Maximilian watched over the group of survivors as they finished scavenging. The group was odd for lack of a better word. For some reason it was the older woman, Mama June who led the group. At first he had assumed she was a parent or grandparent of one of the survivors but that was wrong. She had been a neighborhood grandmother before the Network arrived so people followed her. What was strangest about her was her calm. If he hadn't known better he would've thought she had been born in the new world. She also was the only one with an aura. It was slight and there no killing intent in it but it was strange. No matter how many questions he asked she didn't elaborate. He assumed that she really didn't know. There was also her lack of defensive abilities to support that. If she held some secret power than she had to be the greatest actor he had ever seen.

  The group helped him confirm a few things which made him more worried. First, his assumption about guns was true. It didn't matter what gun he used or how he used it. You wouldn't get kill energy for that weapon. Except for blunt attacks, if you beat something to death with a gun you would get full energy though there was no point. Guns weren't great at the task and his fists were better anyway. He also confirmed that he could cheat the system a bit. If he disabled a target the others could kill it and get some energy. It seemed counterproductive but it made sense. Miles, the vet had a knife, so Maximilian decided to help all of them gain a level. The process didn't go over well. Miles did fine, once the large panther like beast was paralyzed he dealt with it. He was exception. The older people had the hardest time and one of them was nearly bitten when they waited too long. Despite that the group did have some useful information. It turned out the Network stopped speaking to the people of Earth. At least as far as they knew.

  It didn't even explain how to access their status screens though most people figured that out on their own. It was a stark contrast to the tutorial one that made him worried. How long until a person who believed the Network's line about being better than the others got some real power? How long until a group of practitioners overthrew whatever order had been established. When the group had gathered enough food they all started back. By then the sun, a fact that made the forest even creepier.

  "So what level are you?" Miles asked as he held his rifle lazily in one hand.

  "Nine though with a few hours of meditation I should be close to level ten. If I avoid using too much energy." Maximilian replied as he scanned the tree line.

  "It seems counterproductive to have your energy source and magical energy be the same. What if you use so much that you go down a level?"

  Maximilian shrugged at the suggestion. It had been something he wondered but from what he had experienced it seemed unlikely. "I think you would die first. Either that or just ruin your cultivation. You should've felt it when you got your kill but that reservoir isn't too malleable. It can grow but I assume something could break it. Something like overdrawing your spiritual energy. I imagine it should be almost impossible for you to do that. Not until you have a skill or two but you should be able to use it. The boost to your physical abilities should be enough."

  Miles rolled his shoulder and nodded. "Yeah, its almost enough to make me feel like a new man. I don't know how I feel about not using my rifle. It might be better to find a bayonet and use it like a spear. The bullets can still take somethings out."

  "Yeah, but it would be better to just use a spear. Based on what they told us the monsters would get stronger. It would be better to view the world as a ramping challenge. If you use the gun your skills won't develop as fast. My suggestion would be to abandon it early." Maximilian wanted to stress the point further but based on the way the group flinched. He decided against it. They were afraid of him which he could understand. If they were afraid of the beasts than he had to seem like a monster in human form. The only one that didn't follow that idea was Mama June which only made her seem weirder by comparison.

  "I hear you. I hear you. If we find a stockpile of those kinds of weapons than I'll switch. I am not too confident in the weapons we'd make breaking branches off the trees. Not unless we find someone with weapons experience. I had a guy like that in my old squad. He was a history buff or something like that. Was real good at living off the land. What I wouldn't give to have him here right now. He could cook up goat meat that tasted almost like a burger. If you closed one eye and ignored the meat's texture."

  Maximilian nodded and shifted the conversation. "Speaking of which have you or your group managed to cook anything with the monster meat? I've collect a lot of it but I have little experience de-boning and all that other stuff."

  "We've had mixed success." One of the other women answered. Kendra if he remembered right. She was shorter around five and a half feet tall with dirty blond hair and a scar that went across her cheek. "We don't have any books on what's safe to eat anymore and some of us got to thinking about the bacteria. There is no promise that a normal fire could deal with it. Its also hard to know what meat is edible now. We've seen birds and other forest beasts a lot but there are also insects. None of which look good." As the woman went on he had to admit she knew more than he had thought about. He didn't think the Network would make bacteria to kill them. He figured that wouldn't serve a purpose. Of course, there was always the chance that one's attributes could solve that problem. There could also be cook or chef classes that could purify food to fix that issue.

  "Your worries make sense. What have you been eating until now? You had to have tested the berries at some point?"

  She nodded and scratched at the back of her neck awkwardly. "Well that was a mistake actually one of the kids got out and before anyone could find him he had eaten a mouthful. When nothing happened we figured we'd give it a chance. We drew lots for it and well we are all still here. We've been trying to find a city to loot but so far we haven't had a lot of luck."

  "Has anyone gone to the mountain? I was on my way there before I ran into you all. I figure it would be a good place to find shelter at the very least."

  "Are you kidding?" She began. She looked at Maximilian her eyes turning into saucers before she shook her head. "I mean for you it might be possible but well we try not to go far from camp. This trip was the further-est we've gone in a while. You saw how well that went for us."

  "So you've all set up in the forest? Did you find a tree house or something similar." Maximilian asked another question before he unleashed a burst of electricity at a serpent that was about to jump out. The snake was paralyzed just long enough for one of the other survivors to take it out.

  "Well me and the boys had been camping when the world went to shit." Miles replied. "We had our RVs and we ran into the others a few hours later. Mama June stumbled onto us on her own though. We've been doing what we can with our hunting rifles but we don't have enough ammo. We would've been forced to try something new in two weeks at the most." From there the group fell into comfortable silence. There were a few scattered conversations but he decided not to listen to them. He could tell that they wanted privacy and his instincts weren't warning him so he let them have it. They walked until they only he could see the path forward before he called them to stop. The others offered to keep going but he could tell they were at their limits. Especially the older members. Most of which looked ready to drop. He still wasn't sure if their kindness was more out of fear or trust.

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  "We can settle here." He gestured to the base of thick tree. "You all stay close together. I will keep watch." He wanted to say that he offered out of a sense of justice but that wasn't the whole truth. He didn't want to deal with more questions if he could avoid it. Everyone wanted to know more about the tutorial. Which he didn't mind talking about, but he could tell there was resentment building. Not at him but at the situation. Even when he stressed how dangerous the quests were nearly the whole group wished they had been invited. Once they started playing with their improved attributes their irritation only grew.

  "We usually keep two or three people on watch with the guns." Miles said. The look on his face betrayed the unasked parts of his question. He was going to tell him it wasn't necessary but he didn't. He was torn between not wanting to be bothered and not wanting to make the group feel helpless.

  "Very well. I think two people would be enough so pick one of you to join me. I don't need much sleep anymore so I will rest two hours after the third watch." The man looked like he wanted to argue but Maximilian waved him off. He was willing to bend but not that far. If too many of them were tired it would take that much longer to get to where they were going. He doubted his mother or father would be at their camp or rather he had to doubt it. The idea of finding them was almost enough to make him rush off and leave the group. Of course, he knew that would make his parents beyond disappointed.

  "I will take the first watch." One of the younger men added.

  It took Maximilian a moment to place the face and name. "Tony right?"

  "Uh yeah Tony, Tony Menti nice to meet you Sir." The man looked he was staring at a wild dog. One that might jump at him which only made Maximilian feel worse. He had suppressed his killing intent and aura. which should've removed the bite from his appearance though he had underestimated a few things. He wasn't sure if it his Dao or something else but he had caught several people in both age groups looking him over. Or making a comment when they thought he couldn't hear. Despite his new attributes his body didn't really reflect the changes. At least he didn't think so his build was still on the slim athletic side though his muscles were more pronounced. His skin was smooth, and he had come out of the tutorial with his hair intact. He resisted the urge to reflect on that for now. He had never been the most attractive person around so the attention was nice. Like others had noticed his appearance he had noticed something wrong with theirs.

  He couldn't put his finger on what it was. At first, he thought they were sick but that wasn't it. As far as he could tell they looked healthy it was like they lacked something. Something he couldn't put his finger on. He thought back to the people in the tutorial. As far as he could recall they didn't have this problem—"So would you be able to teach me how to use any of your skills?" Tony's voice pulled him out of his thoughts and back to the world. He was about to say no but that wasn't true. He still had the slips for Prismatic Barrier and Severing Disc though he hadn't tried to use them again. Maybe they could use them? Did he want to share with them? He scolded himself for the thought almost as soon as he thought it. It wasn't that he didn't want to help them, but he had worked hard for them. He had almost forgotten that this wasn't a game. That real people could and would die if they weren't ready.

  "Maybe" He reached into the bag and summoned the slip for Prismatic Barrier. He reviewed the slip for a moment and found the inscriptions duller than before. Which sent another bit of worry through him. He doubted the Network would give award them with an infinitely reusable item. "Here, try to send a bit of spiritual energy into this. It should implant you with the skill." Maximilian worried something was wrong when after several seconds it hadn't worked. Eventually though he managed it. A moment later he leaped up and shouted. A noise that drew every eye in the makeshift camp. Well, I guess that settles the question of whether I was going to try to help everyone. He scolded himself again. They were just trying to survive and I didn't need the skills. He couldn't even say he needed the money since as far as he knew he was rich. He still hadn't found away to spend the money so it was a bit pointless. "I don't know how many uses these slips have so spread them out." He presented them with the slip for Severing Disc and let them decide amongst themselves how to use them. After the sixth use for each of them the slips shattered and he had to suppress a sigh. He reminded himself that he was doing the right thing and with any luck he would keep these people alive.

  The number of uses allowed everyone to get a skill. Not counting his own uses the group got five. With most of the younger people taking the offensive one and the older the shield. It wasn't until they started practicing that he learned just how big a role attributes played. Their comprehension was lower than his own but that shouldn't make up for the difference. Their severing discs couldn't cut through the trees with any reliability. Where his could cut through two or three if he aimed it right. Their practice attracted several beasts and Maximilian had wanted to let the group do their own fighting but that was impossible. They fought in the opposite of what they should've done. Which forced him to step in. When he had disabled them he let the group clean them up. A process that took longer due to their limited spiritual energy. "Alright, that's enough. For the future those of you with the defensive skills should stand in front. Be the shields for the rest of the group. Those of you with Severing Disc should hang back. Until you feel comfortable fighting with the monster in hand-to-hand combat."

  His declaration hadn't gone over well. The shield group had chosen to avoid danger, which was counterproductive, but no one was willing to argue with him. Not when he put his foot down. Fortunately, there were no more enemies which meant the camp settled down. Tony took his seat but stayed quiet. Which was more than fine with Maximilian. Now that night had fallen, he took a moment to look at the forest. He had forgotten what nature looked like when there were no lights, billboards or other ad trying to sell him something. The darkness almost clung to the trees hiding everything further than forty or so feet. Despite that it was more comforting than frightening. He was pretty sure he was the only person who thought that, but he didn't care. This place was real and after spending his time in the tutorial it was more than welcome. It was needed. No matter how hard he tried to focus his thoughts they strayed. They strayed to his mother and father.

  He could almost feel his father's stern gaze. A look that could send fear and shame through him. A look that reminded him that he bore a responsibility. That he was supposed to be a good person. Or his mother who spoke in a tone that only professor could. Shooting down any argument he could or would make with laser like precision. He knew no one had known this was coming. That he would be responsible for so much more but that didn't stop him for wondering. He doubted that they would've stayed somewhere safe. They would've thrown themselves into the fray. Helping everyone. Establishing some kind of order which meant he had to find them. He half expected to find them in their old neighborhood. Leading some ragtag group in a new idyllic commune or something. Part of him hoped they were cultivators and part hoped they weren't. The tutorial was dangerous, but it granted strength. Now that he had a glimpse of what it was like for the people left behind. He had little hope in anything. He let his thoughts run for a while before he reigned himself in and calmed himself down. He was alive. He had gotten out of the tutorial. He would find his parents. He could do this.