Before anyone could react, a deafening swoosh filled the air, followed by an ear-splitting kaboom!


    The ground trembled as a massive object crashed down on the sparky guy, sttering blood in every direction.


    Tremble!!


    The sound of bones crunching under the enormous weight was drowned by the gasps and screams of the onlookers.


    Blood sprayed across the dirt, painting a grotesque picture of what was once a man, now reduced to a bloody smear beneath a colossal, living weapon.


    The old man, who had been locked in a fierce stare with Lyerin just moments before, stood frozen, his eyes wide with disbelief.


    His body was stiff, paralyzed by the realization of what had just happened.


    When he finally managed to nce to his side, he saw it—a massive tree, uprooted and swung like a hammer, now drenched in the sparky guy''s blood, still vibrating from the force of impact.


    Lyerin stood there, a small smile ying on his lips, as if this gruesome disy of violence was nothing more than entertainment.


    The rest of the group was in shock, their minds racing toprehend what they had just witnessed.


    "What… what was that thing?" one of them whispered in horror.


    Another person stammered, "It… it looks like one of those creatures… the ones that saved us… but why—why would they attack us now?"


    The people stared in disbelief at the creature standing beside the fallen tree.


    It was massive, with a hulking, muscr body covered in coarse, dark fur.


    Its towering frame resembled that of a minotaur, but instead of the head of a bull, it had the long, broad face of a horse, with wild, fiery eyes glowing in the shadows.


    Its enormous arms, each as thick as tree trunks, rippled with strength, and its hooves dug deep into the earth beneath it.


    Lyerin, watching their panicked faces, smiled wider. "Foolish ones," he said, his voice low and mocking.


    "I am the chieftain of this tribe. You attacking me means you are an enemy. Did you think you coulde here and challenge me without consequences?"


    The tree was lifted once again by the creature, revealing the bloody remains of the sparky guy.


    His body was unrecognizable, a puddle of gore and shattered bones.


    Lyerin looked down at the gruesome sight and shook his head in mild disappointment. "A natural ability talent," he muttered to himself, "what a waste."


    At that moment, a familiar chime echoed in Lyerin''s mind. Ding! A system notification appeared before him, disying the message: Would you like to level up your tribe to level three?


    Lyerin didn''t hesitate. He nodded. "Of course."


    But before he could celebrate, another notification appeared. powered by mvl|empyr


    | Ding!


    | The Link is too weak. |


    Lyerin frowned, confused by this unexpected message.


    It wasn''t the usual rejection he had encountered before.


    The phrasing was different this time. "A new rejection?" he thought. "How?" He pondered over it, but the growing darkness signaled the approach of night, and he knew it was almost time for him to return to the ruined magical world.


    With a sigh, he decided to push the matter aside for now.


    He also had an idea and he cannot do it in this real world.


    Suddenly, the old man, who had been standing rigid with fear, dropped to his knees before Lyerin. His once proud, fierce expression was now reced with desperation.


    "Please," the old man begged, his voice shaking. "Please forgive me! Forgive us! We… we didn''t know!"


    Lyerin''s smile returned, but this time it was darker, more sinister.


    His eyes gleamed with a demonic light, and his smile widened into something far more menacing. "Forgive you?" he repeated, his tone mocking. "Alright…"


    The crowd let out a collective sigh of relief, but that relief was short-lived.


    Lyerin''s smile twisted into something cruel, and before anyone could move, the massive creature beside him raised the blood-stained tree once again.


    The old man, realizing what was happening, barely had time to scream before the tree came crashing down toward him.


    The crowd gasped in horror, certain that the old man was about to meet the same fate as the sparky guy.


    But just before the tree struck, it stopped.


    Suspended in mid-air.


    The old man looked up, trembling, and saw that the enormous weapon hadn''t crushed him.


    Instead, the tree was being held back by a single hand—Lyerin''s.


    In a split second, Lyerin had moved beneath the tree, catching it with ease, preventing the creature from delivering the final blow.


    Lyerin looked down at the old man, with an unreadable expression. "I''ll ept you all as members… for now," he said slowly, his voice thick with threat. "But if I''m not satisfied—if you don''t prove your worth—I won''t stop this creature next time."


    The crowd, still reeling from the shock of everything that had happened, stared in silence, too terrified to speak.


    Lyerin''s voice grew colder as he continued.


    "Understand this. You are only here because I allow it. I could kill every single one of you right now, and no one would stop me. So, if you want to stay here, if you want my protection, then you will do as I say. Noints. No questions."


    His gaze swept across the group, his eyes lingering on each terrified face. "Is that clear?"


    For a long moment, the crowd was silent, frozen in fear and disbelief. But Lyerin wasn''t satisfied with their silence. He took a step forward, his expression darkening. "Do you want me to repeat myself?"


    His voice sent a chill down their spines, and they scrambled to answer, stammering in their panic.


    "Yes… yes… we understand…"


    "Yes, we''ll follow your rules…"


    "Please… don''t… don''t kill us…"


    But their answers were too quiet, too hesitant. Lyerin''s patience was wearing thin.


    "Louder!" he demanded, his voice booming across the clearing. "Let me hear you!"


    The crowd flinched at the force of his words, and this time they all shouted in unison, their voices trembling with fear. "YES! YES! WE UNDERSTAND!"


    Lyerin''s eyes gleamed with satisfaction as he looked over the cowering group.


    "Good," he said softly, his voice once again calm.


    "Now, remember this moment. Because if any of you step out of line… if any of you think for even a second that you can challenge me… you''ll end up just like him."


    He gestured toward the bloodstained ground where the sparky guy had been crushed.


    The crowd fell into a heavy silence, the weight of Lyerin''s words pressing down on them like a suffocating nket. No one dared move, no one dared speak.


    Satisfied with their fear, Lyerin chuckled. Although he was a loner, he knew fear could control people, and it was the most effective during dire times.


    Suddenly, Lyerin had an idea.


    He was pondering why the leveling up of the whole tribe was not working. With careful thought, he remembered that in the ruined magical world, the tribe he had there was still at level two because of his actions.


    If he could make the tribe in the ruined magical world reach level three, then maybe, just maybe, he could level up this tribe here in the real world too.


    Isn''t that maybe the case?


    He will try it, and now is the time.


    Hmmm…