They picked in another field of glowing clover before heading back. Rochel almost got her arm wrapped by a monster pretending to be a sapling. Luckily, Marcus was there to push her out of the way before stabbing the soil, the sapling shrieking before withering away.

  Richard was surprised to see that the entire experience got him to level eight. The bar was back to empty, except for a small bit of color toward the beginning. He needed to make sure he touched the orb so that he could unlock another ability. Maybe the creating weapons one. That seemed like a good one in a pinch.

  They got back to base two a little after lunchtime. Dmitri frowned as he watched them enter the gate. “I didn’t expect you to be back until supper.”

  Marcus nudged Savannah, smiling. “Show him.”

  Savannah shared the smile as she reached into her inventory and pulled out three of the dead insect bodies, holding them out toward Dmitri. He stared at them like he couldn’t comprehend what he saw.

  “There’s a couple dozen more where that came from.”

  Dmitri pointed to them. “Those are insects.”

  “Hell yes, they are,” Marcus said.

  “But… you’re all still alive.”

  Rochel was beaming. “Ran into a lower-level chaos beast.”

  Dmitri let out a breath. “Praise Order. Rochel, Dennison, get checked by Lucy, then take all the ingredients and go. Get this fertilizer started.”

  The transfer was quick. Savannah offered to go with them, since they were running short on inventory slots. Elias didn’t offer; instead, he dropped things from his inventory to the ground before walking away. Savannah, Dennison, Evan, and Rochel gathered all the inventory, including the bag of clovers Marcus handed Dennison, and the four of them headed for the healer’s building. Elias went straight to the barracks.

  Soon, it was just Dmitri, Marcus, and Richard. Dmitri’s gaze bounced from Richard to Marcus. “What happened?”

  Marcus nodded toward Richard. He reached into his inventory and brought out the whip, holding it out toward Dmitri. It caused Dmitri to frown.

  “That’s yours?” Dmitri asked.

  Richard nodded. “Yes. Part of the chaos beast loot.”

  Dmitri let out a sigh, and Richard wasn’t sure how to interpret that. He wondered if Dmitri was thinking about all the other times he’s needed to lie to save Richard’s ass because weird things happened to him. It made Richard more worried about talking to him about the strange time anomaly.

  “Come on, you two. Let’s go see Timick. He might have more information,” Dmitri said.

  Richard slipped the whip back into his inventory as he followed the two leaders to Timick’s workshop in the armory. As they approached, Richard heard a knife scraping against wood. They opened the door to see Timick working at his desk, carving something.

  “Hey you three. Bring anything good from the forest?” Timick placed the partially finished arrow on the desktop as he clopped over to them.

  “We have a question we need your expertise on.” Dmitri nodded toward Richard. “How is it possible that a newbie already got a weapon when he hasn’t chosen a class yet?”

  Timick’s eyebrows shot upward, and he watched Richard pull out the whip. Timick gestured toward Richard, and he surrendered the whip into the centaur’s open hands.

  “Well made.” Timick ran his finger down the braid. “Scratch that. This is exceptionally well made.” He turned the handle around. “This… is a weapon.”

  Marcus snorted. “Thanks, Timick. You truly are the expert on weapons.”

  Timick shook his head with a smile, then turned his attention toward Richard. “I have this whole lecture about weapons, but I always give it after newbies have chosen their class. Usually to look out for something like this—” he held up the whip “—to happen. When Order gives you a weapon as part of your loot after a few days with your official class. But…”

  “I haven’t chosen it yet,” Richard filled in.

  “Precisely. This is the weapon I expect someone in a scavenger class to receive. The guard class usually has the larger, more threatening weapons, like swords or spears.” Timick glanced at Marcus. “No offense.” Marcus only shrugged. "This pairs well with a dagger, and even though you can’t see it, there are options here for upgrades. The upgrades usually come as an ability in your class skill tree. Again, after you choose a class.”

  Richard folded his arms, staring at the whip. “Okay. This is a repeat of what everyone else told me.”

  Timick studied the whip before handing it back to Richard. “It’s a sign from Order.”

  Richard took the whip, rolling it up. “Huh?”

  “If anyone asks, it’s a sign from Order. Because if it’s not a sign from Order, then it’s too much like Chaos,” Timick said.

  Dmitri rubbed the side of his face, and Marcus winced. Richard felt his face grow warm as he still didn’t understand. “What do you suggest I do?”

  “If you don’t want to become a scapegoat, I strongly suggest you choose scavenger as your class,” Timick said.

  Richard didn’t realize this brought such a reaction out of him, but he almost recoiled. “What if I don’t want to become a scavenger?”

  At this, Marcus gave him a smile, like Richard was nothing more than an overly opinionated child. “I don’t let newbies into the forest until their final day so they get a taste, and even then, we hardly enter the darker parts. You got to see parts that would scare off others, but you remained and did the job. So my only question is, why aren’t you considering becoming a scavenger?”

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  Richard’s hands tightened around the whip. This was a question he needed to face himself. Marcus was right, after all. He was a newbie, and had entered the darker part of the forest. He survived well enough, and he didn’t feel like a hindrance. Why did he have such an averse reaction to the thought of becoming a scavenger?

  Perhaps it was because they were such loners. Something in his past life made him terrified of being alone. He died alone, and now he wanted to be surrounded by friends.

  “Alright, I’ll ask the question no one else is. Does Elias scare you off?” Marcus asked.

  Richard winced, then realized he still had the whip in his hands. He didn’t imagine Elias being the kind to make friends. “A little. But… I don’t…” Richard scratched his head with the handle. “I don’t know how to explain it. Deep down, I am afraid of being a scavenger, even though I think I’d do well at it. I don’t understand it at all.”

  Timick folded his arms, watching Richard closely as his voice dropped to a near-imperceptible whisper. “But you have, unfortunately, got a weapon from a chaos beast, and did so around a group of people that are pretty insistent that order be maintained.”

  Richard glanced at the three leaders, feeling sick to his stomach. He knew what he hid from all of them, and every time they mentioned how suspicious the members of base two were, it caused him to pour another twenty pounds of concrete over his secret of the time anomaly.

  “I won’t be bullied into choosing a class.”

  “Then think of it instead as Order being all-knowing. She watched you in that forest and is rewarding you with what she knows you’ll choose for your class,” Dmitri said.

  Richard clenched his jaw, closing his eyes. A rush of frustration filled his veins, and without realizing why, Richard was fighting back a genuine desire to scream. In the rush of emotions, he figured out something about himself. He despised the idea of an all-knowing deity, especially one other people expected him to worship.

  Richard cleared his throat, then opened his eyes. “I will keep the scavenger class in mind, but I will not shut down the other classes because of superstition.”

  Dmitri raised an eyebrow at that. “Superstition? Are you calling Order superstition when you’re going to meet her as soon as Amber and Fang reach level ten?”

  “I’m talking about the people who worship her without critical thought. The people suspicious enough to consider this—” Richard lifted the whip “—a sign that I’m responsible for some great evil, and are trying to influence my actions to fall in line.”

  Richard didn’t realize he had become so heated about this. He stuffed the whip into his inventory before shoving his fingers through his hair. He closed his eyes, and his mind shifted. A foggy memory of his past life returned, and he felt like he had had this conversation before. But instead of running his fingers through his hair like he did now, he distinctly remembered his fingertips grazing his bald head. Richard squeezed his eyes even tighter. He remembered the feel of his head so much that a glitch happened in reality where he felt it now.

  He opened his eyes, staring at the feet of the three leaders. He dropped his hand, still not looking at anyone.

  “I’m sorry. I don’t know what came over me.”

  “A ghost from the past,” Timick said. “We all get them.”

  “Instances where we glimpse who we were before,” Marcus said.

  “Usually triggered by something that we were once passionate about in our past life,” Dmitri said.

  Richard focused his energy on studying the line of weapons behind Timick’s desk.

  “My… head didn’t have any hair.” Richard didn’t know if cancer made sense to anyone else, but he needed to say that. Admit he knew something of his past, because this secret was crushing him from the inside out.

  The leaders all glanced at his hair, confused. Richard thought it wise to change the subject. “I still won’t promise I will choose the scavenger class, but… but I am more likely to choose that class than farmer.” Richard quickly focused on Dmitri. “No offense.”

  Dmitri smiled. “None taken. For the time being, Amber and Fang are on track to hit level ten next week. We might have to pull them from farming duties and get them doing other class things. Farming doesn’t give experience as fast as the other classes.” Dmitri said the last part to Marcus, who nodded.

  “Let me rest a bit, then I’d be happy to take another group to the beach after lunch for some quick scavenging,” Marcus said. “An hour tops.”

  A silence fell around them, and it took Richard way too long to realize they were all looking at him, expecting him to answer. Richard took a moment to glance at his level bar. He had just reached level eight, but he wouldn’t mind netting a few more experience points.

  “Is the other option farming?” Richard asked.

  “It is,” Dmitri said.

  “Yeah, I can go out again.”

  Marcus tried but failed to suppress a smile. Richard understood the reaction a little too much. After such a fuss he made about not wanting to be a scavenger, it certainly seemed like his choice was already made. Richard had a feeling Dmitri was already getting the rumor mill going about how Order knew Richard would choose the scavenger class.

  “Alright, Richard. Let’s go report to Lucy,” Marcus said.

  “Report… to Lucy?”

  “Everyone who enters the forest must report to her. It’s protocol. You never know what might have attached itself to you and burrowed under your skin,” Marcus said.

  It surprised Richard how easily he believed this. After his experience in the dark forest, he wouldn’t be surprised if something hitched a ride into his skin.

  The four of them left the building, making a slight detour for Richard to hold the orb. It glowed orange before returning to blue, and Richard chose the option to make a weapon. Dmitri and Timick headed toward the farmlands, while Marcus and Richard headed toward the healers. The door opened, and Lucy walked out, her eyes downcast. She raised them when she noticed Marcus and Richard.

  “I hadn’t seen you two, so I thought you might have forgotten,” Lucy said.

  “Nope. I would never forget to check in with you. We just needed to talk to Dmitri for a bit, but we’re here now.”

  “Talk about the weapon Richard got?” Lucy eyed Richard.

  “Damn, I hate how fast word gets around here,” Marcus said.

  “I’m not an idle gossiper, Marcus. It just so happens that I take care of everyone, so I know what happens in everyone’s lives.”

  “Dmitri’s not worried about it, so we shouldn’t, either,” Marcus said.

  “Right.” There was no emotion in Lucy’s voice. She pulled out three vials. “One for each of you. Please give one vial to that person so he doesn’t accidentally start a mythical plague here.”

  “Will do.” Marcus took two vials from her fingers and placed one in his inventory. Richard took the other one, the thin vial feeling cold. He watched what Marcus did, unstopping the cork and quickly tossing it back. Richard was not prepared for the instant heat that hit like a wave from his stomach to the rest of his body. He shuddered, feeling it spread everywhere before dissipating.

  “God, that’s strange.” Richard handed the empty vial back.

  “You get used to it,” Marcus said. “Also, can you check Richard’s legs out? He got attacked by a crawler.”

  “Yep, come on, Richard, I’ll—” Lucy pursed her lips in a fine line, a rage entering her eyes as she stared at something past Richard’s shoulders. Richard and Marcus both turned to see Elias walking toward them.

  “Came to see my favorite healer,” Elias said.

  “You can stop right there.” Ice laced every word Lucy spoke.

  Elias didn’t stop, so Marcus held out his arm to keep him from getting any closer to Lucy.

  “Don’t you usually have something for me?” Elias asked, staring right at Lucy.

  “I considered giving you a laxative. Make it the explosive-diarrhea kind. I’m now sad I didn’t.”

  Marcus held up the vial. “Take it and go, Elias. Now.”

  Elias took it, still staring at Lucy with an all too smug smile. Lucy shook with rage, and Richard realized just how much danger Elias was in.

  “Come on, Richard,” Lucy said.

  Richard didn’t hesitate. He was pretty sure Lucy would strangle Elias, and he also realized he wouldn’t stop her if she did. Instead, the two of them walked away as Marcus kept a firm grip on Elias’s shirt.