Jaren led the group into a clearing not far into the forest and Ryan wondered what she had planned for them.

The first person Ryan noticed was a blonde cat girl watching them.

The blonde cat girl walked up to Jaren, and it looked like they conversed as she approached.

Without warning, the cat girl punched Jaren, sending her flying backwards from the clearing and through some bushes, followed by a thud and the sound of breaking branches.

Becky squeaked at the sudden violence and jumped back.

Mayu jumped too, but instead of stepping back, lifted the metal club she’d taken from Jaren’s shed.

Chie seemed more interested in the fact that the cat girl’s punch had sent her flying so far.

Anton looked like he was considering running and swore.

Aoi hid behind Mayu, “Scary! Girl attack other girl!”

Étién grabbed the hilt of the rapier at her waist and moved into a defensive stance.

The blonde cat girl grinned and turned around and waved at three cat girls further into the clearing.

Two cat girls were running around and not paying attention. One, with blue hair, wrestled a wild pig, while the other, with orange hair, chased and taunted another.

The last cat girl, one with red hair, looked between the two groups and looked torn between which one to go to.

Mayu lowered her club when it was apparent the blonde cat girl wasn’t a threat and turned to find Jaren. 

Jaren’s head poked through the bushes before Mayu made it far, “I’m okay! Marjolaine wanted to show off for you, and I thought it was a good idea.”

Mayu ran towards Jaren as she brushed dirt and leaves off of herself, “Jaren! You are okay?”

Jaren nodded and stepped out from the bushes, showing no sign of injury, “I told you I was straight up defense. Not even Marjolaine can hurt me and she’s a strength build.”

Anton looked from Marjolaine, then ran to where Jaren had landed, “Whoa, she hit ya that hard and ya didn’t get a scratch on ya.”

Jaren turned towards the other cat girls, “You think that’s cool, you should see ‘Jaren Ball.’”

All four cat girls turned to Jaren, all but the red head grinning.

The blue and orange haired cat girls killed the boars they played with and started running towards the group.

Ryan felt he might know what ‘Jaren Ball’ was after seeing a simple punch send her flying so far.

Becky seemed to realize it too, “Are they really…”

Marjolaine punted Jaren towards the other cat girls.

Anton whooped, “Yeah, I like Jaren Ball!”

The orange-haired cat girl ran even faster than Étién and jumped high into the air, meeting Jaren on the way and kicking her towards the blue-haired cat girl.

The blue-haired cat girl caught Jaren with her knee just before she hit the ground, and sent her flying again, about half as high as Marjolaine’s kick.

Aoi stopped hiding and flew up high to get a better view.

For the next minute, the three cat girls kept Jaren in the air, before she finally fell to the ground after a bad kick by Marjolaine.

Becky had gone from confused to impressed as she watched, “That… was interesting.”

Chie nodded, “It seemed like a good way to practice their abilities. If only the blonde one had more speed, it is possible they could have gone on longer.”

Mayu looked at Jaren, thoroughly impressed, and started walking towards her, “So many hits and no injuries!”

Anton ran to the cat girls, “You guys are awesome!”

Étién turned towards the Mk. II, “I have seen Adventurers play games like this, except with a ball and not another person.”

Ryan wondered just how tough Jaren was, “I bet. Seems like great practice.”

Ryan noticed Mayu raise her club as she approached Jaren.

Jaren turned to Mayu, a look of amusement appearing on her face.

Mayu hit Jaren on the head with her club.

Becky gasped, “Mayu!”

Aoi grabbed a stick and fluttered towards Jaren, “Okay to hit? Okay?”

Jaren turned towards the crew as she ignored Aoi, “Oh, I guess we should get to training.” She turned towards the other cat girls, “Right! Almost forgot to introduce my sisters.” She pointed to Marjolaine, who studied the crew as if they were prey, “Already told you this was Marjolaine, right? Uh… probably obvious, but she’s pure strength.” She pointed towards the orange-haired cat girl, who watched Aoi and looked like she wanted to play with her, “This is Millefeuile. She’s a pure speed build, like your Aos Si friend, Étién.” Next, she pointed towards the blue-haired cat girl, who watched with mild disinterest, “This is Madeleine. She’s a speed/strength build.” Finally, she turned to the red-haired cat girl, who smiled as the group turned to her. “This is Charlotte. She’s a light blue build.”

Charlotte waved, “Hi. Nice to meet you.”

Anton nodded, “So they can talk.”

Charlotte turned to Anton, “My sisters hate talking.” She scowled and turned to Madeleine.

Madeleine laughed.

Charlotte shook her head.

Jaren shrugged, “Sometimes I think it's better they don’t talk.” She turned towards Madeleine, Millefeuile, and Marjolaine, who ran off. She then turned back to the crew, “Alright, the Three Stooges are gonna go grab some gremlins for you to practice fighting.”

Anton snickered, “The Three Stooges?”

Chie nodded, “Seems fitting.”

Becky suddenly looked ill, “We… we’re really killing something?”

Jaren nodded, “Yeah. If we don’t kill the gremlins, someone else will or they’ll spread into the city.”

Anton watched the cat girls disappear into the forest, “Are these the gremlins that steal stuff?”

Jaren nodded again, “Yep. They also eat pets.”

Chie turned to the boars, “So they are pests much like those boars?”

Becky turned to the boars, “Why are boars pests?”

Jaren turned to Becky, “If they breed uncontrollably, they can start to destroy forests and fields. They also attack people.”

Mayu looked hungry as she looked at the pigs, “Tonkatsu…”

Millefeuille returned with a creature tied up in rope.

The creature was an ugly grey humanoid with sharp claws, large eyes, a spikey back, and sharp teeth. 

Millefeuille tossed the small creature onto the grass as it fought wildly to free its bonds and looked relieved to be rid of it.

Jaren turned to them, “Better…

Mayu had already walked over to the gremlin and raised her club, “Hiyah!”

The club easily smashed the gremlin’s skull, sending blood and brain matter onto the nearby grass.

Becky gasped and turned away.

Aoi shrieked and hid behind the Mk. II.

Anton looked impressed, “Whoa, Mayu…”

Chie seemed mildly disturbed at the violence, but didn’t look away.

Charlotte looked at the gremlin with pity.

Étién seemed indifferent, “Filthy creatures…”

Millefeuille laughed, undid the rope, and ran off.

Jaren leaned over, “If you watch closely you can see a fine black dust leaving monsters after you kill them. Don’t know what it is, but it’s what you’re really after if you want to level up.”

Anton ran to the gremlin and squinted, “Can’t see anything.”

Jaren stood up, “It already entered Mayu.”

Mayu’s eyes opened wide, and she started brushing herself off, “Is it bad!? Why go inside body?”

Jaren looked slightly embarrassed, “Ah… yeah, that does seem gross, random stuff going into your body…” She scratched the back of her head and laughed.

Ryan turned the Mk. II to Étién, “Jaren says black dust leaves the monster’s body and goes inside you. Do you know what it is?”

Étién nodded, “It is how one becomes stronger. Small machines move from the monster and into us, then our bodies use them.”

Ryan’s mind focused on the small machine part of her explanation. Did nanites move from one body to another?

Ryan turned towards the others, “If I’m understanding Étién right, killing monsters releases nanites, and the nanites then go inside us and improve our abilities.”

Mayu looked only slightly less concerned, “We are needing to scan.”

Jaren nodded, “Nanites sounds about right. Viennesoire scanned some once with her sight and described them to me.”

Chie seemed to realize something, “Could this mean the medicine this Guardian fellow prescribed to us be a solution of nanites as well?”

Jaren shrugged, “Viennesoire tried looking at that stuff with her eyes and nearly went blind for a day.”

Becky nodded, “Yeah, that creepy guy said something about not being able to scan the stuff.”

Ryan heard some rustling in the trees, and Madeleine jumped from a branch into the clearing, holding two unconscious gremlins.

Chie raised the plasma pistol she’d holstered onto her belt and fired as soon as Madeleine stepped away.

Jaren nodded in approval, “Those plasma pistols are nice!”

Anton put his hands on his hips and beamed with pride, “Yep!” He pulled the plasma cannon from where it was slung over his back and aimed it at the other gremlin, “But I like this bad boy more.”

Anton fired.

The plasma melted the gremlin, and only bone, bits of charred flesh, and a black orb remained.

Jaren looked winced, “Whoa! That was pretty cool, but I doubt there are any nanites left after that.”

Anton looked embarrassed, “Oh, yeah, that’s a problem.”

Madeleine looked at the plasma cannon greedily, but turned away and ran off.

Millefeulle returned with another gremlin and dropped it in front of Becky.

Jaren turned to Becky, “She says this one is yours.”

Becky looked at the gremlin in pity and revulsion, “Do I…”

Mayu walked to Becky, “I am thinking like it is big mouse. Need to kill it or will bring disease.”

Becky swallowed hard and grabbed the plasma pistol from her belt, “Okay. Giant mouse… giant mouse…”

Becky fired and missed.

Anton laughed, “How do ya miss point blank?”

Becky closed her eyes and fired again.

This time, it hit the gremlin, but not in a lethal spot, so it howled in pain.

Becky swore, “Sorry little guy.”

She fired again, killing it.

Anton shook his head, “I’m gonna go to the gremlin nest. Waitin’ sucks.”

Jaren thought for a moment, “Marjolaine is almost here with four, so we can go after that.”

Étién spoke in English, “Étién go?”

Jaren shrugged, “Sure. There’s like thirty gremlins, so plenty to go around.”

Ryan was pretty sure Étién wasn’t talking about going to the gremlin nest, as she was currently looking at the one Mayu had killed. Unless her English was better than he thought.

Étién walked to Anton and pointed to the plasma pistol at his waist, “Please give?”

Anton looked at the plasma pistol, “Oh, sure!”

Anton handed her the plasma pistol.

Jaren watched with approval, “Smart choice, swords are terrible for pure speed builds.”

Ryan moved the Mk. II closer to Jaren, “What do you know about Étién?”

Jaren thought for a moment, “Just what I’ve heard from rumors. She’s like me and Viennesoire. We get no boosts to the stats we aren’t specced for, so we’re pretty much normal in everything else. Marjolaine is a pure red, but she still gets boosts in speed and defense.” She thought some more, “Think of ten percent of your upgrades going to what you’re not specced for, so ten to MP, ten to speed, etc… so Marjolaine and Millefeuille would be sixty percent strength or speed, with the remaining forty percent to the other stats. A mixed stat person would be thirty-five to the two main stats each, with thirty going to the rest.” She pointed to herself, then to Étién, “Those like us have ninety percent to our main stat, with the last going to MP.”

Ryan felt he understood, “Makes sense. Is that why Marjolaine couldn’t hurt you even though she is full strength?”

Jaren nodded, “Yup!”

Chie tapped her chin, “Are there any that have a hundred percent in one stat?”

Jaren shrugged, “If there are, they couldn’t do anything without MP.”

Chie nodded, “Indeed? What is this MP?”

Jaren shrugged, “Magic points. It’s not really magic, but it works, so that’s what I use.”

Chie nodded again, “So perhaps more of a battery?”

Jaren nodded her head from side to side, “More like a generator/battery combo? Never heard of anyone finding out how they work, since you can’t scan inside them and if you break one open, it looks the same as breaking a crystal.”

Chie walked to the still smoldering remains of the goblin shot by Anton and picked up the black orb, “Like this?”

Jaren shrugged, “Yep! That’s it.”

Anton looked it over, “We have a couple of those from the shrews and dead fairies. They absorb every bit of light that hits ‘em.”

Chie nodded, “As well as neutrinos and other energetic particles, which might be the reason they cannot be scanned.”

Marjolaine appeared with four gremlins, and tossed them halfway across the clearing before turning back into the forest.

Étién jogged towards them and shot as she made her way over.

The shot hit, killing a gremlin.

Anton grinned, then took off running, “Nice shot!”

Chie checked her plasma pistol and followed.

Jaren glanced at Charlotte, then turned to the Mk. II, “Charlotte’s going to go on ahead to the gremlin’s nest if anyone wants to go with her.”

Mayu nodded once, “I will go.”

Becky groaned, “I might as well go too.”

Ryan was getting bored, “I’m gonna send the Mk. II to the half world’s airlock while you guys train. See if the dragons come again.”

Becky turned to Jaren, “I’ve been thinking, does this world have a name?”

Jaren nodded, “Mljos Tersa. I think it means…”

Ryan recognised the words, “False Earth.”

Jaren nodded, “Yeah. Good name for a place ripping off Earth mythology.”

Becky shrugged, “Better than what Anton would’ve named it.”

Mayu nodded in agreement.

Ryan was curious what Anton would name this world. He’d have to ask later.

Jaren noticed the group killing the gremlins had finished, “Well, should we go?”

Ryan brought the Mk. I to follow the group, and moved the Mk. II to Mljos Tersa’s airlock.

He’d been up here several times during the last few days, but the dragons always came before he could figure out how to open it.

A dragon was already there waiting, hanging from the airlock door like a bat. It immediately turned to the Mk. II, dropped from the door, and charged.

Ryan immediately warped the drone back to Luna.

The dragons were waiting for him now? Why did they want the drones so badly?”

Ryan was going to complain to the others when he noticed a dwarf in Luna’s field setting up a tent.

He soon noticed this wasn’t the only dwarf, and others were unloading supplies. 

He spotted the red headed dwarf and flew the Mk. II to him, “Hey, what’s up?”

The dwarf turned to the Mk. II, “Fixin’ up yer hull.”

Ryan recalled Anton making a deal yesterday, “Oh, already?”

Redhead waved at Luna in disgust, “My ancestors’ blood boils just knowin’ this thing’s sittin’ out here uglyin’ the place up.”

Ryan didn’t feel the least bit offended, “Yeah, but we haven’t paid you.”

Redhead grinned, “Yer friend didn’t read tha contract. Says if he can’t pay up, we get yer ship.”

Mikan groaned, causing a look from Saki.

Ryan would’ve felt more irritated, but, “How much gold?”

The dwarf thought, “Well, it’s a big ship, and the metals needed for the alloy aren’t cheap. Plus time… minus the cut ya get for providin’ a better alloy than what we had…”

Ryan remembered the dwarves messing with Luna’s hull, “You stole our hull tech!?”

The dwarf held up his hand, “Yeah, got a good look at it. Yer hull’s alloy is stronger an’ more heat resistant than anything we got. If it weren’t for the hard ta come by metals and how much ya need, we woulda done this job for free.”

Ryan felt letting the dwarves find out Luna’s hull composition wasn’t a big deal, “Alright. We have all the metals for the hull if that’ll cut the cost down.”

The dwarf waived his hand dismissively, “Already got most of it forged, so unless ya go a hundred an fifty gold rings, yer friend better deliver.”

Ryan started printing gold rings, “Yeah. I’ll bring you the money.”

The dwarf squinted in disbelief, “I thought you was broke.”

Ryan wasn’t sure how much he should tell the dwarf, “Oh… uh… we… that’s a secret.”

The dwarf shook his head, “Eh, I don’t care as long as ya get me my money.”

“We didn’t steal it, by the way.”

The dwarf walked away and started shouting orders.

Ryan focused back on the crew, “Anton! Your dwarf friend came to Luna.”

Anton stopped, “Oh, uh… tell ‘em I’ll get the plans to him tonight.”

Ryan moved to the dwarf again, “Anton said he’d get the plans for you tonight. He took that medicine from the Guardian last night and…”

The dwarf understood, “Ah yeah. That blasted medicine. Gives ya a good kick in the pants and knocks ya out fer a good while.”

Jaren frowned, “Looks like practice is over for the day.”

Becky looked relieved, “Oh no…”

Anton scowled, “What!? Why?” 

Jaren turned and ran, “Bye! They’re friendly!”

Chie raised an eyebrow, “Interesting.”

An armor clad figure burst through a bush, and seconds later, a second landed on a large branch in a nearby tree.

The one on the ground looked muscular, despite his heavy armor concealing his features, and stood with confidence. The one in the tree looked more feminine, but still well built.

Becky and Mayu jumped, and Aoi hid behind Mayu.

Anton pointed to the one on the ground, “Hey! Did you steal our kills?”

The man took off his helmet. He had light brown eyes, short brown hair, and a wide jaw with other features one would expect to find on a giga chad. He also looked tall, perhaps six foot.

The man grinned, “This isn’t a place for greenhorns like you.”

The woman took off her helmet. She had brown, chin length hair, hazel eyes, and features like the man that made Ryan think she was his sister. She looked fairly tall.

Ryan thought she was mildly attractive, but wasn’t really his type.

He glanced at Étién, and Mikan blushed.

The woman jumped from the tree, “You’re just trying to impress the white-haired one.”

The man nodded, “Yeah. She’s a looker, that one.”

The woman shook her head, “I don’t see what you see in those cats.”

The man shrugged, “The sisters are crazy, but the white one…”

Becky cleared her throat, “Um… who are you?”

The man rolled his eyes, “Mathew.”

The woman smacked Mathew on the back, “Ignore my brother, he’s an idiot.” She pointed to herself, “Name’s River. River Allen.”

Mathew ignored River’s smack, “Sister’s a know-it-all, so I’d ignore her if you don’t want a headache.”

Everyone except Anton introduced themselves.

Anton looked irritated, “Why’d ya kill the gremlins? We were usin’ ‘em to level up.”

Mathew’s lip curled as he turned to Anton, “What’s up with you? Your forehead looks like a shriveled ball sack.”

Becky snickered.

Anton reflexively reached to his forehead, “I’m a Klingon!”

River didn’t look interested in the banter, “Why did we kill them? We’ve been watching you since we finished off that Cu-sith you shot with your ship, and thought we’d rescue you from the cats.”

Ryan studied the armor. A lot of Adventurers wore similar armor, so he hadn’t thought much about it, but it could be the two that had finished off that giant shaggy green dog that almost attacked Mayu.

Chie tapped her chin, “What need would you have in rescuing us from Jaren and her sisters?”

River leaned against a tree, “They’re the strongest and they know it. Use their power to cause all sorts of trouble.”

Mathew nodded in respect, “Tried fighting them once. First time I died.”

River nodded, “And they gang up on anyone that messes with them.”

This baffled Ryan, “They seem nice enough to me.”

River nodded, “Jaren keeps them in control enough so the guard doesn’t come after them.”

Becky crossed her arms, “They did steal one of our drones.”

Mathew didn’t seem surprised, “Next time they steal something, check that shed of theirs.”

River shook her head, “But be quick about it. If they see you, they’ll chase you down until they take it back.”

Ryan wondered if he had totally misread Jaren, “We just told Jaren and she gave it back.”

Mathew laughed, “Tried that when I revived. Said if I didn’t want to lose my stuff, I shouldn’t have attacked them.” He nodded, “She was right.”

Chie’s face had turned dark, “Tell me. You lose your abilities when you die, correct?”

Mathew nodded, “Yeah, it sucks, especially when you lose your stuff too.”

River nodded, “I wouldn’t know. I’m not an idiot that attacks things too strong for me to kill.”

Mathew shrugged, “Hey, I almost killed that wyvern by myself!”

River turned to Chie, “That reminds me. Several people have gone missing out here. Have you seen anyone?”

Ryan recalled the trails of blood he’d found and told her what he’d seen.

River approached the Mk. II, “If you see anything, come get us.”

Mathew put his hand on a sword at his waist, “Yeah, there’s a bounty too, and we can split it.”

Ryan thought it wasn’t a bad idea, “Okay. Where do you live?”

River looked in the city's direction, “Look for an inn in the human district called, ‘The Laughable Weasel.’”

Mathew smiled, “They named it after River.”

River ignored him, “There’s a pretty good tavern there. Come around sundown if you want to chat some more. That’s when we usually get back.”

Mathew looked at Chie and Becky, “Yeah, I’ll never pass up a drink with beautiful women.”

Chie looked displeased, “Kill me.”

River laughed, “This one’s smart.”

Mayu looked a little offended, “I can come too?”

Mathew gave Mayu a look that said he couldn’t believe what he was hearing, “Little kids shouldn’t be drinkin’.”

Mayu scowled, “I am twenty-nine years old! I can drink!”

Mathew laughed, “Sure you are, kid.”

Ryan thought it was kind of funny, “That’s my fault. I… kinda designed her that way, but she really is twenty-nine.”

River raised an eyebrow, “Designed?”

Ryan recalled how he’d designed everyone without knowing they’d become real people, “Yeah, I designed their bodies using the resurrection pods.”

River looked surprised, “How did you do that?”

“Uh, I just thought about it, and the machine did it.”

River looked at the crew members, “So all of you look different from before you died?”

Mathew scoffed and looked at Anton, “That explains ugly here.”

Becky nodded and looked at Anton, “Yep!” She turned to Chie, “Chie used to be a man, too.”

Mathew’s head jerked toward Chie and he looked sick, “You’re really a dude?”

Chie nodded, “That is why I want you to kill me. The Guardian said being in such an incompatible body is damaging my soul, so I thought it prudent to revive in a body identical to my original before endeavoring to strengthen myself. Your attempt at flirting with me only strengthened my resolve.”

Mathew grinned and reached for his sword, “I can do that for you. Don’t wanna bang a chick with a man’s soul in her body. It’d be like sword fighting with a ghost.”

Mayu stepped between Chie and Mathew, “This is not smart.” She turned to Chie, “Are you sure?”

Ryan felt weird. Normally, one would stop their friends from killing themselves, but between being able to revive, losing body upgraded, and damage to her… his soul, he felt it might be the best choice.

Chie nodded, “Yes. Aside from my previous points, I have never felt comfortable being a woman.”

Becky lowered her eyes, “Perhaps…”

It surprised Ryan that Becky was considering it too, although the Guardian had said her soul was getting damaged too, so maybe that was bothering her.

Mathew turned to Becky, “I can kill you too.”

Mayu’s body relaxed as she realized the circumstances, “Aya…”

Ryan thought of the image of Aya that Mayu had him make the first night she had been on Luna. If Mayu could return to her daughter looking like her true self, that would be the best. 

Mathew turned to Anton, “You need it the most, bud.”

He really did. 

Anton took a step back, “Uh… maybe later. I’ve got stuff to do.”

Mathew looked disappointed, then turned back to Chie, “Should we do this now?”

Chie turned to Becky and Mayu before turning back to Mathew, “Perhaps we should go somewhere more secluded.”

Becky’s face went white, “On second thought…”

Mayu followed Chie and Mathew away from the group.

River looked uncomfortable, “So… how about some lunch?”

Étién was about to ask Ryan a question when he interrupted her, “We should go. I’ll fill you in on the way back to Luna.”

Étién nodded, then glanced over her shoulder, “Okay.”

Ryan talked louder than usual to hide the noises coming from behind them, and when the resurrection pods came to life, he knew the grisly task had finished.