Leo found some peace and solitude as the rest of the group either continued chatting or practised their skills—hopefully inspired by his brief lesson. He was planning on sleeping off his exhaustion but it just wasn’t coming quite yet.

  Sometimes, one just needed some time alone. So much had happened in just a few days that he barely recognised himself any more. Speed and strength greater than any human before the system. The ability to cast ice magic and conjure tiny flames into his hands. It was all so wondrous… but not for everyone.

  Leo pulled up the tutorial quest information:

  Time Remaining: 56 days

  Current Survivors: 984/1500

  Current Store Credits: 386

  So many had died since his last check.

  If he could take any positives from this, it was less deaths than last time he had checked. He hoped it meant people were getting better at surviving. Desperately, he wanted his group to find more people. But in this massive city, it was like finding a needle in an ant infested killer haystack.

  He stared at his stat screen, wondering who held the highest level in the tutorial. Maybe it was him. The screen faded. Leo tilted his head back. This wasn’t a game…

  People were dying.

  Even if it wasn’t a game, Leo still wanted to grow stronger, raise his level and upgrade his skills. It wasn’t wrong to think so. This system encouraged it. To not do it would be tantamount to just giving up and dying.

  Leo took up a meditative pose, then with some deep breaths focused on himself. He started following the mana channels to the space within him he had entered during the dungeon. It didn’t take long—the path felt familiar now.

  In the wide open plain with the mountainous skyline, the storm was moving a little closer. The mountains were like a dam—the storm was the water. What happened when it overflowed… Leo wasn’t sure he wanted to know.

  His Essences and the strings of mana that came from them sat in their usual position. The third and fourth Essences that were previously un-lit were now giving off power and stretching thin lines into the sky—similar to his first two.

  Looking more closely at the third Essence, it gave off a blue-ish glow with little sparks. Leo assumed this was his Lightning Essence. The string from it felt stronger than the others. He felt like he could pull from this Essence a lot easier, as if it resonated with him better somehow.

  The Earth Essence however, was the opposite. It didn’t feel natural to pull from it at all. The mana felt stilted and unmoving.

  “Is it being difficult because of how much I dislike Toughness?” He asked out loud.

  That couldn't be it.

  It could be linked to stats. Toughness was his lowest stat of the Essence Bound ones. Agility was his clear highest. It made a little sense, he guessed.

  Not enough sense to satisfy him, but he moved on. What he actually came here for was to try and recreate how he conjured his flame initially. Touching his Essence and following the thread of mana that reached to the infinite sky.

  Leaving his soul-space—as he’d dubbed it—Leo tried to channel some lightning mana.

  Instantly, the mana flowed to his call, a spark appearing all over his hand like a coating of liquid lightning. It sparked and danced across his skin. It was a lot more than he could summon with his other essences—unless you counted the Ice Spike.

  He extended his hand, fingers splayed. Making his best angry looking, tilted back face as he tried to fire out the lightning.

  It didn’t work.

  Sparks shot out a few inches before scattering into the air.

  So much for my Palpatine moment, he huffed.

  As the sun went down, Leo was visited in his little corner by Lena. Surprised, as this was one of the first times he had ever spoken to her one on one.

  “Hey, Leo. Mind if I join you?” she asked nervously.

  “Sure, go ahead,” he said, patting the ground next to him.

  She had her legs curled up into her chest. Her red hair was matted, trailing down over her robes. The robes were grimy, with a large tear in the torso area from where she was first attacked, exposing some of her midriff. Sunken eyes sat heavy on her face, bags holding them up. Clearly she was not sleeping very well. Leo sat with her and waited for her to speak.

  After a minute or two had passed, she spoke, “How do you do it?” Her voice was quiet and defeated.

  “How do I do what?”

  “Fight those monstrous things out there! Keep doing all–” She gestured around her. “This.”

  Leo considered his answer. She was clearly having a rough time in this tutorial. He couldn't blame her, fighting wasn’t for everyone.

  He himself thrived in this new world. It was like being in one of his games—only better. A brand new life where he could become truly strong with magical and mystical powers. That answer wouldn’t give her much solace. She was hurting.

  Instead, he tried to figure out what she really wanted. He didn’t think himself very good at reading complex emotions or handling difficult social interactions so he made sure to be gentle, choosing his words carefully.

  “Before I answer, let me ask. What is it you want to do? Should we survive this tutorial of course.”

  Lena hadn’t lifted her head up from her knees. It was a minute or so before she answered. Leo waited patiently.

  “I want to go back to how things were, where Amy and I can continue running our tailoring store. I hate fighting those things. I hate fighting in general! It’s the worst.” She was getting more upset the more she spoke, venting all her frustrations.

  Leo realised he’d overlooked something pretty serious. Not once had the thought about going back to the way things were crossed his mind. In his mind, the Earth, and life of a few days ago was gone forever and he was all for it.

  “I fight because I enjoy it.”

  She looked up at him in surprise.

  “I like the feeling of getting stronger, of leveling up and getting new magic or skills. I hated my life before all this. I worked for a man who tormented me daily. I just smiled and took it because I needed the money to pay for my sister's tuition. I spent my evenings gaming just to escape into a new world where I could be someone else, even for just a little while.” He took a breath, then continued.

  “It’s not all about the enjoyment, I also want to protect those close to me. You’re included in that. Sure, we may have just met and heck, I don’t even know your last name, but I consider you a friend. I didn’t have very many before all this.”

  She had put her head back down into her knees at this point and leaned into him.

  “The world isn’t going to go back to how it was, will it?” Lena asked, but Leo assumed she already knew the answer.

  “Just because the world has completely changed, doesn’t mean you can’t live the life you wanted—just different. If what I think is true, there will be a way to get some kind of crafting skill to do with tailoring somehow. You could open up your own store and create robes and clothes for people with fancy materials!”

  She looked up at him again, some life had returned to her sunken eyes.

  “You really think so?” she asked, as if a spark of hope had entered her voice and she was hesitant to grasp it.

  Leo nodded. “I really do.”

  “Thanks Leo. I hope so.”

  “Do you mind if I sleep here? I’m so tired.” Her eyes were already closing as she said it.

  “No worries Lena, get a good rest.” Leo leaned back and let her lean onto him as she fell asleep. He let warmth radiate through his body using fire mana. The same way he did when Ashley fell asleep on him yesterday.

  Two girls falling asleep on me in two days, Natalie would never believe it.

  Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.

  Leo closed his eyes too, to either sleep or meditate. Determination to protect and grow stronger burned brightly and with a new goal; to help Lena achieve her dream of becoming a tailor.

  Other people could be feeling the same out there in this city. Staring up into a stoney roof somewhere, scared to leave the safety of one of these houses and desperately wishing the world would go back to how it was. Those who hated fighting and bloodshed merely awaiting death.

  He vowed to not return tomorrow without at least finding someone else.

  Sleep clung to him as he stirred. He quickly realised that no one had woken him for a shift on guard duty—the sun gleaming through the windows. Lena was still fast asleep leaning against him, a little more colour in her features.

  He felt a little guilty waking her so he hoped that she would wake up by herself soon. Leo wanted to find Bjorn and the others to discuss the groups that were heading out today to scout.

  Thankfully after around ten minutes or so, Amy came along. She looked at Leo with a warm, kind smile before regarding her sister.

  “Lena, it’s time to wake up,” Amy said gently, shaking Lena’s shoulder.

  Lena arose in a sluggish, slow movement, tilting her head up and looking at Amy.

  “Hey Amy, is it breakfast time?”

  “It’s time for you to let Leo get up, you’ve been asleep for ages and he probably wants to move,” Amy said, laughing softly.

  Lena’s eyes went wide, spinning her head toward him so fast he worried she’d hurt herself.

  “I’m so sorry! I just wanted a little nap!” she yelled while getting up quickly.

  Leo chuckled. “It’s fine, I’m happy to help, you looked like you needed it.”

  She ran off, either embarrassed or apologetic—Leo wasn’t sure which. It was just sleep. He honestly didn’t mind.

  He was thankful Amy came along when she did though—not wanting to be the one to wake her.

  Jumping to his feet and stretching, Leo started walking to the dining area. Amy stopped him.

  “Thank you for doing that. She’s barely slept in days. Every time she falls asleep she wakes up screaming from nightmares. I saw you two last night and made sure no one disturbed under threat of death,” Amy said jokingly, although he felt like she wasn't joking.

  Leo gave her a kind smile. “No worries, I was wondering why no one woke me to take watch or keep guard. Must have been the wrath of Amy.”

  She gave him a look that confirmed that there was indeed a wrath. The pair quickly found the others. It was still quite early based on how the sun looked in the sky.

  Sitting down at the table, he gave his greetings to everyone already there. He pulled a ration out of his storage ring and started to eat while the morning discussion began.

  “Today,” Cecelia began, taking charge, “I believe we should move towards the Tower in two groups—moving somewhat parallel to each other. We should try and find more people to reinforce our numbers.”

  “And to save people right?” Bjorn added.

  Cecelia nodded, then continued, “I’d suggest that we do two groups of four, but due to some… circumstances that happened, there are people who should not be paired together. And if we want two groups that have healers in them then we may have to go in a group of five and three. So I suggest Myself, Leo, Amy, Lena and Jasper in one group. With the others forming the second. This way we both have a high level person and are strong in both groups. Does anyone have any complaints?”

  No one raised any complaints, everyone seemingly happy with how Cecelia had arranged things.

  Leo thought his group was pretty good—if he went by classes and damage roles. But he knew that things wouldn’t be so simple.

  While everyone was getting ready to head out, Leo tried to wish Ashley a safe trip, but she avoided his eyes every time he approached. He didn’t remember doing anything to offend her, so Leo just waited to leave.

  Upon leaving, Leo would keep a close eye on Jasper. The snake of a man had been quiet since they had returned from the dungeon, but he didn’t trust him for a second. Leo didn’t believe the man could threaten him but that wouldn't be the same for Amy or Lena.

  Cecelia would probably cut him in half, Leo smiled at the thought.

  The group of five walked off towards the Tower in the far distance. The streets were empty as they passed them, no signs of life whatsoever. For about thirty minutes of travel all they encountered was stone houses and grassy, cracked paths. It was such a large city. And so few people remained to inhabit it.

  There wasn’t a lot of small talk going on between himself and anyone. Lena seemed on edge, as did Jasper, with Amy consoling her sister and Cecelia taking the lead. Leo sat at the back, ready to intercept anything that came close.

  Something suddenly felt off, and he alerted everyone immediately.

  “Stop!”

  The group stopped, everyone getting ready to fight, drawing their weapons.

  “What is it?” Cecelia whispered as she scanned her surroundings.

  “Something feels wrong,” Leo said quietly while walking towards the front of the group.

  Something had sparked his instincts—literally. His eyes stared down the alleyway they were currently walking down.

  The tall buildings cast heavy shadows across the narrow alley. The height of them stretching two storeys high. Leo continued forward while everyone waited, nerves fully on edge.

  As Leo got to the end of the alley his danger sense went wild, a surging instinct telling him to dodge, this time he didn't hesitate, and leapt backwards.

  Just as he did so, a large pair of razor sharp mandibles— easily fifty percent bigger than the regular ants—sliced out where he was just standing. He had barely dodged them.

  His eyes locked onto the wall the mandibles came from. There was an ant perfectly blended into the wall, its camouflage ability was incredible. If it wasn’t for the mandibles he wouldn’t have been able to see it at all. He quickly used identify,

  Antling Ambusher - Level 8

  To Leo’s surprise, the antling didn’t move to attack him again and instead tried to scuttle up the building and run away.

  Leo wasn’t having that.

  Using his superior agility, he ran two steps up the wall to his left and jumped, managing to just grab the ant by its back legs. He wrenched it from the wall with all his strength to drag it back down, slamming it hard against the stone.

  Still holding its two legs, he snapped and pulled them off with a sickening squelch, blood spurting. It screeched in agony, trying to get off its back but Leo didn’t allow it.

  It kept snapping. Trying to get his legs, but it was no use from this angle. Its mandibles clacked together in rapid, echoing snaps. This thing didn’t have a lot of strength. It was most likely built for quick decisive strikes, probably high agility. If ants had an agility stat.

  “Someone else can finish it off,” Leo said to the stunned crowd.

  Cecelia got her bearings instantly and moved to kill the antling, only for Lena to speak up.

  “Wait!”

  Cecelia paused her attack.

  “Let me do it please.”

  Her face was determined but her hands were shaking. She was pushing herself in order to become stronger. Leo admired her effort and Cecelia seemed to agree.

  “You got this,” Amy encouraged, placing a hand on her sister’s shoulder.

  Lena moved up and started casting her spell, a crescent moon of water materialised in front of her wand. It shot forward slowly—at least to Leo’s eyes.

  He couldn’t deny its cutting power however, as the ants head was almost entirely detached from its body at the neck. A bolt of blue mana for the follow up finished it. Lena took several slow, heaving breaths, her face pale.

  “Nicely done,” Leo praised.

  You have slain: Antling Ambusher - Level 8

  Experience Gained

  +4 Store Credits

  Lena smiled at him and he thought she was doing pretty well pretending to be okay. This was the first time he’d seen her really fight and kill like this and could admit that she was definitely not cut out for it right now. She had potential to improve for sure, everyone did—especially with powers like that.

  “I’m level five after that,” she stated with a bit of false happiness in her voice.

  “Congrats,” Leo said. “You get to choose a skill to unlock now.”

  “Yes, well done on leveling up,” Cecelia added. “I’d like to move out from this alley before any skill discussion is had.”

  Cecelia frowned. “I don’t think I could have dodged that attack in time. Thank you Leo, I don’t know how you noticed, but I will be more vigilant in future.”

  “Danger sensing skill,” he said casually. “I agree though, let’s get out of this alley.”

  Exiting the alley into the next street, they found themselves in a very open area. It was around the length of a football pitch and equally as wide. Buildings lined either side facing inwards, the centre plain was grassy and unkempt, wild with nature.

  Leo spotted a group of ants towards the middle of the area he was dubbing ‘The pitch’. Signalling a stop, Leo tapped two fingers to his eyes, then pointed toward the ants.

  They all followed his movements, crouching low, and looked towards Leo for what to do next. Even Cecelia seemed to be intent on letting Leo take charge after the Ambusher. He didn’t see any reason to not just speak his mind, so he did.

  “I’m going to try and get on top of that building over there,” he pointed towards a building with one half destroyed in a way that looked easily scalable.

  “There are three antlings, one of them looks to be a Soldier, I can take that one, do you think you can take the other two?”

  “I’d like to take on the Soldier,” Cecelia said, in a way that left room for discussion but Leo could feel that she was just being polite.

  He was itching for a good fight but wouldn’t take it away from those who needed levels. He would just take out one of the smaller ones and make sure no one got seriously hurt.

  “Alright. Jasper and Lena can take on one of them. I’ll take out the other Lesser Antling. We will move on them once I scout out real quick in case there’s more I can’t see from this angle.”

  Jasper looked like he wanted to complain but held his tongue, nodding. The man hadn’t said a single word the whole time they had been out so far. Leo wasn’t complaining.

  Dashing towards the building and keeping a low profile, he drove himself forward at full speed, finding it very easy to go faster than he ever had pre-system.

  He glided up the rubble, barely dislodging a single stone as he graced the rooftop.

  From this vantage he was able to see the whole pitch and the streets around him. There were other ants just rounding the far corner. The furthest point from where Leo and his group were situated.

  They were heading away from it too, which didn’t make them a current threat. Perhaps if the combat lasted too long they would come, but for now they could be ignored.

  He looked up to see how far they were from the Tower and it was still maybe a half day's journey to it at least. More, if there were lots of encounters.

  Not seeing anything else of note, he jumped back down and towards the group, ready to fight the ants and to do some experiments.

  Ruins Of Dara

  by TiltedPanda

  What To Expect:

  - Atmospheric scenes with frequent action

  - Powerful abilities

  - Initially weak MC who must progress and grow beyond his limits

  Upload Schedule:

  - Advanced chapters and discord available through Patreon