Aaron just kind of stood there for a moment after killing Countless Lorella. The victory felt a little empty.

  “Shall we?” Talia said, patting his shoulder.

  “Yeah, let’s move.”

  “Alright. Let’s make this quick,” she called out. “I want this place searched. Our job isn’t done, and we need to keep moving as soon as possible.

  Immediately, the group got to work, scouring the lair. But nothing much of value was found. There was some furniture in the countess' rooms, but no one wanted it. The crimes she had committed went beyond murder, and having her possessions just made everyone feel off. Besides, simple furniture, while helpful, wasn’t a high-ticket item.

  Once they were done rummaging through the underground lair, the bodies were put to rest in graves, and a few words were said on their behalf.

  Aaron had wanted to keep things moving fast, but leaving the dead to rot felt wrong. Their deaths had already felt so valueless and unceremonious, what with the way Lorella had so thoughtlessly snuffed them out. And so to leave them without burial just felt wrong.

  But on their way out, they caught a glimmer of metallic, green veins running through some of the walls.

  “What have you got there?” Aaron said, spotting a couple of his group looking curiously at the green veins.

  “Dunno. Metal, I think. Never seen anything like this, though,” one man said, running his hand across it.

  “Metal? I’m sure we have some prospectors we can send here.”

  “I’ll see that it happens,” Talia said.

  “Alright, then let’s keep moving,” Aaron said and checked the next beast lord marker on his map.

  There was a part of Aaron that wanted to stop by the settlement to see what could be done with Lorella’s corpse. It held power, and he was sure that it could be useful. But wanted to get an idea of what they were dealing with in the next beast lord first.

  After marching some way from the caverns and toward the next marker, Talia sent a couple of scouts back to the settlement with news of everything that had happened and to ask Julius to form a prospecting party. They were also to return to a spot she marked on a map with any news the settlement might want to pass on.

  After that, they continued travelling east, swinging back around in the direction they had come, and then tracing along the sharp cliff edges. Waves crashed below against the hard rock until reaching the river basin. Soon after that, they reached the forests beyond Aaron’s fledgling farmlands and continued into them.

  The group traveled at a speed higher into the forest for several hours, going far further than Aaron had while picking ingredients. Many miles were covered, and soon a chill filled the air, and the forest grew darker and less inviting.

  There were a few beasts along the way, but nothing of much note, and were easily slain. Aaron got a strange feeling from the depths of the forest, but it was nothing compared to the jungle. The dangers that roamed here simply were not comparable.

  As they grew closer and closer to the marker, he expected that to all change. However, Aaron found himself lost for words with what they actually found.

  Instead of powerful beasts, they found a town? It looked like the System had scraped together a wrecked collection of brick buildings from some small, rural town’s main street.

  There was a post office, gas stations, a corner shop, and various other small buildings.

  “Ookay, not what I was expecting.”

  “Stay on guard, everyone,” Talia said, summoning her avatar.

  But the strangeness of the situation didn’t end there. Peering out from the buildings weren’t beasts, but humans. And after only a short moment, a small squad of armed humans arrived.

  There were only a few at first, but more and more of them joined the group until they outnumbered their party two to one.

  “Howdy,” a spear-wielding man said, and took several steps forward. “Don’t mean to frighten. What with all the weapons, but you can never be too careful.”

  “It’s fine,” Aaron smiled, but it was very surface-level.

  He was almost certain that these were, in fact, real humans. He was running his [ Soul Vortex ], and it didn’t pick up anything strange on them. However, his map marker was still pointing just ahead.

  If these are humans, what are they doing sharing their home with a beast lord?

  “Now, now, everyone,” the man said. “Let’s show our guests some hospitality. Don’t point your weapons at them.”

  Aaron looked across at Talia.

  “We best do the same,” she said. “Everyone, lower your weapons.”

  “Well met, traveler,” the man continued, walking up to Aaron. “The name’s Nigel. And this here is New Haven. Our little piece of paradise in this otherwise broken world we share. If you’re looking for a safe place to lay your head, you’ve come to the right place. All humans are welcome here.”

  All Aaron could do was nod. He had his map open and was looking at the marker as they spoke.

  “Anyhow,” Nigel continued. “Me and my people are just the guards. We try to keep people around here safe. But if you want to stick around or have business for us, you’re going to have to speak with the elders. They’re the ones that make the decisions around here.”

  “Elders?” Aaron said, sharing a curious glance with Talia.

  Nigel and his people seemed friendly enough. After all, they had lowered their weapons first. But everything about the town still gave Aaron the creeps a little.

  “Yes. The elders are the five peak talents that saw us through the Tutorial. They’re the reason most of us here are alive. And as such, they’re the ones we put in charge. But don’t be frightened. Everyone is welcome in New Haven.”

  “Got a plan?” Talia asked.

  “Take us to them. I wanna meet these elders.” Aaron said after a moment of thought.

  He wasn’t sure what to expect, but if these were actual humans, then he would hear them out before making any decisions. After all, while he wasn’t sure exactly what his vision was for their small, but growing, settlement, he was. He knew it certainly didn’t include going around and subjugating small, peaceful villages. If they were colluding with beast lords somehow, that changed things, but they had treated them well and deserved to be heard.

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  “Alrighty then, come on in,” Nigel waved them in. “But y’all gonna need to stow your weapons in town. If you have spatial storage, please feel free to use it. Otherwise, you can hand your weapons to one of our people. Only guards chosen by the elders are allowed to carry weapons in New Haven. It’s part of what keeps us so friendly.”

  Aaron looked down at his metal gauntlets.

  “Yep, those too,” Nigel confirmed when he saw Aaron. “Sorry to be a bother.”

  “It’s fine,” Aaron said and removed the gauntlets, placing them in his scabbard. He didn’t particularly want to disarm, but he wasn’t too worried, either. The powerful gauntlets sure improved his punching power, but their use wasn’t necessary against any of the people he currently saw before him, even if these people did turn on them. As long as they didn’t come across a D-grade beast, his bare fists were more than enough to handle any problems that arose.

  Talia was a little more reluctant, but when she saw Aaron do it, she put her weapons away too. Five others in the group also placed weapons in storage. The rest had to share each other’s spatial storage, as they didn’t own their own. But it was better than handing their weapons over to strangers.

  Once disarmed, the group was led through the village, with guards on either side of them, and Nigel leading the way.

  Despite the peculiar nature of the whole encounter, the village was very ordinary. There was a blacksmith hammering away, someone spinning thread. A leather tanner at work. There were even a few tables set and people out eating.

  All in all, the town really did look like just normal humans trying to survive the integration.

  The locals even took an interest in Zero, steering clear of the intimidating beast like those in their own settlement had when Aaron first visited it. In fact, they appeared intimidated by their entire group, keeping a wide berth whenever they passed.

  There was one weird thing, though. A giant bear statue is in the middle of town. But what really made it stand out was the fact that it was newly crafted, unlike the buildings that were all pre-integration from the looks of it.

  Finally, they reached an old school that had seen much better days. The windows were all smashed, and some of the walls had collapsed.

  Nigel walked right up to it and then turned to them with a brimming smile. “Now, just wait here a moment. I won’t take long. If you need anything, refreshments and such, just ask any one of my people. They’ll be sure to fix you up.”

  More guards had joined the group as they had passed through town, and now they were outnumbered at least four to one. Then again, Aaron had looked at their levels, and there wasn’t a lot to be worried about. In fact, they had probably called up so many people after inspecting him and Talia.

  However, his anxiousness about the town hadn’t faded. And it didn’t help that they had moved closer to the map marker, which looked to be just beyond the school.

  A moment later, the doors swung open to reveal a big, cheerful man. His arms were wide and welcoming, and his cheek plump and red.

  “Welcome, visitors! It has been too long since we invited new people into our settlement. My name is Bobo, and I’m one of the elders of New Haven.”

  “Hi… Bobo? I’m Aaron.”

  “And I’m Talia,” Talia smiled and extended a hand.

  “Come, come. Let me welcome you inside. Sorry its a bit of a mess around here. We’ve been busy. So much to do. But no matter, we can always take a moment for newcomers. After all, It has been a while since anyone has stumbled upon us.”

  Bobo seemed so cheerful, even more so than Nigel. But as they walked into the partially ruined school, they only grew closer and closer to the map maker.

  Aaron almost told the man to stop. Wanting to come up with a plan in case they were marched straight into a beast lair, but his [ Soul Vortex ] wasn’t wrong. These were humans, and there was no strange power or aura in the air.

  He hadn’t been able to detect Julius’ mind control, but it hadn’t taken long for him to find the corrupted void. This was different. There was nothing besides the beast lord marker.

  And so, he let the man lead them further.

  Bobo led them into a small waiting room, and they took seats.

  “Be back soon. Please help yourselves to tea and cookies should you feel so inclined.”

  They waited for him to leave before speaking.

  “What’s your take, Aaron?” Ryan asked, glancing around.

  “I… I honestly don’t know. I’m certain these are normal humans. But the quest marker is right here.”

  “Maybe we should arm ourselves?” Talia said, glancing down at her spatial container.

  Aaron considered it. But if they armed themselves now after being asked politely not to, and these really were a friendly settlement, then their relations would be off to a bad start.

  “I think it’s best that I go alone. I’ll mark you with my relay stone, Talia. And if something happens, I’ll warn you. Then you can all arm yourselves. I can still fight with my fists, and I’m not so easy to kill.”

  “Are you sure, Aaron?”

  “Yeah. It’ll be fine. If there were a lot of beasts around, I’d have detected them by now. Truth is, I can’t sense any. I can see the map marker, but that’s it.”

  “Okay, just be careful,” Talia said.

  “Careful, of course. I’m always careful.”

  Talia shook her head, but didn’t get a chance to say anything further as Bobo returned.

  “Come, right this way.”

  “It’ll just be me, if that’s okay,” Aaron said.

  Bobo looked at the others and then nodded. “Sure, whatever pleases you. I assume that means you’ll be speaking for them?”

  “Yeah, sure,” Aaron said.

  “Good, right this way then.”

  Bobo led him around into another room where the other four elders sat around a table, as if he were about to be interviewed.

  The elders really did look like they belonged in a school. They were all older, with loose weight, and half of them were wearing glasses, and in office attire.

  “Please, take a seat,” Bobo offered, and then made his way around the table to join the others. "Share your story with us. How did you get here?”

  Aaron briefly recounted his experiences since the trial ended, and an obfuscated explanation of their settlement, providing an incorrect location for it.

  Once he was done, they shared a brief history of their settlement. Though it was fairly clear they were leaving stuff out, as the explanation he got was very basic.

  As they got done speaking, his brow furrowed, and he raised a finger. “One thing, though.”

  “Oh, what’s that?” Bobo asked.

  “You see, I have this quest. I’ve got to kill beast lords. And it says that one of them is here?”

  “Oh,” Bobo said, and then looked around at the others, who took turns sighing.

  “I see, so that’s what brought you to us,” Bobo said.

  “The fact that you’re so calm about this is making me uneasy,” Aaron said.

  “Oh, it’s more complicated than you think. Shall I explain?”

  The other elders glanced around at each other for a moment before nodding, and then Bobo continued.

  “Our settlement here lies above a System dungeon. It all happened by chance. We came here looking for shelter, and then realized that none of the beasts would wander into this area, so we stayed. It was perfect. Safety and shelter. What more could one ask for?”

  “And?” Aaron probed.

  “Then we discovered the dungeon below. A few of us went down there and never returned. At first, we didn’t know what to think of it. Perhaps just a powerful dungeon. But then we saw the beast emerge. A big thing. Mean and furry. At first, we thought it would wipe us all out. But it never did. Some of us left. I heard word that to the west of here, some of them even found another town to settle in. But the rest of us, fearing the danger, stayed.”

  “You stayed with a powerful beast beneath you?” Aaron blinked in disbelief.

  “Well, that’s the thing. The beast never leaves its lair. But its presence provides all the security we need. Just living here is enough to keep the others away.”

  Aaron shook his head. “That makes no sense. Every beast I’ve seen has been more than happy to kill humans to grow stronger.”

  “We believe that it’s the dungeon. That’s why it disappears. It goes into the dungeon to hunt and grow stronger. And because of this, it cares little about us. It’s our guardian angel, really.”

  Wait, they’re not serious, are they?

  Aaron couldn’t believe what he was hearing. These people were mad. Even if this beast lord was distracted hunting the dungeon, it was only a matter of time before it turned its sights on them.

  “I know this might be hard to swallow. But we understand each other. The beast is a powerful protector. Our guardian. Our salvation.”

  Aaron didn’t know how to break it to the man, but he was certain that their little deal wouldn't last. After all, it was a beast lord, and his entire quest was about territory control. The moment that beast lord stopped getting good gains from the dungeon, he was sure it would turn to its surroundings and expand its territory, and humans weren’t going to be a part of that.

  Also, he kind of wanted to know what was in the dungeon.

  “I see,” Aaron looked down at his hands, and then back up to Bobo. “Would it be too much to ask that I be allowed to go down there?”

  Bobo frowned.

  Pateron!