Chapter 29

Rob strode towards the camp with Sally and Logan on either side of him.

Logan kept scratching his hair, while Sally kept snapping her fingers awkwardly. They were both nervous. Rob could feel their fear emanating off of them.

He wasn’t entirely sure if what he was doing was the right idea, but he had proposed it to both Logan and Sally as soon as he came back from finding the human tracks near their campsite.

Rob knew he didn’t want to stay with Sally and Logan for the rest of the Tutorial. He was a solo fighter. A grinder. His thirst for slaying powerful beasts was compromised when looking after two dependents like Sally and Logan. He told them as much.

From what he’d seen before, the faction across the cove seemed to be functioning quite well. The fact that they had sent a tracker to merely spy on them and not attack, also made Rob feel like their intentions weren’t 100% bloodthirsty, violent, and mercenary like Brad and his goons had been.

It was only a matter of time until the faction made contact with them again—why not de-escalate the whole situation by approaching them head-on? Well, Rob could only hope it would be seen as a de-escalation.

Rob had made an escape plan if things went sideways. He had gathered plenty of toxic sacs over the course of his hunting in the Tutorial so far, and he was happy to throw them into the face of anyone who threatened them.

But, he was hoping it didn’t come to that.

At the end of the cove was a lined wooden wall that marked the faction’s base.

As they approached, three people appeared.

Logan and Sally immediately stiffened at the sight of them.

“They’re strangers,” said Rob. “Not enemies.”

He kept the word, “yet”, to himself.

In the middle of the three people was a man in his late forties. The man was balding, had salt and peppered beard, and wore a scarf around his neck. The man walked with the air of authority. Rob identified him.

Rob was impressed.

Paul was a full level higher than him. The first person on the island he’d encountered with a higher level than him. After his first encounters with Brad, Sally, and the rest—he started to wonder if he might be significantly out-levelling those around him.

It looked as if that wouldn’t be the case.

Good, Rob thought.

He didn’t just want to mow down enemies or competitors. He wanted a challenge. Danger. High stakes. The thrill of battle. Even though he knew that his goal right now wasn’t to fight, just thinking about his next challenge filled him with a thirst and excitement.

On either side of Paul were a man and a woman. They looked a bit older than him. Maybe late twenties. The woman had long brown hair and the man had thick black dreadlocks. Both of them wore similar cloaks—dark green—and had a bow and satchel strapped to their backs.

Rob quickly Identified them.

Rob was less interested in their levels and moreso in their cloaks. They were both so similar they must have been the same crafting recipe; it looked like the perfect rogue’s cloak. It made Rob wonder if this group of people had unlocked Vocations already.

There was an opportunity to gain more information here.

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The spearman took note that three people weren’t approaching with weapons drawn.

Rob clutched his spear within his grip and decided he’d meet them where they were at. He sheathed his spear behind him, between his backpack and his spine.

The three approaching people nodded at Rob’s gesture.

“Hello Sally, Logan, and Rob,” said Paul, his eyes flickering as he clearly read the names from the Identify prompts. “My name is Paul, though I imagine you can already see that. I’m sorry that it’s under such horrifying circumstances that we’re meeting one another.”

Sally and Logan both laughed nervously at Paul’s words.

Rob simply kept his eyes on Paul.

“Behind us is our campsite,” said Paul. “There’s forty of us now. We’ve been working together. This Tutorial was designed in such a way to maximize human fear and push us towards violence and bloodshed. You don’t need me to tell you that. We all have access to the Tutorial Panel. We’ve all watched as the number of participants dwindles with every passing hour.”

No one interrupted Paul. The only noise that cut across the moment was the lapping of the waves on the shore of the beach.