Weeks have passed since Gabriel’s team had initially found Henry and his team, and Gabriel wasn’t lying when he said a couple hundred people were gathered together.
However, now the 200-300 group of people eventually became a small town of around 1000 people, at least if the tutorial page were to be believed.
Group Tutorial
The 72nd cycle has begun; thus, a tutorial is needed to increase the survivability of the newly integrated myriad races. The Diacthrean Forest is filled with various creatures from across the universe, each providing Tutorial Points upon their death to their killer. Tutorial Points can be exchanged between individuals, as a form of currency. Tutorial Points will be used to gain rewards after the full tutorial is completed.
Completion Criteria: Survive for 60 days.
Number of Survivors: 987/1250
Time Remaining: 35 days & 00:09:32.
The town was divided into three distinct sections, with clusters of campfires burning at its center, casting a warm, flickering light across the dirt paths. One area was filled with rows of leather-patched tents, weathered but sturdy, acting as homes for the people who made up most of the town’s population. Various noises carried throughout the town—conversations, occasional laughter, the shuffling of feet, and other random noises.
Another section was more chaotic, crowded with makeshift stands where various vendors sold their services. Tailors sat hunched over, threading needles through the fabric, while leatherworkers shaped goods with quick, practiced hands. Scents of various cooked meat from food stalls lured most people within the town. Merchants used the attraction the chefs created to draw in potential customers.
The final section was reserved for trades that demanded focus and heavy labor, away from the chaotic crowds. Various smiths hammered metals into shape, their anvils ringing out sharp and clear, while carpenters sawed planks with a steady rhythm. Alchemists worked quietly atop sheets of leather, grinding herbs and tending to their small cauldrons.
Henry took in the sights of the town with a soft smile. Despite the system throwing them into every corner of this strange world and surrounding them with bloodthirsty creatures, the people here still found ways to laugh, smile, and carry on as if it were just another day.
Henry was pulled from his thoughts by his fiancée, passing him a wooden bowl filled with meat and greens.
“You’ve been spacing out more and more often now,” Maria softly spoke, as she sat beside Henry on the log bench with a similar bowl of her own. “Are you feeling alright?”
“Yeah…I think I’ve just gotten used to living like this,” Henry spoke in between bites, “It just feels more calming. Ya know? Like, I don’t have to worry about going to the company anymore, you don’t have to teach 5th graders all day.”
“Yeah, but in return we have to worry about monsters eating us alive… Like just yesterday when I was out with a hunting group yesterday, a giant spider almost jumped on me.” Maria countered, disgust apparent on her face.
Henry started to laugh at Maria’s expression, “I guess I have James to thank for that.”
“Henry!” Maria slapped Henry’s back, eyes wide and lips pursed, “Is it too much to believe that I fended off the giant spider.”
Henry only started to laugh even harder, barely managing to keep both himself and his bowl from falling off the log.
Maria rolled her eyes and huffed in exasperation, her left land rubbing over her slightly larger belly. This action didn’t go unnoticed by Henry as he started to bite the inside of his bottom lip. Maria’s belly had started to balloon recently, faster than what was normal. She was supposed to be three months into her pregnancy, but she looked as though she was in her sixth.
All of a sudden, a message prompt appeared in front of everyone, causing all noise within the town to come to a stop.
Quest: Group Tutorial Mid-Boss
You have survived the Diacthrean Forest for 25 days and have bested most of its races. However, the king of the Diacthrean Forest has awoken and found their domain desecrated. The Vermillion Drake is now actively roaming its territory, seeking to eliminate you all. Your reward will be scaled based on your performance.
Requirements: Survive or defeat the Vermillion Drake
Reward: ?
Note: This quest cannot be declined.
Pandemonium spread like wildfire throughout the town, the previous mood of joy that covered the town vanished, replaced with panic and shouting.
A few minutes after the system message appeared, a booming voice echoed across the town; “EVERYONE HEAD TO THE CAMPFIRES!”
----------------------------------------
After half an hour, everyone in the town gathered around the group of campfires, either seated or standing around staring at a large, grizzled man.
The man stood at a height of six foot five, broad-shouldered, beard unkempt, his eyes gray; all in all, a rugged-looking man. He wore a full suit of metal armor with a large greatsword adorned across his back.
“Listen, everyone! There is no need to panic, it’s just one creature. We are a force of almost 1000 people! What do we have to worry about?” Shouted the man trying to elevate the mood of the town
A voice from within the crowd then shouted, “Yeah, we get that we have a number advantage, Ezra. But remember what the Assistants said about system quests? They are supposed to be a challenge, especially when designated for a group.”
Ezra raised his hands slightly and nodded towards the voice, “I hear you Adrian, but we can handle most of the creatures within the forest, the highest we’ve seen are level 30s.”
A woman stepped forward, she wore a dark leather apron draped over her fitted leather armor, the apron marked with smudges of soot and singes. Her fiery red hair was pulled back into a tight ponytail, emphasizing the fierce look her green eyes gave to Ezra.
“Aye, we get that but the majority of us here focus on our Professions, not Classes. You're forgetting that most of us here haven't fought the fookin’ beasts outside the walls since the day we first arrived. We spent the first two weeks hanging around the Assistants’ village, just waiting for the town’s walls to go up.”
Ezra exhaled a bit before saying, “I understand Liv, I didn’t want to mention this now, but I have an announcement to make,” A large pause filled the air as Ezra tried to build anticipation. “Jack, Kate, and I have gotten Epic rarity skills related to our Classes. So, that’s what I mean when I say we shouldn’t be worried.”
Cheers erupted from everyone congratulating the three of them. The previous chaotic mood disappeared into the wind.
Liv glanced at the people around her, a look of disgust twisting her features as she looked around. The carefree laughter and excitement only heightened her irritation. With a huff, she turned around and strode back toward her smithy, muttering under her breath about the stupidity of everyone.
Henry and Maria looked at each other, bothered by the sudden mood change of the group. Maria’s left hand went down to hold her stomach, looking at Henry with shaky eyes, Henry pulled her in for a hug. Softly rubbing her back and whispering reassuring words in her ear.
Throughout this whole ordeal, a singular black crow sat atop a tree observing the debacle within the town.
----------------------------------------
It was a massacre, the Vermillion Drake killed more than half of the survivors in the tutorial before it was killed. The drake was too high of a level for anyone to even Identify, and by the end of it, they found out that it was level 63.
Everyone else who survived sported either claw marks or severe burn scars across their bodies. They were all heavily underprepared to fight the drake and they suffered the consequences of their decisions.
Even Henry was not left unaffected, he now sported large scars that started from his left arm and ended at the end of his torso. He gained them blocking a swipe from the drake, who was about to slice Maria into ribbons.
However, due to his insufficient strength, his shield was ripped to shreds and he was sent flying, crashing into a tree. Leaving Maria alone, in front of the Vermillion Drake.
Maria started to shuffle backwards in fear, as tufts of flame started to escape from its jaws. It inched towards her, releasing squeals with every step it took, seemingly gleeful at her reaction.
Unfortunately, Maria was not fast enough to dodge a torrent of flames that shot toward her, covering her body entirely in crimson flames, and making her fall to the ground screaming in pain.
Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.
Ezra activated Taunt on the drake, causing it to stagger before he charged toward it and thrust his greatsword into its side. Jake and Kate also used the distraction Maria gave, to channel their most powerful attacks.
Summoning every ounce of strength, Henry pushed himself toward the still-burning Maria, frantically patting out the stubborn flames clinging to her frame. He ignored the searing pain, his blistered, charred hands working desperately against the fire.
After what felt like hours, the flames had finally died out, but the damage was already done. Her robes had melted into her skin, leaving severe burns across the lower half of her body. The agony had overwhelmed her, and she had fallen unconscious.
----------------------------------------
The aftermath of the Vermillion Drake left the town in shambles; two main factions appeared from the ruins of the town.
One faction consisted of only Class-focused people led by Kate and her boyfriend Brian. Most members harbored resentment toward the Profession-focused people, blaming them for failing to assist in the battle against the drake.
The other faction consisted of the remaining Profession-focused people as well as a few of the remaining Class-focused people. Ezra succumbed to blood loss just minutes after the battle ended. The few surviving healers were drained of mana, and by the time they reached him, it was already too late.
Henry and Maria belonged to the latter faction.
Maria lay unresponsive in their hastily remade tent. Her breathing was shallow and her eyes flickered erratically beneath their closed lids, as though they were trapped. Every attempt to wake her proved useless, as though she were in some sort of a coma.
Watching over her was an exhausted Henry, his face pale and gaunt as he gazed at the still form of his fiancée. His heart felt as though it were gouged out. He kept repeating the same mantra in his head, She’s alive, She’s alive.
“Henry!” A voice shouted from across the camp, causing Henry to turn around looking away from the sleeping Maria and at a shouting Liv.
“...What’s up Liv?” Henry replied with a tired look on his face, these past few days were sleepless nights overlooking Maria as she periodically gasped in pain.
Liv looked at Henry with a complicated expression before saying, “...Listen, we barely have any food left and the rest of the Class-focused are still recovering. And before you ask, some of us Profession-focused folks have already started to hunt, but it’s still too hard to do it alone. We need to have you with us to make sure we don’t get ambushed by high level beasts.”
Henry had a pinched expression on his face and was about to say something, but before he could, Liv interjected, “Look we’ll keep an eye on Maria, we need you to take the alchemists with you to grab the herbs we need for the potions. We need her as much as you do, she is one of the few healers that survived the drake…She’ll wake, Aaron said she just needs to wake up on her own.”
Exhaling deeply, Henry steeled himself before responding, “Okay...I’ll do it.”
Liv smiled shouting, “Be ready in 20 minutes then,” as she ran off to inform the group of Alchemists.
Henry once more looked over the prone form of Maria, his eyes lingering on her scarred and now lumped stomach. Henry tightly pursed his lips together and clenched his fists as he grabbed both his sword and shield. Fuck…
----------------------------------------
Henry looked over the gaggle of alchemists who were raving about the random mushrooms and leaves they collected. Rolling his eyes at the sight, he never got over the sheer fanaticism Profession-focused people showed when it came to their craft. The act of 30-year-old men and women raving about mushrooms slightly brought him out of his dour mood, when previously they complained about their bones being ‘too old’.
The memory of the first time he questioned one still stuck with him to this day. He questioned a Chef who had planned to add iron shavings into a stew—iron shavings!
Still to this day, his ears could never hear quite the same, after the earful he gained.
He was brought out of his thoughts when growling came from the bushes around them. The alchemists stopped their mutterings and grabbed the spears, pointing them at the beasts that came out of the bushes.
[Ember Hound Lv 23]
[Ember Hound Lv 24]
[Ember Hound Lv 22]
[Ember Hound Lv 23]
Henry looked at the hounds with annoyance, ‘Not these guys again.’ Henry complained.
The most an Ember Hound could do was set its claws alight; beyond that, they posed little threat to anyone who knew how to dodge their swipes and lunges. The only annoying thing about them is their reproduction capabilities, this had to be the fourth pack he’d seen this week.
Looking at the alchemists, he said to them, “Just poke them with your spears, I’ll be here making sure they don’t kill you.”
However, after he uttered those words, a large blast of fire emerged from the forest. Henry quickly raised his shield, blocking the fiery explosion from hitting the alchemist it was aimed at.
His shield still raised, “RUN! Go back to the camp!” he shouted to the alchemists who froze in terror, causing them to rush back to the camp.
Identifying the creature, he kissed his teeth
[Ember Hound Lv 49]
The hound was thirteen levels above him and surrounded by the other hounds, while he was on his lonesome. He cursed his exhaustion. He could have handled the level 49 hound and maybe two other hounds if he was fully rested, but now…He wasn’t quite confident.
Reacting quickly, Henry activated Barricade Wall and Basic Elemental Weapon, covering his large shield in a dark blue color and setting his broadsword aflame. While using fire against fire beasts sounded very dumb to Henry, he needed all the damage he could get to kill them.
Henry immediately blocked lunges from three of the lower-leveled hounds, before backstepping and bashing his shield onto their heads and spearing his sword into one of their necks. Shallow and thin fiery scrapes, sliced into his heavily damaged steel heavy-shield. He’d previously forgotten to repair it; the stress having gotten to him while looking after his fiancée.
He quickly raised his heavy-shield toward the level 49 hound, blocking another large blast of fire. The intensity of the heat made his Barricade Wall flicker before he reinforced it with more of his mana, simultaneously repairing it from its previous damage.
Henry quickly backstepped to evade a lunge from his side, slicing a lower-leveled hound in half with a swift jerk of his blade. But before he could regain his previous guard, the two remaining lower-leveled hounds pounced onto his unguarded left side.
Their claws raked painfully across his legs and lower torso, easily searing through his level 20 steel-plated armor with their ignited claws. He swiped at them in a desperate attempt to retaliate, but his strike missed completely.
Gritting his teeth, Henry quickly blocked a lunge from the higher-level hound, producing a loud thud, and buckling his arm slightly before flooding them with stamina. His Barricade Wall, still active, blocked the sudden charge of the higher-leveled hound completely.
Henry, quickly speared his sword its massive frame, before yanking his blade out. But as he yanked his sword free, one of the other hounds lunged at him, its weight slamming into his unbalanced form and sending him tumbling to the ground. His shield slipped from his grasp, clattering uselessly to the side.
Henry quickly shook off the hound, rolling instinctively where he lay to dodge a blast of fire that scorched the ground beside him. Before he could catch his breath, the other hound latched onto his left leg with ignited fangs. Gritting his teeth against the pain, Henry drove his right foot into the creature with all his strength, bashing it away. The hound let go, but not before tearing a chunk of flesh from his calf, leaving his leg in pain but useable. The flame encompassed fangs, cauterizing the wound.
Henry rolled to the side once more, narrowly dodging the other hound. He kicked off the ground, jamming his sword into its upper back, and felt it get caught on a thick piece of bone. Quickly thinking, he placed his weight onto his sword and pushed it down, hacking through its bone and tearing through its flesh. Exhaustion tearing through his being.
Henry quickly flipped onto his back just in time to block the higher-level hound's lunge with his left arm. Its fangs sank deep into his flesh, tearing through muscle and bitting on bone, while its flame-like claws shredded into his armor and raked across his torso, tearing into his flesh. Pain erupted like fire in his mind, overwhelming his senses and bringing tears to his eyes.
Out of the corner of his vision, he saw a crow darker than night itself atop a tree, observing him silently. He saw himself within its eyes. He felt…He felt a connection with it?
Henry felt something snap within him as his eyes flooded themselves with blood and filled him with some type of primal energy. His vision blurred as everything around him looked bleached in blood.
Then, cutting through the haze, a voice echoed within him—grating and jagged, like the sound of torn sheet metal grinding against itself.
Do you wish for the power?
Taken aback by the sudden energy flowing into his body, Henry’s left arm buckled slightly, bringing the high-level hound closer to his face.
Henry’s left arm struggled as he pushed it back, away from his face. His right arm shakily raised his sword, propping the hilt onto the ground.
To protect your family?
Yes, Henry thought, as he flooded his right arm with the energy coursing through him, encompassing it with a blood-red aura, and stabbed his entire sword into the hound’s large torso, its hilt almost disappearing into the hound’s torso.
To protect your lover?
“...Yes,” Henry whispered as he kicked the large hound off of him with a surge of that primal energy that flowed within him. Rolling off his back, he kicked off the ground, pouncing onto the large hound’s back.
Grabbing the top of its head with one hand, he pulled it back, giving his other hand purchase around its neck.
To protect your child?
Goosebumps flared across Henry’s back as he mumbled, “Yes.”
Another surge of the primal energy flowed into his arms as started to strangle the hound, ignoring the searing of his exposed flesh from its aflamed body.
You have been invited to the Trials of Ragnar
Do you wish to accept?
"YES!" Henry shouted, his voice raw with desperation and anger.
Now with both hands, he gripped the hound's neck, his fingers digging into its flesh as he squeezed with unrelenting force. He ignored the pain flooding his body as he felt the flames of the hound superheat his armor, melting onto his flesh.
The hound thrashed wildly within his grasp; throwing itself onto the ground and rolling, but Henry held firm. Rage filled his mind, refusing to let the hound get free.
As rage fully encompassed his mind, Henry released a guttural roar, silencing all within the forest. The roar stunned the hound momentarily as well as the other hound that tried to approach Henry in ambush.
That moment was all Henry needed as the primal energy surged a final time into his arms, and snapping its neck.
A resounding crack echoed through the forest as the hound within his grasp stilled before going limp. Henry's eyes rolled to the back of his head, but before the last hound could capitalize on his vulnerable form, Henry vanished, disappearing from the Diacthrean Forest entirely.
Leaving the remaining Ember Hound alone surrounded by the corpses of its packmates.
----------------------------------------
End of Act I
----------------------------------------