He took a moment to collect his breath again, then started moving. This time, he focused on avoiding trees as he tested the speed boost. He was running twice as fast, and he could go faster if needed. But it would burn his mana too quickly.

  It should be good for short bursts, especially in fights. They wouldn’t expect it.

  Alex made it back to camp in half the time it usually took. He came bursting out of the woods, full speed. People panicked. They thought he was an enemy, and when they realized who he was, they thought he was being chased by something. Some people screamed. Some ran. Some cried. One even fainted.

  He spent the next fifteen minutes calming them all down. Luckily, Sarah was there to help; otherwise, he would have spent hours doing it.

  He told Sam and Derek to gather everyone, even the people sleeping. He had an announcement to make.

  Ten minutes later, everyone was there and relatively calm. Alex stood before the group in camp. Twelve in total, not including him.

  “I met a group of people while I was out, and they're asking if they can join us. I just wanted to warn you all, they aren’t human.” Alex waited a moment for everyone to consider what he said.

  “They’re a diverse group of beastkin. Many different kinds that you might have seen in fantasy books or games. Wolf people, cats, foxes, centaurs, bird people, minotaurs, and more. They are simply looking for a safe place.”

  Many people were whispering to one another. Some looking hopeful, some fearful.

  Derek stepped up. “Are we sure they don’t mean any harm?”

  “While I can’t be one-hundred percent, they seemed to only want somewhere safe to go. They had to leave their starting place because of aggressive monsters.”

  “How many of them are there?” He asked.

  “I didn’t count, but I would say at least seventy-five,” Alex said, fully expecting what came next.

  Many in the group grew more frightened upon hearing how many they were.

  “I know it sounds like a lot. But I spoke to their leader, and he seems very honorable. I trust him. I also saw their group. Half of them are level 1, like you. They wouldn’t come here, planning to fight, and bring that many low levels. Even their highest level is still lower than mine. I will keep you all safe.” Alex said, trying to calm them.

  “I also need you all to remember. I’m in charge. I just wanted to warn you they were coming; I am not asking permission. I made sure they understood I was in charge, and they agreed to follow. If any of you attack them unprovoked or discriminate against them for not being human, you will have to deal with me.”

  “I’ll return with them in a little over an hour. Remember what I said. If you can’t follow my orders, don’t be here when I get back.” Alex left it at that and walked off into the forest.

  He sighed as he moved through the trees. I feel like a damn dictator. Is this who I want to become? Will my Progenitor race even give me a choice?

  Alex returned to the plains, finding the beastkin all still in the same spot.

  “Alex of Earth, I am gladdened by your speedy return. We have also taken the liberty of skinning and cleaning the two elk you left behind, along with those Cragtusk over there. I assume you killed them also?”

  “Yeah, that was me.”

  “Excellent, you are strong indeed to fight such a beast alone. We will carry all these back for you as a thank you for allowing us to come.”

  “That works. We will definitely need more meat to help feed your people. It’ll take around 40 minutes to walk to the camp. We should get started.”

  “Go ahead. We will follow, Alex of Earth.”

  “Just call me Alex.”

  Arriving back in camp didn't go too badly. Though now, with almost 100 more people, things were tight. They needed to set up new housing and expand the clearing in front of the cave.

  “It's a bit small, Korgrith, but it's been safe for us. And with the cave, it can be easily defended.” Alex said to him as they stood there watching his people walk into the area.

  “Yes, it will do just fine. Being small is nothing to worry about as long as we are safe. We can expand and refine it. It has much potential,” he replied, eyeing the cave and the surrounding area.

  “Are any of your people earth mages? I am the only one able to use earth magic here, so it's difficult for me to find the time to train and improve the camp.”

  “Yes, we have a few. I will put them to work after they rest a little.”

  “Good, that will be helpful. We will need to build some defences outside too before the event starts. I really don’t know what to expect from the event, but it's better to play it smart and prepare as much as we can.”

  “Hmmm, yes. I agree in this."

  After that, he introduced Derek, Sam, and Sarah to Korgrith and his people. They set up more fires and places outside to get everyone situated for now. Alex showed the earth mages the inside of the cave and explained how they could carve out more rooms. And then discussed defenses for inside and outside the cave.

  This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

  He learned that the mages who picked earth had different starting skills than the fire ones. A fire mage gets [Fireball], [Fire Nova], and then [Mage Barrier]. An earth mage started with [Earth Spike], [Earthshape], and then the same [Mage Barrier]. While the differences were minor, the shaping skill was the main difference. It wasn’t used much for combat, except for raising a stone wall or something. The skill was far more utilitarian, allowing them to manipulate stone and earth. That was the skill he needed them for. It let them build and shape the cave, walls, or structures, similar to how Alex’s [Earth Magic] skill did, though it had limitations. The mages also couldn’t use it to change the spikes created by their skill. He assumed they would need a mana manipulation skill or practice for that.

  It’s interesting seeing the different classes and skills everyone gets. I’ll need to talk to other mages or classes to see what other skills exist. He thought as he walked over to Derek.

  “Hey, got a sec?” Alex asked him as they stepped aside for a bit of privacy.

  “Sure, what’s going on?” Derek said.

  “I see you all got level 6 during your last dungeon run. Was the loot fruitful?”

  “Not as much as before, but we did get a little, yeah.”

  “Good, good. If you guys get spare equipment, let me know. I’d like to pass it along to Korgrith and his top guys. I think we’re really going to need them during this event.”

  “Can we trust them? I’ll admit they seem like a straightforward, honorable type of people, but it wouldn’t be the first time people have lied.”

  “I believe so. Of course, I can’t know for sure, so keep an eye on them. I haven’t exactly been the best at reading people throughout my life. But my gut says we can at least trust Korgrith. I haven’t really spoken to the others.”

  "That’s fair, I get the same vibe from him. But yeah, that's fine, we can share the gear. It would be better than letting it sit. None of our other people will use it.”

  “I assume you guys will continue with the dungeon? Or are you finished with it?”

  “We plan to run it one or two more times and try to get us all to level 7.”

  “Good. Get that done today if you guys are up for it. After that, I’m going to let some of Korgrith's people go in. Better yet, you all should take him along for a run and show him the ins and outs. None of our people will level up. So if we can get a few more of his people leveled a bit, it should help us a lot.”

  “Alright, no problem. I’ll gather the team, and we’ll finish it up today. If you want to go talk to Korgrith, have him meet us at the cave entrance in an hour. We can go ahead and take him through one.”

  “Sounds good. Good luck in there.”

  Alex went to talk to Korgrith, telling him about the dungeon and how his team would guide him through it. Then, when they finished and leveled up, he could send some of his guys through. To say he was ecstatic would be an understatement.

  “Thank you, Alex of Earth, ehemm, I mean Alex. It means a great deal to me that you have already shared a valuable resource with us. While I know nothing about a dungeon beyond what you have told me, I can clearly see its value. You are already on the path to proving yourself to us.”

  “We’re allies now. Helping you and your people get stronger helps me too.” Alex patted him on the back, and they parted ways. Korgrith, to let his people know he would be away for a few hours, then wait at the cave, and Alex would kill some stuff.

  Leaving camp again, he returned to the plains. He planned to thoroughly test his new wind magic. Wind mana surged around him as he channeled the skill and enveloped himself in it. He boosted his speed and ran through the forest. He knew he needed more practice with this and adjusting to the speed.

  Fingers crossed no trees jumped out in front of me this time. I saw that bastard do it on purpose earlier. Stupid tree.

  He tore through the forest again, trees a smear in his vision as they blew past. He was careful with his foot placement and watched ahead, using his Eyes ability combined with regular sight. Luckily, the trees contained mana, like everything else, so he could clearly see them.

  Alex arrived at the plains again much quicker than before. His mana consumption had been a little higher than he liked, but overall, he was happy with the skill. Being able to boost his speed inside and out of combat was a major boon for him.

  I wonder if I could extend the wind magic enhancement to allies around me? I’ll need to try it.

  The first thing he did after waiting for his mana to recover was to test out the wind magic on the Cragtusk.

  It went better than he expected. While the wind blade couldn't cut all the way through its reinforced back, it could cut quite deep into its sides, and easily all the way through its lower parts. And that's just the wind blades. He couldn't quite make the wind arrows or lances, as the Element Elk could. But he knew with time, he would get the hang of it. For now, just having the wind blades was amazing.

  His sword was a completely different story, though. When he channeled the wind magic into the blade, it drastically increased its cutting power. If he slashed the weapon through the air, the wind arc that propelled out was on another level, too. It was thick and cut much better than the normal wind blades.

  A wide grin spread across his face.

  I’m very happy with this [Wind Magic]. I wonder if I can combine the elements into something greater? Technically, fire and earth should make magma or lava; wind magic could probably enhance the fire magic. If I get some downtime after this event, I need to experiment with it.

  Time for a much harder challenge, he thought to himself as he eyeballed one of the Iron-Hide Bovicus. It was level 8, the same as him.

  This thing looks much more difficult, and the information says it's really damage resistant, so it should be a good test of my abilities. And fun.

  Iron-Hide Bovicus (Level 8)

  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.

  Alex chuckled to himself. When I read those monster descriptions I always imagine the voice from the devices, Ash, Misty and Brock used when finding new monsters to catch in that anime.

  The bovicus was about thirty feet away from him, and Alex sat in stealth watching it. He mostly kept an eye on the surrounding area, hoping no more interruptions would come during his fight. He planned to drag out the battle a bit to test more things. Unless, of course, the bovicus turns out to be way stronger than he thought… In that case, he would need to end it quickly or run.

  Alex backed up to the forest edge and unstealthed, drawing the bovicus's attention. First, he summoned his wind magic and cast simple wind blades at the creature, testing the beast's defenses.

  The wind blades just blew the creature's hair, like a hair dryer.

  …Well, that's not good.

  He then rotated through fire and earth. Firing off fireballs and earth spikes. All of them did almost nothing. The bovicus still hadn’t even retaliated or moved an inch. It just stared at Alex.

  I feel like it's judging me right now…

  None of his basic magic attacks worked, so he swapped to sending elemental arcs with his sword, starting with fire. Three arcs of fire soared toward the creature through the air, fire mana heating the area as they passed.

  While they weren’t as bad as the fireballs had been, they also weren’t great. The fire slashes had merely singed its fur, angering it.

  I guess it doesn’t like the heat, or is it angry that I burnt its luxurious hair a bit?

  After shaking off the fire slashes, it started coming towards Alex. The beast did not come in a friendly manner. Its head was down, horns in front of it, and it was gaining speed. He raised a few earth walls in the bovicus’ path to see how they fared, and it wasn’t good, like everything else had been. It plowed right through the earth walls like they were cardboard.

  Shit, that thing is strong.

  It was quicker than Alex expected, too. Something as large and tough as this monster shouldn’t have been swift. When it was within ten feet of him, it pushed off the ground, barreling towards him in the air, lunging forward.

  He didn’t anticipate its quick leap, it caught him by surprise. He activated his wind magic, empowering him with speed beyond normal means, and tried to dodge. But he couldn’t quite get clear. The bovicus’ horn caught him in the shoulder, piercing straight through. It kept going all the way to the base, lifting Alex off the ground and keeping him stuck on the horn against the monster's head.

  Want to read ahead of Royal road? You can read 15 chapters ahead on !