The days passed by quickly, but not silently. Every day, Michael would study under Tairy’s tutelage, going out to hunt just enough to maintain his Villager rank. Tairy had advised him that it would be wiser to hone his abilities instead of trying to increase his rank within Bluestone Village. He steadily made progress. His Level didn’t change, but he got more familiar with his Skills. As Tairy had once advised him, he never stopped thinking about different ways they could be used.

Finally, on the tenth day, there was a change.

Michael sat on the stone dais with the old man by his side, looking up towards the underground’s ceiling. An enormous, red System message floated above the Village. Just like the message regarding the Tutorial’s objective, it could be seen and read from any angle.

[Congratulations to all who have made it this far. Territory Wars will now begin.]

“…What the hell, man.”

Next to him, Tairy spoke.

“I told you, kid. Big events. The real Tutorial begins now.”

Michael cursed under his breath. As he watched the gigantic System message, others appeared right below it.

[Every Village will now have a designated Territory. Every Villager must strive to protect their Territory.]

[Territory from other Villages can be stolen or conquered. 45 days from now, the Villages with the larger Territories will be rewarded, while the Villages with smaller Territories will be punished.]

[The Village with the largest Territory will receive a special reward, while the Village with the smallest Territory will receive a special punishment.]

[At the center of the underground, where all Territories meet, the Consumed Territory rises, inhabited only by the Forgotten. The Consumed Territory can be conquered as well.]

And that was the end of the string of messages, which remained in place. Michael felt a new piece of knowledge worm its way into his mind. He now “knew” that Bluestone Village’s Territory referred to the village itself and everything within a one-kilometer radius of its center. This information had been passed down to him just like the information on how to use the Skills he acquired. The designated Territory shone with a blue hue in his vision. He sighed.

“Is this why you were happy about finding someone talented? Because the entire Village will be rewarded, including the ‘NPCs?’”

Tairy nodded with a conflicted expression.

“Yes. NPCs can’t participate. Of course, that doesn’t mean I don’t like you for who you are, it’s just that-”

“Don’t worry, I get it. You once said that you didn’t do this out of the goodness in your heart, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist.”

Michael let out another deep sigh as he looked at the floating messages with a complicated expression.

“I’ll have to fight humans, won’t I?”

Tairy nodded. His voice was firm.

“You will. Just like those people that you met before, there are others willing to hurt people for their own gain. The start of the Territory Wars will be the trigger they need to completely let go of the morality of their old world.”

This reminded Michael of a question he wanted to ask.

“Is it possible to change Villages? I have some friends in Redglow Village who are in a bad situation because of the group we spoke about.”

“It is possible, but they will have to forsake all rewards from the Territory Wars. Otherwise, it would be too simple to simply join the largest Village near the end. If they wanted to change Villages, they should have done it before this point.”

“Fuck.”

The two went silent for a bit. Michael waved his fingers in the air, creating the symbol for the Whisper spell, and chanted its incantation. In less than two seconds, it was formed. Tairy spoke.

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“Who are you trying to contact?”

“My friends. I memorized their mana signature.”

Specifically, he was trying to talk to James. The spell floated in the air, unresponsive, but after almost ten seconds, a change occurred. James’ voice came out of the ethereal mouth.

“Michael? Is that you? The System automatically told me it was you, but-”

“Yes, it’s me. I have news. I have found out that in order to change Villages, you would need to give up on the rewards from the Wars.”

After a few seconds of silence, a sigh was uttered.

“You know we can’t do that. There’s still something after the Tutorial Zone. We need to become as strong as possible. There’s no clue regarding what the rewards are, but we can’t forsake them.”

“I know, which is why I decided to talk to you. We’ll take down Derek using the Wars. You’ll be able to live normally within Redglow Village after that, and strive for Territory.”

“Alright. I don’t know what your plan is, but execute it quickly. Derek has already begun organizing people to find out how to conquer more Territory and where to take it from. His first target should be Bluestone Village. I’ll-”

He stopped talking abruptly. Michael heard the sound of other voices, distant, but too close for them to communicate properly. James spoke.

“I have to go. We’ll be relying on you.”

“You can count on me.”

James’ side of the connection was dismissed. Michael unmade the Whisper spell. He looked at Tairy.

“How do we conquer more Territory?”

It was the most important question. Without the answer, there was no way to make progress. The old dark elf raised three fingers.

“There are three ways. The first and most intuitive one is to maintain and occupy part of another Territory. After 24 hours, that piece will be considered to be conquered. The second is to destroy any semblance of dominance in a designated Territory. This includes destroying or conquering buildings, getting rid of enemies, or capturing the colored Flags that the System creates.”

Michael raised an eyebrow. The first was indeed intuitive, but the second one surprised him. He hadn’t expected the System to create Flags or something like that. This wasn’t a children’s game, yet the System acted like it was. Perhaps the level of their clashes was too low to be considered anything serious. Tairy continued.

“The third way is the most extreme one. If you manage to carve a path to the inside of another Village and defeat or dominate the human presence there, the entire Village will be considered conquered, and all of its Territory will then go to the Village that conquered it. NPCs aren’t included in this battle.”

Michael nodded. It made sense.

“What about the people from the conquered Village? Will they still receive rewards?”

“Since they become part of a larger Village, yes. But they also failed to protect their own Village. Therefore, the rewards they receive are lesser, while the punishment they receive is greater. Simply put, it’s better to defend one’s Village with all of one’s might than surrender to another one.”

Michael scratched his chin in thought. Was he forgetting anything? Realization dawned upon him. He spoke.

“And the Consumed Territory? What is it?”

Tairy’s expression was serious and dark.

“It is a neutral Territory that can be conquered by any Village, but I’d advise against it. It is one thing to face other humans; you are more than well-prepared for that. Fighting the Forgotten is another matter altogether. They are monsters.”

Michael was immediately interested. It was a route that avoided fighting and possibly killing other people. He was already used to fighting monsters, so it wouldn’t be much of a change.

“Even at my current power level?”

“Yes, kid. They are dangerous.”

Tairy didn’t have full knowledge about Michael’s Skills and stats, but he was still insightful. Michael had learned to trust the old man’s words.

“Very well. My immediate goal will be to conquer Redglow Village, then.”

They were extreme words that were said in a calm tone. All that went through Michael’s mind was to save his friends. If he could manage to conquer the entire Village, his friends would become part of Bluestone Village. Another option was to team up with his friends to juggle Territory between the two Villages, therefore increasing their rewards by creating an alliance, but that would only be possible if Derek and his cronies were taken care of. As his thoughts reached this point, he shifted his perspective.

My immediate goal should be to deal with Derek, not to conquer the entirety of Redglow Village.

It was settled. He stood up. Tairy watched him attentively and spoke.

“Good luck, kid. Show them what you’re made of.”

“Naturally.”

He strode out of the courtyard with firm steps. His fingers drew another Whisper spell. Rose picked up quickly.

“Michael? What is it?”

“I wanted to ask. Are you part of a group?”

“Yes, I’ve gathered a few allies over time. We’re about to meet and discuss what to do regarding this sudden System announcement. Do you want to come?”

“No, that’s not why I contacted you. My target is Redglow Village. More specifically, Derek and his organization. I’ll move alone. Tell your group about this. This is an opportunity to deal with him.”

Rose was silent for a few seconds.

“I know you’re powerful, but are you certain that you want to move on your own? We can-”

“I’m certain.”

Silence ensued once more. Eventually, she agreed.

“Alright, I’ll tell them. Good luck.”

“Thanks. You too.”

He dismissed the connection, walking toward the Village’s entrance. He needed to see where the Territories of Bluestone Village and Redglow Village met. After that, he would follow the second method of conquest. He also needed to see a Flag and what it looked like.

Let’s do this.

His determination was unshakable.