Without The Healer's Moment, Luke would be dead. He stared at the edge of the sword mere inches from his face. Unable to raise his hands, Luke used the only tool available to him, his mana. With Weaver's Grasp, he was able to extend Threads of Mana outside his body from any part of him, including his face. Seeing the three threads extending from his face was a little weird, but he didn't give it much thought. There were more important things to focus on, like the huge sword right in front of him or the two Hollows rushing toward Curtis from another direction, two that Curtis himself hadn't seen.

  Luke's first reaction was to array the Threads of Mana in front of his face to block the sword, but then he thought better of it. He hadn't tested his skill enough to be certain the flimsy threads could block such an attack. Better err on the side of caution on this one. Instead, Luke put them on a sloping angle to the side, hoping it would be enough to direct the sword away from him.

  The Healer's Moment ended. Luke didn't die.

  His plan was a raging success. Curtis's sword met Luke's Threads of Mana and cut through the first like it was nothing. The second turned the blade a little before disintegrating, and the third inched it away just enough to miss Luke's head. Wind rushed against Luke's face as the blade passed right by, slamming into the ground with enough force to make Luke stumble and fall.

  "Stop!" Luke shouted, but it was no use. Curtis didn't hear him.

  A second swing followed.

  System Message: The Healer's Moment is still on cooldown (180 seconds remaining).

  With his back on the ground and out of options, Luke chose the one option still available to him. He used his undistributed skill point on a new skill.

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

  The quarterstaff appeared in his hands, pulled out of his inventory, and Luke activated The Healer's Staff. Metal hurtling through the air with enough power behind it to shear through stone met a thin staff of wood, and stopped. No sound, no pain, no nothing. The sword just stopped. Well, no pain for Luke, at least. Curtis cried out, dropping his weapon, and Luke got to his feet, marveling at how utterly unharmed he was. This new skill was far better than he'd thought.

  "Curtis, you mad bastard, it's me! The Hollows don't speak, and they don't have weapons! Look!" Luke held up his staff. "Weapon!" He then pointed over Curtis's shoulder. "More of them coming!"

  The two Hollows charging toward them closed the distance before the life returned to Curtis's dull eyes and apathetic expression, meaning Luke didn't have much choice. He turned from the other Integrated and hefted the staff, readying himself for a swing. The Hollows changed in appearance as they ran, one turning into Curtis and one into Luke himself, like evil versions of them.

  "Good. Bad. I'm the guy with the staff," Luke said, making his voice deeper, then let out a chuckle before raising his staff. Not the time for jokes. That little alteration of mental fortitude Guide added without asking permission was doing some heavy lifting today.

  They came at him, and Luke flailed, bringing the staff down on Hollow-Luke's shoulder, wood crunching against bone. The Healer's Staff had long since timed out, but it didn't matter. Its arm fell, but the monster didn't even stumble. Both of them lunged for Luke, who stepped back and used the quarterstaff to block their attacks, more by luck than skill. Still, all three of them fell in a heap, monsters on top, their weight crushing down on him. Like last time, their claws dug into Luke's midsection, drawing blood and causing enough pain to make him gasp. The staff was pinned between them, and Luke couldn't move much more than his face, both Hollows reaching with their mouths, trying to bite pieces out of Luke's face.

  System Message: The Healer's Moment is still on cooldown (80 seconds remaining).

  Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

  Dammit! Through it all, Luke bled onto the pavement. More blood loss wasn't good. Luke heaved, but it was no use. There was no way he was getting them off. Instead, he let go of the staff and grabbed Hollow-Curtis's arm intending to reach into the monster with Threads of Mana, but Hollow-Luke bit down into Luke's reaching arm, crunching down deep enough to hit bone.

  Luke cried out and lost his concentration, feeling the strength drain from his limbs. Desperate, he kicked his knees up and forced them between himself and the monsters.

  "Squats!" he shouted, but it came out as more of a strained grunt. His legs were unharmed and held enough strength to push those bastards up a little, but not enough to get them off. Instead, he tilted to the side and let gravity do its trick. The monsters fell to the left, allowing Luke to roll right and get up and onto his feet. Blood dribbled from his arm, but there was nothing to do about it. More Hollows were approaching from the way Luke had come. They wore different faces, ones he didn't recognize.

  Luke took one quick step back and to the side, leaned in, and gave Curtis an open-handed slap that stung his hand and hurt almost as much as the Hollows' bites. Curtis snapped out of his daze and blinked, his gaze focusing.

  "Get the fuck up, you asshole!" Luke shouted, then jumped out of the way of the charging Hollows. One crashed into Curtis, and the other stumbled past, giving Luke a moment's respite. It was enough to clear the arm injury away by using up all his remaining mana. After that, Luke picked up the quarterstaff from the ground as Curtis got on top of the Hollow-Luke and started pummeling it with so much force that its face got smushed.

  Luke winced. Seeing himself get beaten to death was not something he enjoyed. The two new Hollows were fast enough to have almost reached them, with the Hollow-Curtis still alive. It leapt for Curtis, but Luke thrust the butt of his staff into its chest, pushing it back and giving the real Curtis enough time to grab his sword in one hand. The blade tore into the Hollow's head, killing it. Curtis then turned and buried his weapon in Hollow-Luke, interrupting its regeneration.

  "Why one hand?" Luke asked, panting.

  Curtis kept his eyes on the approaching Hollows. "What?"

  "One hand," Luke repeated. "You're holding your sword in one hand."

  "You broke the other one with your stick," Curtis grunted.

  Luke looked down at the quarterstaff in his hands. "You mean you broke it when you tried to kill me?"

  "Same thing."

  "Mhm," Luke grunted.

  The two new Hollows stopped, and the one on the left waved. She was a short woman in her thirties, with blond hair and too-bright red lipstick, wearing a thin, robe-like garment that flattered her curves. "Hi there!" she said. "I'm Mia."

  Inspected Integrated: Mia. Chaos Mage. Level 4.

  "Why do you look like you want to murder us?" the other one asked. He was a reed-thin guy in his early twenties, tall but stooped. He too wore a robe, but it was of the flowy type you'd see a wizard wearing in a low-budget fantasy movie, complete with moons and stars stitched on with silver thread.

  Inspected Integrated: Ken. Mage. Level 4.

  "Don't trust them," Curtis muttered.

  "I'm pretty sure I can't trust you, either," Luke said, looking up at the newcomers. "I'm Luke. We're fighting Hollows. They're shapeshifters. Where did you come from?"

  "Ken," the boy-wizard said before pointing behind him. "We just arrived from over there. The portal? Heard sounds of fighting and figured we should help." He looked around at the carnage. "But maybe you don't need it."

  "What's a Lifeweaver?" Mia asked.

  "I'm going," Curtis said. "Don't follow."

  "Want me to at least heal your arm first?" Luke asked.

  Ken drew in a deep breath. "You're a healer?"

  "I'll drink a potion," Curtis scoffed. Then he was off.

  Luke shook his head and turned to the two newcomers with a sigh, pointing back over his shoulder. "That guy is a real ass."

  The two of them just stared at him.

  "What?" Luke asked. "Do I have something on my face?"

  Mia cleared her throat. "Well, yes."

  "Blood," Ken added.

  "But we need a healer. If you are one, we could use your help."

  "Why do you need a healer?" Luke asked as he stooped down to touch the Hollow corpses, putting them into his inventory and reaping another few credits. "If you haven't even met any Hollows yet, how did someone get injured?"

  In the distance, Luke saw more people running about.

  "A whole lot of people entered through the portal," Mia began.

  "More than a hundred," Ken added.

  Mia gave him a look that seemed to convey that he should let her do the talking, then turned back to Luke. "It was chaotic, like you wouldn't believe. Some people got angry, and some fights broke out while others ran off. A real mess, let me tell you. Anyway, some people are hurt."

  Luke looked back again, thinking that perhaps it would be best if he put some distance between himself and this mess, but decided against it. He didn't want people to just die if he could save them by going a few minutes out of the way.

  "Fine," Luke said. "But I'm going to need something from you two first."

  "What?" Ken asked.

  "You'll have to let me confirm you're not Hollows."

  More than a hundred people running around. This was going to become a real clusterfuck.