The doors opened, and the entire team hastily made it inside.

Dyne could not help but look back and see the Mist slowly approaching.

As he entered, he was greeted with a familiar scene he knew long well.

The village of Rim Elm had survived the Mist's catastrophe by relying on the vast plains before them, which allowed them to hunt for food to survive. A large wall was erected to cover the entire village. The walls then extended out to the sea and even reached the deeper areas of the sea.

As such, the Mist could not enter even through the seaside as the windy beach acted as a natural protection that repelled the Mist. While Dyne had been walking back to Rim Elm, he already understood several factors that allowed Rim Elm to survive. They were far from the mist generators, and the wind that blew also helped them drive off the mists.

As Dyne looked around, he realized that the town was several times bigger than it was in the game. There were more houses and more hunters in the city. A large hill with a house on top could be seen to the east of the village. A sloping landscape led downwards to a beautifully decorated garden at the center of the town. A small green tree without leaves could be seen.

Dyne could not help but admire the bright green tree in the middle. This was the tree that would save Legaia.

“Genesis Tree...” Dyne muttered.

“Yes. Our town is blessed to have this amazing tree. Perhaps it, because we have this tree, is how Tieg allowed us to survive for too long.” Juno laughed.

The word broke out that a young boy had made it to Rim Elm. And what was even more terrifying was the fact that he had a Gobu Gobu with him! Everyone went out to see who it was.

There, Dyne could make out the familiar figures. He saw an older man who went out of the house on top of the hill. 

“Is that your village elder?” Dyne asked Juno.

“Yes. That is our Village Elder, Elder Mura.”

“Mura? His name is Village?” Dyne knew that in the English game, the village elder was called the village elder. But who would have thought that his name was Mura, which is village in Japanese!

“What?”

“No-Nothing.” Dyne quickly shook his head. Another familiar figure came. It was a beautiful young girl.

“So, that’s Mei!” Dyne thought but dared not give her any more look as her father is Juno, the current hunter.

Another figure approached. It was a man who was limping and carried a stick with him.

“That is the former head of the hunt. Val. He is a brave man.” Juno explained.

“Vahn’s father...” Dyne thought once more.

It was then that a figure clothed in a red garment jumped from the high fences of the town to get to the entrance quickly. It was a middle-aged monk. He landed towards the ground and looked at the young boy, and smiled.

“Tetsu...” It was Dyne’s first time seeing him, but he knew that the power that this Tetsu had eclipsed everyone else in this village combined.

“If you are hearing this... Then you must have met Tetsu. As you can see, he is a powerful man. As a reference, Tetsu is someone at the middle Martial Novice stage.” Strafe’s voice echoed.

“Impressive. A young warrior.” Tetsu gave his analysis as he looked at Dyne.

“He’s a fighter?” Juno was surprised.

“He’s probably stronger than you. What is your name, mighty warrior?”

“I am Dyne Valliant. And compared to you, I should be nothing.” Dyne laughed with an embarrassed expression.

Dyne gave a relieved sigh. When he saw how strong this world was, Dyne decided not to pursue his plans immediately but head to Rim Elm. The reason was that he knew that Tetsu was here. And he would be Dyne’s quickest way to achieve the plans he has.

While many characters surrounded Dyne, Dyne’s attention fell on one of the young boys who had braved through the crowds to see Dyne. He was a young boy with blue hair.

He silently stood afar and gazed at the Gobu Gobu and Slime with a complicated expression. And his eyes locked on with Dyne’s eyes.

“The main character. Vahn.” Dyne couldn’t help but laugh as he finally saw the young child, who he controlled several times playing this game.

“Juno... Who is this friend?” The Elder’s voice echoed at the back as he finally reached the area.

“Elder. This young man is not wearing any Seru. He claimed to be from Sol Kingdom and had the Gobu Gobu and Slime with him since childhood.”

“Sol Kingdom!” The Elder was astounded at the declaration.

“Daddy? Where is Sol?” Mei’s gentled voice asked.

“Erm... Right. Before we continue talking, I’d like it if my monsters and I can rest. Bertugo, egak pagak lagak basgak anggak Gobu Gobu Gimard.” Dyne ordered his monsters to spit out the remains of the Gobu Gobu and the Gimard.

Bertugo nodded and gave a low growl to which the two Green Slimes regurgitated the pair of dead Gobu Gobu and the unconscious Gimard.

Several startled cry was heard, but since Tetsu did not panic, most hunters remained calm.

“Two dead Gobu Gobu? You-you killed them?”

“Of course we did. I only have this guy with me. On our way here, we had to kill a few. This is, after all, Bertugo’s meal.” Dyne shrugged.

“Me-meal!?” Several of the ladies in the village cried out in surprise.

“Yes. Gobu Gobu is a carnivorous race that eats each other. Unless they are with the same tribe or family, they will eat each other.” Val explained.

“There are about three tribes outside. That Gobu Gobu doesn't seem to belong to a tribe I recognize.” Val added.

“Now that you mention it...” Juno nodded in realization.

“I’m sorta hungry too.” Dyne laughed out loud to change the topic. He was sweating because he didn’t know that Gobu Gobu’s have tribes. It would have been troublesome if Gobu Gobu belonged to a familiar tribe.

“Erm... can I trade these Gobu Gobu weapons for something?” Dyne asked.

“You are one of us now, Dyne. For food, you do not need to pay.” Juno laughed.

“I would like to also speak to you...” The Elder requested.

“I understand, Elder. Treat me as one of your own. I only request that you treat Bertugo the same way as well as his Slimes. He tamed that Slime on the way here.” Dyne explained.

“I understand. But please allow us to base your Gobu Gobu at the beach area. Away from all the townsfolk as the children and the old men would be scared.” The Elder asked.

“It’s fine.” Dyne nodded.

That night, a grand feast occurred although they were festive, it was very much a quiet celebration where all the families of the town had gathered.

Dyne's appearance brought them hope. There were more survivors of the Mist! They held their celebration at the beach. Rim Elm was made right near the beach's shores and had walls that extended out into the deeper parts of the sea. This allowed them to send Fishermans to catch fish and, at the same time, used the deep sea to stop Serus or monsters from entering or circling the wall.

The sea was basically one of the safest place in the village as the breeze steadily blew and kept the Mist out.

They celebrated and ate, and various hunters continued to ask Dyne about the outside world. Dyne gave some simple answers and made sure that he wouldn’t go into much detail.

“I have to talk with the Elder first and tell him everything about what I know. I know you guys find it scary, and it is. But trust me, when I say this, we have hope. I had been looking for a village for a long time, and it was Bertugo who would go out in the open and travel all over the place to find me a good hiding place. But now that I’m here. I guess we have hope.” Dyne smiled.

Various hunters and even the children couldn’t understand what Dyne meant.

“What do you mean, young warrior?” Tetsu asked.

“Think about it. I have a Gobu Gobu with me, and I can speak Gobu Gobu. If we find ways to make alliances in this harsh world and make trades, we can probably find a way to make a society in this darkness. Some of the Gobu Gobu are after Serus. Bertugo told me this as he wandered in the Mist and saw this. They want the energy within the Serus as it makes them stronger and even allows them to have more power.” Dyne explained.

“What? They fight the Serus?”

“Yes. But an average Gobu Gobu can’t defeat the Serus. We fought those two Gobu Gobu when they found us. They were after the Gimard that we had. For personal reasons, I refused to give them the Gimard and I killed the Gobu Gobus.”

“Wait! You're saying that you killed a Gobu Gobu? Or is it that your Slime and the Gobu Gobu who killed them? Stop exaggerating!” A young boy sneered.

Dyne knew who this little boy was. It was the young Ixis who was one of the minor named-characters in the game. He always was arrogant and had some sort of rivalry against Vahn.

“Yup." Dyne laughed.

“Don’t forget where I came from. I am from Sol. I trained at the Muscle Dome and fought Gobu Gobu regularly! Of course, since it was sparing, we didn’t kill them. What have you done, Kid?” Dyne boasted.

It was then that Dyne frowned. He realized that he was greatly triggered by the child Ixis.

“What was that? Why did I fight with that kid?” Dyne rubbed his chin. He had been around kids many times and often enjoyed teasing kids and getting teased. The group of kids he rescued in the Philippines were close to his heart, after all. And yet, for some strange reason, Dyne got angry at the words of that kid.

“Is it because I’m young? No… Strafe said that I only should have the body of a kid. What’s going on?” Dyne wondered. It was then that the Hunters around him gave him a curious stare at his sudden silence.

“Err... Anyway... We now have a Gobu Gobu hunter who can help us! And as long as he can kill more Gobu Gobu and devour more of them, he’d also grow stronger. And we can even not kill some of the Gobu Gobu we face. I can talk with them and convince them to join our village! They would see Bertugo and think that a harmonious relationship is possible!” Dyne explained.

The expressions of various hunters lit up.

“He’s right!”

“Elder! Juno, Val? Is it true?”

The three in question glanced at each other.

“That does seem possible.” Val nodded.

"We have seen Serus and monsters fighting each other. To think that the Mist is creating such an event. If communicating with the Gobu Gobu is possible, we should try it!" Juno recommended.

"It is as you say. Normally, we shouldn't make deals with monsters. But now that we are in this situation, an alliance could be helpful! We can limit the areas we hunt and tell them to hunt on specific areas!" The Elder realized.

The village began to talk louder. Although the older hunters kept on pressing the town to keep quiet, there was still some rejoicing that echoed around the city.

As for Dyne, he gave the Elder a meaningful look and smiled.

“Good. All that’s left is to make these people pray to the Genesis Tree!” Dyne smiled as he could see his plans unfolding perfectly.