Major Geoffries and his men were tense as they faced Chad's group. They eyed Nick with suspicion as the kid continued to stare forward in shock.

Chad patted him on the shoulder. "This is Nick! He's a gardener. Nick, this is Major Geoffries and his soldiers."

The elf said nothing.

"A gardener…?" The Major asked with a frown. "He gave you his name?"

"Yeah! He seems pretty friendly," Chad shrugged. "We were talking before the locusts came and interrupted us."

"As much as I hate to say it, I think Chad's right," Squawers offered. "He hasn't been really threatening. At all."

"Yeah. He hasn't tried to choke us out with vines or anything."

"And he was kinda shit at dealing with those bugs, too."

"He wasn't very good at swinging his stick at them, either."

"I think it was a hoe."

"Was it? I--"

Nick spoke up suddenly. "Please, do me a favor."

Chad turned to look. Nick met his gaze, eyes hollow. "Kill me. Please. You are right. I am a failure."

"Woah, woah, woah," Chad made a soothing motion with his hands. "That's not what we meant at all! Let's talk about this--"

"What is there to talk about? I've failed my clan, my family, and even myself! I just wanted to grow a single flower before I died, and look! I couldn't even do that!" Nick's reedy voice gradually progressed from a whisper to a hysterical shout. "There is no reason for me to live! My existence does nothing but prolong my own suffering! At least let my strength serve someone who isn't an insane warmonger!"

The last words echoed, bouncing between the trees. Somewhere in the distance, a bird took flight at the disturbance.

Damn. Guess he really did care about that flower. But why?

"...You said you can't grow another one?" Chad asked gently. "Why not?"

"Because I'll be dead." Nick's hands trembled. "As soon as the portal shifts again, I will be fair game for the next wave of raiders. They will slaughter me for my weakness and take my meager strength for themselves."

"That sounds pleasant," Squawkers muttered.

"The next wave?" Geoffries interrupted. "When will that happen?"

"The portal shifts every five days. From now until the end of the cycle." Nick's gaze fell to the ground. "They will continue to come. They will overrun this planet and take what resources they can find. And then... they will return."

"How many waves are there?"

Nick slumped despondently. "What does it matter? None of us will live to see the final wave. Not even you. All life with any bit of strength will be scoured from its face before that."

Chad simply blinked. Damn. This is some real end-of-days shit, here.

"Lighten up, Nick." Chad patted his back -- with his left arm. "Even if that is the case, you can probably hide away somewhere safe, right? There's a lot of space around here!"

"Hide? Where else could I hide?" He let out a bitter laugh. "See how well my hiding served me here. No matter how far I run, even if I were to start anew, they would find me. And sooner rather than later. They are experienced hunters."

Well that sounds ominous.

"...Can you give us a minute?" Squawkers asked the alien. "Just to talk."

"I shall await the sweet release of a merciful death at your hands."

"Ok, pal." Squawkers nodded. "You do that. Just... don't get too excited."

The bird nodded to Chad and Geoffries in turn, then flew a bit further away. Curious, they both followed, leaving the other soldiers to watch over the disheveled gardener.

"What's this about?" Major Geoffries asked.

Squawkers cleared his throat. "I think we should take him back with us."

"Agreed." The Major nodded.

Chad did a double take. "Wait, what? Really?"

"Of course." Geoffries confirmed. "Why wouldn't we?"

"I dunno, I thought you'd say it's too risky or something?"

"Too risky? At worst he's a blatant spy with ulterior motives and will stab us in the back at the first chance. At best, he's a low-level gardener with no combat abilities and unknown allegiances. Either way, I don't particularly care." The Major jerked his head toward the elf. "That 'Nick' fellow is the first invader I've heard of who is even willing to talk. Do you know how valuable that is?"

Squawkers nodded. "Right. Even if he's not telling the truth, we can still learn a lot from talking to him. But if the kid is lying, he's really good at it. He's gotta be a damn method actor or something. I don't think I could keep that kind of dedication up with a faceful of locusts."

"That's my point," Geoffries said. "We can verify whether his information about the portals is correct. The fact that he isn't attacking us outright is also completely new. We need to protect this kid at all costs. Even if he tries to backstab us later, we can handle him as a prisoner."

"Technically, Squawkers could identify him." Chad pointed out. "Then we could find out if he's got some kind of crazy assassin skill. Right?"

The bird bobbed his head. "Right! Once my skill's off cooldown, at least."

The Major stroked his chin. "Good point. Has he shared any other information with you?"

"Yeah!" Chad offered. "He told us he's a whopping 82 days old!"

"That's impossible." Geoffries shook his head. "That makes no sense."

 "That's what you have a problem with? His age? Not any of the other completely unbelievable stuff going on?"

"Fine. Fair point."

"So?" Squawkers asked. "Are we adopting our stray alien friend?"

Geoffries crossed his arms. "Yes. For the sake of information gathering, we will take him along with us, pending a full Identify and constant surveillance. Depending on that goes, we will bring him back to the base as a prisoner. If he tries to screw us over, we'll see if we can neutralize him."

"Fine with me!" Squawkers preened.

"Sounds good to me, too." Chad agreed easily. He felt a bit of tension go out of his shoulders at the decision. He hadn't liked the idea of leaving Nick to die, much less killing the kid. Maybe the idea of a safe place to stay would cure his low spirits.

Even if it is as a prisoner. I'm sure everyone will warm up to him, though. Assuming he IS friendly.

He was fairly certain that Nick was a safe bet, though. He didn't seem like a bad person. Despite the fact that the kid was an invading alien, Chad hadn't seen anything to suggest that he was aggressive or even plotting. Besides, who wouldn't like a kid trying to plant flowers during the apocalypse?

"And you two," Geoffries fixed them both with a suddenly icy glare. "I will not have you wandering off again. You will stay near us at all times."

"We didn't wander off!" Squawkers protested. "We just--"

"Walked into the forest without telling anyone where you went?" The man seemed to tower over them both. "In an area where you knew there were high level enemies about?"

Chad chimed in to defend themselves. "We can take care of--"

"All it takes is one slip, one fumble, and you're dead." Major Geoffries cut him off. "You may very well be the last hope for humanity. We cannot afford for you to take risks like this. You are an asset, so start acting like it."

Without another word, the man walked away to rejoin his soldiers leaving them alone. Squawkers and Chad exchanged glances. "That felt kinda uncalled for."

"Well..." Squawkers sighed. "He does have a point. Sort of. Perhaps we have been taking too many risks, especially considering the state you're in."

"C'mon, Squawk." Chad nudged him. "How are we supposed to get anything done without some risks? Besides, if we hadn't taken a risk, maybe we wouldn't have met Nick!"

The bird sighed. "Right... but we could have met him together."

"Really? You think rolling up as a small army would have worked?" He asked doubtfully.

"...Maybe not. I don't know. Look, I'm just saying I don't want you to get hurt, either. Annie would kill me."

"Don't worry about that, buddy." He gave the parrot a thumbs up. "Just keep watching my back. Besides, we're here to get me stronger, anyway. Then you'll have to worry even less!"

***

Over the next few hours, the group proceeded to hunt down whatever enemies they could find. Given Chad's high level, they expected to spend a lot of time and effort getting him up to nineteen. Fortunately, Chad's earlier display had caught the attention of everything in the vicinity.

Between Squawkers's scouting, the soldiers' teamwork, and Chad's absurd strength, they managed to mow through plenty of aggressive local wildlife. None of it was as high-level as the lake monster they'd spotted, but still, the sheer volume made up for it.

The whole while, Nick trudged along behind them with a retinue of guards. He hadn't exactly perked up at the suggestion that he accompany their group. Rather, he seemed confused.

"Why would you seek me as a recruit?" He asked. "I am far beneath your level. I am no fighter. Whatever trial you shall put before me, I am sure to fail it."

"We're not gonna put you on trial," Squawkers explained. "We just want to ask questions about your people and stuff. You know, to see what we're up against."

"Ah." Nick nodded sagely. "I understand. Once I answer your questions, will you release me?"

"I don't know if we can release you..." Major Geoffries said. "You'd be a liability."

"I mean the release of death."

"What the-- for the last time, we're not gonna kill you!" Chad groaned. "Why do you keep saying that?!"

"I will either die here or at the hands of my people. Considering your attempts to save my garden, I would prefer to gift my strength to you."

Chad rubbed his face tiredly. "I don't want your damn strength. If you care about that garden so much, thank me by making a new one when we get home."

Despite Nick's evident confusion, he continued to follow them as they moved. The soldiers kept a close eye on the kid, though he had yet to try anything at all. Still, it was clear that no one trusted him entirely.

Between the local wildlife and the locusts they'd fought earlier, Chad soon found himself facing another welcome notification.

 

You have reached Level 19!

Rewards:

+3 Stat points

+1 Skill

You have reached a level threshold (Level 20). To progress further, you must meet the following conditions:

Defeat an enemy at or above your level (Level 19).

All experience from this point onward will be banked until the threshold condition is met.

 

He'd made it to level nineteen. And now, it was time to break through that next threshold.

Nessie, here we come.