Lex stepped out in front of the store and slammed the car door behind him.
The building sat in an awkward location, set back from the road with one side disappearing into a dark alley. If they ever intended to sell on Earth, they would need to make the place noticeable.
Even the sign failed to stand out. Otherworld Retail Department had been carved into a length of wood above the entrance, but time had faded the lettering into the grain.
I'll need to get Herman to fix that.
Speaking of Herman, the man himself walked out of the store before Lex could consider the problem any further.
He had... tied his hair back?
He was also wearing the maintenance uniform the store had given him yesterday: a high-visibility jacket marked with O.R.D., cargo trousers and a tool belt around his waist.
Lex stared at him.
"Who are you?"
"Shut up. You're cutting it close, aren't you?" Herman said, glancing at the old watch strapped to his wrist.
Lex checked his phone.
"Forty-three seconds to spare. That's practically early."
Herman walked around to the back of the beater, pressed the release and lifted the hatch overhead.
Lex shook his head.
"Yeah, sure. Go ahead. Just open my car."
Herman ignored him and inspected the goods packed inside. His gaze travelled over the baked beans, tinned meats and the other supplies Lex had wedged around them.
"Beans and tinned meat?" he asked, lifting a tray of beans from the boot. "Couldn't you get anything more interesting for them?"
Lex shrugged.
"I doubt they'd find the things we consider interesting as useful as you think. If I brought them a toaster, they'd have no way to power it, and I doubt they'd marvel at cooked bread."
"So you thought they'd marvel at beans?"
Lex moved to the boot and gathered a couple of trays of tins.
"No, but at least they'll understand the use in them. Long shelf life, easy to store and carry. It was the best I could come up with at the wholesaler."
They carried the goods through the store, past the tree that had already begun to look like part of the décor, and into the concrete warehouse.
They placed everything on one of the wooden shelving units Herman had repaired the day before.
Herman examined its frame and pressed his weight against the shelf holding the tins.
"It's holding well," he said with a nod.
"There are still plenty of units left for you to work on. We got enough set up yesterday, but we're going to need the rest as stable as this one."
Only then did Lex notice the heavy metal box on the floor nearby.
It hadn't been there yesterday.
The toolbox was battered and scratched, with a faded ZeVault logo stretched across one side. Lex hadn't seen the brand since his own dad was alive.
"What's with the tools?" he asked.
"They're mine."
Lex rolled his eyes.
"I'd gathered that. I meant why bring them? The store gave us tools as well."
Herman crouched beside the box and released its latches. It unfolded into several tiered trays, each containing different sizes of screws, nails and bolts. Every piece had its own place. It might have been the best-kept thing Lex had ever seen Herman own.
"There was plenty I wanted to fix yesterday, but the store didn't have the right screws," Herman said. "Even if it had, there wasn't a driver that fit them."
Lex folded his arms and studied the toolbox. However carefully Herman had maintained it, years of use had left scratches across the metal and worn the paint from its corners.
"How old is it?"
"Fifteen years, at least." Herman selected a screw and inspected its thread. "It was my old man's. He gave it to me when I started working for him. Said he'd buy himself a new box, but we ended up sharing this one. Even after I stopped using it, I kept it in good nick."
"Never thought about selling it?"
"Yeah. Several times. These boxes aren't cheap, and the money certainly would've helped."
"Then why didn't you?"
Herman returned the screw to its tray.
"It was the last memento I had of the old man. Didn't feel right selling it for a crate of lager."
Lex nodded.
"Some things are worth more than a pint, eh?"
Herman looked down at the toolbox and said nothing.
Lex clapped his hands once.
"Okay, enough chatting. Let's get down to business."
Herman stood, groaning as his knees creaked.
"Bloody knees."
Lex chuckled.
"Let's go clock in."
He walked over to the card reader beside the security door, pulled out his black employee card and held it against the glass. A clear beep rang through the warehouse.
Herman did the same.
[ Owner Lex Peckham has clocked in. ]
[ Employee Herman Staul has clocked in. ]
[ Analysing employee initiative... ]
[ Analysis complete. Distributing rewards. ]
A clear chime sounded through the warehouse.
Golden text unfolded across Lex's vision.
[ Commercial initiative recognised. ]
[ First Inventory Acquisition completed. ]
[ Initial inventory bonus applied. ]
[ Stock Acquisition registered as a repeatable activity. Future EXP will scale with operational value. ]
[ Owner Lex Peckham has received 100 EXP. ]
[ Level increased from 1 to 2. ]
[ Two unassigned attribute points awarded. ]
A second series of messages appeared before Herman, outlined in silver.
[ Employee initiative recognised. ]
[ Personal trade equipment supplied. ]
[ Employee Herman Staul has received 50 EXP. ]
[ Level 1 — 50/100 EXP. ]
Herman read his messages twice, his expression growing more confused.
Lex grinned.
"Well, this is unexpected," Lex said.
Herman gave him a sideways glance.
"How did you get a level? My toolbox is worth more than your stock."
"And that's good initiative. I'm sure you'll get a level by the end of the day."
Herman clicked his tongue.
"You just got a bunch of beans."
Lex wagged his finger. "It's our first batch of stock. It's important, and I guess the store recognised that."
Herman muttered something about executive corruption as Lex pressed the black employee card to his forehead.
The golden panel unfolded across his vision.
Most of his stats were the same as before. His level had increased by one, with a new EXP requirement and two unassigned points.
[ EXP: 0/200 ]
[ Unassigned Attribute Points: 2 ]
He focused on the second message.
The terminal's voice filled the warehouse.
[ Owner Lex. I advise postponing your point assignment until later. ]
All the panels in front of him folded into a line and vanished.
Lex put his card back in his pocket.
"Why?"
[ The mana barrier surrounding the Durim property is currently under sustained assault. ]
[ The accumulated force is approaching the barrier's storage threshold. ]
Lex's smile disappeared.
"Just when I thought today was going well," he murmured. "Is it the goblins?"
[ Head Scout Vargis and his companions are not the assailants. They have sought refuge inside the barrier. ]
Lex was already moving.
He unlocked the door to the terminal room and pushed through, with Herman following close behind.
A green message appeared on the terminal screen.
[ Immediate dimensional transfer is available. ]
"Take us back. Quickly."
[ Please brace yourselves. ]
Herman gripped a wall rail while Lex held the edge of the terminal console.
The room shook as hard as it usually did, disorienting both passengers aboard the O.R.D. express.
The hum began to rev like an engine, growing louder until it was deafening.
VVWOORP!
The building settled after crossing interdimensional space, arriving at the centre of Durim Forest.
Once the shaking stopped, Lex turned to the security cameras to assess the situation.
The translucent barrier that usually protected them from the forest had become a dome of intermingling bright colours. Its surface resembled skin, with each colour running through it like a different vein.
The barrier beat as though it were having a heart attack. More colours appeared with every tremor Lex felt through the ground.
The humour that usually passed between Lex and Herman was nowhere to be found.
"Terminal, what am I looking at here?"
[ I miscalculated. ]
Lex narrowed his eyes.
"Miscalculated?"
[ What we are looking at is the impact of the store's original arrival on the ecosystem of Durim Forest. ]
"So what? We've impacted the lives of some of the beasts here. How does that explain this barrage we're under?"
Humans and monsters alike often caused beasts to migrate simply by choosing where to settle. If you didn't have the strength to keep your territory, you lost it. That was the law of the jungle.
[ It does not entirely explain it. I expected a few species that previously inhabited the centre to attempt to return home. ]
[ This army of beasts should not have gathered at our doorstep. Something has thrown off my estimate. ]
Lex crossed his arms.
"Well, first off, you could've told me this from the start. Secondly, what are we going to do about it?"
Lex's thoughts churned.
He had only just got the store off the ground. The reason he wasn't currently pissing himself was that the terminal sounded so calm about the matter, as if it were a minor inconvenience.
He couldn't lose this. He had only just started imagining its future.
Now that future was being threatened by an army of beasts that could crush him with a finger.
"Give me the status of Vargis and the others."
One of the screens panned to the group of injured refugees.
Five werewolf-looking folk, one half-wolfman, Vargis and a shady-looking old goblin in a formal shirt and his boxers.
The half-wolfman appeared to be in critical condition as the others crowded around him. The goblin in his boxers looked beat as he sat against the store wall with Vargis.
That was when the old goblin looked directly into the camera. His wide eyes glowed green as he stared through the screen at Lex.
"So they know we're here now."
Herman scratched his head.
"Seems that way."
[ He likely sensed your observation, along with my return to manage the barrier. ]
Herman looked at Lex.
"Is it just me, or is this machine talking more like a person?"
Lex glanced at Herman before looking back at the screen.
"It's more intelligent than you realise, Herman. Let's focus on the matter at hand, shall we?"
Herman shrugged.
"All right."
"They're safe, which is the main thing. The question remains: what do we do about the horde? It doesn't look like they're letting up their attacks."
[ Would you like me to settle this matter? ]
Lex raised a brow.
"How?"
[ The mana barrier has reached one hundred per cent saturation. I can now activate a defensive counterattack. ]
Lex rubbed his chin.
"So this barrier... you can send everything straight back at them?"
[ Affirmative. ]
Lex hesitated.
He'd never made a decision that could end the lives of others.
He'd never shed a single drop of blood.
And now it was his decision whether lives would be lost.
It was a paralysing choice.
Herman leaned against the wall and watched Lex, tapping his fingers against one arm.
For once, he offered no opinion.
Lex swallowed.
"Will it hurt anyone inside the barrier?"
[ No. Every entity accepted within the protected perimeter will remain unharmed. ]
Lex released a slow breath.
"Do it."
[ Authorisation received. Activating emergency defence protocol. ]
Lex couldn't have imagined what followed his confirmation.
The barrier stopped beating.
Every vein of mana froze across its surface.
For several seconds, the horde continued its assault. Claws, bodies and spells crashed against the dome, but no new pulse travelled through it.
Then the colours began to move.
Ochre, blue, green, crimson and violet mana raced around the barrier in tightening circles. The veins crossed over one another, winding together faster with every passing second.
The individual colours became impossible to follow.
They bled into one another until the entire dome burned a blinding white.
Static hissed through the security speakers.
The sound climbed higher.
Lex's skin prickled. Every hair along his arms lifted, and a metallic taste spread across his tongue.
On the monitor, the elderly goblin pushed himself away from the wall.
He stared up at the barrier, the remaining light inside his eyes burning brighter.
"That magic..." he muttered. "It's absurd."
Vargis looked towards him.
"What's happening?"
"The mana is converging upon itself."
The old goblin's fingers tightened around his staff.
"It is preparing to erupt."
Vargis stared at him.
The necromancer was trembling.
The static became a shrill, continuous scream.
Vargis clamped both hands over his ears. The Moontrail hunters folded themselves over their injured companion, shielding him with their bodies.
The white light continued to intensify until every figure on the monitor became a black silhouette.
The barrier contracted once, and the static vanished.
Then the white shell erupted outwards.
The first ranks of the horde came apart beneath it. Great Hogs burst as the accumulated force crushed their ribs into their organs. Tusks, limbs and lengths of intestine were hurled into the trees, followed by enough blood to paint the nearest trunks red.
Quakebacks were lifted from the ground as their own ochre mana detonated inside their stone armour. Plates exploded through flesh and bone, scattering wet fur and fragments of their bodies across the beasts behind them. Windhawks vanished into a storm of feathers and blood, while horned wolverines and bark-skin lizards were flattened or sliced apart by the wind mana carried within the blast.
The shockwave tore through everything at once.
Trees snapped or were ripped from their roots. Bark peeled from trunks, branches disintegrated, and the broken remains of beasts were dragged deeper into the forest alongside the debris.
The monitors flashed white.
A thunderous impact struck the store from every direction. The floor bucked beneath Lex, rattling his teeth and driving the pressure deep into his chest. Herman lost his grip on the rail and dropped to one knee.
Then the noise travelled away from them.
The screens slowly cleared.
Blood and pieces of flesh rained against the outside of the barrier. A Great Hog's severed head struck it hard enough to crack one tusk before sliding down the transparent surface. Feathers, broken branches and chunks of stone followed.
Beyond the dome, the forest had been butchered.
Pale, splintered trunks stood drenched in blood. Bodies had been torn apart and scattered across the ruined earth. The upper half of a Quakeback hung between two branches, while steaming organs lay tangled amongst exposed roots.
Nothing moved.
Inside the barrier, Vargis and the others remained unharmed.
The Moontrail hunters slowly raised themselves from around their wounded companion. Their ears lay flat against their heads as they stared at the remains beyond the dome.
Vargis had gone completely still.
The elderly goblin's exhaustion had been replaced by an expression Lex recognised immediately.
Fear.
Herman pushed himself upright. His face had turned grey.
"Fucking hell."
Lex couldn't answer.
Then his mind caught up with the blood covering the forest.
He had authorised all of it.
The terminal released a quiet chime.
[ Emergency defence protocol completed. ]
[ The protective barrier has returned to standby operation. ]
[ The perimeter is clear, Owner Lex. ]