Chaos had reached the Safe Zone. Houses burned. Mages fired containment spells. Soldiers battled in the streets. Ants poured in from every direction, constructing a colossal hive at the edge of the city, and worst of all, they operated in strategic divisions. Assault units. Construction units. Hunting units. The last ones were the most terrifying. They dragged off anything alive, beasts, animals, even humans. Everything was taken into the hive.

A damn queen ant…

It was the only explanation Luke could come up with. The creature had to be devouring everything it could find, feeding nonstop to spawn more soldiers. A rapidly expanding army. Luke shared his theory with the others. It didn't come as a huge surprise; several had already considered it. After all, the beasts tended to follow behavior patterns eerily close to real-world biology.

Never thought my biology classes and Hunter x Hunter marathons would end up saving lives someday...

They were gathered inside a makeshift tent at the camp. Civilians had taken shelter in the hotel—now completely overpacked. People from all over the Safe Zone had begun to arrive, desperate. They were unaffiliated—neutral citizens with no ties to Bastion or the Haven. The attack had slowed. The ants hadn't retreated, but the intensity had dropped.

Now, they were in collection mode. Wood. Corpses. Stones. Everything. All of it was being hauled into the living hive. A temporary lull… just long enough to feed the queen. At the center of the tent, a large map of the Safe Zone lay on a crude table. Angelica pointed to it with a knife, her expression tense.

"They've taken this area," she said, indicating a mark on the far edge of the Safe Zone. "An old mine. Probably because it's easier to expand a hive through pre-existing tunnels inside a mountain."

Everyone watched in silence.

"If it had been near the Haven, we'd already be dead," Paul muttered. "A direct strike would've wiped us out in minutes."

"We don't have a choice," Angelica said. "We'll have to cross the Safe Zone and enter the hive. The queen must be the Beast General the system warned about. Or she's guarding him. Either way, it doesn't matter."

She continued, "Just like in nature—or close to it—the queen's buried deep, protected by the strongest ants. Meanwhile, the workers build, hunt, and fight."

Jonathan slammed a fist on the table.

"We've killed three damn captains, and these pests are still coming. The soldiers don't even pull back!"

"Because they have the queen," Allison explained. "Irrational beasts always obey the strongest authority. Captains lead troops, but with the General present... they don't retreat. They stay. Until they die."

"And Bartholomew's soldiers?" Anna asked. "This is the moment to unite forces."

Angelica sighed, her shoulders tight with tension.

"It's not going to happen. Bastion's closer to the hive. The attack there is even more intense than it is here. They're too busy trying to hold the fortress."

The Haven sat on the opposite edge of the hive, while Bastion was much closer to the center.

Paul added bitterly, "And the Renegades... they're taking full advantage of the chaos. Firing fireballs at the gates. I even saw catapults. They want to destroy Bastion."

This level of coordination… wasn't a coincidence.

"They planned everything," Jonathan muttered, face smeared with dried blood.

"They probably used storage items to smuggle in the siege weapons," Angelica said, tapping the map with the tip of her dagger. "Now you understand why Bartholomew started searching everyone approaching Bastion. It was to prevent this exact situation. But with this chaos..."

Everyone nodded. The tension hung thick in the stifling air of the tent.

Paul scratched his forehead. "With Marshall attacking Bastion and soldiers being pulled back to defend it... that means—"

"It means no one's sending reinforcements to the hive," Angelica finished. "Bartholomew won't risk leaving his fortress exposed. We're on our own."

She pointed to the map again. A drawn line cut across the Safe Zone from one end to the other, leading straight to the old mine—the heart of the infestation. The path would take them through areas already overrun by ants. This wouldn't be a simple walk.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

"There's always the option to go around through the Wild Zone…" someone began.

"And deal with the Midnight Wardens?" Angelica cut them off. "No. The hive is hell. But the Wardens... they're the abyss itself."

Another survivor raised his hand, visibly anxious.

"But if Bartholomew takes too long to act, a lot of people will die. The whole Safe Zone could fall."

Angelica let out a laugh—cold and humorless. "You think he cares? Bastion is the last thing to fall. The fortress is isolated, well-stocked, fully defended, with its own healers. He could watch the entire region burn before he ever feels a hint of real danger."

Allison clicked her tongue. "But he has that powerful item. Why doesn't he just fight Marshall himself?"

"Because Bartholomew is weak," Angelica said bluntly. "He's a healer. Sure, he might be high-level, with absurd stats—but offensively, he's the weakest link. He only survived because he played the game smart."

She looked around the tent. "During the conquest of Bastion, only four people survived: Bartholomew, Kruger, Evangeline, and Marshall. Of them, Bartholomew was the only support. Kruger was the assassin, Evangeline the thief. And Marshall... a crossbowman who evolved into a hunter."

"And then came the crown," Paul added. "Bartholomew landed the final blow on the Midnight Warden, and the system rewarded him. That's when everything changed."

"Since then, he's monopolized the healers," Angelica continued. "You think that's a coincidence? Bartholomew understood something early—healing was the biggest bottleneck to progression. No one risks their life without support. A broken leg in the Wild Zone can be a death sentence."

Paul scoffed. "He built an empire around that need. And who's going to oppose him? Who can stand against an army with constant healing?"

"Marshall is," Allison said. "And I'm sure he has healers of his own."

"That guy's insane," Jonathan muttered. "He cares more about tearing Bartholomew down than surviving."

Outside, a new wave of explosions shook the Safe Zone. The roar of distant magic echoed into the tent like far-off thunder.

Angelica turned back to the map with a weary sigh. She started laying out team assignments. Mage and archer positions to hold the edges of the Haven. Frontline combatants. Support units.

"We have a single healer," she reminded them. "Thiara. And she stays at the hotel. Protected at all costs."

Luke's mind flashed to the valuable potions he had stored in the stash at his old hideout. They were on the far edge of the Safe Zone—far too close to the hive for a casual trip. Recovering them could mean the difference between life and death. But it wouldn't be easy.

Angelica looked around at everyone gathered around the makeshift table. Her face barely hid the exhaustion, but her voice came out steady.

"The decision to go on this mission is yours alone. Bartholomew intended to drive us out… but now, what's at stake is far bigger than us. If the Safe Zone falls, ants won't be our only problem."

She paused, making eye contact with each person.

"The Midnight Wardens will return."

With a slow motion, Angelica removed the bow from her back and laid it on the table.

"You have no reason to follow me. I can survive in the Wild Zone on my own—and I know many of you could too. But I'm not going to that hive for me. I'm going for the innocent people who live here. For the children. For the working mothers, the quiet fathers, the ones who never had a choice in this hell."

She took a deep breath.

"No one expected this tutorial to turn into a nightmare. But now that we know what it really is… I ask just one thing. Don't abandon the Haven."

A heavy silence followed. It wasn't empty—it was thick with unspoken emotions. Then, someone stepped forward. Cecilia. She placed her bow beside Angelica's. Then, calmly, she began to sign with her hands.

"What did she say?" Angelica asked.

Anna swallowed hard before translating. "She said: 'My father abandoned me. I grew up on the streets. Then in an orphanage. I always felt like a failure for not having a voice. My dream was to be heard. That's why I came to the tutorial—so I could have a voice one day. But… I found something better: voices. Friends. And I won't abandon this place.'"

Another step echoed.

Philip stepped up and laid his weapon on the table.

"I came because I… wanted a government job," he said, earning a few nervous laughs. "But I think I found something more valuable here. My friends."

Jonathan didn't hesitate. He pulled every weapon from his inventory and placed them on the table—one by one, until there was nothing left.

"I'm putting all of this down so it's clear: I'll never abandon you. If you take away my swords, I've got knives. If you take the knives, I've got my fists. If you take my fists, I've got my legs. So maybe I'll end up useless… but I won't be alone. I'll be standing beside other failed idiots."

A ripple of laughter and weary smiles spread through the group.

One by one, more weapons were added to the table. Some were placed in silence. Others came with simple but heartfelt words—declarations of belonging, of camaraderie, of defiance. Then Luke stepped forward. Without a word, he removed his kukris from his belt and laid them gently on the table. He didn't need to say anything.

Angelica looked at each of them—the dirty faces, the determined eyes, the calloused hands—and she smiled. "Thank you, everyone. I realized it too late… the Haven isn't a place."

She pulled something from her inventory.

"It's the people."

A soft metallic glow filled the tent as she placed her brother's axe on the table. The symbol of the first generation of that Haven.

"If we survive this. If we manage to stop this invasion… then I'll go with you to the second fortress. And I'll tell you everything I know about this tutorial."

She looked directly at Luke and Allison.

"Everything."

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