Chapter 422: Shadows Among Survivors

Angie’s voice echoed through him, firm yet carrying that calm.

‘I am a living being connected to you, to your soul. So you are my anchor, my source of return, should I die. As long as I am near you in the moment of death, my soul can be reabsorbed.’

Piece by piece, it all began to align in his mind. He remembered how Charlie’s status window dimmed whenever he strayed too far from her, turning gray and inert. It always brought a chill to his chest, a silent fear that if she died while too far from him, that would be the end.

“When I or Charlie die far from you, our souls extinguish like any mortal’s flame,” Angie continued. “But when you are near, your soul pulls us back into its fire, and little by little we regain strength until we can reignite. You are the bonfire. As long as you keep burning, Charlie and I can return to life, so long as we die close enough for your soul to reach us.”

It was such a simple comparison, but it carried the weight of clarity he had been missing all along. He had always grasped only the surface of his bloodline skill, the bare minimum. Now everything finally locked into place.

“Thank you, Angie. That helped a lot,” Luke said.

“I exist for that purpose, my lord,” she replied.

He exhaled softly. It wasn’t exactly surprising that she struggled to see him as Luke, the person, instead of the master her soul had been bound to. Angelica had viewed him differently, and even though Angie carried pieces of her, those emotions didn’t come along with the memories. Not yet.

Still, he had finally unraveled a deeper truth about his bloodline skill. Being a servant, Angie understood the mechanics of death and return far better than he ever could on his own.

***

Luke was outside, walking through that village. From what he had learned, many people from the tutorial had agreed to join divine orders on Earth. That surprised him. He didn’t think those people would be interested in medieval-style societies or in a System after spending so long trapped in the tutorial. But it didn’t take him long to figure out why so many of them chose that path. From the very beginning, that had been most people’s intention anyway. After all, that was why they accepted the tutorial in the first place, whether to get a good job in modern society or to start a new life in the New World.

And through the Guides, they were able to accept whichever invitation they wanted, whether to serve the orders or simply consider the idea. Either way, that wasn’t his problem.

He stopped for a moment and simply watched the village breathe. People chatted near makeshift stalls, others ate at long wooden tables that had clearly been set up in a hurry. A few important figures from the nearby city had arrived and were already deep in discussion with the newcomers. The entire scene looked equal parts lively and chaotic.

Biting into an apple, Luke eventually turned his gaze toward Camlann. From afar, all he could see were massive walls layered one behind the other, like they were protecting something ancient and irreplaceable. An entire kingdom sealed off behind stone and steel, and of course, that only made him more curious.

“My ride home is inside that place,” he muttered under his breath.

The teleportation point was located within Camlann. He and Allison would head there together later.

His eyes drifted to a large building at the center of the village. Allison was inside, undergoing a quick interview. The organization had chosen to separate everyone by country to make things faster. That specific building handled citizens of the United States. The process was simple: name, home state, and a handful of basic questions.

Nothing remotely close to Earth’s technology. No computers, no digital forms, no automated databases. Just manual sorting so the names could be assigned to the correct teleportation files, ensuring everyone returned to their proper region.

Documents would be another issue, something he would have to figure out with Allison later. But considering she had a system, forging a new identity wouldn’t be a problem. People like Evangeline, who had been homeless before the tutorial, were able to get citizenship in any country once they received a system. Shockingly efficient, honestly.

Luke was outside, keeping watch. Part of it was curiosity, but mostly precaution. He wanted to see whether Jonathan would try anything. He doubted it. Jonathan had already lost to him once, and that had been when Luke was nearly falling apart. The difference in strength and level between them now was ridiculous. Jonathan wouldn’t dare attack him while he was at his prime.

That was why Luke kept circling back to two possibilities: either Jonathan would make a move the moment he let his guard down, targeting him or someone close, or he had simply fled.

Even with those worries simmering in the back of his mind, a faint sense of satisfaction warmed his chest. He had managed to pull an absurd number of people out of the tutorial.

Angie, in the end I kept the promise I made to Angelica. Some people probably died. I’m not naïve about that. But I still managed to get most of them out.

'If that brings you joy, my lord, then I’m glad. But the truth is that if all these people dropped dead right now or started writhing on the ground begging for help, I wouldn’t care. I would simply walk past them.'

Okay, add something else to the list. I need to help you develop more empathy.

'But I have empathy, my lord. I just have it for you.'

He looked away, eyes settling on a family sitting on an upper balcony of one of the village houses. Inevitably, his thoughts drifted back to Angelica.

'Angelica would have been happy that we managed all this, right?'

'Yes. Angelica would have been. Though, after analyzing Angelica’s life, all it does is reinforce my ideals, not hers.'

'What do you mean?' Luke asked.

'Angelica lived a harsh life with only her brother beside her. Both nearly died countless times trying to help the people in the tutorial. Then her brother was killed in a cruel way, betrayed by someone she trusted. After that, she was murdered while on a mission to save others, though she did succeed in stopping the ant attack. From my perspective, humans were terrible to her. They killed her brother, and their weakness and dependence on her created the exact conditions Paul exploited to murder her. Therefore, my beliefs only grow stronger. These people around us are trash.'

Her arguments were sharp, unfiltered, and uncomfortably logical. Luke stayed quiet for a few moments.

I don’t trust people either, only a few. So I guess we agree on that.

Luke opened his system interface.

Name: Luke
Level: 50
Race: Half-Demon
Rank: E
Class: [Demonic Predator (Lvl 60)]
2nd Class: [Witch (Lvl 0)]
Profession: [Guardian Botanist of Mother Freya (Lvl 60)]
Titles: [Dark Lord]
Bloodline: [Bloodline of the Dark Demon]
Health Points (HP): 4780/4780
Mana Points (MP): 5630/(5630)
Stamina: 3030/(3030)
Soul Fragments: 303/1000

Stats:
Strength: 421
Lethality: 760
Agility: 550 (560)
Dexterity: 324
Endurance: 303
Vitality: 478
Toughness: 167
Perception: 504 (514)
Wisdom: 558 (563)
Intelligence: 266
Willpower: 600
Free Points: 2

Class Skills: [Advanced Blade Handling (Uncommon)], [Profane Knife Throwing (Uncommon)], [Twin Blade (Common)], [Basic Dark Dash (Rare)], [Basic Blood Regeneration (Rare)], [Predator’s Mark (Rare)], [Demonic Blade Dance (Rare)], [Wraith Form (Ultra-Rare)], [Force Infusion (Rare)], [Advanced Stealth (Rare)], [Assassin’s Tracking (Rare)], [Mana Infusion (Rare)], [Basic Archery (Common)], [Demonic Predator Hands (Epic)]

Second Class Skills: [Basic Magic Conjuration (Common)], [Teleportation Pentagram (Legendary)]

Profession Skills: [Herbology of Mother Freya (Ancient)], [Precise Extraction (Common)], [Basic Potion Crafting (Common)], [Corrupted Plant Growth (Rare)], [Plant Sensor (Uncommon)], [Botanical Bond of Mother Freya (Rare)], [Seed Conversion (Rare)], [Plant Manipulation of Mother Freya (Rare)], [Corrupted Blood of Mother Freya (Ultra-Rare)], [Thorn Mutation (Uncommon)], [Soil Analysis (Uncommon)], [Botanical Purification (Uncommon)], [Acid Blood Arrow (Epic)]

Race Skills: [Identify (Common)], [Demonic Perception (Uncommon)], [Dark Blood (Uncommon)], [Meditation (Common)], [Demonic Endurance (Uncommon)]

Rank Skill: [Soul Infiltration (Rank F)]

Bloodline Skill: [Servant of the Dark Lord (Unique)]

Servants: [Recovering], [Angie (Stone Angel) - Lvl 0]

Familiar: [Unavailable]

Charlie is still recovering inside my soul. I wish my skeleton friend could see that we managed to make it out of the tutorial.

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