Leo had barely any time to take in the grisly scene before him. All he gathered was the person in need of help, and the man looking to cause more harm. An obvious solution came to mind.

  “Hey, asshole,” he said, grabbing the man's attention.

  His fist—already glowing white with power—was connecting with the man’s face before he fully turned.

  The man was sent rolling backwards, colliding hard with a nearby wall and did not seem to be getting back up.

  Thankfully there was no notification. He wasn’t trying to kill him after all, he just wanted to get that man away from the young woman but he was a bit concerned after using his Mana Strikes, considering that a less forceful approach could have been better.

  Now that the man was lying there seemingly unconscious and—hopefully—not dying, he was able to take in the scene fully.

  Before him was a young, blonde haired woman lying helplessly on the floor. She was disheveled, with tears streaming down her cheeks, her eyes bloodshot from crying. Her ankle was in a really bad way, the bones were protruding gruesomely from the skin, blood stained her robes and skin from head to toe.

  She was dressed in healer robes, so Leo hoped she could heal it up. Otherwise then maybe Amy could help back at the house.

  “Hey, are you okay?” Leo asked quickly. “What’s happening?”

  She looked up at him, a glimmer of hope returning to her dead, hollow eyes before they became alert with realisation and fear.

  “There’s another one,” she whispered, swiveling her head back and forth as if searching. “He has to be close! Th-They killed my boyfriend like it was nothing, these people are monsters! Please, we have to get out of here.”

  She tried to push herself up but couldn’t seem to summon any strength. Leo was about to pick the woman up and carry her off when a man came around the corner opposite in a casual stroll.

  At first he looked a bit taken aback, curiously looking around at his downed companion and newly arrived stranger. But surprisingly he didn’t seem annoyed or mad at the situation, merely amused.

  “Well, well, found yourself a new man already? I knew you were pretty, but that was quick!”

  The man unsheathed his twin daggers.

  Understanding the look in the man’s eyes, Leo moved in front of the woman and took up a fighting stance.

  “Try and heal your ankle if you can, you may need to run,” Leo said, not looking away from his opponent.

  Leo and the rogue came closer to one another, circling, eyes locked and waiting. His nerves were laced with adrenaline but he was calm enough to not be reckless. The only sparring he’d done was with a training dummy and Boyd. Fighting someone with a knife? This was a first.

  “You look like you could put up at least a bit of a fight,” the rogue said, smirking. “Haven't fought a pugilist yet. I think I’m starting to get a bit excited. Don't disappoint me or—”

  The rogue swiftly struck out, daggers flashing in the sun.

  Leo wasn’t surprised and deftly moved out of the way while countering with a mana infused strike of his own aimed at his face.

  The rogue swayed to the side and tried to swipe again with his other dagger.

  Leo countered by striking the man's wrist as it approached, diverting the strike and opening him up to land a knee into the man’s gut.

  It struck true and the man was knocked backwards, stumbling as he righted himself.

  “Damn, not bad kid,” the man said, holding his stomach. “This will be even more fun than I hoped.”

  Not rising to the banter, Leo moved on the offensive.

  Judging by the man's strikes so far, Leo thought he had a chance of winning if it continued this way. The problem was that Leo wasn’t accustomed to harming another human with intent to seriously injure.

  The rogue did not have the same problem.

  Strikes were traded back and forth, a few cuts landed on Leo but even more fists or kicks connected, not fully infused as the cost of the strikes even when missing were high.

  The rogue was beginning to look much worse for wear than Leo was. Leo’s increased Vitality was giving him a big advantage when it came to attrition.

  Leo quickly eyed his resources.

  HP: 130/230

  MP: 60/140

  SP: 55/150

  Still enough in the tank to keep going.

  The rogue seemed to realise that this was not going his way. Panic began to bleed into his voice.

  “Bill! Get your lazy ass up and help me kill this fucker!”

  There was no movement. Bill wasn’t responding.

  The rogue stopped still and seemed to be thinking, then a scowl appeared on his face.

  “Why are you even protecting this bitch? She's nothing to you. You'd really risk your life to save some random woman?” the man said, then paused.

  “Oh I get it, ” the man said, baring his teeth in an open mouthed smile as he spoke the next words in a low voice. “You're planning on having her for yourself.”

  “It's nothing like that,” Leo said dismissively. “She needed help, so I helped. I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if I didn't. My sister would do the same.” The corners of his mouth rose slightly.

  The man looked at him, disbelief plastered over his face.

  “You're trying to be some kinda fuckin’ hero?!” He spat out a mouthful of blood. “In this place? Where there's giant killer ants and who knows what else?! Unfuckingbelievable.”

  The rogue's eyes went cold, hard and overflowing with rage.

  “I’m going to kill you,” he said matter-of-factly. He pointed towards the downed woman. “Then, I'll have her. And just as a perfect bonus I'm going to track down your sister and make. Her. Scream.”

  Leo’s emotions rose faster than he could stop them. The storm that he kept locked deep within broke loose from its tethers as it erupted like a volcano.

  Pressure descended upon the alley, bathed in the fury of Leo.

  The rogue froze, paralysed in instinctual fear as Leo saw his lip quiver.

  A gasp from the woman carried through the silence.

  Then Leo was upon him.

  He pounced like a predator, slamming the rogue to the ground with as much force as he could muster. Mana Strike after Mana Strike pounded into the man's skull until bone cracked and blood splattered. The man's screams died out as the notification came in.

  You have slain: Human, Rogue - Level 3

  Experience Gained

  +20 Store Credits

  Leo stood up in shock, looking at his blood soaked hands. He was… dead. Murdered. Brutally so.

  “Wha—” his words failed him. “I- Oh god. What have I done?”

  Accidents could happen when fighting for one’s life but he didn’t think he could straight-up murder someone. The blinding, overwhelming rage that consumed every thought. The need to release that rage upon the one deserving. This was supposed to be under control, it had been for years. Until the restaurant, and now here.

  Was he just a bomb on a hair-trigger? Would he murder anyone who dared speak wrongly to him? Like some sort of dictator...

  A sharp jolt of pain shook Leo from his spiraling mental descent. He looked down and finally noticed one of the rogue’s daggers buried in his abdomen. Blood soaked what was left of his shirt, warm and sticky against skin. The steel pulsed with each heartbeat. The rage had blinded him to the pain.

  He looked down to see the broken, crumpled face of the man before him. Guilt, teetering on remorse filled his mind. Then he shook his head.

  This man would have only stopped when stopped. One way or another. This was more extreme than he had ever been intending, but likely the only end result that didn’t involve him dying.

  He took a deep, calming breath and steeled himself. One thing was clear; Violence gave power. Whether it was killing ants, killing people. It was all experience. Not that he would go full murder-hobo. But this was no time to be considering his own morals. This might not be the last person he was forced to kill.

  Adrenaline began fading as he shakily stood up. He was made fully aware of how injured he was, each movement causing him to grunt in discomfort.

  It was time to get this dagger out and ask the healer for help. If not, he’d have to use a potion and hope it was enough to stem the bleeding.

  Before he could, a shout came from behind him.

  “Look out!”

  The man—referred to by the rogue as Bill—had gotten up, and smashed an empty potion vial onto the ground. It surprisingly bounced, rolling away onto the broken stone. His bruised face was already knitting itself back together, healing a little more each second.

  “You… you punched me.” He cracked his jaw. “That hurt, you know. And you killed Mac… Pretty brutally by the looks of it, yeesh. Kinda sad I missed it,” he said, not with anger, but with amusement and disappointment.

  He shrugged. “Oh well! Just means more fun for me.” He licked his lips, like a man spotting an oasis after a trek in the desert.

  Another lunatic. Only this one Leo was in no shape to be fighting.

  Leo didn’t even get a chance to speak before Bill charged, sword drawn above his head and eyes wide with bloodlust. Leo forced himself into a stance again—pain lancing through his body with the effort. He’d either have to hold out until a window opened or somehow get to a potion mid-fight.

  Just as the blade came down, an arrow slammed into Bill’s shoulder from behind. He stumbled with a grunt as the weapon missed its mark and began to fall past Leo’s shoulder.

  Leo didn’t hesitate, but he did grimace.

  He gritted his teeth and ripped the dagger from his gut with a ragged gasp. The agony made his vision blur but he forced the blade upward into Bill’s throat, tearing through flesh before yanking it free. Bill dropped his sword and clutched at the wound desperately, blood spilling from his mouth as he choked.

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  His hand fumbled for another potion—trembling, desperate—but he never reached it. His body stilled as the notifications came in.

  You have slain: Human, Warrior - Level 3

  Experience Gained

  +19 Store Credits

  Your Pugilist Class has reached Level 4

  Stat points distributed

  +1 Free Point

  Another man killed, with the reward being a full level up. But there was no thrill in it. No shock, either. The man had tried to kill him, so Leo killed him first. Simple as that.

  If you could call killing someone simple. This was his brain trying to stitch together a justified reason for killing without making him freak out.

  He looked toward the source of the arrow. Ron met his gaze, and Leo nodded grimly. No words were needed—just an understanding between two people doing what had to be done.

  Ron had saved his life. Again. Leo vowed to do his best to repay that debt in some way.

  He hobbled over to the girl, who was sitting against the wall. Her ankle already looked much better.

  Leo gazed in awe, distracting him from the pain and mental anguish. Only a few minutes ago her ankle looked almost detached from her body, healing magic is so cool.

  “Th-thank you for helping me,” she stammered, looking at his bloodstained hands before quickly looking away. “Would it be okay if I stayed with you? I promise not to be a burden. I can heal. Whatever you need just… Just don't abandon me. Please.”

  She looked so scared, like she’d been holding herself together on instinct alone.

  She began to cry again—softly this time.

  Leo crouched next to her. The movement was pure agony, but he didn’t let it show.

  “Hey, whoa, it’s okay. Stop crying, please. We aren’t going to abandon you out here. We aren’t monsters.”

  She glanced at his hands, bloody and damaged.

  He noticed but said nothing, giving her a moment to settle before continuing.

  “I’m Leo. That quiet guy over there is Ron. We are part of a bigger group not far from here. What’s your name?”

  “I’m Ashley, please let me come with you,” she said desperately..

  At that point, Leo couldn't hold his crouch any longer and collapsed onto his side.

  Ashley gasped when she saw the blood soaking his shirt. Ron also moved towards him in haste.

  Her hands began to glow the familiar radiant white as she held them over his wound.

  In seconds, the wound began closing. The pain started to fade as warmth spread through his body. It was the first time Leo had felt healing magic—or magic in general. It was like soaking in a hot bath of wonder.

  He stopped her once he hit about fifty percent health and was no longer actively bleeding.

  “Thank you. That feels a lot better. Best to save your mana in case we run into anything or anyone on the way back.”

  She nodded, but kept silent.

  Before leaving, he and Ron took what they could from the two bodies. The food, water and potions from the pouches and weapons. Ron claimed the rogue’s daggers. Which was fine by Leo as even with the one stab he made, it had felt wrong in his hands.

  Maybe a side effect of choosing the Pugilist class, he considered briefly.

  They had no need for the two-handed sword and left it behind.

  The group of three made their way back toward the house where the others were staying. On the way, Leo asked Ron what had happened with the ant they’d been tracking.

  “Dead end,” Ron said, and nothing more.

  Leo let the matter drop for now. Hopefully, Ron would be more talkative once they were back at the house. Unlikely, but possible.

  They encountered two Lesser Antlings on the road—thankfully, one at a time. The fights were quick and clean, Leo’s boosted stats making the low-level enemies much easier to handle. Both Ron and Ashley leveled up, hitting level 3 and level 2 respectively.

  Each fight required them to stop and rest for a while, regaining the stamina enough so that if they encountered more they wouldn’t be overwhelmed. It was a tricky balance that extended the trip home by several hours.

  Leo checked his own stats as they rested. His Agility had already more than doubled since he’d arrived, nearly catching up to his Vitality.

  Name: Leonidas Hawkins

  Level: 4

  Race: Human (F)

  Class: Pugilist

  Health Points (HP): 182/240

  Mana Points (MP): 88/150

  Stamina Points (SP): 42/160

  Stats

  Strength: 15

  Agility: 21

  Endurance: 16

  Vitality: 24

  Toughness: 11

  Intelligence: 15

  Wisdom: 10

  Will: 14

  Free Points: 2

  Bloodline: Bloodline of the Elements

  Essences

  Fire- (F)

  0/2

  Ice- (F)

  0/2

  Lightning- (F)

  0/2

  Earth- (F)

  0/2

  Titles

  Bloodline Originator

  First Blood

  Class Skills

  Unarmed Mastery (Common)

  Mana Strikes (Common)

  Race Skills

  Multiversal Polyglot (Unique)

  Identify (Common)

  He liked how his stats were balanced so far. He was definitely leaning into melee combat, which felt right for his class. But all those elemental essences… four types of magic unlocked with the potential for six? That was hard to ignore.

  His mind started to wander as they quietly began walking again. Could he become a full-on martial artist, fists infused with elemental power? Or maybe a close-range battlemage with heavy punches backed up by long-range elemental attacks? The endless possibilities made his mind spin, and not in a good way.

  He’d always second-guessed his builds in games. Spent too much time agonising over specs, worried he’d regret his choices. Should he all in on one stat, min-max, etc. And now the anxiety was back despite not having to decide anything of the sort quite yet.

  Should he start dropping his free stat points into magic stats? Or lean into survivability after the several near death experiences in just the first day?. The choices felt so damn permanent.

  Before he could spiral any further, the house the others were in came into view, Leo not noticing the time passing as he walked.

  The sun was all but gone from the sky, its light fading behind the buildings. Darkness was beginning to fall on the nightmare city.

  He realised he didn’t even know how long he’d been in the tutorial. It felt like days, but it couldn’t have been more than a handful of hours. So much had already happened. People had died.

  Some by his own hands.

  And there were still two months left.

  Two months of whatever this place planned to throw at him.

  Time remaining: 59 days

  Survivors: 1353/1500

  Store Credits: 56

  That was jarring to read. Almost a hundred and fifty people had died already—killed by each other or by whatever monsters this place held. Seeing it in black and white cemented his feelings on what he had to do to survive. Get more power.

  The first day here made it crystal clear. The ants weren’t the only threat here.

  He offered a silent prayer to whatever god or system might be listening. Keep my sister alive. Please.

  When they approached the house, Leo took in the sight. Barricades of wood and rubble had been set up around the entrance, giving the building a more fortified feel. It wouldn’t stop a swarm, but it might buy them some time. Maybe enough to survive until they found a better location. Somewhere closer to water. The corpses had been placed further away from the house, hopefully to avoid the scent of death and avoid any ants finding their way to their friends.

  Inside, the mood was mixed. Some faces showed hope. Others looked as hollow as before. Bjorn greeted them quickly and with relief, clapping Ron on the shoulder and smiling at Leo. He looked genuinely overjoyed to see them.

  Then he paused.

  His eyes moved from Leo’s face to his chest, down to the blood-soaked, ragged shirt clinging to his torso. Ashley didn’t look much better—dried blood streaked her arms, her robes torn and stained. A wave of quiet spread across the room as everyone took them in.

  “Shit,” someone muttered.

  Leo hadn’t even realised how bad they looked. The fights, the wounds, the healing. It had all blurred together. Now, under the tired stares of survivors, it hit him all at once. He looked down, noticed all the stiff dark patches along his tattered sleeves and abdomen. Ashley shifted beside him, hugging herself tightly as she made herself small.

  Bjorn cleared his throat and forced a smile. “You two look like hell. Let’s hear what happened.”

  Leo nodded slowly. “I’ll start with introductions. This is Ashley.” Leo said. “We found her being attacked by two men. Ex-prisoners, we think.”

  There were audible gasps. Lena and Amy both reacted, the former now awake and sitting up from her injuries earlier in the day.

  “Ashley, do you want to explain?” Leo asked gently. He didn’t want to make her uncomfortable but she had more knowledge about the men and was waiting until they got back to explain fully.

  She nodded and told them everything. How she and her boyfriend had ended up here while on a date. How they’d avoided ants, hidden, and stumbled upon two men murdering someone. How the killers had noticed them and chased them down, cornered them, and murdered her boyfriend. One of them had even mentioned being in prison before the System arrived. She made it to the alley—barely—before Leo arrived. Then the fear and grief of recounting the story overwhelmed her.

  Leo tried to place a comforting hand on her shoulder but she flinched back so he put his hand down, feeling guilty.

  Leo took over from there. He described it from his point of view; following the ant dragging a corpse, the scream, then hesitated as he reached the part about the fight.

  He looked to Ron, who gave a silent but encouraging nod.

  “The rogue—Mac, I think his name was—said some… things to me when he started losing. Things that hit a pretty dangerous nerve. I lost control. A… rage came over me and then…” Leo took a breath in.

  “I killed him.”

  Leo let out his breath and looked down, waiting for the judgement to come.

  Silence. That continued long enough to make him worried.

  Then, surprisingly, the so-far silent warrior woman stepped forward. Her voice was calm but authoritative.

  “Sounds like you did what you needed to do. Kill or be killed. Don’t waste guilt on people who would murder for sport. They wouldn’t hesitate to torture or kill you. You won’t be judged poorly for defending yourself. Not by me at least.”

  Everyone turned to her, stunned—not by what she said, but that she had spoken at all.

  “Huh. So you can talk,” Bjorn said, half-joking.

  “Of course. When there’s a need for it.”

  She said no more.

  Bjorn brought the attention back to the group, the tension lessened. Leo explained how the other man had been killed in self-defense by himself and Ron. To Leo’s relief, there were no shocked faces or horror. The woman’s words had set the tone and people understood enough not to show their possible distaste.

  “Alright, enough of that,” Bjorn said, trying to change the subject. “Did you see anything out there? A way out? Safe zones? Water source?”

  “Oh, yeah. We did.” Leo said.

  He described the city: the huge dome cutting off the inner city, the flowing river, the towers with glowing crystals. As he spoke, the room seemed to wake up a little. People leaned in, taking in every detail like their lives depended on it.

  “We need to figure out what comes next,” Bjorn said. “From what the kid described, those towers and the river are going to attract people. We’ve got enough supplies for a week, give or take, so we can move slowly and avoid the ants.”

  It made sense, slow and steady, safety, but it didn’t sit right with Leo.

  “Actually…” he paused. “I think we should be trying to fight as many ants as we can.”

  “What?!” Jasper shouted. “You want to fight those things and risk our lives? Did killing those men give you some kind of thirst for blood, you maniac?! I knew you were bad news. We should–”

  “Enough!” Bjorn barked, silencing him.

  He turned to Leo—not angry, but wary. Curious.

  He spoke slowly. “What did you mean?”

  Leo stood a little straighter. “The System calls these things Lesser Antlings. That implies there are worse ones out there. Stronger ones. If we want a chance at surviving them, we need to level up. And it’s not just monsters—today was proof of that. The prisoners we ran into were already level 2 and 3. If they find a group like ours, hiding and five, ten levels below them… it’ll be a slaughter at best.”

  “He’s right,” the warrior woman said. “I’m not sitting around waiting to die at the hands of some insect—monster or man.” She pointed at Leo. “You seem to have a grasp on what’s going on. So what do you suggest?”

  Leo nodded. “Bjorn’s right that we need resources and better shelter. I say we stay here tonight, then head for the river in the morning. Get water. After that, we move toward one of those towers.”

  Bjorn nodded. “Alright. Any objections?”

  “I th–” Jasper began.

  “Not you Jasper.” Bjorn shut him down, causing the man to give Leo a scathing look. No one else objected.

  “No one? Good.” Bjorn nodded again before continuing. “First thing we need is a watch rotation. The last thing we want is a swarm of ants creeping up on us while we sleep.”