Feeling like his insides were vibrating with excitement, Logan fixed an image in his mind. Of muggy weather, the salty scent of the ocean, of glinting skyscrapers that surrounded the streets on either side. But most importantly, he fixed a distinct sign in his mind.

Burrard Station.

One of the Vancouver Skytrain entrances.

Concentrating on that image, Logan deployed [Threshold Shift].

***

With a crack, he materialized on the street, a blast of cold surging through his body before the sensation faded as if he'd stepped in and out of a walk-in freezer. Peering around, he grinned in satisfaction. Although it was dark, the sky in Vancouver wasn't full of smog and smoke, letting the light of the moon illuminate the area.

He could have shifted to many areas in Vancouver, from the hockey arena to Grandville Market; hell, even to Stanley Park, but if he wanted to find an area with a ton of foot traffic, the Skytrain in downtown Vancouver had to be his best bet. The city was home to over 700,000 people, and unless Pied had invaded the area, that was a ton of potential customers for his private market.

On first glance, Logan couldn't see anyone around, but [Life Fabricator] told him the area was brimming with people hiding in buildings, along with… were those birds?

He was tempted to check it out, but he'd already spent too much time in Australia as it was. He knew Vancouver; second only to Hope's End, it was home, but at the same time, it wasn't his city.

And yet, he could spare a minute to create an advertisement. If he crafted his lodestone against a city building or the entrance of the Skytrain, it could easily get overlooked. Nothing was more attention grabbing than a monster carbon sucking tree in the middle of the street. The locals would see the top of the tree canopy and check it out, if not for curiosity's sake, then for desperation.

This time, he'd rely on one of the seeds within his spatial storage collar and use [Life Fabricator] to grow it the natural way.

Logan eyed the street, then used his spatial storage collar to scoop out a massive area of concrete. Dropping the seed into the ground, Logan got to work.

***

Ding!

[You have successfully deployed the skill, Life Fabricator, in a carbon reduction event! Calculating carbon reduction… 101,000 tons captured! 10% Mass Murderer title penalty in effect! You have been awarded 395,000 KarmaCoin!]

[Lodestone access point created! Would you like to set up your inventory for your private market?]

Logan gazed up at his new monster carbon sucking tree, craning his neck. He couldn't help feeling awe as a new breeze caressed his face and trickled over his armour. Logan had already cottoned on to the realities that the System had made him into a wizard, but to create something that generated its own weather? Badass.

To confirm that he was on the right track, he pulled up the status of his Build an Empire quest:

[Build an Empire! Craft ten lodestone access points and sell 100 items within 48 hours.]

[Quest Progress: 70% complete. 18.8 hours remaining.]

Logan smiled as he studied the results. It had gone up from 65% to 70%, which meant that each new lodestone increased the completion rate by 5%.

As for his next location….

This quest required him to craft ten lodestones, which meant that he had a lot of options. And although he was in Vancouver, if he wanted to be fair to the entire city, he should head over the bridge and into North Vancouver. Throughout his childhood, Logan had been all over the city, but the shipyards with its mix of industrial and residential development, had its own charm. Without cars, many people would be forced into the same area, not venturing out to the mainland due to the distance.

That did it.

With a moue of concentration, Logan fixed the shipyards in his mind, picturing the edge of the pier, the ocean gleaming in the background, the restaurants and crafting markets that surrounded the area. With a blink, Logan deployed [Threshold Shift] and sent himself away.

When he opened his eyes, he couldn't help furrowing his brow. Unlike his last destination, this one had serious signs of struggle. From overturned carts and rotting food on the ground, to smears of blood. Strangest of all, the blood didn't resemble normal dried blood, but rather blood that was mixed with a purple tinge.

Off in the distance, he could see people stumbling down the street, their limbs jerky, their eyes glazed as if they were on drugs.

Or as if they were zombies.

Logan hesitated.

If he spent too much time here and got diverted into a side quest, he would never complete his Build an Empire Quest. He'd already resolved to finish crafting most of his lodestones and then give himself extra time for the last few.

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And if he left today, it didn't mean that he couldn't return once he'd completed his quest. Pied's shitty knight's Integration Tournament was ever looming. That meant that Logan would need to get as strong as he could by leveling the hell up.

Besides, if he fought off a bunch of zombies on his own, Ernie would never forgive him. Since he'd turned into a Cephalopod Liche, Ernie had a proprietary view about everything undead.

The next time he returned, he'd bring Ernie.

***

Ding!

[You have successfully deployed the skill, Life Fabricator, in a carbon reduction event! Calculating carbon reduction… 103,000 tons captured! 10% Mass Murderer title penalty in effect! You have been awarded 398,000 KarmaCoin!]

[Lodestone access point created! Would you like to set up your inventory for your private market?]

Logan turned his back on his new lodestone and then pictured his next destination.

Logan had brought Vicious and the octopuses to Vancouver Island for a reason. He knew the area, and when he'd wanted to try out [Threshold Shift] to send himself over a long distance, it had seemed the safest bet. But Vancouver Island had also been a place he'd visited as a child. His grandfather had taken Lara and Logan to Victoria Pier, showing them the historical buildings that looked like ancient castles or Victorian buildings.

The population wasn't as big as Vancouver, but if he wanted to give the people an advantage by giving them access to his private market, he couldn't go wrong with Victoria.

Logan fixed on an image of the ocean gleaming out in the harbour, of the recreational boats and seaplanes attached to the docks, of the boardwalk and the shrubs and trees that were sculpted to look like killer whales; the Empress hotel that reminded him of Victorian England; the squawk of seagulls. Logan could picture it so clearly that he could already taste the clear, ocean air.

With a crack and a feeling of vertigo, Logan deployed [Threshold Shift] and sent himself across the ocean.

The ground underneath his feet shuddered. He lurched, swaying as he got his feet underneath him and then opened his eyes to darkness. He could hear the waves cresting against the pier of the shore, but unlike in the mainland, Victoria was covered in cloud cover, blocking the light of the moon.

After his eyes adjusted, there was just enough light to tell that he'd arrived where he wanted. The pier, the long, wide sidewalk that covered the edge of the harbour on one side, the docks and…

Huh.

Of course. Logan had forgotten that the System had purged the motorized boats and planes. Instead of a normal, bustling recreational harbour full of seaplanes and speedboats, only a few sailboats remained.

Logan scanned the area with [Life Fabricator] and searched for life. Bright spots of life swarmed his senses, but they were coming from the ocean. On land, he could sense birds who'd tucked in for the night, of insects and animals who were observing Logan, but…

What the hell?

Why couldn't he sense any people?

Feeling a trickling of unease, Logan shifted his stance. Although there weren't any signs of struggle, an empty city reminded him of what had happened at Hope's End.

Logan hesitated.

He could investigate it, but at this point, he was on a mission. Craft his lodestone, set up his private market in each area, and then go on to the next.

***

Ding!

[You have successfully deployed the skill, Life Fabricator, in a carbon reduction event! Calculating carbon reduction… 104,000 tons captured! 10% Mass Murderer title penalty in effect! You have been awarded 400,000 KarmaCoin!]

[Lodestone access point created! Would you like to set up your inventory for your private market?]

Logan turned his back on his new tree and lodestone and then mulled over his next destination.

He loved his country, and although he wanted to travel to other big cities within North America, his priorities had to be Canada first. With [Threshold Shift], he could go to the opposite side of the country with a snap of his fingers, taking him to the most populated city in Canada.

Toronto.

Although he'd never been there personally, like anyone, he could picture the CN Tower in his mind, that supertall structure that towered over the downtown sky. Toronto was home to over 2 million people, and although they weren't concentrated in one area, just like in Vancouver, downtown had to be a place that would attract numerous customers for his lodestone.

Concentrating on that image of the tower in his mind, Logan pictured it like he would a photo. Although other towers existed in the world, he layered onto the picture, adding on the hint of Rogers Centre, the gleam of Lake Ontario as the sun hit the water.

With a flash, Logan deployed [Threshold Shift] and was gone.

***

Logan glanced from his newly crafted lodestone at the base of the CN Tower to his updated quest status. This time, he'd decided against crafting a lodestone on another tree, since what was more attention getting than the tower? If nothing else, people would flee to the building to get a view of the city.

[Build an Empire! Craft ten lodestone access points and sell 100 items within 48 hours.]

[Quest Progress: 85% complete. 18.5 hours remaining.]

Logan gazed at it in satisfaction, cracking his neck as he grinned from ear-to-ear.

Seven down, three to go!

But he needed to move his ass. The time difference was a real thing. Back in Vancouver, it was still late at night, but in Toronto, it was three hours ahead. Already, the faint haze of the coming dawn was drifting up on the horizon, illuminating what had been a pitch-black city with light. Whatever had happened here, couldn't be good. There were signs of struggle all around CN Tower; fresh blood stains on the street, followed by stains that looked a week old.

Down the street a block away, pit bulls walked down the sidewalk, yellow eyes glinting. Their fur full of caked on dirt and blood, their legs missing chunks of flesh and showing glints of bone, they looked creepy as hell. And yet they were agile as they bounded back and forth on the street, throwing something in their mouths before catching it, then throwing it again. Was that… aww man, a dead cat. Talk about Apocalyptic.

And in the middle of the pack of dogs, a child walked down the street, her hair up in pigtails, her legs in bright purple knee length socks. Skipping down the street and then twirling as if she was at the park and playing tag, the girl looked towards Logan and then paused.

She was starting right at Logan. The girl whistled and the dogs dropped the cat and sat down, one after another, their eyes bright and devoted.

Logan frowned. Yeah, it was a teenager, and Logan had a weakness for kids Sawyer's age, but this one didn't seem in need of help. Besides, hadn't he already resolved to craft his lodestone and go?

Logan peered at CN tower, ready to—

There was a sound up above.

Logan looked up.

Up above, the tower loomed over him; the building so high that Logan had to crane his neck. Even with that, he still couldn't see the top. There was a creaking noise above him, not the creak of a high, slender building swaying from side-to-side in the wind. No, this was something else. And as dawn illuminated the tower, rays of sun creeping up the sides, Logan saw webs.

Spider webs. Massive ones.

Oh, hell no.

With a blink, Logan envisioned his next destination and deployed [Threshold Shift] to send himself on his way.

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