Rue wondered if it was normal for a night to be so bright. Countless stars sparkled across the clear sky. It was dark, yet not at the same time. The moon shone its pale light across the Arbeau’s red seating, which stretched like a tiered mountain, bathing them in a pale blood color.

  Stepping into the ninth-tier seating, Rue appreciated the sublime view of the grass illuminated by the silver moonlight. These seats must have cost quite a lot. Rue’s eyes drifted from the swaying grass to the Noble-rat standing with his Tall-rats in a circle around him, wielding their daggers, gleaming with deadly jade.

  The night wind blasted around him in a cold draft, blowing parts of his bandage loose. His ruined doctor’s scrubs flapped like a flag; his doctor’s coat ruffled as he crossed down into the eighth-tier with countless eyes no doubt on him.

  This wind could be troublesome. Luckily, a plan was already prepared for it--If it came to a fight, which he would try his darn hardest to prevent.

  A slosh of water bubbled over right in the middle of the Arbeau. A small typhoon of acid danced across the noble’s left palm as he raised it. In his right hand was an acid-coated, long, thin sword, gripped tightly.

  The typhoon of acid cascaded over into six figures of Hydra, rising high. Their heads swirled. Each of them was much bigger than the Hydra that had targeted him much earlier.

  The Hydras hung in the air, their base held by the Noble-rat.

  “Are you ready to leave this place, human? As you can see, I’m surrounded by a dozen of my warriors!”

  The Tall-rats snapped into position, each of them facing Rue, and some even began encroaching on the first tier.

  Rue tapped his microphone and spoke. “Greetings, I do not appreciate you attacking me, as I tried to consider the option you presented last time.”

  The Noble-rat took a cone-shaped item from the Tall-rat and growled right into the megaphone. “Do you take me for a fool, human?”

  “Hardly.”

  “Well, we can put that behind us; you can just leave this place unharmed. Now.”

  The Noble-rat’s voice exerted itself into what he must have thought was a negotiation voice, but it came out as a forced grumble.

  “Are you forgetting something here? How am I supposed to know you will honor our agreement?”

  “You don’t!” The rat snapped.

  “Then we have a problem.”

  “Think about it, human. Would I fight an integrator rather than allying myself? I—Uln, the head of Zvoruk’s clan, will swear an Oath of Blight upon you. Who are you?”

  “James Lisbon.”

  “Fine, this is the best I could give you. An oath, made with all courtesy and honesty, forged right above my own Corroded throne and watched by my dear warriors. Must you ask for more from me? I have given a lot to be here, human! To take the risk of defying the universe! Surely a small part of you will cheer for me. Can you imagine it, human? I will be one of the first Blight Rats to have a nest on the Last World. What will my nest encroach? What kind of treasure? With time, what would Blight Property or Acidic Property give birth to, thanks to the Mana-heavy atmosphere of the Last World? What kind of Nest will be born? And you, James Lisbon, will be the first human to undergo a class evolution directly from my nest. A special class, surely, with the Last World aspect that will be inserted into our nest! Not just class! Items too, see this sword? This ring? All of this can be yours! And it will be even better when I get an Acid lab going in my nest!”

  “That indeed sounds delightful,” Rue said, and in all honesty, he meant it. He was still unsure about what Nest Uln talked about, but just the potential he would be able to grasp.

  But this came with a heavy price.

  “This will mean I will go against the System that sent me here to help start a new tutorial.”

  “Ah, I see. I do wonder why you are here, especially since the Tutorial just started not too long ago, and it shouldn’t have reached the final stage yet. You finished early then…” Uln paused, like a thought suddenly swirled inside the rat’s head. “Now, I want you even more, James Lisbon. You’re… special.”

  “I would appreciate it if you did not change the topic.”

  “I’m not. Now let's make it clear. It was a quest is it?”

  “It is.”

  “Then the System did not twist your hand. Sure, it would like to start the new Tutorial, but it will not punish you if you fail. A quest is an… option. If the System wants, it can force people by myriads of methods, such as sending their Watcher. But, believe it or not, the System is not all-powerful. Why do you think it created the Last Tutorial?”

  Before Rue could say anything, Uln answered himself.

  “To combat the Darkling! To provide bastions for the rest of the universe. These bastions will be created by you, the last Integrator! For the whole wide universe. You will complete the World quest and invite the whole wide universe to the event that will be called the Great Migration. From then on, we will build and build and strengthen everyone until the Darkling eventually encroaches. The System cannot just get rid of the Darkling! It’s not an all-being. The quest you were given is merely an option.”

  Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  “Is that why you’re here?” Rue asked. “To try your luck? To ride out into the Last World when this planet eventually joins as one?”

  “Of course. Not just me, but other clans and hot-blooded young clan heads are also here.”

  Roh had mentioned that what they’d been doing by trying to breach the system was foolish. That the System would just kick them out. However, Rue did not find them foolish; if anything, he admired them quite a bit. To refuse the way of the world and challenge it. It was so admirable, like—like they were challenging heaven itself.

  “Tell me, do other… beings also do this?”

  “Of course! Countless planets are being invaded as we speak. This planet of yours? The Mermans and Skytorps are already inside your atmosphere. I imagine a similar quest already happening if you know anyone in the same condition as you. Not just them, other blight rats are also here, human.”

  Others…

  Paxwell and Ilyrin, were they here? On the other side of the world. Rue tipped his head up, wondering if they would accept the quest. Paxwell probably would, but Ilyrin would skip over it.

  “Ah, I see, so there is another Integrator with you as you complete your stage,” Uln spoke, not hiding his naughty tone.

  “I will propose to you something. If I let you live—”

  “Let me live? I do appreciate your confidence as someone who will be my ally. But, let’s keep things in… reality here.”

  “If,” Rue continued. “Will you let me plant the System Tree down there?”

  “The System Tree… That's what your quest is! How… Oh, they must be so desperate. The answer to your question is no! The System Tree will erect a barrier that will encompass this whole stadium to protect the new Integrator, and I have chosen this place to be my castle!”

  “So it will kick you out?” Rue grinned.

  That was sure nice to know.

  “Fine then, let’s say that I choose somewhere else to plant it. Will I get your cooperation to protect it and the human? My whole quest is to prevent humans from dying. I can’t do anything if the Tutorial monster kills them, but I need to prevent them from dying from the Blight Rats. If you make this deal with me, then this will finish my quest quite nicely. Or even, now that I think about it. You can supply the humans to fight the Tutorial monster. This will earn you more Integrators as allies, don’t you think?”

  “That…” Uln looked like he was about to reject it outright, but then he hesitated.

  The thought of the Blight rats supplying the humans just occurred to Rue, and yes, this could work. Not just Uln’s clan, if he could get the other clans to work with him also…

  “This sounds interesting.”

  Rue smiled. He could secure an item from the Blight rat and complete the tutorial in one go. Well, Rue could not be sure that Uln would survive this planet-mashing by the System, but if he just worked with him until the Humans were strong enough to—that would solve all Rue's problems.

  “But, alas, I will need blood and bodies of humans, so we can have a full stomach and make our inside into acids. Tell me, human, what kind of replacement is there?”

  “That's for you to figure out. Humans will be off limits once we make this deal. Also, you seem to forget something.”

  “And that is?”

  “The System Shield. Wouldn’t you want to experiment on it once the tree’s shield is enacted?”

  No replies came from Uln, and Rue knew he had hit the jackpot.

  “Now,” Rue spread his arms wide. “Wouldn’t it be wiser if we hid the tree inside this stadium so no other Blight Rat could see it?” He tested another theory.

  “The humans will do that? Keep the tree’s existence out of the ears of other Blight rats?”

  So, they were in conflict. That was not necessarily good news. If it were possible, Rue would rather have all of them work together.

  “If you spare them, then yes.”

  “Are you the human representative?”

  “No, I’m not.”

  “Then let me speak to one!”

  --

  Rue entered the Arbeau’s interior victorious, but it appears the humans did not exactly know what to think.

  Nervous glances were directed at him as he walked through the spiral hallway. Awaiting each seating entry was a group of hundreds, their makeshift rat skin shields ready on both hands—a suicide charge if necessary.

  “Where is Fruer?” he asked a teenage boy who shifted uncomfortably.

  “I will call him, lad,” a familiar voice said. Ben tapped his radio. “Old Fruer, come up here! Things have taken a turn, as you heard.”

  After a response came, Ben gave Rue a toothy smile.

  “That's what I’m talking about, lad! No need for a suicide charge! Now, we get to keep the stadium.”

  The man offered him a fist bump, and Rue shrugged and bumped his fist.

  “I disagree on this!” someone shouted.

  Rue turned to see Roland, the fat man from Ein’s team, saunter in with a dozen behind him.

  Tear-wetted were their eyes, and for some reason, their anger was directed at Rue.

  “They killed my wife and daughter! Their bodies are in one of those mounds being eaten by them! You think I could make peace with these savages!?”

  Cries of anger followed, and Ben tried to push Rue back, putting his body forward.

  Rue battled a sigh and lightly pushed Ben off. He faced the angry crowd that grew by the minute.

  What a bother.

  “I’m not stopping you if you want to go there and charge at them,” Rue said. “But, let's be honest here. The only way for you to get revenge on them is by accepting this power and eventually fighting them.”

  “I will not listen to any of this… Especially after you punched Perez right in his—”

  “You, stand down,” a cold, authoritative voice cut Roland off.

  Fruer arrived with Ein just behind him, and his staff, who each wore fresh military suits, and they held a shield with a Vermin dagger. They were meant to be the second strike team; Rue was meant to be the first.

  They would stand no chance, sure, but the plan was to close Arbeau’s rooftop to blind the Noble-rats and fire flares straight at the middle so Rue could hunt Uln down.

  The plan was a sound one. The Tall-rat would have a hard time hunting him with the sheer amount of bodies that would charge in, but the casualties would be devastating.

  This way, they could save a lot of people.

  “James Lisbon, let's go down and seal this deal,” Fruer said, turning to enter Arbeau’s court seating.

  “Sir! Fruer!” Roland raised a complaint.

  “Silence,” Fruer cut him off. “I understand if any of you find this hard. But, you can always leave or try to get stronger so you can bend the world around you.”

  That left them with silence. Rue went out with Fruer and Ein, the three of them descended straight toward the court. Ein’s breath quickened as they neared the second tier of seating with a dozen Tall-rats still holding their Vermin Daggers—awaiting them with a hungry glint in their eyes.

  “By the way,” Rue said to Ein. “You’re welcome, I just saved your proposal wedding, didn’t I?”

  “How so?” Ein fell open.

  Rue chuckled. “He almost withdrew his blessing. Now, you'd better do the deed before you speak to him again.”

  “I will keep that in mind,” Ein said, a tug of a smile colored his lips.

  “Come on then,” Fruer said, stepping into the court, and they went straight into the mountain of bodies and the blight rat responsible for it.

  Rue opened his left palm, and the System seed shone with a stilled golden gleam.

  He could do this now.

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