Derek had been left speechless. He couldn’t even organize his thoughts. Next to him, the brown-haired mage spoke in a calm voice.

“…We’ll need to adjust our plans.”

Derek gritted his teeth. It had been five hours since he had been notified that a Party of eleven men had set out against Michael, intent on proving that he wasn’t a threat or whatever the hell they were thinking. At first, he had been outraged. His authority had been directly challenged. There was no way to let this issue slide; he needed to be ruthless if he wanted to keep the respect of his men. He had been thinking of what punishment to dish out, only to be met with the message that he wouldn’t need to.

It had come in the shape of an out-of-breath, shaking young man who had only joined their organization because of its influence. He had taken three deep breaths, and given an announcement to the whole room.

“Jeremy’s group has been found. They’re all dead.”

The news had shocked the room into silence. The boy’s shaking voice continued.

“They were found split in half near a captured Flag. No defenders were seen. The Flag was successfully recaptured, but it was then lost to another group. It is currently in Bluestone Village’s control.”

And now, they found themselves in the current moment. Derek cursed under his breath.

“Crazy bastard.”

Even among his men, there weren’t many who were willing to kill. Those who could do it already had a past history of violence or crime; Jeremy’s group had included several of them. That was why the announcement that they had been split in half and left to rot had been startling.

We’re dealing with a fucking psychopath.

When Jeremy acted on his own, he hadn’t been concerned about their well-being. He had assumed that they would be spared even if they were defeated. He let out a sigh. He looked at the Mage next to him, who was frowning. He spoke.

“What’s on your mind?”

The Mage turned to the messenger, who had caught his breath.

“You say they were all split in half?”

The messenger blinked.

“Yes, but not all at the same spot. It’s as if he used a sword to slice them arbitrarily.”

The Mage, Lohann, shook his head.

“No, it was not a sword.”

Derek spoke to him.

“Do you know how he did it?”

Lohann faced him with a serene expression, but his eyes carried a glint of interest that could not be concealed.

“Not exactly, no. But I believe he did it with a spell, probably a more advanced version of the Mana Wave that I have.”

Derek’s frown intensified. Lohann was the most powerful Mage he knew. Or at least he had been until Derek saw the basketball-sized Mana Sphere that Michael created. He had already proven his insight. There was no reason to doubt what he was saying.

“…That’s even worse.”

“Yes, it is.”

The enemy likely possessed a spell capable of mowing down eleven people, even if multiple casts were necessary. Lohann faced the messenger again.

“Were the men in Jeremy’s group able to react to the spell? Were there signs of struggle? Maybe destroyed scenery indicative of where the spell was cast or where it landed?”

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The young man stammered.

“I-I don’t know, I just got the news and ran here as fast as possible.”

Lohann tilted his head, appearing to be lost in thought. Then, he spoke to the entire room.

“I want to see the place where this happened. Lead me there.”

He looked at Derek, who nodded. This wasn’t the time for disagreements, and the Mage might be able to figure out something if he went there. Derek silently hoped that something even slightly resembling a weakness could be found. To be frank, he was scared. This was a show of power that he hadn’t yet seen in the Tutorial Zone. Maybe he would find something on the same scale in the Dungeons his men had found, but so far, Michael seemed to far surpass anyone else he had seen. Derek had also killed many throughout his life and fought against many more, but he hadn’t expected to lose eleven warriors to one man.

He shouldn’t have any reason to be our enemy beyond the Territory Wars.

When the System announced the new event, he had rejoiced. It was the prime opportunity to expand his influence and gather resources, which included people. Those who opposed him could be “dealt with” efficiently due to the size of his group. Flags could be taken quickly by different Parties, while they could also occupy and defend more Territory. Overall, it was an event that favored large organizations or those who had managed to coordinate with several groups.

Yet, now that he found himself against an enemy beyond even himself, he cursed the System. He bitterly resented the fact that he and Michael were on opposite sides. After some thought, he spoke.

“…Leave Bluestone Village alone for now. Focus on Yellowbright Village and Greenwood Village.”

The others in the room nodded and went on their way to relay the message. Derek was left alone in the room, staring at the hand-drawn map on the table in front of him, his mind somewhere else entirely. Letting out a breath, he sat on his makeshift throne.

“…I need to kill him.”

The brat called Michael was a threat that had shown itself to be more than willing to fight. Derek had already failed to recruit him, so there was no option left. Those who didn’t accept his rule were to be crushed under his heel. But, this time it wouldn’t be so easy. The tens of people he had already killed during his expansion didn’t matter. He had never thought about them or regretted what he did.

…I might be in over my head.

He was afraid of death, but it seemed to be coming for him.

I’m not dying without a struggle, motherfucker.

Hatred and resentment built up in Derek’s eyes. He wouldn’t just roll over and wait for the reaper to reach him. If ten men weren’t enough, he would throw a hundred at Michael. If a hundred weren’t enough, he would throw a thousand. He would wear Michael down to the best of his ability and strike at an opportune moment. Being the most powerful didn’t necessarily make one the winner in a battle, especially one to the death. Strategy counted as much as raw power.

Nobody is without a weakness.

Michael might be a powerhouse, but there certainly was a chink in his armor.

And Derek would find it, even if it cost him the lives of hundreds of his men.

***

This is pointless.

Michael watched the blue pillars of light become red once more. Even though he could quickly capture a Flag by injuring its defenders, they would always be recaptured some time after he left. The window of time varied; the longest he had “kept” a Flag was three hours. But in the end, new opponents seemed to pop out of thin air to recapture the Flag with Healers in tow, nullifying all that he had achieved. The injured defenders were healed and the Flag was recaptured.

He now realized that the game was skewed in favor of those in large organizations.

The System probably waited until now to start the Territory Wars in order for everyone to find a group.

Of course, he couldn’t accurately guess the System’s intentions, but it was a possibility. It was something he hadn’t bothered doing, focused as he was on getting more powerful for the sake of others. Rose was the only person he had really spoken to apart from Tairy and Sullivan, but he didn’t really have a relationship with her. She had attacked him, he had defended himself and managed to get her to lead him to Bluestone Village. That was it. He had asked her about her attackers not out of worry, but out of desire for information. He looked at the health bar floating in the corner of his vision. It was full.

I shouldn’t discard this Party.

Things were more complex now that he understood the principle behind the Territory Wars; he needed to coordinate with other groups, like Rose’s. No matter how powerful he was, he could only be in one place at a time. There was no way for him to defend every Flag he captured.

There was also the alternative method of going to the Consumed Territory, but Tairy had advised against it, and he trusted the old man. He didn’t know how powerful the Forgotten were, but it wouldn’t hurt to prepare himself further. He also needed to learn more spells now that he had reached the second Circle. He had only learned two of them before the Territory Wars had rudely interrupted his training.

Michael absent-mindedly raised his hand. After a sequence of symbols, a small flame lit up and danced between his fingers. Either way, Derek was a higher priority than getting more Territory. He was the direct threat to his friends and others.

I need to deal with him as soon as possible.

The flame burned stronger.