant Wallis sighed, backed her bike out of the house and then came in again. She stood by the table, still refusing to sit with us.

“Like I’ve said a half dozen times already: The LA Air Force Base has made an important discovery,” she started. She was clearly annoyed. “Earlier today, we bought a Teleportation Circle. One of the listed towns was requesting aid. We sent a team over, and learned that the Region’s Lord is likely nearby—a Hydra.

“We will march out from Old Pine Town in an hour, and we would like to invite you to join.”

Ryker put his fork and knife down and stared intently at Sergeant Wallis. “It’s strange. You’re so eager to help this Old Pine Town. Why didn’t you offer to help us, when we were surrounded by wolves?”

Sergeant Wallis frowned. “We were still stabilizing our own forces at the time. We didn’t have the forces to spare, and—”

“More likely,” Ryker interrupted her, “You didn’t see any benefit in helping a town so close to yours prosper. Maybe you were threatened by me? Hm? Maybe you’ve been annoyed now that Jarek and I have claimed so many of the nearby Town Tokens?”

“Not at all,” Sergeant Wallis responded smoothly. “Anyway, it appears you still don’t have a Teleportation Circle. Fortunately, I am authorized to loan you the Town Tokens necessary to build a Teleportation Circle—as long as you agree that the Air Force gets first pick of the Hydra's loot.”

Ryker snorted again. “I’m not an idiot,” he said. “No deal.”

Sergeant Wallis turned towards the door.

Samantha said.

“Wait,” I said. I placed four Town Tokens on the table. “We’re going.”

Sergeant Wallis turned to face me, actually studying me for the first time. Then she laughed lightly. “So, this is why you were stalling, Ryker.”

Ryker smiled innocently back at Sergeant Wallis. “Enjoy the bike ride back to your town, Sergeant. We will see you in an hour.”