The rest of the trip went surprisingly well. All the most dangerous threats had been taken care of by Jacky's party beforehand already, and the last threat, the one that they couldn't bring themselves to deal with just yet, was taken out by Ashton.

  And so, the rest of the trip was leisurely enough. Sure, there were some smaller issues, with random monsters coming to attack the group while they were on the way, but there weren't even any major injuries. Some bruises, scratches, nothing serious.

  Luckily, they didn't have to bring these people to the police station. They didn't know what the situation there really was. From the bits and pieces picked up in the community, things there seemed to run in a way that Ashton didn't really like, so he wanted to avoid bringing folk there when possible.

  When they got back to Calibur and the doors open, the people immediately flooded in. Non-combatants and others that stayed behind here quickly came out and received everyone, helping them out. They quickly gave out towels and washcloths, and directed people inside to the restrooms, and even gave out some clean clothes.

  Whenever it rained, which was luckily relatively common, they collected rainwater any way they could so that people could clean themselves a bit. People came by Ashton sometime as well and asked him if he could filter the water with the undine's help so that they could use it as drinking water.

  Sam quickly went around and directed people to different parts of the building where they could stay and rest for a while. It looked like he really had taken on the role of a leader pretty well, though there were plenty of people here that still had some problems with him.

  "You guys built real walls around the building?" Clementine asked, surprised. She seemed to be looking around all over the place. It had changed quite a lot. They had rearranged everything inside the building so that it could be used to live in properly. Even so, things were getting a bit tight.

  "It was easy enough, with the help of the gnome you met earlier," Ashton said clearly, listening in on what was else was going on around him. Being blind was pretty annoying. Ashton preferred being aware of anything and everything happening nearby, and now the best he could do was knowing what was happening within two dozen metres or so. Which was pretty decent, all things considered, but there were too many things beyond that range that he had to worry about.

  Trying to train his auditory acuity wasn't a bad idea, all things considered. But the main thing that Ashton could currently hear was the sound of some annoying guys blabbering.

  They were the employees from the investment firm again, talking to Sam and complaining.

  "What's with all of these people? Aren't we already squeezed together enough?" one of them grunted out. His breathing was heavy and strained. "We're not sardines, you know?!"

  Sam let out a long sigh. He sounded annoyed. "Please, calm down. They're from that massive lizardman tribe that was hiding out in the costco. They're hurt and scared, and really just want to have a place where they can–" From the tone of Sam's voice, he had rehearsed what to tell these people.

  "And why does that mean they have to come here? Why didn't this Ashton guy just bring them somewhere else? They're enough people to settle down somewhere else safely. Why should they stay here and waste our supplies?" The man just kept on complaining, getting louder and louder.

  A bit annoyed, Ashton started walking toward them.

  "Please, keep your voice down. I know that this is a tense situation, but you-"

  Ashton interrupted his friend. "If you don't like it, you can leave."

  The man looked at Ashton, confused. "What? Why would we leave? They're the ones that–"

  "What's your class?"

  "Huh? What does that have to do with anything?"

  "I'll explain after you tell me. What's your class?"

  The man grunted slightly, clearing his throat. "I am still waiting for the right class."

  Ashton just stood there. He would be rolling his eyes if he could. "That means this entire time, you've just been sitting here, complaining, and doing nothing else?"

  "As I just said, I am simply waiting for the right class to be offered to me!"

  "You realise you have to actually do something to earn a class, right?" Ashton leaned onto his staff, and turned his head toward Sam. He wasn't saying anything. "While you're sitting here, doing nothing, everyone else is busy trying to make this a place where people can survive. I didn't see you when we were building the wall, nor did I see you giving out supplies, or volunteer to go grab them."

  With a nervous laugh, the man seemed to take a step back. "Well, that's simply because I'm not made for physical labour! I'm better at managing people and resources!"

  "Then get yourself a leader class, or the 'inventory keeper' class. Literally anything that can help this place, while others are out there sacrificing their bodies."

  The man ground his teeth, and grabbed Ashton by the collar. He was mad, incredibly mad. "And what did you sacrifice, huh? You little brat, just because other people seem to trust you doesn't mean that we all have to grovel at your feet! You're probably just out there, playing games and making silly costumes for yourself! I've watched you too, you know? You're the only one that's consistently clean, you wear fresh clothes and eat proper food! What kind of sacrifice is that supposed to be?"

  The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

  "I never asked you to, and I never would. I'm just saying that you need to actually pull your weight around here." Ashton reached up to the strip of fabric covering his eyes. He pulled it away and pushed up his eyelids.

  Startled, the man let go of Ashton and stepped away. He bumped into some other people standing behind him, probably folk from that same investment firm. "And trust me, I've sacrificed a fair bit."

  People around Ashton started to speak amongst themselves. He really didn't care, though. The only reason he didn't show everyone what happened earlier was because he didn't want them getting nervous or act weird around him during the trip here. But now that they were here, Ashton didn't care enough to hide it.

  "S-So what, do you... want us to rip out our own eyes?" the man asked, startled. From his voice, he seemed terrified as Ashton walked close toward him with that smile on his face.

  "No. Why would I? You're not making any sense. I'm just saying, actually do something to help. You want to manage people, then manage people. As you can see, we've got a whole bunch of new people here that still need their classes. Talk to them, figure out their strengths, and help guide them on their path to where they can help out," Ashton placed a hand onto the man's shoulder. "We're all scared, we're all trying to survive. So help us all survive. Listen, are you from Drakewood?"

  "... I was born here, yes."

  "Then you know this city well. How about you start talking with the team that's trying to gather more supplies and help them out? I'm sure you guys know some tricks about this place that we younger folk don't. And the 'inventory keeper' class wasn't a joke, either. They're absolutely vital for a place like this. Keeping track of how much we have and what we need is literally the absolute basic to allow us all to survive. I know it might seem demeaning right now, but... we're all making sacrifices."

  The people that were so loud just earlier were now terribly quiet. Ashton turned back around to Sam and smiled. "Give them some guidance. They might just need a little bit more of a push than others do."

  Sam laughed slightly, patting his friend's shoulder. "Seriously, when did you start being able to handle people this well?"

  "Haha, since I had to handle the emotional whims of a murderous demi-god for a century." Ashton replied and put the mask back over his face. People overheard what he said, but they obviously had no idea what he meant. Nor did Ashton really care if they did. It didn't change anything. As he walked away, back to Clementine and the others, he heard Sam start to talk to the folk from the investment firm about ways they could contribute.

  "How did they suddenly become so docile..?" Jacky asked, confused. "Those guys have been annoying since we came here."

  "Yeah, what did you show them?" Oliver wondered, leaning in to get a closer look. "What's under that mask?"

  Ashton laughed. "There's nothing under there."

  "Hm? Then what shocked them? You sure you don't have some kind of rash, or something sticking out your eye?" Oliver didn't seem convinced, and was still trying to guess. But Ashton shook his head.

  "No, as I said, there's nothing under there. I lost both my eyes."

  "Hm, I guess that would–" Though Oliver absent-mindedly responded, he quickly caught up to what Ashton just said. "Wait, what?"

  "Yeah. I was stabbed by the lizardmen's boss, and so the demon I have contracted healed me in exchange for my eyes."

  With an awkward laugh, Oliver crossed his arms. "No, that's not... are you serious?"

  "Mm-hm."

  "... Can I see?"

  "Oliver!" Nicole hit her friend's arm, upset. "That's rude!"

  Ashton smiled over at her. "It's fine, I don't mind. But I'll show you later. There are a few things I need to get done. Most importantly, I need to form a new contract, and will need a little bit of help with that."

  "Help? You need help?" Oliver asked giddily.

  "Don't get too excited, I just need you to help me pick out the right ingredients from my stuff. You know, because I can't see? Clem, you come, too."

  Surprised, Clementine let out a slight sound. "Hm? Me, why?"

  "Because I want you to see as much as you can about what I do."

  "... And why?"

  "You're a Runner now. Your whole deal is, well, running. And generally, you need destinations for that. Running with a purpose helps you level up faster than if you run for the sake of running."

  Clementine still didn't seem to properly catch up to what Ashton wanted from her. "So?"

  "Well, I wanted to ask you to help me with my summoning. You know, gathering ingredients, scouting out places, that sort of thing."

  "What, am I your gofer now?"

  Ashton smiled lightly and quickly turned around, heading toward the stairwell. Clementine nervously followed. "Wait, is that why you wanted me to choose the Runner class?"

  "No, no, surely not, right?" Ashton grinned, continuing to walk.

  "I swear, if that's why, then I–"

  "Clem, do you really think I would do something like that?"

  She let out a relieved sigh as Ashton walked into the Calibur offices. He could hear some of the game designers, and more importantly, a certain gambler.

  "No, I guess not..."

  "Oh, really? Huh, that's surprising." Ashton continued walking until he could sense what seemed to be Sabrina through the wisp. "Sabrina! Make a bet with me!"

  "Huh? Wait, now? We're working on something?" Sabrina said, shifting slightly to try and cover something up. "No peeking, it's a surprise."

  "Hah, don't worry, peeking isn't an option anymore. And don't worry, it won't take long. It's simple enough, I'll bet five coins that you can't..." he pulled out the pack of cigarettes out of his pocket and handed it to Sabrina, "... find the cigarette with the three blue dots in here."

  Sabrina took the pack with a raised brow, and quickly shook his hand. "I'll take that bet, and offer the same in return."

  Through the wisp, Ashton could see the magic chains wrap around his and Sabrina's hands, showing that the deal was actually done. She opened the pack, and hesitated.

  "Is this some kind of trick?" she asked.

  "Nope. Just do it. It's, uh... skill training, I don't know. Now gimme."

  Sabrina slowly pulled a cigarette out of the pack and gave it to Ashton. And right then, five coins were subtracted from Ashton's 'wallet' and were given to her.

  "Perfect, thank you," Ashton said and put the cigarette into his mouth. "Now keep working on your super secret project or whatever. Oh, and Clem, these guys are the designers that were trying to figure out class synergies, talk to them later if you want to figure out ideas for second classes you could go for."

  "Ah... uh, got it, nice to meet you guys," Clementine said awkwardly, before following Ashton as he walked off and lit his cigarette. "What was that about?"

  "Simple. You guys might be able to lie to me, but the system can't," Ashton said, happily taking a pull of this cigarette he had been craving for hours now. "And don't worry, I didn't tell you to pick 'Runner' for myself. But now that you have it, there's no reason not to ask you to help, right? I'll make it worth your while, too."

  "Okay, what does that mean?"

  "It means that I'll be getting you some proper magic items to help you run and stay safe while you're doing it."