Chương 131: Chapter 114 (B2-ch8) – Cracking the Shell

The survivors stared at Cade, then their eyes moved past him toward the new camp he had grown from the cleared ground. The air still held traces of ash and the scent of fresh growth, but it was sharp and clean compared to the rot that had filled the clearing before. One of the men Cade didn't recognize finally found his voice.

"How…" His words came out shaky at first.

"How did you do that?" Cade held back a sigh.

"There'll be time for questions later," he said.

"For now, let's get everyone inside the camp where you can sit down. We'll get a fire going and cook up some food. I'm guessing most of you haven't eaten in a while." That got a few murmurs of agreement. No one looked excited, exactly, but the word food got the survivors moving. Cade turned to Nadean and Sasesh.

"Can you two gather some firewood?"

"Sure," Nadean said immediately. Sasesh just stared at him. The disbelief on his face was almost impressive. Cade could practically see the man trying to reconcile the fact that he had just erased a massacre, grown a fortified camp, and then asked him to fetch firewood. After a few seconds Nadean grabbed Sasesh by the arm and dragged him toward the tree line.

"Come on." Cade watched them go, then looked to Earl.

"Help me with the claw?" Earl grinned.

"Never tasted Lord of the Swamp before. Hope it's good eatin'." They hauled Kharvaxis' severed cannon claw through the opening in the wall and into the new camp. When Cade had grown the place, he had left a circular gap between the huts and shaped thirteen chairs around it. They were rough but sturdy, made from smooth living wood and angled back like Adirondack chairs.

People needed walls and shelter, but they also needed somewhere to sit near a fire and pretend for a few minutes that the world had not completely gone to hell. The survivors filtered in slowly. Most sank into the chairs without argument. Amanda sat with her shoulders hunched and her hands clasped in her lap. Professor Sanders lowered himself down beside her with a weary exhale. Bryan eased himself into a chair with Kranti's help, jaw clenched against the pain. Kyle remained on the stretcher.

Cade looked at him and grimaced.

"I probably should've grown you something flat to lie on," Cade said. Kyle looked up at him. His face was pale, but his eyes were clear enough.

"Chair's fine," he said.

"I've been lying down for the better part of the last few weeks. Sitting up might be nice."

"You sure?"

"Yeah. Just help me over." Cade nodded and stepped beside the stretcher. He slid one arm behind Kyle's shoulders and the other under his remaining leg, then lifted him as carefully as he could. The archer felt like he weighed almost nothing.

"Thanks," Kyle said quietly as he settled into one of the chairs.

"No problem," Cade replied. Nadean and Sasesh returned a few minutes later with armfuls of somewhat dry wood. Sasesh said nothing as he dropped his bundle near the center, but his eyes kept flicking toward the huts and wall like he didn't quite trust that they were real. One of the survivors, a thin woman with short black hair, crouched beside the pile. She held out a hand, whispered something Cade couldn't hear, and a small flame bloomed above her palm.

It spread until a proper fire crackled in the center of the chairs. That was much easier than using a bow drill. Once the fire settled, Cade and Earl went to work on the claw. They cracked sections apart, skewered chunks of meat on sharpened pieces of wood, and roasted them over the flames. People ate slowly at first, but after a few bites, hunger caught up with them. Soon, the air was filled with the sounds of chewing and the crackling of the fire.

Cade didn't need to eat anymore, but being the only person not eating would have looked odd, so he took a chunk for himself. As he bit down, the taste surprised him. It was sweet and juicy, with a clean briny flavor beneath the smoke from the fire. Much better than the giant crab he had eaten the last time he shared a meal with his old group. Do stronger creatures taste better? Or is it just because I haven't actually eaten anything in a couple of weeks?

As they ate, Cade nudged the conversation away from the Tutorial whenever he could. Earl jumped in often, loud and shameless, dragging answers out of people who probably would have stayed silent otherwise. Grief still sat with the survivors. But as the conversation went on and their bellies filled, Cade saw some of the tension leave their bodies. The fire crackled in the center of the circle. The swamp was already hot but something about a fire and freshly cooked food helped soothe the soul.

The survivors still looked rough, but they were a little more present than they had when they first climbed out of Sasesh's tunnel. After a while the conversation faded into a natural lull and Cade leaned forward in his chair.

"A lot of you are probably wondering how I got this strong," Cade said. The quiet shifted and a few people straightened in their seats as if they were eager to learn his secrets. Cade let out a slow breath.

"The truth is, I can't tell you." He raised a hand before anyone could interrupt.

"Not because I don't want to. The System literally won't let me explain some of what I know." His words spurred a few murmurs but before anyone could object, Cade continued.

"I tried explaining it to Earl earlier but for some reason the System blocked my words. I don't know exactly how it works and I don't know how much it'll restrict, so I'm going to try this a different way." Earl leaned back in his chair and crossed his thick arms.

"He ain't lying. That was the weirdest damn conversation I've had all month." A few eyes flicked toward Earl, then back to Cade. Cade nodded.

"The main thing I want to talk about is the System itself. More specifically, how limiting it actually is." The murmurs started again but Cade kept going.

"I've had a lot of time to think about this and my current hypothesis is that the System has Paths it wants people to follow. When all of you received your System Cores, you chose one of those Paths right away. A Class or a Profession. Some kind of direction in this new world." Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings. He looked around the circle.

"But how many of you have questioned that Path since the Tutorial began?" Confusion moved through the group and Earl was the first to speak.

"What do you mean by that?" Cade turned to him.

"Do you mind sharing your Class?" Earl's grin widened and pride welled up in his voice.

"Sure. I chose [Berserking Behemoth]."

"Why did you choose it?"

"Because it sounded awesome." Cade raised an eyebrow.

"Is that really the reason?" Earl sighed.

"No. It's because before the System I had anger issues. Figured if the System was offering me a way to turn that anger into strength, I might as well take it. Better than pretending I wasn't pissed off all the time."

"That makes sense," Cade said.

"And from what I've seen, the Class fits you. You're strong, you like fighting, and you're good at it. But at the same time there's so much more to you than anger and a love of battle." Earl shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

"I've only known you for a few hours," Cade said, "and in that time I've seen you laugh harder than anyone I've ever met. You've been honest with me. You've been kind. You clearly care about the people around you, even if you don't always show it." Earl looked away, suddenly interested in the fire.

"Hell, you even tried to save me from Richard even though I was just some stranger." Several survivors flinched at Richard's name, but Cade pressed on.

"My point is, there's a lot more to you than just your anger. But the System looked at you and gave you some options. One of them happened to turn your anger into a weapon. Of course you chose that one." Earl frowned.

"I chose my Class on my own. The System didn't force me."

"How many options did you have?" Cade asked.

"Three," Earl replied immediately.

"Exactly. Out of all the possible things you could become, out of all the Paths that might exist, the System only gave you three choices." Earl's frown deepened, but he didn't argue. Cade looked back to the group.

"That's what I mean by limiting. I'm not saying the System doesn't give you power. It obviously does. It offers Classes, Professions, skills, and stats. I'm not telling you to ignore those things. But don't mistake the options the System gives you for the only options that exist." He paused for a moment before he continued speaking.

"The System narrows your choices down, then disguises those limitations as your only options. It gives you a menu and makes you feel like you chose your future. But that menu doesn't have everything on it." Cade could feel everyone's attention on him.

"You are more than your Class," he said.

"You are more than your Profession. The System might have given you a starting point, but that doesn't mean it gets to define every step of your Path." He stood up from his chair, his voice carrying more passion than before.

"When you use your skills, don't just think about activating them and letting the System do the work. Pay attention to what is happening inside of you. Feel your Mana. Feel your Stamina. Where does it come from? Where does it go? How does it move and why does it move that way?" A few survivors looked down at their hands as he spoke.

"Question how your skills work," Cade said.

"Study how your resources are used. Understand what is actually happening. If all you ever do is let the System do the work for you, then you'll never truly grow into your potential. If you learn how your power actually works, then maybe you can become something more than what the System had intended for you." For a few moments no one said anything. The fire crackled, sending sparks drifting upward.

A few of the survivors were still too far gone to fully process his words, but others, like Amanda, seemed to be thinking through what he had said. Even Sasesh looked contemplative. Earl rubbed a hand under his chin.

"So is that how you got so strong?" he asked.

"Questioning things? Figuring out how your power works instead of letting the System do everything?" Cade slowly shook his head.

"That is part of it, but there's so much more that the System won't let me say. And some of it I'm still figuring out." Earl studied him for a second, then nodded.

"Fair enough." For the first time since they sat down Krystal spoke. Her voice was quiet, but it carried through the circle all the same.

"Thank you," she said. Cade turned toward her. Krystal met his gaze and swallowed hard. Her fingers fidgeted in her lap for a moment before she continued.

"Thank you for stopping Richard. And for Kharvaxis. If that thing had found us down there, I don't think…" She trailed off before forcing herself to keep going.

"Thank you for putting the bodies to rest. And for this place." Her gaze moved toward the huts and the spiked wall beyond them.

"Thank you for giving us somewhere safe." She hesitated, then added, "And for staying to protect us." Cade felt the awkwardness settle over him. He had let the moment breathe for as long as he could, but he needed to cut that expectation down before it took root too deeply. This group needed hope, but dependence would only hurt them in the long run.

"I'm not staying long," Cade said, and he immediately felt the mood shift.

"I'll stay until morning, but after that, I need to keep moving."

"Why?" one of the men asked from the far side of the fire.

"My Path through this Tutorial is different from yours," Cade said.

"There are other Lords of the Swamp that need to be dealt with. I was hoping to take care of them before the walls come down, but since that happens tomorrow, it probably isn't realistic even if I left right now." A few murmurs moved through the group. Cade continued, keeping his voice steady.

"I know you're scared. After what Richard did, anyone would be. But this is still a Tutorial. It's supposed to teach us what life with the System will look like after we return to Earth. I suggest you take that seriously, because I know I am." He looked around the circle, meeting as many eyes as he could.

"When you're ready, start training. Go out and fight if that's what you choose. But at the very least, learn how to defend yourselves. Learn your skills. Deepen your understanding of them. Study the concepts behind what they do and how they work." His gaze drifted briefly to Amanda, then Sasesh, Nadean, and finally Professor Sanders.

"People like me won't always be around to protect you, so you need to grow stronger to protect yourselves." Cade clapped his hands once, breaking the mood before it could sink too far.

"For now, there are a few things we should handle before it gets dark. We need more firewood and the rest of the claw needs to be cooked before it goes bad. We'll also need to set up lookout rotations. There are enough huts for everyone, but I didn't make any beds, so we'll need people in charge of making sure everyone has somewhere to sleep." Hopefully giving them something to do will help them begin to move forward. Kranti immediately began talking to Sasesh about watch shifts.

A few survivors went to gather more wood. Others moved to work on the other tasks. As the circle broke apart, Cade made his way toward Amanda. She sat near the fire, hands folded in her lap, staring at the flames. When she noticed him approaching, she straightened slightly and opened her mouth. Cade spoke first.

"Before you say anything, I owe you an apology." Amanda blinked in surprise.

"For what?"

"That night when we were on watch," Cade said.

"At the beginning of the Tutorial. You told me about your husband and your kid. About how scared you were for them." Her brow tightened.

"At the time I thought that shifting your focus to something you could control, like your healing magic, would help. But I handled it poorly. It probably came off like I was dismissing your feelings." He met her eyes.

"I'm sorry." Amanda stared at him for a moment, then looked back at the fire.

"Thank you for saying that," she said quietly.

"But I think I understand now. There's nothing I can do for Dan and Steven from here. Nothing except survive long enough to get back to them and hope that they're doing the same, wherever they are." Her hands tightened together.

"The only thing I can control is myself. Worrying about them won't actually change anything." She looked up at him again.

"So… would you mind helping me?" Cade tilted his head.

"With what?"

"I don't know how much you know," Amanda said.

"But maybe you can help me improve my healing magic. From what you said, you seem to understand things differently than the rest of us. Maybe you can give me a new perspective."

"I can try," Cade said.

"Do you have a specific question, or is it more general?" Relief softened her face.

"Both, I guess. I feel like I've hit a wall. Scratches and shallow cuts are easy now, but deeper wounds take a lot of Mana… and then there's Kyle's leg." Her gaze drifted toward the archer sitting nearby.

"I want to restore it but I don't even know where to begin. I had hoped that the System would offer me a new skill for that, but…" Cade followed her gaze, then nodded slowly.

"Alright," he said.

"One thing at a time. I don't have healing magic, but maybe if I watch you work, I'll see something you missed."