Alex, his team, Morgan, and all the rescued individuals were standing in the forest. No one moved, no one made a sound. All of them were lost in the system’s announcement.

  A limited system store, rewards, and professions? It was a lot for them to ponder.

  Suddenly, items began appearing before people. Blankets, various foods, and tents. Seeing the items shook Alex out of his trance, and he was filled with anger.

  “STOP!” He shouted as he created a stone pillar, lifting himself up off the ground. He needed everyone to see him clearly.

  “DO NOT BUY ANOTHER FUCKING THING!”

  He waited a moment before continuing, “Look around you! We are in a forest, probably still surrounded by monsters wanting to kill us, and a large portion of you can’t even walk. Do not buy anything else. We cannot afford to be weighed down by more items and stupid shit that isn’t going to help us right now.

  You're all welcome to continue looking. I can’t stop you, but don’t buy any more useless shit until we’re safe at camp. Now, if you see something worth buying right now, like medical supplies, then go for it.

  Or a t-shirt because you're naked, or a sword to defend yourself, or even a small food item because you're starving. You get what I’m saying. And if you're unsure about the item's usefulness, ask one of my team or me.

  But if I see another person buy another useless thing that can’t help us right now, I’m going to burn the item to ashes and leave your ass behind. If you can’t follow a simple rule, then you can’t be in our camp.”

  As Alex lowered his pillar back to the ground, he heard people mumbling and complaining; some even questioned whether they should be following him. He really didn’t care either way, though. He refused to be a stupid leader, and he wasn’t going to let people under him be silly either.

  I remember a lot of the books, cartoons, or TV shows I liked; the main character was always stupid. They refused to take much responsibility or help those around them, and they were always poor leaders. I won’t be. Now that I’m a Progenitor, I can feel it won’t let me relax or let other people lead. So if I have to lead, I’m going to do it right.

  “Rykos,” Alex said, calling out to his teammate.

  He came over, but before Alex could say anything else, he spoke up, “Scout ahead, go to camp, prepare for arrival?”

  Alex stood stunned for a moment, words taken right out of his mouth. “Uhhh.. Yes. Please.”

  Rykos nodded and ran off in the direction of their camp.

  Korgrith gave a hearty laugh nearby, his deep minotaur laughter spooking some of the nearby rescued people. “You can count on Rykos; honor and duty are important to him. He knows his job and will see it through. This is what he wants. A purpose under a good leader. He will do anything you ask and follow you to the end.”

  “I’ll remember that. He’s definitely proven to be a good ally and friend. So have you.” Alex said, clapping him on the arm.

  Derek spoke up next, “Good call on the shop items. I didn’t think about it when people started buying things, but it would have been a pain in the ass if they kept going.”

  He smiled, “Thanks. I panicked when I saw it all.”

  They got everyone moving towards the camp again; it would take them a few hours at their current pace.

  ***

  Derek slowed and fell back in line, needing to talk to Sarah about something that couldn't wait. He'd seen her during the battle, and he wasn't happy about it. He understood, he really did. He'd been in a lot of battles while deployed and seen how people react in them, himself included.

  "Sarah, can we talk for a minute?"

  She nodded as she finished checking on an injured beastkin, then walked over to the side, away from anyone else.

  "What is it, Derek? Everything okay?"

  "No, it isn't," he said, with a bit of heat in his voice.

  Her eyebrows went up, surprised that Derek seemed angry at her.

  "You were a nurse before the integration, right?"

  She nodded slowly. "...yes."

  "Then you should know how stressful situations are, triage priority, and the importance of not being too emotional in situations like that. You put us all at risk. You were wasting your mana on injuries that weren't life-threatening and people who didn't really need it. I understand you just wanted to help, but what if you'd run out of mana, then one of the critical fighters got injured? Me, Sam, or god forbid, Alex. If one of us went down, you all would have gotten swarmed by the army or the general. "

  He took a deep breath, calming himself. "I get that you aren't used to combat situations, or things like we just went through, but we count on you. Just like you rely on us to fight and keep monsters off you, we rely on you to have our backs if we get injured. You can't do that if you're treating every small scratch or crying that you can't regrow someone's arm in the middle of a warzone. We need you to play it smart. Don't let your emotions control you in a fight. You're more important than any of us, even Alex."

  Tears were in her eyes, but she held them back. "I-I... I'm sorry. I was a nurse, yes. But I couldn't handle working in places like an ER. I get overwhelmed too often by all the injured and the pressure. I can't say no when I see someone help... I like to help people in slower areas. Most recently, I worked in a nursing home. I promise.. I'll try to do better. I know you're all counting on me."

  She nodded at him. Sarah wasn't dumb. She was well aware of how emotional she could be and needed to get it under control, now more than ever.

  Derek put his hand on her shoulder. "Good. That's all we can ask. I'm here if you need to talk or anything."

  ***

  While they walked, Alex only casually looked at the system store; he didn’t want to get too distracted by it.

  He started with the Essential items. There was a wide range of camping items that they would definitely buy. Tents, blankets, cooking utensils, and even some light seasonings!

  I wonder where this stuff comes from? Does the Universal System create it, or is the system just stealing it from planets?

  He continued looking through the store as they walked. There were also items for the Essentials Skills, like mining picks and skinning knives. Even other items for other professions. Basic alchemy flask, pestle and mortar, blacksmithing hammer and anvil, leatherworking tools and racks, and so many different tools Alex didn’t recognize.

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  He searched for Profession Guides next.

  These were a bit disappointing, and there were only a few. The guides were for basic professions.

  Basic Profession Guide - Alchemy - 500 SP

  Basic Profession Guide - Blacksmithing - 500 SP

  Basic Profession Guide - Leatherworking - 500 SP

  Basic Profession Guide - Cooking - 500 SP

  Basic Profession Guide - Construction - 500 SP

  …

  …

  And a few others on the list. They were all basic guides, and none of these professions really interested him.

  I do wonder if anyone on our team will pick any of these professions.

  A majority of the people he was traveling with had a glazed look over their eyes, as if focusing on something far away or pondering life's greatest mysteries. So Alex stopped going through the store himself; he wanted to make sure some people were on watch, volunteering himself as well.

  Derek, Korgrith, and even Morgan looked focused and alert, surprising him. Sam was lost in the system store, almost tripping over his own feet. And Sarah was too busy being a healer; she probably hadn’t even opened the store yet.

  The forest was quiet, except for the crunching of people's feet, branches breaking, leaves and brush crushed. The trip back to camp was uneventful after the announcement. Luckily, they hadn’t run into fights or monsters; it had been quiet. The walk had been relaxing for them after the day they had.

  When they arrived, Rykos was already waiting outside, along with a few of the leadership.

  “Thanks, Rykos,” Alex said when they got close.

  Rykos just nodded as usual. “I will go scout.”

  Alex just smirked, understanding that Rykos didn’t like to talk much and preferred hunting.

  With the gate open, they poured into the courtyard of the camp. Not much had changed since they left, except in one area. Tents lined the wall, at least forty of them, all looked brand new and could easily fit 2-3 people in each one. In front of the tents stood a flat, open area with several stretchers, a few tables, and a small campfire.

  That’s new. Alex thought, right before Myris came over to him and spoke.

  “When Rykos returned to the camp, he told us what you all found and what you were bringing.” She said, motioning toward all the people being ushered toward the tents.

  “A lot of the people pitched in, Rykos the most, and purchased tents and medical supplies from the System store for a rest area to house the injured. Once everyone is stable, we can move the injured inside the cave until they're better.

  “Rykos did?”

  Myris smiled. “He did. He's a beastkin of few words, but he cares, whether he shows it or not. And above all, he's loyal. Since these people are under your authority, he sees them as an extension of you. Helping them helps you. So he purchased several of these tents himself and gave them to me without a word. That’s how he is.”

  Korgrith was nearby and had overheard. “Yes, that is him. He won’t talk about it or give much of his opinion unless asked, but he’ll just do it. You can see the true him, through his actions, not his words, or lack thereof.”

  “Good to know, thank you both. I’ll admit he’s been a mystery, but his actions have been nothing but positive.” Alex said to them both. “Has there been any problems or anything since we left?”

  Myris shook her deer-like head, “None. Things have been quiet. The only excitement we had today was the announcements from the Universal System. From what I saw in the messages, congratulations are in order. Without you and the rest of your team, I am not sure we would have survived this far.”

  “You had Korgrith and Rykos; they would’ve gotten you through,” he said to her, nodding to Korgrith. “This big guy here wouldn’t have let you down.”

  Korgrith snorted, but it didn’t sound like a human who snorts while laughing; this was the snort of a minotaur, “Good thing we do not need to test that. We will fight and survive the other events, too.”

  Is he… embarrassed by the compliment? Alex wondered, grinning at the 7-foot-tall minotaur beastkin.

  “I agree, let us be glad for that,” Myris replied.

  Focusing back on Myris, Alex asked, “Do we have a storage space? I have a lot of equipment from the goblins I need to drop somewhere.”

  She looked lost in thought for a moment, pondered Alex’s question before answering, “We have not made a place for that, but I know where we can put them for now. Come.”

  She led him toward the new council room, but just outside the door, near the corner, she stopped and motioned toward the wall. “Can you use your earth magic to make a small room for it right here? This would be a good location to store everything. It is close to the council room, allowing us keep an eye on it.”

  “Yeah, sure.” It took him only a moment to create the small room. When finished, he unloaded all the spare equipment into the room, even organizing it a bit. He had made shelves for small items, stone racks for weapons, and stone crates for extra supplies.

  “Fantastic,” she said, watching the progress and creation of a storage room. “Something that took seconds now would have taken hours or days before the integration. Magic is such a wonder, allowing us to do extraordinary things.”

  He nodded in agreement, “It really does. It’s all crazy to think about, so much change in such a short time.”

  “Yes. Now come, let us stop wasting time like fools and see if they need assistance outside. You brought a lot of new people.”

  “We should have enough space for everyone, right? The earth mages seem to be expanding well enough, inside and out.”

  “I believe so, yes. I will need to check exact numbers, but I think we will be okay.”

  Good. Alex thought to himself as they walked back outside to the courtyard. I have a feeling we’ll hit a space limit soon, though, if more people come. Maybe we should build an entire underground complex? He chuckled at the thought of them turning into mole people, or building an entire underground dwarf city like in those fantasy ring movies.

  Outside, the rescued people were being separated into two groups. The injured were heading to the new tent section for medical treatment, while the rest were shown to tents, rooms inside the cave, or spots where they could pitch tents. With the new system store open, some items, like tents and blankets, were widely affordable.

  Even more so, for people who had been fighting during the event and had a chunk of System Points.

  Alex hadn’t looked through a lot of the store, just quickly browsed, and he really hadn’t looked at his own SP either.

  Curious, he opened it now to take a look. In the bottom corner of the System Store, he saw his current amount.

  System Points Available: 73,495

  Is that a lot? Or low? I have no idea.

  “Myris, do you know how many System Points most people have? Or an average.”

  “I haven’t spoken to many people on the subject, only a few others in leadership since the store opened, none of us had over a thousand points. But if you’ll excuse me, as a support, I should really go assist with the healing.”

  “Yeah, no problem. Thanks for all the help, you and the others have been doing a great job.”

  She just waved back at him as she kept moving towards the new medical area.

  Alex stood and watched for a while. The camp residents moved like a well-oiled machine already. The leadership had held power for only a short time, but they were proving themselves up to the task. Things were organized and structured. He didn’t see a single person lazing around, even though it was nighttime. Everyone was contributing and offering support to the new residents. Cooking fires were lit to feed the freed prisoners, and healers were seeing to the injured. It made him happy to see something positive happen for once, even if it came after something terrible.

  Alex heard some of the people talking during their walk to camp. The goblins hadn’t kept them prisoner for no reason… they were mostly food. The reason a fair number of people were missing body parts was that the goblins had hacked them off as snacks. Those with their whole body intact hadn’t gotten off scot-free. The little green monsters had done things to them that never should be done to anyone. Many of the people would take months, years, or possibly never recover from what happened to them.

  Physical injuries might heal with the System's help, but the mental ones… those may always leave a wound. I would know… Flashes of his brother went through his mind before he pushed them down as usual.

  He glanced around the area to make sure he wasn’t needed anywhere, and then went into the cave. He planned to try to relax a bit and go through the store more thoroughly, especially the rewards.

  I’ve done a fair amount during event one, so hopefully I’ve got some good rewards waiting! He thought to himself as he walked to his room, excitement clear on his face and his quick pace.

  Situated on his bed, he pulled up the system store.

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