“Don’t forget, the walls are just fabric,” I reminded Ruby. Any of the monsters we’d faced that day could rip through the tent without slowing. It could turn into a death trap in a second.

  Her eyes glazed as she studied something in the air I couldn’t see. “Actually, I just found a menu showing me all of the Base Camp’s features. I can turn on the fire and even regulate temperature. It’s also got something called a Fortress Defense ability. It’s some kind of protective ward.”

  “Thats way more than the description in the utility menu suggested.”

  “I know, right! I’m so glad Joseph convinced me to pick this one. The defenses are not that strong yet, but can be upgraded. In fact, nearly every aspect of this place can be upgraded.”

  “How?”

  “Mana crystals. First level defense upgrade doubles the protection, but it costs 75 mana crystals. I don’t have that many.”

  I dumped 75 mana crystals on the counter. They tumbled onto the granite with a surprisingly musical jingle. The pile of softly glowing crystals sparkled like magical treasure.

  Ruby gasped. “I can’t use so many of yours.”

  “I have enough, and it’s worth upgrading our defenses while we sleep, don’t you think?”

  She didn’t argue further, but swept the mana crystals into her own inventory. A moment later, the tent vibrated softly.

  “That’s it?”

  “Simple,” she said, sounding relieved. “The defenses are supposed to be able to hold off monsters up to level 20.”

  “That’s most of what I’ve seen so far, but the ogre was 21. How much does it cost to upgrade again?”

  “Can’t. The menu’s disabled. Doesn’t say when it’ll open again.”

  I sighed. It had been too much to hope for easy upgrades. Everything took time and levels.

  Still, how far could the Base Camp get upgraded? Could it become a mobile fortress? How about the other utility spells and our other abilities? Many had said upgradable, but I hadn’t thought much about it.

  Could she upgrade her combat-focused Bio Morph and become like Black Panther, or some kind of boss shapeshifter? Could I upgrade Energy Ward to block all types of attacks and become a truly powerful defensive barrier?

  The thought made me smile. “Check it tomorrow night. Maybe it’s a single upgrade per night.”

  “Of course.”

  The oven beeped and Ruby extracted two plates of steaming food. She had picked the chicken for herself and handed over the steak. The plate felt real, and it came with a steel fork and steak knife. We sat in two of the chairs to eat, and I don’t think I’ve ever eaten a better steak.

  “How can they cook steak this well when we’re not even on Earth?” I wondered.

  Cyrus took it as a question directed at him. “I’ve got recipes and instructions from all the best chefs on your planet. Those only took a fraction of a second to compile.”

  Ruby leaned back, a contented smile on her face. “That was delicious. Can we get a good bottle of white wine too?”

  “Not yet, but a drink dispenser upgrade will become available soon.”

  “You’re kidding,” I exclaimed.

  “Why? It’s in our best interest to keep players well supplied. No one wants to watch a starvation show, despite how popular Alone is on your world.”

  “Who’s watching what?” Ruby asked.

  I shook my head. “Don’t bother. He just teases, but won’t share details yet.”

  “When did you become so negative?” Cyrus asked, his voice actually sounding like he was pouting.

  “You have to realize how annoying it is when you mention something over and over but won’t tell us more?”

  “I . . . Had not realized it would bother you so much,” Cyrus said softly.

  “Don’t worry about it. On another note, are nights as long here as on Earth?”

  No answer.

  “Is he sulking?” Ruby whispered.

  I hoped not. That could be disastrous for all of us. Served him right, though. Maybe he’d start actually giving us more details.

  As soon as we finished eating, the plates and utensils disappeared. I’d have to try tossing the steak knife into my inventory next time and see if it remained.

  “So, Lucas, tell me about who you were before today,” Ruby said, lounging back in her chair.

  So I did. I explained how I’d left forest fire fighting, quit my skydiving instructor job, and switched to computer cyber security. Once I started, the words just flowed and I told her a lot more than I intended, although I left Isabella out completely.

  This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

  I finished with a bit about my new startup cyber investigation company I was about to launch. With it, I planned to track down scammers, especially those who stole money from old people.

  “What motivated you to make such a huge career shift?” she asked, tucking her hair behind one ear and pulling one foot up under her other leg.

  I told her about my grandmother.

  “No,” she breathed. “Oh, Lucas, that’s terrible.”

  “Yeah, and no one ever got caught. Hackers and scammers can work with almost no consequences. They destroy the lives of the most vulnerable and get away with it to strike again. I plan to change that. Well, planned to change that.”

  “I love your goal, but how can you do it? Aren’t most of them based overseas?”

  I shrugged. “Sure, a lot of them are. We’ll have to set up partnerships with other countries eventually. Those will be harder and take more time. Still, many scammers are based right in the US. It’s just, no one is doing anything about it. I will, though, as soon as we get back.”

  “Do you think we will?” she asked softly.

  I flashed my best smile. “Of course. Weren’t you listening? Beat the game, save Earth. Then they’ll have to send us back.”

  “I hope you’re right.” She turned to look at the empty fireplace.

  She must have accessed the menu because suddenly a happy flame burst to life behind the glass. She stared at it, her expression sad.

  I had to believe we’d get back. Maybe we could even bring our new powers back. With magic to help, I bet I could catch 10 times as many hackers. Then they’d pay.

  It was weird that I hadn’t thought much about home or my business since we’d gotten slammed down onto this insane death battle world. On a good note, I’d finally been able to get Isabella out of my head for a while.

  Partially, that was due to the danger and insanity and constant need to fight for our lives, but was that all? Back on Earth, my job had felt so important, a calling to help make the world a better place and fight for those who were truly vulnerable. And yet, compared with the need to fight to save the entire planet from getting wiped out, my old life seemed weak, somehow.

  Ruby sighed, pulling me from my somber thoughts. “My grandmother is very sick. After that shoot finished, I was supposed to take a week off to visit her.” Her voice faded to a barely audible whisper. “She might not make it to the end of the month.”

  “I’m very sorry.”

  She rubbed at her eyes and sniffled. “It’s fine. She’s got a fiery personality. If she were here, she’d tell us to stop wasting time and win this game already.”

  “She sounds amazing.”

  Ruby nodded and managed a slight smile, but looked troubled. After a moment, she added in a soft voice, “Lucas, this game is evil, right?”

  “It sure seems to be.” That was a weird question.

  “I know. I’ve been terrified and nearly died multiple times. Joseph and Andy are dead, along with almost 200 other people. It’s evil and cruel and horrible.” She fingered her red hair. “And yet, part of me is excited to level up and see how strong I can get. I mean, we’ve got magic, my body transformed to climb that tree. What else can we learn?” She looked up, her expression clearly conflicted. “Does that make me a bad person?”

  I leaned back and considered her words for a moment before answering. “It is an evil game. It’s callous and cruel, and I should have died half a dozen times already. But yeah, there’s wonder here. Magic and stat boosts make us more powerful than we could ever be back on Earth.”

  She nodded. “That’s good, isn’t it?”

  “It’s power. I don’t think that makes it good or evil. Even back on Earth, some people gained a lot of power. Different types of power perhaps, but power still. Choosing what to do with that power is what so many of them get wrong.”

  “Absolute power corrupts absolutely, right?”

  “Lord Acton,” Cyrus interjected, his usual bubbling good humor back in full force. “A British historian in your 19th century. Wisdom that applies across the multiverse.”

  Ruby jumped at the unexpected interruption, muttering to herself. I wished I could hear the Irish slang she was whispering. I looked up and nodded. “Sure. Here on Arasha, looks like you’ve got absolute power.”

  Ruby’s eyes widened and she shook her head slightly, as if afraid I was pushing Cyrus too far. She didn’t know him as well as I felt I was starting to.

  Cyrus only chuckled. “Indeed. Yet, I make sure the rules are as fair as possible and the games we play entertaining.”

  “The games we play,” I repeated softly, thinking of the secret experiment he was playing with my life. Was that just a callous abuse of his power, or something deeper? Figuring that out might mean the difference between life and death.

  When Cyrus did not respond again I said, “Ruby, I understand your point, and we do need to get stronger or we’re going to die and Earth will die too. You’re not evil to want more power. I think the harder test will be how we handle it.”

  She nodded slowly, thoughtful. “Thanks, Lucas. That helped.” Then she rose and added, “I’m exhausted. Today has been . . . Difficult. No offense, but I’m taking the bed.”

  “It’s your base camp. Mind if I take the couch?”

  “That’s fine. Do you need a blanket? I don’t know if there’s a spare, but—“

  “I have one.”

  “Good night, Lucas. Thanks again for saving my life and for the chat.”

  “Good night.”

  She headed for the bedroom and I lay back on the couch, thinking of my life back on Earth. I’d barely had a moment to think about anything but pure survival since waking up on this insane world.

  How much time had passed back on Earth since we left? Would anyone even know we were among the missing? We hadn’t told anyone of our last-minute decision to ride to the movie shoot. It would take our parents a while to realize there was a problem.

  With Dad’s new job in New York, we didn’t chat as often. He was swamped working for that big company I could never remember the name of. The pompous string of partner names just made me think of the old Three Stooges lawyer firm gag name, Dewey, Cheetham, and Howe.

  Mom made a point of calling me more, especially after Isabella refused to marry me and dumped me altogether. She knew we were biking and out of regular cell range, though.

  She could easily go a couple weeks before thinking it odd I hadn’t called. Dad had gotten her a research position in the Met, working in one of their secret basements, so she often got totally absorbed in her work. For a medieval history professor, that sabbatical was a dream come true.

  No, no one knew we were gone, and no one could help us. We had to figure out how to survive and win the game all on our own.

  I adjusted my position on the couch and sighed. So much better than sleeping on the ground, even with my little survival kit. It was so nice to have another living person to talk to. Sharing about our pasts helped keep the insanity of this death battle world at bay a little.

  Ruby seemed like a nice person. Isabella had been nice too. Her outward sweetness was one of the things I loved about her, but that hadn’t been enough. She was nice, I was nice, we had some fun times together, but what was it she said? Under my veneer of responsibility, I was too wild and reckless, and she couldn’t live with that.

  How could that be a problem? I’d left most of my old life behind to get my certifications and start my new company. My life had become downright boring most days. How could I be less wild than that? Did she want me to stop living?

  If I had, would I have even survived this long on Arasha? This world was brutal and insane and any hesitation would prove fatal. If anything, I needed to fully embrace wild and a willingness to dive into battle.

  Would Isabella have survived the troll in Ruby’s place? Probably not. Sad, but true. She was a gentle soul, and gentle souls probably wouldn’t live long here. Isabella had stomped my heart flat, but I wouldn’t want her or any other person so totally unprepared for survival to have gotten teleported here to die.

  I planned to survive. I needed to, or Earth would be destroyed and all those gentle souls like Isabella and my parents would die. No, not while I could do anything about it. Together with Ruby, we’d find a way to get the job done.