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    Luke was absorbing everything Angelica had told him about the tutorial, the truths behind the first year. But more than that—the secret that almost no one knew about that place.

    The mission statue had revealed the location of the three mechanisms: the first near the statue itself, inside the Bastion fortress; the second hidden somewhere in the orc forest; and the third beyond the barrier of the Wild Zone, guarded by a massive serpent.

    “Bartholomew’s faction knew the location of the mechanisms from the very beginning,” Angelica said. “They were the first to see the statue before it activated. When the first mechanism was triggered, the statue’s message changed to the one you know now—about the lords and the three mechanisms. But only those who saw the original version knew where to start looking.”

    She took a deep breath.

    “And Bartholomew and the others in his faction never shared that information. The statue doesn’t show progress, doesn’t say which mechanisms have been activated. Anyone outside his faction had no idea what to even search for. And even if someone did suspect the Bastion fortress was hiding something… how could they be sure? Hardly anyone there knows—not even the residents, aside from Bartholomew and a few others.”

    Angelica pulled a knife from her storage ring and tossed it to Luke. He caught it mid-air, inspecting the crown symbol etched into the blade.

    “Every soldier under Bartholomew gets one just like it. My brother… he was one of the first to enlist. He joined the faction to protect me.”

    Her voice softened.

    “We came to the tutorial together. He was twenty-eight. I was eighteen. He didn’t want me to accept the system’s integration—he forbid it. But I was stubborn. When the annual integration window came, I accepted it without telling him. We were brought here together… and just like always, he tried to protect me.”

    She gripped her bow a little tighter, as if grounding herself with it.

    “In the training field, I got chewed out hard. Bryan even pulled my ear in front of everyone.”

    She let out a small laugh—brief and light, yet heavy with memory.

    “He was my only family. Our grandparents had passed away long ago. He chose to become a warrior. He got an axe. And me, of course, I became an archer. Not ideal, but at least I could help from a distance. If healing had been an option, maybe I would’ve chosen that.”

    She drew an arrow from her quiver and spun it slowly between her fingers.

    “He thought it was too dangerous to take me on missions, but… now and then, he’d give in. And I’d go. Even if just to be near him.”

    Luke remained silent—not because he had nothing to say, but because he knew words would weigh less in that moment than simply listening.

    She stared down at her hands, taking a few seconds to gather the next part of the story.

    “My brother stood out quickly among the warriors Bartholomew had recruited. He was dedicated, calm, loyal… It didn’t take long before he became close to him. Friends, even.” Angelica hugged her bow tightly. “Back then, Marshall and his son were still part of Bartholomew’s faction. They were eager to complete the tutorial as fast as possible, but… something happened.”

    Luke tilted his head. “What?”

    “There was a fight. Bartholomew… changed. My brother said it was like night and day. He became paranoid. Started suspecting everyone. Then he expelled Marshall from the faction.” She released a heavy breath. “After that, Bryan and Bartholomew grew even closer. Close enough that Bartholomew confided in him the reason behind the expulsion.”

    Luke narrowed his eyes. “And what was it?”

    Angelica shook her head, as if still in disbelief at her own words.

    “He said he needed to keep his distance from Marshall. That if he told him the truth, it would only make things worse. He said it had something to do with something called… 51.”

    “Fifty-one?” Luke repeated, his brow furrowing.

    “Yeah. That’s all. Nothing else. Bartholomew drank a lot back then, so who knows if it was just some kind of drunken delusion… But he made my brother swear to keep it secret. And in exchange, he told him everything he knew about the mechanisms.”

    She pointed to her chest, her expression softening with nostalgia. “That’s when the Haven was born. I… gave it the name.”

    Luke raised his eyebrows, surprised.

    Angelica went on.

    “We started with a small group. Maybe thirty people, maybe fewer. Me, Bryan, Paul, a few others from the faction. All people Bartholomew trusted. We used the hotel as a base because it was more practical than going back and forth to Bastion. It became our forward outpost, so to speak.”

    She paused, as if the memories were still vivid behind her eyes.

    “And then, after a long search… we found it. The second fortress. Buried deep in orc territory. That cursed place surrounded by patrols, sound-triggered traps, and a Midnight Warden.”


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    Luke absorbed every word.

    “Bartholomew came to see us. Said it was too risky to activate the second mechanism while Marshall was still out there. The war between them had already begun. And even though a few years had passed since the tutorial started, there still weren’t many survivors—at least not ones he trusted.”

    Angelica looked at him seriously.

    “Bartholomew knew that if he sent a team to the second fortress, he’d have to send his best. But if it failed, he’d lose his front line and be exposed. And if it worked… he’d have to defend two fortresses at once. With a mortal enemy waiting to strike. Marshall was experienced, a trained soldier. Bartholomew knew that if Marshall seized a fortress, he’d gain access to chests, potions, equipment. That would be more than enough to kill him. In the end, no matter what move he made… it would be like signing his own death warrant.”

    “So he forbade you from going?”

    She shook her head. “No. He didn’t forbid it. He asked us to wait. To hold off until the time was right.”

    Luke exhaled. “But you couldn’t wait any longer.”

    Angelica nodded slowly. “Knowing the way out was that close… it’s not something you can just forget. My brother didn’t want me stuck in this place. I wanted to go too, but… I had another reason.”

    She lifted her bow slightly, her eyes resting on the carved symbol in the wood.

    “I awakened an uncommon skill. Something none of the other archers had at the time. Maybe it was granted by the system because of how much I’d devoted myself. I thought we finally had what we needed, thanks to that ability.”

    “What kind of skill?” Luke asked.

    “It’s pretty simple… if I lock onto an object and mark it with my focus, I can sense any other identical objects within my awareness range. If I marked a coin, for example, I’d know if there were more nearby. Do you see the potential?”

    Luke nodded.

    “You were going to mark…”

    “The alarms.”

    She gave a faint smile—brief, almost proud—but it quickly faded.

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