Morgan returned to the storeroom. Marshall was holding a bandage to his bleeding face, surrounded by five Academy guards and Katherine. As he walked up, he could hear Marshall muttering something about them needing him.

  “I don't give a damn if we can ever buy anything again; you will pay for this.” Katherine fumed.

  “What is the problem?” Morgan asked, walking in the door, taking his short sword from a guard as he entered, to stand beside Katherine.

  “This piece of shit,” Katherine began. She paused, took a deep breath, running her hand over her face, then continued in her normal, refined tone, “Please excuse my language. This ‘gentleman’ is attempting to buy his life by holding the shop kiosk hostage.”

  “I have locked the kiosk.” The bald man said, removing the bandage from his smashed nose. “I will only unlock it if you promise not to harm me.”

  “Anything else?” Morgan asked.

  “Yes,” the man began, then gloated, “I want to have my office. I want a bed moved in there. I want…”

  Morgan asked Sophia, ignoring the man outlining his demands.

  Sophia replied.

  Morgan reached out swiftly, stabbing Marshall in the chest, straight in the heart, as he was in the middle of demanding a hot breakfast every morning. Katherine and all the guards jumped in shock.

  Realizing what he had just done without thinking, Morgan stammered, “I am sorry, I should have said something first. I can unlock the kiosk. We don't need him.” Marshall gasped once, then fell silent as a waterfall of blood exited his chest, quickly soaking the ground.

  “Well, I am not sure that was the proper method of handling the situation. I am not adverse to the outcome.” Katherine said, stepping backwards to avoid the spreading pool of blood. Morgan reached down, touching the bald head.

  ::Would you like to activate Absorption?::

  ::Absorption complete. You gained Human Core Clive Marshall. Contents: Three Common. One Rare. One Mythic. You gained 203CT, 6UC ::

  Morgan instructed.

  “This was Marshall, but not the man I saw handing the note to the bandits,” Morgan stated, placing the small coin in his pocket.

  “Well, we should assess and regroup, we don't know how long before they come back,” Katherine suggested, “They took most of the supplies, and all the weapons and armor we had purchased, but they left what I think they wanted most.” She said, her face hardening. Then she turned to Morgan, “What do you think we should do?”

  “Me,” Morgan asked, taken aback that she had asked him. Why would he know what to do? She should ask Frank, he was the supervisor. Morgan was just a security guard. No! He had been just a security guard. Now he was more than that. He wasn’t sure exactly what that was, but it was more than he had been. The last two days had completely changed him.

  He thought for a moment, then replied, “We should see if we can move the kiosk. If we can move somewhere else, then we can avoid the bandits. If not, we need to prepare for their return. I also need to find a few more monsters to kill before 3 am.”

  “How long do you need to find out about the kiosk?” Katherine looked like she was already planning out logistics in her head.

  “A few moments. Can you message out that the Academy is now safe? Frank and Mara are out there with some women we rescued. They can be here in about thirty minutes.”

  Katherine nodded, placed her hand to her mouth, and her booming voice echoed across the city, calling everyone back. The Academy was safe again.

  “Let’s get everything cleared as much as possible, and try to find something to fix or replace the mangled gates.” Katherine then directed the few guards.

  As they cleared the Academy, moving the corpses out in the city onto hasty pyres, Morgan absorbed thirteen more cores from the ‘bad’ people that had attacked. He now had 871CT and 36UC. He unlocked the kiosk and transferred ownership to Katherine. The rescue party returned, and there were some gasps as people discovered someone alive they assumed was dead. There was much crying, some hugging, and even a little laughing.

  Morgan sat on a tree that had been uprooted, arguing within himself. He had told himself he wouldn’t use his skill on ‘good’ people. But by not using the skill, he was consciously deciding not to become as powerful as he could. What if he needed to be stronger in the future to survive, or to save someone else? Was it worth it to absorb a good person’s essence, soul, whatever it was, to get stronger? Did it even matter?

  He now had 20 cores with skills in them. He couldn’t even use the cores yet. But when he could, those cores might make the difference. Or was he just saying that to justify his greed and craving for as much power as possible? Was it selfish to be afraid to die because he wasn’t strong enough?

  “Morgan,” Mara called out, moving close and sitting on the tree an arm’s length from him. “Are you okay? Everyone else seems overjoyed that we managed to push them away. But you are over here, scowling like someone stole your puppy.”

  “It is just.” Morgan began, thinking he finally said, “At what point do you draw the line. What are you willing to do to make yourself as strong as possible? At what point do you become one of the bad guys?”

  “Well,” Mara pursed her lips and lowered her eyebrows in thought, “If I had to hurt someone, not to like protect myself, but to hurt them just so I could get stronger. I wouldn’t want to do that. I don’t know if I could hurt animals. The goblins and stuff are alright, but like hunting a deer. I am sure I could if that was the only way. But,” she frowned deeply, turning and looking at him, “You aren’t talking about hunting.”

  Then her eyes flashed, “You’re talking about the coins that you absorb from dead people,” she glanced at the piles of bodies being placed on the pyres outside the gates. “You are thinking if it is okay to absorb the skills of all those people.”

  “Well, about half those people,” Morgan said sheepishly, “I already absorbed the ‘bad’ people,” he said, doing air quotes. “But, if I can absorb more skills and get stronger, does that mean it is okay?” He swallowed hard and then continued, “If I start absorbing all these people, when do I stop doing it for other people, and when do I start doing it just to make myself stronger?”

  “We cant really tell. That is up to you. I would imagine,” she said, raising her eyes and looking toward the clouds in the distance, “Everyone you will help in the future will be glad you’re there, no matter how strong you are.” She stood, patted him on the arm, and walked back to the group. Morgan thought. Then he decided, cynically maybe, that there would be enough bad people that he could leave the good people their dignity.

  If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  After his decision, Morgan asked Sophia about the shop.

  He asked.

  He asked.

  Sophia corrected.

  Morgan said, mimicking her tone. “

  I need 10% more experience to reach level 10. What is the best way to do that? How do I find the creatures to kill?

  Morgan’s eyes went wide.

  He placed his head in his hands, thinking. He said with conviction. His counter dropped to 371CT, 6UT, and a very light, four-inch round, stone disc appeared in his hands. It was thick in the center and tapered down to a rounded edge. Holding it out, Morgan could see a very thin red line on the surface, which pointed out towards the pharmaceutical plant. Flipping it over, he could see a thicker blue line and an orange arrow on this side.

  Morgan flipped the disc a few times.

  Nodding and smiling, Morgan was pleased with this purchase. He put the disc in his pocket. His HUD flickered for a second, then along the top of his vision was a compass with markings, lines, and an arrow on it. He spun a little, marveling at the improvement.

  “Out here dancing, while we do all the work cleaning up.” Frank’s gruff voice cut through Morgan’s musings. Turning, he saw the old man with a huge grin on his face. He walked up and clasped forearms with Morgan. “Good to see you all in one piece, lad.” Frank put his finger through the hole in the vest over Morgan’s heart. “Guess I don’t have to worry too much.”

  “It was scary there for a bit.” Morgan said, “and Johansen got away with a group of his bandits. We are going to need to come up with a plan.”

  “Yeah, but we did repel them. Katherine sent me to get you. She is going to gather all the survivors in one of the auditoriums, but she wanted to meet with us in her office first.” He put his hand up on Morgan’s shoulder as they turned and walked toward the Academy. “You alright? It has only been a day and a half, but with …” Frank started to say.

  “I’m good, Frank. I have come to terms with it. I have set my own boundaries and will try to not cross them.” Morgan said, more confidently than he felt. He stopped turning to look Frank in the eyes. “I know I need to be more powerful, I know that people are counting on me. I know I am not going to be able to coast through this like I have my life so far. I know I am going to have to kill other people because they are going to want to hurt or kill me or someone else who can’t protect themselves. I know all this, and I accept it. I will get as powerful as I can, so that I can be there to help someone.”

  Frank nodded solemnly. “So that others may live,” he said under his breath, then, “This is your crucible, lad, and you are becoming the purest steel.” He turned, motioning toward the Academy. “Let’s not keep the nice lass waiting.”

  Morgan took a deep breath, the fresh air cooling his nose and throat on its way to his lungs. He felt renewed and alive with a sense of purpose he had never felt.

  Morgan followed Frank into the library, and inside, Mara and Katherine were looking over the map. They both looked up as the duo entered. “We… ” Katherine began.

  “I have an idea,” Mara said, bursting with enthusiasm. “Errr… we have an idea,” She finished softly, glancing up at Katherine.

  “No, no. It was your idea. I just asked the question.” Katherine motioned to Mara to continue, sitting in her chair behind the desk.

  Mara turned and asked, “How do we move two hundred people, and where do we go?”

  “One hundred eighty-four people,” Morgan corrected without thinking.

  “Ehh, okay, one hundred eighty-four people,” Mara said, wobbling her head. “We need something that can move a lot of people, and we have one.”

  “One what?” Frank said, looking at the map.

  “A train,” Mara replied, pointing at a spot on the south side of the town. “With a train, we can move all these people away from Johansen and stay on the move.” She deflated just a bit, “But we don't know if it works. Most engines don't work because our gas just doesn’t burn as fast as it used to; there is just no explosion. But steam should still work.” Mara looked up expectantly.

  Sophia said,

  Morgan relayed the information. “Sophia says you are correct,” Mara exclaimed and cheered. “And that you are brilliant.” Mara then started to blush. “We will need to assess the parts of the train to see if any alloys were affected by the integration. Once replaced the steam engine should work.”

  “If we are all on a train, we will be able to move quickly, but where to? The train line only goes east or west,” Katherine said, running her finger along the tracks on the map. “We will be at the mercy of anyone who sees us coming; we can’t just avoid someone with a train.”

  “We could fortify the train cars,” Frank said. “Add on ballista or other weapons. Make a turret on the top of the train or something.”

  “Yes,” Mara said her scribbling furiously in a notebook. “We could do that, and make a crane for moving debris or other trains out of the way.”

  “Okay,” Morgan said, clearing his throat, “Now that we have that plan, I need to go and kill a few more goblins or something to get to level ten before 3 am.”

  “Level ten!” Katherine said, surprised, ‘I’m only level four.”

  “Five,” said Mara.

  “Seven,” Said Frank, when the ladies looked at him.

  “Yeah, well, Sophia told me ten is the max for phase one. So I have roughly eleven and a half hours to get ten percent more experience to reach it. I can walk with the group that goes to the train, but then I am going to go off and try to find another rift.”

  “Okay,” Katherine said, “I am going to be gathering all the survivors in the auditorium in two hours. Anything you want me to say to them?” She looked at Morgan questioningly.

  “I..I don't have anything to say. Just to let them know to be cautious of the bandits, and get ready to leave if they want on the train.” Morgan said nervously. Nobody wanted to hear something from him.

  “Alright,” Katherine said. Then she turned to Mara, “How many people do you need to inspect the train?”

  They worked out the details. Twenty minutes later, Morgan, Frank, Mara, Annabelle, a tall brown brown-haired woman from the mill who had a grandmaster armor smith skill, and ten guards set off to the train. The path was six blocks straight south.

  Morgan got embarrassed at how many times Annabelle thanked him for saving her. She said she was going to make him some armor when she had the materials. She asked if he needed repairs. She seemed genuinely overjoyed and thankful. Morgan couldn’t help but feel a sense of accomplishment, and he was glad for her. But, he still couldn’t stop blushing every time she started thanking him again. Mara just looked at him, suffering for the fifth time, and laughed. It broke the tension, and everyone walked a little less stiffly.

  The September air was starting to get a chill when they arrived at the train. It was parked in the train station. It had an engine, two coal cars, five passenger cars, and four cargo trailers.