Healing Incorporated

They approached the building and found that it was indeed a small wooden house, a section of free-standing wall in front of the building, and even a cultivated field nearby.

Two groups of people were standing opposite each other, arguing.

"I want no part of that," Amy muttered. "I'm going inside."

Charlotte ignored the group entirely and went around, heading to the field without a word.

Meanwhile, Zack was scratching at his own arm. "I don't like crowds either, so yeah."

That left Eli alone. He wondered if he should just go inside as well to avoid the headache, but then people began pointing in his direction and shouting. Sighing, he walked over. The smaller group consisted of one of the HR women, Linda, a man from management who was a level or two beneath The Dragon, and some few others who looked decidedly unhappy about being there. The larger crowd that had gathered in front of them was spearheaded by George, the administrative assistant who'd chosen to become a Crafter.

"There he is!" a voice shouted as Eli approached.

"What's happening here?" Eli asked.

"These employees," Linda started, gesturing to the crowd with an outstretched hand, "have taken it upon themselves to leave the safe confines of our office building to start building out here."

"I can see that," Eli said. "Looks nice. Is the wall going to surround the entire building?"

"That's the idea," George said, grinning. "Heard something about goblins, so I figured we'd need a wall."

"That's cool," Eli said.

"That is decidedly not 'cool'," Linda snapped. "We have several farmers who have taken to sowing crops."

"What does this have to do with me?"

Linda shook her head, like she was talking to an idiot. "You're responsible, Mr. Davis."

"I am?"

"Potatoes!" Stu shouted, piping up from the crowd. "I'm growing potatoes!"

Stu's appearance settled it. This was why they'd called for Eli.

"These people are saying you gave them permission, Mr. Davis. Is that so? And on whose authority?"

"We consulted Mr. Thomas, but he has given no such orders," she added, glaring at Stu.

Stu just grinned back, happy as can be.

"I haven't been given the authority by anyone," Eli said, "but we need food, Linda. Stu here asked me if I thought it was a good idea, and I said yes, because it is a good idea. I don't see how we would survive otherwise."

"Of course, it's a good idea to grow food, Mr. Davis," Linda said, clearly frustrated. "The problem is, now our plans have to be revised to take these new developments into calculation. We will have to start all over again!"

"Everyone will have to follow me back to the building," she continued. "You can stay on the second floor until we have decided on your punishments."

"Punishments?" the crowd roared.

"This is getting ridiculous," Eli said, inspecting Linda for the first time. She was a lightning Mage, and had reached level 5. Strange for someone who had barely left the building.

The man from management, who was level 4, seemed content to let Linda do all the talking. He was a young, nervous looking guy.

"We need to level up," Eli said. "I'm sure you understand, seeing your levels. I'm not sure how you reached that high without leaving the building, but we need action now, not planning. And I don't see how you can punish these people—your authority did not transfer over to this new place."

The man from management, Liam, finally piped up. "The building is ours."

"Mr. Miller is right," the HR lady replied. "The building belongs to the corporation, and management embodies that. Which means, if you wish to stay here, you do as we say."

Lightning crackled in her eyes.

A murmur of fear ran through the crowd, but Eli merely sighed.

"No," Eli said.

"No?" Mr. Miller asked.

"First of all, I'm not so sure this is actually our building," Eli said with a rough chuckle. "Do you remember? Our building crumbled. Either way, you have no claim to this place. No more than us. We need to work together here to create something sustainable. Let these people be."

"Or what?" Linda challenged.

"Nothing," Eli said calmly. "It wasn't a threat. We need a wall. We need food. We need whatever else everyone can provide. Those who aren't crafters and the like need to go out there," he pointed across the field. "And fight to level up."

Linda sniffed and turned. "We'll take this up with management."

As they walked off, Eli called after them. "One more thing! Marsch and Daniel need help. You should set up a rotation so the guards are not asleep on their feet."

The small group left, and Eli turned to the larger group. "Don't keep pointing HR in my direction. I'm not interested in micromanaging. I don't need the headache. You can talk to them yourselves."

"Thanks, boss!" Stu shouted.

Eli sighed. "So, when will the potatoes be ready?"

"About two days, I think," Stu replied. "I have a rapid-growth skill, and I found a few other farmers to cultivate more fields. We'll get this food operation up and running in no time."

"Well done," Eli said, his eyes narrowing. Stu was level 6 already.

"You get a lot of experience from doing this stuff?"

"Tons," Stu said. "I don't think my class is supposed to fight monsters, so we get more from growing potatoes and the like."

"That's cool," Eli said. "Just make sure you post lookouts in case any goblins show up, so you can retreat back into the building."

Everyone nodded, and George added, "I'll have this place surrounded soon. With a wall, I mean."

"Great," Eli said. "Well, I'm off. Keep up the good work, I guess."

"Sure, boss!" Stu shouted again.

Eli sighed and headed back into the building. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Charlotte sitting by the edge of the field, her hands gently patting the soil. He thought of going over there, but decided it was best to leave her to Amy.

Inside, the exhausted guards were slumped in chairs by the side of the doors, and Eli didn’t blame them. Not wanting to ascend all those stairs, Eli thought about crashing on the couch, but then realized he could just use Warp. He selected the 13th floor.

With a pop, he appeared on the couch in the office, lying down. The place was empty. He wanted to sleep, but couldn’t waste that much time. He, too, needed to grow stronger. Pulling up his status screen, he added five new attribute points to Wisdom and happily watched his mana bar fill up.

Though he didn’t have a new talent, he did receive a skill point from leveling up, and he went in to pick a new one.

Sigil of Light: Place a sigil on the ground for thirty seconds. All party members within its bounds are continously healed for a small amount.

It would’ve been great when fighting with the bear, and he could think of plenty of more situations where it would be useful, one of which he had already decided to try before night came. The mana cost was high, but with Meditation's added mana regeneration, it was still a useful spell.

Eli: I'm going out a bit. Anyone want to come with?

Amy: I'm getting acquainted with Princess, maybe later.

Zack: I can combine different ingredients to discover recipes. I'm going to stay here for a little while and see if I can’t make something more useful than those lackluster explosion potions.

Eli: Charlotte?

No reply.

Eli: Dana?

Dana has left the party.

"Well," Eli sighed, talking out loud. "Looks like I'm on my own then."

Heading out a little later, Eli spotted someone familiar. James stopped when he saw Eli. His face was still pale, with dark circles under his eyes.

"Eli! I heard you were outside," he said, breathing hard. Clearly, the exertion of going down the stairs had taken its toll.

"I was," Eli said. "How are you doing?"

"Much better, thank you. Thank you for saving me."

"You're welcome," Eli said. "Sorry about your friends."

"Yeah," James said, his shoulders slumping. "Dana made it out, though. Just talked with her. She's pissed and kept ranting about how you didn’t want to kill the bear."

Eli was about to defend himself, but James held up his palms. "But I understand the reasons. We need strength and power, any way we can get it."

"Good," Eli said. "Also, it would have killed us. We weren’t strong enough."

"She didn’t mention that part." James chuckled weakly. "So where are you heading out to?"

"The graveyard," Eli said. "Like you said, we have to get stronger."

James nodded. "I’d go with you, but I’m fairly worn out as it is. Maybe once I recover a little, if you haven’t leveled too far ahead of me."

"Sure," Eli said. "I’d like that. You’re a Warden?"

James knocked on his round metal shield twice. "Defense."

"Could use some of that," Eli said, smiling.

"Later, then," James said.

"Later."

Having left the building, he continued on alone, heading for the graveyard. It was time to see just how well his healing powers worked against the undead.

Rather than clear skies, clouds were moving in now for the first time since he arrived in this new world of Aryxia. The shade brought an enjoyable coolness to the air. Eli drew in a deep breath, savoring his alone time. He generally wasn’t much of a people person and would often spend long periods of time by himself to recharge his internal batteries after grueling hours of social interaction at work.

Now that he thought about it, he hadn't felt that same drain once he got here to this new place. He wasn’t sure why, but maybe it had something to do with all of society's expectations no longer being relevant. In this place, his role had changed, or he'd been given a chance to create a new role for himself. His mission was clear: heal people, keep them fighting, and help them grow stronger while improving his own level and skills.

The Ravenous Barbarians were at least doing that much, improving. Most of the others, not so much. If he didn’t want to leave everyone behind, Eli would have to do more to get people out and fighting. At least the crafters were leveling up nicely, while being extremely useful to the group.

Not wanting to be taken unaware, he rounded the small cluster of trees where he and Amy found Zack.

“Little green men,” Eli muttered. In his delirious state, Zack might've seen goblins. He didn’t want to take any chances, even with his get-out-of-jail-free card.

Warp wasn’t just a way to get to places, it was also a fantastic way of getting away from threats. Thankfully, he didn’t find anything. Just more grass and a few other small clusters of trees.

The road to the graveyard stretched out into the distance, and he wondered how long he’d have to walk on it to find civilization. He desperately wanted knowledge of the world they found themselves in, but answers eluded him. Once they were able to fortify the Infinite Innovation Solutions building, that would go a long way in easing his mind. Perhaps then, he could quest outward into the larger world and find other humans.

The graveyard looked tranquil in daylight, despite the overcast sky. Still, Eli approached carefully. Monsters lurked within. The entrance was closed now. Did it reset, like the respawning enemies, or had someone else been there?

Yet another question with no answer.