Maxwell sat on the soft earth, tossed his head back, and laughed. Joy and relief filled him as the last of his worries practically melted away. He still didn't know much about this "Network" or what it wanted from Earth, and he didn't care. He had done enough fighting both physically and philosophically. He was tired. Beyond tired. He wasn't sure if being a cultivator was a blessing or not in the multiverse, but he knew that it didn't provide anything for free. Nothing did. Immortality, magic, power, it all came with a price. A price he wasn't going to pay. Yet he had fought. He had reached level 5. He had even become the leader of a settlement. Not that he would call the place he sat a proper city.

  "And what's got you so happy?" Meredith asked.

  Maxwell's smile only grew. "What father wouldn't be thrilled to discover that his son is alive and doing well?" He turned his attention back to the odd screen in front of him. The screen showed his son's name at the top. He knew there was a chance that it was someone else, but his gut told him that wasn't the case. He had asked many questions of the weird being he met at the tutorial. One that made it clear he wouldn't thrive in the new world. He learned that he was missing something key to advance. Something he just knew his son had in spades.

  "How could you possibly kno—" Her eyes widened with realization as they gained a faraway look. The look of someone who had pulled up their screen. "You mean that your son is—"

  "The very same," Maxwell beamed as he looked at the settlement. The sound of kids playing without a care in the world only amplified his joy. "He'll come here."

  "Well, I'll be. Maybe he will. You just have to find your wife now, right?"

  He shook his head. "No, no, my gut says that he will take care of that." Maxwell gave one last smile, slapped his thighs, and got to his feet. "My job is to keep doing what I'm doing."

  Meredith shook her head and restrung her bow. "So, I guess that means you and I are on hunting duty?" Meredith didn't wait for his answer. She already knew what it would be. After all, it was he who suggested they do these hunts to try and prune down the monsters in the wilderness. She double-checked her arrows. She should have enough for a solid kill or two. Assuming they found something they could eat, this would be a good day. "Alright, Croft, let's get a move on."

  "Of course, of course, let's start around the west side. Some of the kids were playing in that direction, and I think we should check it out."

  A scream echoed across the battlefield as Meredith knocked another arrow. When the scream was abruptly silenced, a tear fell down her face. She couldn't stop. Her body moved on autopilot as she fired arrow after arrow. She wasn't sure how many voices had been silenced, nor did she know how many would be. It was clear that they weren't going to get out of this unscathed. That assumed they would get out of this. The crack of automatic gunfire rang out as one of the soldiers let their rifle loose. She knew it was too much to hope that the bullets would make a difference. The overgrown serpent had a hide tougher than a tank and an attitude to match. The "warriors" had given up on joining the fight half an hour ago, and she couldn't blame them. She didn't like the idea of crossing blades with that thing, no matter what skill you had. That hadn't stopped that man. She couldn't resist glancing at the foolhardy warrior as he swung his sword. For a moment, she allowed herself to think that they could win. The serpent had already lost an eye. She wasn't sure if that was because of the sword, a bullet, or an arrow. In truth, she didn't much give a damn.

  Meredith's finger slipped as she reached back, only to find her arrows were gone. "I-I need more arrows!" she called out. Her voice was cracking from a lack of use. She cried out again as her eyes followed the battle in the field. Others had joined Maxwell now, but it wasn't enough. She looked around and cursed to high heaven. "Okay, Mer, we can do this." She psyched herself the best she could as her gaze landed on one of the makeshift spears. She did her best not to think about who had it last. She wrapped her fingers around it as the last rational part of her mind screamed at her to leave. That she had done all she could. That it wasn't her job anymore. Yet she steeled herself. She kept her eyes trained on the battle in front of her. A boy no older than sixteen launched a bolt of electricity at the snake, only to receive a tail the size of a man as repayment. She almost felt it as the boy's body slammed into a tree. She hoped he was still alive, but she knew better. Even with the insanity she had seen, she knew that only one thing could come from that kind of impact. She picked up her pace. Her body moved on its own now that she had made her choice. She joined the battle just as another warrior went down. This one bit in two just above her waist.

  Meredith bit back a scream of fear as she swung her spear. The sharp point crashed into the scales hard enough to make her arms feel like jelly. She glanced to her right as Maxwell avoided another strike. Even amid this hell, he could still smile. He must've noticed her face as he avoided another strike from the snake. "Come on Mer you've got to admit this is certainly more exciting than what we used to do?"

  Meredith was so shocked she almost dropped her spear. "Y-you can't be serious." She half-laughed, half-cried as the serpent tried to rip him apart. Yet again, he avoided it. His sword glowed a dull translucent color a second before he swung. A swing that carved a nasty wound into the beast. Once again, she allowed herself to believe that they could win. That if they got lucky, they could force the creature back. Beasts didn't normally fight to the death. They—. Her thoughts turned to ash as a stone shot forward from somewhere behind them. Alongside a childish voice.

  "Take that." The humans froze for a fraction of a second. A second that gave the serpent the opening it needed. An opening it used not to retreat but to attack. It shot past both of them and to the child. Her mind caught up a second later, but it was like her feet were made of stone. Her voice refused to cooperate as she silently prayed that the boy would move. That something would interfere. Right before the snake chomped down on the child, there was a blur, and then Maxwell was there. The ground where he had been, cratered. Her exhausted brain processed what happened a moment later. He had been just fast enough to get the boy out of the way. The act of kindness hadn't come cheap. Blood poured out of the fresh stump that had been his left arm. Still, he hadn't stopped smiling.

  "Move!" She screamed.

  Yet Maxwell seemed unbothered, placed the boy down, and turned to face the snake. For the first time, the smile slipped from his face. Replaced by unflinching fury. His short sword glowed the color of fire as he sized up the snake. The snake charged, deafening the world. Maxwell seemed to visibly age as he took a step forward and swung the sword. The strike looked simple, no different than all of his earlier attacks, yet this one was different. It felt like it had the power to split the world in two. The serpent's head fell to the ground as the sound returned. Meredith almost screamed with joy. She wasn't sure what skill that was, but it packed a hell of a punch. When he collapsed, she realized something was wrong.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  "Get some of those pills!" She barked as she reached the man. She stared down at him in utter confusion. What she saw made no sense. It was as if he had aged fifty years.

  "It is all right." Maxwell's voice was so weak that she almost hadn't heard him. "I knew what the price would be. Make sure the boy is all right."

  Meredith wiped away tears as she called for a healer, though part of her knew. "You can't leave yet. You—you're supposed to see your body, remember?"

  Maximilian sat as the woman described what had been his father's last moments. He wanted to accuse the woman of lying, but he didn't. He could see it in her eyes. His mind tried to make sense of what happened, yet nothing worked. The story was believable despite how much he wanted it to be wrong. His father was the type of person to fight and die protecting people. He wasn't sure what ability the woman described, but it seemed possible. A powerful skill that took your life or aged you was within the realm of possibility as far as he knew. No, there was nothing he could say or do to refute her. He could only blame himself. If he had been her, he could've killed the snake. He could've protected the child, his father, and everyone else.

  "If it helps, I haven't met a man greater than your father. He truly never stopped laughing."

  He knew she was just trying to be nice to him. Trying to find words that would make him feel better, but it wasn't helping. He couldn't even go out and kill the snake. His father had dealt with that problem, so where should he vent his anger? He didn't know how he was supposed to explain it to his mother. How would he tell her that her husband was gone? He closed his eyes, took a breath, and got to his feet. "I thank you for your kindness, but I need to be alone." He waved at her to attempt to stop him as he left. As soon as he was outside, he started walking. His speed gradually increased until he was out of the settlement. Only then did he push himself to the limit. He ran until he was sure that no humans would come across him. Only then did he let himself break. Only then did he let the feelings overwhelm him. His control slipped, and for the first time in recent memory, he did not attempt to stop it. His aura and killing intent exploded as he stopped thinking. Stopped trying to understand what he was feeling and just felt it. He wailed until no sound came out, and then he cried.

  He wasn't sure how long he lay on the cold, hard ground before he felt like he could get up. His throat burned, but it didn't matter. The pain was a small punishment for his selfishness. He wished something would attack him, yet the forest was quiet. Almost idyllic. Almost enough to make you forget that it took his father. He forced himself to stand. He needed to go home. He had to tell his mother. He had to move. He practically turned the thought into a mantra as he tried to get his body to move. He took a step and then another. His speed was a far cry from what it could be, yet it felt like the hardest thing he had done since everything went to hell. He was about to head in the direction of the harpies when he saw something. It was on the edges of his vision, but he had seen it. A person. A smiling man. Maximilian reached for that tiny thread of hope, no matter how nonsensical he knew it was. He chased after the figure, every step slightly faster than the last, yet none brought him any closer. He had chased the man for what felt like a second before he heard it. The hope turned to ash in his mouth as the figure disappeared. He knew they had never been there. Perhaps it was his mind playing tricks on him. Perhaps it was the Network or the Heavens. Perhaps it was some specter of his father. A final memory. It didn't matter. Someone was screaming.

  Maximilian barreled through the forest's edge and saw it. Someone was attacking. Someone had dared to attack the settlement. There were ten of them. All cultivators. All using skills. All had chosen to die. Spiritual energy surged into his feet as he blasted from the ground. He slammed down like a meteor. Wind, Water, and Lightning arced from him like judgment. The world was bathed in his fury as he activated Severing Disc. The howling, razor-like winds joined his requiem as he attacked. Fire, earth, and steel responded, but they were slow. They were weak. He bisected one man and punched a hole through another. Their cries joined the drums of fury as he held out his hand. His daos resisted the union, but he was in no mood. This was no time to understand. This was no time to satiate his curiosity. Instead, he forced the dao to obey. The orb formed a moment later. A cataclysm in the palm of his hand. He gave a savage grin as he turned toward the attackers. They fled. They were too slow.

  When his rationality returned and his anger dulled, he found the world eerily silent. The battle, or the slaughter to be more accurate, was over. His targets were gone. A large crater was the only proof that they had ever been here. He stared at it, waiting for the horror of what he had just done to hit him. That he had just slaughtered a group of people, yet nothing came. He wouldn't and couldn't say he felt better after it. That doing so resolved his guilt or his anger. He just didn't care. Once again, he worried that the Network had done something to his mind. Something that made it easy to kill this many people without a thought. At least he hoped it was the Network's fault. Regardless, he pushed those worries to the back of his mind. For a brief moment, he wondered if what he had just done would impact his karma, but even that wasn't important. He doubted he was the only person to do this in the multiverse. He doubted he was the first on Earth. He certainly wouldn't be the last. It wasn't lost on him that he had somehow completed the pseudo-skill in his fury. He tried to reform it in the palm of his hand and sighed in relief. It wasn't tied to his anger. That would've made it almost useless to him. Despite what he had just done, he had no interest in making anger an important part of his cultivation. Especially if he took into account his physique.

  He turned his attention toward the settlement. He wasn't sure what he was supposed to do with it now. He didn't care about it at all, yet his father died for it. He couldn't just leave it alone. Yet he wouldn't take it over. He hadn't decided by the time he entered the settlement. A settlement that had lost the spark of joy it had earlier. Though he couldn't be sure if that was because of what he had done or if he just imagined it. What he knew to be true was the lack of people. He released his dao field for rain to put out several fires as he walked. He just reached the middle of the settlement when a woman stepped out. The woman, or rather Meredith, looked tired but walked with surety in her steps. He wondered if she was here to tell him to leave. Not that he would care.

  "That was some display."

  "I suppose it was. Not that it mattered."

  She shook her head at that and gestured for him to follow. They walked together in silence until they returned to the small graveyard. He hadn't noticed how many people were buried here last time. Yet now that he had it only made his mood worsen. He had known people had died. He had known a lot of people had died, but seeing it like this made it more real. He stopped in front of his father's grave and stared down at it. A dozen questions flew through his mind, yet not one was worth asking. After all, he already knew the answers. He never needed to ask his father why he did anything. It was always the same answer. Always said with the same smile. As if it were the easiest thing in the world.

  "Because it was the right thing to do." He could almost hear his father's voice. He stopped the tears that threatened to pour down his face.

  "You said it hadn't mattered," Meredith said. "I don't agree with you. I didn't know him well. Yet it felt like we had been friends for decades. I can't tell you what to do. Lord knows I can't. Not in this new world. It isn't meant for people like me. What I can tell you is that your father felt you would do fine. That he was proud of you. That he believed you could and would take over after him. I am not sure what burden you're carrying. This might be selfish of me, but I must ask that you don't put it down. No matter how heavy it is and will become."