Paige, Dusky, and Adrian made contact with another settlement and established friendly relations with them. The Ivory Crucible is what they call themselves, comprising academics, researchers, and some of the most competent medical minds. Their numbers were in the thousands, with the intention of having enough power and influence on the largest of stages. They were happy to have friendly relations, but didn't seem interested in the group's skill set.

  They also had issues with the Unwoke, but haven't had problems since they established a proper border around their area. Everything about the group was impressive, and Adrian was happy that this group was so close. They had their shit together and weren't wasting time structuring their organization or fighting internally for power. Their headquarters were a university campus, fitting for their personnel.

  "They gave us information on a few of their locations. We should start there."

  "They also said The Unwoke's main concern is expanding south, not north. There's a National Park south of their location, and they want control of the land. Luckily, they've met heavy resistance and haven't made too much ground on their expansion into the park. The defending group is called the Rangers, and we know very little about them. I'd advise that we don't move into their territory and wreak havoc on the northern border of the Unwoke before we infiltrate and start phase 2 of our plan."

  Adrian was relaying the information received from the Ivory Crucible member. They were all impressed by the Crucible's intelligence system and their willingness to share information.

  "Why didn't they do anything about those hideouts if they have overwhelming numbers?"

  "They aren't interested in fighting. They said they need to prioritize other things as 'time is of the essence' right now. They seem more than willing to have us do the dirty work."

  "Wonder what the AI thinks about them and the question of establishing order."

  "Who knows? Let's focus on what we have to do. The Ivory Crucible has a different path than ours. They may be smart, but they're just a bunch of researchers."

  The crew arrived at their first destination and were not pleased with what they found.

  "We'll go with Plan A. Time to become monster hunters."

  Maeve said as everyone hardened their faces. It's time to get to work.

  *****

  Toni

  "Put them into warehouse 6!" Toni shouted. Logistics were a pain, but she's been allowed to do something she'd never been able to do before Nexus came. She's been given the ability to rid the scorn of the world while rising to the top. There are no more laws, so Toni and her comrades could now set this world right. The playing field was leveled where everyone started at level 1. Toni would take those odds every time.

  Her deputy acknowledged her command and led a group of people taken from the north to the warehouse, kicking anyone who was not moving fast enough. Her squad was hand-picked by her and was competent enough to bring her vision to life. Toni smiled, looking at her subordinates, who were children just a few days ago, now messed up because Nexus decided it was a good idea to change people's ages. They were in need of a true mentor to guide them through this chaos.

  Toni has always excelled at exploiting chaos. Chaos is a ladder for those who understand how to wield it. Her family and friends ostracized her before Nexus, true, but she very much looked forward to the new lease on life that Nexus gave everyone.

  Toni smirked as she looked down at the branding iron in her hands.

  The Editor- A branding iron used to mark your property. This item connects the property to the property owner.

  +25 Wisdom

  +25% Mental Resilience

  Bonus: Marked beings are now your property and must obey your commands or receive punishment from the mark.

  A perfect weapon for her ambitions. An ideal way to shape up society from the ground up.

  "Commander! Message from the Boss. He's requesting your slav-," Toni gave a piercing look at the private, "I mean your subordinates to join the fight in the south!"

  Toni sighed at the expected yet irritating request. Toni didn't like the Boss, but she understood him. She was confident she would fully use the Boss before he thoroughly used her. A game that was never spoken out loud but understood between those vying for power. She didn't want to give the man more of her budding army, but she still needed him and wanted the Cuyahoga Valley National Park for her own.

  "He's in luck. A new crop just came in, but they still need to be… enlightened to their new reality." She walked with the Private and a few of her subordinates to Warehouse 6, "Let's get this over with. I have more recruits to educate."

  Toni grinned again as she casually smacked [The Editor] in her hand, the end slowly heating until it was bright yellow in the shape of a 'T'.

  Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author's preferred platform and support their work!

  I will be the one to mold this forsaken world.

  *****

  Maeve and the team arrive at their first destination, a rural-suburban town located halfway between Cleveland and Akron. It was a cloudy day, perfect conditions for their plan. They were given 5 locations in total and planned to visit each of them. Everyone was in their positions, with Maeve in the sky, Dusky in the shadows, Adrian with his stealth skills, Paige in position to use her illusion magic, with Todd and Brody away from the frontlines. The original plan was to capture an Unwoke and get them to give information, but what the group found at this location were war crime atrocities. People in cages, beaten and broken. The group steeled themselves at the sight, knowing they had a role to play. They would be death-reincarnated to those who abuse their new powers.

  The camp wasn't too fortified, but it was still busy. Adrian counted around 20 captives and 12 members of the Unwoke at the camp. Adrian's role is to place bombs made by Todd around the encampment while Dusky frees the captives. Paige and Maeve would be supporting with their magic while Todd was on long-range comms. Brody was not needed for Plan B, so he happily continued to drink more of Rolo's drinks from a secure location nearby.

  Adrian moved through the camp, noticing everyone's level is between 3 and 8. With Adrian at level 12, he didn't know how much the level mattered at the moment.

  Hue: Level 12

  Race: Human

  AI: Dude- Processing Power(Dormant)

  Class: Anime Enthusiast

  Attunement: Gravity

  Strength- 15

  Dexterity- 50

  Wisdom- 15

  Stamina- 22

  Constitution- 25

  My name isn't Hue, damnit!

  Adrian learned from talking with his team that not everyone had the 'stamina' category. Some of the others had a category called 'intelligence' instead. They also heard another category called ‘cunning,’ so who knows how many stat categories there were. They concluded that the dexterity-based classes used stamina as their magical resource. In contrast, mages used intelligence as their magical source, or 'mana' as it's commonly referred to in video games. It didn't matter to Adrian. He had already decided to take the dexterity route, making himself fast and agile. They were a group created for the shadows, so he didn't plan on ramming front lines or sticking around to trade hits with his opponents.

  Adrian didn't waste time as he moved through their camp, placing Todd's explosives strategically away from the captives while Dusky was doing his rescue mission. Paige's mist covered more area after gaining levels in her fights in the convention center. It was able to askew Dusky and the people he was trying to save. At the same time, Maeve was hidden above, overlooking the operation.

  Hue: I'm all set.

  Duskwalker: Few more minutes.

  Paige: Mana is getting low. Hurry it up, Dusky.

  Adrian was already getting into position to assassinate some members, the Twin Dragons ready in his hands.

  Paige: 30 seconds tops, Dusky. I can't hold this.

  Duskwalker: Roger that. Todd, set the charges in 20 seconds.

  Todd: Roger, Roger. Over.

  Brody: You don't need to talk like fighter pilots in party chat.

  Maeve: Fuck off, Brody. You wish you could be as cool as a fighter pilot.

  Brody: Hey! I'll have you know I almost got the role of-

  Explosions rocked the landscape of the Unwoke encampment after Todd remotely detonated the charges. Todd's creations are visibly more potent than the ones he used against the Funko Pops. Buildings were collapsing, and screams were filling the air. The buildings without captives were the first blow, giving a good distraction for Dusky to bring the captives out.

  Adrian began his assault, using [Feather Foot] to get behind his opponents and using [Explosive Swing] as his nunchucks landed on the temple of an unaware Unwoke. Brain matter splattered out the other side of his skull as he swung again and hit the other Unwoke, with the same result. Dings chimed in his head, confirming the kills as he moved through the camp, trying to eliminate any survivors of the explosion. Running through the camp, Adrian suddenly fell over after getting shot in the leg. Panic set in, knowing Dusky was preoccupied.

  He turned to the man with the gun. He managed to get another shot off before Adrian used his newly acquired skill. The area around the man started to shake as he fell to the ground. The look of confusion was clear on his face, but he fought the new physical pressure he felt. He managed to get to one knee, the struggle clear on his face as he tried to move any part of his body. He continued to fight Adrian's [Gravity Well] spell to raise his gun. Onlookers would think he's trying to lift a car with how much effort he put into lifting his rifle, showing the potency of Adrian's gravity skill. Still, he finally got his gun into position. Before he could pull the trigger, a spear came from the sky, finding purchase through the man's skull and digging three-quarters of the way into the ground. Adrian released the spell, stamina was utterly spent.

  I should have tested this spell earlier, but it worked out.

  [Gravity Well] was his new spell, which he got with his Gravity Attunement. It drastically increased the gravity in a specific area, making it more of a trap spell than an attack spell.

  It was quiet around Adrian as Maeve floated down. It appears the battle was over, lasting less than a minute, with the explosions taking care of most of the Unwoke. Maeve reached down to help Adrian up when she noticed the gunshot.

  "You have a healing potion?"

  "Yeah, forgot about those." Adrian drank his Medic in a Bottle, and the gunshot wound visibly repaired itself. "These are convenient."

  "Looks like it. Only drink the potions in emergencies until we can secure a stable source to get more."

  "Makes sense."

  Adrian got to his feet and took in the scene. Every building was burning except for the building with the captives. Dusky and a large group were walking toward them.

  "Look what I found!" Dusky shouted at us.

  High Sugar Soda- This tasty treat is pure sugar and caffeine, capable of allowing gamers to pull all-nighters.

  Bonus: Gives night vision for 8 hours.

  Side Effect: Has 1% chance to give diabetes. This is cumulative and will increase in percentage each time you consume this item. Trust me, you don't want magical diabetes.

  "I'd advise not drinking that. I'm sure Rolo can do something without the side effects."

  "We don't have any transportation big enough for all of them. This is going to be a problem." Maeve said.

  Adrian smiled at her and put his hand on her shoulder, "We'll figure it out. I'm sure they prefer this situation over the one they were in 5 minutes ago."

  Maeve let out a quick chuckle before she reverted to leader mode. She reached the former captives, "We can take you to a place that's safe if you choose to come with us." More tears in the captive's eyes. Adrian fumed at the sight.

  A man stepped up and shook Maeve's hand. "Thank you."

  He seemed distraught but managed to get a few more words out, "They're a terror. I want to help fight." Maeve nodded and said, "There's plenty of justice to be given. For now, let's get to safety and regroup."

  They began the trek back to the Dragonspit.