The moment Leo finished uttering the name, the girl in question bounded forward, a triumphant grin on her face. Gareth had noticed him too, along with a few more people Leo didn’t know the name of. His gaze cut to the other parties—and snagged on the bestial yellow eyes of the shaggy haired man.

“Who?” Cain demanded, striding forward to meet the group.

“Who, what?” Ruby scoffed. “Are you asking who we are? Or have you maybe forgotten your own name?” She pouted sarcastically.

Cain growled, hatchets appearing in his hands. Ruby’s eyes sparkled with excitement. Leo identified her and the group at this point before things got out of hand.

Human - Level 53

Human - Level 50

Human - Level 49

Human - Level 50

Human - Level 51

All of them were around the same level he was, with Ruby being the outlier.

A blue staff appeared in her hands, but it was giving off some other vibes rather than flame. Gareth quickly stepped forward between them with his shield raised. “Stop!”

Cain did not like being told what to do, so Leo knew where this was going before it even started.

Cain’s body started to morph into that of a beast as his aura descended. His group stood behind him, weapons drawn. Ruby was taken aback by the aura for a brief second before her eyes lit up like fires in the night. Blazing red suns that made the air itself feel like it was about to be set aflame.

Her aura was outstanding. Sweltering heat rolled off it, pure destructive pressure that was pushing down on his soul. Cain clearly felt it too but wasn’t to be outdone. This was about to turn into an all out bloodfest.

“Let’s talk about this!” Leo tried to reason in a vain attempt to stop the fighting. Not a single person even looked his way.

Both groups balanced on a blade’s edge, one small push away from firing.

“Come on, can we just relax for a second?” He tried again. Useless.

Cain stepped forward. Ruby’s staff rose.

“I told you to wait.”

Leo’s aura rolled out like a tsunami, completely engulfing both Cain and Ruby’s attempt at dominance. The Storm saw flame, roaring and destructive. It saw the beast, feral and dominant.

It did not care.

It swallowed them both. Both parties faltered, staring at him wide-eyed. Even Ruby wasn’t expecting the sheer pressure of his unrestrained aura once Leo had gotten pissed.

And pissed he was. Despite his past, Leo didn’t anger easily. Hurt his friends? Sure, that would cause him to grow angry, sometimes beyond his control. Insult him or hurt him? It depended. He could take a beating for the right reason, sometimes for the wrong.

But to be ignored while two groups attempted to bite each other’s heads off for no more reason than ego? He’d make himself be heard.

“Have I got your attention?” Leo’s eyes were cold, his aura still flaring at full strength. The strain on his soul wasn’t something he could keep withstanding, but for now it was manageable.

Silence descended but Cain’s growl rumbled in his chest. His fangs were glistening white in the afternoon sun. Cain had felt this aura before, and it had caused something instinctive in him to want to kill him. This time was no different. Leo was asserting his dominance.

“Good. Now, let’s fucking talk about this instead of fighting like animals.”

He dismissed his aura, retracting it back into his body while trying to hide the strain.The groups visibly relaxed, colour returning to faces, no longer clutching weapons with a white knuckle grip.

“Ruby, Gareth,” Leo greeted with a nod.

“Why the fuck would you interrupt a good thing?!” Ruby got right into his face.

“Maybe so the people behind you didn’t get caught in your dick-measuring contest,” Leo snapped.

“What?” Ruby’s baffled look back made him realise just how little she cared.

“Those people with you both, did they want to fight to the death just to protect your ego?”

“Who cares about that?” Ruby yelled. “That hairy fuck stepped up to me. I was going to put him down. That’s it.” She swept her hair like she was proving a point.

“Wrong.” Cain growled, low in his chest.

Leo rolled his eyes. “Doesn’t matter who started it. I’m ending it. We are all in this shitty place together. Can we just relax and talk about what happens next?”

“What do you mean?” Gareth asked, stepping forward. His weapons were still out, not risking anything.

“I mean, both keeps have been cleared right?” He looked at Ruby, then at Gareth. Ruby just grinned, while Gareth nodded.

A heartbeat later she withdrew the other half of the keystone Leo had in his storage ring. Cain looked at it greedily for a second before steeling himself.

“So you’ve got the other one, huh?” Ruby asked, smiling. Then as if she couldn’t help herself she spoke to Cain like she was talking to a baby. “Guess that leaves you out. Too weak to get it?”

“You will die.” The words were spoken like a promise.

A smirk tugged onto her face and she was about to retort once more, but Leo cut in.

“I do. Now we can talk about opening up the Queen’s castle and what happens next in this tutorial. All of us can.”

“Why would we work with someone who can’t even acquire his own keystone?” Ruby laughed.

Leo expected Gareth to say something but the man felt muted. Almost like he was scared of speaking up. None of Cain’s group dared speak either, Cain was a man who could speak for himself—as ironic as that sounded. Although the older woman didn’t look worried in the slightest, amused perhaps.

This conversation would get him nowhere. It was like trying to argue with a toddler and a cat. Leo just pulled out his own keystone to try and gain some attention. Any distraction was good.

The moment he did, both keystones glowed. It vibrated in his hand, Ruby’s mirrored it. Leo tried to store it back into his storage ring but it wouldn’t take.

“What are you doing?” Ruby demanded as she struggled. “Stop it!”

“It’s not me!” Leo said.

The keystones continued to pulse and vibrate, it grew and grew as they started slowly drifting together. Leo tried to stop it, as did Ruby, but no matter how hard he pulled the keystone continued to move.

As if magnets finding their opposite poles, the keystones combined in an instant. A pulsing wave of energy spread across the city, not damaging, just like a sudden gust of wind.

Ruby attempted to snatch the now complete keystone, but before she could even touch it, it flew upwards and across the city.

Straight to the Queen’s castle.

“That can’t be good,” Leo said.

“What does it mea–” Gareth tried asking but was cut off by a system notification. One that everyone received.

Quest updated!

The keeps have been cleared, the generals have fallen. The time for you to upgrade yourselves by fighting within their domains would have been now in preparation for the assault on the Queen.

But the Queen does not wait.

She is bringing the fight to you.

Objective: Survive the initial assault

Reward: Tutorial Store Updated

The Cinder Bastion and Frozen Fortress have been sealed. Anyone still inside will have one day to finish clearing them.

Leo quickly got to a nearby rooftop, ignoring the random questions being poured out by everyone below. He was joined by Cain a second later as the man broached the roof.

He stepped up next to Leo, and they both watched the little keystone egg fly towards the castle. Leo zoomed in on it, trying to keep it in his focus. It was tricky on such a small thing.

It wasn’t really needed. The little item crashed into what seemed to be an invisible shell, shattering it instantly.

The ground trembled. The city quaked. The swarm was coming.

Leo dropped down to the ground quickly, speaking before anyone could say anything. “The ants are coming, a lot of them. I’m going back to my camp.” He spoke directly to Ruby and Gareth’s team. “If you guys want to come back and help, that would be really appreciated.”

“What’s in it for–”

“We’re in, let’s go,” Gareth said quickly. Ruby grumbled but didn’t voice any displeasure.

Leo nodded. “Thanks.”

“Cain, I know you don’t care about people. But please, try and look out for those people in your camp. They need you.”

He clicked his tongue and ran off, party in tow. The older woman gave him a smile and a wave as she left, but her eyes were serious. Their trip would be more dangerous with where Cain’s camp was positioned.

Leo dashed through the city, everyone behind him feeling the boost as he tried to control his Tailwind to increase their speed. It wasn’t much, and the effort might not have been worth it, but he did whatever he could.

Without Cecelia, and especially Ashley, his camp’s defenses were lacking. Small walls and fledgeling fighters would be hard tested by such an assault.

Fuck, I should have been helping solidify defenses somehow instead of just running about like a carefree idiot.

He was cursing himself, but that was just self pity in preparation for if he was too late in returning to camp.

If just one person died because he decided to leave camp today… He’d never forgive himself.

Leo glanced at his following group. While faster than pre-system humans, and buffed by Tailwind, some of them were still much slower.

“Just go,” Gareth said.

“You sure?” Leo asked. He wanted to kick it full speed.

“It’s your camp, we’ll be fine if ants intercept us. We also know the way.”

“Thank you,” Leo said.

A cloak of wind ruffled across his shoulders, then small blue sparks started coating his body as Lightning Stance settled into place. Leo pushed it even further by activating Lightning Drive. While it was dangerous to do so this early, Leo considered it worth the risk if it got him there just a moment quicker.

Like a cannon had fired, Leo shot down the streets. Wind barely touched him as the resistance was actively mitigated. All his Free Points that he’d accumulated went into Agility, just to push it that one step further.

The ground continued to rumble as he approached, almost like something underground was moving.

Burrowing bastards!

He just kept running.

Making it to camp in dynamic fashion, skidding to a stop with the ground being torn up, Leo took in the scene around him. People were moving quickly, all of them preparing. Leo’s appearance shocked people as he dismissed the Lightning Drive, getting hit by a small wave of exhaustion. It was better to experience it now and let the skill settle so he could use it again if needed.

“Leo!” A man called. It was Nolan. The man was hauling a massive stone as he tried to take it to the gate.

“What’s going on? Give me the rundown of what I need to do!” Leo said quickly over the voices of panic and haste.

“Crafters are inside the training building. Everyone that can fight is getting ready to hold them off when they come. I’ve got a couple archers overlooking the way here. Are we sure they are coming?”

“Damn sure, you saw the system message?” Leo asked.

Nolan nodded. “Cecelia? The rest of them?”

Leo shook his head. “I’ve got some help coming. But they’re a bit off. I ran ahead just in case.”

“Good,” Nolan said, nodding. Then stopped. “It’s not... him, is it?”

Leo winced. “No… but it’s not exactly better.”

“Who– Oh you have got to be kidding me,” Nolan groaned, setting down the boulder.

“Met her out there today, Gareth agreed to come back and help us. I know she’s trouble, but she’s damn effective when it comes to swarms of them.”

Nolan cursed, then exhaled quickly, picking up the boulder. “You’re right. We need all we can get.”

The man hauled the boulder towards the gate and then over it, effectively forming a secondary wall outside the gate. But they were suddenly out of time.

One of the archers on the rooftop called down to them. “We have incoming!”

“How many?” Nolan called back.

The man was quiet, just staring ahead.

“Oh god… It’s..”

He didn’t need to finish. The ear-wrenching shriek echoed out, and the tide began pouring into the incoming street.

People were pulling back but not quick enough. Leo was forced to engage the enemy before they could get to the camp. These walls were tough and held enchantments from the crafters, but it wasn’t nearly enough to hold off the swarm.

Leo got to where he could see them coming. And boy was it a swarm. Thankfully it wasn’t like the initial push to the tower. This was more fragmented. Ellie appeared next to him, ready to fight. She had been itching to come out ever since she felt Ruby and Cain’s aura clash back at the keep.

“You ready for this Ells?” Leo asked, looking upon the many compound eyes of the attackers.

She gave him a look that he could only describe as a “Hell yeah.”

He grinned. “Ice.”

Frost lightly coated his body, cooling his mind and the air with it. “Let’s give 'em hell.”

~

“We need to leave!” Ashley grabbed for Cecelia’s arm. She shrugged it off.

“We’re one room away from the boss.” Cecelia didn’t turn around. “One. We leave now, we leave with nothing.”

Ashley let out a deep exhale. “Our people are going to die out there. Right now.”

“And whose fault is it if they do? The ones who want to get stronger—or the ones too weak to need to?” She turned, and her composure was fraying at the edges. “Power is the only thing that matters in this place, Ashley. Not kindness. Not good intentions. Power. Everything else is a luxury you can earn after you’re strong enough to afford it.”

“Listen to yourself—”

“I am listening,” Cecelia interrupted. “I’m the only one being honest.” Her voice became quieter, harder. “Every person who’s died so far died because someone wasn’t strong enough. I’m making sure that someone is never me. Never again.”

“...You sound like your dad.”

Cecelia went very still. Then she shoved Ashley backward. “Don’t you dare.”

“Don’t fucking touch me!” Ashley pushed her back. Hard.

Cecelia stumbled backwards, surprised by the power in the healer’s strike.

Things were about to boil over, and not just from the lava pooling beside them.

“Enough of this!” Bjorn bellowed, voice filled with anger. “What are you? Two bickering fuckin’ toddlers?”

He stepped between them. “As much as I want to leave with Ashley and agree. I think we should finish this while we can.”

Ashley looked at him with shock, Cecelia smirked. “It’s not because I agree with you Cecelia. It would be different if you’d even considered leaving. But all you can see is potential gains to power.” He clicked his tongue.

“Heading back through the bastion could take longer than fighting the boss and just taking the portal. Especially if there are enemies in the way.”

“I–Fine.” Ashley strode towards the boss dungeon, stepping past the guardian. “But let me be clear, if anyone dies. That’s on you.”

Cecelia straightened her armour, wiping sweat from her head as she took on her regal posture once more. “Very well.”

Bjorn sighed, walking with them.

“It’s gonna be fine,” Gordon said, walking casually.

Ron gave a small huff of laughter, agreeing with Gordon as the pair shared a smile. The rest gave him questioning looks.

“Leo’s there.”