Del was not sure what to think of these people.

As Micheal and Markus competed to see who could chug a glass of eggnog faster, the answer was Markus, and it wasn’t close.

Del sat pondering what she had gotten herself into.

At first, she’d been wary of them. They had beaten her old ‘group’ albeit with her help.

And they were strong. That alone was cause for worry.

But after beating them and gaining control over the region, they’d given it up and gone home.

Those with power didn’t tend to set it aside.

So Del’s curiosity had certainly been peaked.

Then they’d asked her if she wanted to become strong enough to fight one of the Beasts with them, and she’d jumped on the chance.

Del couldn’t stand staying still, and the end of the world hadn’t changed that.

Now they had one Scenario down, and while she wasn’t quite level 10 yet, she was close.

She was pretty certain everyone else was.

Margie sat down next to her as Micheal demanded a rematch. Steven looked amused as Markus took him up on the challenge.

“How are you holding up?” Margie asked. Noodle saw them talking and slinked over, jumping up to lay beside them.

“Opportunist!” Margie grunted, but that didn’t stop her from scratching the dog behind his ears.

“I’m doing fine.” Del eyed the older woman.

She had been kind to Del so far. Blunt as a brick, but she liked that about her.

Her eyes flicked to Buford. The massive dog was currently leaning against Steven, eyeing the table of snacks with hunger.

She liked the woman, but Margie made Del nervous. If a fight broke out between them, she would win.

Del’s buff made her strong, but Margie’s made Buford stronger. And that was before counting for Noodle.

“Why?”

Margie shrugged. “Newsiest member of our little group, as it were. Wanted to make sure you weren’t feeling left out.”

Del blinked at the woman. Well…that’s sweet.

“Ah, thanks. I appreciate it. This has certainly been a new experience for me.”

“Oh?” The woman arched a grey brow.

Del stared at the other three as they laughed. “You trust each other.”

Margie didn’t need to hear more, it seemed.

She patted Del on the shoulder.

They sat in comfortable silence until Steven stood and clapped his hands. “I’m ready to advance.”

Micheal scrambled to his feet, practically jumping with excitement.

“Yes! Let’s fucking go!”

They quickly gathered around, plowing into seats with varying levels of grace. And by that, she meant Markus sat down gracefully while Steven and Micheal threw themselves into their seats.

Del was honestly excited. Even if she wasn’t level 10 yet, she’d never seen someone else advance. The Red Hand had done it in separate rooms.

“Ready?” Micheal asked.

They all nodded.

“On three. One. Two. Three!”

Everyone except Del went limp in their seats.

First Steven, then Micheal and Margie, and lastly Markus.

Del stared at them all in shock.

What the fuck? She certainly hadn’t collapsed reaching level 5, so why-

The System spoke up, derailing her train of thought.

“Well…that was certainly bold of them.”

The System had the voice of a stern, older woman who was perpetually bored, like a librarian who mildly hated their life.

The bored voice was tinted with dry sarcasm as the System surveyed the others. “They don’t know you that well yet, you could slit their throats right now, and they couldn’t do a thing.”

It chuckled. “To be fair, they weren’t expecting to black out for this procedure.”

Del shifted uncomfortably. She certainly could kill them, but didn’t want to. So far, they had proved to be good people. She wasn’t interested in hurting them for levels.

”Hmm, good thing, too, since it wouldn’t have quite worked like that. Killing them all as they lie here helpless wouldn’t actually get you experience. I would give you plenty of Skills and Augments for it, though.”

“Why the fuck are you telling me that? Are you trying to tempt me into killing them?“

It wouldn’t work, but the fact it was trying to was unsettling.

”No, I’m not, actually. This bunch is interesting. It would be a shame if they died in such a boring way. No, I just wanted to see how you would react.”

The System chuckled again. ”Besides. It wouldn’t have worked anyway.”

Del looked up to see Markus staring at her.

Her gut clenched. She was very glad she hadn’t wanted to try something.

She liked the old man. He had been kind to her, he seemed to be kind to everyone, but he was another person she didn’t have a prayer against in a fight.

He sat up, his robin’s egg blues studying her.

“I’m sorry, dear. I don’t enjoy playing games or testing people. You seem like a good lady, but I’ve barely known you for a week.”

His gaze hardened, and Del sat up straight.

The kindly old man was gone, a stranger sitting in his place.

Someone dangerous, someone who could go toe to toe with a madman like Joshua and come out ahead.

“I vouched for you. So, if my judgment is wrong, and you hurt someone, that blame falls on me. But you didn’t.”

He smiled, and the nice old man was back as if he had never left. “I consider myself a good judge of character, so I’m glad you proved me right.”

Del swallowed. “Me too.”

~<>~<>~

Would you like to advance through the Second Threshold?

“Yes!”

The instant he finished the thought, blackness filled his vision.

Steven groaned. “Not this shit again!”

The System didn’t respond.

Sighing, he climbed to his feet. He went straight for the pulses, which felt stronger than ever.

He found the spot in record time. It sat there thumping away, but like last time, the pulses were stronger but no closer.

The empty space still blocked him.

Steven reached out, then paused. The adrenaline coursing through him vanished before that empty space, leaving him drained.

He took a deep breath, his hand shying away.

He- if he touched that space...

The System spoke, its voice gentle, as if afraid the wrong word would shatter him. “I think, Steven, it’s time you remembered.”

Steven didn’t reach for the empty space;it reached out for him.

~<>~<>~

Steven sat in darkness- no. No. He sat on his family’s porch, the evening sun casting the yard in oranges and reds.

The scent of the summer air and his mother's rose bushes filled his nose.

A lump formed in his throat. He looked down. His hands were too small as they cradled a cup of apple juice.

Without meaning, too, he took a sip. It was just as he remembered, crisp and sweet and packed with far too much sugar.

He looked up again without meaning to. He was a passenger here, just along for the ride.

He remembered what happened next.

No! I’m not ready!

His mother walked onto the porch and sat beside him, a newspaper in one hand.

Don’t look. Please don’t.

Steven looked up, and his heart broke.

She was a petite woman with shoulder-length brown hair and dark brown eyes. She had soft features and looked down at him with a sly grin.

“What are you doing on the porch?”

Steven raised a hand to point at the nearby tree. A fat robin stood near it, pecking at the ground.

“Bird.”

His mother laughed. “Sure is. Any fun facts to share about that one?”

Steven shook his head. “I haven’t read about them yet. It likes worms, though. But I think all birds do.”

She nodded as if he’d just said something sage and opened her paper.

“I’ll try to get you a book about robins next time we’re out and about.”

Steven smiled, the feeling cutting him.

He’d loved birds as a kid, enough to be a damn encyclopedia of bird facts.

How did I forget that?

The answer came unbidden.

Because you loved telling her about birds.

Steven wanted to close his eyes, but his body didn’t listen.

He hummed gently and leaned against his mother.

She wrapped an arm around his shoulders as they sat in the fading light.

~<>~<>~

Steven gasped. Darkness was all around him, pressing in, drowning him.

He scrambled to his feet, memories filling his head. Grief, enough to really drown him burst in with the memories.

Tears filled his eyes, then anger boiled up, pushing the grief aside.

He glared at the darkness, seething. “WHY?”

The System spoke, its voice calm. “What do you want, Steven?”

“No! Don’t you turn this around on me!”

“ANSWER ME.” Its words pressed in on Steven like a command from a god, and his knees almost buckled from the force.

He snarled but answered. “I want to protect my friends, to protect everyone.”

“Do you think you can do that as you are?”

His hands balled into fists. “No.”

The System studied him, its attention digging in like a knife.

“You’ll pass the Second Threshold and maybe the Third. Your connection is strong, despite the block.”

Its voice grew hard. “But that is as far as you will ever go.”

“If you don’t face this, you will never be strong enough to protect them.”

Steven shook, anger and confusion rolling through him.

Finally, he nodded. “Fine. I-” his voice broke. “Fine!”

“This won’t be easy, Steven. Healing never is.”

“I’m putting your advancement on pause for the afternoon. Your options will pop up when you're in the right headspace to read them.”

Before he could respond, the world rushed back into focus.

~<>~<>~

“Would you like to advance?”

“Yes!” Micheal practically screamed.

The System paused, and instead of options rolling up, his vision flashed, and the world went dark.

Micheal panicked, flailing about in the blackness. Everywhere he looked was pitch black. He started hyperventilating.

”Calm yourself, Damsel. You are safe here.”

“Why did you whisk me here?” Surprisingly, the System’s words worked, and he slowly calmed down.

“Requirements change as one grows.”

Before he could respond, prompts filled his vision.

Voice Like a Choir

Rare: passive

Effect: enhances voice, voice-based Skills, maximum volume, and lung capacity.

Range: none

Energy cost: none

Cooldown: none

—

No. I Will Not Be Running To The Side.

Rare: passive

Effect: While running in line with or in the shadow of danger, the Damsel will receive a potent speed boost.

Range: X

Energy cost: small

Cooldown: none

—

Oh, Brave Knight, I Wish To Be Strong Like You.

Passive: rare

Effect: gain a portion of the strength you bestow onto others.

(This effect will cap when you have the equivalent of a full buff.)

Micheal read over the Skills again and almost picked Oh Brave Knight on reflex. But he stopped himself.

A part of his brain was screaming at him, battling it out with the part that wanted nothing more than to be strong.

That Skill would let him be sturdier, faster, stronger. He would be… he would…

Micheal read over the Skill again, slowly.

He would still be useless.

It would let him be safer during fights, taking a burden off the others, and give him enough strength to take some swings at people, but that wasn’t enough.

The reason his buff was strong was because it enhanced what everyone could already do.

Another layer of strength on Markus and Buford, enhancing Steven’s reaction time to be even faster with his shields.

If they were fighting normal humans, then Oh Thank You, Heroes, would be enough on its own, but against things like the Snowzilla?

Micheal being able to get his buff would be pointless.

He sat down, staring off into the darkness.

He’d tried his best, despite resenting his Class, to be helpful, to not be a burden.

But he couldn’t shake the desire to be something else.

That wasn’t going to happen, though. He needed to grow up.

Oh, Brave Knight was a trap. His role, his purpose was to help the others. Well, technically, it was to get rescued, but that was the method to this madness.

It finally clicked when he saw the second Skill option.

The synergy.

He already had a Skill that made him better at putting himself in danger on top of a taunt.

Before that, the Skill had been worthless, but now?

One passive that made him better at getting into danger.

One that made him faster while in danger.

And finally, one that made his friends faster when moving towards him while in danger.

All of that would combine to give everyone a speed boost, and considering how much setup it required, it would probably be a big boost.

The System wanted some form of balance. If he needed to jump through that many hoops and put himself in danger to get the effect, he reasoned it would be a good one.

Micheal sighed, maybe he was getting ahead of himself, and it wouldn’t work how he thought.

Maybe he should go with the first Skill.

Boosting voice-based Skills should include his taunt, which would be nice.

You have a magical entity that can read your mind. Ask.

“System, does No. I Will Not Be Running To The Side, work how I think it does?”

“Typically, I would tell you to collect rocks, but since this is a Threshold Skill, I will be candid.”

It cleared its throat.

“Yes. It works how you are picturing.”

Micheal chewed on that. “Thanks,” he said absently.

That was as solid confirmation as you could get.

He hesitated to select it.

“Show me the Threshold Traits.”

“Bossy Damsel,” the System grumbled.

The options rolled out in front of him.

Oh, Terrible Beast! Why Must You

Pursue Me So?

Effect: non-sapient monsters will have an increased chance to focus on the Damsel over other targets and will attack with increased aggression and reduced caution.

Slight chance to completely bewitch a monster. Said monster will only attack the Damsel, ignoring all other entities in range. Once the damsel is under the monster's control, they will attempt to kidnap instead of kill

Thine Lovely Voice.

Effect: enhances the Damsel’s voice and gives them an intrinsic understanding of how their words are perceived. Enhances all voice-based skills.

Micheal blinked at the first option. What the actual hell? That fell into the camp of ‘is going to get me fucking killed‘ Skills and Traits.

Micheal paused as he read over the Skill again.

Despite the danger, he could see why he might want to pick it.

It had amazing synergy with I Will Not Be Running.

“God fucking dammit! Why do you keep trying to get me killed!” He thought at the System.

He got the vague impression of amusement in return.

He read the last option.

Here I Am In This Lonely Tower.

Effect: the Damsel is better able to withstand prolonged periods of isolation and boredom.

They can more easily picture complex concepts and ideas in their heads and have improved memory and language capabilities.

Micheal read over that last one several times.

That was honestly fascinating. It would make him smarter- Well, not exactly. But it would enhance his mind as it made him better able to withstand isolation.

Which made sense, considering several of his Class's Skills and Traits involved being taken prisoner.

He didn’t think he’d pick it, but the fact that it existed was interesting. If a little terrifying.

The System being able to mess with his head was hardly surprising. It took thoughts from their minds whenever it felt like it.

It further enhanced their bodies with each new level. And on top of that, Micheal was confident his thoughts flowed more smoothly than before he reached level five.

It wasn’t a massive increase, closer to feeling well rested versus just rested. But it was still a change.

Micheal almost chose the second Trait, even though another part of him was having a stroke at the idea.

It really did have amazing synergy with Will Not Be Running, and combined with the Damsel Runs Into Danger, he could ensure that he always had his speed buff up in a fight.

And since he’d be in danger constantly, everyone moving in his direction would also get a buff.

There was potential there, strong potential.

However, there were some things about the Trait he didn’t like, aside from the fact it was likely to get him killed.

While it would make clearing Scenarios much faster, it wouldn’t help them at all against humans—or sapient monsters, for that matter.

It wasn’t terrible. He would be stupid to expect the Trait to cover everything. But he wasn’t sure how much use they would be getting out of the Trait that only worked against monsters.

They had cleared the Scenario today with relative ease, all things considered.

Expect for the close calls with Steven, which this Trait wouldn’t have helped with regardless.

The closest they’d come to dying since the System’s arrival had been from other people.

And one of these Traits would help far more against that threat.

Micheal focused on the first Trait. Like the Skill, the Trait giving a passive boost to his voice, and voice-based Skills was a nice bonus.

But its other effect was what interested him—giving him an intrinsic understanding of how his voice was being perceived.

That sounded very, very strong.

And possibly dark. He could easily see how something like that could be used for some pretty nasty manipulation.

But it could also be a safety net. If he sued for peace and could tell if the other group wasn’t taking him seriously or was getting pissed, that could save lives.

And it would increase his versatility.

Should he pick the voice Skill on top of the Trait?

No, that was the same issue of being too narrow. He’d rather pick a Skill that helped directly in fights and then a more flexible Trait to balance his kit out.

He read over everything one last time, then made his choice.

Would you like to select: No. I Will Not Be Running To The Side?

“Yes.”

Would you like to select: Thine Lovely Voice?

“Yes.”

…

…

Micheal looked around. Shouldn’t something be happening by now?

Mayb- Power. It rose in his chest, pulsing through his entire body in a solid wave.

A moment later, a second wave crashed into him from outside, pressing into his skin and meeting the waves coming from his chest.

They slammed together, mixing and growing in their clash.

System prompts flooded his view.

Salutations, Damsel! You are passing through the Second Threshold!

Your Skills have been Tempered!

Oh, Thank You, Heroes has gained a new function: Heroes will receive a small burst of energy upon receiving the buff.

All other aspects of the Skill are enhanced.

Run Heroes Run has gained a new function: Heroes under its effect are less susceptible to wind resistance.

All other aspects of the Skill are enhanced.

Eye Catching Beauty has gained a new function: those taunted by the Skill are more likely to strike at the Damsel with crippling blows as opposed to lethal ones.

The First Threshold Trait: Familiar Heroes has been upgraded: repeated use of buffing Skills on the same people will increase Skill strength to a cap of 10% instead of 5

Heroes buffed by your Skills will have intrinsic knowledge of your location and are better able to navigate the terrain to reach you

”Ahem. There we are. I believe we are finished. And well done making it this far. Yours is not an easy Class. But you have made it work thus far. Can you make it truly shine, I wonder?”

Micheal blinked. That was the nicest the System had ever been to him.

Before he could respond, the darkness pulled away, and the world rushed back into focus.

His vision cleared to reveal Margie's couch. Steven sat next to him, his eyes closed, and next to him, Margie was in the same boat.

Del was to his right, grabbing something from the kitchen.

And directly across from him, a broad smile on his face was Markus.

Micheal beamed. “Come on now! Don’t hold out on me! What did you get!?”

Markus's smile grew.