Morning found me resting on the edge of a cliff, high on a mountain slope in the southeastern corner of the world, and still stuck at level 9. I had to be nearly 30,000 feet above the central valley, but bigger mountains farther south dwarfed the peak where I sat. In the distance to the north, I could just make out the grasslands of the central valley, so far below. It seemed impossible that I’d traveled from down there in one night.

  I savored a chocolate-frosted donut from Paul the mayor, then munched down a delicious turkey club sandwich from Sam. My inventory kept it fresh, and it rivaled the best sandwiches I’d ever eaten back on Earth.

  I was high enough that I should be able to see across stage 2 to the west and even up to stage 3 to the north, but those areas were blocked by hazy mists. Stage 3 had to run east to west across the north sides of both stage 1 and stage 2. Where would stage 4 be?

  It didn’t matter unless I figured out how to escape stage 1. Time was quickly slipping away and my worry had grown to the point I had to fight the urge to leap back to my feet and climb ever higher to find stronger monsters.

  I forced it back and made myself enjoy the view and take my time with my snack. I even pulled out a cask of Sam’s ale and filled one of his big, metal steins. The ale was a slightly different variation, a rich, dark brew that reminded me of Guinness.

  Guiness was from Ireland. That made me think of Ruby and the great ride and successful ambush of the zombies. We made a good team. I savored the drink and zoomed my vision on that distant valley. The flickering lights of Stepstone’s watch fires clarified. The sight of the distant town filled me with a surprising rush of loneliness.

  I longed to be there, laughing with Tomas and Jane or chatting with Ruby and Steve. Instead I was forced to hunt alone far and wide just to survive. The alienness of the world seemed starker in that moment, and my resolution to simply enjoy the view crumpled under a rush of doubts and fears I’d forced down over the past few days that now came creeping back into my mind.

  How could we survive? Would we all fail and condemn everyone we knew and loved back on Earth to die? They’d never know we’d caused the apocalypse, but I would.

  I thought of my parents and my grandmother. Thoughts of Isabella tried to bubble to the surface, but I squashed them. My family and other friends depended on me, my team, and the rest of the humans. They might never know the insane battles we fought to save them, but that didn’t matter. It still had to be done.

  I would find the monsters I needed, kill them, and reach level 10. I’d rejoin the others and escape stage 1. For the first time, I really considered the challenges we’d face in stage 2. The monsters were significantly stronger, and people would die, even though so many of us had unlocked classes.

  My own challenges seemed like a vast gulf I had no idea how I was going to cross. I’d struggled to earn 10 levels in the past week. On stage 2, I suspected the level requirements would also get more difficult. I had to figure out Cyrus’s formula so I could maximize my hunting time. Sure, monsters on stage 2 would be a lot stronger, so would offer more experience, but I doubted Cyrus would let it be that easy.

  I pushed my worries aside and tried to focus. Ruby’s face popped into my mind again and I smiled. Ruby was a good friend, and her companionship was becoming more and more important to me. Steve was a great guy, fun to be around, and good to have around in a fight, but my thoughts turned more to Ruby. The thought of sitting with my team, chatting and enjoying Ruby’s faint Irish accent seemed a wondrous gift in that chill moment high on the side of a cliff.

  “I’ll see them later.” The words seemed loud in the stillness, and they helped shake me out of my odd reverie. I drained the last of my ale, squared my shoulders, and focused. I still had work to do.

  The sun wouldn’t rise above the mountains for hours yet, but the darkness was fading to light and the stars were finally dimming. I scanned the sky again anyway, thinking back on the dazzling light show I’d witnessed across the night sky as I hunted through the long hours of the night.

  It was as if the world had celebrated the last night of the first stage and our impending climb to the second. For some like me, still not yet at level 10, it had been like a final celebration of our last night anywhere.

  The stars had shone like brilliant lanterns while hundreds of falling stars streaked past. Several times half the night sky filled with northern lights in vibrant, flowing sheets of shifting colors.

  I’d killed dozens of monsters, but none higher than the mammoths. As I scanned the beautiful vista a final time, Cyrus’ voice boomed loud over the world.

  “Congratulations everyone for making it to the last day of your first week. I knew you could do it. Just a friendly reminder that you must ascend to the second stage before the sun sets behind the first peak this afternoon if you want to live. I hope you’ve used your time wisely and reached at least level 10. If not, you’d better get to work. Good luck!”

  “I thought we had till midnight or something.” I’d been watching the timer count down, but hadn’t calculated the final moment. Knowing the timer would end when the sun hit the first peak felt like I’d lost hours again. That would barely be mid-afternoon. My worries jumped another notch, like a noose around my lungs that made it feel like I couldn’t quite get enough breath.

  Cyrus chuckled. “This isn’t Cinderella, Lucas.”

  “I know, but the deadline seems arbitrary. Midnight feels better.” And it would give me another 6 hours or so.

  “There’s a lot more hanging on that deadline than you know,” the AI said in a serious tone, then turned chipper again. “As much as I love to see your enthusiasm for your current approach, I hope you realize it’s not working.”

  I scowled into the sky. “It would if I could find more monsters above level 40. I’ve killed enough monsters in the high 30s since the mammoths to level anyone else up at least a dozen times.”

  “But you’re not anyone else. I’ve invested enough in you that I’d hate to see you fail and this experiment end before it really gets rolling.”

  “What do you mean?” I asked. That sounded ominous.

  “Lucas, I thought it was obvious. I invested heavily in you, giving you perks that will start paying huge rewards once you hit level 10. These short-term challenges you’ve been complaining about are nothing but a way to test your resilience and prove you’re worthy of the massive gains you’ll begin receiving once you reach the second stage.”

  What? That revelation floored me. I’d thought he was messing with my experience just because he could, or maybe because he took sadistic glee in seeing me struggle and not progress.

  “It’s all been a test?”

  “Of course!” Cyrus laughed. “Everything is a test. On day one you piqued my interest enough to set you on this road to greatness, but first you have to walk through challenges to refine your focus and prove you can handle the power I’ll reward you with.”

  I took a deep breath, mind whirling as my interpretation of recent events underwent a tectonic shift. This was all part of Cyrus’s experiment, a test to prove I was worth his continued investment.

  “So you’ll let me get to level 10 if I prove myself?”

  “Lucas, I want you to get to level 10. I’m your biggest supporter. I have huge plans for you, so don’t let yourself get distracted by little challenges.”

  “Little challenges? I’m gonna die from this test.”

  I couldn’t help glancing at the timer. 13 hours 27 minutes 42 seconds. That was exactly how much longer I had to live.

  “Any problem can be a springboard to success, Lucas.”

  “Can you offer anything more concrete than happy words?”

  Cyrus hesitated then said, “I see you need a bit of motivation, even though I would think not dying and the promise of great rewards should be plenty. You humans are so endlessly entertaining. Here’s what I can do, Lucas. There’s a very tenuous argument to be made that actions I took while setting up your testing might have exceeded your abilities by the tiniest fraction, resulting in your current predicament.”

  I bit back the frustrated response I wanted to make. If he could offer me something, anything, I couldn’t risk angering him. “So . . .”

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  Eva’s voice broke in. “New quest. Escape certain death. Win your 10th level, prove you’re worthy of continued investment, escape near certain destruction, and make it to the second stage alive.”

  “Reward, an emerald loot box.”

  “That’s it?” Emerald boxes were great, but I’d won several. I’d hoped for something more game-changing.

  Cyrus’s voice dropped to a whisper, even though I hadn’t spotted another living human in hours and many miles. The world around me froze, as if time stopped. The wind froze, grasses paused mid-wave, and a distant bird remained stuck in place in the sky.

  “The box will include a scroll to upgrade the loot by one tier, resulting in a diamond-level legendary loot box. Consider this the first of many rewards for success. We will not speak of this again.”

  Time resumed with a lurch and I nodded slowly. Didn’t Cyrus have authority to make any award decisions he wanted? He’d awarded me one of the super-rare ruby-level loot boxes for helping him choose a name. I hadn’t expected to see another one until we defeated Marisara, but for a moment I’d hoped he might be offering one. Still, even getting another diamond loot box would be amazing.

  Could those nameless watchers he’d referred to a couple times make trouble for him? Was that why he was acting so sly? I was happy to keep the secret. I wanted that loot box. All I had to do was survive.

  Cyrus wasn’t setting me up to die. He was testing me. Honestly, that lifted a huge weight off my shoulders. I couldn’t fight the AI, but beating a test? That was possible.

  “Thanks, Cyrus. That actually helped. I feel motivated again.”

  “I knew you would. Good luck, Lucas.”

  I climbed back on Switchblade and headed for a steep slope that dropped to a lower valley. I’d been gone from town for nearly a full day. I needed to keep hunting, but I also wanted to check in on Tomas, Jane, Ruby, and Steve. They all should be fine, but I’d never forgive myself if I made it up to the second stage just to learn one of them had run into trouble and couldn’t make it.

  A glint between a couple large boulders caught my attention and I slammed on the brakes, skidding Switchblade in the air. As much as I needed to get moving, I vaulted off, rushed over, and stepped into the space between the rocks.

  They formed a room-sized gap, open to the sky. The stone wall at the back of the gap shimmered slightly, as if light was getting sucked into a rectangular hole in the air. I felt the same tingle from Identify I’d felt in the wight’s cavern.

  “No way,” Cyrus exclaimed with false surprise. “You found another rift in the fabric of the world! What are the odds?”

  Maybe he was offering even more help than I’d hoped. With a grin, I stepped forward and plunged my hand through the rift.

  Like last time, blinding blue light flashed across my vision and the world lurched as an invisible fist punched me in the back and staggered me forward.

  I stumbled onto smooth floor and the air turned warm and humid. The sounds of humming machinery replaced the rustling of trees and the wind. My eyes cleared and I found myself inside another small room.

  This one was a bit larger than the first maintenance room I’d stumbled into in the wight cavern. It extended nearly 20 feet across and maybe a dozen feet deep. Again the walls were covered with hundreds of video screens, like floating LCD screens.

  Images flashed past on every screen, too fast to follow even with my enhanced perception. I caught only hints of the scenes as the kaleidoscope of images shifted in ever-changing views.

  Was that a view of Stepstone? Was that Ruby, or Tomas? I caught many flashes of mountains, forests, and glimpses of monsters, but even more of people. Some were in buildings or tents, others locked in mortal combat, some sleeping, while others ate. I even caught a flash of bare skin from a woman bathing in a crystal pool under a cascading waterfall.

  It flashed past as fast as the others, but I could have sworn I glimpsed a dark-furred monster creeping across a stone ledge above the woman’s pool.

  “What are all these?” I breathed, stepping forward for a closer look.

  The video screens started disappearing with little popping sounds. They winked out in a cascading ripple of movement. I lunged, diving across the space, and managed to touch one of the screens before it disappeared.

  Energy jolted through me from that contact, flinging me back across the room. I slammed into the wall and my head cracked against something hard.

  When I blinked open my eyes, I found myself on the floor with a pounding headache. It faded even as I sat up with a groan, my fast regeneration quickly repairing what was probably another concussion.

  I was gathering those like a hoarder gathered trash. I needed a new hobby or I’d end up with brain damage, or something. The walls facing me had changed to smooth, amber expanses, blank of any screens.

  “You need to be more careful,” Cyrus chided. “Does every human try touching things they don’t understand?”

  “They looked like video screens.”

  “In a sense they were, but they’re not Best Buy specials, Lucas. If a baby human had touched that screen and gotten that jolt of higher energy, they would have vaporized.”

  “Maybe try warning me next time.”

  Cyrus laughed. “I did warn you before you entered your first rift. There is danger in exploring areas not meant for human presence.” He paused, then added in a conspiratorial whisper, “And so much more.”

  I rose and looked around. It was just an empty room, but the air still felt charged and a distant hum suggested machinery working behind the facade of the wall.

  “So I’m in another space technically outside of the game, right?” I advanced slowly and added, “Can I touch the wall?”

  “The initial jolt is the worst. You’ve begun the process of adapting to low-grade Nexus energy, so similar doses will not harm you.”

  “Nexus energy?”

  “Indeed. As you’ve seen, magic fuels the contest and manifests in many forms, but at its heart, magic is all generated from Nexus energy. It is a more refined energy source that is both more advanced and at the same time more fundamental to existence.”

  “How does that work?” I placed one palm on the wall. It felt smoother than silk and warm, with a faint vibration coming from the other side.

  “I cannot explain the deeper truths of the multiverse while you’re still stuck in the first stage of the game, Lucas. You’ve seen enough to start opening your mind to learning more and gaining enormous power boosts.”

  I considered that, biting back the temptation to simply ask what kind of power boosts. Cyrus didn’t like answering questions I could figure out for myself. This had to be an important hint or he wouldn’t have wasted my time with this.

  “So if someone learned to tap into Nexus energy directly, they could access higher forms of power?”

  “I’m glad you use that higher Intelligence stat sometimes.”

  “Thanks. How do I learn more?”

  “You’ve already done it by touching that screen. Your internal assimilation of that first touch of Nexus energy will take time to complete. When it does, you’ll be ready to take your next step.”

  “So, that’s it?” I didn’t hide my disappointment. I’d hoped to gain some kind of advantage to help me level up.

  “It’s more than you realize. For finding a second rift in reality, surviving a jolt of Nexus energy, and beginning the process of advancing your internal energy conduits, you receive an emerald Prometheus loot box.”

  “That sounds perfect. Thanks!”

  Actually, it sounded kind of terrifying. I’d never watched Prometheus, but wasn’t it a sci-fi horror movie where everyone ended up dying?

  Hopefully that meant I was about to get some kind of super weapon to kill stronger monsters and not that Cyrus was setting me up to be one of those sci-fi experiments where you got consumed from the inside.

  “Open it as soon as you step out of the rift. It will not linger long.”

  “You don’t have to tell me twice.”

  Cyrus was playing some kind of game, not only with me, but it had to do with those secret watchers. The fact that he was taking some major risks seemed clear. I suspected anything that could get Cyrus into trouble could get me vaporized.

  I’d do it, though. I needed every advantage. Cyrus seemed interested enough in whatever experiment he was doing with me to help shield me from those watchers, as long as I didn’t blab to anyone or flaunt my access to these secret rifts.

  His hints about Nexus energy seemed important too. I’d have to ponder on that. Access to it might unlock higher powers or a lot of flexibility in how I eventually used my magic. That could be a game-changing trump card.

  So I stepped back through and immediately willed the loot box open. The huge emerald box appeared floating in the air, but its normal brilliant sparkle was dimmed and the air around me seemed to darken, as if a cloud had passed over the sun. The box opened with a muted flash, leaving two scrolls floating in the air.

  “Title scroll. New title: Doctor Strange. You’ve taken the first steps on the road to mastering a deeper form of power than most can survive.

  Increase effect of all primary stats on calculating all secondary stats by 10%.

  Additional increase effect of Intelligence on calculating magical resistance by 25%.

  Additional increase effect of Constitution on calculating magical resistance by 25%.”

  “Whoa!” I gasped as my body thrummed with an influx of new power. Across-the-board increases in all secondary stats was huge. All of my exhaustion bled away and I laughed with a sense of deeper power. My Endurance, Agility, Perception, Luck, and Magical Resistance stats were growing insanely high.

  With an Endurance of 28, that equated to about 280 tier-0 points. Even though I apparently could only really draw from about 112 of those points, that was still a lot. I didn’t tire any more, even if I ran flat-out for miles, and my muscles never ached. My skin felt hard enough that I bet bullets would just bounce off, and even the zombie laser rifles might not do much damage any more. It was a heady thought.

  “Upgrade Scroll. Navigation. Upgrade your map with a new ability: Ping.”

  “Ping. Once per day, trigger an invisible pulse of energy in every direction to a distance of 100 yards times your current Perception. Effect: Update your map within the covered area with one of the following: Monsters, dungeons, rifts in the fabric of space, or loot boxes. Points will be marked on your map for 60 seconds. Note: Monsters who pass a stealth check may remain hidden.”

  “No way!” I laughed, rereading the description of the upgrade several times to make sure I was getting it right. My Perception had reached 30, which meant Ping would cover an area of about 3000 yards, or about 3 kilometers in every direction.

  I hadn’t been great at geometry, but the formula popped into my head and the answer seemed as simple as adding 2 plus 2. Ping would cover an area just over 9 square miles. That was a little over 14.5 square kilometers.

  I wanted to test it immediately, but resisted. The new ability would cover a huge area, but even 9 square miles was barely a drop in the bucket in the middle of huge mountains. I could only use it once before climbing to the second stage, and I didn’t want to waste it.

  No, I’d wait until I reached another big open mountain valley and use it then. If Ping could help me identify powerful monsters, I could still hit level 10 with plenty of time to spare.

  Encouraged, I again started descending the mountain. I still wanted to check in on Tomas and the others before heading out on my final hunting trip. I was low on time, but I could get back to town in less than an hour. It was worth the risk. I could just message them, but if I failed, I might not get another chance to see them.

  No. I refused to believe I’d die, but I still wanted to see them in person. I’d spent too much time alone with the crazy AI. I needed human company before making the final big push.

  Halfway down the mountain, as I sped through another beautiful high-mountain meadow, I spotted a wooden palisade wall.

  Another hidden band of humans.