After a short time, Michael and Allison reached Viktor, who was already waiting for them. Less than ten minutes later, the best dish available in Yellowbright was on Michael’s table. Michael looked at it and then at Viktor, who was standing next to him.

  “Thank you, Viktor,” he said.

  Viktor gave him a dismissive wave.

  “Don’t worry about it. If I couldn’t do this much for you, how could I call myself a leader?”

  Michael smiled and sat down on the wooden bench. He looked at Allison, who was to his right. She was staring at him with a complicated expression, but in the end, she merely sat down next to him. Viktor looked around and waved his hand once. The other humans, part of Viktor’s usual group, nodded and quickly left the room. After a few seconds, all those who remained in the dining hall were orcs, and the three of them.

  Viktor went around the table and sat opposite Michael, looking serious.

  “I was told you had entered the Consumed Territory,” Viktor started.

  Michael nodded. The orcs’ stares had grown even more intense. At the edge of his vision, he saw them trading glances and nodding at each other.

  “Is it possible for us to enter and defeat the enemies in there?” Viktor continued.

  “No,” Michael answered immediately. “Not even close.”

  Viktor blinked.

  “…I wasn’t expecting such a fast reply.”

  “Just goes to show how big the difference is. I mean it, Viktor. Don’t try tackling the Consumed Territory unless you want people to die without achieving anything. Even if you know about Clear Sight and how the Consumed Territory works, not even your entire forces put together would be able to beat a duo of Forgotten.”

  Viktor narrowed his eyes. Michael felt like he could almost see the gears in the man’s head turning.

  “…Can you explain how it works to me?”

  Michael sighed and started his explanation. He talked about the Curse of Darkness, how Clear Sight was the only buff that made surviving in there even remotely possible, and how it was temporary. Once he started discussing the Forgotten and their abilities, Viktor’s expression visibly hardened. Michael saw no need to talk about the Forgotten Leaders; the ordinary Forgotten were already far beyond the strength of Yellowbright’s human forces.

  Once he finished, the room went silent for some time. Michael tried his best to ignore Allison’s stare, which made him feel like it was trying to drill a hole through his face.

  “How… how did you even manage it?” Viktor tentatively said, furrowing his brow. “I know you’re powerful, but are you really that much more powerful than us? How? Aren’t we in the same Tutorial Zone? What Dungeons did you clear?”

  Michael resisted the urge to raise an eyebrow. Unexpectedly, Viktor’s voice didn’t hold an accusatory edge. However, it did clearly contain his suspicion. The undertone was a question – ‘Are you telling the truth?’ Truthfully, it was a question Michael had expected the man to simply ask outright.

  “My son isn’t a liar,” Allison intervened as he was about to reply. “And he has no reason to keep your men from entering the Consumed Territory. You have your answer, Viktor. Please, listen to my son.”

  Michael glanced at his mother. She was staring straight at Viktor and holding Michael’s hand under the table. Viktor looked at her and hesitantly nodded.

  “Of course,” he said as he looked at Michael. “I’m not trying to accuse you of anything. You’ve proven yourself as our ally. I believe you, Michael.”

  Michael leaned forward with a serious expression.

  “Just remember what I said. Don’t throw lives away,” Michael replied.

  All three of them went silent. Viktor nodded at him with a serious expression, then looked at the ceiling, clearly deep in thought. Michael lowered his gaze after a few seconds and began to eat.

  “Don’t eat too quickly,” Allison said in a soft tone.

  Michael couldn’t help but smile. He nodded. Once he was halfway through his meal, Viktor stood up with a pensive expression.

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  “I’ll leave you now,” Viktor said. “The Tutorial’s end is coming, and we should be ready for whatever the hell is going to happen after. I’ll order my people not to even get close to the Consumed Territory. We’ll focus on clearing Dungeons and getting quests from the Village Chief.”

  Michael nodded at him. Viktor decisively turned around and left the dining hall. However, even though the third person had left, neither Michael nor Allison said anything. In this silent atmosphere, Michael ate until he finished his meal.

  “…Are you going back in?” Allison asked as he pushed the plate away. Her joined hands were gripping each other so tightly that her fingers had turned white. “To fight those monsters?”

  Michael flashed a bitter smile.

  “Yeah. But I need to drop by Redglow before that.”

  Her lower lip trembled, but she only nodded.

  For a while, the two of them merely talked about what had happened lately, what their plans were once the Tutorial ended, and what they expected to happen. Of course, Allison struggled to hold a normal conversation, but Michael only gave her a sad look. By the end of the conversation, Michael’s chest felt warm, and his mother also seemed calmer.

  “I’ll be back soon, Mom,” Michael said as he stood up. “I’ll go talk to James and the others now. This will all be over soon.”

  Allison gave him a sad smile and stood up, then stroked his cheek.

  “…Be safe, my son.”

  Michael nodded and grasped her hand tightly. After a few seconds like this, he hesitantly stepped back and turned around, ignoring the stares from the orcs. He walked out of the dining hall and through the streets of Yellowbright, moving in the direction of Redglow. Once he left Yellowbright, he quickly traversed the terrain as if it were flat ground, leaping over or going around any obstacles. All monsters ran away with hurried movements the second they looked at him, making the trip peaceful.

  After a short time, Michael entered Redglow Village’s Territory and arrived in front of one of the entrances. Just like the orcs in Yellowbright, the dwarves stared at him like he was a mythical beast.

  Well, I guess that isn’t too far from the truth.

  Michael chuckled to himself and cast Whisper. After almost ten seconds, the same feeling of connection struck him.

  “Where are you? Did something happen?” the ethereal mouth immediately said in James’ voice.

  “No,” Michael replied. “I just felt like I needed to talk to you guys before I go back inside the Consumed Territory. I’ll be going deeper this time, no way to really tell what will happen.”

  Silence.

  “Are you in Redglow?” James finally said after a few seconds.

  “Yeah.”

  “We’re close. Can you wait for us in the town square? We’ll go to my house once we meet up.”

  “Sure. See you soon.”

  Michael dismissed the spell and jumped on the roof of the nearest house, drawing surprised looks from the other humans on the dirt roads. The dwarves narrowed their eyes, but didn’t do anything else. Paying everyone else no heed, Michael leaped from house to house to quickly arrive in the Village’s only paved square. He landed on the stone floor and walked closer to the small fountain, then sat on the floor next to it. Unlike in Yellowbright, people didn’t gather around him as if he were a celebrity. Some people were throwing him strange glances at whispering to each other, but overall, very few approached him at all

  Well, I guess James and the others wouldn’t really go around saying what I look like. Rose also wouldn’t.

  At the thought of the young woman, Michael blinked. He had forgotten to talk to her before he left Bluestone. He clicked his tongue. Since it would be necessary to go back to Bluestone to ask Sullivan to reapply Clear Sight, he could talk to her then. For now, he should worry about what he would say to his close friends.

  I don’t think they’ll react as strongly as Mom, but…

  They had all gone through tough times together. James was his oldest friend, but Elizabeth and Dylan had also been his friends for years. It was only natural for them not to want him to go back inside the Consumed Territory, especially since he hadn’t explained anything to them. He couldn’t.

  The minutes passed as Michael remained deep in thought. He kept coming up with different possibilities for what his first sentence should be. Should he talk to them normally, as if it wasn’t a big deal? No, that would be the same as intentionally ignoring the elephant in the room. To begin with, neither James nor Elizabeth would go along with it. He expected their first words once they arrived to be aggressive questioning. He sighed and looked up. Unfortunately, there was no blue sky to behold and calm his mind. All that he could see was the seemingly endless stone ceiling and the stone pillars that rose to touch it, along with the beasts and monsters on them. Michael scoffed, but didn’t look away.

  It took some time, but his perception picked up a familiar sensation that he couldn’t quite describe. Nevertheless, it was one he recognized – the mana signature of his friend. Michael stood up and looked at the road west of the town square. A moment later, his perception managed to grasp the presence and location of the rest of the group. He narrowed his eyes. Even without activating his Dragonheart, he could clearly see the figures and expressions of his friends. James and Elizabeth walked side by side in front, faces marred by exhaustion.

  Elizabeth’s robe was a bit torn at the edges, and James’ armor had cracked. They practically dragged their feet one in front of the other. Behind them, Dylan, Naomi, Thomas, and Anthony weren’t faring much better. At the very least, none of them seemed to be too injured. Michael furrowed his brow.

  They shouldn’t be this beaten up.

  It was one thing not to be severely wounded, but how long had they fought for to end up this tired? Even if they had decided to tackle a Dungeon, at this point, so close to the end of the Tutorial, most of the Dungeons around Redglow should have already been somewhat documented. Unless they had either raided an unfamiliar Dungeon or not prepared well enough, they shouldn’t be in this state.

  The group steadily approached. James looked at Michael and blinked. He immediately poked Elizabeth’s side and started talking. Then, he glanced over his shoulder to speak to the others. They sped up. Michael rubbed the back of his head with a sigh.

  Well, here goes nothing.

  He stood in place as his friends approached, gradually speeding up even more. Once they were close enough, James locked eyes with him. Deep within them, Michael could see myriad emotions. He flinched but remained in place.