Becoming the Dark Lord

The man scanned the growing murmur spreading through the crowd. He whispered something to the people beside him, then finally turned toward the people gathered below. Confusion and worry pulled at his expression.

“Look, it’s pretty clear some of you don’t understand anything about the New World. I need you to stay calm for what I’m about to explain. But if you think you’re getting on a plane… you’re mistaken,” he said, his voice steady.

The crowd reacted instantly, ready to argue again. Before the noise could swell back into chaos, the mage beside him lifted his staff and slammed its tip onto the roof. A sharp impact cracked through the air, followed by a wave of sound magic, deep and vibrating, unpleasant enough to rattle bone.

People flinched. Eyes widened. And just like that, even the angriest voices fell silent.

“Right,” the man continued once the quiet settled over them like a heavy blanket. “The New World is part of Earth, yes, but it’s far from the continents you know. There isn’t a plane in existence with enough fuel to cross that distance. And even if there were, it wouldn’t matter. The mana in the atmosphere here is so dense it corrodes anything technological. Nothing advanced can reach this region. The System won’t allow it.”

He patted down his pockets as if searching for his patience.

“And on top of that, there are extremely dangerous flying creatures in this part of the world. They own the skies. There are floating islands, airborne monsters. If a plane tried to come here, it’d be like one of those Bermuda Triangle legends. The System would force it back toward its origin, or make it fly in circles, or a giant bird would simply swallow it.”

That image dropped over the crowd like a bucket of ice water. No one seemed remotely prepared for what they were hearing.

“Ships?” someone asked nervously.

“Also not recommended,” the soldier replied at once. “The ocean between here and the known continents is home to colossal creatures that attack any vessel trying to reach this region. Krakens the size of mountains, leviathans, and things worse than that. Unless you’re unbelievably powerful, sailing isn’t an option.”

Luke stayed quiet, absorbing every word. But as the explanation sank in, a cold weight settled in his stomach. He had no idea how he was supposed to get back to Maine.

That realization sparked another wave of agitation. Voices rose sharply, irritation building on top of fear, and not even the noise magic could calm them this time. The tension edged toward breaking—

Until Judith, the woman Luke had met earlier, lifted her voice above the chaos.

“Teleportation!”

The single word cut through the crowd like a blade. The noise died almost instantly, hope flickering across dozens of faces.

“You’re going back to your home countries through teleportation,” Judith said. “It’ll be instant.”

And of course, someone shouted the question everyone was thinking:

“Then why didn’t the idiot say that earlier?!”

A burst of agreement followed, sharp and exasperated.

“Well… you all just went through a terrible teleportation experience, so I was trying to be considerate,” the Englishman replied, looking sheepish.

***

Everyone had been split among the many houses scattered throughout the place. And, strangely enough, there were houses for everyone. The settlement was huge, a military outpost built like a medieval village, with sturdy wooden homes, simple walls, and neat dirt paths. Yet, despite its size, it was practically empty. Only a small permanent group lived there. Every other house stood untouched and silent, as if waiting specifically for them.

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

From what they had been told, this place hadn’t sprung up by chance. It had existed since the very beginning of the tutorial, nine years ago. The gods organized that place because they knew all the tutorial participants would come out together in that exact spot. And as the years went by, more and more houses were ordered to be built.

“Can you believe this?” Eleanor said, still marveling at the village around them.

They were gathered at a long, sturdy wooden table overflowing with food. It was supposed to be breakfast, but the spread looked more like a feast. Trays, deep bowls, large platters, and baskets were laid out in an organized chaos. The smell of fresh bread mixed with the aromas of meat, butter, fruit, and spices.

“I nearly had a heart attack when the Guide visited me,” Eleanor went on. “And then I woke up in a forest instead of my apartment in Washington. My first thought was that I’d somehow stayed stuck in the tutorial.”

Luke sat beside her, eating bacon and eggs, or trying to choose between that and the hamburger someone had placed near him, complete with a tiny American flag stuck on top. He grabbed the hamburger too. The organizers had prepared everything, though most of the food had come out of spatial chests. Outside, another enormous table held dishes from all around the world. Luke stuck to the comforting basics. Bacon, eggs, something familiar.

Eleanor was happily working through her waffles like it was the best meal she’d had in years.

“Looks like our little group reunion happened sooner than any of us planned,” Jack said, propping an elbow on the table.

Allison, still in her male form, sat close to Luke. She was focused on her plate of meat, chewing with deliberate satisfaction.

“Your hair’s getting long, Cinderella,” Evangeline teased, smirking.

Luke had already tied it back so it wouldn’t fall in his food. He sighed.

“I’m going to need to cut it.” His nails had grown too, not evenly, not cleanly, but sharp. Almost clawlike. And when he ran his tongue over his teeth, a few felt ever so slightly sharper than before.

“Are my eyes normal?” he asked. “They’re not, I don’t know… snake like, right?”

“They’re normal,” Allison replied without hesitation.

Luke ran both hands over his scalp, checking for horns or any other alarming mutation. Nothing. His new body had shifted a few details, but he still looked like himself. The claws he could fix later with a nail file.

“I’ve got claws too,” Allison said, raising her hands. “And I can feel my lungs are… bigger. Heavier. I don’t know how to describe it. But definitely larger. I think it’s so I can use my breath without, you know, dying.”

She took another slow bite of her meat, still assessing the unfamiliar weight of her upgraded body.

“It also feels like my memory got better. I remember everything now. I can pull up any moment like a photo album in my head.”

Memory? Did dragons have good memories? Luke wasn’t sure, but it definitely explained a lot.

“And I’m also… craving meat way more than before,” Allison murmured, embarrassed but still chewing.

Mason dropped into a chair with a bowl of grains, some cereal, and a glass of juice.

“You’re eating only that?” Evangeline asked, one eyebrow raised.

“We may have just come out of a war, but we got brand-new bodies. I’m not even hungry,” Mason replied.

“Same here, but I’m eating because I like it,” Eleanor added.

Maybe that’s why Artemis is always eating?

Speaking of the chatty soul, she had Luke fill the pocket dimension with a bit of every local dish. Her complaints about ending up on that continent died the moment she realized she could try all kinds of new food.

“I can’t believe we’re right next to Camlann,” Mason said suddenly, glancing out the window.

“And what’s that supposed to mean?” Luke asked.

“I practically grew up in that city. It’s the first settlement ever founded in the New World,” Mason explained, excitement slipping into his voice. “It’s neutral territory. No noble family controls it. Camlann is the beginner kingdom. Everyone passes through it during their first time here. It’s one of the busiest places in the entire New World.”

He sounded like someone proudly explaining his hometown to tourists.

“From here, people can travel to the other kingdoms,” Mason went on. “If you’re rich, you use teleportation. But if you’re an ordinary person, you’ll have to go by horseback to get anywhere, whether it’s Erza’s kingdom, Allison’s, or any other.”

The group already knew why Allison was disguised, and they hadn’t forgotten that people from Haven were looking for her.

“You’re really going to pretend you died?” Evangeline asked.

“At least until we get out of this place,” Allison answered without hesitation.

Luke opened his System interface. There was another problem he needed to deal with… and that problem was his new servant: Angelica, now a Stone Angel.