Hours passed, and dawn came, bringing the warmth of the sun with it. Alex had stayed in the cave the rest of the night, keeping an eye on the cage. He didn’t feel any guilt about what he did the night before, just guilt about letting it all happen, but he did wonder if he could have handled things differently, or more privately. Half the camp had seen Alex dish out his version of justice.

  But no matter how hard he thought about it, he knew his options had been limited.

  I’m not damn Batman. But I didn’t have any other real option. Sure, I could have exiled them instead of killing them, but then what? They could have returned or caused more issues for us in the future. And exiling them, after murdering people, doesn’t feel like it would have been enough. Those people deserved to be avenged.

  Imprisonment won’t work long term either. It would have been fine for a few days, but then what? Everyone is too strong since the integration came. If they escaped while I was off fighting during an event, they would have killed more people. Alex thought to himself. Trying to work through what happened, his options, and come to terms with his new personality quirks. He had definitely become more willing to do the hard thing than before.

  Have I really changed this much? He wondered, looking down at his hands. Every day, I seem different from the days before. It's so drastic. I’m barely even the same guy who fought his way through the dungeon alone and half-naked.

  It's so fucking confusing. I don’t know what's me, or what’s the Progenitor aspects pushing through. My emotions were so strong last night. Before the tutorial, I was rarely emotional about things, not since his death anyway… After that happened, it was like things had been put on mute, or turned way down. But since no longer becoming human, it's as if the barrier that kept those emotional reactions at bay is gone, or they’ve been heightened to much for me to reign in.

  With the sunrise, Alex knew what he would need to do soon. Derek had hung out with him most of the night after what happened, though they didn’t talk. Alex had been thankful to have a friend around.

  They both sat there, enjoying some warm breakfast of meat on wooden carved plates. Most of their food was meat. It was much easier to get than fruits or vegetables. Though some people were able to find a little in the forest, not enough for everyone to enjoy. So a majority of them were saved for larger dinners of stew, something they could make a little, stretch much farther.

  Two hours after dawn arrived, Alex decided enough time had passed. With the camp awake now, rumors had spread about what had happened the night before. He planned to set them all straight now by telling everyone what happened and having a small trial.

  He asked Derek to gather all the residents outside and enlist others to help. It took about thirty minutes for most to gather outside the cave; hundreds of people waited, wondering why they were there.

  Alex walked over to the cage, grabbed Richard, and forced him out into the sunlight. When they exited the cave, people started to back away, giving them room. When enough space had cleared, he channeled his Earth Magic and raised a platform that stood five feet tall, clearly letting everyone see him and the prisoner. Richard's hands were encased in stone behind his back, and once on the platform, Alex added them to his legs as well. Expecting his interruptions, he had also molded stone around his lower jaw, covering his mouth to stop him from speaking.

  Taking a deep breath to steady his nerves, Alex began thinking about how he still hated public speeches. “Many of you have heard what happened last night, but some haven’t, so I’ll quickly explain.”

  “Last night, this man,” Alex raised his hand to motion towards Richard, “and six others following him, murdered several people and tried to kill my team and me, in order to seize control of the camp. They obviously failed, but that doesn’t benefit the twenty-six people they killed. Why did these people die? Because they tried to stop him, or because they were witnesses? It doesn’t matter now, because their families or friends will never see them again. They were killed because of this man. Most of them weren’t even combatants. They were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

  “I warned everyone when you came into my camp. I specifically told all of you the rules. This asshole broke those rules, and for his selfishness, innocent people are dead. Look around you. Most of us are from different worlds! Thrown together by the Universal System and forced to survive in this tutorial. The best way we can do that is to do it together.”

  “We can’t have people like him in this world. People who will abuse others to get what they want and only care about themselves.” Alex took a moment to look around the people spread out before him. Some looked fearful, some thoughtful, and some nodded in agreement. “Anyone who agrees with this asshole and his way of thinking, or who doesn’t want to help lift everyone up, not just themselves, can leave now,” Alex said, motioning towards the gate. At his signal, the guards opened it.

  Everyone stood there in silence. Watching and waiting to see who would go. “I promise not to harm anyone who wants to go, nor will I be your enemy. If you share this man's thoughts, you are simply not welcome in my camp; that is all. You may take some food and supplies.”

  Not a single person had moved. “I am only going to say this once more. By staying in my camp, you agree to abide by my rules. People like this man, who murders innocents for selfish reasons, will not just be exiled. I cannot trust they will leave and stay away, and I cannot allow them to leave and do this to other people. They will be killed by my hand.” When Alex said that, he removed his sword and stabbed it into Richard's chest. The crowd gasped, many looking away from the brutal display. A few lost their breakfast all over the ground. But again, some nodded in agreement.

  “I am sorry to do that here, but I need you all to understand. I will do what I can to protect you all. If that means I have to do things I don’t like, or things that make me a monster in some people's eyes, then so be it.” Alex added solemnly, not enjoying this at all. “As I have said a few times, this is not a prison. Anyone who wants to leave at any time may do so with my blessing and with supplies. No one will stop you. But I only ask you to do it peacefully, otherwise you will have to deal with me.”

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

  “If anyone needs anything at all, please ask. Ask me, or my team, or one of the previous leaders of their groups.” Motioning towards a group of people near the side. “The catkin - Kren Clawstrike, Deerkin - Myris Meadowtail, Dwarf - Durgan Forgehammer, Orc - Bazga Lagum, and Elf - Maradeim Virmys. Those five have also agreed to help in a sort of leadership capacity. Feel free to ask them any questions or for something you need. They can also bring any concerns to me if you would rather speak with them.”

  Alex had gathered them all earlier that morning, along with his team, and discussed this. They all agreed to assist and thought it would be a good idea to have a diverse group of people whom the residents could bring their issues to. Many were from different planets after all and had never seen another race. So it made sense they would prefer to discuss concerns with someone from their world. Alex also told them that if they wanted to help, they needed to get a few more levels. Each agreed to spend time in the dungeon or join for nearby goblin hunts.

  Afterward, he concluded the meeting and let them go. He cleaned up the body, burying it in the ground outside, and removed the stone platform he had made. Alex wanted to repair their rooms too. They had been completely obliterated by the explosion.

  Most of the residents avoided him and whispered when they thought he couldn’t hear. He didn’t mind, though. He wasn’t here to make friends. If they were alive enough to complain, he was doing his job well enough.

  The ground inside the cave was also covered in blood. Alex had removed the bodies the night before, but hadn’t gotten around to the blood. Doing so now, he burned it with fire magic, removing the blood, and then sank the charred stone into the ground and brought new stone up to make the floor flat again.

  That taken care of, he had spent the next two hours repairing their rooms and any other structural damage.

  Glad that's all done, it's been a shitty day. I need to go find some stuff to fight. The goblin event is still going on, though our area has quieted down a bit. The other generals must be farther away; we haven’t seen any signs of them nearby. Just roving bands of goblins, though their level is increasing at a steady pace now. It's only a matter of time before we see Bronze rank Shamans to go with those commanders.

  Finished, Alex was heading out of the cave to go find something to punch. Derek called him over before he made it too far, though. “Alex, got a minute?” He asked.

  “Sure, what's up?” Alex said.

  “Let's go somewhere private. I assume you were heading outside the camp? Let's go for a walk.”

  “Sounds good.”

  They walked through the gate leading out of camp and went into the forest. After a few minutes of walking, Alex finally spoke.

  “It’s my fault. Everything that happened, its because of me. I let them in, I knew Richard was going to be a problem but I put it off, and I didn’t protect those people. Its all on me,” he whispered out, guilt ridden by what happened.

  “Its not. That asshole was an individual and he made his own choice. His choices aren’t on you. Everyone in that camp saw that he was going to be an problem and no one did or said anything. Plus there was no way of knowing he would go this far. Personally, I only expected him to bitch and whine, or cause minor issues. Murder and mutiny wasn’t even on my list, so it’s my fault too.”

  Alex sighed. “I know… but it doesn’t make me feel better. I feel responsible and I don’t think that’ll go away anytime soon.”

  “I understand that. I really do. How are you with the other parts of what happened last night and this morning? Killing them specifically.”

  Breathing out slowly, Alex considered the question. “I really don’t know. But fine, I think. While I’m not a fan of it, I do feel it was necessary. I thought about how I reacted, what I did, and how it ended. Thinking back, I see no other way.”

  Derek nodded. “I agree with you. I just needed to hear you say it. What happened wouldn’t have flown pre-integration. But now? I think it's necessary. If we let them go, they would have done it again somewhere else, and innocents would have paid the price. And who’s to say they wouldn’t have returned in the future, with a few more levels under their belts? It's not worth the risk.”

  “It’s kind of a relief to hear you say that. I thought the same thing. Though before the Universal System came, I would have disagreed. My mindset has done a complete 180, between all we have seen and my new racial quirks. I’ve changed so much, so fast.”

  “Racial quirks?” Derek replied with a raised eyebrow.

  "Ah.. oops... I guess now is as good a time as any. Well..."

  So Alex told him. He told him that he wasn’t human anymore, that what he found deep in the cave belonged to an old space race called the Progenitors, and that the Universal System turned him into one.

  He divulged a lot of information he had been holding back. He mentioned how his new race was overriding his personality. That these new personality quirks were changing him. Forcing him to be more like a Progenitor. More aggressive, protective, and domineering.

  Derek paid rapt attention the whole time, never interrupting or losing concentration. “I see… that explains some inconsistencies I’ve seen. Or at least some of changes I’ve seen in your personality since we met. You do seem much more leadership material now than when we first entered that cave together. Not to mention the eyes and long black, previously silver, hair,” He said with a smirk.

  “Shit, I always forget about the eyes and hair. But yeah. I keep getting these urges to do certain things, things that I normally wouldn’t have done before the change. Like being a leader. I’m also much quicker to anger, to seek revenge, to fight, and to protect those I deem mine. I’m quite possessive now… It's weird how I view things.”

  “That’s definitely a lot for you to deal with. While it's true you’ve been a bit more… murderous than normal people. You haven’t necessarily done anything bad. Everything you've done is to protect those who can’t protect themselves, so I can’t complain. I may have done the same things if I were in your shoes. There are a lot of demands placed on leaders.”

  Alex laughed as they walked. “I guess I have been a bit murderous, huh? It's so damn weird. Over a week ago, I would have been sitting on my couch with my dog, watching TV shows and only worried about when her last poop was, or what I’m having for dinner. Now it is always…Was it okay to kill those people? Will we survive the tutorial? Will Earth even be similar, if we go back?” They both laughed at that. “Ridiculous, isn’t it?”

  “Very true. It's hard to think we haven't even been here two weeks yet,” Derek's face turned grim, and he was clearly in thought.

  Alex knew what he was thinking about. “Your family will get through this, too. They had to put up with you all these years, right? So they have to be tough as hell.”

  Derek smiled a bit and let out a little chuckle. “They definitely are. You're right, they’ll get through it. Thanks.”

  He looked over at Alex. “Come on, oh mighty space alien, let's go get the others and kill some goblins.”

  “Bastard. Already making me regret telling you.”

  “You should tell the rest of the team, too.”

  Alex sighed. “I know. I never planned to hide it from you all, there was just never a good opportunity to be like.. “Oh, hey guys, by the way, I’m a space alien now.” We’re always going from one fight to the next, every day since we came here. But I'll tell them soon. Maybe today, if we have time.”

  Derek just nodded as they moved back towards the camp.

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