CHAPTER 74: HUMAN SETTLEMENT

The man felt a hard weapon digging deep into his neck.

Although the knife was not sharp, the speed at which the man fell was enough to make up for its dullness.

It pierced through his neck and emerged from the other side.

The man was still struggling between life and death when a sword fell upon him. His head rolled, and a fountain of blood erupted from his severed neck.

A screen appeared before Harry.

[+40,000 Exp]

[Exp: 136400/417600]

The man had already been pushed beyond his limits. Jessie had dealt significant damage to both his body and mind. He was in a rush to kill Harry so he could go and assist his friend.

However, Harry knew that by the time the man even thought of helping, his friend would already be dead. Jessie was no joke. The only way to survive against her was to stay in cover.

Harry looked at the corpse. He felt strange—neither bad nor good. He didn’t regret killing the man, nor did he feel satisfaction. There was only one emotion left behind:

"Sadness."

The sadness of seeing a human degrade himself to such a degree that he wouldn’t hesitate to kill his own kind.

Harry stood up and dragged himself toward Sephie.

She was about to finish off another man with her spear when Jessie stopped her.

"Wait, we need answers," Jessie said, kicking the man before binding him with her whip sword.

"Arghh," the man winced in pain. His body was riddled with wounds, several holes piercing through his flesh.

Jessie froze the injured areas to slow the man’s inevitable death. She also offered the same treatment to Harry, but he declined. His skill was already at work, and freezing the wounds might interfere with his healing ability.

"I hope you have a reason for attacking us," Jessie demanded.

The man shivered from the pain.

He had questions of his own—how had they evaded the first attack? Why were they prepared for an ambush? He had spent so much time earning their trust, luring them here.

But he knew he wouldn’t get answers.

So, he started speaking instead.

"Argh... we found out that..." The man gasped for breath. "Our ranking improves when... one of our members dies."

The three glanced at their badges.

1.09L.

The number had dwindled by about a hundred in the past four hours.

Harry had already found it peculiar—how could all of them have the same rank? But now, he understood.

The number wasn’t a rank. It was the number of students still alive on the planet.

Jessie and Sephie’s reactions were strange. At first, they were shocked. But the speed at which they accepted the news was astonishing.

Harry clicked his tongue. How naïve he had been. Did he really have a reason to trust these two girls? Did he even know them?

Yet, for some reason, he still felt confident in his judgment.

And that was the most dangerous part—he was trusting his heart, his emotions. But were they reliable?

Shaking off those thoughts, Harry took a deep breath.

No. These doubts arose only after killing that man.

It was his first time taking a human life. He hadn’t expected to ponder morality.

But he had already left regret behind in his life.

He regretted nothing—not killing that man, not trusting these two girls.

Jessie and Sephie had already finished their interrogation.

The whip sword tightened around the captive, cutting deeper into his flesh. The ice melted from his wounds.

Harry could have used his blood element to finish him off and earn experience points. But he didn’t want to.

There was no logic behind it—just a simple resolve.

He didn’t want to.

"He told us about a human shelter 50 kilometers from here. We should head there," Jessie said, then added, "Remember, don’t speak of what happened here."

Harry glanced at the corpses. He felt nothing toward the people they once were.

They deserved it.

Shaking his head, he followed the girls.

The jungle wasn’t particularly dense, nor was it large enough to house dangerous beasts.

They encountered some small threats but nothing major.

There were also several rich energy herbs along the way. Harry was pretty sure he couldn’t use them, but collecting them for his friends wouldn’t hurt.

His confidence in the herbs grew when he saw the girls’ reactions. Jessie, in particular, was almost frantic—sweeping up every last leaf as if she was afraid to leave even a single one behind.

As they journeyed, the landscape kept shifting. Some parts of the jungle were bright with sunlight, while others were cloaked in darkness.

Eventually, they emerged from the jungle, only to be met with yet another obstacle—a vast mountain range.

Harry sighed and kept walking.

His wounds had healed to some extent, but that was the hard part. Rapid healing came with intense pain.

Their journey halted when they reached a massive wall made of mud, stone, and wood.

Students stood in front of a large wooden gate. Some were entering, while others were heading out into the wilderness.

A long queue of students stretched toward the entrance.

"State your name and level. Pay with beast crystals or herbs as an entry fee," a guard announced.

Harry narrowed his eyes at the words.

Already?

He sighed.

Humans always find a way to turn catastrophe into opportunity.

Harry joined the queue. It was long, and the wait was even longer.

Some students resisted paying the fee, but those collecting the payments didn’t need to lift a finger—troublemakers were promptly kicked out of line by the other students.

Many strong or wealthy students were willing to pay for shelter and food.

But some resisted because they simply couldn’t afford the price.

The fee wasn’t just any beast crystal—it had to be from a Level 5 Elemental Master beast or higher.

Harry was annoyed. Even he wasn’t sure if he could obtain such a crystal alone.

His rational mind told him that this wasn’t really about the crystals—it was about cultivation resources.

The two students at the gate were accepting even lower-level resources as payment. The high-tier crystal requirement was merely a tactic to force students to offer up whatever valuables they had.

After an hour, it was finally their turn.