Thalion had to admit this was one of the etings he was most invested in. The weight of the information made his chest tight. All in all, New Earth seed destined to be far harsher than he had anticipated, and his hopes for it were not high, more like a candle flickering in a storm than a blazing torch.
“We can’t say which faction will buy an incursion,” Maike said, her voice steady but strained. “An incursion doesn’t even need to co from a god. It could be launched by E or D-grade factions. Their commanders might not match the strength of a god’s or an S-grade faction, but it will still be one hell of a struggle. Gods will also be quick to purchase incursions to give their Chosen an even greater advantage.
Our only advantage is that they cannot choose where the incursion will appear on the planet. That randomness is our shield. But make no mistake. Closing incursions will be our highest priority if we want to live freely, rather than end up as war-slaves.”
She let out a breath as though the words themselves had been carved out of her lungs.
“New Earth will be a high-value target,” Evelyn added, her expression grim. “The news of Ankhet has spread far and wide. Many factions probably don’t even realize he’s dead. From what the Spider Queen told , each faction gets ten planets to choose from for incursions, depending on their power. For a price, they can reshuffle the list. But the reshuffling period ended a few days ago. At that ti, most factions still believed Ankhet was alive. That ans Earth could already be marked, especially by non-godly factions.”
Evelyn, more than anyone else, carried knowledge of New Earth. Kargul’s and Annie’s patrons had grown silent, barely answering at all. After Ankhet’s death, most gods had abandoned their Blessed, treating them as pawns no longer worth the effort. Only Evelyn seed unaffected. The Spider Queen whispered to her as freely as ever, as if the two were bound by a deeper pact.
That thought gnawed at Thalion. Just how rare was Evelyn’s blessing, truly? He might need to speak with her alone.
“There’s another problem,” Kaldrek said, his deep voice rumbling like distant thunder. “Even if gods and higher beings can’t enter New Earth directly, they’ll be far less restricted in the new integrated universe. They’ll guide their followers, show them where to gather, and grant them countless advantages.
We already have enemies, many enemies. That seems to be the natural order in the System: gain so power, rule so land, and suddenly you’re a target. But this ti it’s worse. A great number of gods lost massive investnts in this tutorial because of us. Right now, they don’t know the full extent of it. But the mont the tutorial ends, they’ll receive everything their Blessed experienced. They’ll learn exactly what we’ve taken from them. And then?” He paused, his eyes cold. “Then they’ll send their followers to retaliate.”
That truth pressed on the room like a suffocating weight, the kind that makes silence louder than words.
“And that’s not the only way they can track us,” Maike added, concern etching deep lines into her face. “There are tracking crystals in the System Shop. Kael, Kai, and Sylas are still lurking sowhere in this tutorial. If they survived, they could give one of those crystals to their allies. It would only be a matter of ti before they found us again. And this ti, they wouldn’t co alone. They’d bring armies.”
A murmur rippled through the council. The thought of those three returning was like the shadow of a storm seen on the horizon—distant, but inevitable.
“And they’re not our only enemies,” Kaldrek sighed, shaking his head. “Let’s not forget, we’re currently slaughtering elves in ways that could be called… less than rciful.”
Thalion had to admit it: from the outside, their actions looked cruel. No, he corrected himself, it was cruel. But cruelty had beco survival. He was long past offering second chances to those who had tried to kill him or his people.
“If we kill Althirion too, then no one will be left to tell the tale,” Annie said coldly. She had never hidden her hatred of elves, and she was not alone. In recent days, the elves had caused so much bloodshed that nearly everyone in the base despised them.
“Althirion told sothing,” Jack interjected suddenly. “He said he had to reject his blessing after leaving the elves. He feared his god would kill him outright, because the Elven Queen had beco that god’s Chosen.”
The revelation cracked through the council like a hamr striking glass.
“What!?” Maike’s eyes widened. “Why haven’t you told us this earlier? The elves might be the most vengeful faction of all! They’ll co for us, no matter the cost.”
“Elves see themselves above humans. For one of their kind to be killed by us is an insult they would never let slide,” Josh exclaid, his tone sharp and accusatory as his eyes fixed on Jack.
“Well, the other things also seed important, so I waited until now,” Jack replied, surprised that the others hadn’t known. “I thought at least Kaldrek or Maike were aware, since they allowed him to stay, as long as he helped the weaker humans level and tracked down those in the jungle who are still killing our hunting parties.”
“Wait… soone is killing our hunting parties? Elves?” Thalion asked, intrigued.
It couldn’t be the elves, could it? They had already killed a fair number of them. Even with their hatred, the survivors should know they stood no chance against him. Those who had escaped had used tokens, leaving them weakened for days, if not an entire week. That they could wipe out large hunting parties without being discovered was highly unlikely.
It had to be soone else. Maybe Kael? That one had also used a token, but enough ti had passed, he could have recovered. Unlikely, but possible. The vampires who had fled for their lives? No, they were too broken to be a threat.
So who else was out there, strong enough to destroy entire hunting parties again and again?
The Water Princess? She had vanished, along with most of the Blue Robes who once enslaved Earth’s humans. Their base might have a thousand of those robed followers, but they were weak, underleveled, fragile. Most didn’t even know what had happened in the second and third stages of the tutorial. And why would the Water Princess waste her strength on re hunting parties? That, too, was unlikely.
Thalion’s mind spiraled. It was like chasing shadows in a hall of mirrors and each answer dissolved into another question. Could it be a new enemy entirely?
“We have no idea,” Kaldrek summarized bluntly. “Whoever it is, they have so thod of shutting down communication tokens in the area. Our only hope is that soone managed to escape with a token, but the chances are slim. The attackers are selective. They target only the weakest parties.”
A murmur swept the council. The room seed heavier, as if the words themselves were bricks added to the weight pressing on everyone’s shoulders.
“We already restrict the weaker ones, letting them go outside only in large groups,” Kaldrek continued. “But many don’t listen, and we don’t have the manpower to control everything. And the guards… they’re losing motivation. Many already have their weapons and armor, so why should they work for us if they’re not being paid?”
If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
His explanation did little to ease the tension. If anything, it deepened it. The guards who remained were weaker, unable to stop an E-grade if violence broke out. It was like patching a dam with paper and the cracks only spread wider.
“Do we even have an idea who’s behind these attacks?” Josh asked after a long pause.
“No,” Maike admitted, her voice tight with frustration. “We’ve already lost one hundred and sixty citizens. That’s not catastrophic compared to the city’s size, but it’s more than enough to sow fear. I’ve tried multiple thods to uncover their identity these last days, but all have failed.”
“Back to New Earth,” Annie cut in, her expression grim. “How do we keep the citizens loyal if they’re already abandoning guard duty?”
Her mood, like everyone else’s, had been dragged down by the grim new revelations. The truth about New Earth and how dangerous it would be. It was crushing hope faster than their enemies could.
“That’s one of the reasons we plan to split them into multiple groups,” Maike explained. “That way, each group is forced to care for its own safety. But that brings another risk. The stronger ones may choose to leave, traveling across New Earth to find their families or search for treasures.
It’s common knowledge that natural treasures, ford where the fusing worlds bled into one another, hold imnse power. They can accelerate body-tempering and grant massive power-ups. Those treasures are also why the powerful beasts abandoned the tutorial. They already have a head start.”
Her words trailed off, failing to answer Annie’s question about loyalty. Thalion frowned. He would have thought safety was reason enough for people to stay, but without guards, murder would soon grow common. Worse, powerful enemies might seek revenge on him personally. Too many still lived who could spill his secrets, or at least the fragnts they thought they knew.
They didn’t know the truth. His title. His bond to the Outsider. His shapeshifting bloodline. All of that was hidden. At best, soone might have seen a recording of his battle with the female elf. Maybe they believed his lack of control gave them a chance. If so, they would be in for the shock of their lives the mont he activated the One form.
Until then, he would power up even in his crippled eclipsari form. But their anger worried him. Could they really be so enraged simply because he had refused to let their Blessed kill him?
The thought lingered, bitter and sharp. It was like a blade pressed against his back unseen, but always there.
User Comments
0 comments from readers