Rain poured down from the dark skies above, the cold droplets smacking against my battered body. A clap of thunder echoed through the air as Aubrey strode into view, an orange light gleaming from her Interface. She looked like the embodiment of a storm.

Without breaking her stride, she swung her arm and tossed the severed head of the enemy sniper at the feet of the leader. It rolled to a stop, its lifeless eyes staring blankly at the horrified man.

The sudden appearance of the head, combined with Aubrey's fearsome aura, filled the air with an electric tension that made the hairs on my neck stand on end.

The leader's eyes widened in recognition, and his face twisted in terror.

"Oh, fuck! Run!" he screamed, his voice cracking. "It's Tempest!"

His warning came too late. Like a bolt of lightning, Aubrey appeared beside him, her sword crackling with electricity. Before the leader could even react, she swung her blade in a swift, fluid motion. His head tumbled from his shoulders, leaving a trail of blood in its wake, while his lifeless body crumpled to the ground. The head’s expression of terror was forever etched on his face.

Whipping her electrified sword back, Aubrey locked her gaze on the mohawked guy who had tormented me just moments before.

In an instant, she flicked her wrist, and her electrified sword shot from her hand like a railgun projectile. The blade tore through the air, cutting through the rain with a sizzling hiss. It slammed into the mohawked guy's chest with a sickening crunch, impaling him against the wall.

The sheer force of the attack made the concrete crack around him, and I could hear his bones shatter. He didn't even have time to scream, his body convulsing as the electrified blade sent wave after wave of energy through him. Smoke rose from the point of impact, the acid that had once coated his fists now neutralized by the sheer force of Aubrey's attack. And then, just as suddenly, he went limp.

Aubrey reached out with one hand, and the sword that impaled the mohawked guy trembled before flying back to her hand.

Panic spread through the remaining group like wildfire, their eyes darting from their fallen comrades to the seemingly unstoppable force that was Aubrey.

They scrambled to their feet, fear driving them to flee in all directions—But they wouldn't get far. They were like cornered rats, their faces a mix of terror and desperation as they tried to evade her wrath.

I forced myself to sit up, wincing as pain lanced through my battered body. The scene before me was something out of a nightmare, and I couldn't tear my eyes away from the carnage.

Aubrey was a whirlwind of death, her electrified sword cutting through the air like a bolt of lightning.

The first of the fleeing enemies had barely made it a few steps before she was upon him, her blade slicing through his arm with terrifying ease. His scream was cut short as she kicked him in the chest, sending him flying into a nearby wall. The guy's body convulsed violently, a gruesome dance of death, as Aubrey's electric power coursed through him. Smoke rose from his charred body as he finally fell still.

One of them stumbled and fell in the mud, gasping for air as he scrambled to get back on his feet. Aubrey closed the distance in an instant, her electrified sword humming menacingly.

The guy raised his arms in a feeble attempt to shield himself, but it was futile.

Aubrey plunged her sword through his chest, the electricity coursing through his body until his screams were silenced by a final violent convulsion. The smell of burnt flesh mingled with the rain as she withdrew her sword and moved on to the next target.

The scarred woman tried to put some distance between herself and Aubrey by climbing a metal fence. She was halfway over when Aubrey glanced at her, and electricity shot from her fingers, arcing across the fence. The woman's body spasmed, her limbs flailing wildly as she shrieked in agony. Smoke billowed from her charred form before she went limp, her body hanging lifelessly on the fence.

Two of the remaining members stuck together, firing their guns wildly in Aubrey's direction. But their bullets were useless against her as she wove a net of electricity that caught the projectiles mid-air, disintegrating them in a shower of sparks.

She raised her arms, summoning a massive bolt of lightning that struck the ground between the two gunmen. The explosion threw them apart, their bodies smoking and twitching as they landed in the mud.

I couldn't tear my eyes away from the carnage, even as bile rose in my throat. The last member of the group was cornered, his back against a wall as he fired his weapon at Aubrey, the bullets melting before they could reach her. She stalked toward him, her electrified sword crackling menacingly. He screamed, dropping his weapon and raising his hands in surrender.

"Please, don't! I beg you!" he cried, tears streaming down his face.

Aubrey showed no mercy. Electricity danced across her fingers as she reached out and grabbed the guy's arm.

He screamed in pain as the electricity surged through his body, his arm blackening and disintegrating. The smell of burnt flesh filled my nostrils as his severed arm, still smoldering, fell onto my lap.

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I stared at it in shock, my mind struggling to process the horror I had just witnessed. The stench of charred flesh and the sound of screams still echoed in my ears, and bile rose in my throat.

Aubrey stood over the corpse, her clothes soaked with blood and rain. Arcs of electricity danced around her figure.

She turned her head to face me, the orange light from her Interface making her look more like a specter of death.

I felt a wave of bone-chilling fear wash over me just from her presence—a suffocating, primal fear.

“Man up, Connor,” she said, using the same tone as when I first met her. “Tutorial’s over.”

Instead of thanking her, I keeled over and vomited.

----------------------------------------

"Got everything out of your system?" Aubrey asked as she stood over me.

"Y-yeah," I managed to stammer.

I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand and sat down, wincing as my head swam. My body ached and my breath came in ragged bursts as I tried to calm myself down.

"You alright?" Aubrey asked.

I nodded. "Yeah, I'm good."

Aubrey stepped closer and held out something for me to grab. It looked like a long capsule attached to a syringe.

"What's that?" I asked.

"Stimpack. It'll heal you a fair bit."

I took the capsule and stuck the needle in my arm. I could already feel a rush of energy flooding my body, and my wounds began to close.

You healed for 100 Health

Aubrey knelt beside me and helped me to my feet.

"Thanks," I said.

"Don't mention it." She walked over to the scarred woman's corpse and took my cloak off the body. She tossed the cloak to me. I could smell burnt flesh on the fabric.

"Um...Aubrey?"

"Hmm?" She busied herself looting the bodies.

"Thanks for saving my ass. I thought I was a goner."

"Don't worry about it." She shrugged. "It's a learning experience anyways."

She finished gathering whatever items she could find from the corpses and stuffed them into her backpack. Then she slung the pack over one shoulder and pulled me aside. "You did learn something from that, right?"

I stared at my reflection on her Interface that she still hasn't deactivated. My face still looked a little roughed up and one eye was slightly swollen. What the hell kind of pathetic look is that, Connor? No...more importantly, I just wanted to see her face. Right now, it didn't seem like I was looking at her—just this cold, distant facade.

"I...yeah. I gotta watch my back, and try to run away if I encounter strong and hostile Players."

Aubrey nodded. "Good. You've learned something important, and that's what matters. The other group should have learned that lesson already but they didn't. So now they're dead."

"Yea...wait. Which group did you mean?" I asked.

"The group you were tailing earlier," Aubrey replied.

"You mean you were watching me tail them the whole time?"

"Yep. You were doing well at not being detected. But they were really bad at keeping an eye out for other Players sneaking around."

My jaw dropped. "You saw when they were ambushed by that other group?"

"Yeah. They should have just done what they were told and just dropped their loot and gear to the other group so that they had a chance to live. It's only gear and supplies, at the end of the day. Wasn't really worth dying over."

"But...you could have come and saved them. Just like you saved me."

Aubrey went silent for a moment before folding her arms across her chest. "Why?"

"Why? Because they were good people. And it would have been easy for you to save them. Why didn't you do anything to help them?"

Aubrey sighed and tapped her foot on the ground. "You don't seem to understand. In this world, survival is the name of the game. It's not my job to save every group of Players I come across. If I did that, I'd never have time for anything else. And to be honest, they were weak. They let their guard down, and they paid the price."

"But they were just trying to survive, like the rest of us," I countered, my voice wavering with emotion. "They didn't deserve to die like that."

Aubrey shook her head. "Everyone here is trying to survive. That's not what makes you special. What makes you special is your ability to adapt, to learn, and to make tough decisions. You have to be smart, strong, and vigilant. That group you were tailing, they weren't any of those things."

I clenched my fists, feeling the anger bubbling up inside me. "So, you're saying they deserved to die?"

"No," Aubrey said, her voice firm but calm. "I'm saying that in this world, you have to be prepared for anything. You can't rely on someone else to save you every time you get into trouble. You have to be able to save yourself. That's the only way you'll make it through this hellhole."

"But you saved me," I pointed out, my voice cracking.

Aubrey hesitated for a moment, her gaze shifting to the side. "I saved you because I saw potential in you. And more importantly, because I chose to. It's not because you deserved it or earned it. It's because I wanted to help you."

"Then why didn't you want to help them?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.

"Because," Aubrey replied, her voice growing colder as she looked back at me. "I didn't know them. I didn't owe them anything. And because it was important for you to see what happens when you let your guard down, when you get careless."

I shook my head, unable to accept her words. "But it's not right. You can't just let people die like that."

"I didn't let them die, Connor. They died because of their own actions. Like I said, I'm not here to play the hero or save everyone I come across. I'm here to teach you, and part of that teaching is letting you see the consequences of your actions and decisions."

"But—" I started, but Aubrey cut me off.

"This is a lesson, Connor. You need to understand that in Nexus, every decision you make, and every action you take, has consequences. And sometimes, those consequences can be deadly. You need to learn that the hard way. Otherwise, you'll never make it."

I looked down at the ground, trying to process her words. I understood her reasoning, but it still felt wrong.

Aubrey paused for a moment before sighing. "Maybe I've been doting on you too much," she said, her voice betraying a hint of regret. "Maybe what you need now is to be on your own, to learn from your experiences without someone constantly watching over you."

My eyes widened in shock. "What are you saying?"

She took a step back, her voice steady. "I think it's time we parted ways, Connor. You've got the basics down, and you've witnessed firsthand what could happen if you slip up. You should know enough now, so you can handle yourself out here."

"No, wait," I said, panic rising in my chest. "We can work this out, Aubrey. I understand where you're coming from, but we're stronger together. We can help each other."

"Connor, you're only a grey who's been around for a couple of weeks. There's no 'help' that you can offer me..." She glanced to the side. "...not yet."

"But—" I started, but she cut me off again.

"You'll be fine, Connor," she said, her voice gentle but firm. "You've learned a lot, and you're stronger than you give yourself credit for. Trust yourself."

Aubrey turned and started walking away, her back to me. I hurried after her, trying to keep up. "Aubrey, please, let's stick together. We can learn from each other, we can—"

She stopped and turned to face me, the orange light from her Interface casting an eerie glow on the rain-soaked ground. "Your tutorial's over, Connor," she said, her voice cold and final. "You're on your own now."

Before I could say anything else, Aubrey's body crackled with electricity, arcs of lightning dancing around her form. She glanced at me one last time, and then, with a sudden burst of speed, she was gone, leaving only the faintest trail of electricity in her wake.

I stared after her, my heart pounding in my chest as the reality of her departure began to sink in. She was gone, leaving me alone in the rain-soaked ruins of this Server, surrounded by the corpses of those who had fallen victim to her wrath.

I clenched my fists, trying to hold back the tears that threatened to spill over. I understood why she had left, but it still hurt. I felt abandoned, lost, and more alone than ever before.

But as the rain continued to pour down, soaking me to the bone, I realized that Aubrey was right. I had to learn to stand on my own two feet.

"Fuck..."