He left the other two at the table to search for hotel rooms and made his way into the park. It wasn’t large or well-kept, but the grass and trees had a calming effect as he pondered Relian’s letter.

  The Fallen Shepherd wanted to teach him things. Luke didn't doubt it would be a gold mine of information about the system and the Lifeweaver class. Relian had mastered his class at an alarming rate, almost as soon as he’d taken over Tim’s body and gained the Lifeweaver class. There was much Luke could learn in that regard.

  But one thing Relian hadn’t considered was Luke’s sense of morality. After everything the man had done, there was nothing he could say or teach that would keep Luke from killing him. His actions were inexcusable, his deeds unforgivable. No matter what, Luke wouldn’t stop. Nothing Relian offered would stay his hand.

  With that in mind, he pulled out his phone and called Alan. The line rang for a while, but no one picked up. Luke was about to send a message through the Integrated interface when the phone rang back.

  "Luke!" Alan’s cheerful voice came through. "To what do I owe this incredible pleasure?"

  "Well, Alan," Luke said, "I’m in a bit of a bind."

  "Does it have anything to do with a ten-story Lizard King turning everyone into Lizardmen?"

  Luke blinked, then remembered the helicopters. "You saw the news, huh?"

  "Of course!" Alan laughed. "I would’ve expected nothing less from you, Luke. Do you need someone rich and generous to heal? I have several candidates. A few are even on a bit of a deadline, if you know what I mean."

  "Dying?" Luke asked.

  "Indeed."

  "I’m going after someone," Luke said.

  "The Fallen Shepherd," Alan said without hesitation.

  Luke froze. "You’re well-informed."

  "It’s part of my job, and more importantly, part of who I am."

  "You’re not spying on me, are you?"

  "I’d call it keeping up to date on current events," Alan said, choosing his words with care. "You just happen to be in current events more often than not."

  "Fair enough," Luke sighed. "I lost a member of my group today."

  "Hiroki," Alan said.

  Luke frowned. "You know, that’s getting annoying."

  "Sorry," Alan chuckled. "Continue."

  "So it’s just me and my friend now—"

  "No need to say his name or class or level," Alan interrupted.

  "I wasn’t going to," Luke said. "I was going to say that I’m also with another Lifeweaver."

  There was a pause. Then Alan’s voice came through, almost breathless. "Dorothy is a Lifeweaver?"

  "You didn’t know that?" Luke asked.

  "The videos didn’t make it clear," Alan said. "She looked more like an assistant."

  "Videos?" Luke asked.

  "Yes. Those with that insufferable woman. What’s her name…"

  "Right... The influencer," Luke said.

  "That’s the one!" Alan said.

  "Would you believe me if I said she isn’t a Lifeweaver?" Luke asked.

  "I would not."

  "Fine," Luke said. "Whatever. Yes, she’s a Lifeweaver, but she doesn’t want to fight."

  "I don’t need healers for fighting, Luke," Alan said. "I need healers to heal. And a Lifeweaver? That is precious."

  "Well, that's her decision."

  "Indeed, it is," Alan agreed. "But you still haven't mentioned what you need. Let me guess, you need muscle."

  Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

  Luke couldn't help but sigh. "That's right."

  "I have just the people for it."

  "Just like that?" Luke asked.

  Alan chuckled. "I’m planning on becoming the leader of the most influential Integrated guild on Earth within the next few years. I’d prefer Earth to remain standing, and this creature seems to be in the way of that. So yes, of course I’ve been keeping an eye on him. And I’ve already put together a party to deal with him if necessary."

  "That's some good foresight," Luke allowed. "I think it’s necessary now, and I wouldn’t mind some help."

  "Of course, Luke."

  "Okay, meeting my team will even convince you to join Integrated Solutions Group. It's launching next month."

  "Hey! Congrats on finally getting that guild stone!" Luke said, ignoring the part about him joining. "How soon can your people be ready, and how will they get to where we are?"

  "You don’t have to worry about that. Why don’t I have them come pick you up?"

  "That would be great," Luke said. "We’re kind of between cars at the moment."

  Alan's voice came through as measured and stern. "Perhaps bringing such a low-level Integrated wasn’t such a great idea, Luke."

  "Maybe not," Luke admitted. "But you knowing everything is starting to get a little creepy. I mean, he just left. How are you getting this information?"

  "It’s all part of the corporate profile."

  "What does that mean?"

  "It means," Alan said, "that you should go to the location I’m sharing with you now."

  Luke’s phone buzzed.

  "They’ll pick you up in about an hour."

  "Thank you," Luke said. This was far more than he’d expected, and he was grateful, of course.

  "You saved my life, Luke. I’ll spend the rest of my life repaying you for that. But just to be clear," Alan added, "the group I’m sending already has a party leader. You will not command them, but they will listen to your input."

  "Understood," Luke said. He had no wish to give orders.

  After finishing the call, he returned to Curtis and Dot.

  "You can hold off on looking for a hotel room," he began. "We’ll be leaving."

  "Alan is sending help?" Curtis asked, looking up from his phone.

  "A full party of people," Luke confirmed. "They’re picking us up in an hour." He checked the shared location. "... Somewhere."

  "Well," Dot said, leaning forward to catch a glimpse of his phone. "They’re picking us up in the middle of a grass field?"

  "There’s a road right there, and it’s still within city limits," Luke said.

  "How are we going to get there?" Curtis asked.

  "Uber," Luke suggested.

  Dot wrinkled her nose. "How long until we have to be there?"

  "An hour."

  "Shit," she muttered.

  "What?" Luke asked.

  Dot closed her eyes as if thinking, then held up her hand. After a moment, she nodded to herself, checked something on her phone, and grinned. "There’s still time."

  "What the hell are you talking about?" Luke asked.

  "A shower," Dot said. "I need one. Now." She pointed off to her left. "The gym chain I’m part of has a branch right over there. I’m sure I can convince them to let me in. It’s a fifteen-minute car ride over to that spot. "Wait here for me?" She looked at Luke and Curtis with large, pleading eyes.

  Curtis just shrugged.

  Luke nodded. "Sure, knock yourself out."

  Dot held out her hand to Luke. He grabbed it on reflex, then let go, cheeks blossoming.

  "My bags," she said, ignoring his embarrassed reaction.

  "Of course," he said, handing over the clothes she’d purchased before their battle against the Lizard King.

  She returned a little later, her hair wet, wearing a dark green, loose-fitting, flowing dress with a black jean jacket over it. She looked relaxed. Happy. The first thing she did when she neared them was raise her hands over her head and let out a gasp of satisfaction. "Clean at last!"

  The ride over to the pickup spot didn’t take long, and the trio soon found themselves standing on a small, narrow road going through an open lot with nothing but tall grass. There were no buildings right nearby, but it was just a five-minute walk or so back to civilization. It seemed like an altogether strange spot for a car pickup.

  Curtis glanced around, took a few steps into the grass, turned, and shrugged. "This is nice."

  Luke checked his phone. "They should be here any minute now."

  "Do you hear that?" Dot asked.

  Luke looked up into the sky. A helicopter.

  "Are those reporters still following us?" he asked, using his hand to shield his eyes from the glare of the sun.

  "Don’t think so," Curtis said. "That thing’s way too big to be a news 'copter."

  "You know a lot about helicopters?" Luke asked as the buzzing of the blades grew louder.

  "No, I’m just not an idiot. I’ve seen quite a few news helicopters in my day."

  Dot chuckled. "In your day? That just aged you ten years, Curtis."

  "Fine," he grumbled. "I’ve seen them on TV. I’m only twenty-nine."

  "Grandpa," Luke muttered, squinting up at the bastard making all that racket. "Oh shit. Is it landing?"

  "Wait," Dot said, looking up. "Really?" She shuddered. "I’m not great with flying."

  "Yep, it’s descending," Curtis said.

  Luke shook his head in disbelief. "Alan sent a goddamn helicopter to get us."

  "That means we’ll travel in style," Curtis said.

  Dot grabbed Luke’s arm. "I don’t think I can do this, Luke. Flying, I mean."

  "What do you mean?" he shouted, trying to be heard over the deafening roar of the helicopter engines.

  He saw the fear in her eyes, and a wave of protectiveness washed over him. All of a sudden, she looked so small standing there with her shoulders slumped, face pale.

  "It’s that bad?" he asked.

  "I’m not saying it’s logical," she said, her voice just above a whisper. But he caught the words by watching her lips move, and he got the gist of it.

  "Now that I think about it," Luke said, leaning in closer as the helicopter set down nearby, "if we're flying, we'll be heading right to Relian, and a dangerous fight. Maybe it’s time you stayed back."

  The look Dot gave him was so utterly grateful that it took him by surprise.

  "Really?" she asked.

  "Yes. Of course," Luke said. "We always knew you wouldn’t be fighting. That’s what we’ll be doing from here on out."

  "I think maybe it’s for the best if I stay behind," she said as the helicopter set down, killing its engines.