I don’t remember what happened after my head hit the pillow, but it must have been mid afternoon when I woke. The morning sun rays through a crack in the curtains wasn’t the happy reminder of a new day, just another day… a bittersweet one.

  A few hadn’t woken yet, but I met the majority of my own party downstairs in the dining room. It was breakfast at 1 or 2 P.M. Eggs, hash browns, some pancakes. The abodes provided some luxury, enough incentive to want to stay. As if there wasn’t incentive enough from the harsh environment outside.

  “How’d you sleep?” Jessica asked me. She hadn’t been in bed when I woke up and I had no idea when she got up. Her fork danced around her plate.

  “As good as can be expected, you?” I slept like a rock honestly, but waking up wasn’t refreshing or welcome today.

  “Four or five hours, enough.” I watched as she took a bite of hash brown. “Want some?” she asked.

  “I’m alright.” I said. To be honest, my desire for food had disappeared almost completely. The urges for different flavors and textures, hot and cold, I didn’t want for them anymore. In fact, I was incredibly full after yesterday. “How was the loot?” I looked at Alan, who was a bit more barbaric in his eating.

  “Really good.” He said with half open mouth. A little bit of egg spittle came out, but no one cared enough to correct him. I looked at Thomas, who ate properly, and wondered how they were even related.

  Alan’s answer drew a few nods, which sparked my curiosity more. “Has anyone talked to the others?” I asked.

  “Haven’t seen Rebekah or Nicole since last night,” Lucas said.

  “Marcus, Bruce, and Evee have been quiet too,” Jessica added. Her and Evee had seemed to hit it off, which was nice to see. Becoming friends by choice instead of necessity meant something, surely.

  I nodded, and didn’t put much weight to their absences, considering I’d only just awoken as well. The previous night had been so hectic and draining that I’d done nothing besides walk to my room and sleep immediately after, so them not being up and about was no surprise.

  The biggest surprise was actually the levels Humble Abode had received last night in that ambush. There were five levels there waiting for me to skill them. Last time I had gotten an auction house and quartermaster, which turned out to be something of a reason for regret, given last night’s situation.

  I didn’t hesitate to immediately put a point in each of the fortification and barrier options. The area seemed to rumble for a moment, and the entire lot of us found our way outside to see what changes had taken place.

  Those previously unaccounted for made an appearance as well, rubbing tired eyes and shuffling their bed head. No one had disappeared in the night, but the dark bags under a few of their eyes told a painful story. A few of them might have not slept at all.

  “New upgrades?” Marcus marveled at the new fortifications. A huge wall towering over ten feet high surrounded us on every side. Our three abodes were fully protected within.

  “There should be a barrier, too.” I said. Nothing was visible to the naked eye, and eventually Maria nocked an arrow and sent it towards the sky. It traveled twenty feet up or so and then hit an invisible membrane that wiggled, but eventually rendered the arrow useless, sending it falling to the ground.

  “Did you put a lot of force into it?” Jessica asked. She clearly wanted to test how effective the barrier was for defense.

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  “Not a lot.” Maria said.

  “Let me try,” Evee said, and then mounted her rifle on Marcus’ shoulder unannounced. The lack of emotion on his face told me this was probably not out of the ordinary. It was a good show though, as she unleashed a devastating shot that rattled our ear drums.

  The barrier above wiggled and then clearly cracked, leaving a basketball-sized hole in it. The hole remained, and then after fifteen seconds or so began to slowly close up as if healing. What was clear though, is if anyone had been standing behind that barrier, they would have had a basket ball sized hole through them as well.

  “It isn’t just for show,” Evee said, “But it probably can’t be relied upon as a good defense.”

  It was after her comment though that I realized something else. “I think the red sky doesn’t penetrate the membrane, maybe that’s the main benefit.”

  The uneasy feeling I’d felt ever since seeing the red sun wasn’t there weighing down on me. As long as the barrier was active, we could walk within it unaffected. The barrier seemed to branch out from the towering walls; the two worked in tandem, so it seems our barrier would grow as the abode did.

  Still, I wasn’t satisfied with our current defenses. Judging by the fact last night’s ambush took two lives and was extremely dangerous, there was no way I could be stingy for the upcoming demon wave. I ended up putting another point in barrier and the fortification, leaving me with one skill point.

  After that second level, the barrier only had a golf-ball sized hole from Evee’s shot, making it much more reliable. The fortified walls around the abode now had spikes, and there were even slits and slots that could allow for shooting arrows or bullets, or even stabbing long spears and swords through.

  The wall looked like it could take quite a beating as well, and I felt more confident in the wall than the barrier for blocking attacks. Having had this last night would have surely saved lives or even completely delayed the attack. The guilt was there, and I found myself looking at Marcus or Rebekah and wondering if they resented me for my decision.

  “Since we’re all here, we should look at the loot from the boss.” Lucas made a good suggestion, and then ushered everyone to gather around Alan, who had a big smirk on his face.

  He pulled out two pieces of equipment and then passed a skill book to Lucas to hold. I understood why he called it good loot and was had been smirking before. One of the pieces of loot he was ‘holding’ was a newly equipped shield conveniently wrapped around his forearm.

  Normally democracy would reign, but it was undeniable that only Alan could have tanked the greater demon. In a gesture towards the team spirit though, he passed his former shield to Richard, and then Richard gave his former shield to Nicole.

  Alan now wielded a towering slab of metal, so large that the bottom of the shield reached the ground. If he wanted he could dig it in and that would grant him the Unstoppable effect. He was essentially a one-man shield wall now.

  The second item was a ring.

  Action speed was an interesting stat, which meant this was good for casters or any attacking class specializing in DEX. Anna, Maria, Jessica and Evee could all use it well. I wanted Jessica to have it, but in the end we decided to give it to Evee.

  It wouldn’t have been a good idea to take all of the loot for ourselves, especially when all three groups contributed, and we hadn’t lost a single member. There would be more loot in the future, anyway.

  Finally there was the skill book. The outer appearance was dark and worn, almost ancient. A skull protruded out of the cover, and the page ends were all coated in gold. The contrasting colors made it feel exalted, royal even. It was ominous through and through, and yet when my hand touched the cover my skin tingled with jubilation…

  “Don’t mind if I take a look real fast?” I asked. I had a feeling this one was gonna be good.