Silence filled the street after Ashley’s impulsive, or perhaps planned, assault. Looking at her proud and smug face, Leo figured it was the latter.

“I think I lo–” She cut him off with a finger on his lips.

“Nuh uh. Save it.” She winked.

Leo nodded mutely.

Surprisingly, none of the people who had rushed quickly to Henry’s side moved to him this time. They didn’t even look worried. In fact, confusion seemed to be the general vibe.

“You guys aren’t going to check on him?” Leo asked. “He kinda got slapped through a wall.”

“I–” Monica began. “I feel weird.”

“Me too,” Greg said, another of Leo’s ex-coworkers. “Wait,” he continued, eyes clearing over. “He–he got my girlfriend killed… and he…” He began to gag.

All of them started to remember things Henry had apparently done to them, and were no longer happy about it like they used to be. The man in question started pulling himself from the rubble, battered and bruised.

“Why aren’t you healing me, Erin? Make yourself useful for once,” he croaked.

The looks he received from all of the people in the street made him falter. Leo had seen enough movies to know what was going to happen next.

Weapons were drawn with angry, hurt faces, eyes moist with pent up frustrations. Stalking in on him like he was prey. Henry tried to activate his bloodline again, but Leo made sure it wouldn’t work, somehow wiping it out with his own aura laced with the storm within.

“Let’s go,” Leo said. He didn’t need to see what was going to happen next. He was past caring about that pathetic excuse for a human. Henry would finally get what he deserved. The notification that appeared confirmed it.

The trio walked down the street, the sounds of violence being drowned out by idle conversation and distance. People around them started to follow the confident looking group, Leo greeted those who were previously from his camp. They all wanted to follow Cecelia, who walked in the middle.

“Ron’s probably up in the factory or something, right?” Leo asked.

Cecelia shook her head. “He was home. It was late, remember?”

“I’m sure he’ll track us down,” Ashley said. “Where are we going, anyway?”

Cecelia pulled the Territory Orb from her storage ring, holding it in her hand.

“I received a quest from the system when I landed. It informed me about the “territory that was ready to be claimed.” It’s leading me toward it.”

“Is it far?” Ashley asked, glancing behind her. “Don't wanna leave everyone behind.”

“We’re going slow enough for them to find us,” Leo said. “Should I make a signal or something?”

“If you want.” Cecelia was focused on her task at hand, not really paying much attention.

She seemed to realise her error the second she’d agreed. A second too late.

But before she could say anything, Leo’s Cloak had already formed around his shoulders, wind swirling around him as he launched from the ground. Ellie leapt to him the moment she sensed it.

“Let’s make it big Ells!” he called as Leo felt Ellie carry him skyward with rapid wingbeats.

“Don’t be too—” Cecelia tried to call but before she could, Leo was on fire.

His armour’s ability roared into being, Ellie joining him as fire coalesced in her mouth. With a twist of motion, both Leo and Ellie spun, flames swirling everywhere like a firework was set off.

He grinned, hugging Ellie as the flames died down, both of them drifting down slowly. His Cloak of Wind gently swayed behind him.

With the height they’d gained, Leo could see far. The town he’d lived in was pretty much the same, apart from the clear signs that nature had taken over. Some buildings had been crushed or broken, likely by the wildlife the system guide had told them about.

Past the town, which used to be roads and plains, highways and such, was now dense forest as far as the eye could see, which was a lot. It spanned for what looked like miles in every direction. Vast and endless. They were entirely isolated here for some reason. Already, Leo wasn’t looking forward to trekking through it.

Twirling back around, the factory in which Bjorn, Ron and Jasper used to work was still atop the hill, and behind it the prison which—he assumed—Cain and other unfriendly individuals were likely reappearing back in.

That’s gonna go well.

Unsavoury types could start roaming around, and with a full world to explore… well.

Drifting down to the ground again, Leo was met with a pair of blank faces, one of them failing to hide their amusement.

“What?”

“You did say he should do it, Cecelia,” Ashley said, unable to hold her laugh.

“What did I do wrong?” Leo asked, genuinely confused.

Sighing, Cecelia grabbed his head and turned him around, seeing a lot of very startled people, some of them backing away as he looked at them. He winced.

“Sorry folks! Just letting our friends find us!” he tried to say, red cheeks giving away his embarrassment.

A few moments later, Ron and Gordon came crashing to the ground before them all, panting. Gordon arrived just a second or two ahead of Ron.

“I win!” Gordon said, cheery.

Ron clicked his tongue as he straightened.

“Hey guys.” Gordon grinned. “Thanks for the signal, it made it easy to find you.”

Leo gave Cecelia a smug glance to which she rolled her eyes.

“Why are you both panting like dogs?” she asked, seeing the clear state of them both.

“Had a race, I won!” Gordon said between breaths.

Cecelia gave Ron a questioning look.

The man said nothing in return.

“At least win if you’re going to race,” she teased.

Another tongue click from Ron, but it was followed with a slight smirk.

From there, more people they knew started coming over to them, gathering up until it was basically only Cain and a few others from the man’s camp that were missing. They had formed a veritable army of people behind them. All of which were in the levels varying from 30-50ish. Some were higher, but it was mainly the fighters that had joined them at the castle.

Those high enough to identify the main group could see the reason why everyone was following them.

“Got quite the crowd,” Nolan said. “Why are they all just following?”

“They probably think we know what we’re doing,” Leo said, daring a quick glance back and being a bit shocked by the growing number. “Or just safety in numbers, all that stuff.”

“It’s not much further, then we’ll need to organise people. It’ll be quite the task with this many,” Cecelia said, unable to hide her happiness.

“Don’t look too excited about it,” Ashley teased.

Cecelia shook her head with a smile.

They were passing his old apartment soon, and a voice in his head told him to go have a look and see if any of his things were there, but that could wait. In fact, around here should be just next to…

“Ho’ there Leo m’boy!” A voice called, descending from a nearby rooftop like an anvil. He crashed into the floor so hard that the ground shattered under his weight. Rested across his shoulders was a large, two-handed axe he could recognise a mile away. It was gleaming and perfectly maintained.

“Boyd?” Leo asked incredulously, a bright smile dawning. Using Identify, Leo was surprised.

Human - Level 71

The highest level apart from his party he’d met so far, and despite the level difference, Leo could sense anything but weakness from this man.

“You know him?” Ashley asked. “What is it with you and burly old men? Do I need to be worried?”

He quickly flicked her on the arm. “He was my teacher. I used to go to his gym every morning. He’s the one who taught me how to fight.”

After he’d said that, those that knew Leo looked at Boyd much more appreciatively. He looked a little overwhelmed at the sudden attention.

The man was large, very large. Bigger than Leo had remembered him being by at least a head. His muscles bulged underneath metal plating, filling out his suit of well fitted armour entirely. Like Bjorn, Boyd was bald on the top, with a fairly bushy beard. But it was a bit more clean cut like he took care of it.

“Wondered when I’d run into you. This whole thing is like one of your fantasies. Figured you’d thrive.” He laughed heartily. “Pick the Pugilist class?”

Leo grinned. “Sure did.”

The man frowned. “Can’t identify you. Just gives me a question mark. Beasts I fought with that tended to be the really fun ones. Princess would get her fill on those.”

“Is that actually Princess?” Leo asked, walking alongside the man who’d joined them at the front like he was meant to be there. Leo’s group were watching the exchange with rapt attention.

“Sure is! Told the system I wanted my baby and they’d let me. Something about heirloom weaponry as she wasn’t already enchanted. She’s incredible.” The metal of the axe hummed, stunning Leo for a moment.

“Is it alive?”

“Nah, not quite. Just has a little personality to her. Don’t you baby?” He stroked the metal gently. “Doesn’t like me putting her away in storage either.”

“Is this guy alright?” Leo heard Ashley whisper to Cecelia.

“Unsure. But it sort of makes sense that he’s Leo’s teacher.”

Leo disregarded their opinions. Boyd had taken good care of him in his time in the gym. If not for him, he might not be alive right now. Or maybe he’d have been a mage.

“I’ve got a skill that hides me and Ellie from Identify,” Leo said, answering his previous question.

“Ah, makes sense. Who’s Ell–” The girl in question pounced into the big man’s chest. Her form was shrunken back down.

“Woah! This must be her. Aren’t you beaut—” His axe hummed. Ellie looked up at him with big expectant eyes before she was just handed back to Leo.

Ellie looked distraught and shocked.

“Sorry, girl. Princess is a little bit of a jealous type.”

Ellie jumped to Ashley again, nuzzling and begging for cuddles to which the girl was more than happy to oblige.

“Where you folks heading, anyway?” Boyd asked, addressing the group.

“I’ve got a quest,” Cecelia said. “A friend of Leo’s is welcome to come along.”

“Thanks…”

“Cecelia,” she said, filling in the blank.

“Thanks, Cecelia,” he said, smiling and then giving Leo a look.

Leo realised his mistake and went around introducing everyone to Boyd. He greeted them all with kindness and warmth. They all took to him quickly.

The chatting continued until they made it to the edge of the city. Leo figured Cain wasn’t coming. No sleep was lost there.

The city suddenly turned to forest. The trees were massive, looming higher than the buildings next to them. If anything, it was like the city had been transplanted into the middle of the forest, instead of the forest growing around the city.

It didn’t take long for the first creature in this new world to show itself. A fox, no larger than Ellie at full size—which was quite big now—poked its head around a tree. It didn’t instantly attack, clearly knowing it was outnumbered.

Juvenile Fire Fox - Level 37

Wow, that’s weak.

It was a far shot from anything he’d been fighting for the last half of the tutorial. The same level as the golem at the top of the Trial Tower, and not nearly as dangerous. It ran off immediately.

“If all the wildlife is of similar level, gaining more levels will be difficult,” Cecelia said, frowning.

“We’re only at the outskirts, I imagine it’ll get much more fun further in. At least there’s things for the lower level folks behind us to find and level on,” Boyd said, surprising the group. He was quite a confident man.

Took the words out of Leo’s mouth.

The slow walk continued for maybe an hour or so, nothing but forest around them until a large crystal appeared before them. It towered above, twice the height of any of them, apart from maybe Boyd.

The colouration on it was the same as the Territory Orb. Glowing and pulsing as the orb in Cecelia’s hand did. On the perfectly formed crystal, the only imperfection was an orb sized slot that just happened to be at the perfect height for them to reach. Key meets lock.

“Before I do this,” Cecelia began, speaking to everyone, but Leo especially. “Are you sure that you want me to be the one to do it? Whoever does this will likely gain a reward. Especially if it's the first one. I’ve been told as such.”

“I’m going to go find my dad,” Ashley said, “So it’s fine by me as long as Leo also doesn’t want it.”

“Tempting, but I’ll pass. I’ve got a lead on Natalie so I’m gonna be off soon too, just wanted to see what would happen.”

Cecelia nodded, clearly relieved. Leo figured she was being polite, he knew how much she wanted this. And while the extra power and potential stats could be a boon, he wasn’t ready to manage his own city, town, or… forest.

“Anyone else?” Cecelia asked, but was met with no refusals.

She walked to the crystal and inserted the Territory Orb without further hesitation.

~

A notification appeared within Cecelia’s vision.

Quest Complete!

You have successfully claimed a Territory on Earth.

Territories are limited, but not sparse.
Continue through the following menus to access your new features.

Objective: Claim a Territory 1/1

Reward: Access to the Territory system. Title.

Title gained: First Claim

The territory system has been activated.

Cecelia first opened the title, and was utterly astonished by its effects.

First Claim

You are the first on your newly integrated planet to claim a territory. You have proven yourself ahead of an entire planet filled with people.

May your territory grow until it reaches the stars.

+15 All stats, +10% All stats

Another ten percent to her stats instantly filled her, growing her ever closer to the monsters she so desperately wanted to reach. The elation she felt couldn’t be masked as a grin overtook her lips.

Territory system overview:

You have claimed a Territory and will now have access to its features. You will be set as the ruler or leader of this settlement you establish.
You may control who gets to live in, and enjoy, the bonuses your future settlement may provide.

You may assign roles to those you trust to carry out your orders

….

It just kept going. On and on the list of things she had available to her was mind boggling and exciting. She could feel the area in which she had control over. It wasn’t a vast distance, but it was enough to have all these people who had followed her get settled. It was going to take a lot of work.

She couldn’t wait to get started.

~

The moment she’d inserted the orb, Leo felt the area around him change briefly. It wasn’t like he was unwelcome, just that it felt owned somehow. It was intriguing, and he didn’t miss the slight change to Cecelia’s aura when she’d done it. Clearly, she had gotten a bonus.

A system message appeared before them all.

The first Territory has been claimed.

When the Territories claimed reaches certain milestones, new features will be unlocked.

First milestone: 1/20 - Leaderboard system unlocked

Second Milestone: ??

Third Milestone: ??

Oh boy. A leaderboard.

Something that a lot of gamers—and competitive people in general—sought to be at the top of. Some would be filled with cheaters, and perhaps Leo was technically a cheat, but the idea of being at the top of whatever it ranked definitely interested him. It would probably be level.

Not to mention the mysterious other milestones that were yet to be seen. Those could be anything, but were certainly delicious.

Cecelia was speaking to Nolan and Ron, with others listening nearby. Ashley and Leo drifted before speaking to one another.

“What do we do now? Just split?” she asked, smiling.

“Nah.” Leo shook his head. “But I did think I’d head home for a bit. Wanna come?”

Ashley linked her arm into his, Ellie draping herself across them both. “I thought you’d never ask.”