Chapter 159: Back to the Chaos (Start of Volume 2)

A lot had happened since Luke crossed the gate from the Wild Zone into the new region of the tutorial. There, he uncovered secrets that rewrote his understanding of the world—truths about the capital, about the land itself, and even about the nature of the place he and the other survivors had been thrown into. He’d also faced threats so overwhelming that, now, even a Midnight Warden felt like just another beast.

Months had passed. Where others might have broken under the weight of what they’d seen, Luke endured. Every hardship became fuel. Every loss, a lesson. Alone, under-leveled and unequipped for the horrors of the new region, he managed not only to survive—but to grow stronger. Much stronger.

Now, he wasn’t in that new place. It had been a long time since he crossed the gate. Luke had returned to the Wild Zone—to finish what he started. Armed with new skills, powerful items, and power earned through pain, he was back to complete his mission.

He glanced around and exhaled softly.

He stood near the wall, deep in the Wild Zone, inside a hideout that didn’t belong to him. Technically, he was just a guest—or as its owner preferred to say, a “visitor.” The word made him chuckle, thinking of Kalysto and her peculiar way of labeling people.

The hideout was buried underground, concealed within a shaft that linked to the dungeon network inside the wall. It was small, dimly lit by torches, and carefully converted into a modest living space. A bed, some shelves, and practical touches gave the room warmth. Clothes hung from hooks on the wall. A spatial chest sat in the corner. Wigs, sewing tools, and scraps of fabric were scattered across the surfaces—clear signs of who this place really belonged to.

The shaft above—once the only entrance—was now completely blocked by rubble, beams, and collapsed stone. No one could get in or out that way anymore. No one except him and the hideout’s owner. Both possessed skills that allowed them to shift into a near-ethereal state, slipping through gaps no physical body could pass.

Luke opened his system interface and gave a low whistle.

“A lot’s changed since I started this journey,” he muttered, eyes scanning the new stats.

There was a whole new list of skills. New class skills. Advanced levels—and a few other surprises. While his attention lingered on one particular item in his inventory, something powerful and recent, movement caught his eye.

Can’t believe I actually have this item.

From a crack in the wall leading to the shaft, a shadow began to form. That thin trail of darkness slithered across the floor until, gradually, a woman emerged from it.

“So, anything new?” he asked.

“No. Your friend’s still locked up,” she replied.

“Damn it…”

The woman was Evangeline—the owner of the hideout.

“If we activate the second mechanism and Bartholomew finds out, I doubt he’ll let a healer side with us. Even if it means locking your friend up inside the fortress. For now, he’s still in the same place where you were interrogated. Best to wait and see if they release him in a few days,” she said.

Luke sighed. There was nothing he could do at the moment.

Maybe I could ask Eleanor for a favor?

For a moment, her image surfaced in his mind.

No. Better not. I already owe her too much.

“I told Jerry to keep watch on the place,” she said. “If anything weird happens or your friend gets released, the crow will come warn us.”

“And how exactly are you supposed to know the crow arrived? It’s not like he can open the well door, much less fly through rubble,” Luke said.

She walked casually across the room, pulling off a wig. “When you have a familiar, you share a bond. I’d know if he were nearby.”

Luke didn’t have that kind of connection with Charlie. The closest thing he had was the system interface—if she moved too far away, her status screen would freeze in grayscale, stuck on the last update. And even when she got close again, he had to look directly at her for it to refresh.

“How did you even get a familiar?” he asked.

“It was in the dungeon beneath the wall,” she replied. “I faced a swarm of zombie crows. When I killed the alpha, it left behind a familiar rune. All I had to do was tell it to break the rune—and it did. That sealed the friendship pact.”

“Wait, it was that easy? You just told it to break the rune and the familiar accepted?”

“Yep. I mean, think about it—if you were a magic beast, would you want to spend eternity trapped in a rock? No one’s dumb enough to choose that.”

Luke glanced toward the storage dimension inside his necklace. Floating within it was a black stone.

Yeah… someone was dumb enough.

‘I agree,’ Artemis said in her thoughts.

The stone flickered with light, and the faint outline of the creature inside briefly took shape.

Luke turned back to Evangeline. “So how does a familiar’s power work? Do they level up or anything like that?”

“Jerry showed up to me as Rank F, with a few of his race skills. But he’s not like us—no class or profession. Just innate skills.”

“Makes sense,” Luke said.

He walked toward the table. Truth was, he felt anxious, though he hadn’t realized it until now. The fact that Allison and the others had gone after the Orc Lord caught him off guard. That had been his plan. He didn’t expect anyone else to act on it before him. Something about it felt unresolved—like a story he was supposed to finish. But he shook that thought away. After all, he had already surpassed Morvat.

“Think Allison and the others are gonna take long to get here?” Luke asked.

“I’ve been waiting years to activate that second mechanism. Trust me, I’m the impatient one.”

“Why didn’t you go with them to fight the Orc Lord?” he asked.

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“Take a wild guess. I was the one stuck keeping watch near the Safe Zone with Jerry in case you needed backup,” she said, staring at him.

“You could’ve just told me.”

“Would you have believed me? Trusted me? Besides, Allison wasn’t even around when you came back from the other side of the tutorial. She was still out on an expedition along the wall. That left me. Basically just me, available to keep an eye on you. But you decided to become a damn lumberjack instead…” she muttered.

Evangeline stepped closer. “Still, you did contribute. The chaos you caused by opening that gate, then vanishing and coming back months later throwing everything into disarray—that forced Bartholomew to focus entirely on hunting you down. It gave the Haven a rare window to move without being spied on. Most people over there want you dead anyway, which basically makes them Bartholomew’s allies. So… nice work,” she said, giving him a playful smack on the shoulder.

Luke ignored the sarcasm in her voice.

“Maybe it’s because you want the others to get stronger on their own,” Luke said, “level up without help while you watch Bartholomew and his soldiers closely, just so they don’t mess with your plan.”

“Maybe,” she replied.

Luke began setting the table.

“What the hell is this?” she asked, staring at what he was doing.

“Like it?” he said.

He finished serving.

“It’s pasta. Took a lot of effort, but I pulled it off. I used ingredients we had—stuff from the loot chests. I made the dough myself, cut it into thin strips. The sauce? I used tomatoes I grew myself, plus some vegetables. The meatballs are from boar meat I’d stored away. And that sauce there’s got sausage in it—yeah, from the cans. This pasta here has cheese in it. I made a batch using some of the cheese we picked up.”

Luke grabbed another dish. “And this is lasagna. Pretty much like the pasta, but layered. I made béchamel with flour, butter, and milk. Classic Bolognese sauce. It’s the real thing.”

He sat down. “Help yourself.”

Evangeline stared at the food, wide-eyed. Then at Luke.

“What?” he asked.

“What the hell did you do, Luke? You know how to cook? Like, really cook?” she said, sitting down across from him.

Luke scooped a piece of lasagna onto her plate and handed it to her.

“It’s real lasagna!” she said, stunned.

“What? Don’t you know how to cook?”