Cecelia stepped forward. Lined up behind her were the top fighters the camp had, including two members from Cain’s camp, Matilda and the man himself. It was to show that they were working together, not just co-habitating.

Conversations died down on their own.

“We move tonight.”

That got a few murmurs and glances between those that had gathered. Worried looks from crafters who were unsure about what this all meant. There had been talks, they had all seen the notifications, felt the shakes of the world as the antlings attacked, but it all came to a head, beginning to sow panic.

“The Queen’s castle opens tomorrow, and we can’t be sure what time,” Cecelia said. “We cannot wait any longer, despite us having many days left in the tutorial counter. We have moved up that timeline, so the time for striking has to be now.”

She paused, looking across both groups. Not just her own.

“I’m not going to pretend this is safe. You’ve all seen what those things are turning into. What lies in that castle may prove too great for us all.”

She looked across the devastation that had been rebuilt, and broken again through the last few days of fighting.

“If we stay here, try to outlast it… we lose. We all die.”

Slow nods from those that understood. No one argued.

She took a deep breath, preparing herself as best she could.

“Tomorrow… we cannot stop. If someone should fall behind, fall down, we can’t stop. We have to push on until the Queen dies.”

That got a reaction, especially from those who were lower level or less experienced than those gathered on the small constructed platform.

She let it sink in, then drove it further. “That’s the reality of it. If we turn around for every mistake, we won’t make it there at all.”

She let it settle before continuing.

“You’ve all made it this far. That wasn’t luck. You all fought to be here, to get back to Earth, or whatever is left of it. To find loved ones, family. Home.”

“So don’t throw it away now.”

Silence filled the camp. But the resolve was building.

“We get there. We hold. And when it opens… We finish this.”

Cecelia took a step back.

“Five minutes. Be ready.”

~

The trek across the quiet city was filled with some light conversation that was more out of habit than interest. Nervous flinches came from those less experienced in venturing into the inner city every time a noise echoed from a far away building.

Leo walked next to Ashley, enjoying each other’s company as they bantered. Neither of them felt all that nervous about this. In fact, they were both excited.

“Can’t wait to throw my army at the Queen. It’s gonna feel so good,” Ashley said.

“You might not get a chance to if I punch her first,” Leo said, bumping into her gently with his shoulder.

She staggered a little, but it would take more than that to really move her.

“You gotta let me at least try it.” She bumped him back, quite hard. It made him stumble, surprising him at the strength.

Leo wasn’t backing down.

“The person who kills her probably gets a really good reward. Think it should be—me!” He ended his sentence with a strong bump, causing her to laugh as she pushed back off a wall.

Ashley recovered with fire in her eyes. A look that sent a cold chill down his spine.

“You really do enjoy hitting girls, huh? Can’t tell if you’re a womaniser or a misogynist.”

“Woah, come on—that’s a bit much,” Leo argued.

“True enough,” Bjorn said, walking alongside his wife. “Lay off the kid, lass. He’s a good one.”

“Sometimes I think you’re just dense. Other times I think it’s on purpose. But you sure do know how to make a girl…” She paused. And… braced herself?

“How to work for it!”

His Nerveflash warned him suddenly as the form of Ashley barrelled into him. He was sent straight through the brick wall next to him, reinforcing his Stoneskin across parts of his body as he tumbled through rubble with a loud crash.

Gasps and shocked looks descended upon the laughing blonde haired woman who looked entirely proud of herself.

Cecelia arrived just as Leo was pulling himself from the building, a layer of stone dust coating him. A small cough escaped his mouth before he could stop it.

“What’s going on?” she all but demanded.

“He fell,” Ashley said casually with a shrug.

Cecelia gave him a blank look. “You… fell?”

He looked at Ashley. Then at Cecelia. A decision was made. “...Yep.”

She exhaled, said nothing, and walked away.

Leo brushed the dust off him, rolling his arm a little after being used as a wrecking ball. When Cecelia left and they began walking like nothing had happened. He only just started realising what had happened.

“You’re a damn bulldozer,” he said, accusatorily.

“I am not!” she quickly retorted. “I’m a princess, remember?” She wiggled her eyebrows.

“Princess Bulldozer.”

“Leonidas. Do not,” she threatened.

“That’s a good one,” Bjorn said, chuckling. “Fits you perfec–”

A look from Ashley caused him to silence immediately. His wife giggled.

“You rammed me through a building!” Leo said.

“We were just playing,” Ashley said playfully. “Speaking of playing, where’s my Elliebean?”

Leo tilted his head to the side. “She’s with Ron. They’re running over the rooftops.”

“Boo,” Ashley said, voicing her displeasure.

Leo just shook his head. How was this what they were doing on the approach to the most important fight of their lives so far?

“Stick with me no matter how bad the fighting gets, okay?” Leo said, voice serious.

“Ohh, you want me close to y–” Ashley was cut off.

“Ash. I’m serious,” Leo said. “Things could get out of hand quickly, not to mention if Ruby shows up. I don’t want anything to happen to you. To any of you.”

“I… Okay. I’ll try,” she replied, with none of the joking tone.

Leo nodded his thanks and had managed to ruin the mood a little. Turning what fun they were having—even being thrown through a wall—into something far more serious.

Conversation faded for a while as they walked through the darkened city.

“Kinda ruined the mood, didn’t I?” Leo asked.

“Little bit,” Ashley replied, looking up into the sky as they continued to walk. “It just doesn’t feel real yet. That we can somehow fight this ant queen and the tutorial might just end. I’ve gotten so used to this place already.”

“I know what you mean. While I miss Natalie, and want to help her out, I quite enjoy the freedom this city gives.”

She nodded.

“I’m sure we’ll find some fun stuff to do back on Earth,” Leo said. “PB, E and L, exploring the new world.”

“Sounds nice,” she said wistfully, before asking. “Wait, who’s PB?”

Leo smirked, remaining silent as he sped up his walk.

She considered it for another moment before looking up, aghast.

“I’m not Princess Bulldozer!”

~

Arriving before the gates, Leo was surprised to see there were no antlings guarding it. Just a few days ago it had been swarming with enemies, all quite a high level too.

Maybe they all came in the first assault? It feels eerie.

He walked up to Cain, who still barely said anything or interacted with anyone. The man turned before Leo was even close, somehow sensing him.

“Do you feel anything off?” Leo asked, looking around. Cecelia was organising people into formations, but Leo wasn’t included.

“Mmh.”

“Helpful. Maybe a little more specific?”

Cain nodded up at the gates.

Leo took this moment to really look upon the castle. Behind a large gated entrance, glowing with golden light, was the top of the castle. Anything at eye level behind the gate was obscured, so all they could take in was the dirty exterior, almost like a hive built above ground.

“Alright, thanks,” Leo said, walking away.

The sun would come up any minute now, so he wanted to get prepared. He took note of all the fighters they had, noting a lot of people who he’d never really fought with. His friends were all here—even Lena had come—realising how important this fight really was. One more person to defend against the tide would make a world of difference, especially if she could use her thread skill.

Amy came with her, but refused to leave her side, even denying Cecelia when she asked her to be part of a different squad.

Breaking down the groups, Cecelia had split people into teams with the optimal line-ups, often doubling up where there was weakness. It had all been discussed at length during the downtimes, and completely worked out to be as optimal as possible.

Not everyone here would be assaulting the Queen. That was reserved for a select few groups and strong fighters. The elites. While having a lot of people being able to do damage was key, having too many would just lead to potential confusion or friendly fire.

There was a worry that once the strongest fighters left, that the ones who remained would be overrun, possibly killed. But that was only if the tide was unending. Something they didn’t know for sure if they were engaged with the Queen.

The whole area was bathed in silence like a thick sheet of snow. Tanks stood at the front beside the melee, healers and ranged damage dealers behind. They formed a semi-circle, encompassing the gates.

There was still no sign of Ruby in all the preparations, but Leo had no doubt she would appear. If she had survived the assaults that was.

One thing had been noted by Cecelia during the many meetings and talks, and brought up during one.

The number of initiates left alive could be accounted for with the entirety of their camps, minus five for Ruby’s team. But after that, there were still forty people out there somewhere.

Leo had looked around, searched during the downtimes with his impressive speed, but there was no sign of anyone. If this had been an actual game, Leo would have figured it was a bug. But perhaps they were hiding out inside dungeons somewhere, likely on the outskirts.

It was decided that they couldn’t do anything about it. Whoever they were, they had clearly survived until now without being hostile to them.

“Prepare yourselves,” Cecelia said, words carrying across the crowd behind her. “It could happen any minute now.”

The anticipation was killing him.

Leo was itching to get this started and really let loose. He had plenty of potions to keep himself going, but he’d still need to watch using his Fuel the Fire or Lightning Drive too often. Draconic Equip would be saved until he really needed it too.

This could be a fight of attrition.

Minutes passed as the warm sun began rising higher, the gates remaining closed and unmoving. There were quiet murmurs between the fighters, most unable to just sit and wait.

Suddenly, there was a shift.

It was like the air changed, a shockwave of pressure rolling out across the entire city.

With it, a notification came.

Quest updated!

The time has come.
The Queen’s castle opens.
Face the swarm and kill the Queen or her army will surely overwhelm you.

Killing the Queen will mean no more antlings appearing within the city.
Good luck, initiate.

Objective: Slay the Antling Queen 0/1

Reward: Dependant on contribution

“Prepare yourselves!” Cecelia called, voice steady.

Weapons were drawn, skills were primed, and a wave of steady auras were slowly intertwining, rippling across the area.

Leo felt the effects, most of them small, but effective in their own way. They weren’t like his own aura, which was more like an active push. Most of them were like Ashley’s, strong, but not all that consuming.

His own aura skill didn’t come out quite yet, as while it had gotten less consuming as he gained levels, it was still something he preferred using in critical situations or in response to someone else's aggressive aura. Sometimes it did leak out when his emotions ran a tiny bit high.

The difference between whatever his Stormforged Presence skill was and someone’s actual aura or presence exhibited by their emotions was a line he was unsure how to specify. One was an active skill that had a purpose upon use. The other was more like one’s energy, like in the way Leo had clamped his aura down on Ruby’s soul. That wasn’t included in the skill’s tooltip.

Perhaps it was something he could ask Iskarion one day, if he ever saw him again.

Like when the inner city became available, a translucent barrier began cracking, spiderweb lines dancing across it like still lightning. They spread further and further, connecting until shards of light began falling like snow made of glass.

Leo took a deep breath, shared by a lot of the more experienced fighters. What was about to happen was not going to be clean. Taking one last look at all the nervous, determined fighters, he accepted, albeit poorly, that a lot of these faces might not make it out of this.

He could curse the System all he wanted, but there just wasn’t a choice.

This system, this tutorial, it all felt like an unfair death game of their own making. A feeling of guilt pressed on his heart, heavy and dense. If he hadn’t cleared the tower, if he hadn’t conquered the dungeon or brought the keystones together, if he hadn’t been so damn greedy for power and the next big fight…

Would more of these faces have lived to see Earth once again?

He didn’t have a chance to cast away the thought. The shield shattered. The gates opened slowly. A loud, rapid thumping noise echoed out so loud that Leo could feel it travel up his legs. But before the gates could even halfway open, they were completely trampled by an overwhelming army of antlings, crashing down onto the stone before them.

Shouts and skills were activated immediately, sending waves of attacks into the incoming horde. Arrows coated in flames, some with no coating at all. Magic of all kinds that rained hellfire or slowed down the incoming stampede.

Leo didn’t jump right in, that would just hinder the ranged attackers as they were forced to avoid friendly fire, especially with how fast he could move. Ellie appeared beside him, ready to pounce with an excited look in her eye that promised an incoming massacre against this chitinous foe.

The horde would be on them in little more than a moment, trampling everyone. But at that moment, he shared a look with Cain. Cain’s eyes became bestial yellow, teeth elongating to sharp fangs that pressed past his lips. He nodded.

Leo’s rainbow coloured eyes, bright with power and promise, were fully closed as he dug deep within himself. The storm battered at the landscape of his soul, barely contained by the Storm’s Guidance skill, which was given to him by a literal God. This skill he was about to use did not fully lessen the bindings on the storm within. Nor did it overwhelm him in a way that he could not control.

What it did do, however, was make itself known.

His eyes flew open as the presence of a stormforged being descended on the incoming attackers. A wave of fear spread through them like a tidal wave, causing their steps to fumble in panic, then to be trampled over by their own companions, only for those to be then affected and trampled. Like a tidal wave of crushing weight.

Cain’s own aura crashed down on them after, pouncing like a beast on their fragile psyche. But while his own friends were given a wave of resolve and fighting spirit, Cain’s was not so gentle.

Leo was forced to pull his own skill back to cover his own people more than affecting the enemies. But that was fine.

He’d made his point.

He’d inspired his allies.

Now, it was time to kill.