“It’s us, Open up!”

“Got it!”

The wooden gate creaked as it opened. I felt the gentle whoosh of air from the camp as Edward led me into their settlement. In there, a massive volume of people - a number which I could not even guess at this point, was walking around and reinforcing the walls that surrounded the giant, towering door in the middle of it all.

[Gate of beginnings - ???]

Scattered inside the walls stood dozens and dozens of hastily done structures made of wood. Those structures didn’t provide comfortable housing, per se, but they were enough to provide some sort of refuge from the chilly winds outside. The giant metallic gate in the middle of the encampment was encircled by another layer of walls with spikes on their front to deter any wolves from attacking.

“We’re one day away from the attack, so everyone’s kind of on edge,” Edward said, smiling as he watched the progress they’ve made so far. “Things were difficult when we started, but Reghan’s presence made it possible.”

The walls of the settlement were made with the cut stumps from the tall trees around the giant gate, with the top sharpened to dissuade anything trying to jump over. They provided a sturdy defense at a glance, and I knew that the normal wolves wouldn’t be able to make a dent in those. Against the walls, their magic bolts posed more of a threat than their jaws.

A porky man in his thirties approached us, his gait confident and steady. From a glance, he felt like someone with a semblance of authority in this settlement.

“Who’s this? A recruit?”, He asked Edward, not sparing a glance towards me.

“Yes, we met when I was about to return.”, Edward replied. “Reghan told us to bring anyone we find, and he looked like he can hold his own, so…”

The porky man shifted his gaze towards my figure, inspecting me from top to bottom as if he was trying to measure my strength from my looks alone. I didn’t know what I looked like precisely now since there were no mirrors in this world, but even before then, I’ve always been partly intimidating.

“Uhm. I’ll handle things from here.”, He coughed, motioning Edward’s group to go away. “You, What’s your name?”

His rudeness irked me a little, considering that I was here to help with the wave. With this attitude, I had a feeling that this wouldn’t be as easy as I thought it would be.

“Hey!” He shouted, demanding my attention. “Are you deaf? I know your kind. You’re only here to reap rewards from the defense, even though we’ve fought and struggled to build all of this without you!”

Ah… There it is.

I was debating if it was worth it to play nice and apologize, but…

No offense, but those who yell loudly and boast about their struggles and strength usually ended up being the ones with the most insecurities. I’ve dealt with enough nasty people from my past life to know those of his kind. He reminds me of George, in a bad way.

“No, I’m not here to steal all your rewards.”, I replied, eliciting a snarky growl from him. “I’m just here to help.”, Then I stopped, observing his reactions. He smiled a little, believing his petty act had intimidated me.

“But I won’t bother since you’re acting like a piece of shit.”

That sentence brought him over the edge. He began berating me, shouting obscenities and yelling about their struggles and the sacrifices they’ve made. The others in the vicinity simply shrugged, acting like this was just another normal occurrence.

His annoyance aside, I don’t feel a single thread of danger from his attitude.

“Stop!” another voice erupted, overpowering the volume of his yelling from the back. This voice was a lot deeper, and consequently, it was a voice from someone I knew.

Reghan.

The bald man, who was wearing a thick layer of an armored vest with a shoulder pad, hurried towards our location. From just a single look, I knew he was a cut above the rest of the people here, and the giant shield he carried on his back only made his presence even bigger than he already was.

“What’s going on? You’re yelling again, Paul.”, Reghan said, catching a breath when he caught up to us. “Is this a recruit?”

If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

“I would not bother with him,” Paul replied, firing a snarky look in my direction. “He’s only here to snatch our rewards, which we’ve fought so hard for. You know his kind! There’s a bunch of these moochers ever since the system warned us about the incoming attack.”

Reghan flashed an apologetic smile to me, then dismissed Paul with a wave of his hand. Like it or not, Reghan has gained a lot of respect from the people here, which I admit was earned from the stories that have been told about him. He was charismatic, for sure.

“I’m sorry about Paul. He can be a little… motivated, so to speak. Are you here to help us defend against the wave? We need all the hands we can get. If you can’t fight, then you can always help with building the walls and maintaining our equipment.”

He glanced towards my cape, then looked at me straight in the eyes. “But I had a feeling that you are someone who is confident in your fighting prowess, which I respect. We’re running out of people with your… mettle, let’s just say that. Unfortunately, everyone’s just so damned afraid of fighting.”

His sigh was one that I could understand. Most of the people here were born with no experience with life and death fights, so their fear was one of the many headaches a leader just has to deal with. I was lucky to have been in those situations before, and I had no choice but to continue that life. If I was given a way out then, I would’ve stopped living that life as soon as possible.

But it’s different now.

“I can help with the wolves. But this… building and leadership thing, I’m not well-versed in.” I said, directing my gaze at the shoddily done structures. “If you feel I don’t deserve to get any of the rewards during the defense, I won’t force my way in. I understand that you have the interest of the others to look out for.”

I looked around the encampment, clearly impressed with the progress he has made. “You’ve done something I could never even think about doing, Reghan. Leading people is a genuine skill.”

Reghan smiled, taking my compliments to the heart. “Personally, I don’t mind if the system gave you your share of rewards from defending. But there are those who felt entitled to all the gains by simply being here from the start…” He trailed off, staring at a bunch of people hanging out in one of the tents. It was clear that they were simply here for the protection, with no care about the horrors outside.

From his expression, I felt a twinge of regret that he couldn’t get rid of those useless ones quickly. But I could be wrong, I don’t read minds, after all.

“I understand how you felt. Unfortunately, that’s just how it is.” I spoke, giving those people another look. “I’m afraid I don’t have that kind of patience of letting them stay if they refuse to fight.”

Reghan simply nodded. It wasn’t a simple situation that someone with a good heart could fix, but it was a problem that he’d have to tackle eventually. I watched him shake his head before he replied, “Thanks for the suggestion, but I can’t do things that way.”

They might believe that they were contributing a lot by building all these defensive walls and tents… but once they faced a monster that broke any semblance of logic and reasoning, they’d understand how insignificant their contributions are.

If only I can say that. But deep down inside, I believe Reghan knew the limits of what they could achieve without fighting. These structures were impressive and all, but… The prime ape would’ve destroyed everything in here without wasting a single second. “I don’t want to burst your bubble, but I don’t think this is enough. If an elite, or worse, a boss, comes…”

My little quote piqued his interest. “Elite? Bosses? Have you fought them before?”

I simply shrugged. “Perhaps…”

Reghan’s expression changed for the first time. Before, his eyes were pleasant and genuine, but the things I said had aroused that part of him. It was a part that I knew well, a part that has been with me since I was born.

He’s competitive.

Honestly, I was relieved to find that he was like this. For a moment, I simply thought of him as a goody-two-shoes. Now that I saw this side of him, I realized that he wasn’t all that different from me, which made it a lot easier for me to understand him.

Smiling, I returned his stare with a gentle gaze. With someone like him on the helm, I knew the gate would be safe. At least, if the wave didn’t include a damned elite - or even worse - multiple elites. If there was one… then they might struggle, but I think it was still possible for them to defend judging from the number of people here.

Reghan finally realized what he was doing and snapped back to his usual look with a cough.

I was undecided if I wanted to mesh with them. Having someone to rely on was always a plus, and it feels better to have others to share your stories with. I do miss my sister’s presence, after all.

However, this wasn’t the right time or place to do so. There wasn’t any interest within me in aiding the others with their problems. I have more than enough shit to deal with myself.

I’ll live my own life.

“I’ll take my leave. Paul, over there has never stopped staring at me since we started talking. It’s obvious that I’m not welcome here.”, I said, pointing at Paul’s furious face, staring at us from behind a small tent. “But I’ll hang around this area, just in case you needed my help.”

Reghan didn’t utter a single word. From his gaze, I think he was undecided if he wanted me to remain here.

“The gate’s massive,” Shifting the topic, I gazed at the towering gate in the heart of this encampment. “Sorry, this is the first time that I’m here. Anyway, now that I’ve met you, I’m assured that the waves will be dealt with.”, What I said was genuine. His poise carried that sort of strength and confidence that was hard to ignore.

Reghan returned my smile.

Our conversation ended and I walked towards the gate as the guards cranked it open. My sight remained on Reghan while I waited, who was busy dealing with the ones who were not working, before turning around to see a familiar set of faces entering the encampment.

Julie…

Just from a glance alone, I knew that they have grown stronger since the last time I saw them. There was a fire in their eyes that was missing a week ago. The big guy, Richard, sported a thicker armor and plated legging, while Karl strutted with more confidence.

They’ve grown stronger.

But the one stare that I couldn’t ignore came from the Olive-skinned girl behind them. Amanda. Her mouth went agape when our gazes clashed and she returned to her usual composure in the brief instant right after that.

What the hell was that look for?

I panicked, as it was possible that she could’ve seen me spying on them a week ago. But if that was the case, she would’ve confronted me. From the way she acted, it felt like she was hiding the fact that she saw something that she wasn’t supposed to see.