When Leo arrived back at camp, the pair’s Draconic Equip skill had just run out. The speed gained from the newly acquired greaves was truly something to behold. The talons allowed him to gain purchase on walls and push off easier when doing rapid turns. They somehow carried the momentum from his movement easier too.

He hadn’t had a chance to test the damage yet, but he was sure looking forward to trying it. As was Ellie, she was bouncing around after they had dismissed the skill, hyped on the speed she’d experienced while travelling together. Before Leo could even say anything she’d added more points into Agility.

All he could do was shake his head and shrug. Agility was important after all.

As he entered the camp, passing by Alex who was guarding the walls, crossbow in hand, Leo gave the man a wave and the gate opened. Like with Cain’s camp, the wall wasn’t exactly big enough for him to be unable to jump over, this was just more natural. Avoided scaring people too.

Not stopping for a conversation, Leo quickly sought out Hector and Nolan. He found the latter first, training in Building A. Sweat poured off him as sword strikes impacted solid stone. The metal of the sword did not bend, nor even chip as it came down again and again.

The man spotted Leo after a sword swing that left him almost limp, sword barely held in his grip. His eyes held anger for a moment before they quickly faded into something sadder. The look he was giving Leo was extremely apologetic, and before he even spoke, Leo got there first.

“It’s okay man, don’t worry about it.” Leo smiled, continuing. “With Cece gone, I’m thinking we should talk to everyone and relay that everything is fine with Cain’s group for now. Put some people at ease. Could you help me? Maybe gather some people up?”

“I… I just—” Nolan sighed under Leo’s genuine smile. “Sure thing, man. I’ll go do that.”

“Thanks, mate.”

Leo held his fist out, offering it to Nolan. Nolan looked at it for a brief moment before giving him a sad smile. Then returned the fist bump.

Nolan had informed him that Hector was trying to sort out some kind of storage situation in one of the buildings, so Leo quickly found him too. That conversation had been even quicker, Hector being more than happy to assemble people into the courtyard to hear the good news.

Now it was down to the fun part. Standing in front of a full camp of nervous—bordering on full blown panicked—people and telling them it would all be okay sounded like an easy ordeal, but in reality, people would probably want details. Not to mention he lacked whatever skill it was Cecelia used to make her words feel more personal and heartwarming.

Leo had barely noticed her using such a skill, since it had little to no effect on him. Everyone else seemed to either not notice or just be completely okay with it. It did tickle him a little on the manipulative side, but she wasn’t using it to bully or control. All she used it for was to help calm the panic in a world that people would be rightfully okay to fully panic in.

That was fine by him. If Earth was going to be anything like this tutorial, then kindness would not be a common thing.

There were those seeking power already in this tutorial. Seeking it at almost any cost. Cain, Ruby, even Cecelia was obsessed with this new future. Leo was guilty of it himself. At some point he’d expected the rush of gains and power to wear off on him, get used to it somehow as he expected more and more.

But it had only increased.

He wanted to see how far his class could go, how much Ellie could grow. What was out there in the multiverse. If the power he could wield in E-grade felt spectacular, then what was godhood?

A question he wanted answers to. Speaking to a god and hearing it second hand could only give him so much. The power he’d felt from Iskarion, while massive, was also quite muted. Like he couldn’t exert himself entirely, or held back on account of Leo’s weakness.

Could he become a god one day? The path existed. But whether he was one who could make such a path his own was yet to be seen.

This small distraction of thought from publicly speaking had helped settle him down into much less nervousness. Realising that they were just people, and if he wanted to one day become a god, then something as silly as talking loudly in front of people couldn’t be something to cause such a reaction.

That kept up all the way until he hit the small platform that Cecelia used. Then he looked down at every one of their worried or skeptical faces and all that relaxation wandered off. Abandoning him.

You can do this. You just walked into the lion’s den, taunted him, then left with not a scratch on you. This is a piece of cake.

He took a deep breath.

“Thank you all for gathering,” Leo began, just as Cecelia would. “Some of you might have been on edge after Cain’s people attacked the camp, wondering if he was going to do so again.”

He glanced around, noticing a few slow nods. “You’ll be happy to know that Cain has no intention of attacking again. As long as we stay on this side of the city, there will be no war, and no more fighting.”

A few murmurs in the crowd were picked up by his improved hearing but he drowned them out, not wanting to be distracted.

“How can you be sure?” someone asked.

Another asked, “Shouldn’t Cecelia be telling us this?”

Leo did his best to answer all the questions that were coming like dominos.“Cece—Cecelia is in a dungeon right now and will return in a few days at most. I went to Cain’s camp–”

His words were cut off as people started gasping or questioning him. It was all getting a bit too much. He was about to flare his aura to silence them when a loud whistle echoed out from beside him.

“Let the man finish!” Nolan barked. Leo gave him a thankful nod.

“The name Cain sparks fear in a lot of you, I can see that. For some of you, it might spark hate after he has been responsible for hurting someone you cared about. The threat of him looming above your head. I get it.” The words were coming to him so he just kept the train going.

“But you don’t need to be afraid.” Leo flared his aura, not to silence but to inspire. “Cain doesn’t care about you. He doesn’t care about what you do here. If you cross him, sure, you’re probably in danger. But why would you?” He paused. “All you need to do is survive, and live the best life you can in this new world until we get to go home.”

Some brave faces appeared, but a lot still seemed apprehensive. While Leo was strong, what assurances did they really have?

“You all might not know me very well…” He smiled, tiredly. “Some of you might even fear me. And while I don’t understand why, let me just say this now to all of you…”

“No matter how you feel about me, I will do all I can to protect you.”

Leo decided to make his point further by coating his body in draconic brilliance, both gauntlets and scaled greaves formed across his body. He took it a step further and activated his Lightning Drive. Blue sparks rushed across his body and down his limbs as he lit up like a beacon in the night.

Last touch.

The skill from his chest piece was added on, coating him in flame that danced with the lightning in a way that had all the colours flare even brighter. People had backed away instinctively, but the more they looked at him, the more assured they all began feeling. Gazes of fear and skepticism changed to awe and amazement as they witnessed what this new world could give them.

Leo let the skills run until his point was proven. They wanted someone to put their minds at ease? To show them what protected them? He’d fill that role.

As all the skills faded slowly, Leo dismissing them in turn, the crowd seemed to realise that the speech was over and began dispersing. Leo walked with Nolan and Hector to a nearby building, and the moment he was behind a closed door he slank down until he was almost prone.

His eyes were closed and he was taking some relaxing breaths. Nolan laughed incredulously.

“Looks like they can rely on you for everything but public speaking, huh?”

“It’s just so nerve wracking. All those eyes on me… Like what if I say something stupid or they don’t understand.” He shook his head. “I don’t know how Cece does it so casually.”

“I think because she’s used to it,” Hector said. “I’ve spoken to her at length about her time before this system. A gathering of people like this is child’s play.”

“Don’t know if I’ll ever get used to it,” Leo said, sighing. “Being a leader is rough.”

Nolan patted him on the shoulder, leaning down to do so. “You actually did really well out there. Especially the part where you went all flashy. That was badass.” He chuckled. “How many fuckin’ skills do you even have at this point?”

“I’ve sorta lost count,” Leo gave a short breathy laugh. “Still many more to come too.”

“I don’t think I could do what you both do,” Hector said quietly. Both men looked at him, so he continued.

“I had my first taste of fighting when I was dropped in here, desperately attacking a giant ant that was trying to eat my friend…” He grimaced as the memory flashed. “Then when those… men took us and tortured us, I was praying for the end.”

His eyes landed on Leo, full of life and gratitude. “You saved me. Saved us. Then we had to fight together against that bloody swarm. That was enough for me.” He placed a calming hand on his own chest. “To do what you both do every day, risking your lives against those demonic things… I couldn’t do it.”

“I should be thanking you more. Thank you both. If people out there don’t say it to you enough, I will fill their words in for them.”

Silence passed for a moment before Nolan spoke. “Wow man. Uh, you’re welcome. I didn’t know you felt that way.”

“Sorry for my rambling,” Hector said, a bit embarrassed as he smiled at Leo. “It appears I was a bit inspired by our young protector here.”

They all shared smiles and laughter that lifted their spirits and continued into the night. Ellie was fast asleep after the day, and sleep took Leo soon after. Nolan said he’d handle any raids, but surprisingly there wasn’t one. They just took it as a nice reprieve that they all earned.

The next day, Leo was going to just hang about in camp, maybe see if anyone needed any help, but everyone was already so engrossed in their work. He didn’t want to disturb them. It was a pleasant surprise when more people than normal greeted him and thanked him as he walked around, though. He could get used to that.

Okay, maybe I’m starting to see the appeal of leading. At least, the good side. Leo thought, smiling to himself.

With Cecelia still gone and Cain not a risk right now—if he trusted his word, which he strangely did—Leo decided he didn’t want to wait to at least scout out the other keep. So after a quick breakfast brought to him by one of the few cooks they had, Leo headed out for the day.

There was no rush to go full speed, Lightning Drive, Lightning Stance, etc. But he didn’t want to spend all day traveling so he went with the middle ground—pushing his agility to almost maximum.

Ellie wanted to run too, so Leo turned it into a fun kind of cat and mouse game across the rooftops. They ran into a few antlings on the way, but this far out there was a massive level difference, making the fights into a breeze, barely worth the time spent fighting.

The city had rushed past quickly under the guise of a game/training, so before long, the pair were almost at the keep.

It was a stunning visual in comparison to the charred remains of the other. The air almost seemed to sparkle as the vibrant clean stone glistened brightly under the sun. There were green stains of antling blood coating the streets leading to it. Leo guessed that Cain must have come here already.

Stepping to the edge of the rooftop and looking down upon the entrance, surprise was written across his face. Standing in front of the dungeon entrance was Cain with three of his bulky, tattooed looking lackeys, and an older woman with dark skin.

It was as if Cain sensed him the moment Leo’s eyes landed on him and his hatchets were in his hands immediately. The bestial man turned towards Leo and was almost demanding him to come down with his look. Or he would come to him.

Leo saw no reason to not go. He wasn’t breaking any rules of their truce by being here, at least for not another few steps.

Cain stepped up to him before he even landed, eyes locked on him like he wanted a fight. His bloodlust was clear.

“Woah, hold your beans Cat-man. Why’re you so angry?”

“Liar,” Cain growled, and continued growling. The sound was bassy and not unfamiliar to Leo. It didn’t phase him however.

Leo looked around to Cain’s companions. “Can someone translate for me? I really don’t want to try and find out what he’s talking about.”

The men didn’t say anything, but the older woman, maybe in her late fifties or more, laughed aloud.

“He believes your camp members are currently occupying this dungeon. You told him that they were in the Cinder Bastion, yet this one is occupied. Thus, calling you a liar.”

Leo relaxed visibly. “Thanks,” he quickly said, then continued. “I swear on my life, my friends are in the other dungeon.” He pointed behind him with no real thought. “Whoever is in there is not part of my camp.”

Cain looked at him inquisitively for a moment, and by inquisitively, it was more like a death stare. But after a moment of Leo’s face remaining unchanged, he put his hatchets away.

“Who?” Cain said.

“No idea,” Leo replied. “Have you been here long?”

“Since early this morning,” the woman answered. “We moved during the night. Something had our leader a little riled up yesterday.” She smirked, a knowing look on her face.

Leo got a better look at her now that Cain had backed off. She had silvery hair that was down to her shoulders. Skin that could have once been wrinkled was now silky smooth, but it didn’t quite hide her age. Her robe was not the starting gear of a healer, but Leo felt she was still giving off that kind of vibe.

Human - Level 40

A pretty respectable level too. As were all the other men with him. The lowest being level 39.

Just as Leo was about to try and guess who was in the dungeon, the blue portal flashed and four people emerged. People he recognised. But they were missing one.

The portal flashed once more and the shock of lustrous red hair came out. Unmistakable in its owner.

The gathered members of Cain’s party jumped back and brought up arms immediately. Leo looked on and met her eyes. She gave him a wicked smile.

“Ruby.”