James cleared the nearby warehouses and factories until noon rolled around. Between him and his puppet, they made short work of many of the blocks. He had gained some new Soul Strength, but not nearly enough to make much progress to the next level.

Name: James Matson

Soul Strength: 8.0789

Soul Skills

Soul Siphon

Soul Strike

Soul Blade

Soul Vault

Soul Senses

Soul Puppet

Soul Crafting: Level 7/10

Soul Water: Level 5/10

Skills

Regeneration: Level 10/10

Antihistamine: Level 3/10

Pain Resistance: Level 10/10

Heat Resistance: Level 10/10

Poison Resistance: Level 5/10

Rot Resistance: Level 10/10

Corruption Resistance: Level 6/10

Corrosion Resistance: Level 8/10

Acid Resistance: Level 3/10

Piercing Resistance: Level 6/10

Slashing Resistance: Level 3/10

Concussive Resistance: Level 3/10

Soul Resistance: Level 2/10

Improvised Weapons: Level 3/10

Crude Tanning: Level 6/10

Crude Leatherwork: Level 6/10

Crude Armor Crafting: Level 6/10

Tanning: Level 1/10

Enchanting: Level 1/10

Despite having been enchanting for a while, he had yet to gain another level in it. It felt like he was blocked, and he was beginning to wonder if it leveled a different way. Everything else seemed to go up by simply using the skill.

With a frustrated sigh, he was about to return to the apartment when he caught sight of a snow white wolf padding towards him. Dismissing his Soul Puppet, he felt his soul reclaim the energy as he crossed his arms.

"Shouldn't you be leveling up somewhere?" he asked.

Luna transformed back into her human form. "I've had a strange day."

Waving for her to join him, he started walking back to the apartment. "Strange how?"

Falling next to him, she said, "first, I found Jamie, and she seemed distant from her own thoughts and body. I sent her home. Then, I found Mender, and his attack actually hurt me. He apologized, but even he seemed distracted. To make matters worse, I found Amber and Everest overrun by monsters. They were barely keeping up and I had to step in and help them retreat."

James felt his frown grow. "Do you have any thoughts on this?"

Running a hand through her hair, she blew out a slow breath. "I don't know. Mender was going to check in on Jamie, but I don't think he'll be able to help. I'm worried about the others that aren't that strong too."

"Meaning you, me, and Amber likely won't be affected by whatever is happening?" he questioned.

"For now." Luna blew out another slow breath. "What if something is happening? Maybe the monsters are aggressive because they are being eaten and can't do anything about it?"

James stopped walking and turned to her. "What does that mean for us? Will we turn into monsters as well?"

"I don't think you can," she admitted. "And I don't think it affects everyone. The kittens are very weak, and yet they are fine. The dragons are still hearty. I don't understand this, James."

Rubbing his eyes, he thought over the problem and information. They were largely making guesses, and they honestly didn't know enough to form any sort of reasonable answer. Bo was missing, and he had the most experience out of them. James didn't feel different in any way, but did the others?

"How are you feeling?" he asked.

"Horny," she admitted. "I don't know what it is, but I want to drag you away."

Chuckling, he stepped back from her. "At least that hasn't changed."

"Nope!" she chirped. "But seriously, what's going on, James?"

"I don't know." Starting toward the apartments again, he gestured to the area around them. "The monsters were aggressive today, but they always have been toward me. Even though they know they are vastly outclassed, they still charge into my grasp, just to die."

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"That's not normal," Luna argued. "Something is clearly not right."

"You're right," he agreed. "I'll head out in the morning to the center of the city. I might not have a choice anymore if our people are being affected."

Taking his hand, she squeezed him gently. "I'll come with you. I think you heading toward the center of the city is making it angry."

"That's possible." He found that she might be right, and that didn't make him feel good. If entering the center of the city was going to cause some sort of problem for his people, he needed to make sure he didn't linger and killed the monster.

Picking up their pace, they fell into companiable silence. Both of them had their own worries as they returned to the apartments. The first thing he wanted to do was check on Jamie.

It was worrying that she was out of sorts and he wanted to make sure she was okay. Thankfully, when he found her, she was sitting up in bed with her brother checking her pulse.

"You seem to have come around," Mender announced.

Rubbing her eyes, Jamie yawned. "Hey, James…" Waving, she laid back down.

Smiling, he stepped into the room and moved to her side. "I heard you had a hard day. Is everything better?"

"I believe so," she said softly. Scrunching her brows together, she added, "I don't really remember this morning. It's odd. One moment I was hunting monsters, and then the next Luna was sending me back here. I don't even remember laying down."

Resting his hand on her head, he turned to Mender. "Fever or anything?"

"No," he announced. "Her vitals are all steady, although when I first got here, she didn't respond to me talking to her. It was just a little bit ago that she came around."

When I left the industrial district, James thought to himself.

Rubbing his chin, James kept the thought to himself for the time being. Instead, he asked, "how are the others?"

"Well," Mender started. "Amber and Everest are exhausted and are laying down. I didn't even know it was possible for Amber to run out of energy. I don't even know if she'll flirt with you."

Pressing his lips into thin lines, James grew concerned. "I should talk with her."

"You do that." Getting up, Mender stepped away from the bed. "I haven't seen the others to know how they are. With everyone spreading out, they might not be back until late."

Nodding, James sat next to Jamie. "I'll keep my senses up for them. I'm worried that everyone is going to start being affected."

"I don't like this," Jamie whispered.

Turning to her, he touched her forehead again. "It'll be fine, Jamie. We'll be out of the city soon."

"What about all of the monsters?" Mender questioned.

James shook his head. "I don't care anymore. I know what I said before, but things are starting to escalate."

"Taking anyone with you?" he asked.

"No." James stood and stepped away from Jamie. "I'll need you all to defend the dragons if it comes down to it. I honestly don't know what's going to happen next."

Rubbing his head, Mender walked James to the door. "I'll check on everyone as they come back. If you could make sure Amber is resting, I'd be grateful."

"I will." Clapping the man on the shoulder, James left the apartment. Amber was going to be in her room most likely. Which turned out to not be true.

When he found her, she was laying in his bed, naked, and under the blanket.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

Groggily opening her eyes, she stared at him sleepily. "Sleeping…" she murmured.

"In my bed?" Walking over to her, he threw her a pair of pants and shirt. The clothes clung to her face for a moment before falling off.

"Your bed?" she questioned. "Is that why it's so comfortable?" Closing her eyes, she started to drift off again.

Sighing, he walked over to her and rested his hand on her head. "You don't have a fever at least."

"I like when you touch me," she muttered before softly snoring.

Closing his eyes for a moment, he suppressed his annoyance. Leaving the cat where she was, he went into the living room and found the kittens asleep in a pile. Everest was among them, taking up most of the couch.

"Why is everyone so sleepy?" he wondered out loud.

Luna arrived a moment later. "You look annoyed."

Using his thumb, he gestured over his shoulder at their room. "We have a visitor."

Walking past him, she stepped into their room a sighed. "Why is she naked?"

"Don't know," he answered. "But Jamie is asleep again too. Mender is the only one that seems normal today."

"What about the others?" Coming back to his side, she grabbed his hand with worry.

"We better go find them." Tugging on her gently, he started leading her out of the apartment. "I don't like the thought of them being out there on their own."

"I don't either…"

***

It didn't take long to find the Elson brothers. All three of them were wandering the streets of a suburb, their eyes vacant as they dragged their clubs behind them. Whatever affected Jamie had gotten to them too.

Waking them up proved difficult, but after ten minutes of yelling and slapping, they came to. Sent on their way, the returned to the apartment, or at least James hoped they did.

Finding Linda was like finding a needle in a haystack. They scoured for miles on either side of their apartment, but it wasn't until they went to the other side of the city that they found her. Having avoided the middle of the city, it took far longer to hunt her down.

She was actually coherent and was wielding a new Soul Weapon. A crossbow of all things, which made sense. She could also form it into rifles, or even a bow if needed. It was whatever she preferred. Lost to the curse of bloodlust, she kept seeking out more opponents just to kill something. There was no anger, or annoying emotions. She wasn't starved, or really that affected. But she simply had to keep killing. Which was no different than how she was acting before.

James filled her in on what was happening with the others, and she promptly joined them in hurrying back to the apartment. It wasn't until she shut down her weapon that she started to feel off. Her head grew fuzzy as she walked with them, and she started to slur her words.

Picking her up, James carried her back to the apartment and laid her down with the others. It was quickly becoming apparent that the city didn't appreciate them killing its food source.

"Where do we go from here?" Luna asked as they stood on the roof.

Mender shook his head. "I don't know. They are all asleep, and I don't think they are waking up anytime soon. I'll need to stay here tomorrow to keep them safe."

"Dammit!" James cursed. "Luna, I'll need you to help the dragons."

Nodding, she took his hand. "That's fine, Honey. Why would the city suddenly attack us like this? We've been here for days."

James didn't have an answer, but he had a guess. "I think I set it off. I've been getting closer and closer to the center. It likely took note of who I was hanging around."

His two companions thought it over but it was Mender that spoke up first. "That is a plausible reason, but it doesn't explain where Bo went. What if he triggered this?"

Luna tutted. "It's possible. We just scoured the outside edges of the city and didn't find him. It's getting dark soon too, so we can't keep looking. If I had to guess, he's in the center."

James groaned. "Don't tell me that…"

Laughing, Luna shrugged. "Sorry, James, but you know it's likely true. He might have painted a target on us."

Turning to watch the setting sun, James calmed his thoughts. He focused on one thing. "I have to reach the center of the city tomorrow."

"Will you be able to?" Mender asked.

"Yeah," he said confidently. "Nothing here has posed a real threat to me so far. Even the giant Forsaken are manageable. What I'm worried about is what I'll find at the heart of the city."

"Apart from Bo?" Luna joked.

Narrowing his eyes at her, he said, "yes. Apart from Bo. You guys might see my fight or at least feel it. But what will happen to the monsters in this city? Will they be affected?"

Luna and Mender whistled softly.

"Yeah, we'll be ready," Luna stated. "To be honest, I think we move everyone to the grocery store first thing in the morning. Mender and I can work together to secure them."

Mender nodded in agreement. "Mother might even be able to help us if we are all together. This is making me nervous."

James turned to the healer. "Why aren't you affected?"

"Why aren't you?" he countered.

"My soul is too strong. And you?"

Mender shrugged. "Beats me. I'm just glad I'm not."

Luna shrugged as well. "Does it matter? We just need to get this done."

The sun finished setting as they watched. Mender was the first to head in, wanting to check in on his sister and everyone else. That left Luna and James to check in on Amber and Everest.

When they returned to the cat, they found her rolling in the bed and Luna claimed she was rubbing James's scent onto herself. Groaning, he picked up the cat and returned her to her room. He felt a headache growing behind his eyes. One that he knew wouldn't go away before this was handled. He also realized that it was becoming increasingly likely that Amber was going to steal his clothes. She had a problem they needed to discuss.

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