It was midday, and Thorwald and his men stood in front of a camp inhabited by 30 survivors. These people were defenseless. They had no armor and only the standard weapons, while Thorwald and his men were fully equipped. Without hesitation, Thorwald stepped into the center of the camp, showing no fear, only strength.

The plan was to assimilate the camp and then assess who among them was most useful. Those with potential would be power leveled so they could teleport to the second stage together. His greatest concern these days was the future: what good would it be to have many men under his command if most of them couldn’t survive the next stages due to their low levels?

He had considered marking the place where they would exit after the third stage of the tutorial, hoping to gather his men later. But there was a risk that the teleportation locations might change over time.

"Hello, everyone. I’m here to help you through these difficult times," his voice boomed through the camp. The people, who had been hiding behind their flimsy defenses, slowly began to emerge. An old man stepped forward and addressed him, "I don’t believe you. You don’t look like someone who does things out of kindness, and I will," but he didn’t get to finish his sentence. An axe cleaved through his head, silencing him instantly.

The camp fell into silence as Thorwald walked further in, the survivors backing away with wide eyes. "As I said, I’m here to help you through these hard times. Strong leadership is needed to survive this hellhole. You can call me Commander Thorwald," he announced, his voice resonating through the camp.

"I cannot allow a foolish old man to hold you back or plant doubt in your hearts, because that will get you killed. So, tell me, who are you?" Thorwald finished, his tone softening slightly but still leaving no room for argument.

After a brief introduction, Thorwald concluded that he was lucky. He had acquired six craftsmen, and most of the camp’s men were mages and archers, something his group had been lacking. They also had three healers. It was time to get these people leveled up, and he would ensure the craftsmen were busy with their hammers all day.

But the most intriguing new member was an alchemist at level 24 who could craft elixirs that permanently increased strength. Even better, he could work with body parts from beasts, not just flowers like that useless woman back at Kael’s camp.

Thinking back, moving here was the best decision he could have made. When he eventually met Kael or that mage Thalion in the future, they would stand no chance and would die at his feet.

<--

Meanwhile, Thalion had decided to change his tactic. He moved from tree to tree in the direction of the city, hoping to intercept them earlier. He had been moving at a moderate speed for about 10 minutes. It was a risky decision, if he missed them, it could end badly for the slaves. But he feared he wasn’t strong enough to kill them if they sent more people, and if he could give the slaves a head start, maybe they could outrun them.

Then he saw them, seven survivors in blue robes, with a young woman in the middle who looked like trouble. Her blonde hair danced in the wind, and in her right hand, she held a blue staff that ended in a serpent’s head. She had to be the slave owner. She radiated power and that weapon was likely a legendary one. He also noticed multiple rings on her left hand, each of them looking powerful.

Thalion decided on a quick hit and run, hoping to create enough of a distraction for the slaves to flee. They needed at least half an hour to free themselves. He sneaked down the tree and lay low among some lone moonberries, which he couldn’t resist snacking on a bit.

Then they came, only 10 meters away. Thalion blurred into action, sprinting at one of the guards. Before they could react, he bit down on one and sliced open the body of the guard next to him. The woman shouted something, and her staff glowed, but Thalion didn’t intend to fight. He sprinted away, constantly keeping watch, and a good thing he did.

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A three-meter-long icicle shot from the woman’s staff so fast that he barely managed to dodge it. He was wounded, but they were just minor cuts from swords, and they healed quickly. He sprinted deeper into the undergrowth, but to his dismay, they didn’t follow him. Instead, they continued moving toward the slaves.

"Shit," he muttered as he sprinted back to the slaves. They’d better be almost done. He ran at full speed, pushing his body to the limit. After 10 minutes, he arrived at the clearing where two slaves lay on the ground, trying to stay as still as possible while the rest worked to remove their chains.

They weren’t finished. This was very bad. He couldn’t buy enough time by fighting them, and he had no idea how to slow them down. The slaves looked up in surprise as they saw him crash into the clearing.

"How much longer do you need?" he asked, trying to stay calm.

"We’ll be finished in 20 minutes," a woman answered.

"Are all eight of you free?" Thalion asked, clearly stressed.

"Yes, we were even faster than we thought, and..." But she didn’t get to finish as Thalion interrupted her. "Not fast enough. They’ll be here in at least three minutes."

"We could fight them with you. We’re all not higher than level 13, but with your help, it shouldn’t be a problem," the woman quickly suggested, eager to fight.

"No chance. They’re all level 25, and the woman with them has disgustingly strong equipment," he replied, deep in thought. The last two chained slaves were a young man and the woman who had spoken—maybe he had an idea.

"Everyone who is free, run in that direction. If you’re lucky, you’ll find a small camp in the trees. Their leader is Kael, and you should be safe there," Thalion said, nodding in that direction, a difficult gesture as a Shadowstalker.

"We’re not leaving our friends behind," one man said loudly, summoning a rock in his hand with determination.

"If you don’t run, you’re 100% dead," Thalion exclaimed, now annoyed. "And even if you run, you’re far from safe. You’ll need each other to survive. I’ll take care of these two," he added.

"Don’t worry, we’ll see each other later," the woman said with tears in her eyes.

After some goodbyes and many hugs, they disappeared into the forest.

"So, are we fighting them now?" the woman asked, still with anticipation in her voice.

"What’s wrong with this woman? She’s practically suicidal, and some change in character. Was she not almost crying one sentence before?" Thalion thought, amused. He definitely needed to keep her alive.

"First, what’s your name?" he asked the two quickly.

"This is Jakob, and I’m Annie," Annie answered. "So, are we fighting them? I think if we ambush them from that tree, we have a good chance," she added with a wild look in her eyes.

"Maybe she has some kind of head injury," he thought, but time was running out.

"First, those shackles from the others that you placed on the ground, are they still transmitting?" Thalion asked, a smile creeping onto his wolfish face, which probably looked quite frightening.

"Yes, they should be. What are you planning?" she asked, puzzled. "I still think we should fight."

"No, put the shackles into your spatial ring, then jump on my back. Let’s see how fast they can run," Thalion said, hoping this plan might work.

"This will never work," he thought as they tried to hold on to him.

Then Jakob jumped off him, ran to a tree, pulled some blue bioluminescent liana, and ran back to him.

"Good idea, kid," Thalion said. In moments, both were bound to his back, and this might actually work. He took off not at full speed, but enough that they could hold on while he sped through the forest.

<--

Lady Nerissa Selwyn watched as the 10 red dots on the map moved with visible speed to the side.

"How is this possible?" she thought, completely puzzled. First, this dark wolf-tiger hybrid attacked, and now this.

"Lady, what should we do?" one of her guards asked.

"We’ll go to their last location. Maybe we can find a clue to my slaves' whereabouts," she said, her last words dripping with sinister intent.

They arrived at one of their fields that was marked for the harvest of midnight sunroses, but there were none left.

"Search the area," Nerissa said between clenched teeth. How could they all be gone? There were some tracks in the middle of the field, but in this soft, mosslike earth, nothing remained for long.

Her men swarmed to scout the perimeter; maybe in their haste, the slaves had forgotten something.

While her men were working, she watched how the 10 red dots on the map continued to move faster than any human should be capable of, but if they continued at that pace, they would soon arrive at the river that flowed into the great lake.

"We had back; it’s already growing dark," she called her men back. "We will send hunters after them, and tomorrow we will travel up the river. This way we should be fast enough to catch them. At least if they stop moving this fast," she thought.

"Tell every hunter to catch the one who freed my slaves. The reward is one epic item of their choosing," she ordered her guards, who had looks of envy on their faces. An epic item was something only the strongest could afford.