Chương 32: Resource Grab

Joe blinked. He was somewhere new. A bubble-like space surrounded him, filled with strange metallic furniture and a hard metallic floor. The walls were clouded over, concealing everything outside. Joe scanned the room. Nineteen other people stood within the bubble. His wandering gaze landed first on Hakeem, Kairos beside him. Joe gave them a wave but didn't move toward them immediately. First, he walked toward the woman standing with her arm on her hip, an evil smirk playing on her lips. Short, braided hair.

Sharp, knowing eyes. Joe knew that look. Garbed in a new set of black leather gear, she looked the imposing figure he remembered. However, her height belied her fiery temperament.

"There you are, Farmer. I have…" Esha's words cut off as Joe knelt before her. He smiled and raised both hands. A long wooden box appeared in his palms. Joe felt a slight tremor of excitement flow through him as it did.

"A gift, as apology," Joe said. He felt the weight of every gaze in the bubble turning toward him. Small groups had already begun forming across the space. But Joe ignored them. He looked up at Esha. She simply stared at him. Finally, at his urging, she took the box. Joe stood back up.

"Open it now; you'll need it." With a wink, he turned and walked toward Hakeem and Kai. However, he kept one eye on his short friend; he would not miss her reaction when she opened the box for anything.

"Oh my god, how long has it been?" Joe grabbed both men and pulled them into a hug. Both froze in shock.

"Dude," Hakeem said.

"I know it's been a while, but a handshake would have been fine."

"I missed you too, man," Joe said, stepping back.

"It's good to see you guys. How's everyone else?"

"They are doing great," Kai said.

"The city is huge now; you really need to come and see it."

"Where are you, or were you anyway?"

"Madagascar. Don't ask." He turned just at the exact moment a kneeling Esha opened the box. She was silent, an uncomprehending look in her eyes. Joe took a mental note of that look, burning it into his memory. A small smile tugged at his lips.

"That's Esha, by the way; we go way back," Joe said, gesturing toward her. Hakeem followed his gaze.

"I see," he said, watching Esha pull something out of the box. Joe continued, pointing across the room.

"That over there is Diego. He is a friend from work." Diego nodded back at him.

"Désira, I met in Congo," Joe waved at her. She waved back but didn't approach.

"How many people do you know here?" Kai asked.

"That's it, just those three. I don't recognise anyone else." Joe glanced at them.

"How bout you guys? Met anyone else before?"

"Not met, but we've spoken with the Divine Sword guy." Joe's gaze flicked toward Malcolm. The Divine Sword was watching him; three people clustered around him. For a moment, he looked like he was considering coming over, but the blonde woman beside him caught his attention, distracting him. She waved at Joe. So he waved back.

"We're getting a lot of looks," Joe said.

"I'll take care of introductions." With that, he moved away. His eyes scanned the room; he identified everyone. Every name from the Global System Message was here. Joe was about to head toward the Chinese entourage when something caught his eye. Esha was glowing. A radiant light pulsed around her for a full minute before finally fading. Joe watched as she flexed her new arm, testing its movement with a few punches and a handstand.

She flipped back onto her feet, her eyes sparkling with surprise and a genuine look of happiness. Joe changed course, walking toward her. The moment he reached her, she hugged him. Then punched him unexpectedly hard in his stomach. He buckled over and took a minute to catch his breath.

"Where did you get this, Farmer?" She asked nonchalantly, stretching her new fingers. After catching his breath, he smiled.

"I just picked it up in a cave somewhere." Esha lightly punched him on the arm.

"Thank you." Joe nodded.

"I was about to introduce myself to those guys, wanna come?" He gestured toward Gao YuanYuan and her group. Esha glanced over, then nodded.

"Yes."

"But first. I just need to do one thing," Joe stepped back, taking in the new Esha in all her glory. Her new arm stood out, which wasn't a bad thing. It had changed colour, he saw. When he found it, it was a deep blue. But once Esha attached it to herself, it shifted and now had a deep brown hue to it, almost matching her skin colour perfectly. However, it looked nothing like a real arm; it seemed almost metallic, with a strangely cool-looking pattern running down to her fingertips.

It nearly looked like it had been tattooed. She flexed her muscles as she watched him staring at her arm. He couldn't resist any longer, and he reached out and squeezed her bicep. It felt like he was touching a real arm. After about 20 more seconds of him squeezing and feeling her arm, she giggled and pushed him off.

"Okay, Farmer. Any more than that, and I'll have to cut your thingy off," Esha wrapped her arm around his, and they continued towards the Chinese contingent. Gao YuanYuan was short, roughly the same height as Esha, but carried herself with an air of authority. Her long, flowing black hair cascaded down her back, contrasting sharply with her elegant purple dress. Despite her youthful appearance, Joe guessed she was in her late thirties or early forties.

The four men around her sported neatly trimmed, pointed beards and wore their long hair tied back into ponytails. They looked impeccably composed. As Joe and Esha approached, all five turned to face them. Joe gave a slight bow as Esha uncurled from his arm, mimicking him in unison.

"Nice to meet you all; I'm Joe, and this is Esha. The pleasure is ours." The group looked surprised. One of the men, Song Weilong, stepped forward.

"You speak Mandarin?"

"Yes. Translation skill," Joe replied. Song nodded approvingly.

"Lucky. That puts us at ease. We were wondering how we would communicate with everyone else. It is a pleasure also." He bowed slightly, and the others followed suit, except for Gao YuanYuan. She simply studied Joe, her gaze trailing up and down as if measuring him. Joe held her stare for a second before turning back to Song.

"If you have any questions or need me to translate, please just ask. For now, I'm going to introduce myself to the Americans before one of them explodes." Song let out a chuckle.

"We will indeed, thank you." Joe turned and moved on. The Americans were next. The Divine Sword was a man of similar height to Joe, clad in a suit of armour, with short brown hair and a clean-shaven face. He had a milky white complexion and looked every bit the military man. Beside him stood an athletic blonde woman dressed in tight-fitting leather, followed by a dark-haired woman in robes with a staff strapped to her back.

The last member was an intelligent-looking man with tanned skin, short black hair, and sharp eyes. Before Joe could introduce himself, the blonde woman stepped forward, extending her hand.

"Joe, it's good to meet the mysterious invisible Progenitor finally. I'm Alice. This is Felicia and Gus. That's Malc," she said with a slight curtsy. Just as Joe was about to take her hand, he heard Esha mumbling behind him.

"Be careful of this one, Farmer. She has the eyes of a whore." Joe shot her a stern look before turning back to Alice, ignoring the comment.

"The pleasure is all mine. I'm happy to meet you all." He gave them a slight bow. As he straightened, he noticed Alice staring at Esha, looking slightly concerned.

"Did I say something to offend? She looks mad," Alice asked, a hint of worry in her voice.

"She has a bad personality," Joe replied.

"Don't worry; she's like my big sister. She's just overprotective." Joe turned toward the Divine sword and found the man staring at him now, his expression unreadable.

"What are you?" Malcolm asked, his voice sharp.

"Malc!" Alice scolded before turning back to Joe.

"I apologise for him; he's been stressed lately. We tried to contact you on the message boards, but you never replied." Joe blinked. They had? He realized he hadn't even checked the message boards.

"Sorry, I didn't check those. I got caught up with something," he admitted. Then, turning back to Malcolm, he added.

"But to answer your question, I am, or was, Human. I just got a weird status change, but I don't feel any different. It's hard to explain." Alice nodded in understanding, but Malcolm still looked sceptical.

"What are they saying?" Esha asked.

"Just introductions and questions about my race," Joe replied before turning back to the group. Alice tilted her head.

"You speak Hindi? I also noticed you speak Mandarin?"

"Translation skill," Joe answered automatically. Alice's expression shifted slightly, becoming more thoughtful.

"I can translate into Chinese if you need it later. Wait, so you can't understand me when I speak to others?" Joe said.

"No, all we heard was you speaking in Hindi," Alice confirmed. Joe frowned. So, his translation skill only worked for one language at a time? Damn. There went his idea of addressing everyone at once. It looked like he'd be doing a lot of translating. Before he could continue, they were all interrupted by a message screen. Resource Grab Message Representatives of World 43. You have two hours before the tournament begins. At that time, you must choose the first person to represent your world.

Your first opponent will be World-Ranked 48. Two hours wasn't much time. Joe exhaled. He'd have to speed things up.

"Farmer, we should form a party," Esha suggested. Joe blinked, then grinned.

"Esha, I could kiss you." He sent her an invite.

"You already had a good feel. Now you want a kiss? I might have to start charging," she teased with a wink. Joe chuckled and turned, sending invites to Kai and Hakeem. Both looked surprised but accepted. [Since when can you send party invites?] - Hakeem. [Hi guys,] - Esha. [Hi Esha, can you read English?] - Hakeem. [No, I see the chat in Hindi.] - Esha. Perfect. [Great, it worked. Guys, I'm going to invite everyone. This means I won't have to translate for the next two hours. Gonna make two chats.] - Joe.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. He dragged them into a separate chat, splitting it into two windows. One would be for everyone in the bubble. The other, just for his three closest friends. He looked up and started sending party invites to the rest of the representatives. Across the room, confused faces turned toward him. Joe gave a thumbs-up. One by one, they all joined.

Now, he had one global party chat with all twenty people and a second private chat with Kai, Hakeem, and Esha. [The party chat should translate automatically, so we can all talk in here, finish introductions and decide on an order.] - Joe. [How does this work… oh.] - Song. [Right, sorry. It's simple, just think about what message you want to send, and it should appear. It's pretty easy once you get used to it.] - Joe. [Hi, everyone.] - Felicia. [Hi.] multiple replies followed.

Joe switched to his second chat window as the larger group introduced themselves and tested the chat. [Hak, Kai, come here. You guys have a footwork skill yet?] - Joe. [No, what is that?] - Kai. [I have one.] - Esha. Joe blinked. [When did you learn that?] [Well, someone left us behind, and I had to teach myself.] - Esha. Joe grinned. [I am impressed.] He turned back to the real problem. [Hak, basically, you need footwork. It's essential for growth. So, I'm going to teach you guys the basic footwork really quickly before this starts. Trust me, you'll understand when you learn it.] - Joe. [You know about the bottleneck?] - Esha. [Bottleneck?] - Joe replied, confused. [Ha. Well, at level 70, there is a bottleneck. Which you can't get past until you have a footwork skill.] - Esha. Joe stood there, open-mouthed, staring at Esha, who had an overly pleased smile on her face. [How do you know that?] - Joe asked, genuinely surprised.

[Just some information I picked up.] - Esha. Joe kept staring at her. He was well and truly shocked. He had no idea there was a bottleneck at level seventy. He was so glad he had learned his footwork from… Thoughts of Veda flashed in his mind, and the man in the cave. He snapped back to the chat. [You heard her, guys. You need Footwork. Both of you are close to seventy.] - Joe. Then, a thought hit him. There was someone here who was already level 70. Was she stuck at the bottleneck?

[Hang on a sec, I'm gonna ask Gao YuanYuan to join us.] - Joe. Joe switched back to the main chat window and saw that most had gotten the hang of the chat. Conversations were flowing, and no one seemed too lost anymore. He walked over to Gao, who gave him a curious look.

"Gao." He gave a slight bow. She nodded.

"Would you care to join us for a little while? I'm just showing my friends a skill they need to get past the level 70 bottleneck." Gao's eyes widened. And for the first time, she spoke.

"You know about the bottleneck?" She asked, surprised.

"Yes, it has to do with footwork. It shouldn't take any more than fifteen minutes to solve. Join us?" Gao moved to his side in the blink of an eye.

"Lead the way." Joe led her back toward the group, noticing that Alice had joined them as well. Several others had started watching from a distance. Joe sighed.

"Fuck it." Flicking over to the main group chat, he sent a message. [Teaching a skill called footwork. Come watch if you want.] - Joe. Then he turned back to the group, ready to begin. [Memorize these steps exactly.] - Joe. Then, he began to move. The entire routine took him less than five minutes to complete. [Once more?] - Joe. [Yes.] - Gao. Joe started the routine again. This time, six more people joined the spectators, closely following his every move.

When he completed the second run-through, Gao stepped aside to practice. Joe glanced at the others, then immediately began the third demonstration. By the time he finished, Kai and Hakeem had moved away to try it for themselves. Now, everyone in the bubble was watching him, except for Esha, who had shifted over to watch Gao's progress. She seemed even to be offering help. Joe ran through the steps one last time for the remaining group. The four Americans finally moved away to practice on their own.

He checked his status screen and saw they still had one hour and forty minutes before the tournament began.

"I did it," Gao said. Esha approached her, offering congratulations over the party chat. Joe watched them for a second. They seemed to be getting along. Curious, he used Identify on Gao. Identify: Gao YuanYuan, Human, Water Shaman level 71 She had passed the bottleneck. Joe nodded to himself, then turned back to the rest. [You guys remember the steps?] - Joe. [Yes.] [Gonna help those two for a bit; they almost have it.] - Joe. He walked over to Kai and Hakeem, offering a few small pointers.

Within minutes, Hakeem grinned.

"Got it," he declared.

"Great, then you can take over with Kai." Joe left them to it and turned toward the American group. As he approached, Alice greeted him with a bright smile.

"Hey again." Joe returned the smile.

"Need help, anyone close to getting it?" Felicia and The Divine Sword seemed to be just shy of grasping the final movements, so Joe stepped aside with them, helping refine their form. Malcolm seemed to be in a much more amiable mood now, thankfully. He still regarded Joe with an unreadable look, though. It only took five more minutes before Felicia gained the skill. Joe let her take over, then moved back toward Kai and Hakeem. He glanced at the chat as he walked. Several more people were close to getting it.

The Chinese group and the remaining Americans were nearly there. This is going better than expected.

"So what do you think we should do about who goes first?" Hakeem asked.

"Most of them in the chat agree that if we want to go first, they're fine with that. Though the Divine Sword said he would like to go first."

"I have no preference," Joe said with a shrug.

"I say let him go first if he wants to. It would help gauge how strong the other worlds are. I'm kinda worried, to be honest." Hakeem nodded.

"Sure, we can let him go first. I'll nominate myself second. I'll send a message out now." Hakeem dived into the chat window, sharing their decision. Joe was more than happy to let them handle it. Not being the one everyone expected to make decisions for once was a relief.

"Farmer, can you make a chat for Gao and me?" Esha asked as she approached and quickly dragged him aside.

"Yeah, no problem." Joe fiddled with the chat screen for a few seconds, creating a private chat just for Esha and Gao. Esha gave him a satisfied smile before running off. Joe took a moment to drop into one of the surprisingly comfortable metallic chairs. A few moments later, Désira and Diego joined him. Joe created a separate chat window so the three of them could talk. They chatted briefly before Toni, an Italian man, joined them.

Joe added him to the small chat and leaned back, letting the conversation flow around him as his thoughts drifted. Meanwhile, on the main chat, the fight order was being decided. First the Divine Sword, then Hakeem, followed by Song, then Gao, then Esha. Joe volunteered for the next spot. It felt surreal, having to plan their battles like this. He had never considered just what being involved in the systems integration would actually mean. Would this become a usual thing? Fighting battles against other worlds?

Them deciding the future of millions in a small room with a few people? He'd spent so much time fighting, which involved very little planning on his part; he pretty much just headed out and did what he had to. This was different. It was… dare he say, exciting. One thing that put Joe at ease was one of the major rules of the Resource Grab: all fights were non-lethal due to system protection. No one could die here. That simple fact was why he felt so relaxed about who was fighting first.

Knowing that neither his friends nor the strangers around him were risking their lives gave him the perfect opportunity to sit back and observe. At least, for now. He had no plans to leave everything in their hands. Being surrounded by the highest-level people on Earth gave him a strange feeling. For the first time, he could sense their strength. The sheer power emanating from them. Something deep inside him told him that what he was feeling was their auras. Two auras naturally stood out the most. Hakeem and Kai.

Their Bloodline boosted, E-Grade auras were like beacons in a stormy sea. The next most notable were Gao, the Divine Sword, and Esha. Joe couldn't quite tell who was stronger among them, but it was clear they stood above the rest, though still a step below Hakeem and Kai. The reason? They had F-Grade auras. Joe had already realized long ago that being a grade higher than others was a huge advantage. It was one of the main reasons he had dominated so many fights. He closed his eyes.

Suppressing his own aura was second nature now, and for a moment, he focused inward. He tried to visualize it. Tried to compare it to those around him. What he saw in his mind's eye was like comparing a small bubbling brook to a volcano about to erupt. He shook his head, pushing his thoughts aside and turned back to the conversation around him. With just over an hour left, Joe waved Esha over.

"What do you want, Farmer?" she asked, eyeing him suspiciously.

"Could you hand out some pills for me?" Joe said, pulling out a large leaf-woven bag and placing it on the table before him. Esha scoffed.

"When did I become your servant?" Still, she grabbed the bag and peeked inside.

"Wow, there are hundreds of pills in here. Someone's been busy."

"Just doing my part, plus you owe me for the arm," Joe smirked.

"Yes, yes. I'll do it. It will give me a chance to eye up that blonde. She keeps looking at you. I need to make sure she knows you are taken," Esha exhaled dramatically. Joe frowned.

"Taken? I'm taken?" Esha just gave him a look before walking off, distributing the pills. Before Joe could even process what the hell she was talking about, Kai and Hakeem sat down beside him.

"Gonna take a while before Kai gets it. I'll teach him when we get back," Hakeem said. Joe nodded.

"There is one more thing I must take care of before our time runs out. Check this out." He waved a hand, and a mysterious box appeared on the table. Kai leaned in.

"What is that?" Joe grinned.

"It's a loot box." Kai picked it up, his eyes widening.

"Legendary Item box? Where did you get this? From a Beast?"

"Nope, from an assassin who tried to kill me," Joe said casually. Kai and Hakeem stared at him.

"Dude, you can't just say that without explaining," Hakeem said, exasperated. Joe shrugged.

"Turns out the system is fucking psychotic. This guy was given an assassin class, and then the system started handing him assassination quests. I was in France when he killed some people I was with. He then tried to kill me, so I defended myself, and here we are."

"Fuck, you think there are more of them?" Hakeem asked.

"One hundred per cent," Joe responded sullenly.

"Fucking sucks. Anyway, I'm gonna open it and pray I get a quarterstaff." He tapped the Legendary Item Box. It began to glow, mana swirling around it. After a moment, it exploded into fireworks, and a massive Broadsword materialized on the table. Joe stared at it, then threw up his hands.

"Oh fuck off." Hakeem chuckled as Joe glared at the massive weapon before him.

"Just fucking take it, Hak. Bullshit system," Joe grumbled. Still grinning, Hakeem picked up the sword, inspecting it with appreciation. Joe sighed, looking around in disappointment as the RNG gods had failed him. His gaze landed on Gao YuanYuan. For a brief moment, their eyes met. He saw a sparkle of curiosity and maybe jealousy as she watched them, her gaze flicking towards Hakeem, who twirled his new sword around. Joe glanced at the katana resting on her hip.

Joe stood up, pulled the Katana of Oroshio from his storage, and placed it on the table. Gao's eyes widened. Joe nodded at her before picking up the sword and tossing it in her direction. She caught it smoothly, immediately turning it over in her hands to inspect it eagerly. Esha, at her side, gave Joe a nod before she also began inspecting the beautifully inlaid sword. Satisfied, Joe turned toward the Americans. Noticing Alice staring at him, he waved her over.

She hesitated before approaching, her movements slow, cautious. Joe exhaled. Dammit Esha. What did you say to this poor woman…

"Anyone in your group use a shield? I don't have any more swords, unfortunately," Joe asked. Alice folded her arms.

"Malc uses a shield." Joe pulled out the Shield of Purity, handing it to her.

"Ask him if this is a good fit." Alice hesitated. Joe could sense she had a question, but she turned and hurried back to her group without asking. Joe leaned back in his chair, rolling his shoulders. He scrolled through his storage, taking stock of the various weapons he still had no use for. A large hunting knife. A bow. A wand and an Orb. Glancing around, he wondered who might need them. He sent a message in the chat, letting everyone know they were available as he placed them on the table before him.

There was one condition. Only take one if you plan to use it. It didn't take long before people came over to take a look. Within minutes, every weapon found a new owner. The chat window was flooded with messages of thanks. Joe had to suppress a pang of jealousy at all the happy faces. He really needed a new quarterstaff. Ten minutes before the first battle, the chats had almost completely stilled. The Americans had gathered in a quiet corner, choosing to prepare in their own way.

Esha had stopped by for a brief chat before returning to the Chinese group. She had asked Joe to add Song to their chat, and now she was deep in discussion with them about trade and other matters. Joe found himself raising an eyebrow. Since when was Esha so good at international relations? With all the surprising knowledge she'd been dropping lately, he seriously wondered what kinds of encounters she had gone through recently. In another corner, the Divine Sword stood alone, eyes closed, mentally preparing himself.

Joe was about to check the chat again when Alice approached.

"Mind if I sit here?" She asked. Joe gestured to the space beside him.

"By all means, help yourself." They sat in silence for a short while before Alice finally turned to him.

"What do you think about all this? Think we stand a chance?" she asked. Joe looked at her. She was worried not just about the tournament, but about her friend. The weight of the situation hit him like a pile of bricks. The fate of the entire world was about to be decided here.

"To be honest, I have no idea," Joe admitted.

"I think it will be much clearer once we see the first fight. Everything will depend on that first battle. But…" He glanced around at the others.

"I believe we have some powerful people here." Alice didn't respond immediately. Instead, she just stared at him. Joe felt like she was trying to piece together a puzzle. She took a deep breath.

"How strong are you?" she asked. Joe looked back at her, really looked at her. This small but strong woman was probably only a year or two older than him. Her hands were shaking. He reached out and took one of them in his. Slowly, he removed his glasses and met her gaze. His eyes shone, steady, unwavering. Alice's breath hitched. She saw something in his stare that made her hands stop trembling. Joe didn't speak. But his body language said everything. No matter what, I will protect this world.

Alice stood up, whispering, "Thank you." She turned and walked back to her group. Resource Grab Message The first round of the tournament begins now. Will the chosen representatives of World 43 and World Ranked 48 step forward and place their hands on the entry panels. Good Luck.