The feeling was strange. It was like seeing without using his sight, or listening without using his hearing. It was part of his perception, but not something he could easily recognize from his time on Earth. If he had to compare it to anything, it was similar to being in Veilthar's infinite darkness in the Abyss. A place where he had been forced to perceive its boundaries by using an unknown sixth sense.

Whisper is a basic spell.

It meant that it was unlikely for it to be extremely complex. His current self, with his stats and Majesty, could try to comprehend it for what it was – a simple method of communication.

The 'strand' of mana became clearer. Michael perceived it and turned his head in the direction it led to.

There.

He started running, easily avoiding everyone in the streets, despite drawing a few glances.

"Oh, hey, Michael," the ethereal mouth spoke in Rose's voice. "We're—"

"Wait," he interrupted her with a grin. "I can figure it out. Just give me a second."

"What do you mean?"

He smiled.

"Don't worry about it. Just don't hang up."

After Rose agreed, Michael focused on the strand once more. The more he paid attention to it, the clearer it became, to the point where he currently felt like he would be able to physically touch it. At this point, simply following it to Rose's location was a simple matter. And so, he continued to run, jumping over cars and small buildings.

After some time, he managed to see Rose in the distance, in the middle of a crowd in the streets. Her brown hair almost glistened in the sunlight, and even though she was seemingly trying her best to remain inconspicuous, she still drew glances from the people around her. He couldn't see the rest of her group with her. Michael slowed down, ignoring the sounds of the people who had decided to chase after him after they saw him running around, and walked to the crowd. He wormed his way inside, finally finding Rose after a short time.

She looked at him and let out a sigh of relief.

"I'm glad you aren't dead," she said with a grin, one hand over her chest. "It would have been terrible to lose my Tutorial Zone's strongest ally."

Michael smiled at her. At least she was honest and didn't try to appeal to his emotions or anything like that. He liked her sincerity.

"As you can see, I'm still alive. There's something I wanted to talk to you about," he replied.

She nodded.

"Sure. Follow me. I know of an apartment that's empty right now."

She then promptly turned around and started heading west. With a grin, Michael followed her. There was no need to worry about the people who had been chasing him; by this point, they no longer remembered his appearance. To reinforce that belief, nobody approached them as they made their way through the crowd and into a tall building. Without stopping for even a moment, Rose walked to the door that led to the stairs and put her hand on the handle.

"I sure hope we don't meet anyone having sex again," she mumbled to herself. Michael could hear it clearly, making him smile.

Rose opened the door and started climbing up the stairs. Michael only followed her. They ascended until they were on the fourth floor, then walked to a small apartment at the end of the hallway. Michael followed her in, closing the door behind him.

"Make yourself at home," she gestured to their surroundings with a grin as she looked over her shoulder. Michael looked around.

Despite being small, the apartment was quite tidy, as the Safe Zones were. A kitchen, a small living room, and a single bedroom. Wooden flooring and a few lights. The pinnacle of normalcy, which now felt so far away. Michael's gaze softened.

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

And here I am, after spending years getting my body crushed by a Mythical Beast.

To most others, the Safe Zones were likely comforting, a memory of what they once had. To him, however, they only felt out of place. He looked at Rose, who was still staring at him.

"Say," she started, looking at him up and down. "Don't you look different? I'm sure you're taller, and you've gotten more handsome too. It hasn't been that long, so what happened?"

Michael smiled at her. To him, it was the first time they'd met after years. He couldn't help but feel some goodwill.

"Something happened, but it doesn't really matter," he replied in a simple manner. "I wanted to talk to you about the factions."

She blinked, then gestured to the living room's couch. She sat down on it, and Michael followed suit.

"We've joined a faction, since I couldn't find you. It's called Dawn, and its head is some dude who apparently was quite a big shot in his Tutorial Zone. Allister Owen," she sighed, looking at him. "I would still have rather joined up with you, though."

Michael smiled.

"I'm here, aren't I? Tell me what you know about all the factions within this Safe Zone. Actually, have any factions from other Zones reached yours already?"

Rose shook her head.

"No, not really. It's only a matter of time, though. They're all growing as we speak. There are five main factions in this Safe Zone, and I'm willing to bet there are about as many or even more in other Zones. There are thousands of people in each," she frowned as she spoke. "It's on a completely different scale from the Tutorial. Even Lohann and Derek hadn't managed to gather up more than a thousand. This shit's going to blow out of proportion real fucking fast."

Michael nodded. He agreed with her. He'd come across dozens upon dozens of different Safe Zones during his hunting and fighting. It was unknown if it was because of New York City's population density or some other factor, but reality didn't change. The current world had no laws, governments, or anything of the sort to keep order. The factions themselves were only just starting to form, and they were composed of random people. As his thoughts reached this point, Michael furrowed his brow and clenched his fists.

Shit can go wrong really quickly.

Lohann and Derek had already been examples of that. Now, everything's scale had been magnified. The new world that was taking shape was one where only the strong had any right to determine how society would work. There was barely even a society, even.

Michael nodded grimly.

"Yeah, I know. We just gotta try and keep everything in order. Tell me more about the factions."

Rose nodded and started to speak. Michael paid attention to her every word. The first three factions weren't too large, nor did they seem too powerful. They were nameless and focused on preserving the Safe Zone's stability. In Michael's mind, that made them 'good' factions.

The last two were the real problem. Not only were they the largest, but they also had fewer rules, and their objectives were unclear. From what Rose knew, they were only interested in getting stronger. Of course, that didn't mean that everyone who joined either faction was a dangerous person with no regard for peace, but it did mean that the organizations could become a danger.

Michael frowned and leaned back on the couch once Rose finished speaking. He sighed.

"I might have to fight again," he told her.

"You'd better," she immediately replied, then looked at the floor with a complicated expression, staying silent for a few seconds. "I'm scared, Michael. The Safe Zones will disappear in less than two months. It's different from the Tutorial. The Villages were a safe haven that didn't change."

Michael nodded at her, keeping his frown. He understood what she meant. It was likely and reasonable for her to feel like she was watching a ticking time bomb.

"Don't worry," he said softly but firmly as his expression became softer. "I won't let anything too bad happen. I'm already trying to make things better."

She took a deep breath and looked at him with a grin.

"You were the one who hunted all those Trees, right?"

He simply nodded.

"Yeah."

"Then, keep doing it. I don't want people to die unnecessarily."

Michael furrowed his brow.

"I know. I just can't keep doing it and only it for too long."

She tilted her head.

"Do you need to go do something on your own? Like when you went inside the Consumed Territory? Why?"

He shook his head.

"I can't tell you."

She stared deep into his eyes for a few long seconds. He stared back. Finally, she sighed.

"Alright. Just take care of yourself and don't die. Please, help us for as long as you can. I hope you can find a way to do both at the same time, though."

Michael smiled at her.

"I have. I just need to prepare a bit more."

Rose smiled back.

"Then, do it. It was nice talking to you in person, Michael. See you soon."

"See ya, Rose. Stay safe."

Michael stood up and walked to the door, waved goodbye at his ally, and left the apartment. Instead of going down the stairs again, he simply looked for the nearest window, opened it, and jumped out, grabbing the wall. Once he was parallel to the wall itself, he started climbing to the top of the building, ignoring the gasps from below. It took only a short time for him to reach its peak. Standing on the roof of the building, Michael spun in place, taking in each of the cardinal Trees.

Destroying them was the best and only way for him to both help humanity and become as powerful as possible, as quickly as possible. They were the enemies he needed to defeat to both level up considerably and end the blight that the Trees were in the city.

He would tear down each of the four largest, cardinal Trees.

Michael smiled like a beast baring its fangs.

Now, time to set this in motion.

His grip around the Elder Chief's Staff tightened. After briefly talking to Viktor, his hunt for the cardinal Trees would begin.

The Dragonheart in his chest thumped with excitement.

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