“Try to get up,” Todd says.

  Randall holds onto his crutches and wriggles. He crosses his good foot underneath him and pulls on the unbalanced rods. It isn’t going to work. Todd’s hand snaps out to steady Randall’s elbow as Randall hauls himself off the floor. He secures the crutches under his armpits and balances on one leg.

  “You were close,” Todd reassures him.

  “I still needed help,” Randall morosely says.

  “You’ll get the hang of it,” Todd claims.

  Morning has arrived and cultivators are being ejected from their rooms. This time though, they are accompanied by their gear and fewer of them are caught off guard or in compromising states of dress.

  Todd drags his eyes away from a naked figure and coughs.

  “So what class are you going to pick?” Randall inquires.

  He is as stable as a dinner table, quickly adapting to his new circumstances. Randall takes his efforts seriously. After all, his life depends on them.

  Todd hasn’t thought much about it. “When I reach level twenty five? I dunno man. That’s a long way away.”

  “I’m going to be a spell-blade!” Randall excitedly reveals.

  Todd blinks. He bites off his first reaction. He was about to say something cruel.

  “That would be cool,” Todd says instead. “Mixing swords with magic? Is that an option?”

  “Befor says that if I get a rare class it’s almost certain.”

  Todd tries to let Randall down gently. “Being a swordsman seems really hard. Do you think it’s something you’ll be good at?”

  “I’ll learn. I’ll have five hundred years to figure it out,” Randall protests.

  Todd pushes further. “It’s just that there are non-combat classes out there. You might be really good at crafting or alchemy or something.”

  It’s something the pixies had reluctantly revealed during the day. When a cultivator reached level twenty five, they would be able to take what is called a class, and your choice would totally change the pathway of your cultivation. A class was like having a permanent job or role that was deeply ingrained into your magic and body. The most prestigious of those classes were meant for battle, but some of those classes were jobs for regular working people, like scribes or masons or farmers. Those people would actually gain levels from doing their jobs.

  Todd couldn’t help but think that his friend would be better off pursuing a path like that. Especially now.

  Randall clacks his crutches against the ground. “All I have to do is reach E-grade. Before that I can get a peg leg. If a pirate can fight on a peg leg, then so can I.”

  “You’ll be a fire pirate, the most feared class of them all,” Todd says seriously.

  “An inferno pirate!” Randall laughs.

  For a few minutes, Todd simply watches as Randall ambulates. He holds his hands out in case the other young man falters, but Randall remains fairly steady. He waves off any offered help, even when he nearly loses his balance once.

  Their exercise doesn’t last long. The buzzing of the pixies precludes their arrival from the empty space above. Todd turns his head up. Aefore glows in her orange and gold as the light in the area dims.

  “A good morning to you all, my brave heroes!” the pixie proclaims. “The time has come for you to return to the surface of the lost world Caqaiba IV, and seek your fortunes.”

  Befor tumbles into place, her head rolling before she reassembles herself. “There are some teeny weeny changes this time around, so pay attention! First of all, the team size limit will now be ten! Remember that doesn’t make it easier for you, so don’t go thinking that there’s safety in numbers.”

  “In matter of fact, there are certain rewards which can only be achieved by a solitary excursion,” Ciforre announces. She pats at the event horizon of her bun to keep it in place. “Truly, the more that is ventured, the more is gained. That is the nature of the system.”

  “And gain is exactly what we expect of you these next three days,” Aefore booms, “because the nature of this next excursion will be that of a treasure hunt. Each of your groups will have three days to seek out and uncover a cache of ancient riches left behind when the planet was abandoned.”

  “Everything you find will be yours to keep!” Befor giggles. “The harder the difficulty you choose, the richer you will be!”

  Aefore raises a palm. “On the matter of difficult, we will be making a small change. In light of the tragic losses which occurred during the last expedition, we will be offering a new mode rated as easy.”

  “Easy mode will be defined by a higher expected survival rate, but lower rates of level and nexus coin gain,” Ciforre explains. “The expected quality of the hidden caches will also be lower, and the improvements to your tutorial title will be minimal. The system does not waste energy on marginal talents.”

  Aefore spreads her arms to encompass the whole square. “Make wise decisions, and challenge your limits. In this cosmos, greatness is only possible through adversity. Before you rest on your laurels, remember most of all that larger threats than this will await you when you return home.”

  The pixies’ suppression field vanishes. A series of seven metal panels emerges from the tile near the system store.

  Sighs of relief break out across the plaza. A few people actually break out into tears of joy.

  Todd’s heart however, sinks. With Randall’s condition, the only intelligent choice is to take easy mode. Participating in the treasure hunt may even be out of the question. He’ll be stuck babysitting, fighting weak beasts and falling further behind.

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  Todd experiences a sudden onset of heartburn. The sensation is only a mild irritant with his superhuman attributes, but he allows it to upset him anyway.

  “We’ve got to set you up with a group,” Todd says.

  Randall’s face is torn between excitement and worry. “Who were you thinking? We could bring a pretty big squad this time. Do you think we should bring along a bunch of weaker people, or try to find someone stronger?”

  “I think we should put you with someone who can really look after you,” Todd says. “Sue Ann will probably group up with you if we ask.”

  “I don’t really trust her fighting,” Randall sighs.

  Todd disagrees. “She got better by the end, and her skill is really strong. If there’s an easy mode, she’ll be fine.”

  “I guess.”

  “I also think that as long as we add some women or kids we can hook you up with Teo or Walter. I can also see if one or two of the guys who took hard mode are willing to take easy this time.”

  Randall frowns. “I mean, some of this sounds like overkill. The three of us can check the percentages on the mode platform and make a decision from there.”

  Todd winces. “Yea, sure… we can try that real quick.”

  The two of them collect Sue Ann. She is sitting down talking to a group of women on the floor. Todd asks her who she’s planning on taking the mission with and she admits she was considering taking the survivors of her original group. Todd counts six seated individuals and asks if she’d be willing to take Randall along.

  She hesitates. Then she says, “of course. Of course.”

  “You’d have someone else with you to help keep him safe,” Todd assures her.

  “Oh!” Sue Ann exclaims. “Good! I don’t know if I could protect everybody by myself.”

  “Do you guys want to come with us over to the panel?” Randall asks.

  There are some reluctant faces, but overall the circle of women follow Sue Ann’s cue. They are soon following behind with all their gear.

  There’s a rapidly expanding line for the soft tin easy floor panel. Todd scans the crowd determinedly, searching for anyone who will meet his qualifications for an able-bodied defender. Yesterday he had met a number of the stronger survivors, and now he wracks his brain trying to remember their faces or names.

  “Thanks for this,” Todd tells Sue Ann.

  She fingers a new sheath at her side. Her razor sharp sword is nestled happily in it. “Are you kidding? I’m really glad to have you along with us.”

  Todd doesn’t reply. He can’t bring himself to. He searches all the more rapidly.

  “I’m bringing more cooking stuff. I figure we’ll eat monsters and save on the tokens. I figure we also want to get the girls to each fight at least once if they can. It won’t be good if they can only depend on us,” Sue Ann continues.

  Nervously, she talks at him for the minutes it takes for the panel to free up. Todd steps on the plate along with Sue Ann, the women and Randall.

  His survival percent reads back as ninety nine. Randall’s comes back as eighty four. Unreservedly, Todd hands over his healing pill. The effect is that his own percentage drops to ninety eight and Randall’s rises to eighty eight.

  The group steps off the plate to make way for an incoming one. Sue Ann’s mood could not be more elated. She hugs the other women in the group. She hugs Todd. Belatedly, she offers a hug to Randall. He accepts it awkwardly.

  Todd tunes them out as they talk among themselves. He looks outwards. A woman tries to introduce herself to Todd, and he startles. She’s an older woman with generic western European features. They exchange greetings and her name escapes his mind in instants.

  Politeness drowns in the wake of his focus.

  Suddenly, he spots one of the exact people he is looking for. Teodore Alamilla is in the middle of an expressive conversation with the mustached man from last night. Todd waves eagerly and shouts for the ruddy faced man’s attention.

  “Teo! Hey Teo! Over here!”

  The older man takes some time to wrap up his dialogue. He picks his way over slowly, looking disinterested to be bothered.

  “I was busy. What do you want?” the man grumbles.

  Todd puts on a smile. He hopes it doesn’t look fake. “Teo, do you have a group yet?”

  Teo crosses his arms. “Since you interrupted me, no.”

  Randall pokes his head out. “Who is that? Is that the Teodore guy?”

  Todd makes a gesture to dismiss Randall. “Teo, I’m looking for someone to watch over this group and keep them safe in easy mode.”

  “Easy mode?” Teo scoffs. “I can handle normal mode just fine.”

  “But these women can’t,” Todd indicates. “They need someone strong. And I know you’ll be able to do it.”

  Teo leans over. He looks considerately at the squad. “What about the cripple?”

  “Him too, obviously,” Todd quickly utters. “He’s a package deal. But you’ll be a hero to all these women if you do it.”

  Randall pushes himself forwards. He looks between Teo and Todd. “What’s going on?” he asks.

  “I just want to see what your chances look like when Teo goes with the team,” Todd says.

  Randall looks confused. “I guess the more the merrier. You’d be welcome to join us,” he states.

  Something intangible about Todd’s body language gives away his intentions.

  Randall’s eyes narrow. “Wait, you mean instead of you?”

  Todd defends himself. “I just want to see what the numbers look like.”

  Teo steps back as Randall crutches himself closer. “Why wouldn’t you come with us, Todd?”

  Todd can’t meet Randall’s eyes. “It’s nothing! I’m just thinking if we don’t need some more people taking hard mode.”

  “What, with Joe and Candra?” Randall demands. His voice cuts like a knife.

  “I don’t know? Probably,” Todd says, “I hadn’t thought that far ahead.”

  “Yes you have. Fuck you, Todd. You want to run off with your new friends. You want to abandon me?”

  “I’m not abandoning you. I wouldn’t go if we couldn’t get your percentage up–”

  “Am I not cool enough? Is that it?”

  Todd vehemently shakes his head. “What? No!”

  “You always thought you were too good for our friends.”

  That’s a step too far. Todd blasts back. “Man, stop making this about us! I’m just trying to do what’s best for everybody.”

  “Fuck off, you’re just planning on doing what’s best for yourself.”

  Teo steps backwards. “I’m not going to get in the middle of this,” he says.

  Todd reaches out to him. “Wait, please. Just step on the plate with the group.”

  Sue Ann touches Randall on the shoulder from behind. “What’s going on?”

  “Todd’s ditching us,” Randall spits.

  “I haven’t decided anything for sure!” Todd refutes.

  “What, why?” Sue Ann asks.

  Randall thumps on the ground. “He wants to take hard mode!”

  “What is wrong with you three? We almost died!” Sue Ann exclaims.

  “That’s why they might need me,” Todd weakly argues.

  “Them? What about us?!” Sue Ann nearly shrieks.

  Guilt chokes the words out of Todd. He doesn’t know if he can be forgiven. He can only take his browbeating with regret.