A couple of days after the events with Relian inside the Department of Integrated Affairs, Luke began feeling somewhat like himself again. Several near-death experiences combined with family members and friends almost dying, and a whole lot of other people ending up dead, can do that to a person. With all those injuries, a normal person would have died many times over, but Luke was Integrated, empowered by a system that had come to Earth and had gained power by raising his level in various dungeons and dangerous situations.

  He rolled over on the mattress he'd placed on the floor and almost fell off to the other side. Half a foot felt like a deep chasm, and it startled him awake. A throbbing sensation in his meta-heart made Luke put a hand to his chest. The meta-heart was the part of his self responsible for pumping mana around in the mana channels going through the body, much like his blood. In the last fight, he'd been so low on mana several times, it was like a dull ache in there, even now. Not physical pain. Not exactly, but something akin to it. At least the headache was gone.

  His cell phone rang, and Luke squeezed his eyes shut. There was that headache again.

  "Hello?" he mumbled into it.

  "Asshole!" Ray shouted from the other end. "Don't tell me you're still sleeping?"

  "...Tired."

  "I bet you are. So weak," Ray joked. Such a comedian. "You sure you don't have a small piece of Relian's corruption still inside you?"

  "I'm sure," Luke said, rubbing at his eyes. That small sense of tugging in the back of his head was still there. Perhaps it was time to get up. "What time is it?"

  "2 PM."

  "Shit," Luke muttered, sitting up with a start, like he was late for work. Unnecessary, of course, as he didn't have a job or any other obligations. No pressing obligations, at least.

  "There's a new portal. Curtis texted me. Should be opening up soon. You coming?"

  A glass of room-temperature water next to the mattress sated the worst of his thirst, but Luke needed more, and he eyed the small kitchenette on the other side of the room. Might as well be a million miles away.

  "What?" Luke asked. He hadn't been listening.

  "P-O-R-T-A-L. System to Luke Quinn, Integrated Lifeweaver. Come on! You're my heal bitch, remember? Not that I need a healer or anything, since I'm invincible."

  Luke scoffed. "I'll sit this one out."

  "Fine. Be that way," Ray said, his voice having lost none of its good cheer.

  The bastard had been way too happy since Luke and the others saved him from Relian, the Fallen Shepherd, who'd taken over his body and used it for terrible things. That little tweak from Guide, the enigmatic figure responsible for their integration, might have something to do with that. It was supposed to help them deal with the fear, stress, and trauma. Sometimes Luke wondered if it had made them less human, becoming Integrated.

  "You'll need the chance to catch up, anyway," Luke said, summoning some energy to match Ray's. "Low-level scrub."

  "I'm no noob!" Ray shouted, his voice full of mock hurt. "Level 12 already. Pure Ownage!"

  Luke blinked. "That was fast. Did you get anything good at level 10?"

  "I'll show you next time, when you join me in the dungeon."

  "Sounds good," Luke said. "Talk to you later."

  "See you later," Ray said, hanging up.

  The question of Luke having some corruption left inside him made Luke look inward. He'd checked himself again and again and knew there was none, but checking one more time couldn't hurt.

  Threads of Mana quested inward, following along his mana channels as he activated Weaver's Eye to get a full diagnosis. That skill was better than what he'd get spending a whole day inside every machine in the biggest hospital in Chicago. Also quicker. And free. No, there was nothing wrong with him other than exhaustion. At least he was getting better.

  Luke had provided Ray with one of the small communication gems they'd retrieved from the previous dungeon, but his friend hadn't taken to using them just yet. Next, Luke checked the messages on his Interface.

  Alan: "I have acquired one of these marvelous gems. This technology, or whatever it is, will change the world in ways we can't even imagine. In other news, I am close to having the credits necessary to purchase the item needed to create a guild. Have you considered my offer of joining?"

  Considered and rejected. Several times. Luke sighed and kept going.

  Mateo: "Luke, my friend! You must come to my house for dinner soon, or my wife will have my hide. She insists on feeding you. It is the least we can do after how many times you have saved my life! ?Saaalvadooor mío!"

  Luke sent a message to accept the dinner invitation. After everything that had happened to them since becoming Integrated, Mateo was a friend. The over-the-top sort of friend you weren't sure if they were always like that, or just in your company.

  Penny: "So I checked the Integrated shop after grabbing some of those disgusting dwarven corpses, like you said, and you can get a lot of credits for that stuff. Also, did you know the dollar amount you can get for a monster core? In other news, I've decided to drop out."

  Huh. He did know how much you could get for the items and monster corpses you found in dungeons. That part was no surprise. The dropping out, though? That was a realization. First time Luke met Penny, she was wearing a cheerleader's uniform, but he'd thought she was coming from a masquerade or something.

  Luke: "Dropped out of college?"

  Penny: "No, stupid. I'm a senior. Or, well, I will be after summer."

  This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  Luke: "No wonder you didn't know who Liam Neeson is. Young lady, you'd better not be telling me you're quitting high school. Don't be stupid."

  Penny: "You sound like my mom."

  Luke: "Either you finish school or you're out of my party!"

  Penny: "Your party?"

  Luke: "You know what I mean."

  Penny: "Sigh. FINE, mom! Just don't come crying to me when you need lightning bolts, but I'm stuck learning about something completely unnecessary, like math!"

  Luke: "Fine!"

  That was weird. Luke pondered how little he knew about the people he'd been fighting alongside. All in all, they hadn't been Integrated for very long, but still. Being bad at getting to know people in more than a superficial way was a failing of his, one he decided it was time to rectify.

  More messages waited for him, but he decided to check them later. First, the oasis of water that was his kitchenette needed conquering. Groaning, he stood, thinking Boon of Potential should grant him +1 Willpower for that alone, but no such luck. After the almost eternal struggle of crossing the floor, Luke put his head under the faucet and let cold water wash over his head. The chill soothed him, but when he stood back up, water trickled down his back and under his shirt. Less soothing. Several glasses of water later, he was starting to feel a little better. A shower. That was just the thing he needed.

  Once clean, Luke sat down in a sad-looking folding chair, one of the few pieces of furniture he owned. Looking at his apartment, you wouldn't know just how much money he had. Healing Alan had been lucrative, and he had more money than he knew what to do with. Perhaps it was time to order some more stuff. Luke didn't need much, but a proper chair would be nice. And maybe a bed. Since he had nothing better to do, recuperating as he was, he figured there was no time like the present.

  As so often happened, the Internet distracted him. The headlines had been crazy ever since the system arrived, and today was no different.

  Energier Industries First to Discover How to Harness Energy in Monster Cores - A new source of energy for the world?

  Portal Colors, Difficulty, and Mechanics Explained - Ten quick tips on how to know if a dungeon is for you or not!

  Murder Spree in Major US City. Integrated Suspects!

  Sri Lankan Government Toppled by Integrated Rebels - Coffee Prices Expected to Soar.

  Top 10 Integrated in the US Leaked from DIA - Check out this article to see who's on top! Number 3 will surprise you!

  Luke wasn't proud of it, but he clicked the portal mechanics article. To him, the way they worked seemed inconsistent. Could monsters break out of all of them or not? A mystery, at least to him. Luke dismissed three ad pop-ups, scrolled down past another ad image flashing at him, then found that the damn thing was paywalled. Frustrated, he backed out and tapped the top 10 list. This, at least, piqued his interest. Would his own name show up? At level 15, he had to be up there, didn't he?

  He was not.

  Reading through the irritating list, Luke extracted the information he was looking for.

  1. Ryker. Level 21. Influencer.

  2. Little Miss Lily. Level 20. Influencer.

  3. Dolla Bill. Level 20. Influencer.

  4. Leslie. Level 19. Solarian.

  5. Chinyere. Level 18. Ogun Smith.

  6. Abigail. Level 18. Night Huntress.

  7. Christa. Level 17. Echo Mage.

  8. Muhammad. Level 17. Arbiter.

  9. Lee. Level 17. Wind Knight.

  10. Richard. Level 16. Faith Healer.

  Luke stared at the list. What the hell kind of class was Influencer? This told him almost nothing, except that he was perhaps on the cusp of joining the list, since that Faith Healer from the Tutorial dungeon was on there at only one level above Luke.

  He put the phone away and accessed the Integrated storefront, then cleared out his inventory of all manner of corpses and random crap he'd stored. Inventory management was not something he wanted to bother with once he entered a dungeon again, and since he didn't need more real money, or whatever you wanted to call it, it made sense to sell it all for credits. The dragon alone brought in a good 20,000 credits. All told, he made out with 34,750 credits. Not bad, not bad at all. The only things he saved were the few potions he still had, and all the monster cores. If that news article was true, they might soon be used as energy sources. Wouldn't that be something?

  Taking a closer look at what was available in the Integrated shop had long been on his to-do list, but so far, the days had just been too short for it. Now, with nothing else to occupy him, was the time.

  Just as he was about to start browsing items, Luke felt a tug at the back of his head. This time, it wasn't another dungeon about to open up. No, this was part of Weaver's Echo.

  Weaver’s Echo [Passive]: A part of you lingers in those touched by your weave.

  The skill meant that he kept a sort of tenuous connection with everyone he healed and was able to get a sense of their location most of the time. So far, Relian, who'd escaped their last confrontation, had evaded Luke's attempts at finding him through that connection. Until now.

  It was faint, so very faint. But it was there. Somewhere to the east. Far beyond the city limits. His first instinct was to get up and chase after right away, but rushing in would not lead to anything good. Luke needed to take his time with this. To that end, he did perhaps the most sensible thing he'd done since becoming Integrated. Luke called the Department of Integrated Affairs.

  After a brief conversation with Agent Johanson, Luke couldn't sit still anymore. Going after Relian right away would be the wrong move, but preparing for that inevitable confrontation wasn't. He tested his legs and found them responsive enough.

  Attacked by noise and light from all directions, Luke stepped out onto the pavement, having exited his apartment building. He drew in a deep breath and closed his eyes. Relian's location was still there, tickling at his consciousness, but Luke ignored it. Instead, he focused on clearing his mind.

  Once the world quieted down a little, Luke set off running. He ran and ran, ignoring everything else. Stronger, Luke needed to get stronger. Not just in levels either. The fight against the Fallen Shepherd taught Luke much, but one thing stood out above the others. He needed to set his mind to this. Doubt had no place in what he was trying to accomplish. Neither had mercy. It was time to get strong in mind and in body.

  Congratulations! Boon of Potential grants you +1 attribute point (+1 Endurance).

  Name: Luke Quinn

  Class: Lifeweaver

  Level: 15

  Guild: None

  Profession: Seeker

  Credits: 35.925

  Attributes

  Strength (Raw physical power): 13

  Agility (Speed and finesse): 12

  Endurance (Stamina and physical recovery): 7

  Vitality (Health and physical resilience): 19

  Intelligence (Mind potency): 21

  Wisdom (Mana efficiency and mana regeneration): 20

  Willpower (Channeling stability and speed): 15

  Focus (Control and precision of mind): 18

  Skills

  Needle of Life (Rank 2) [Active - Mana Cost: ?]: Use a precise touch to assert your will upon the weave.

  Threads of Mana (Rank 3) [Passive]: Mana is the weaver's primary tool. Your threads shape the weave.

  Weaver's Eye (Rank 3) [Passive]: Reveal even the faintest flaws in the weave.

  The Healer's Moment [Active. Mana Cost: Moderate]: A mere moment can cut through the chasm between life and death.

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

  Weaver's Will [Passive]: The resources of healing are the Weaver's to command.

  Weaver’s Mercy [Active - Mana Cost: Moderate]: On the brink of death, lend the weave one final stitch.

  Weaver’s Renewal [Active - Mana Cost: High]: The body forgets. The weave does not.

  Part The Weave [Passive]: The boundary between states of being is no barrier for the experienced Lifeweaver.

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

  Weavesense [Passive]: Hidden from view does not the weave obscure.

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

  Weaver’s Echo [Passive]: A part of you lingers in those touched by your weave.

  Seeker skills:

  Sense Dungeon: The Greater System sees your innate curiosity and grants you the ability to sense the location of dungeons.

  Ripples in The System: Each action taken is part of the whole. They who seek may glimpse the ripples.