Traveling across the country in what felt like an instant wasn’t as jarring as Luke would have thought. One moment, they were in Chicago, the next, somewhere on the West Coast, and then a few minutes later, they made another jump.

  “Are we in?”

  Josh, the Jumper who’d brought him along, nodded. “New York. Or, well, right outside of New York. Haven’t been closer than this.”

  Looking out one of the small, dirt-speckled windows of the small house they’d appeared in, Luke didn’t recognize a single thing. “You’re not the one who brought Dot, then?”

  “Who?”

  “The girl Alan is keeping away from me. The Lifeweaver.”

  Josh’s blank expression showed he didn’t know the first thing about Luke’s friend.

  “Never mind,” Luke said, pointing east. “Can you get us closer? She’s that way.”

  Weaver’s Perception told him where to find her and Alan, along with every other person he’d ever healed since gaining access to the skill.

  “Like I said, it doesn’t work like that. I can only jump to a location I’ve been to before. Besides, going all this way with you took almost all my mana. This is my father’s old place. I’ll stay here for a while. Catch up in town later?”

  Luke held up his hands. “No worries. I’ll continue on my own, and we'll meet up. Where exactly are we?”

  Josh opened his mouth to reply.

  “Never mind,” Luke said again. “I’ll find my way. Thanks.”

  After questioning Josh a little more, Luke left the house. The relative chill of early morning air filled his lungs as he stepped out onto the driveway and drew in a deep breath. Alan, the man's guild, and the abilities of his new class, filled Luke with apprehension, but for a moment, things were peaceful. A couple of other houses down the road peeked out from behind bushes and trees, but other than the slight sounds of Josh shuffling around inside the house, it was quiet and empty. Centering himself, Luke made a mental note of what he needed to get done as soon as possible. It was a short list.

  1. Save Dot.

  2. Kill Alan.

  3. Help Curtis with the Intruders.

  4. ???

  5. Profit.

  Joking aside, Alan was too dangerous to keep around. A class named Master with words that bend people's will into doing his bidding? Evil. No one who used abilities like that belonged on the good guys’ side. Even with some of the more questionable things Luke had done, he still thought of himself as good. Also, Alan kidnapping Dot and trying to kill Luke to get someone else to stand in the Lifeweaver's shoes in his stead was enough to brand him as the enemy. No one was safe as long as that man walked the Earth.

  With that in mind, he set out running, rushing east, heading toward New York.

  Luke: "Curtis, do you have a place to live? I'll be there soon."

  Curtis: "Is this you or your former guildmaster?"

  Luke: "It's me. But you're right to be wary. I've told everyone I can think of that he can impersonate anyone. The messaging system isn't safe."

  Curtis: "OK."

  Luke: "So?"

  Curtis: "I have a place."

  Luke: "Can I stay over while I look for an apartment?"

  After running for another couple of minutes, Curtis still hadn't replied.

  Luke: "Curtis?"

  Curtis: "A little busy. Things are hectic here. I have a couch. You are free to use it."

  Luke: "Cool. Alan kidnapped Dot. They're both in NY."

  Curtis: "I'll add dealing with that to the list. Also, Hannah is here."

  Luke was about to message Hannah to say he was getting closer to the city, but figured he'd meet her when he arrived. Instead, he thought it would be a good idea to get in touch with Ray. His old friend would be crucial in getting to Alan.

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  Luke: "Hey, Ray. You up?"

  Ray: "Is this your idea of a booty call? Not interested."

  Luke: "Could you help me kill Alan?"

  Ray: "Sure."

  Luke: "Just like that?"

  Luke: "No explanation? No questions?"

  Ray: "I figure you have your reasons. Talk to you later, I'm killing stuff with your boy Curtis."

  The two of them getting along was not something he would've expected. With Ray's somewhat abrasive personality and Curtis's self-proclaimed hatred of people, they should mix about as well as water and oil, but against all odds, they had found each other. Perhaps it was their shared love of stabbing things that had brought them together.

  While Luke ran, following roads and paths, he kept a speed that would make even the best long-distance runners green with envy, and he wasn't even pushing himself. Increasing the physical attributes made a huge difference, and he marveled at how far he'd come as he read through the interface.

  Attributes

  Strength (Raw physical power): 31

  Agility (Speed and finesse): 31

  Endurance (Stamina and physical recovery): 32

  Vitality (Health and physical resilience): 50

  Intelligence (Mind potency): 37

  Wisdom (Mana efficiency and mana regeneration): 40

  Willpower (Channeling stability and speed): 30

  Focus (Control and precision of mind): 30

  Far from what he'd started out with at Level 1, he'd reached new heights at Level 37 following the utter annihilation of the dragon Naraxamus and its minions in a recent dungeon. A nuke made for quite the weapon, if perhaps a little volatile, seeing as Luke had almost killed himself ten times over. If not for his many Lifeweaver skills, he'd be nothing but a radioactive splat still in that dungeon off somewhere, far away in the universe. Most of his skills were dedicated to healing, while a few he'd picked for the sole purpose of doing damage, and some could do both.

  Skills (3 points not allocated)

  Needle of Life (Rank 3) [Active - Mana Cost: ?]: Part the weave as you see fit.

  Threads of Mana (Rank 4) [Passive]: Mana is the weaver's primary tool. Your threads are the weave..

  The Healer's Moment (Rank 2) [Active. Mana Cost: Moderate]: Your choices in the moment shape the future.

  Weaver's Grasp [Passive]: The Weaver's control extends beyond their touch.

  Weaver’s Mercy (Rank 2) [Active - Mana Cost: Moderate]: Allow your target another few moments in their current condition.

  Weaver’s Renewal (Rank 2) [Active - Mana Cost: High]: The core of a being remembers.

  The Healer's Staff [Active. Mana Cost: Low]: Turn your weapon indestructible for a brief moment.

  Weavestep (Rank 2) [Active - Mana Cost: Moderate]: Pass a short distance through the weave.

  Weaver's Perception (Rank 2) [Passive]: Many are the senses, but all you need is one. Best you use it.

  Weaver’s Rupture (Rank 2) [Active - Mana Cost: Moderate]: Create a controlled blast of mana to disrupt any who would threaten you.

  Bountiful Recovery [Passive]: Any healing power claimed may stay within the core of your being.

  Guardian Weave [Active - Mana Cost: Low-High]: Shield structures within yourself or another.

  Lifeweaver's Sacrifice [Toggleable - Mana Cost: Low]: Absorb damage from anyone touched by your threads.

  Cascading Threads [Active - Mana Cost: High]: The threads weave from one to another, and to another.

  Manipulate Thread [Passive]: Reach out a trembling finger and touch the thread.

  Loom's Reminder [Active - Mana Cost: Moderate]: For a brief moment, each touch produces a thread.

  Bleed The Weave [Active - Mana Cost: High]: Rupture a weave to make your target weep mana.

  Draft Insight [Passive]: Read the intent in the weaves of others.

  Destabilize Spellweave [Active - Mana Cost: Moderate]: Destroy spellweaves with Threads of Mana.

  Quite the list, and that was with a lot of skills already having combined into Weaver's Perception. Reading through it, he remembered to use Bountiful Recovery, filling his meta-heart up with healing mana, stored for later use. Just in case some threat popped out of nowhere, Luke also used Guardian Weave, wrapping his heart, meta-heart, and brain in protective threads. It took some mana off the top of his available pool, but it was a small price to pay for increasing his defenses to a somewhat ridiculous degree.

  As he ran, finding things blocking his path again and again, it didn't take long for the obstacles to get on his nerves. Even with the incredible speed of sprinting, Weaver's Perception told him it was still quite a long way to go before he made it to Dot's location. He'd zeroed in on her right away, since Ray, Curtis, and Hannah were untraceable, meaning they were in a dungeon. Wanting to speed up even more, Luke decided to get some practice in with Weavestep.

  The skill allowed him to make short jumps through space, disappearing from one spot and appearing in another. A neat addition to the skill, which Luke had just found while jumping out of a window, was that at rank 2, it added to his momentum. Speeding up his steps and jumping, two consequent uses of the skill saw him somewhat airborne, tumbling over a low, one-story house. Wind whipped through his hair, and he let out a whoop of joy, forgetting for a moment the stress he was under. The thing about a giant leap, though, was that the simplicity of its start didn't follow through to its end. Crashing onto the grass on the other side of the house, Luke tumbled, limbs spinning, until he came to a stop against a cluster of small trees.

  Laughing, he got to his feet. The new and improved physical attributes made him far more resilient than before. A welcome change, having been a squishy healer. Practicing the Weavestep jumps as he ran, Luke found traveling a lot more manageable. Not having to go around every obstacle or even body of water sped everything up to a significant degree. Finding that he was able to use the skill even while in the air made for another amazing discovery. That meant he could use it once to launch himself into the air and then again to increase the distance. While the skill didn't have a cooldown, the mana cost was steep enough that he couldn't spam the skill over and over again without running out. Still an improvement. A big one.

  Wanting even more speed, Luke took to checking his profession: Enchanter. Enchanting pieces of gear with different bonuses was a simple enough concept, even if it wasn't quite as straightforward as it sounded. After his previous profession, Seeker, and its obtuse skills and descriptions, though, it was like a shining bastion of what-you-see-is-what-you-get. Seeker combined with other skills to create Weaver's Perception, leaving him without a profession. So far, he hadn't regretted the new pick, and he'd only reached Level 2 so far. With Level 3 so close, he could smell it, Luke set to enchanting his new shoes.

  New Sneakers of Speed: Provides a minor speed boost.

  It was minor indeed, but even a small change meant a lot over a far enough distance to travel, and his senses told him Dot was still far away. Even so, Luke would not stop until he reached her. Alan would be there. This time, that bastard would not be allowed to escape.