We arrived at the camp just as dawn began to break.
Ever since we had leveled up, sleeping every night was no longer necessary. Nor was eating or drinking. Those gestures had become secondary… useful only to soothe the mind, to regenerate mentally.
But when we returned, the group was already ready. Elsa and the others were waiting for us, silent.
We had barely found each other again. Barely felt that warmth, that strength born from our unity.
And yet… we had to part ways again.
The goodbyes were brief, but heavy with meaning.
No one really wanted to speak. In every gaze, there was silent distress, bottled-up frustration. A wounded tenderness.
We had just reunited, and already we had to say goodbye.
Each group headed in a direction opposite the others.
Four distinct paths, four hopes cast into the unknown, to find another way. A way without sacrifice.
Once alone, once we had set off…
I felt bitter. Leaving my group once again… abandoning them.But I knew they were strong. That they could survive on their own, here, in this tutorial world.And it was vital we split up, if we wanted to maximize our chances of finding a solution.
We would see each other again… once the tutorial was over.
Then, as if to sweep away my dark thoughts with an invisible hand, Cassandre turned her head toward me, a bright smile on her lips, her eyes sparkling with mischief.
— Hey… you know, you're not alone. I'm here! And I'm counting on you to protect me, okay?
Her voice was soft, light, like a sunbeam breaking through the clouds. Not a complaint. Not a hint of fear. Just a truth, spoken with that disarming freshness that only she possessed.
I looked at her, a little surprised, caught off guard by the way she simply existed.
— As long as you don't slow me down, we should be fine, I replied, with a touch of irony in my voice.
She burst out laughing, a clear, sincere laugh.
— Deal! she said, clasping her hands behind her back and hopping onto a stone.
I looked away, a quiet sigh escaping my lips. But a smile betrayed me.Maybe, just maybe… this journey wouldn't be as painful as I had expected.
— Oh, by the way! she chirped, skipping to catch up with me.
— Hmm?
— What level are you, anyway? she asked, curiosity twinkling in her eyes. With all the stuff you've done here… and no XP sharing… you must be crazy high-level, right?
I raised an eyebrow, caught off guard.
— No idea.
Her eyes widened, as if I'd just said I didn't know how to walk.
— What?! You haven't checked? Not even once?
I shook my head, a bit sheepish.
— Since that night… I haven't opened the system. I kept killing, kept progressing, probably… but I never took the time. Or had the will.
With a simple thought, the interface appeared.
And instantly, I was overwhelmed.
A flood of notifications. A sea of stacked windows. Achievements, rewards, red alerts, unspent points…
Far too much. Too much accumulation.
And for the first time in a long while, I felt overwhelmed… not by danger, but by myself.
You have defeated [Human (Lesser) – Level 3] !
You have defeated [Hum…]
You have defeated [Hum…]
You have defeated [Hum…]
You have defeated [Hum…]
You have defeated…
...
I took a step back, then another, almost dizzy from the number of windows flooding my vision. My breath caught for a moment. I was stunned.
A laugh broke the silence. Cassandre burst out laughing, her arms crossed over her belly, her shoulders shaking with mirth.
I looked at her, puzzled. She was truly beautiful when she laughed. A raw, sincere spark of life, standing out in sharp contrast to everything around us.
— Wait… don't tell me you haven't opened your system all this time?! she exclaimed, wiping a tear from the corner of her eye.
I felt a pang… a forgotten feeling. Embarrassment. My hand instinctively rose to scratch the back of my head — a gesture I thought I'd long abandoned.
— Well… maybe not…
She paused a moment, as if analyzing my words, then burst out laughing again — even harder this time. She doubled over, slapping her knees, tears of laughter welling up again.
— You… you're really something!
I stood still, caught between discomfort and… somewhere deep down, happiness.
That exchange, as trivial as it was, felt strangely unreal. A normal conversation, a light-hearted moment…It had been so long. Far too long.
Of course, I remained on guard. I would never let my attention waver again — not after the promise I had made myself.Even in moments like this, I would never lower my vigilance again.
But maybe… just maybe… moments like this would become part of my everyday life now.
Swiping away the countless notifications without even reading them, I sighed and shifted my focus.No matter how many enemies I'd slain, no matter how many rewards I'd stacked up… it didn't matter.
But one notification refused to disappear:
Your class [Light Warrior] has reached Level 10 !
Class Skill Available:
Vital Point Detection (Lesser) – Allows identification of enemies' vital points with basic accuracy, revealing key weaknesses. Effectiveness depends on perception level and the user's experience.
Escape (Lesser) – Grants a speed boost for 5 seconds, with increased effect if used to flee from an enemy. The effect is stronger in immediate danger.
Claw (Lesser) – Reinforces and elongates the nails, transforming them into natural weapons capable of inflicting damage.
Upon seeing this notification, I came to a halt.
— We're taking a break, I said, turning toward Cassandre.
She raised an eyebrow, curious.
— Why?
— I need to focus on my skill choices.
There was a brief silence, then she laughed again. A real laugh, spontaneous and uncontrollable.
— Dude, I can't believe it… You did all that without even checking your system properly?!
She held her stomach, tears at the corners of her eyes, shaking with laughter.But this time, I barely noticed her anymore.
Her amusement barely reached me.
I was already lost in thought, focused on my choice.
The first option, "Vital Point Detection (Lesser)", seemed useful… but only against unknown creatures. After a year spent hunting beasts and humans barehanded, I had developed a sharpened instinct — nearly natural. I no longer needed a system to tell me where to strike.
The second, "Escape (Lesser)", didn't interest me at all. Running away? I could already do that effortlessly, combining speed with stealth. To me, this skill was redundant.And yet… thinking back, I suddenly understood why some of the humans I hunted had suddenly become faster when they fled.
— Ah… so that's what it was, I murmured to myself.
In the end, I went with the third skill: "Claw (Lesser)".
It drew me in instinctively. I hadn't fought with weapons in a long time. My daggers? Abandoned somewhere — I couldn't even remember when.Since then, my fists, my legs, and everything around me had become my only tools in battle. I struck where it mattered. I used the terrain to my advantage…
And who knew what the future held? There might come a time when I couldn't find a weapon.Might as well have one always at hand.
Convinced, I selected "Claw (Lesser)".
A wave of heat ran through my fingers, traveling up to my forearms. A strange sensation, both familiar and new, as if my body itself was adapting, evolving in silence.
But before I could even test my new skill, a second notification appeared, overlapping the previous one.
I squinted at it.
— What now…?