Mike glanced through his notifications as the group began searching through the rubble. It was just a massive pile of wood shards and bark, but it was still annoying to look through.

*Settlement successfully liberated! All those involved gain +1 class level*

*Settlement successfully destroyed! All those involved gain +1 class level*

*Mighty Feat achieved! +1 Class level*

*Human Slain x4! (level 48 - 63)*

*Class level up x6! Mighty Feller of Giants (level 50)*

*Race level up x3! Human (level 50)

*Skill upgraded! Freedom, becomes Freedom (Heroic)*

Freedom (Heroic) (Trait)

Dump mana into anything that is negatively affecting you, destroying it. If not enough mana is used to destroy the target, instead the energy flow within the target will be severely disrupted.

*Skill selection available*

Mike had expected a good chunk of levels from the fight, especially since he was sure that every one of the druids had been a higher level than himself. He hadn't been expecting so many bonus levels from his actions though. He was extremely pleased at the gains, and split his stats gained between fortitude and constitution. He continued searching through the mess that was the fallen tree, and failed to find anything of use.

Mike had been hoping to maybe find one of the elemental cores that Roots had used, but it began to look like they had been destroyed in the blast. He knew that the legendary ritual hadn’t survived either, as his soulbound connection to it had disappeared before he had even hit the ground.

After a few minutes of searching and feeling around for any signs of mana, he gave up. Mike regrouped with the rest of his team, and they headed out to go catch up with the evacuated people of Gratsden. It didn't take too long to catch up, as moving 30,000 people was not a quick task. The only way they had gotten everybody out of Gratsden so quickly was that the spies had been organizing people to leave in advance. As they got closer to the group, Mike could hear a violin playing from the front of the massive march.

*Buff gained! Marching Tempo*

Mike felt his footsteps begin following an unconscious beat that matched up with many people around him. He caught up to Vladimir, who was at the very front of the group. “Nice song.” Mike said.

“Thanks, it’s really helped to get things moving.” The man responded, before turning backwards, still walking on beat. “Come on people, just a days travel longer to reach your salvation. We will take a rest when we are halfway there!”

A chorus of groans, cheers, annoyed remarks, and various other responses was what met this declaration. Despite the fact that the group was moving as fast as a pre-system human could typically run, it still felt painfully slow to Mike and many other high leveled people. He was used to traveling at nearly ten times the pace they were currently going. He paused for a second as that sank in. He really had gotten used to superhuman feats, hadn't he? Hell, he had lost an arm today, but thanks to Aaron it had regrown quite quickly.

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“We really have come a long way in just 5 months, haven’t we?” Mike said.

“We have.” Vladimir said, speaking at a normal volume again. “We have all gotten stronger and far more powerful than we could even imagine.”

“I don’t mean just getting stronger. Tell me, how much crime have you heard of happening in the village?”

“You mean outside people going on murder sprees or getting a god complex like Klint and Roots?”

“Yeah, not including them. There is always going to be an asshole that ruins things for everybody, no matter what happens to the world. I am talking about the average person. We have been given the chance to become entirely independent as people if we decide that is what we want to do, and anyone can do just about anything as long as they work towards it hard enough.”

“I don’t see what you are getting at.”

“Back before the system, we were divided quite a bit. Whether it be from country to country, between different backgrounds, or just fighting pointless wars. Outside of the odd outlier, I have never seen people so united as they are now. The village we live in is the product of tens of thousands of people working to make it a home. That's not something that people could do if they were at one another's throats.”

“I guess you are right.” Vladimir said, then gestured back at the crowd following them. “It allows people to be independent, but it also enables anybody to do good things such as save so many people.”

They walked for a few more moments in silence. Lucas caught up to them, matching their pace and walking alongside them. “Whatcha guys talking about?”

“Nothing much.” Mike said. He didn't think the rouge would enjoy the deep conversation they had been having, so he didn't bother bringing it up. Vladimir didn't have the same reservations.

“We are just talking about the system, and all it has done for us.” He said.

“What, like everyone giving thanks during thanksgiving? Sounds pretty boring to me.” The rogue said.

“Why don’t you just give it a try?” Vladimir urged, nudging Lucas with an elbow.

“Fine, but you go first.”

“Ok, I will.” Vladimir paused for a moment to collect his thoughts. “The system did destroy all of the history that humanity has spent millenia making, which is a loss to everyone. It also allowed people like Klint and Roots to follow the paths they did, but that can’t be entirely blamed on the system. It did let me find my passion in music, and has let me turn my music into power. Overall, I am pretty neutral on whether it was good or bad.” Mike and Vladimir looked at Lucas, waiting for him to follow it up.

“I have already told Mike this before.” Lucas said, his face growing a bit saddened. “I was a foster kid, bouncing from home to home until I turned 18. The next five years were just a series of terrible mistakes that began leading my life down a dark path. That's when the system came.” Lucas chuckled softly. “If it didn’t, I probably never would have died well before turning 30. I just feel like the system bailed me out of my bad choices, and has saved me from a god awful life. The system has been a complete positive to me and likely to many people I knew.”

The two of them then looked at Mike. After a brief pause, he gave his answer. “For me, I felt like I hadn’t lived an actual life until the system came around. It gave me drive. It gave me a world to flourish in. Most of all though, it gave me freedom.”