The plan worked. Silas smiled as he watched the body explode from within. Jacob did it. No, everyone did well. If one of them failed, this would have ended with all of us dying.

Using Emily and Franco's trump cards as bait and trusting the decisive blow to Jacob. It was bold, but using two baits made it possible. Pretending to cast magic to buy a few more seconds and dodging thanks to Nora's remaining power.

I almost died. Without Nora, I wouldn't have been able to see the best position to dodge that last attack. Where is the core? He looked around until he saw a piece of wood trying to regenerate.

He ran to it and stabbed it with the green sword. Sap came out like a fountain. The core squirmed and moved in pain, but it was futile. Silas twisted the sword and then stabbed him again. He could hear a faint voice in his head.

"Damn you… It doesn’t matter, I return to Azasie, you vermin will be exterminated sooner or later…"

"Shut up, you lost." He took out the sword as the core stopped glowing. The PvP match ended with their victory.

[Regeneration] He used the last power he had to heal his missing leg and eye. He looked back at Franco, who was on the ground. He was unconscious, and his hand was a bloody pulp. The dome around them crumbled in pieces after the death of the caster, and Silas could see the sun on the horizon.

The battle only lasted a few minutes, but it felt like hours. The forest was destroyed all around him, and most likely the cave had suffered damage, but he was still smiling. Everyone was alive and running to help the others. He went to Jacob's side after he took Nathan to Rebecca, who was going to have to work to help everyone.

"How about Dawn as a guild name?"

"Dawn? Simple, I like it." As the rays of sunshine filled the forest, they could finally relax. No one noticed that there were a couple of creatures watching from the distance.

One of them was using a telescope. "The dome was destroyed."

"It can’t be. Do they really kill a Bors on their own? What weapons did they use?"

"I’m not sure. I could only watch until it raised the wall with magic. We need to tell the chief."

"Wait, do you think they were brought by the System?

"Yes, is the most likely explanation."

***

As expected, the cave suffered a lot of damage after the attacks of Gloom Scent. The homemade field for crops was dust, and the armory had only a few more weapons intact. Most of the houses were crumbling. Despite this, they all throw a party to celebrate the victory.

With the stone cups that Nadine made, they drank fruit juice, cheered, and ate the food that didn’t turn to dust.

"For everyone and Dawn, the new name of our group!" Jacob raised his cup, and they all did the same. With a loud sound, the cups hit each other. He looked at Silas.

"I think I speak for all of us when I want to give thanks to Silas, who came up with the plan."

"Thanks. It wasn’t easy, but I tried my best." It was nice having the others recognize his effort and genius, but he couldn’t take all the credit. "It was a team effort. I have to thank you all for doing as I asked and Nora for helping coordinate it by talking to everyone without Gloom Scent noticing."

"It was the only thing I could do with the little energy I had. I’m also glad I could help you in the end, Silas, but Franco's last attack surprised me."

"I didn’t expect to blow my whole fist during the last attack." Franco's wounds were covered in bandages, but his treatment wasn’t finished because Rebecca was too tired.

"S-Sorry, I need you to wait a little longer. I also had to heal Nathan’s hands."

"I heard about how you grow back Emily’s arm, but seeing it in person is amazing. I lost my hands, but now I got them back, even if they are missing skin or bones."

"Sorry, please bear with it a little longer. I know it hurts, but I should recover my energy in a few hours."

"Don’t worry, I’m happy that I managed to stop the attack for a moment. I shouldn't look down on my power so much." He looked at Franco as he said that.

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"Don’t forget Emily. She was the one who jumped first to draw his attention. She even managed to stop the cloud with her spell. That was incredible. Unlike the walls I made that fell in an instant."

"That instant was enough for me to focus all my power, thanks Nadine. But the one who delivered the final blow was Jacob. How did you manage to aim from that far back? You were behind me, and you shot across Nathan’s shield in the air and then inside the monster body."

"Awwh, you’re flattering me, partner. The truth is, there was nothing planned. I only did the best shot possible; it was Franco who made the wound so big that it made my shot reach inside."

"By the way, why did we choose Dawn?" Nathan asked. "I mean, it's not bad, but I was imagining something more tough or fierce, like an animal name."

"Really, you haven’t noticed? How can you be so dense?" While Nadine explained it to him, they continued to celebrate. After eating and drinking, Silas took Emily to a house to show her something.

"Is that?"

"Yes, it is the core of Gloom Scent." It was a big green heart. Before he died, it had a light inside, but after he stabbed it, the light faded and left this thing. "You think you can do something with it?"

"You’re so cruel. It's not even been a day, and you’re already looking to use and change me again."

"Sorry. I didn’t mean to insult you. I was just asking, since you used magic during the fight, you’re the most capable here."

"Yeah, yeah, I get it. but I'm sorry to say I can’t. This is not like the core that Nadine used to make the orb. He’s dead. I can’t feel anything alive anymore; it's just a hunk of vegetation."

"I see. That’s a shame."

"Silas, how did you know I used magic during the fight?"

"I copied his skills during the fight. One of them indicated he could use magic. I wasn't sure, but after seeing you two, I know there's more to us than our base abilities."

"Could you use magic while transformed?"

"No, I tried, but nothing happened. I did distract him for a moment, so it wasn’t a completely useless thing."

"What are we going to do now?"

"The same thing we have been doing till now. We look for food, people, and resources. At least we know we are strong enough to defend our base. But for now, we relax. I’m too tired to do anything today." He went to another house and slept for the whole day.

After three days passed and things were back to the usual situation in this forest, Emily felt multiple presences marching toward the cave. 22, 23 in total. Their footsteps are small, like those of a child. Who are they? She used the orb to get a better look and noticed they were carrying weapons.

She went to tell everyone else, and they got ready for a fight. Silas and Nathan were at the entrance waiting for them, and everyone else was watching from a group of trees nearby. The forest was still uneven from the effects of the battle, but Emily had been working to make the ground even.

The group didn’t try to approach by hiding, instead, they were walking in the middle of the destruction. That first impression gave Silas an idea about why they came here. Another race with intelligence besides the plant creatures.

If he had to use a term, he would say they were similar to goblins: small creatures with sharp ears and green skin. In video games, goblins are usually low-level monsters, but the weapons and armor they carry are too good. They are also coming in the open and with a banner in the back. They want to negotiate.

The one who looked like the leader made a sign, and they proceeded to bend in a respectful manner. "My name is Valks. I’m a messenger for Cink’s tribe. I have come to have an audience with you. Would you care to listen to our request, warriors of the System?"

I knew it. Now, the question is how much information I can get from them. He knows we were brought here by the System, but how?

"Hey, Silas, what should we do?" Nathan whispered.

"Follow my lead; if things go bad, we still have the others ready." He took a step forward. "I’m Silas, one of the members of Dawn. If you wish to speak to us, first lay your weapons down and step away!" He was looking at Valks.

"My people can back down, but I must ask that you let us keep our weapons."

"Why?"

"Because we would be at a disadvantage if you decided to attack us."

"I can let my weapons down if that’s what you want."

"It is a nice gesture, but I know with your powers you don’t need weapons."

They know a lot about us, or maybe they know about the System? "Fine, you can keep your weapons, but everyone else needs to back away!"

After leaving the three of them alone, Silas asked. "How did you know we were in this cave?" Depending on his answer, the negotiations could end right here.

"We saw you fight with the Bors a few days ago. One of our scouts reported it back to the tribe. Chief Cink, decide to send us a messenger and try to negotiate with your group. Is Dawn the name of your tribe?"

"You can think of it like that. That is our guild name."

"A guild? Sorry, I’m not very familiar with the meaning of that word."

"Like I said, you can call it our tribe. Second question: how did you know we're associated with the System?

"It was our chief idea. The tales of creatures with powers arriving to the worlds, is a common tale in our tribe. After all, our leader was the same."

"The same? What do you mean?"

"It is a long tale, and he would be able to answer more than me. In simple words, our kind is a race called Pix. About 2,000 years ago, we were taken from our planet and brought here to fight the Ouroboros by the System."

"What!"

"Fight the Ouroboros? You mean the same thing that happened to us? 2.000 years!" They couldn’t hold back their surprise. Emily could also hear it from afar, and she was just as shocked.

This information was too much to handle. If what he said was true, then the System had brought them, and potentially other races from other planets, galaxies, or even universes. Getting more information from this guy became a top priority.

Wait, does he also have a power? No, it would be strange to refer to us in this manner, but he implied that his leader was like us. A 2,000-year gap of information is too big. We don’t have a chance against a player who has been playing for so long.

"Silas, we need to talk to everyone." Nathan was correct, but he couldn’t let himself get trapped by words without facts.

"Nora, Emily, come out!" The others were going to stay hidden, just in case.