"That's certainly something, but how do we know any of it is true?" A burly man asked. Teresa had just finished explaining The Mall's run-in with the cult to the government of Arconette. She and her group were standing in a limestone home's living room, with fifteen additional people seated around multiple dining tables that had been pulled together.

"I also have a few issues with what you've described." Another woman spoke up. "This 'god,' claimed that the System is just a method for multiversal travel, correct? Then what's with all the stats and levels? That doesn't seem related at all."

"I don't know how they're related, and there's only so much I could really do to prove it to you. I received a bounty from killing them and I haven't seen that from anywhere else so I guess I can show you that." Teresa replied as she shared a screen.

Transaction History

Bounty: +1,000

Bounty: +1,000

…

She didn't reveal her actual account balance or the +50,000 from the Tutorial, but this was as close to proof as she had. Maybe if she had the straitjacket they could appraise it and see the item was level 99, but that would cost a fortune to teleport and they hadn't even discussed teleportation rights yet.

"Huh, well it doesn't state a benefactor which does imply it's from the System." Someone new said, looking carefully at Teresa's screen. "However, it's still possible that it comes from a quest. We've heard rumors that some people have received limited time quests to kill powerful monsters, so it could be from a number of things. All this proves is that the System gave her money for something. Did you get a quest to kill these invaders?"

"No, I did not. We didn't even immediately realize we got rewarded for it." Teresa answered.

"What reason would she have to lie?" Elaina asked. "I'm not saying we should immediately believe her, but it would line up with what we've seen. It's possible that another faction is running their operations in Arconette, and I don't think it's something we should outright dismiss. I also don't think we should take it as the whole truth, either. I can't think of a benefit she would get from this if it was all a lie, sooner or later it would be uncovered and she would have an entire city against her."

"She could be trying to build trust, negotiate a deal and then teleport an army in the heart of the city." The burly man said.

"There's also another issue, why wouldn't this god visit himself?" The inquisitive woman asked. "If there's a multiverse as old as you claim, then why not have a level one billion conquer our universe?"

"Our best answer is that there seems to be a level cap for who can enter our universe, at the time they were level 15 but they were trained in combat."

"If there's a level cap why not send a billion low levels to invade us?" Lilith asked.

"I don't know."

"Is the level cap going to stay at 15?" Lilith continued.

"I don't know."

"What if it increases? What if it eventually gets removed entirely? Then what?"

"Then we lose." Teresa admitted. "It's a very bleak situation and we haven't come up with a solution ourselves, but the only way to guarantee that we lose is if we give up. Look at how little time has passed since the Tutorial, yet so much has already gone on. At this rate, it won't even be a month before some people start hitting level 100. With the boosts some people get from the Tutorial, someone out there probably already has the stats of a level 100. We just have to figure something out."

"The System is certainly trying to pressure people economically into leveling up at the very least, so that may be our best option." The man who had inspected Teresa's transaction history said. He had also been the one pushing for a temporary currency. "The only way for money to be introduced into the economy at the moment is by selling goods to the System. Very few people are able to create goods of any real value, but anyone can sell monster parts. From a financial standpoint, an individual ought to be killing monsters, prioritizing that over services that would benefit us as a society."

"That doesn't seem fair." Thomas spoke up. "Not everyone can fight monsters, not everyone wants to. You can glorify the idea in movies, shows, or books, but as soon as you're actually face to face with a monster you get hit with the reality of it all. I'm aware that logically hunting monsters is the best choice, but look at what people were doing pre-System. Logically, it would make sense to eat healthy and work out, but how many people actually did that? Logically, it would make sense to train a little bit of a martial art so you can at least defend yourself, but how many people did that? Same with investing, budgeting, studying, you name it. You can't assume people will act in their best interests. I fought in the Tutorial because I had to, I didn't know what I needed to be capable of once it was over. Now? Once I find Gabriel I'll start fighting again, but only because of a deal I made with Teresa. Unless you've personally fought monsters, I don't think it's fair to say people ought to be doing that."

"Thomas…" Teresa said, spamming <Identify> on everyone in the room. "Not a single person here is below level 20 except for you and Mathew."

"Oh."

"He does have a point." Ezio interjected. "Not everyone can be hunting monsters, we need people to get food, distribute it, build infrastructure, maintain said infrastructure, there's a lot that needs to be done. All of this can, however, be expedited by having workers reach higher levels by hunting monsters, but that's not what we're discussing. We're talking about this multiversal problem Teresa has brought before us, and what to do about it. Even if it were true, where would we start? From the sound of it the only way to tell the difference between an invader and a normal resident of our universe is by using <Identify> to see if they have a level cap."

"Actually we may have figured that one out." Teresa corrected. "In our status screens it says 'Earth' right next to our race. I'm not sure if you guys have encountered any, but there are also other lifeforms on this planet with sapience from other planets. Our best guess is that we are all from the same universe, just different parts of it. If we can keep track of planets that species are from, then we can determine if someone is actually from our universe by looking at their status screens."

"So we need to maintain a database of some kind of everyone's status." A woman said, frowning. "We should add that to inspections upon entering the city, make it a requirement to show your status screen."

"That sounds like it would be effective, but wouldn't that be an invasion of privacy?" Ezio asked. "We're already making a group of people wear armbands to signify who has <Inventory>, now we're keeping track of everyone's personal information?"

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"That's an argument of privacy versus safety, which is more important?" The woman replied. "A status screen doesn't reveal anything too personal, it will be fine. If you have nothing to hide then there shouldn't be a problem."

"Okay, but that's not how privacy works. Once the government gets to decide what's too personal and what isn't, it opens the door to a very slippery slope. I do agree that it would be a potential solution to the problem, but we need to think about it thoroughly. We would be reducing our citizens' right to privacy over a possible threat. I'm inclined to hear Teresa out and investigate the matter ourselves, but we haven't confirmed anything yet. Are we going to do that every time a new threat shows itself? At what point do we creep a little too far into authoritarianism?"

"Ahem." Lilith cleared her throat, getting everyone's attention. "Good points are being made, but I would like to also remind you all that this topic might be… sensitive."

Several gazes fell on Teresa's party, and she understood what was being said.

"In that case, I should do my actual job. Teleportation rights, am I going to be discussing this with all of you or is there someone specific I need to speak with?" Teresa asked.

"We have a procedure for that." A man said, speaking for the first time this meeting. "You'll be talking about that with me. Each of us will agree to a limited number of teleports, typically between one and five, and then each of our cities will teleport a small group both ways. It will be an exchange program, you send a group to Arconette and we'll send a group to… The Mall. Why is your city called that if I may ask?"

"It's a long story, I'll let someone else explain it." Teresa said, deciding she wasn't sure how to tell them that they were technically being led by a dog named Mijo.

"If you don't mind, we would prefer to finish this discussion before moving onto that. Would you be willing to meet with us again in an hour?" He asked.

"Sure thing." Teresa confirmed, turning to leave.

"I'll go with them." Mordecai said, likely intending to keep an eye on the party.

"Same here." Axton agreed. Neither of them had seemed very involved with the meeting in the first place, so there weren't any objections. Teresa understood, if they knew everything that was in her <Inventory> then they definitely wouldn't be letting her roam around on her own.

With that, the party left the meeting. Teresa didn't mind, but it definitely wasn't as bad as it could have been. If Ezio considered that to be rough, then he needed to attend a meeting with Jonathan. Still, Teresa was glad that her days weren't being spent in meetings like those.

"How far away is Gabriel?" Teresa asked Thomas. That was the whole reason they adventured here in the first place after all, he might be nearby.

"He's within a few kilometers of us, that way!" Thomas exclaimed after using his skill. His skin turned several shades paler as he stared off in the distance. "Gabriel is in danger."

Teresa grabbed Jake without hesitating, slumping him over her shoulder like a bag of grain. Sarah and Preston did likewise with Thomas and Mathew, everyone used to the routine.

"We got to be quick, how fast can we go?" Teresa asked their escorts, already cruising at what she imagined would be a reasonable speed for a car on Arconette's roads.

"Full speed, I'll run ahead." Axton said, charging forward a bit. "Tell me if we go off course!"

"Got it!" Thomas yelled out from over Preston's shoulder. Mordecai followed in the rear, his gun drawn.

"Make way!" Axton yelled out repeatedly as they ran through the streets, headed southeast. Multiple people had to move onto the sidewalk, not wanting to be trampled by the sudden high speed pursuit taking place. They weren't sure exactly what they were running into, but if Gabriel was in danger within city limits then Teresa had an idea of what it could be.

Multiple scenes passed by that Teresa wasn't given the opportunity to take in. There were people using skills she had never seen before, foods that smelt truly unique as she passed by, even what looked like a school. Of course, she was able to process them all almost instantly, but there was no time to sit around and just watch whatever she found interesting. They were certainly disturbing some people's peace by kicking up a gust of wind that sent light objects flying as they ran by, but it was urgent.

"He's close! I think Gabriel's in there!" Thomas shouted, pointing towards what looked like a restaurant. The party wasted no time, not even completely slowing down as they released Mathew and Thomas. Axton opened the door with his shield drawn, Teresa running in beside him with <Sturdy Outer Shell> active.

The room was empty, like everyone inside had just vanished. There were multiple chairs and tables set with half eaten meals, but not a person in sight. There was a bar with drinks left unattended, yet multiple candles still lit up the room.

"I hear breathing, someone's behind the bar and someone's in the bathroom." Mordecai said, his rifle aimed at the bar. "Stand up slowly with your hands up and your palms facing backwards."

Everyone remained still for a few moments, with everyone watching something. Preston and Jake were on either side of the bathroom door waiting for someone to come out, Sarah had her bow drawn and an arrow nocked by the entrance in case someone came in, while Teresa, Axton, and Mordecai were all focused on who was behind the bar.

As a few seconds passed, they heard no motion. Axton and Teresa nodded to each other, and slowly made their way around the bar. Once they got a better angle, they immediately understood why the person had not shown themself.

He was unconscious.

A man who looked like he may have been the bartender was slumped on the ground, his eyes open but staring off into space. Now that Teresa got a better look at him, she wasn't sure if he was unconscious or paralyzed.

"I'm going to heal him to make sure he's alright." Teresa said, stepping forward.

"Be careful, I'll shoot him if he tries anything." Mordecai assured. Teresa used <Identify> to assess the potential threat.

{Human (F) (lv 15)}

"Don't worry, I used <Identify>. He's level 15." Teresa responded, not worried in the slightest. That was actually a pretty good level for an everyday person, but considering the powerhouses present that wouldn't be a big deal. He was wearing the attire of a mage, which meant this would be easy.

Teresa activated <Healing Touch> and <Purify> and placed both palms on the unmoving man, feeling her Restoration Mana flow through his body. There were a few scrapes and bruises on him, but more importantly there were two kinds of poisons. One of them was present in the man's muscles, stiffening them. It was like every muscle in the man's body was tensed up at once, but she was getting rid of this just fine.

There was also a poison affecting the brain, slowing down and even blocking pathways from firing. This was a lot more tricky, Teresa knew firsthand how healing the brain could go wrong. She started slowly, removing the poison one bit at a time.

"Something is affecting his brain, I'm healing it now but I'm taking my time. Healing the brain can kill someone if done improperly." She explained as she used her magic. Really she could probably fix all of this guy's problems in under a second, but it was better to be safe than sorry.

"I think Gabriel is in the bathroom." Thomas said, his eyes locked on the bathroom door. Jake and Preston shared a look before opening the door, Jake in the lead. Teresa glanced over, not needing to actually look at the unconscious man to 'see' him while she was healing him.

In the bathroom on the floor was an unconscious teenager, in exactly the same condition as the bartender. He looked like he had been washing his hands when he had suddenly fallen unconscious, a small trickle of water still leaking from the faucet. Arconette had plumbing? Wait, no, this was not the time to be thinking about that.

"Gabriel!" Thomas yelled, running into the bathroom and getting on his knees besides his unconscious son. "Oh my god, please be okay, please…"

They had finally found Mathew's brother.

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