Chapter 49: Chapter 48: Parting is such Sweet Sorrow…?

“Wait. I totally forgot about that, what the fuck man?!” Drake said, wincing from his side.

Natto looked up worried, but Drake quickly gave her a reassuring look to pacify her.

Bear started explaining, sitting down himself, a safe distance from Natto, “I know you’ve said that you haven’t come in contact with any of them, so I’m going to give you the bulk of it.

Bear began writing down in the dirt, “There are around 3,000 people left here right?” Bear asked rhetorically, “Around half of those are in Shigure’s camp. So what’s going on with the other half?” Bear wrote out 1,500 and then a line separating it from the next number.

“Of the remaining 1,500 or so, 1,000 of them are in scattered groups or doing who knows what, either in pairs or alone. Honestly I couldn’t say for certain because this part is just conjecture on my part based on what I know of the two largest groups,” Bear said, scratching the side of his beard awkwardly.

“You said two groups, and Shigure’s is one so who’s the other?” Drake asked, his eyes pointed, hoping what he assumed was wrong.

“I’m sure you already know,” Bear said, giving an even gaze.

Fuck, are that many people really that despicable? Drake thought.

Bear nodded at Drake, his thoughts clear on his face.

“The remaining 500 consist of a larger group that Shigure’s group is aware of. They aren’t exact numbers but they’re assuming it's around 200 or so people. And they are out for blood. The remaining 300 are just as hungry for TP and the like but are scattered about,” Bear explained his jaw tightening.

“This is where most of the problems lie,” Bear continued, holding up three fingers, “There are three things that can kill you in the tutorial. Lack of food, monsters and-”

“People…” Drake said, finishing Bear’s thought.

Bear nodded and resumed his explanation, “For what it’s worth, finding food was the hardest of the three in the beginning, but with the wildlife ranking up as well as the monsters, beasts yield far more food than before and it’s crazy more nutritious. There are also monsters that you can eat as well. Thankfully, so far most of the monsters outside the singular strong ones have not been a problem for most groups, especially the main ones that have healers,” Bear said.

That’s good. Drake thought absently.

“The only problem is I’m not sure how much longer that is going to last,” Bear added.

“What do you mean?” Drake asked genuinely unaware.

“I know you're a smart guy Shot, think back a bit to the monsters you've killed, and what the tutorial has been slowly doing in the background,” Bear asked, crossing his arms to wait, “Do you notice anything?”

Confusion quickly painted Drake’s face as he thought back to when he killed the first ape. Then went through a marathon of going over every fight he had ever had, slowly chewing on the details.

As he did, Theodore slid down and joined them in the small makeshift circle they created, choosing to just sit quietly as he listened in.

After a minute of silence and Drake scrunching his face thoughtfully, he started to notice what Bear was talking about. But before he could answer Natto became impatient and spoke first.

“The monsters are getting stronger, and more specialized just like the people are,” she mused looking up, “When you first started they were general fighters and then placed into more singular roles. Certainly you remember the last fight, where the Goblins had even more specific roles?”

Drake nodded, and Bear voiced his agreement, “Maybe you aren’t the brains of the outfit Shot, I think the little lady might be the one running the show.”

Natto looked back at Bear, her eyes thin lines. Then she spat at his feet, turning her head and scoffing.

Drake laughed wearily, not sure how he was going to mend relations between the two.

“Yeah, maybe so. But what she said is true,” Drake agreed.

Bear nodded, eyeing the small splotch of venomous spit in front of him, “Yeah…” he coughed, “So that is the biggest ticking time bomb for Shigure’s group and any of the smaller ones out there who may be ill equipped to deal with it.”

“How would groups larger than my liege have trouble with mere monsters?” Theodore chimed in.

Drake had wondered the same thing. They had more people and regular classes were more specific, each having a designated role so wouldn’t it make sense they were more precise in how they would be able to deal with the monsters?

“Normally you would think that,” Bear agreed, “But that’s only if we're talking from a numbers point of view. Also if we are only talking about it from a game perspective or I suppose a tabletop campaign.”

Bear held up three fingers again to aid his explanation, ”Let’s say that there is a group of three people, a front liner, a mid/long range fighter, and a healer. Now imagine they are fighting a group of five monsters. I would say five is pretty average out there now. How do you think they deal with it?” Bear asked, looking at Drake.

“Well obviously the front liner blocks and defends while the ranged damage kills off the group while the healer keeps the front liner alive,” Drake said as if it was painfully obvious.

Bear nodded, “Yeah, normally that seems like the best option. If it were a game,” Bear interjected, “This is real life now. Real life and death. These monsters aren’t just on your screen anymore, they live, breathe, and fight to their last breath just like us. Think back to your first fight, how desperate were you?”

“Ok yeah, pretty desperate, but we're two weeks in, everyone should have gone through that by now,” Drake said, his brow raised.

This time Bear shook his head, “Remember what I said about us being the exception? Most people don’t want to fight, it hurts, it’s scary, and more than not people have seen others die in front of them. What kind of trauma do you think that brings people who were just normal nine to fivers a few days ago?”

Drake grimaced.

“Exactly. Now think back to the scenario. If that front line fighter has seen people die just from even numbers, what is going to happen if he sees they are outnumbered? He’s going to shit himself and panic, leaving the other two behind him open to being mauled to death. He goes down, and the formation that should have been an easy victory falls apart,” Bear explained.

“Now this is the actual norm. Shigure’s group and his coalition have survived this far by having massive numbers versus the monsters with a few elites, and now that they have a base of operations they can hole up. But only a handful of them are actually getting stronger. Most of the people in that outpost are just trying to survive, and are scared. So what is going to happen when the monsters start to outstrip the people who are actually fighting?”

Drake’s expression turned even darker, “Why are you telling me this?”

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“I’ll get to that, just stay with me for a bit longer,” Bear said, his hands moving in a passive manner, “This all comes back around to the third problem. Now that the monsters are getting stronger and roaming in larger groups, the people looking to kill others for TP and whatever else is going on in their sadistic minds are picking off more and more groups going out, perpetuating the problem of people not getting stronger.”

Drake, curious, asked again, “Again what does this have to do with me. I don’t understand why you're telling me this. Are you asking me to help them, after you just wiped the floor with me?”

Bear shook his head, “No, I’m saying all of this to tell you the situation, and that I’m going to be going there to deal with it,”

Drake recoiled in confusion, “Why?”

“I’m plenty strong, and the monsters around right now aren’t strong enough to pose a problem. And for my own personal morals it doesn't sit right with me to let those people die a slow death they don’t even know is coming or many of them refuse to accept,” Bear explained, “In truth I’ve been going around looking for other people before it gets real bad out here, and I just happened to follow your trail thinking it was someone very strong. You can guess how surprised and glad it was actually you.”

Drake gave a half grin at that.

“So I want to ask something of you. If you come across anyone who isn’t a psycho I want you to point them in Shigure’s direction, even better if you escort them there like you said, bigger the group stronger we are,” Bear smiled.

Natto scoffed, “Uhhh, ape’s strong together.”

Drake laughed, “She’s not wrong I guess. But even if it’s a request from you, what’s in it for me?”

Bear gave the largest grin yet, “This,” Bear held out a colorful iridescent stone, and dropped it into Drake’s hand.

[Skill Stone: Confluence [Rare]

[Unlocks Random skill from the Confluence Tree]

[Requirement: Open Skill Slot and at least 1 Mage Main Tree, or Sub-tree Unlocked]

Drake unconsciously drooled staring at the stone.

“How did you get this?” Drake asked.

“I managed to trade for it at Shigure’s. Helping people out goes a long way, who’d have guessed?” Bear chuckle, “The last couple things. Shigure’s place is south of here, there’s a big flag placed on a hill near it, can’t miss it. As for the, let’s call them PKers, keep your ears open, almost all of them have some sort of stealth skill, and the ones that don’t are specialized for power. Also there’s an easy way to spot a PKer on the ladder, and it’s how we know who is one. Take a look at my TP.”

Drake gave him a questioning gaze, but did what Bear asked, opening the TP Ladder.

[Tutorial Point Ladder]

[Rank 1: Shot 664,500 TP]

[Rank 2: Bear 465,355 TP]

Drake looked up still confused, “I don’t get it.”

“It’s the ‘50’. There’s no monster or quest in the tutorial that we know of that gives less than 10 TP. The only way to get it is by killing another participant…” Bear said, his voice becoming gruff, then a whisper.

Bear stood up and reached to grasp Drake’s shoulder, his grip firm, “I mean this when I say it this time. After last night, you have earned my respect. So don’t die to those sick bastards out there gunning for you man, no matter what I want to have a good meal again next time we meet, aight?”

Bear laughed and placed another two health potions at Drake’s feet, giving a sidelong glance at Natto and Theodore, before hopping to the top of the crater.

A thought passed Drake’s mind when he saw the large man’s back, the claymore that nearly killed him, silent in between his shoulders.

“Hey Bjorn?” Drake said.

Bear turned, “Yeah?”

“Where’d you get all these potions?”

Bear scratched his cheek, ”I like flowers… so I picked herbalist for my first profession, then it only made sense to go with alchemy afterwards….” his ears turning a shade of red, just like his hair.

Drake looked down to see a snickering Natto, “The oaf likes pretty things…..” she whispered, uncontrollable giggling forcing her to lean further into Drake to hide her head.

---

Outside the wall of the outpost, a man in a black cloak stayed hidden amongst the trees.

“Why did I have to get stuck with watching the fucking monster…” the man said.

It was unfortunate but the group had forced their best stealth user to follow the biggest problem for them in the tutorial thus far.

Kohoo, the 5th participant on the TP Ladder, and top ten on the level ladder, watched as the large gate of the outpost swing open revealing his target.

Bear walked casually from the open gateway as it closed behind him. A wide sinister grin taking hold of Kohoo’s maw.

“Now just what kind of goodies are inside there I wonder…?