Even with the health potion, Harvey’s body ached. He’d been swarmed by a flock of Carrionwing, charged by a pack of Bloodrunn, flipped by the Stoneback Maulers, poisoned by the Kalthera brood, and blasted away by the biggest explosion Hannah could create… all in one day.

  It was awesome.

  The old Harvey would’ve died of a heart attack even hearing the stories, but his addiction to the System made it all seem worthwhile.

  It had taken him a minute to sober up, so the others threw a few of the larger corpses into their slipsacks, sat him on Buttercup’s back, and set back towards Veils End. The sun was just beginning to set when they ventured back into the forest. Normally, they’d find a place to camp out and sleep in shifts, but Julian elected to feed them all an endurance potion and keep moving. Packs of Carrionwing, Bloodrunn, and Stonetusks all lumbered out of the dark, but it was nothing they couldn’t handle.

  By the time they made it home, Hannah got another level in her class, and Buttercup pushed all the way to level 22. The fact that Julian didn’t get a level of his own despite killing more than any of them suggested that sacrificing his profession wasn’t going to boost his leveling speed.

  They’d left Veils End just after dawn, and with the moon high in the sky, it looked like they’d only have a few hours of rest before Master Seung-Ho expected them again. They were all exhausted, crashing into the smithy and collapsing into their cots without taking off their shoes. It would get dirt in their sleeping bags, but that was a problem for tomorrow…

  Harvey used to dream of home. Elena’s first day in the forge with him started with her knock interrupting a dream of a cruise with his family. Other nights, he dreamt of movie nights with Cleo in their apartment or playing pickleball with his friends. It was his escape, and he cherished every minute of sleep.

  Now, he dreamt of the System. Chatting with Elena while he watched his ore melt in the forge. Fighting alongside the friends who’d saved his life countless times. Standing at the loom, concocting the wildest skills he could imagine. He was amazed at how fast the mind adapted, only needing days to adjust to a new normal.

  Tonight, he dreamt of the Loom, his subconscious mind unable to escape the excitement of his evolution. It was like his body knew the biggest change of its life was coming, and it couldn’t wait to wake up.

  His eyes shot open as Buttercup nudged his face. His body felt good, his improved Vitality having dealt with the lingering pain the potion could not.

  “Good morning!” Harvey beamed, the others fighting to stay asleep as Buttercup pushed them awake.

  “No morning is good.” Hannah moaned.

  “That’s not what you said yesterday.” Harvey laughed.

  “Yesterday Hannah was crazy.” She sighed. “Today Hannah can’t be held accountable for anything she said.”

  Julian wasn’t excited either, but pulled her out of bed to Master Seung-Ho’s class. Harvey was dying to sprint straight for the loom, but held himself back. He’d already disappeared without a trace the day before, and he was sure he’d get an earful about it from Elena. It would be even worse if he evolved without her.

  Instead, he enjoyed the class, thanked the instructor, and prepared for what came after the evolution. It felt gruesome, chopping the iron elemental into pieces small enough to fit in the crucible, but it had to be done if he was going to make his new set of armor.

  Or I could give it to Julian. Harvey wondered, setting an iron hand into the forge. No, nothing’s going to change if I don’t start putting myself first.

  “Where the hell were you?” Elena complained, slamming the smithy door behind her.

  “We woke up early for taekwondo and then went hunting. I couldn’t make any more progress on my profession, and we weren’t sure what time you would wake up.” Harvey answered, carefully pouring into an essence mold he’d created for a simple ingot.

  “Likely story.” She scoffed. “You just didn’t want me yelling at you for leaving town while you were still injured!”

  “Elena, I’m telling the truth.” Harvey began.

  “Do you know how scared I was?” She ranted.

  “ELENA!” Harvey yelled. “Will you just listen?”

  She stood in shocked silence, waiting as Harvey gently set the empty crucible at the edge of the forge. He felt bad about yelling at her, but this conversation had been a long time coming. Setting down the tongs, he turned to meet her eyes. They were red, like she’d been crying before walking over. Her lip quivered, and he could see the tension building up in her body.

  “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have yelled.” He whispered. “I’m just tired of being treated like an idiot who can’t take care of himself.”

  “You almost died.” She croaked, the last word catching in the back of her throat.

  “I know. And I appreciate you looking out for me. I really do. I know it’s all because you care, but I can’t live my life being berated every day.” Harvey sighed.

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  “I can’t lose you, Harvey.” She sobbed, inching towards him with her arms outstretched. He pulled her into a hug and patted her head.

  “I’d love to promise you won’t. That I’ll be here for you whenever you need me, but that’s a promise I just can’t make. I think death is just part of our lives now. Every time we walk out that door, there’s a chance we don’t make it back.” Harvey apologized.

  “Then stop leaving!” She fretted.

  “If I do that, an Undead army comes and knocks the door down,” Harvey replied. “I don’t want to believe it either, but it’s just a fact of life. Really, it’s no different than the old world. You never knew when an earthquake or a fire was going to come, but that didn’t stop you from going out and living your life.” Harvey explained.

  “Maybe it should’ve.” She griped. “Then I wouldn’t have died in a car crash.”

  “Yeah, but then you’d just be in some other trial fighting vampires or something.” Harvey chuckled.

  “You’re not cheering me up,” Elena complained.

  “I’m not trying to. I’m trying to help you understand that this is the world we live in, and we need to make the best of it. It’s not all bad, either. I was waiting for you to head over so I could invite you to come watch me evolve.” Harvey replied.

  “You got to level 25 in one day?” She asked.

  “I had some help. Julian and Hannah were right by my side.” Harvey smiled.

  “Good. Then I know who to kill if you don't come home.” Elena lamented.

  “Kill? Elena, what’s gotten into you?” Harvey sputtered, pulling her away.

  “It’s… It’s nothing. I just can’t lose you. You’re the only one who’d understand,” She cried.

  “No, something’s wrong, and you need to tell me.” He stood firm.

  “I can’t! He’ll kill me.” She wailed.

  “Who?” Harvey asked in disbelief.

  “Gary! He said if I tell anyone, he’d make me drown in my own blood.” She shuddered, her body shaking like a leaf, tears soaking the robe at his chest.

  “That motherfu…” Harvey raged. “Tell anyone what!”

  “He’s insane.” She bawled. “He makes us pretend like we’re his dead family, and we all sit around the dinner table talking about lives we never lived while he tells stories of ripping apart monsters and drinking their blood.”

  “His dead family?” Harvey choked, aghast.

  “Yeah. That’s why Amy calls me Brittany.” Elena sobbed. “Every night I have to make up some lie about how school was today or what drills we did at softball practice.”

  “And Gabe?” Harvey asked.

  “You mean, Connor? Same thing, except he fought back and has been tied up under their bed for the last two days! They have him gagged, but I can still hear him crying sometimes.” Elena wailed.

  His body was in shock. He had no idea what to do or how to feel. His aura shook as essence raged through his weave, every muscle straining as he balled his hands into fists.

  “He punishes us when we don’t play along, and he threatens to destroy Veils End if we tell anyone. Last night, he came and lay down next to me while I was going to sleep. I didn’t know what to do, so I just lay there while he stroked my hair. I felt so disgusting.” She bawled.

  “Did he hurt you?” Harvey shuddered, tears streaming from his own face as she held him in a vice grip. ”I’m going to kill him.”

  “No, no, no…he didn’t touch me that way, but that doesn’t matter. It’s just so wrong.” She insisted.

  “Good, then I’ll kill him before he does.” Harvey barked.

  “No! Harvey, please! You’re not strong enough!” She begged.

  “Then I’ll get Julian and Hannah to help me!” He shouted.

  “All that will do is get them killed with you. You have to believe me, he’s too strong!” She sobbed.

  “He evolved the same day Julian and Hannah did?” Harvey asked. “Help me strap on my armor.”

  “Yeah, which only helped him hide his imprint.” She answered.

  Harvey froze, staring at her begging eyes as she wiped her nose.

  Gary has an Imprint? He thought.

  “You’re sure?”

  “Positive, he was bragging about it at dinner a few nights ago. It’s an upgrade of his Born Killer Mark called Blood Tyrant that gives him 15% Strength, 5% Vitality, and 5% Willpower.” She explained.

  His heart fell off a cliff, landing somewhere in his stomach. A 25% stat boost?

  “It gets worse, he’s learning how to infuse it into his Skills. He already spent every second away from home hunting, and now he can kill even faster.” Elena persisted.

  “Have you seen it in action? We knew that was possible at F Grade, but he’s the first to get his Imprint.” Harvey asked.

  John’s guide to the tapestry explained that auras and legacies would get more important as one ascended through the grades. It was the physical manifestation of your path to power, and just like with the rarities of skills, building a cohesive story was extremely powerful. The fact that Gary had managed to upgrade Born Killer to Blood Tyrant so fast was proof that the path of carnage was perfect for him, and the extra stats alone would be devastating.

  “No, I never see him fight these days. I just hear stories.” Elena answered. “Harvey, you won’t win.”

  “When did he have time to level his profession? He should be behind if he’s out hunting all the time.” Harvey asked.

  “He’s an Outpost Commander,” Elena replied. “He gets stronger as Veils End gets stronger, and ever since he got a skill to tax everyone, he’s been able to afford enough potions to hunt nonstop!”

  “Tax us?” Harvey shouted, just as Julian and Hannah walked through the door with breakfast.

  “Whoa, what’s going on?” Julian asked.

  “You’ll never believe this.” Harvey groaned.

  “HARVEY! You can’t tell them.” Elena sobbed.

  “Elena, I’m not going to sit around and let him do this to you.” Harvey retorted.

  “Do what?” Hannah asked.

  “But you’ll die! I’m not making it out of this trial without you!” She screamed.

  “Elena, I trust them with my life. I believe you. We’re not ready right now, but we’re going to need their help if we’re ever going to get out of this.” Harvey explained, a hand on her cheek, lifting her eyes to meet his.

  “Whatever you need, Elena. You can trust us.” Julian encouraged, putting a hand on her shoulder.

  “Yeah. We’re a team.” Hannah added, pulling her into a hug.

  With a hesitant nod, they shared the story from the beginning. Julian and Hannah were ready to burn his house down right then, but Harvey held them back.

  “We just need to play along until the quest is over. He’s the strongest Veilstrider in Veils End, and we’ll need him if we want this to be where we make our last stand.” Elena explained.

  “Fine, but once it’s done, we tell everyone how he’s been taking advantage of us… how horribly he and Amy have treated you, and we force him to leave or die.” Julian condemned.

  “He won’t go quietly. He’s already thinking of going on a murder spree for a final burst of levels before the Undead show up.” Elena warned.

  “Why would he do that?” Hannah gasped.

  “He doesn’t think we have a chance of actually winning, so he’s going to get as strong as possible and try to sneak his way to the portal with Amy, Gabe, and…” Elena explained.

  “You?” Harvey asked.

  “That’s his plan, not mine. I’m not leaving Veils End behind.” She promised.

  “So not only is he crazy, but a coward,” Harvey growled. “It doesn’t matter, we’ll take care of him.”

  Last night, he’d dreamt of The Loom because he was excited. Now, all he saw was a tool to help him unleash his rage.