As Luke wandered through the store lost in thought, his sister came sprinting toward him.

  “Big bro!” she called, grabbing his hand. “Look at the TVs, look at the movie! You have to go to the theater with me!”

  “Yes, Luke. You absolutely have to take her to the theater,” Artemis chimed in.

  Clara appeared behind them. “Don’t bother your brother. For him, a supermarket must feel like a trip to the zoo right now.”

  “But I wanted to show him the movie on the TV,” Lillian protested, her lips forming a dramatic pout.

  “She’s not bothering me,” Luke said, gently brushing a hand over her hair. “Honestly, the thing I want most is to watch a ton of movies with her.”

  “You should’ve stayed home, Luke. You didn’t need to come with us,” Clara murmured, concern slipping into her voice.

  Luke walked toward the cart. “I owe you both a whole year of grocery trips.”

  “Don’t joke about things like that,” Clara scolded softly.

  “I’m tired of sitting around at home. Why don’t we all go out for dinner somewhere? A real family outing.”

  He wanted to tell them they were rich now. But he wanted the moment to be right.

  “A restaurant?” Clara raised an eyebrow. “That sounds nice. I’ll talk to your father when we get home.”

  Luke felt a quiet warmth at her reaction. It was clear they still carried some trauma about letting him out of their sight. When he tried to take the trash out earlier in the week, Martin had bolted after him insisting he’d do it instead. And whenever Luke stayed in his room too long, Clara eventually appeared at the door to check on him. Slowly, though, they were adjusting. The wound of his year-long disappearance would take time to heal.

  Clara reclaimed the cart and began pushing it toward the next aisle.

  Luke crouched down, scooped Lillian into his arms, and asked, “Want to see something fun?”

  “I do!” she answered, though without much enthusiasm.

  He peeked down the aisle to make sure it was empty, then activated Basic Dark Dash. His body surged forward in a swift burst of motion.

  A few meters later, he stopped and looked at her. “Fun?”

  “Fun!” she squealed. “Again!”

  He suspected he was creating a tiny monster who would beg him for this trick forever, but he didn’t mind. He zipped back and forth down the aisle with short bursts of speed, Lillian laughing wildly in his arms.

  “Hey, human,” Franky’s voice called after a moment. “What are you doing?”

  The wyvern hatchling was perched inside one of those hamster-style backpacks strapped to Lillian’s back.

  Luke stopped, gently set his sister down, and she wobbled in place, still giggling from the motion.

  “I’m playing,” he told Franky.

  “Why play with the tiny rat-human? Shouldn’t you send her to hunt something dangerous to prove her worth to the family?”

  “What?” Luke blinked, baffled. “No. Absolutely not. What kind of insane family does that?”

  Franky gave no answer and retreated deeper into the backpack. His sister tugged his hand again and dragged him toward another section of the store.

  Maybe children have infinite stamina, he thought, amused by the possibility.

  They reached an aisle filled with little girls’ clothing.

  “Look, brother, there are ribbons for your little friend. Can I put one on him?” Lillian held up a pink bow with the kind of excitement that spelled disaster for any creature under ten pounds.

  “Don’t let her touch me, human,” Franky hissed as he leapt out of the backpack.

  “Come here, please,” Lillian coaxed. “You’re really cute.”

  “I am not cute! I am a devourer of monsters! I am evil! The opposite of cute!” Franky declared.

  That only made Lillian laugh. Apparently, hearing a tiny wyvern with a deep voice threaten doom was the funniest thing she had ever experienced.

  “At your age I had already devoured many magical beasts. You are a weak human mouse,” Franky grumbled at her. “But I respect you for displaying the tiny Barbie corpses. You must work your way up to bigger prey.”

  Luke kept walking through the store until they spotted Clara chatting with a couple.

  As soon as he approached, Clara turned toward them, her expression brightening. “This is my son. He made it back home.”

  “The missing boy?” the woman asked, eyes widening as she looked at Luke. “I can’t believe you’re alive. Truly a miracle. My neighbor’s son went through the same thing a few years ago and… he never came back from the tutorial.”

  The man stepped forward and offered his hand. “You’ve done a great service to our country by choosing to become an American system-user. It’s something to be proud of.”

  He wore a shirt with Serena’s face printed across the front.

  “Thank you,” Luke replied.

  Even though there were no major wars anymore, the truth was simple: the first line of defense for any nation was still its system-users. That was why they were treated as special citizens. Luke, now that he carried a system, had duties—but also privileges. He was considered almost a law enforcement officer. He could kill or neutralize criminals legally, much like the heroes in movies. System-users were granted that freedom.

  “M-my son is just a normal person,” Clara said quickly. “He doesn’t do anything dangerous.”

  ***

  A few days passed, and Luke slowly slipped back into something resembling his old routine. The only difference now was that he could use a handful of skills to solve half the problems that used to annoy him.

  “I don’t feel as cold as before, human,” Franky commented.

  Luke was taking the trash outside.

  “Whatever you changed inside me, my lungs must heat me now,” the wyvern added, sounding oddly proud of himself.

  A shout sliced through the quiet street.

  “The demon! The demon has returned!”

  Luke turned toward the voice. His neighbor, Rosa, who had been sitting on a chair on her porch, lurched to her feet.

  You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

  “Hello to you too, Rosa,” he said dryly.

  She clutched a crucifix in one shaking hand. “I watered my entire yard with holy water, devil. You can’t step here now.”

  “You watered your lawn with holy water?” Luke blinked. “Also, I’m not the devil, Rosa. And even if I were, I’m pretty sure I could just float over the grass.”

  “Yes, you are! You’re a demon!” she insisted, pointing the crucifix like she expected it to fire bullets. “I’ve heard the stories. The family’s son dies, they bury him, and he comes back possessed.”

  “That’s not Pet Sematary, Rosa. And my coffin was symbolic. There was nothing in it.”

  “Don’t try to deceive me!”

  Franky suddenly spat a small fireball upward, which exploded with a soft pop.

  “I knew it! The devil wants my soul!” Rosa shrieked, running back into her house.

  Franky proudly held up the charred remains of a bird. “I can hunt my own food now.”

  ***

  One morning, Luke was tinkering with the bracelet that gave him access to the pocket dimension greenhouse. His room was a mess of soil bags and gardening tools. Inside the dimension, everything shrank the moment it entered, allowing him to rearrange it from the outside with a single gesture. It made certain tasks, like spreading soil or watering rows of seedlings, much easier.

  He was entirely focused on growing plants used for healing potions. Once he returned to his journey in New World, he would need plenty of them if he wanted to keep giving blood to Charlie.

  “How’s Charlie doing, Angie?”

  She was the only one of the two he spoke to regularly.

  “She is sleeping deeply, my lord,” Angie answered in his thoughts.

  It was the only way Charlie didn’t burn through Blood Energy, hibernating inside his soul. If she stayed awake like Angie, she would consume it nonstop.

  Luke had done some research and learned that Sirius was a fairly quiet city in New World. Eleanor had helped with that part, and she promised to dig up more information for him.

  Too bad I can’t go looking for vampire related material. That would draw way too much attention.

  “Luke, can I use your computer?” Artemis asked.

  “Planning to watch a movie?”

  “Yes.”

  Sometimes he removed the necklace and left it in the living room or his bedroom so she could watch TV. Artemis enjoyed that far too much.

  “And what movie is it?”

  “Porn.”

  Luke turned off the computer monitor instantly.

  “What was that for, man?”

  “You’re grounded. No TV or video games for a week.”

  “What? Why?” she protested. “I only wanted to experience the wonders of something like that on a 4K screen, that’s all!”

  ***

  Luke was walking down the street with Lillian as she learned to ride her bike without training wheels.

  “Look, big bro! I’m doing it by myself,” she announced proudly.

  Luke sat on the curb, keeping a relaxed eye on her.

  “Your town is pretty peaceful,” Artemis mused.

  “Sometimes tourists think there are clowns hiding in the sewers with red balloons, but other than that it’s quiet,” he said.

  Lillian coasted to a stop beside him. “I forgot my water bottle. It’s in my room.”

  “I’ll get it for you,” Luke replied, pointing his hand toward the ground.

  [Teleportation Circle 2 activated]

  A blue circle shimmered to life beneath him, and Luke stepped into it.

  [Teleportation Pentagram activated]

  He appeared in his bedroom.

  [-1000 Mana Points]

  [Mana Points (MP): 4600/5600]

  A thousand mana per use. Steep, but manageable. Luke grabbed the bottle, then stepped onto the circle in his room.

  [Teleportation Pentagram activated]

  A blink later, he was back outside.

  [-1000 Mana Points]

  [Mana Points (MP): 3600/5600]

  “You’re so cool, big bro,” Lillian said, eyes wide. “I want to do that too!”

  She hopped onto the blue circle on the pavement, but nothing happened. Only Luke could use it, and he couldn’t take anyone with him.

  He pointed his hand toward the ground again, dispelling the circle in an instant. If he wanted to place a teleportation circle somewhere new, both existing ones vanished automatically. There was no way to remove just one.

  Clara stepped out onto the porch. “Are you two doing all right?”

  “Mom, my brother is amazing! He can appear and disappear with powers!” Lillian cried.

  “Of course, sweetheart. Absolutely,” Clara replied, clearly not believing a word.

  ***

  Luke was at his brother’s apartment, sitting with him in the living room.

  “So you can teleport?” Noah asked, somewhere between impressed and mildly terrified.

  “Sort of. I can use it around the neighborhood, but I haven’t tested it much. I can’t exactly leave a glowing blue pentagram on the sidewalk without drawing attention.”

  “I don’t know whether to be amazed or scared out of my mind. Isn’t that dangerous?”

  “Dangerous?” Artemis scoffed. “This doesn’t even compare to the time he-”

  Luke silenced her immediately.

  “Don’t listen to the crazy necklace. Anyway, can I place a circle inside your apartment?”

  “Yeah, of course.”

  Luke pointed his hand at the floor.

  [Teleportation Circle 2 activated]

  The first circle was already sitting in his bedroom back home. He stepped onto the glowing mark.

  [Teleportation Pentagram activated]

  And then… nothing.

  “How do I know when it’s working?” Noah asked.

  “It should’ve worked already,” Luke muttered, staring at the circle.

  He kept testing, trying different placements and gestures, but nothing triggered the spell. Eventually he created one circle outside the apartment and another in Noah’s bedroom. That combination finally worked.

  “This is really limited. The distance can’t be too long,” he murmured.

  “Limited? Luke, that was incredible,” Noah said, stepping onto the circle in the bedroom as if hoping it would take him somewhere. “This could revolutionize everything.”

  Luke slipped off the Witch ring and tried forming a circle again. Nothing happened. Another limitation he’d discovered in the past few days.

  Teleportation Pentagram is a Legendary spell. The restriction must be tied to its complexity. I can’t cast it unless it’s channeled through a magical focus, a wand, a staff, or in this case, my ring.

  He was relieved he’d learned that by accident. If he ever lost his ring during something critical, he might not be able to use certain Witch skills at all.

  “Just don’t tell Mom,” Noah said. “She’ll freak out.”

  ***

  Luke and his brother had stopped at a small diner.

  “So what’s it like,” Noah asked, “being able to sit somewhere like this and eat without a monster trying to kill you?”

  His family rarely pressed him about what happened in the tutorial. Noah was the only one who got close to the subject, but he always approached it gently.

  Luke poked a waffle with his fork. “Comforting. I missed simple things like this.”

  Although… sometimes I kind of miss the monsters trying to kill me. Does that make me suicidal?

  'You’re only realizing that now? Seriously, Luke?' Artemis chimed in.

  They kept eating, chatting about life. Luke had no plans for college or a normal job. He hadn’t told them about his little fortune yet, but he would… eventually.

  “Noah,” Luke said quietly, “you were engaged once, right? Can you clear something up for me?”

  “A question about engagement? Sure.”

  “You were the one who proposed, right?”

  “You don’t remember? It was at a dinner with her family. You all were there,” Noah said, raising a brow.

  Luke stabbed the waffle again. “And you two were engaged for a long time.”

  'Yes, until his depressed brother ran away.' Artemis’s voice slid in.

  Thank you for reminding me.

  'Anytime, Luke. That’s what friends are for.'

  “And if… let’s say… someone had proposed without realizing it… and stayed engaged for a whole year without noticing… what could that person do to resolve that misunderstanding?”

  “What? How do you propose without realizing?” Noah laughed. “That’s not a thing.”

  Luke cleared his throat. “Hypothetically speaking… if someone proposed to a woman… without knowing… and was technically engaged for a year…”

  Noah snorted. “And this person never realized they had proposed to someone? That would make them the densest person in the world.”

  While he laughed, people around them shifted their attention to the TV. “Another incident in the Pacific. Governments are requesting the World Government’s intervention regarding the strange phenomena happening across the globe…”

  ***

  Later, Luke sat in his room, scrolling through the latest news.

  “This year’s tutorial didn’t happen…” he murmured.

  Something unprecedented had occurred. The system hadn’t sent any notifications inviting people to the tutorial at all.

  What is going on?

  He closed the browser and moved toward his bed.

  “I guess it’s time for me to start moving. I need to get back to New World. I have a dragon to kill.”

  https://discord.gg/znGSjCxhkR