The room went silent for a few moments. A man tentatively spoke up.

“Olivia is right. Didn’t he fight his way through all of Lohann’s hideouts? I don’t want to be his enemy, especially when he could continue to be an ally.”

Allison sat back down. Viktor carefully observed her expression, almost nodding to himself as he realized she was now calmer. Truthfully, he had anticipated her desire to change Villages. Still, what he said about her being their best healer was true. He didn’t want to lose her. Allison was one of the few reasons why he and the others had dared to challenge Dungeons. Not only had she picked good Skills, but her timing was also impeccable. She was capable of prioritizing with a cool head, healing the individual who needed it most for the opponent they were facing.

There was also another aspect to her. She was the biggest connection between the Challengers and Michael, the most powerful human Viktor had seen.

I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s already capable of soloing Dungeons.

He didn’t know the full extent of Michael’s abilities, but Michael had been able to defeat over a hundred enemies in a short period of time, and those were only the ones Viktor’s organization had found. The total number of foes was still unknown. Right after that, Michael had fought and defeated Lohann while in a Dungeon, presumably after facing its monsters. His power was like an abyss – Viktor couldn’t see the bottom.

One of the captains, a middle-aged man with a greying beard and short hair, raised his hand.

“Didn’t he try to spare as many of Lohann’s followers as possible? I think we should get closer to him. He’s a good kid,” he said.

Most other captains nodded, but others hesitated.

“He has still killed people,” one of them muttered.

The middle-aged man raised an eyebrow.

“And? So have you.”

“Because I needed to!”

“And why do you think the same wasn’t true for him?”

The other captain scoffed.

“How could someone as powerful as him be forced to do anything?”

“He’s powerful, not omnipotent. Besides, would you rather have him as an enemy?” Leo replied while shaking his head.

“We don’t need to make him an enemy, but I wouldn’t feel comfortable leaving my back to him.”

Next to him, Samantha nodded. Viktor glanced at Allison, realizing that she was about to stand up and retort, a frown on her face. Inwardly, he sighed. The captain’s words were nonsensical. He intervened before the discussion could devolve into a mere argument.

“There is no point in talking about what Michael could have done differently. I’m sure he understands it well. That isn’t the purpose of this discussion.”

The captains that constituted the core part of his forces nodded one after the other. Allison remained silent, though her expression still revealed her true feelings. Viktor understood her sentiment, but he needed to act as the head of a large force.

“Is it agreed that we will not become enemies with Michael Gray?”

“Of course it is,” Allison mumbled.

None of the captains raised any more points. Some appeared to be more hesitant than others, but the common sentiment was clear. A conclusion was reached. Viktor stood up.

“Be thankful that Michael trusted us enough to ask for your help to surround Lohann’s hiding place. As we determined right now, from now on we won’t target Bluestone Territory or do anything that could put us at odds with him. You’re all dismissed.”

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The captains nodded their heads and stood up, one by one. Talking to one another in low voices and whispers, they left the room. Only Allison remained next to Viktor. Samantha and Leo glanced back but continued walking. The duo was left alone.

“He wouldn’t have hurt those people if he could avoid it. He’s not a monster,” she said with a shaking voice.

“…I know. Take some rest, Allison. I’ll have someone Whisper to Michael and see what his next plans are.”

She merely nodded and proceeded to walk out of the room. As the door slammed shut, Viktor felt himself veritably deflate. A deep sigh echoed. He sat back down, almost as if he’d collapsed.

Keeping up a front isn’t easy.

There were a number of attributions that he had as the Challenger’s head, but the most implicit ones were sometimes the most important. He needed to always appear to be calm and collected, level-headed, and in control. He needed to always have a plan or at least seem to know what to do at all times, even if he needed to ask for others’ opinions. Seeming strong was par for the course. It was exhausting, even though he considered himself to be a born leader. In his mind, Viktor faced the truth he had hidden from his captains.

He scares me.

He understood Michael’s good points, but frankly, the boy’s power frightened him. More than that, the fact that Michael was capable of quickly and unhesitatingly injuring hundreds of people at all was chilling.

No, I don’t know if he truly didn’t hesitate.

He took a deep breath, trying to calm down. As Allison had said, Michael wasn’t a monster; he wasn’t like Lohann. He could be reasoned with and had shown no willingness to fight against the Challengers. It was just… the knowledge that Michael could kill him at any point was unsettling. What if Allison truly changed Villages and Michael decided to conquer as much Territory as possible? There would be nothing Viktor could do.

Alone, Viktor sighed.

***

Michael walked through the streets of Bluestone Village, which had become far livelier after Lohann’s death. Without the threat of being randomly killed whenever they left the Village, the people had started to become more active. He’d noticed they would gather in groups and head out to complete Sullivan’s quests or maybe to a Dungeon. Warriors loudly discussed the prices of new equipment with the “NPCs” and among themselves, while Michael heard Mages discussing the easiest Dungeons to tackle in a group to acquire Skill Points.

They’re at a better point than I expected.

It was surprising that other contestants could aim for Dungeons, but it was also true that not every Dungeon involved combat. What intrigued him the most was how the Dungeons’ information had been acquired. Was this knowledge built upon the corpses of those who had died investigating the Dungeon?

No, that doesn’t make sense.

It was obvious, but the dead told no tales. To acquire information about a Dungeon, the others would need to contact an individual or team that had survived the Dungeon in question. Was there a way to leave a Dungeon without clearing it? Or were there already teams willing and capable of clearing specific Dungeons? Of course, this was considering that none of them could simply ask an “NPC” about the Dungeon like Michael could.

I haven’t paid much attention to the other people since the Derek and Lohann incidents.

It was only natural that there would be more talented people, though it was highly unlikely that they would compare to Lohann or Michael himself. Lost in his thoughts, Michael continued to make his way to Tairy’s house. As he entered the street of his destination, however, he slowed down his pace and narrowed his eyes. There was a line of people standing outside of the house, under the glow of the tree with shimmering blue leaves.

Michael’s heart beat calmly in his chest. His improved hearing captured an unfamiliar voice, followed by Tairy’s.

“—That’s why I wish to improve. Please guide me, master.”

“…I can offer you some assistance, prized contestant.”

As usual, the old man was pretending to be a true NPC, like the other dark elves. Michael thought it was a great way of avoiding annoyances, but it seemed that Tairy wouldn’t be able to avoid putting in some effort this time. In spite of his standardized, almost obviously artificial responses, the line outside his house didn’t shrink by even a single person. Men and women waited, some more impatiently than others.

Without a word, Michael walked to the back of the line, getting a few glances. Two of the onlookers shook in place as if they had been punched in the gut, before abruptly turning their heads away. Michael sighed within his heart. It seemed that he had been recognized, but how?

There was no way to keep everything that had happened under wraps. His ‘Monster of Bluestone Village’ Title remained in his Status Window. It was unclear how the ordinary people had heard of him, but they clearly knew his appearance and had reason to fear him. He remained silent. The two people who seemed to have recognized him were getting antsy, moving in place, and attempting to discreetly look over their shoulders.

The line shrunk over time. Tairy gave the same responses to almost everyone. Once he got to the two onlookers, both of them shortened the conversation and walked away almost as if they were escaping. Once Michael stepped in front of Tairy, he saw the old dark elf’s expression visibly change to a relieved one.

“Oh, finally. I was at my wit’s end.”

Michael smiled.

“Not used to the attention, eh old man?”

“Shut up,” Tairy scoffed. “So, how many Skill Points do you have? Should be more than five, right?”

“Nine,” Michael replied as he sighed inwardly.

“Good,” Tairy grinned. “Now let’s get some Skills.”