Seeing the sword piercing his chest, an expression of dread appeared on the dagger-wielding man's face.

He tried to turn his head to see the one responsible for his death, but before he could, the sword was retired from his body, widening the injury.

Finally, he fell, breathing his last.

Aleen looked to the scene with an expression of astonishment. He recognized the owner of that voice. It was the ice-cold woman that told him to bring the flag.

A sigh of relief unknowingly escaped Aleen’s lips. He relaxed his body, lying on the blood-stained floor.

But before he could begin to rest, the woman spoke.

“Stand up. We must return to the base.”

Aleen's body automatically tried to stand up when he heard the woman’s voice, but his muscles complained immediately. The pain coming from his multiple injuries and the fatigue from the fights against the monster and the black-dressed man made his body impossible to move.

Seeing it, the woman frowned slightly before speaking in a commanding tone.

“Circulate your mana. It will help you to move your body and recover from the fatigue faster.”

“… How do I circulate my mana?”

“You felt it when you used your skill.” She answered. “Remember the sensation from then; but instead of activating your skill, try to move your mana around your body.”

Aleen tried to do as the woman said. It was hard at the beginning, but because he had the experience of using his skill, he got the hang of it quickly.

“How odd.” He said after feeling his body recuperate noticeably.

“Though circulating is not enough to recover your injuries completely, it will help you to suppress them until you receive proper medical care.”

“… Is there medical care in this place?”

“No.” The woman said. “You must wait until the end of the game.” After saying it, the woman began to run forward carrying the flag in her hands.

Aleen followed after her, though his body was still hurting a bit. Fortunately, he noticed that it was easier to run now that he was circulating; otherwise, it would have been impossible for him to keep with the woman’s speed.

“By the way, congratulations on your awakening. From today, you are level two.”

Aleen showed a surprised expression after hearing the woman’s words. He was accustomed to only hear her voice when she needs to give a command or explain something to him. Hearing she congratulating him was kind of new to him; though her ice-cold tone was the same.

“Thanks… Level two, What it means?”

“Right.” She said exasperatedly. “I forgot that you don’t know anything about it.”

Pausing briefly, the woman organized her thoughts before speaking.

“Levels are the method used to classify the power of an individual. The greater the level, the stronger you are. Level one is the equivalent to a normal human without skills and only a general knowledge about mana. When you acquire a skill, you increase your level. It continues until you reach level five. There are six levels known, but becoming level six is different than the levels before, though you don’t need to know about it.

“Of course, levels are at most a general classification created to estimate the power of an individual. To be honest, there are many exceptions to that rule; and even between levels, there are instances of a lower level winning easily against someone at a higher level.”

“… Do you mean that I became level two because I can use that thing that makes me move superfast?”

“A skill, yeah.” She replied indifferently.

Aleen nodded slightly after hearing it.

The pair continued running silently after it. But after a time, Aleen found the silence a bit awkward. It was fine before because they had not initiated a normal conversation. But after speaking normally, Aleen found unnerving to continue keeping the silence.

While searching for a topic of conversation, he finally noticed the traces of blood in the woman’s clothes. Then, he remembered that the woman was fighting against three people before.

“… You killed them?” Aleen asked.

“Only one orc.” The woman answered, understating his question. “The human and the other orc escaped. The human used a skill to disappear from the place and brought the remaining orc with him. Probably some kind of teleportation.”

Aleen thought that it was incredible. He heard that the orcs were level five, and the man that killed John was a level five too. How strong was the woman to fight against three of them and win?

While Aleen was lost in his thoughts, the woman stopped suddenly.

Frowning slightly, she looked towards a side of the ruined city before continuing to run; this time faster than before.

“We must hurry. The human ambushed and killed one of the two level five chasing after the orc that attacked our base. He is fighting against the other with the help of the orcs. She probably will be unable to endure for long.”

Aleen face changed color after hearing it, but he recovered immediately before asking something.

“Are them going to kill the remaining members of our team?”

“Probably. If he wants to kill me his only option is to reunite the remaining level five in his team and attack me with them. He probably will try to intercept me before reaching to the base.”

Aleen panicked for a moment, but his expression calmed after seeing the expressionless face of the woman.

After all, he was not going to be the one fighting the enemies.

And if she was unable to fight them, then it was useless for him to worry.