The villagers, now numbering slightly over forty, sat around multiple bonfires in the center of the village.

They all had their eyes on the grey orc before them, sitting next to their leader, Ed.

“I am no story-keeper.” Harundal said, looking into the fire.

Everyone could understand Harundal now, and could even speak it thanks to the torrent of information that had entered their minds along with the System-wide update.

“But I will tell you the story of Heloth and its people.”

“Heloth… is a dead land.” Harundal began.

“Centuries ago, the Djinn-born reigned supreme in Heloth.”

“Descendents of great primordial spirits of fire, wind, and sand, they were unstoppable warriors and mages. But while the Djinn were mere spirits with desires and dreams with little care for mortal plane, the Djinn-born had the desire to conquer and rule, as all foolish mortals do.”

They began with a race of humanoids much like yourselves, who called themselves the Altans, and were their most common sires. They conquered them in a matter of years and built the Empire of Jaka.

The Grey-Mountains, Great Forest, Golden Plains…. All fell gradually to the Jaka Empire, and their capital Okoro grew more opulent by the day. The Jewel of the Desert, it was called.”

Harundal paused for a drink of water, staring into the fire.

“But they were too greedy. The desert strengthened them, and so they turned their entire Empire into a desert. Since they were somewhat mortal, however, they required sustenance just like the rest of us. And so their conquest continued on… Centuries.

The Duruks of the mountains became war-slaves in their endless conquest. Turuks sent to far-away lands as miners. Jackal-men were hunted as sport.”

Harundal let out a roar.

“Then came Duruk, the First Warbringer, who united the Tribes and freed the Duruks. So began a rebellion that lasted twenty years. Blessed by the First God of the Grey Mountains, Morrow, he became powerful enough to face the Emperor of Jaka himself!

Though he passed in the final battle, he gave his life to kill the Emperor and finally bring an end to the Jaka Empire…

But by then it was too late. Some of the djinn-born had actually ascended to god-hood, and incensed by the fall of their Empire, they brought down a curse upon the entirety of Heloth that sucked the life from the lands that fueled them instead. The rest of the mortals were left to fight for the scraps.

They say it has been centuries since the fall of Jaka. No one knows for sure. But the Heloth I know is one of blood and constant war, humans. Where there are no weaklings, because they are dead. The Duruks and Turuks know this. The Altans and jackal-men, as well as many others, did not…”

Harundal turned his gaze, meeting the eyes of the humans one by one.

“And so they died.”

--------

Ed sat in his tent. He had actually enjoyed it so much that he’d refused Ranga’s offer to build him a cabin.

The villagers had all retired to their own cabins or tents, muttering amongst each other. Harundal’s story hadn’t changed much about their current situation, but it explained a lot of things.

But the beings of Heloth weren’t the only invaders. Harundal had no explanation for the invaders that had come after them, like the large-dinosaur like creatures that rampaged across Europe nor the lizard-men that roamed the plains of Asia.

“It doesn’t matter what’s happening around the world if we can’t figure out a way to take back our own city.” Noel said nonchalantly.

“No… I suppose it doesn’t, but-” Joe said.

A group of people the villagers had taken to calling the ‘council’ sat in a circle in the tent.

With Ranga and Harundal taking up space by his side, Ed wondered if he should get a bigger tent, or hold the meeting somewhere else in the future.

“Still, it’s good to understand more about… the history.” Ed interjected, before the debate between Joe and Noel could escalate further. They would be at it for hours if not.

“But we saved you because we were hoping to find out more about the Turuks, Harundal. I’ve seen an orc or two around the city, but it’s been mostly goblins that have caused the havoc they have around this place.” Ed paused.

“Yes.” Ranga said from his left.

“We need to know more about them, and this High Mother.”

Harundal scratched his bald head.

“The Turuks have always been a secretive race. And they did not fight with us in the Fall of Jaka.

Smaller tribes have been known to branch off from their ‘mother tribe’. The name First Tribe sounds grand, but it is most likely simply one of many of these ‘Mother Tribes’, which birthed the tribe upon whose grounds we now live.

The High Mother, however… that is a title reserved for only the most powerful matriarchs of the Turuks.

The First Tribe is not one of the seven great tribes of the Turuks, but for there to be a High Mother means that it numbers in the thousands, at least.”

Ed, Ranga, Noel, and Joe all fell silent, exchanging worried glances.

The villagers were a little shy of fifty.

If the First Tribe truly numbered in the thousands, there was no way that their little village could survive a direct attack from them.

“We should just leave! There’s no way we can fight a thousand goblins! I may be a Berserker, but I’m not insane!” Noel blurted out.

“There is food and water here. And I have been working on some projects would be more helpful as a permanent fixtures.” Ranga said.

Joe simply looked worried and thoughtful at the same time.

Ed considered his options as Noel and Ranga continued their argument, but despite all their reasons, Ed knew there were two options. They could either stay, and fight. Or be hunted like dogs in the ruins of their city. Both were terrible options.

Hadn’t he decided he’d do whatever it took to grow more powerful? And yet, he had only been barely able to defeat one orc, and that’d been because he’d been injured. Harundal was a fellow Blessed and no weakling, but still.

They couldn’t rely on the Spirit Realm either. He hadn’t heard from Wukong since the first vision he’d had, and probably wouldn’t for a long time. Until he was ‘much stronger’, the Monkey King had said.

He grit his teeth. How could he get stronger? And faster?

He would have to find a way, and now not just for himself, but for these scarred villagers who had been barely gaining a semblance of a normal life. He still felt very much uncomfortable with his position in the village, but it was clear that he was the strongest human in the village.

Should he search for more Blesseds? Hunt more monsters and demons- or beings from Heloth?

“We’re pretty close to finishing the Village Quest.” Ed finally said.

“We’ll have to see about the Quest Rewards to see how they’ll help us, and leave if they don’t seem that useful.”

Noel and Ranga fell silent, considering.

“In the meantime, we do everything we can to get stronger. We haven’t seen any goblins nearby, and I think it’s because of the changing landscape. The wild-life’s growing more and more… wild, and even a Turuk tribe wouldn’t risk just charging and wilding through the city… Hopefully.”

It was true. The wild-life had previously not even registered in Ed’s True Sight, likely being too weak to even be rated as F.

That had changed in the last few days, as they’d gradually been producing blue boxes themselves. The vast majority of them had rated as F, but Ed had run into a cat the size of a tiger the other day on a patrol of the campgrounds. It’s Body grade had been a D-, and its manna had swirled inside of it like a smooth current. It had slunk off into the woods, once it had seen that Ed would not be easy prey.

“Either way. Whether it’s to fight or flee, we have to be ready for if and when they find us. And the only way to do that is to cultivate ourselves now.”

---

The council adjourned and went back to their respective tents. Noel and Joe lived by themselves in cabins that Ranga had built for them.

Ranga lived with his daughter, next to the edge of the camp so that he was closer to his ‘projects’, large wooden sculptures which were beginning to look more or less like recognizable figures of animals. He hadn’t yet been able to activate his Blessing, but he was getting ‘closer’, he said.

Ed sat outside his own tent, looking up at the stars.

That was one good thing about the apocalypse, he supposed.

The night sky was studded with stars, and was even brighter and more beautiful than the night sky he’d gazed upon in the countryside, when he used to visit his grandparents who were farmers.

Harundal sat next to him.

“Thank you, Harundal.”

“You saved my life.” He replied. “Now it is yours.”

“You’ve told us all about Heloth, but not about yourself.” Ed wondered out loud.

“Why were you alone?” he finally asked, airing the question he’d been wondering about for the last few days.

“I-... I lost the most important battle of my life. I challenged Jak’tur to a duel. The Tribe of the Grey Roc remains ruled by Jak’tur, and he spared my life to my shame.”

Ed chuckled despite himself.

“Hm. There’s nothing shameful about doing what you have to live, Harundal. You live to fight another day, don’t you?”

Harundal simply looked down in silence.

“As you say, Warbringer. I have watched you these past couple of days, and I wonder if the Duruks were once like you humans. Kind to each other. Hunt for each other. Bleed for each other.”

He stumbled across the words, hesitation evident in his guttural voice.

Ed looked at the strange creature who reminded of him. Why had he saved Harundal’s life?

“I’m not a saint, Harundal. But I do know this. I don’t just want to survive. I want to live a good life like my father. A carefree one, one I won’t regret even in the face of death. To do what I wish, deep in my heart.

Before the invasion began, I just lived to survive. It’s not what my dad would have wanted… But I just didn’t see the point. Why? Humans haven’t always cared about each other either Harundal, and I fell through the cracks… with no reason to take anything seriously. I just fooled around, like a fucking idiot.”

Harundal listened silently, but his eyes were glued on Ed’s face.

“I really don’t know what I’m doing, Harundal. But I won’t settle for slinking about in the shadows. Not when I have a real chance to become truly strong and powerful.”

Harundal sat, contemplating.

He hadn’t understood everything his new Warbringer had been talking about.

But he had understood one thing.

His Warbringer wished to be more powerful.

“No other way is possible, Warbringer.”