It had gone terribly wrong and not because of anything we had or had not done. That was life but we sat there on the steps of the Bogus Hall oblivious to it. Finally I snapped out of it. Maybe it was the smell of breakfast that did it, or maybe I just realized I had better things to do.

  “How long do you plan to stay with us, Ereya,” I asked.

  “A month maybe longer, two of my lot will never walk again,” Ereya explained.

  “What were you doing out here?”

  “Excuse me,” Ereya queried, caught off guard.

  “If we are so far from any other civilization why would you be out here,” I questioned, getting slightly annoyed.

  “We are,” she began, paused and cleared her throat. “Were a silver guild out of Ostly. We were here to conquer one of three tomb dungeons,” Ereya stated. Tears danced at the edges of the woman's eyes. A small owl landed on Ereya’s shoulder and tooted. It then proceeded to rub it’s head against Ereya’s chin.

  “So there are dungeons nearby,” I asked.

  “I’m okay Ko’a,” Ereya said addressing the owl. “Yes, there are many dungeons. This is monster territory,” Ereya stated, looking at me like I was crazy. “How do you not know this?”

  “We are from another world,” I stated.

  “DJ,” Timothy exclaimed with a look of shock on his face. Rinn and Curare looked just as shocked that I had just said that. Ereya looked like she had just seen a ghost.

  “That's not possible,” Ereya stammered.

  “It is we are from another world you can believe that or not,” I said.

  “There's so many of you,” Ereya remarked. We just stared at her. What did this lady honestly expect us to say. “You had no idea you were in a place full of monsters/”

  “No we don’t know anything about this world. I would like a number of answers but if you are unwilling to provide them that's okay. When the number of men who can walk out number the number of men who can’t I will give you carts and you can leave. If you wish to stay longer or permanently you will have to start helping. Additionally we will seize anything that can help with, healing, feeding, and clothing. We aren’t really a state or village such much as we are a collective. Our world had rules that we kinda follow. Most important is mutual aid to insure survival,” I explained. “Is this good?”

  “Yes.I’m sorry I just…heroes from another world are extremely rare. Not unheard of but rare for twelve of them to-”

  “13,” Rinn interrupted.

  “Surely you mean twelve,” Ereya clarified.

  “No, there are thirteen of us. I am no hero or legend, I am just a builder. But, yeah, thirteen,” I stated simply.

  “So you’re not the group from the legend,” Ereya mumbled.

  “No, we're just people,” Timothy responded.

  “So you were a group of adventurers here for fame, fortune, glory,” I asked, trying to find out more about the world we were trapped in.

  “In Ostly power and levels determine everything. The higher leveled, more powerful fighters control everything. Underneath them are their families which are subservient. Get powerful enough you can find yourself elevated to nobility though most of us just want out of poverty,” Ereya stated.

  “Sounds like how are world is,” Curare said.

  “Used to be,” I ventured.

  “Still is,” Curare replied. I sighed and looked at Ereya.

  “The two empty warehouses can hold everyone though it’ll be a tight squeeze that said I’d like to upgrade you. It’ll take some time. I’m gonna nap and try to convince others to do the same,” I said.

  Tomb of The Hurricane Created

  Tomb of The Hurricane Marked As A Landmark

  Establishing Territory parameters for new Territory

  Success The Bogus Territory Now Encompasses More than 500 Acres

  Initiating level up procedure

  Dooley Jones level up to Builder level 7

  Builder level 7 accepted

  Health Increased From 55 to 60

  Manna Increased from 1400 to 1600

  Skill unlocked Build Lvl 2

  Sleep had given me energy and news of a brand new shiny level. People die, and I level up what a cruel world. I didn’t dream which was fortunate. Grabbing some jerky in place of a meal I headed outside. I wasn’t sure Curare had slept but they were ready to go when I woke up.

  “Did you rest,” I asked.

  “No I couldn’t,” Curare said with a sigh. We both stopped and looked down at the warehouses below them. We stood a gentle breeze tugging playfully at our clothes. It should have been a nice and lovely day. However the events of the last twenty four hours hung heavy on us both. It was the moment trauma had been introduced to both of our lives and we’d never be the same.

  I built the first dedicated bunkhouse for Hurricane Rend. It had twelve pallet beds with woven straw mats to cushion them a bit. The beds were separated into two large rooms each containing six beds. The beds were just wood with a straw mat. They weren’t uncomfortable but they weren’t luxurious by a long shot. The walls were just exposed wood. I hadn’t quite discovered paints and pigments other than this dingy gray that was made from certain rocks near the stream. As a result the bunk houses were a depressing dingy gray.

  This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

  When I was done two bunk houses were set up in a square with their own personal outhouse. Somebody had recovered a flag that belonged to Hurricane Rend and planted it outside one of the block houses. I had worked from early in the morning till late into the night creating these houses. It was a testament to how far I’d come that I was able to harvest the materials and get these structures up so quickly. A problem did stick out with these and that was these structures were made solidly of wood. Sadly there was nothing I could do about that as a source of stone had yet to be found. The members of Hurricane Rend were impressed with how fast the structures had been built.

  Sadly exhaustion prevented me from basking in praise and adoration. I went to sleep rather early rushing through dinner. That done, I slept like a rock.

  “Good morning,” Helen beamed when I entered the main hall in just my boxers and shirt. The overalls were still hanging on the footlocker in front of my bed. Adding the footlockers to the sleeping hall was a massive improvement for everyone. That gave people a private and specific place for their stuff. She noticed my lack of pants and raised an eyebrow. “Someone’s getting comfortable with us.”

  “I don’t understand how we got assigned the underwear we did,” Melody chimed in. Melody looked at first glance to me a short human adult, she wasn’t. Her skin today wasn’t a huge giveaway as the swirling clouds that played across her skin were hard to notice at a distance. Like Helen she wore a chiton style dress. Her hair at the moment was a puffy ball made of clouds. I had seen when she had taken on the form of fire and it was terrifying. This cloud form was much more appealing.

  “Tell me about it, all May-Mihn got was a pair of shells and a strip of cloth,” Tawani chimed in. I grabbed breakfast and sat down as the conversation continued.

  “But like she's a mer-thing,” Guitari chimed in with an um actually voice.

  “Can it Tree Chicken,” Melody said.

  “Tree Chicken,” Guitari questioned.

  “It’s what some people from Florida call iguana’s,” I supplied.

  “I’m 100% certain I’m a Descendant of Dragons,” Guitari exclaimed.

  “Dude, I’m 100% certain you are a Lizard Wizard and that is so much cooler,” I stated.

  “I don’t think it is,” Guitari said.

  “Everyone seems to be in better spirits,” Helen stated.

  “Or we are hiding it,” I said sitting down with a weird looking berry salad. There was silence and I continued. “It has changed my mind about something.”

  “Oh,” Helen said.

  “Yeah this world is more hostile and dangerous than our own.”

  “You just realized that,” Helen asked.

  “Um, no I was just in denial.” I sighed. “I need a vacation from this.”

  “There’s no place to vacation to. It also sounds like Ostly sucks just as much,” Tawani remarked.

  “Basically every place in this world sucks. I understand why you called it Bogus,” Melody added.

  When I was done with breakfast I was greeted with a long list of requested tasks. Even if my overall speed and mana pool continued to grow the list would have taken me weeks. The thing that people wanted the most was something I couldn’t even give them. People wanted private residences but that just wasn’t feasible. From a defensive perspective it meant a wall and we didn’t have enough people to man such a large wall. Also things like expanding fields, constructing a barn, farming equipment, baskets, and crates, were all much higher priority items.

  A space the size of a football field north of the temple was cleared and made ready for planting. I also erected a barn and workhouse that was built for the farm plot. All that in only a day I thought mentally patting myself on the back. All of this had attracted the attention of curious swordsmen from Hurricane Rend. He didn’t say anything he just watched.

  When I went back on the next day to make another farm plot and barn structure the swordsman was sitting on the hill. He was in a perfect place to sit and watch me work. Helen approached Curare who was still my official shadow. Their presence over the last two weeks had become less awkward and more normal.

  “That guy,” Helen stated.

  “Yeah I think he’s curious about DJ. Don’t worry I’m watching him,” Curare stated. I had already started clearing things not paying much attention to their conversation but still managing to catch snippets of it.

  “Must be nice,” Helen commented.

  “To be that oblivious, yeah. Must be nice,” Curare commiserated. I wasn’t oblivious, I just wasn’t that concerned about it. I had more important things to worry about than whether or not I was being watched. The population had exploded. Food was in short supply and would remain that way unless Helen had more plantable area. Magic made crops grow fast but they still required space to grow and they didn’t grow overnight. On top of that I wanted walls.

  Finishing up in the late afternoon I smiled at the work I had done. With a quick glance I looked over to find Helen being held up by Curare. Striding quickly over to the two I didn’t understand what was going on. Curare looked up at me with a look of concern on their face.

  “What’s wrong,” I asked.

  “Not enough mana,” Helen gasped, struggling to talk.

  “It’s a shame we can’t share mana or even….wait why not,” I exclaimed. Concentrating light bloomed across my hammer and I smiled. I had made stones glow by channeling my magic into my hammer. I had also made my hammer light up.

  “I think I can channel my mana through my hammer into you,” I stated. Resting the hammer against Helen I attempted to push my mana through the hammer and into Helen. Helen turned a bright green that was almost as painful to look as the sun. All around them plants began to rapidly grow until I stopped channeling magic. Exhaustion and dizziness hit me so hard I felt like I had been hit by a bus. Helen continued to glow. After several more minutes the glow around her began to fade.

  I sat on the ground, okay maybe it was more like a lay on the ground sprawled out, but the point is I looked up at Helen who smiled. It was easy to see why she was smiling. All three farming plots about three football fields had gone from dirt track to harvestable plants in a single day. Helen bounced slightly on her toes taking in the site of all the plants. So far all they had was two types of berries but Helen was hopeful about finding more foods. Helen bent down and tackle hugged me. It would have been heavenly if I weren’t enduring insane pain and discomfort from mana drain.

  “We’ve got company,” Curare commented as they brought out their mace. Helen got to her feet but I remained on the ground. I had enough energy to sit up but I didn’t have the energy to get up. The swordsman approached from the hill. Like most of Hurricane Rend he was human with European complexion and facial features. He had blue armor that looked battle worn but well cared for. Hands balled into fists and placed over the chest with elbows out, he did the weird fist bump salute as he approached.

  “That was incredible. I’ve never seen someone grow so much so fast,” The man said.

  “Thank you,” Helen said.

  “I’m Baryl Commander of the Auxiliary,” Baryl stated.

  “I’m Helen. The one with the mace is Curare and,” Helen stated

  “DJ”

  “Pleasures,” Baryl said with a bow of his head. “May I ask how you were able to do this.”

  “You could but other than magic we don’t really have answers,” Helen supplied.

  “Even with magic the mana cost would be astronomical like the thousands,” Baryl said quickly. “The buildings were one thing but assuming it was the three of you I’m guessing you would have needed at least 1,200 points of mana. Only one person who was a Legendary Hero ever recorded a mana over 1,000.”

  “Which is why as you hypothesized we combined our mana. Do you know much about plants and farming by chance,” I asked, attempting to steer the conversation. Hearing we did something out of legend made me nervous. Being exceptional was nice but also dangerous.

  “Yes, my mother was a farmer. I did a little farming as well before I joined Hurricane Rend. I don’t have the class though,” Baryl stated.

  “Excellent if you’re not busy can you speak with and possibly help Helen,” I asked as I rose to my feet. “As for Curare and myself we have urgent business to take care of.”

  I headed quickly back to the temple urgently to speak with Timothy. Unfortunately he was not there as he was out scouting the surroundings. I took a seat in the dining hall at the big table and sighed. It was called the dining hall but really it was whatever we needed it for hall. It held the kitchen, giant map, long table with twenty chairs, and two small tables with chairs.

  “What did you want to speak with him about," Curare asked.

  “The mana sharing bit as well as how absurd my mana pool is,” I answered. Curare moved their head to make it obvious they were looking at me. Their helmet obscured their eyes and face.

  “1600” The question wasn’t asked, I just knew it was. Curare made a coughing noise. “Yeah,” I murmured. “It’s a large amount that I can give freely. Well sort of. I'm making an assumption here but I presume that when I dump mana like that the person I give it to can control it. I’m gonna try and experiment with Helen some more. Sadly that means no going out.”

  “Yeah….” Curare Grumbled.