“Aaron?” Ryan blinked. “Bloody fucking hell, mate. It is you!”

  The two walked straight toward one another and embraced in a hug, patting each other on the back as they separated.

  “When Talia mentioned you, I couldn’t believe it. She spoke of this guy who kept dying in the trials. Same name and everything. Sounded just like you, but I couldn’t believe it was actually you. And now here you are. What are the bloody odds of that?”

  “Not much, mate. Good to see you, though. After everything I’ve been through.”

  “Tell me about it, mate.”

  Standing awkwardly to the side of the reunion was Talia. Silently smiling.

  “And good to see you, too!” Aaron said, turning to her and pulling her into a massive hug. “How’s it been?”

  “Good,” she squeaked through his arms.

  Releasing her, Aaron stepped back and smiled. “It is bloody good to see you two. What a day!”

  “Ahem,” Julius coughed.

  “Oh, right. Your mate here has been filling me in on the situation.”

  “Has he?” Talia said.

  “How about we take this somewhere private?” Julius said. “We can go over all the details together.”

  Anatasia led everyone back to a private room. There was a big round table in the middle of it, and Julius, his closest people, Talia and hers, alongside Aaron, all took seats at it.

  Aaron felt a little weird about it all. He had just gotten here and was expected to mediate the feud. Diplomacy was not one of his skill sets, but he couldn’t really say “no.” Not until he heard Talia’s side, at least.

  As soon as everyone was seated, Julius launched into a long retelling of how the settlement had gotten to its current situation. Aaron didn’t really care for some of the details on how Julius led his people, but he did note that when he got to the part where they found the settlement, Talia didn’t dispute any of it. She didn’t interrupt him, at least, though he noticed that she didn’t seem too pleased with it either.

  “And that’s where we are,” Julius said as he finished giving his spiel on the situation. “Differences aside, we have come far. That is why so many people are here. They come wandering, find this place, and decide to settle down. I hate to make this about myself, but most of the defenses and building have been as a result of my decisions. Talia and her people have helped, without a doubt. But the people rally around me. It only makes sense that I am to lead.”

  “Is that true?” Aaron asked, turning to Talia.

  ***Talia***

  She didn’t know how to immediately respond to Aaron. The way Julius had made his argument wasn’t necessarily dishonest, and she didn’t want to go throwing accusations around. Some of his descriptions of the events after discovering the obelisk weren’t exactly flattering to her and her people, but they weren’t wrong either. He didn’t go too far either. It reminded her a bit of corporate politics. Nothing he said was necessarily sinister, but it was clear that he wanted the leadership role and wasn’t willing to give it up to her. And unfortunately for her, he had gotten there first, and he had demonstrated himself to be a relatively competent leader, so he had a strong case in his favor.

  But how could she just throw her trust behind him? There were several defenses going up, both shields and automated defenses bought through the System, and their two forces were already each other’s equals. If Julius wasn’t who he claimed to be, it would be too late, and the balance of power would be shifted in his favor. And there was something about him that rubbed her the wrong way, even beyond his sleazy politicking.

  And she couldn’t just leave, either. Not if she wanted to bring the other members of her Tutorial with her, at least. In every direction, there were D-grade beasts with their own territories. If she wanted to claim another obelisk, she would be forced to fight one of them. Even if they came away with a win, it would likely cause losses, something she just couldn’t expose her people to without a very good reason.

  On the other hand, she didn’t want to fight, either. Even with Aaron’s help, supposing he joined them, there would likely be losses on both sides if she were to challenge Julius openly. Not only that, but if his intentions were good, then what would that make her?

  “I’m just… it’s a big decision to make,” she finally said. “Julius has done well to build up defenses and get a lot of things running. I can’t deny that. But I barely know him. How can I just give him control over everything? What if he turns those defenses against me and my people? I’m responsible for these people. Whatever happens is my burden to carry.”

  “And that is completely understandable,” said Julius. “I am more than willing to agree to a contract of sorts to protect you and your people. My goal is a safe, peaceful, and harmonious settlement that can spark the beginning of a new era. Even if you don’t believe in my morals, it’s still in my best interest to keep you, and everyone else, satisfied.”

  “I know…” said Talia. “But it’s not a decision I can make so easily.”

  She glanced over at Aaron, hoping to glean some of his thoughts, but apparently, he mistakenly took her look as a prompt to start speaking.

  “Honestly, I’m not really good at all this stuff,” he said. “And I just got here. Even if you guys want me to mediate, I really can’t make any kind of decision right now.”

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  “Of course,” said Julius, seeming relieved that he had not immediately taken Talia’s side. “We have a few weeks. Why don’t you stay a little while and settle in? See what we have to offer. Get a firsthand look at the situation. Then you’ll be more comfortable making a decision.”

  “Yeah, that sounds good,” said Aaron.

  “And I hope it’s not too presumptuous of me to ask, but would you mind joining me for dinner tomorrow night? I’m sure you’re eager to reunite with your friends, but I’d like to talk with you one-on-one later, if you don’t mind.”

  “Yeah, sure, why not?” said Aaron with a shrug.

  “Excellent,” said Julius, smiling. “Then I won’t keep you any longer. Have fun! Anastasia?”

  Talia felt most of the tension leave her body as Julius and his assistant left the room. She wasn’t sure why yet, but being around the man always put her on edge and left her exhausted. It was the main reason she hadn’t given in. She really didn’t have any explicit reason to distrust him beyond just a gut feeling and a sense of personal responsibility.

  “Well, he’s certainly a character,” commented Aaron.

  “Yeah…”

  “Hey, Aaron, check this out,” said Ryan suddenly, sliding a bottle across the table.

  Aaron caught it deftly and took a look at it. Then, he popped the cork off and smelled it. He grinned when he did, and immediately downed a swig.

  “Damn, that’s good,” he said.

  “I got a brewer Profession,” said Ryan proudly. “Talia mentioned you had weird tastes, so I gave you the strongest I’ve got. Looks like that was the right choice.”

  “Yeah,” said Aaron, looking at the bottle. “You have more?”

  “Loads.”

  “Wanna go grab a drink?” Aaron turned to Talia. “You too. And whoever. I’ve been on the road for weeks now.”

  Talia hesitated, then rolled her shoulders.

  “Yeah, I could use a drink.”

  ***Aaron***

  “It’s not much yet, but I have big plans for this place,” Ryan said, leading the trio as he showed off a partially constructed building beside a river. “Brewery and distillery all in one. I’ll put a bar over there,” he added, pointing out an empty patch of land.

  “Nice. Looks good, mate.”

  “Doesn’t it just? Might have room for a restaurant too, if you’re keen on getting in on this.”

  "Be careful what you wish for,” Talia said.

  “Yeah, nah mate. Thanks for the offer. I won’t be around anywhere near often enough to help with any of that. I might be able to help you with staffing, though. If you’re okay with goblins working here.”

  “Goblins?”

  “Impressive, isn’t it?” Talia interjected. “And Ryan is only one of many who are building businesses. There are so many plans for this place. If it weren’t for our disagreements…”

  “Take it easy, Talia. Relax. Have a drink. We have plenty of time to talk. Your little disagreement isn’t urgent. Besides, we’ve got weeks to figure it out. And with me here, he can’t bully you into anything.”

  Talia brightened at that. “Thanks, Aaron.”

  “You said you wanted it strong, right?” Ryan said, walking back over. “These IPAs will certainly put hair on your chest. Give ‘em a crack.”

  Aaron took a sip, his eyes brightened, and then he gulped it down. “Fuck me, Ryno! That is… that’s actually pretty damn good.”

  “What is that?” Talia winced and gagged after a sip. “That’s not beer, is it?”

  “This one is a bit of a failed experiment. Looks like Aaron likes it, though.”

  “Of course he does…”

  After a couple of drinks, the three of them took to sitting on the grass by the river, sharing their experiences. Ryan had already learned much of the trials from Talia, but Aaron hadn’t fully explained his own experience to Talia yet, and so they both listened intently as he started from the start.

  “Bloody hell. That is one hell of a story. I’m not sure if it’s worse than the Tutorial, though. Those first days… they were rough. It seemed to place you with people from the same area. I saw an old lady who lived down the street from me. Never talked much, but she seemed pleasant enough. Watching a raptor consume her on my second day in the Tutorial sure was a good way to drive home the seriousness of it all.”

  Aaron patted Ryan on the back. “Yeah, must have been rough. Well, at least we made it through it intact. Mostly.”

  “Yeah. It makes you wonder how these stats mess with your brain,” he said, tapping his forehead. “Would I be this well adjusted without them? God only knows how many people I watched die. And yet here I am, looking forward to the future. Looking forward to brewing ales,” he continued, staring off into the water, and the red evening glow reflecting from it.

  “Never thought about it like that.”

  “Hah,” Talia chuckled, and the two of them glanced over at her. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to ruin your moment. It’s just, after everything I’ve seen Aaron do, it’s kind of funny seeing him contemplate his lack of PTSD.”

  Aaron smiled and shook his head. “You’re not wrong. By the way, you both have your first racial evolutions, right?”

  They both nodded.

  “I wonder if that’s what’s doing it. The racial evolutions did apparently make us a better version of ourselves. Maybe it makes us immune to these kinds of ailments.”

  “Yeah, probably. Makes sense to me,” Talia nodded along. “I hope we don’t become robots without any feelings, though.”

  “Doubtful,” Aaron said. “Going by the gods I know.”

  “You know gods?” Ryan lit up.

  “Oh yeah. You wouldn’t have experienced any of that,” Aaron said, and told stories about Oozagh and Yendal.

  “I don’t want to push the point too much,” Aaron changed topics after telling of his duels with the gods. “But I will be meeting Julius tomorrow. What makes you so uneasy about him? I can tell it's not just rational distrust of someone you don’t know well. You seemed… uncomfortable in that meeting.”

  “A lot, honestly,” Talia sighed. “He’s clearly power hungry. Does that disqualify him from the job? I’m not sure. Not to mention the defenses that are going up. This place will be no easy target for attack once they’re completed.”

  Talia slumped, twirling a fingertip around the mouth of her bottle.

  “And?”

  “The thing is, I’m not sure. I don’t want to be seen as making baseless rumors. It’s just that there’s a weirdness to him. Everything feels so rehearsed. Like everything he says has been thought through like some clever plan. Maybe I’m wrong, but I can’t get it out of my head that he’s got some ulterior motives.”

  “I see. And so I’m going to try and drag that out of him? The guy who punches things? Yep, we’re doomed.”

  “Maybe. But I do have one idea,” Talia said, looking up. “There’s a rather concerning D-grade beast not far from us. It’s a giant beaver, and it's damming up one of the rivers. Being a D-grade is bad enough, but we’re becoming increasingly worried that the massive dam it's building could end up flooding the settlement. Getting rid of it is one of the few things we agree on, and we’ve been planning a hunting party.”

  “A hunting party?”

  “Yes. I was going to join a couple of Julius’ elites. But maybe you could take my place. I doubt they’ll open up to me. But who knows? You’re new here. Maybe they’ll be looser-lipped around you? It might at least be worth a try. I doubt you’ll get a straight answer from Julius.”

  Talia had him at D-grade beast. All this talk of politics had made Aaron want to go hunting more than ever before. And if taking this beast out could provide additional benefits, then all the better.

  “I’m in!”

  “Well, that was easy.”

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