I eventually made my way to the front of the Outpost where Sean was approaching the gate with someone on his back. Though as he got to the gate, we all got to see something very interesting.

There was a barrier of sorts preventing them from walking any further. They were about 5 feet from the gate but couldn’t much a single inch further. Of course, before anyone could freak out Richard realized the problem and handed Sean 5 Copper Coins that he just happened to have on him. How convenient.

What was curious to me though, was that Richard didn’t walk into the barrier that was stopping Sean from progressing. Even though he was standing right next to him, it was as if there was nothing at all there, yet for Sean there was clearly something stopping him.

The barrier didn’t go away after Richard gave him the money, and we realized it was likely that the person his back had to pay for themselves, but the person was unconscious.

So, Richard placed the coins in their hands and held the hand shut for them, a second or two later, and Sean almost fell forward after the barrier disappeared, and after Richard let go of the person’s hand, we could see the coins had vanished as well. Wow, that was something.

I honestly forgot about the cost of entry a long time ago, especially since Mr. Gate Guard man retired from this position.

Moving on, we brought the person to one of the houses and laid him down in an empty room.

Looking at him now, he appeared to be an Asian dude, not really sure which country though. He looked to be maybe around 30, it was kind of hard to tell, and his clothes…he was wearing the same clothes we were wearing. Where would he have been able to buy that? Is this the second Outpost he was arriving at by any chance?

While we waited for him to wake up, Sean went to explain the circumstances in which he found him.

“I was way out past the Green Den, probably an hour or so past it. Moving farther than I probably should be going, but I just kind of did. Eventually I heard what sounded like grunts of pain and my first thought was to run away, as I figured it would be a Goblin or something, but then I heard a word. He was calling for help.

“I moved closer to the sound, and that’s when I noticed the man leaning up against a tree. He had stab wounds all over his body and a few Goblin corpses lay next to him. I watched from a distance for a few moments to see if anyone else would approach him because he was calling for help. I assumed he must’ve had a partner of some kind.

"Though, after a few minutes no one came, and the guy was bleeding out fast. So, I did the next best thing, and I dressed his wounds as best as I could before putting him on my back and walked all the way were.

“That’s pretty much it.”

Wow, that honestly sounded like something out of a movie.

Someone else might’ve been upset at him for not helping the guy right away but I knew it was the right thing to do. He was out there all alone, with no backup, and no way to actually call for help. So, him being extremely cautious was the right thing to do. I simply told him good job, before refocusing on the unconscious guy.

A guy in Tutorial clothing, out deep in the middle of the forest, apparently by himself who nearly died to some Goblins. It has weirdness written all over it. I eventually left asking them to come get me when they guy woke up.

I didn’t feel like just standing there watching some dude sleep.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

So, I began making way to the training grounds to at least get some training in. I had already done my training with the Outpost Leader for the day which of course was a bloody mess, and it was around time to hit the Dungeons but this guy showing up kind of ruined that. Speaking of the Dungeons, I still think about the Goblin Village from time to time. There wasn’t much time left in the Tutorial, and I wanted to give myself enough time to not only try it at least once, but also be able to do it multiple times for whatever rewards it provided.

It said a minimum of 5 4th Cycle Cultivators are required, and it was a D class Dungeon. The Green Den is F, the Goblin Outpost is E, and this is D. I don’t know the type of gap that separated E from D, but it felt stupid to risk it when the there was a possibility that the Dungeon’s objective required me to complete the Dungeon or die trying.

Which means It’s probably to push to the 6th Cycle and maybe even beyond. I’ve waited long enough. I want to get out of the Tutorial as strong as possible and although I can push for the Qi Refinement realm right now, it didn’t make sense to just give up on this extra strength. Alright, I’ll tell the Outpost Leader after training tomorrow.

Anyway, I barely got to practice with my spear for around 15 minutes before Micah came over to let me know the mystery man had woken up. \

We made our way back over and there he was, still laying on the bed but he was crying…why was he crying...?

“Micah…why is he crying?”

Of course I did my best to whisper.

“Oh, when he woke up, he kept asking for someone else, another man named Chen, but Sean said he didn’t see another person out there. Of course, he tried telling him that whoever else could’ve just escaped somewhere else, and Sean reminded him, that he didn’t search the entire area, but he kept saying this Chen person would’ve been right next to him.”

Ah…I see. Then it was probably a situation similar to Jax. If he died, then he was likely absorbed into the ground.

Hm.

We all stood there, kind of just watching him cry for a few minutes.

It was kind of awkward, but no one left…I wanted to leave again, but I think it would make it more awkward if I left at this point.

When he finally stopped crying, the first thing he did was thank Sean profusely for saving his life, then he apologized to the rest of us for crying so much. Of course, no one blamed him, and a few people reassured him that everything was okay.

Though I noticed something weird. He was speaking perfect English. No problems there.

But his lips…it didn’t really match the words he was saying. Something about it just seemed off.

This is when I decided to step in.

“Hi, my name is Raizen. What’s your name?”

“Ah sorry sorry, my name is Chao.”

Chen and Chao, I think those are Chinese names, but I’m not exactly sure. What I do know though, is that the only time the movement of his lips matched what he was saying was when he said his name.

“No worries, Chao. I know a lot has happened to you, but are you able to answer some questions for us? Sean here found you rather far away from where we are currently.”

“Ah yes…my bother and I…we were sent to investigate a beam of light rising up in the forest. We were very careful, but the closer we got to the beam, the more dangerous the forest around us became. We eventually ran into a horde that we could not handle and did our best to escape. Chen was the only one who managed to reach 1st Cycle, so he tried to buy me time…we got separated and a few Goblins came after me…I managed to kill them, but as you all can see, they would’ve likely killed me too if Mr. Sean hadn’t reached me in time…”

He spoke softly and I could see he was on the verge of crying once again but he said something that threw me off. He was sent here.

“You were sent...By whom?”

“…Our Leader. Or well group of leaders. Our group was controlled by 3 men, all three of them were brothers, they weren’t bad or anything like that, but eventually the entire group agreed that the light needed to be investigated, and my brother and I were chosen for the role. Both of us did a lot of the scouting for the group so it was kind of a given that we would be chosen.”

I see…he came from a group…another Outpost?

“Did you come from another Outpost?”

He looked confused.

“What’s an Outpost?”

….

“….Where is your group living?”

“…We live in the forest. We were able to buy tents and provisions from a passing merchant, but it is still the forest…we don’t have any houses like this though…how were you able to cut down the trees? We tried and nothing we did could do anything to the trees.”

….

One quick glance around the room and it was easy to notice the shocked expressions of everyone present.

Living in the forest? A passing merchant? Tents?

Just how lucky were we to find this Outpost?

“…Did I say something wrong? Why do you all look so shocked?”