It took around two weeks before Brock was allowed to be discharged from the hospital, though the wait was made manageable by daily visits from both his brother and Harry, the latter having been freed the day after they were both admitted.

Much to the surprise of the medical professionals around him, Brock’s rather high Vitality had made quick work of his injuries, reducing his plethora of cauterizations and stitched up wounds to thin white scars. Even his shattered leg had been almost fully regenerated, his body having had forcefully pushed out the steel pins to continue the healing process. It had been an enlightening experience for both him and them on the true power of stats.

Or more accurately, the System.

Unfortunately, his arm remained a stump, although the charred flesh had flaked away and revealed new, pink tissue underneath. It hadn’t shown any signs of beginning to regenerate throughout the entirety of both weeks, and by both his and the nurses’ best guesses, the wound was to be permanent.

Contrary to that, however, his missing eye and the portion of his head that had been missing had healed perfectly, albeit leaving his sight somewhat blurred on that side. Even his hair had rapidly regrown to its prior state. Whether it was because the missing appendage was too large to be healed or some other strange restriction Brock didn’t know. All he did know was that the System seemed to work under enigmatic principles and rules.

It was an earth-shattering blow to him to have lost his arm and main weapon, but there was nothing he could do but accept it at this point. His brother had instantly put his mind to artificing some sort of arm to replace his loss, but his efforts had been said to be fruitless so far. Something that advanced seemed to be a decent distance out of his reach, especially considering the materials he had to work with. For now, at least.

What had been more earth-shattering, however, was what James had relayed to him during his first visit. Jordan was dead. Apparently, he’d tried to retake control by attempting to kill his brother – the boy had the bruises on his neck to show – and those that’d been granted a Shard by Brock’s order had stepped up.

Five had died before they’d finally bled Jordan to death. It had left Brock… shaken. He… well he didn’t know what he expected from the man after he left, but it hadn’t been that. He’d thought – hoped – that he’d change, but it seems he was foolish.

A man by the name of Douglas stepped up in his place, and according to James, he was a good leader and an even better man.

A few old friends had also dropped by and paid him a visit, mostly acquaintances from high school or his sister’s old mates, though he could tell his condition and scars made them rather uncomfortable. He was just happy they had no idea exactly how powerful he was. If they knew the kind of things he’d was able to do, they probably wouldn’t have been able to keep a conversation going.

By now, almost every person in the town had heard of both his domination of a fight against Jordan and his exploits in taking down the monster that had been harassing their town since the conclusion of the Tutorial. Although, knowing that he was strong was very different from seeing that he was strong.

That aside, the doctors had done their final tests, mostly through blood and basic physicals, and he’d finally been deemed fit for discharge. He pitied the healthcare workers though, as they had gone through half a dozen or so needles just to properly break into his flesh. Their expressions were greatly amusing, however.

James and Harry were there waiting the moment he stepped out of the building, and together they walked through town and back to the house. Many cheers and thanks were thrown his and Harry’s way as people saw them passing by, and Brock had to admit that it felt good to hear them. When they arrived at their house, Douglas and Shane were there waiting for them out the front.

Douglas nodded respectfully in their direction and regarded the saviour of Alice Springs directly, “Good to see you’re doing better.”

The man sounded slightly tense as he spoke, but Brock paid it no mind, returning a crooked grin in his direction, “About as much as I can be, I guess.”

The conversation continued for a few minutes longer, consisting mostly of pleasantries, before Douglas left them behind along with Shane, letting Brock be alone once more with his crew. A triumphant smirk broke out on the knife warrior’s face as he recalled Douglas mentioning the warehouse that would be awaiting him. He’d go collect his hard-earned loot a bit later.

Glad that he had the decency to go through with the deal Jordan had made…

Harry had brought back a gored foot of the Sky Bandit with his borrowed spatial ring, so there were no misconceptions that they had indeed slain the monstrous magpie. Initially, Brock had been frantic as he tried to find his ring, fearing he’d lost it during the fight, but luckily Harry had returned it on his visit the next day.

Together, they settled into the kitchen and James immediately got to cooking a bountiful lunch. The town had managed to overcome the dwindling power situation through the use of solar panels they had scavenged from nearby farmsteads. Currently, only the more public areas and houses of important people had them, but it was only a matter of time before the town was charged up fully.

Of course, James was considered important by virtue of being the brother of the saviour.

The town’s population had also grown by a few hundred in the time he’d been away, mostly from survivors found nearby or people saved from beasts and dehydration alike. Slowly, Alice Springs was returning to its prior glory. Even a low wooden wall had been erected around the place, working in unison with James’ artificed goods to help fend off the occasional slew of beasts.

Douglas had reached level 31 in the time since he’d taken control, surpassing Brock by a small margin, although both knew with certainty that Brock would dominate him in combat. Several other individuals had also crested the threshold of the twenties, signifying that the effects of Jordan’s tyranny were beginning to fade.

There was no point in having just a single powerful person defending the town if they could be killed, after all. Once they were gone, the place would be defenceless. Brock was glad that the town could begin to grow and adapt.

The trio remained in companionable silence while James cooked up some bacon rashers and a godforsaken can of cheesy beans. Brock may have been unapproving of the food at first, but as soon as it was done, he tore into it like a depraved beast. He had been stuck with an IV drip being his only sustenance for two weeks, so it was to be expected.

They finished up minutes later, with all three taking a second serving - Brock a third - to cope with their high metabolisms. Rubbing his belly, James looked over at his brother and the boy he had slowly befriended.

“So, what actually happened during the trip? You guys haven’t told me yet.”

Harry and Brock glanced at each other and shrugged. The older man idly played with his butter knife as though it was a weapon, “The usual. Drove through the outback, fast and furious-ed a basilisk, got eaten by a worm, ended up in a nest, killed some bird children. Fought a giant magpie and got a few scratches. The usual.”

He shrugged again.

The teenager that had accompanied him during said trip snickered, “A few scratches?”

James didn’t share their same humour, furrowing his brows and frowning, “Wait, wait, wait! Killed some bird children?!”

“There’s context, but it's funnier if I don’t give it to you.” Brock shrugged one last time, sporting the same cheeky smirk as Harry.

Together, they began chuckling menacingly.

**

Brock and Harry only enjoyed messing with James for a little longer before they let him guide them to the location Douglas was waiting for them at. It was time to collect their loot and prepare to go on their way. They didn’t know exactly what kind of stuff the new leader of Alice Springs would have stored away, but there was a few Brock was holding out hope for.

Namely food, water, and fuel. Brock had some supplies stored away in his spatial ring, but it would never hurt to have excess. They had a single jerry can of fuel left in the boot of their jeep, something Brock had felt almost idiotic about for not checking earlier, but it would only give them about another 200km on their travel distance. If they were going to traverse through the countryside and leave the outback proper, they’d need a lot more than that on their mileage.

The plan was to make a beeline straight for Adelaide, the closest city to Alice Springs, though it was still a whopping 1534km from where they were now, if he remembered correctly. He had spent a bit of time asking around while they walked, but no one had seen his mother either. He knew it was a mad man’s choice to scour every inch of the outback for the lady, so he decided that it was better if he went straight for a larger city.

People tended to never be transported alone from what he’d seen and heard so far, so hopefully, she would have been teleported to a nearby population centre. If not, she was either at some other place in Australia, or like Harry was, transported to an entirely different country than where she was initially taken from. Brock could only hope at this point.

Maybe Adelaide would even have someone with an Ascendancy specialised in what Harry called ‘scrying’, able to search for his mother, wherever she was now. He had seen powers capable of healing, some even providing physical enhancements or the ability to control the elements – from the town’s folk at least. So, what was stopping there from being a more traditionally fantastical power?

In the end, all he could do was go there and find out.

They arrived upon a massive fenced off warehouse a half hour or so later, eying several guards as they felt for their weapons at the trio’s appearance. Quickly though, they recognised James, and by extension Harry and Brock, and they swiftly took their hands from their assortment of armaments. Sharing a relieved glance, they immediately rushed forward to help lead them inside.

It seemed Douglas had already made them aware that they’d be coming.

James had come to be a well-known face among the town’s men and the civilians, consistently doing his part to ease the lifestyle here and protect the town. While his artificing powers certainly helped shore up some issues here and there, and assist in the beast waves, he was also an exceptionally intelligent boy, so much so that Brock was certain his own starting Intelligence trumped his own.

He had no idea why his was so high in the first place. He was far from being the sharpest tool in the shed.

It had been James’ idea to use solar panels to fix the problem of electricity, and the town had applauded him for it. The kid was well on his way to becoming one of Douglas’ right-hand men, and Brock was just happy to see that the boy was proving himself as invaluable. It would be good to find a sense of belonging these days.

Along with the guards, Brock and co. entered inside, panning their gazes around in awe at the shelves upon shelves filled with munitions, foodstuffs, water, medical supplies, and an astounding plethora of other items. Fuel filled jerry cans were abundant here, and there was no shortage of vehicles either, with hundreds being parked around and used as extra places for storage.

By his best estimates, Brock would need around seven or eight filled jerry cans to facilitate his journey to Adelaide, and he was glad to see that acquiring that many shouldn’t at all be a problem. Jordan was over to the right of the warehouse entrance, chatting with some workers as they transferred some stuff from one shelf to another. He quickly noticed them and strolled over, pausing his current conversation for another time.

“Took you long enough.” Doug chuckled as he stood in front of them. Brock chuckled lightly. It was good to see that he was still a douchebag.

Harry shrugged, “Sorry. We were eating beans.”

Douglas glanced at him with noticeable concern, and Brock slapped his forehead.

“Let’s get this over with.” Brock nodded at Jordan and the man returned one back.

As they walked through the place, Doug gestured to the various things they had on offer, giving out in-depth explanations on each, as well as severely uplaying how badly the town needed them. It was plain as day to Brock that the cockhead was trying to use guilt-tripping to minimalize the amount he’d take. It was undoubtedly smart, if a bit underhanded, and it left the office worker grumbling.

In the end, Brock and Harry decided upon a heavy dose of food and water, a far lighter dose of medical supplies, as they were rendered somewhat pointless with their high Vitalities and the severity of the wounds they often received, and an overly excessive amount of petrol. A few other things had garnered his interest, but ultimately, he had limited space in his ring, so he kept to the essentials.

On a side note, Brock was almost certain the amount of fuel he was currently carrying was illegal.

The expression on Douglas’ face had left something to remember as it had scrunched up sourly at the sheer number of items they had taken their claim on. It was nowhere near enough to hamper the lives of the people in Alice Springs at all, but nobody liked to lose their stuff.

The man had bid them goodbye as they left a half-hour later, and together Brock and Harry had returned to the house. James had left far earlier, muttering something about ‘inspiration’, and he was there long before them, tinkering away in the kitchen, a half-eaten packet of Oreos to his side. It was one of the big packets too.

“What you doing there, mate?” Brock entered the room with Harry in tow, instantly spotting the sizeable device his younger brother seemed to be actively working on. H

It was a bulky metal bracer, sporting several thick leather straps to the sides of it. A small rectangular contraption appeared to be welded onto the top, the tell-tale razor-edged tip of a blade poking out from the end, and underneath, a silver kunai was nestled into a groove moulded perfectly for its form. At the very back of the underside, a reel no bigger than two fingers rested, a thin wire having wound off from it and wrapped itself onto the ring at the handle of the blade.

James was tapping select portions of it, evidently softening the metal exterior and moulding it to a more streamlined size with his fingers, while he screwed some bolts in with his other hand on another section. Instantly, Brock realised what his brother was making.

The boy finally noticed their presence, and his eyes brightened. Hurriedly, he made some finishing touches to it and stood, proudly holding his contraption up to his chest, “It looks a bit scrappy, but here.”

He eagerly handed the device over to Brock and assisted him in tightening the many straps to his remaining arm, continuing to tap various areas and better the fit of the item as he went. Brock felt a heartfelt smile work its way across his face.

“There.” James said as he tightened one final strap and gave a wry smile, “With the… uh… loss of your arm and knife, I thought it’d be a good idea to at least give you back one of them. It’s a bit crude and bulky, but I did the best I cou-”

Brock instantly wrapped his younger brother in a big hug, stunning him. He didn’t let go.