Skyborne Raider

It was definitely the notification. The Knight was at a high level; she must’ve gained a lot of experience from his death. Her eyes are wandering—could she be hearing the dinging?

I wonder and continue to watch the burning pile, which illuminates the area in a haunting way.

Mike is kindling the small fire pit he started nearby and waits impatiently.

We sit in the tall grass, sip water, and watch the blob slowly burn out. When about a third of the top is burned, Mike steps into action and sets the pile on fire at several spots. Burning Astrid's part took quite some time, and it’s already getting dark.

“We can basically return to Harald now. Those points won’t be running away from you,” I comfort Mike.

“Alright.” He nods.

We backtrack to the tower location. I wonder if Astrid is waiting for Mike or if she’s already spent her points. As we approach the tower, I notice a light.

“So he didn’t leave us after all,” Mike says.

I’m surprised he has the same feeling about it. Harald seems more than capable and aware of what he’s doing. Why bother with three newbies? I ask myself, but then I remember—he saw my level, and of course, he’s looking for company.

Not everyone is an extreme introvert like me. He claims he’s been here for a few weeks already, seems that all alone.

As we get closer, I notice how tidy the place looks. Despite it being dusk, I can see from a distance that something huge is missing. He managed to remove all the corpses, including the fox. A silhouette of a human sits next to the fireplace, gazing into the flames.

There’s quite a large pile of soil and a digging area behind the spot where the fox originally was. Some of the bushes have been cut and used as firewood. The metal facade of the tower reflects the dancing flames.

“Hey, Harald.” Mike waves at him, dropping a few comments about the changes. Harald sits there holding a modern combat knife with a ribbed edge, a cube of roasted meat speared on the tip.

He gives us a neutral look and continues chewing.

“Where’s the fox?” I ask. He cracks a smile and nods at the cube of meat.

Astrid raises her eyebrows in surprise and takes out her water bottle.

“Do you want to trade water with us?” Harald swiftly pulls out a pair of military water bottles from his inventory.

“Thank you, I have my own,” he says, standing up and turning to the empty space in front of him.

We watch with curiosity as he pulls out an enormous plastic container, the size of a wardrobe. The moment it materializes, he quickly steps back to avoid crushing his foot.

It lands on its sturdy bottom with a loud thud.

“I call it the fridge. Feel free to stock up your inventories, and don’t forget to thank the fox.”

Mike steps in first and opens the container. To my surprise, it even has shelves. The meat is precisely cut into cubes and stacked in about twenty plastic boxes.

“How come it doesn’t spoil?” Mike asks, picking out one container.

“I noticed in a few days that inventory not only defies the laws of physics, but time itself.”

Mike opens the box and smells the meat. Astrid comes closer, picks up a cube, and hides it in her inventory.

“It takes one of my slots,” she comments.

Mike quickly opens his inventory and tries to pour out the meat from the box. About ten chunks disappear, but the rest fall to the ground.

“Ah, shit.” He crouches down to pick them up.

I wonder how they don’t know about this. The first thing I did was experiment.

“Take it with the box. I see you haven’t explored all the possibilities yet, huh?” Harald says, standing up. He takes out another two boxes from the fridge and hands one to Astrid and one to me.

Mike gathers the meat from the ground, cleaning each piece of dirt and grass off it.

“Here, Mikey,” Astrid says, pouring some water over the meat to clean it. Everyone stores their meat boxes, and Harald proceeds to close the fridge.

“Give me a hand, boys. Lift it to about waist height. My back would thank me.”

I’m curious how he managed before.

We both grab the bottom and lift. My arms hurt like hell, but I hide it well and don’t channel my strength into them at all, so Mike bears most of the weight.

Harald grabs the fridge with both hands, gives a slight push to the left, and I immediately feel it lighten. The fridge shrinks to nothing in an instant.

“Thanks, boys,” he says calmly.

“Thank you for the food, Mr. Nilsson,” Mike says, and Astrid nods. I look Harald in the eye and blink.

“So, how did your trip go?” he asks.

Mike is already shifting from foot to foot, eager to spend his points, I guess.

“We sorted out all the trouble. Solved it. Everything went great,” Mike explains.

Harald doesn’t ask further.

“We got some levels from burning corpses, and now it’s time to spend the points,” Astrid adds.

“How did you spend yours?” she asks.

He raises his eyebrows. “All equal, of course.”

My mouth opens slightly on its own. What the heck? What a waste! Boomer! But I stay quiet and look at Mike. His expression is also puzzled. Astrid just nods at Harald.

“I’ll go first,” Mike says, opening his stats menu. He points his finger in the air and presses. I watch his every move. He stops after a few clicks, his nostrils flaring as he takes a deep breath. He immediately sits on the ground.

“Are you alright?” Astrid asks.

“Yes, it’s okay. It’s just... a lot.” He exhales and continues clicking in the air.

I know exactly when he’s finished. His eyes are closed, and his mouth gradually curves into a smile. He takes a few deep breaths through his nose.

His gray eyes snap open in the blink. From his cross-legged position, he gets up quickly, without using his arms or touching anything.

“How do you feel?” Astrid asks again. Harald watches from his seat on a rock in front of the fire, cleaning his combat knife with a cloth. I notice he’s sitting on a cushion made of a piece of orange fur.

“Excellent. Still not even close to Mark. You must’ve burned the whole pile of them as we did, but alone.” Mike looks at me.

“Now your turn,” he says, turning to Astrid.

Michael Ambers foreigner level 35

Strength 4 no skill

Agility 37 no skill

Willpower 2 no skill

Endurance 14 [+10] no skill

Dang it. I wish I could’ve done this in solitude, I think to myself, glancing at my exhausted, hanging arms.

“Boy, you’re not telling me anything else?” the old man asks.

“My level is 35, and I’ve decided to put everything into agility. Always.”

“That’s quite a bold strategy,” Harald responds, and Mike continues to justify his decision.

“At stat level 50, you unlock your first skill,” I interject.

“Why hit hard when I can hit precisely?” Mike argues.

“Why endure attacks if I never get hit? Jeez, I can’t wait to get those additional 13 levels.” He punches the air and paces around like he’s had five coffees at once.

“Any small creatures down the way you came, old man? Ones I can annihilate now?”

“Calm down, boy, and hold your temper. Sit down, and we’ll go tomorrow,” Harald orders.

Astrid agrees with a nod.

“What about you, Astrid?” Harald asks, looking at her.

She opens her stats, and her expression turns surprised.

“Wow, that’s a lot of points! Definitely putting some into endurance, but then willpower. You said fifty, right?” She looks at me.

She fiddles with her panel and distributes the points. I watch her reactions closely. They’re just like Mike’s. After a few clicks, she sits down, apparently suffering from a headache. She touches her head, rubs her eyes, and continues.

Astrid Alm foreigner level 34

Strength 2 no skill

Agility 4 no skill

Willpower 31 no skill

Endurance 4 no skill

“Anything unusual?” Mike asks, staying close to her.

“No, no... well, actually yes.” She looks around, squinting.

“Do you see those lines?” She points at a nearby tree.

“What?” Mike looks at the tree. I do the same, and so does Harald.

“That leaf! Look at it! Don’t you see it? It’s being pulled down by some string!” She points at a large falling leaf.

“It’s just a leaf. There’s nothing there, sit down Astrid.” Mike says, worried as she touches her forehead.

"Here! I forgot!" I say as I open my inventory and materialize the massive throne for her.

"Sit and lean on something comfortable," I offer, and Mike helps her get up right away.

"Hold up! Explain this," Harald says, looking at the piece of furniture.

We all sit around the fire until late, summarizing what we've encountered so far.

Then we all look at Harald.

“I guess it’s my turn now, right?” he says.