Alex stood there for a moment after Chad died. He knew he would need to think about what had happened, come to terms with the changes that had overtaken him, and with his feelings about them.

  But he knew right now wasn’t the time for it.

  Everyone was still watching him, and he needed to get them situated. As much as he didn’t want it to be true, he wasn’t naive enough to doubt that they were his responsibility now. Dealing with his emotions, or lack thereof, could wait.

  He called out to all the people. “Everyone, gather your equipment and any items you have or can carry. We’re moving to a better location. I promise food and somewhere better than this.”

  Derek, Sam, and Sarah came up to him.

  “Are you alright?” Derek asked, concern and a touch of fear in his voice.

  “I’ll be fine, let's just get all these people back to the cave,” Alex replied to him. “Do you all think you can escort them without me? I’ll head back first, improve the cave's interior for everyone, and try to hunt some meat."

  “We’ll be fine, bro, go ahead and get things situated for them all,” Sam said.

  Sarah looked at Alex, relief on her face and tears in her eyes. “Thank you.” Then she walked towards the gathered people and offered healing to anyone who needed it.

  Looking at Derek and Sam, Alex added, “Check the equipment, items, or supplies that Chad’s group might have been hoarding. There might be a few things we can use.”

  “We got this. Don’t worry. Go get us some food.” Derek said, patting him on the back. “I want a steak, so find us a cow.” He called out as Alex walked away.

  Alex moved back towards the cave. Now that he was away from them and alone, he got lost in his thoughts. He needed time to process everything.

  What’s happening to me? He wondered. While I admit they were messed up, I’m way quicker to anger now. More cruel. More Bloodthirsty. I even enjoyed killing them... Honestly.. I want another fight; that one didn’t satisfy me at all. They were weak.

  He stopped walking and shook his head, clearing away that line of thinking.

  There it was again. Power. I keep comparing myself to others in terms of strength. I crave a stronger battle. Everyone feels… inferior? Beneath me? Like I’m above them all, sitting on a throne, and their place is under me. Not necessarily hurt or suffering, but under my control.

  Why do I feel like that? I’m not a freaking king. I’m a random dude with some magical powers, who isn’t even level 10.

  I didn’t even feel the usual emotions during that fight and after. Anger, sure, but that was about it, aside from joy. Even now, I don't feel any remorse or guilt about taking their lives, and I know I should.

  I did agree with capital punishment and bad people getting their dues before the System came, but it feels different now. I want to dish out the punishment personally, to those who deserve it. People who treat their subjects that way don’t deserve the breath they draw.

  “God damnit!” he said aloud. “What the hell is wrong with me?”

  There it was again! I instinctively thought of them as mine now, my subjects, who I would rule and protect and treat better.

  Am I even still me? …I seem so different… or is this just the real me, finally freeing itself?

  While walking, Alex tried to change his thoughts, wanting to escape what was happening to him. So he pulled up his notifications instead.

  You have slain Tristan Buhen (Level 4 Scout)

  Experience and SP gained

  You have slain Chris Torgman (Level 4 Mage)

  Experience and SP gained

  Congratulations, you have learned to use Fire Magic!

  You have slain Morgan Smith (Level 3 Warrior)

  Experience and SP gained

  You have slain Chad Michison (Level 5 Warrior)

  Experience and SP gained

  I didn't loot them, or see how that works with humans. But, I'm glad I didn't. I don't think I'm ready for that yet.

  It's also Interesting that I don’t learn regular spells, as Sam does. He doesn’t have Fire Magic; he has Fireball, Fire Nova, and whatever other fire spells he will learn. So my class lets me learn the basics of magic? Then I can manipulate it into whatever I want. It must be the same for my Earth Magic skill. Alex thought to himself, considering the possibilities.

  Sounds much more versatile, that's for sure.

  He focused on fire skill and brought up its description.

  Fire Magic

  Fire Magic allows the user to channel the power of the Heat and Flame. Fire magic is both destruction and creation. It can be used to burn down a forest, but that forest also grows back stronger. Fire magic is known for its power and the devastation it can cause.

  Pretty straightforward description, nothing surprising there.

  Alex continued moving through the forest, making his way towards the cave. As he walked, he kept his [Eyes of the Cosmos] ability on full throttle, keeping an eye out for dinner while getting more practice with it. They would need a fair number of animals to feed everyone.

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  An hour later, he had gotten back to his new base after a successful hunt. He had run through the forest, searching for animals, and found five more of those fanged rabbits and two deer. Hunting was easy for him now with his Eyes ability, [Celestial Control], [Stealth], and Magic skills.

  “This should be enough meat for today,” Alex mumbled aloud. He laid out the corpses near the skinning table.

  He wanted to use his time wisely. This meant he would focus on the cave, getting it ready for the new influx of people, and then, when his mana was low, he would skin the beast while it regenerated.

  Standing inside the cave entrance, he began by channeling his [Earth Magic] skill. The first thing he wanted to focus on was the cavern itself. In a cave, the walls were a mess: jagged, narrow or broad in places, and clearly not meant for habitation. So he wanted to fix that. With his magic, he made the walls, ceiling, and cavern floor smoother and symmetrical on all sides of the entrance.

  Next, he moved over to the right side of the entrance. This was the area he planned to start making rooms for himself, his party, and the newcomers. In the corner, he formed the first room. Luckily, there were already small pockets of space on this side, which is why he chose it. It would take less mana to turn them into bedrooms, allowing him to finish more quickly. He formed the walls on either side of the bedroom, dividing the space into clearly defined areas. He didn’t really know how to make a door, so he just left it open and added a small wall a few feet before the entrance. It would block passersby's view while still allowing occupants to come and go with ease.

  Inside each room, he raised a stone platform, topped with softer dirt, to serve as the bed. In the center of the room, he built a stone table, then added shelves along the wall. Each new bedroom wasn’t huge, but it would comfortably fit one or two people.

  Fortunately, the cave temperature wasn’t too bad, even at night. Alex didn’t know whether it was because of their improved stats from the integration, an aspect of the tutorial, or the cave just not getting very chilly, but it remained relatively comfortable. No one should freeze to death, at least.

  While waiting for mana to recover, Alex returned to the animals to begin skinning and preparing them to cook. He started with the deer, since they would take the longest. Using his new essential skill, [Basic Skinning], it came naturally to him. It felt like he had done it before, even though it was his first time with a deer. As soon as he picked up his knife, focused on the deer in front of him, the techniques, methods, and steps he needed to take came to him. It was actually a bit relaxing for him to go through this process. He was able to just go with the flow of it, doing what was right in front of him. He didn’t think about Chad, the tutorial, or his dog back home. He just went with the guiding hand of skill, like muscle memory, a process he had done many times.

  He quickly went through both deer and all the rabbits. Alex kept all the animal skins, hoping someone knew how to use them for something useful.

  Can we make a stew or something with the rabbits? It might stretch the food a lot farther if we could find some vegetables.

  Alex went back to setting up the rooms inside the cave. He wasn’t sure of what they were going to do for light inside the cave, but they would figure something out. Maybe they could make torches or candles, or find a natural light source other than fire.

  While being outside would have been preferred for most people, the cave will be much safer for everyone.

  I’m also not sure how many people we can fit inside here; we might need to set up outside at some point, too. But for today, this is fine. There are plenty of rooms here for all the people I saw at the camp.

  It took Derek and the others almost three hours to arrive at the cave. They had traveled extremely slowly, taking frequent breaks. The people who lived in the camp were weakened from the lack of food and constant abuse. Only being level one or two didn’t help either; they had lower physical stats.

  Once they arrived, Alex told them all the rooms were prepared, but they didn't have any bedding set up except for soft dirt on a raised platform.

  “If you all would like to sit outside and wait, we will get bedding for everyone while the food cooks. If anyone can assist with cooking, or anything to help, let Sarah know.”

  “Derek, can you focus on the fire here and start the meat? Sam and I will go get stuff for their bedding, while Sarah watches over the people,” Alex asked him.

  “Yeah, that’s fine. You already got the carcasses prepared, so it should be easy for me to get it all going,” Derek replied.

  “Great, thanks. Sam, let's go.”

  “Coming.”

  Before they left, Alex saw how everyone was looking at him. Most of the weakened people refused even to look him in the eye, and those who did cowered at once and lowered their heads.

  Are they acting this way because they think I’ll be a new Chad, or are they scared of me because of the fight?

  Alex and Sam gathered up dried brush, grass, pine needles, and anything else that was dry and soft. They carried it into the cave and spread it out on all the beds to make it warmer and more soft. While out, they also picked up more firewood and offered to fill anyone's water canteen. There was a stream not far from the cave. They did all they could to make everyone comfortable.

  For now, this is fine. But after they’ve recovered. Everyone contributes. They’ll need to help in some way. I also don’t want to be stuck here… I want to get stronger. I can’t do that sitting in the camp. I need them to be self-sufficient.

  After everything was completed, they waited for the food to cook. Alex sat by the fire and stared into it. He was watching the fire mana in it. It was mesmerizing to see the mana in the world; watching how it flowed, moved, and reacted.

  He felt restless, though, so after a time, he decided to scout the area. “Derek, I’m going to go scout. I'll be back in a bit.”

  “Alright, be careful!” he shouted back while Alex was walking into the forest.

  I hope to find something challenging to fight, something more than just level 2 wolves.

  He didn’t want to go towards the goblins yet. While he did want to fight them, he didn’t want to risk them attacking his camp if he couldn't clear them all in one go, at least not yet. Not until the people were strong enough to defend themselves.

  So Alex ran a different way, a direction he hadn’t gone yet. This way led toward the plains he had seen, and he was curious about what lay out there. The first thing he noticed when he arrived was the large number of beasts. He could see large boars covered in stone armor, a few deerlike monsters with massive glowing antlers, and some bison-like monsters with thicker hair and large horns. Their levels ranged a fair bit.

  Cragtusk (Level 6)

  Cragtusk are known for their size, sturdiness, and aggressiveness. They will attack just about anyone or anything and will not retreat. Their backs and sides are heavily defended with a natural stone that gathers on them through an innate earth affinity, though they cannot actually use magic.

  Elemental Elk (Level 4)

  Large Elk imbued with elemental magics. The specific elements vary by herd, but the most common are wind, water, fire, and earth. They are intelligent and are usually not aggressive, but will gladly defend themselves if provoked.

  Iron-Hide Bovicus (Level 7)

  These large bovine creatures are extremely tough and resistant to damage because of their thickened hide and steel-like hair. Their horns are also not to be discounted, as they can easily pierce most things, even a fully armored adventurer. While not overly aggressive, they are prone to defending their territory if someone gets too close.

  All the Cragtusk Alex could see ranged between levels 3 and 7, Elemental Elk were between levels 2 and 6, and the Iron-Hides were 6 through 9.

  Not bad levels, they’re higher than the dungeon. But I’m definitely taking one of those Cragtusk home! I want some bacon for breakfast!