In the end, enough people decided to leave the [Sleepywood] that it passed some invisible threshold whereupon the rest decided as well. I watched them leave. They stepped through the prismordial sheen framed by the stone portals and, on the other side, I watched them in return.

Inside, Parker was one of the few left, along with Rose and Rickson. He looked at me. “Shall we head out then?”

I blinked. “You’re not leaving?”

Parker looked at me and I saw genuine surprise in his posture. He thought we were all going? And he chose to stay? “I thought you knew.” He replied, looking at me astonished.

“I guess I didn’t. From what Jack told me, just about everyone was leaning towards leaving.” I reflected.

Rose gave a soft smile. “I still owe you for saving my life, Evahn.” She said. “Not that I can claim to be much help, but the Dungeon is a way to get stronger. I don’t want to be put into that position again.”

Rickson looked at me and I already knew why he was here. The same reason we were all here, if not so direct and true. “We have to level.” He said, shrugging.

Parker nodded, looking at all of us. “You saved a lot of people’s lives, I was probably among them. The least I could do is stick around, especially when it's to my benefit.”

I looked at these survivors, thrown into hell, and found people who’d never given up.

I nodded, smiling. “Be ready for anything then.” And I turned around and began walking.

Outside, events were less heartwarming. The darker side of humanity reared its ugly head. The inevitable depths of character that rose in times of distress.

Clones Second through Fifth were just a handful of faces among the crowd. Watching a scene I judged to be unavoidable. Where the disagreement between large groups became physical.

I watched from multiple angles as men paraded around, interrogating survivors. They were asking levels, Classes, Skills, and more. All information that I was convinced were deeply personal and revealing. The likes of which no one should share freely.

At least, not voluntarily.

The [Thug] was high-enough level to harass these people without consequence. There was no doubt in my mind it actually helped him. And, in a twisted way, that was his path to survive.

“Hey, I’m talking to you.” He grabbed a man by the collar, yanking him backward with more strength than he should’ve had. “Name, level, Skills, and Class if you have one. Now.”

“That’s not—” The man hunched over, air knocked out of him. He fell to his knees.

“Answer now. We need high-level people if we’re getting out of this damn swamp. Anyone who wants to stay can rot here for all I care, but if you’re useful you’re coming with us whether you like it or not.”

“I-I’m level 5. I have the [Quick Steps] Skill.” He groaned, rolling over.

“Eh.” He released the man, allowing him to moan. “Comply and you won’t end up like him.” He said, addressing the crowd.

People immediately began to disperse and quickly found themselves surrounded by a handful of others. Apart enough that it was clear they were with the [Thug]. One stepped up to a woman who had tripped on a root, he reached out—

“You alright?” Second asked, helping her up.

“Y-yeah.” She said, wide-eyed. “But they’re…”

“Hey.” The man said. “Name, level, Skills, and Class. Now.”

I ignored him. “You better be on your way, miss. There’s a bad crowd today.” I smiled at her, too sharp I think. She flinched and ran off.

The man watched her go. Then he eyed me. “Think you’re hot stuff huh? You might be a good fit then if you’re that confident.” Then he frowned when I showed no reaction. More so when I started walking away.

“Hey. Hey! I’m talking to you, you bastard!” He reached out, trying to grab my shoulder. I stepped out of the way and he fell off balance, glaring at me in surprise and anger. “Get the fuck over here.” He lunged for me.

And my elbow slammed into his face, dropping him, Fourth and Fifth watching from the sidelines. I continued walking. I heard him mumbling, cursing, and groaning on the floor.

They’d put enough fear into these people that the mood had drastically fallen. Anyone speaking out had instantly been silenced. Appearing the next day with bruises so black and blue they would’ve been invisible in the [Sleepywood].

A single name kept coming up.

Later, Ralph sighed as I glanced around his newer tent. “His name’s Blitz.” I stared at him and he put his hands up. “Don’t ask me, that’s what he’s calling himself. It was fine when he wanted to just leave but… I think he’s starting to like what he sees.”

I was in a section of the clearing where semi-permanent structures were being set up. The very bare requirements of an actual settlement or town. It felt more like an outpost in the middle of nowhere.

There was an actual chair for me this time around. I’d been visiting Ralph fairly often and had gotten to know him better the past week. At least one of my clones would stop by daily, usually bringing in food. Or goblin tools. Either was heavily appreciated.

“He’s gonna try to take over? I thought their whole schtick was leaving the swamp?”

“They’re a bunch of thugs and criminals. A little bit of power and suddenly they’re lording it over anyone weaker. It’s disgusting.” He spat. “They’ve taken to coming here every day. Thankfully there’re always a few lads nearby. They’d steal everything if they could.”

“You have to expect the worst in people, I guess,” I said, disappointed. A sudden displeasing thought came to me. “Actually, they might have more of a reason to stay soon.” I groaned.

“Fantastic.” Ralph joked. “Oh and I’ve got that thing ready for you. The wood you found was actually perfect. And the string… it was spider silk, wasn’t it? The material itself was… thick, but luckily I could process it to the right tensile strength, thin it down. ”

He placed the item on the table. An honest-to-gods bow. A curved, smooth wood, bent by the tension of that accursed spider silk. I had actually found another one of those caves on my survey of the area. The same horrible spiders inhabited it.

It had been the most nerve-wracking thing I’d ever done. Even if it was a clone. Just the memories alone… I didn’t stay any longer than I needed to. And I wouldn’t have risked it otherwise. My PER and [Solo’s Instinct] guided me and I escaped without catching even a wink of the arachnids I knew were in there, deeper.

“How big was the spider?” Ralph broke my thoughts, looking at me.

“Really big.” I chuckled after a moment of surprise. “I nearly died the first time.”

“And you killed it?” He asked, impressed. “That kind of—”

“Not without paying in blood,” I said, morose. “The first time… didn’t go so well. This time I only went for its webs.”

“Ah.” He said softly. “A shame.” And that was all he said.

Ralph was an older man, muscled, advanced in age, yet somehow hearty. He was wise enough to allow a moment of silence as I inspected the bow.

I picked up the weapon. I doubted anyone among the survivors would have the technical skill to create medieval ranged weaponry. Ralph’s [Craftsman] Class was invaluable. This kind of craftsmanship wasn’t exactly common knowledge.

“It’s a good weapon, I tested it myself. Shoots straight, draw strength is incredibly high, anything you shoot from that will pack a punch.” Ralph said. “Not that I know much about bows. I made about a three dozen arrows.”

“Good,” I said. “I need… eight more of them. The bows.”

He blinked.