James stared at the food on his plate. Bread, some meat, and water. It was as barebones of a meal as it got. In spite of being grateful for it, he couldn’t help but desire that the food would improve over time. Elizabeth sat opposite of him, and she was already wolfing down her food.

I shouldn’t waste my time with useless thoughts.

They had worked hard to get to this point. The entire group of friends had been granted a quest to be promoted to Villagers after meeting with the Village Chief. Several people had immediately voiced their concerns, arguing that there was no need to continue fighting, as they had already joined a settlement. Those who hadn’t adapted well to the new scenario had jumped at the opportunity to stop hunting and killing. The realization that they would only be granted food and water once the quest was completed made them despair. In the end, the group’s only choice had been to complete the quest.

The battle hadn’t been easy. There was only a single enemy – a brown bear – but most of the group was still unable to fight properly. The casters missed their Skills and the Warriors, including James, fought sloppily. If it weren’t for Elizabeth, the entire group might have failed at best or wiped out at worst. As his thoughts reached this point, he looked at the young woman again.

She was already halfway through her meal and was covered in sweat and dirt, but that didn’t manage to diminish her beauty, which slightly shocked James for the umpteenth time. Next to her, Naomi ate in silence. Dylan, Thomas, and Anthony ate at his sides.

The sounds of steps dug into his ears. He moved his gaze to the man approaching Elizabeth from behind. He looked to be about thirty years old or so, with a full beard and average height. The sword on his waist indicated his Class. He knocked his knuckles on the table once, making her raise her eyes. In less than a second, she realized what he was looking at and turned around just as the man reached their table. James stealthily grabbed the hilt of his sword. While he didn’t believe that the man would do anything, as they were in the middle of the village’s dining hall, it didn’t hurt to be careful. That had been a lesson he had learned early on.

The man stopped next to her and smiled. The young woman eyed him with caution. He extended his hand in greeting and spoke.

“Hello! I’m sorry for bothering you like this, but once I saw you from over there, I knew I couldn’t keep still. You’re one of the most beautiful women I have ever seen. Would you mind granting me the chance to know you better?”

As he spoke, he got closer to the seat next to her. James watched Elizabeth attentively and saw her visibly tense up. He looked at the table he assumed the man had come from. Around five or six other men were talking while laughing and looking over. The man should have come from that table. Were they betting on whether he would succeed or not?

Elizabeth gave the man a carefully crafted smile. She shook her head.

“I’m sorry, but I’m not looking to get to know anyone for the time being. Thank you.”

The man’s smiling expression collapsed into a heavy frown. His extended hand twitched. James didn’t let it go unnoticed. After two seconds of staring at her, the man spoke loudly, his voice filled with distaste.

“What the fuck? Do you really think you’re all that, bitch?”

He attempted to grab her shoulder. James moved quickly. Just as the man’s extended hand got closer to her, he hurriedly let go of the sword’s hilt and grabbed the man’s wrist. Mocking laughter echoed from the table with the other men. One of them yelled.

“Get fucked, Carl! I told you it wouldn’t work!”

The words and laughter seemed only to incense the man even further. His angry, twisted visage turned to James. He spoke.

“And who the hell are you? Don’t butt in!”

James scowled.

“I’m her friend. Back off.”

The hand gripping the man’s wrist trembled. Carl was stronger than he looked. James frowned. It was likely that the man was higher-leveled. If this turned into a fight, he wasn’t certain that he could win. His frown intensified. Next to him, Dylan stood up, as did Anthony. Thomas and Naomi grasped their wands.

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At that moment, an extremely short, muscular man with a large beard stepped between them. He effortlessly pried James’ hand away from Carl’s wrist and stepped between Carl and Elizabeth. The dwarf spoke clearly. His voice was deep.

“Fighting within the village is not allowed. Stop immediately.”

James pulled his hand away from the dwarf’s grasp. This was one of the few NPC guards that watched over the dining hall. He eyed the guard carefully. He still wasn’t sure whether they were truly NPCs or not. All he knew was that they were much stronger than any human he had seen so far. The presence of one of them clearly made Carl wary. With a scoff, he turned around and walked back to his table while enduring the smiles on his companions’ faces. He threw James and Elizabeth one last venomous look over his shoulder before sitting down. The dwarven guard glanced at James before moving back to his previous spot. The others sat back down, sighing.

Elizabeth nodded at him.

“Thank you.”

James shook his head.

“Just did what anyone would’ve done.”

“Not anyone. Carl over there wouldn’t.”

He shrugged. It didn’t matter. He had done what he thought was right. Dylan put his hand on his shoulder and nodded as well.

“Even I froze up for a moment. You did well.”

Naomi, Thomas, and Anthony smiled. James didn’t really understand why. In his mind, what he had done didn’t warrant such praise. He looked at the table where Carl had come from. Its previous rowdiness was nowhere to be found. Instead, all the men looked serious, throwing constant glances at his group. James pointed toward them in a discreet manner.

“That looks like trouble.”

Dylan replied.

“They won’t do anything while we’re inside the village.”

“And when we’re outside? Quests are still a thing.”

“Is there a real need to keep doing them? We already have resources and shelter.”

James shook his head once more.

“The only way to thrive in this new world is to become powerful. Internalize that as soon as possible.”

His table went silent. Elizabeth spoke.

“James is right. We can’t stop. There’s no way to know if the current status quo will be maintained forever. We should be prepared for unexpected developments.”

She looked at him.

“What about Michael? Has anyone found out anything?”

James sighed.

“No, unfortunately. I asked around a few times and even went to the Village Chief, but nobody matching his description was seen. He must have found another settlement.”

In a low voice, almost as a whisper, Thomas replied.

“That, or…”

His voice trailed off, but James knew everyone was aware of what he meant. Statistically, it was far more likely for Michael to simply be dead. They had only managed to survive because they were in a large group and faced no enemies once they reached the underground. If Michael were in different circumstances, he could have died long before reaching the underground or soon afterward. As his thoughts reached this point, James felt his chest tighten. Michael was a dear friend, even though they couldn’t be considered to be best friends. It was worrying for them not to have heard anything about him, as they didn’t know exactly how many settlements were there.

Elizabeth spoke.

“And your families? Has anyone heard anything?”

Dylan let out a smile. His relief was palpable. It looked as if the weight of the entire world had been lifted off his shoulders. He spoke with a choked-up voice as the others turned toward him.

“Through sheer astronomical dumb luck, both of my parents have also found their way to our village. They’re a bit wounded, but fine overall.”

James looked at him, slowly smiling as well. He threw his arm around Dylan’s shoulders.

“I’m happy for you, bro! I’m glad they’re alright.”

The others clamored and celebrated. Dylan had tears in his eyes. The emotions he had been holding in finally overflowed, James observed. It made him think of his own family. Unlike Dylan’s parents, his own were nowhere to be found. He was close to both his mother and father but hadn’t had the time to truly think about them in this Tutorial until now. The happiness he felt for his friend died out. The others were still giving Dylan pats on the back and hugs. Only Elizabeth stayed in place with a smile after offering kind words.

After some time, James spoke to the others.

“What about you guys? I haven’t found mine yet.”

Thomas, Anthony, and Naomi shook their heads with depressed expressions. Dylan’s smile was also replaced by an expression of worry. Naturally, as friends, they all cared about one another. The safety of everyone’s families was paramount. Elizabeth spoke.

“Our best bet is to wait for them here until we find another settlement where we can search for them. We need to remain calm and rational and carefully think of our next move. This brings me to something I wanted to discuss with you all.”

James looked at her, as did the others. She now had a serious expression.

“I’ve been trying to gather information from whoever I could, so long as it was reliable. I got into contact with Derek’s group and found out something important.”

James furrowed his brow. Derek was the man who had led them to Redglow Village. They had encountered his much larger group once they arrived in the underground and followed them in order to avoid conflict. Thankfully, Derek’s group hadn’t attempted to do anything, although the way the men looked at Elizabeth was suspicious. Quite frankly, he was surprised that she had been willing to contact them again, as there was no way she had failed to notice their gazes.

She continued to speak.

“His group, alongside a few others, are planning on making contact with another settlement, one that isn’t too far away from here.”

James raised an eyebrow. Before she could continue, he asked a couple of questions.

“What is it called? Where is it?”

She looked at him.

“It’s around eight kilometers west of here. It’s called Bluestone Village.”