The sky had just shaken.

  Lightning—red as fresh blood—ripped across the heavens, splitting the blue apart..

  The thunder didn’t roll. It slammed, rattling stone and bone alike.

  The group winced, instinctively moving for cover.

  “What the hell was that?” Bjorn yelled, not directed at anyone in particular.

  “I’m not sure,” Leo said, “But I don’t like it.”

  A system notification appeared before his eyes.

  Quest Received:

  The ants stir, the sky shakes.

  Something dark and dangerous is approaching.

  To some, an opportunity. To others, a death sentence. Do you have the strength and skills to survive?

  Or just the luck required to hide.

  Objective: Survive

  Reward: Access to Tutorial Store and Profession system

  Another lightning strike surged, grabbing everyone's attention from their system window as their ears rang again.

  Well, that answers the question about what Store Credits are used for.

  “I don’t like it either. It seems really ominous,” Amy added, concerned.

  Cecelia nodded. “Indeed. Perhaps it is an opportunity however, the system said as much. I do agree that the objective is a bit vague.”

  “Does ‘profession system’ mean what I hope it does?” Lena asked quickly, grabbing Leo’s arm while looking up at him with big hope-filled eyes.

  “I think it does,” Leo said, smiling despite the situation.

  Lena returned the smile, it was the first time he’d seen her so happy since this tutorial began. He thought he caught a glimpse of Ashley frowning for a moment but by the time he looked over at her it was gone, replaced with a calm expression.

  “We need to move faster. Night can’t be that far off, based on the sun. I don’t think the people that are at David’s camp are going to be strong enough to fight on their own against whatever this is,” Leo said darkly.

  He expected a retort from David but the man was shrunken into himself, completely avoiding attention.

  Bjorn grabbed David by his chestpiece, holding him up by it. “How far is your camp?” Bjorn demanded. The aggression he was showing wasn’t something Leo had seen from the man so far.

  “Another thirty minutes? Maybe? I don’t know! It’s not like I memorised every street,” David said, terrified.

  “Let’s move then,” Cecelia said. “Quickly. But carefully. We are no use to those people if we are dead.”

  No disagreements, only nods all round.

  The next thirty minutes were completely safe, to the surprise of everyone. It was as if the ants had all run off into hiding after the sounds of the incoming dry storm. Dark, ominous clouds were beginning to form as the sun retreated from the sky. Time was running out.

  “Are we close?” Cecelia asked hastily.

  “It’s just around that corner,” David said, pointing.

  There was a large, two story building they had come round the alley of, it seemed to open to a small street or courtyard. It was too difficult to make out from this angle. Leo couldn’t hear the sounds of anyone, or anything.

  “Which building are your people in?” Leo ordered the answer, words laced with a threat.

  “The one across the courtyard! This one-” he touched the building next to them. “Is the one where we keep..” he trailed off, not daring to finish his sentence.

  “The cattle,” Cecelia finished, voice scathing.

  David whimpered but said nothing.

  “Alright, how do we do this?” Bjorn asked the group.

  “I say we go in fast and decisively. We do not actively look for a fight but be prepared for one anyway.” Cecelia said.

  “I’m with Cece,” Ashley agreed.

  “Cece?”

  “Yeah! Do you mind?” she asked.

  “No, I suppose not.” Cecelia’s face was one of confusion.

  Bjorn coughed, interrupting. “Shall we?”

  Leo nodded. “Let’s go.”

  He ran out into the courtyard, taking point. There were four buildings in total, all roughly facing each other in a massive rectangular shape with a courtyard in the middle. Alleyways, similar to the one they ran out of, flanked all of the buildings in turn.

  He spotted the remnants of a fire in the courtyard.

  Corpses. Some ashen, others not, of both human and ant alike were piled together in a heap. The human bodies were stripped.

  Ants didn’t do that.

  Heat crawled up Leo’s spine, his jaw tightening until his teeth ached. His hands trembled. A second storm was coming.

  Sucking in air through clenched teeth and exhaling gently, he managed to calm himself, not wanting to lose control and scare the people he came to save. Should there be anyone left alive to save…

  There was no sign of anyone alive in the courtyard. He couldn’t decide which building to start with and check. He was worried that a wrong decision could mean hostages, or being too late to save someone.

  Think Leo, think! Leo’s head was darting to every building’s entrance as he looked for a sign of anything to work with.

  This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

  “Please! No!” a scream called out from the building next to him.

  “Leo, wait!” Cecelia tried to call but it was no use.

  That cry for help was all he needed. There’s no way he’d stop.

  Leo dashed forward into the building, crashing right through the wooden door that was somehow still attached. It shattered into pieces, shards spilling inside and scattering across the open floor.

  The scene before him would not soon be forgotten. It shook him to his very core, and his core responded.

  Someone was going to die.

  And it would not be gentle.

  There were men and women, all in different states of injury. The men were beaten and bloody. Some were missing limbs, others just hopefully unconscious. The women were stripped, almost naked—bloody and filthy. They all looked to be hungry and sleep deprived, gaunt, hopeless expressions marring their faces.

  A man dressed in mage robes was dragging a woman away by the hair just as Leo burst through the door.

  The man stood still, staring at Leo in stunned surprise. The others were all doing the same.

  Silence descended.

  The others had charged in after Leo, following his path of destruction.

  “Why are you just standing there, kid? What's… Fucking hell.” Bjorn’s words became a disbelieving whisper.

  “My god,” Cecelia said in a similar tone. “It’s worse than I thought.”

  The others hadn’t followed past the door yet, and before they did, the mage holding the woman's arm spoke, his voice accusing.

  “Who the fuck are you? This is our camp!”

  His eyes flicked over them. “Wait… Reggie send you? He’s been missing since yesterday. Could do with some help to wrangle this lot.”

  Before Leo could respond with an act of desperately needed violence, a faint voice came from the group of people.

  “Bjorn?”

  The voice was female, but was rough and gritty, as if spoken though a parched throat. The quiet words cut through the air like a trembling knife.

  A woman shakily stood up from among the group, disheveled and injured, her arm somewhat swollen, most likely from a break, with signs of infection.

  “Honey… I-is that you?” Bjorn asked, voice trembling.

  What little moisture was left in her body started to flow from her eyes, she opened her mouth and exhaled with a shaky breath. “Help me, please.”

  “You!” Bjorn boomed, his words echoing like the thunder outside.

  He pointed towards the man as he slowly started walking forwards, weapon and shield drawn.

  The man jumped in fright, pulling a wand from his robes and holding it up, pointing directly at Bjorn.

  “Stay back man! I’ll fuckin’ blast ya!” he said.

  Bjorn's words came out in a slow, cold tone as he continued forward. “You take my wife.. You.. hurt her.. “ His voice started to rise in volume. “And think that you, and your flimsy fucking wand can stop me?!” Bjorn stopped, holding his sword up towards the man.

  “You’re going to die.”

  The man’s hand began trembling, the truth carried on Bjorn’s words cut so deep that it looked like he wanted to run.

  Bjorn took this hesitation as a starting pistol and charged at full speed, shield raised, sword at his side.

  The man did not sit idle for long, channeling a spell and launching a flame that wound and curved like a serpent directly towards Bjorn.

  Bjorn raised his shield—now coated with earthen defense—and parried it with a roar of effort. The flame crashed across the ground before dissipating. His shield began to glow as the earthen shards coating it fired outward with what was the equivalent of a stone shotgun blast.

  The man shrieked in alarm, falling backwards, bruised and broken by the shards that cracked into his bones. One hit the arm carrying his wand, forcing it across the floor.

  He looked around, trying to find someone to take hostage but It was too late for help. Bjorn towered above him, glaring down at the man.

  “My wife! How dare you!”

  The man tried to look away as Bjorn’s sword descended like the wrath of the heavens, but Bjorn roared, using his taunting skill as he swung, forcing the man’s eyes onto him.

  “Ple–”

  The man’s cries for help stopped as his head hit the floor. Fully disconnected from his body. The red glow faded from the corpse.

  Bjorn stood above the man, still breathing with ragged, sharp breaths, he dropped his weaponry suddenly and ran towards his wife. They embraced, tears streamed down their faces, as Bjorn repeatedly apologised.

  “I’m so sorry, honey. I’m so sorry.”

  Leo’s feelings were a confused jumble that were at war in his mind. On one hand, he was happy for Bjorn, he had found his wife and she was alive. This was amazing news.

  But the rage inside him—unending and violent—needed an outlet. Fast. The storm was screaming, and he did not have the soundproofing to stop it.

  He slowly turned his head, towards the doorway and the man who had just entered.

  “Did you hurt these people too?” Leo asked quietly, his voice chilling the air, demanding attention.

  David’s eyes went wild as he gasped, and tried to run, only to run into Ron in the doorway, dagger drawn.

  “Please! I didn’t do those things! I swear!” David pleaded.

  “He did! He’s a monster!” A voice called.

  “That’s right! He laughed while they killed my Alex!” another said.

  “Hell awaits you, David. It’s time for you to go,” Leo said, stalking towards him.

  His fists were humming with mana so loud it was like a car revving as he approached.

  But before he could exact his wrath upon the man, and somewhat abate the storm of rage within him, a blade slit across his throat before being impaled into his head. Swiftly ending his life as his body collapsed to the floor.

  Leo stood still, staring at the man before him, shell-shocked. Eyes wide with outrage.

  Ron stood, breathing hard, a dark expression on his face as he met Leo’s gaze.

  “You are not the only one who is angry,” Ron said, cold with icy fury.

  The words gave Leo respite from his animalistic rage for a brief moment. Using this time to wrestle some control back. It wasn’t much.

  “It should have been me,” Leo muttered, teeth gritted. “You didn’t need to dirty your hands like mine.”

  “We kill monsters,” Ron said firmly. “Look around,” Ron gestured to the people, all dishevelled and crying. “People are monsters.”

  A shout cut through the tension from outside. “We have two more coming!” Lena’s voice was panicked.

  Leo and Ron both rushed out the door, swapping places with Amy and Ashley as they rushed inside to try and heal the people afflicted. He didn’t meet Ashley’s gaze, worried that she would not like what was in his eyes.

  Murderous intent.

  Two men were running across the courtyard. One of them was in the starting gear for the pugilist and the other a warrior, with the latter carrying a sword. They looked hardened and angry as they ran towards them.

  Leo and Ron both met them in a standoff. Leo held back from just attacking immediately. Barely.

  “You messing with our camp? Who are you?” The pugilist asked pointedly.

  “We’ve come to save those people you’ve hurt,” Leo said, his voice firm with anger. “You’ve been hurting people who never had a choice. Torturing them. Not anymore.”

  The two men laughed hysterically. “Get a load of this guy! He’s strode up here like some kind of hero!” “Save the people” What a joke.” The warrior said through laughs.

  “You haven’t got the balls to do what needs to be done, kid. In this place, it’s survival of the fittest. Kill or be killed. You have to be able to actually kill.”

  Leo’s face became a taunting smirk, voice low. “Why don’t you ask Reggie how that went for him?”

  The men’s laughter ceased like it had never been. They looked at each other skeptically, then at the man who had declared it.

  “You killed Reggie? What about everyone else?” the warrior asked incredulously.

  Leo said nothing. Letting the silence answer for him.

  “As if!” the pugilist scoffed. “Man’s bluffing, no way he takes out all our guys.”

  “How would he know Reggie’s name if he hadn’t?” the warrior asked.

  “I don’t know, man. I’m done thinking about it. Let’s just kill these clowns.”

  The pugilist took a step forward. “Let me teach you a lesson about killing, boy. You might learn something.” He chuckled. “If you can survive long enough that is.”

  “Fine,” Leo said, rolling his shoulders. “I'm not one to take a free meal, though. In-fact, I’ll give you a lesson too.”

  Steam began rising as his skin took on a slightly red tint.

  “A lesson in dying.”