It was 9 pm when Mark finally left the office building and drove home. These days he found himself working well into the night more often than not. Everyone assumed that he was making a final push, to get all important deliverables finished and make a strong case for a big promotion to a director position. He didn’t bother to correct them.

Truth was, he drowned himself in work for one single reason - to keep his mind occupied. Every moment his mind was not busy working, was a moment of vulnerability. No matter what he tried, his mind, if left alone and idle for even a moment, always went back to the same memory. To that night. The night when his wife looked at him, and for the first time, he saw reflected in her eyes not a glimmer of recognition.

The hauntingly empty and confused look on her face when he came back home from work that night two months ago.

Mark’s wife Carla was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's 3 years ago, and things got worse every single year after that. But what happened two months ago broke his will. That was the first time she looked at him and didn't recognize him. That single look pierced through him like a knife. That night he became the sole keeper of the fifteen years of their memories together. Some nights she was better and a few of her memories came back. But she was never the same.

Mark was devastated, and he felt angry. Everything he accomplished in life, all the wealth, all the respect, all the recognition he had earned, could not cure her. He would trade everything away for even the slightest chance to spend more time with her. He would trade the rest of his life away if it meant just a little more time with her. He would give anything, do anything. He felt angry, and he felt helpless.

Why wouldn't he? There was no cure. He truly was helpless.

Until one day, he wasn't.

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Martin the Steward had left after making a very strong proclamation, and left a divided and arguing Lasyon council in his wake. There was no consensus on what to do. And Mark had the unenviable task of guiding the council to a consensus, one way or the other.

Mark no longer had any ambitions or motivations, nor a reason to continue living for that matter. But for the past 13 years of his life, he had been working with these very people, and over time had learned how to lead them, and lead them well. They were his flock, and he would guide them in this unprecedented crisis. One last time. He will help them until he is no longer needed, and then, he will have nothing tying him to his old life in this new world. He will leave this world in favor of the sweet embrace of death. Carla was not long for this world even before this integration. And in this new world, he hoped he would meet her in the afterlife very soon.

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For now, he will do his job. And at this moment, it meant steering the conversation in the direction that would be best for the settlement. In the end, if people still disagreed, he would respect their choice. But the conversation was heated right now, and now was not the time to be seen as picking sides. So, he passed his time by looking at the different things he could purchase with the points. Perhaps, there might be information there that would help the settlement make a better-informed decision.

As he was going through the settlement store, something caught his eye.

Elixir of ascendance (Limited) - Consuming this will advance your grade from Human(F) to Human(E). This is a tutorial-only item that will trigger a pre-mature advancement that provides all benefits of a Human(E) constitution, without increasing one's level.

Cost: 1,000,000 SPs

Mark read the description again and again. Could he dare hope? Would he dare hope? Could a Human(E) constitution give Carla a second life? Mark didn’t know the answer, but he didn't need to.

For 3 years he had done everything he could. But there was no cure. Now, he saw a possibility. And he clung onto it. He would need 1 million SPs. At the rate of 1000SP a day, he will have only 30,000SPs before the tutorial ends. Even if he could somehow save the 20000SPs that he was supposed to spend on the castle and the dock, he would have only 50,000. Only 5% of what he needed.

No, he won't be reckless with his life. He will need to survive the 30 days. He will spend the 20000 points and play the long game. A minute ago, he had no hope. Now, he had a fool’s hope. He was facing terrible odds, but his odds were infinitely better than any odds he had in the last 3 years. He will face the odds and save Carla.

No, he won't be an apathetic leader anymore, not when he had a chance to save Carla. He will do whatever it takes. He must. There can be no democracy in this settlement. He will have to become the most ruthless autocrat. The settlement must fuel his way to a million SPs. Even if he has to squeeze everyone dry, he will save Carla.

No, a cakewalk tutorial won’t cut it if he wants a million SPs. The residents on this island didn’t know it, but their world must change yet again. There will be no system tutorial on this island. What will happen here will be a baptism by fire. This will be a much much worse tutorial, one where he will be the judge, jury, and executioner. He would train and level everyone, work them to the bone, and do whatever it takes. He would save his wife.

No, he’s but one person. He can’t do it by himself. He must use both the council. He must use the carrot and the stick. He and the council must become the carrot that everyone sees. Anyone and anything else can take the blame for being the stick. Blame the system, blame Martin, blame the unfairness of it all. But it must be he who orchestrates everything behind the scenes. No one should find out. He will beg, borrow, barter and steal, he will go to any extent. But he will save the love of his life.

Slowly, a plan began forming in Mark’s mind. It was pillared upon his biggest advantage.

He controlled all the information and so he held all the cards.