Kane woke up to the soft sound of breathing.

Thora was curled against his broad chest, her voluptuous body marked with faint bruises and bite marks from last night.

Sira slept peacefully on his other side, clutching the furs.

He gently ran his fingers through Thora’s dark hair for a moment, then carefully slipped out of bed without waking them.

[Permanent Stat Bonus Applied]

Strength +12

Vitality +15

Charisma +18

Dominance +22

Sexual Prowess +25

[New Passive Skill Unlocked: Primal Seed]

[Your seed carries trace amounts of your conquest energy. Women who receive it multiple times will develop stronger loyalty and minor stat increases over time]

’Not bad.’

He pulled on his leather pants, strapped on his iron battleaxe, and stepped outside.

Kane walked toward the center of the camp to watch his warriors practicing.

The men swung their new iron weapons with a lot of enthusiasm. Sparks flew as axes clashed against reinforced wooden shields.

Kane felt a brief spark of pride seeing their progress because they looked much better than yesterday.

The feeling faded quickly when he analyzed their sloppy footwork and poor coordination.

’It is a good start, but it’s still not enough,’ he thought, frowning at a young spearman who nearly dropped his weapon.

’We are far too weak to fight a real army right now.’

He spotted his second in command shouting orders near the fire pit and waved him over.

"How is the training going, Brak?" Kane asked, crossing his arms.

Brak grinned and puffed out his chest.

"It’s going well, Chief! The men are getting the hang of the new iron. They’re swinging harder every hour."

Kane nodded slowly before dropping the bomb.

"We are leaving the forest today."

The warriors closest to them froze in shock. The clatter of training weapons stopped immediately, and a few men murmured in disbelief.

One older warrior stepped forward and voiced his thoughts.

"Chief... you serious? We’ve lived in these woods our whole damn lives. Leaving means death."

"We cannot stay cooped up in this forest forever and expect everything to go our way," Kane explained calmly but with a firm tone.

Kane stepped onto a large stump so everyone could see him. His voice boomed across the camp, raw and commanding.

"Listen up, you sorry bastards. We cannot stay cooped up in this shithole forest forever, hoping the world will bend over for us. If we stay here, we’ll either starve like dogs or get wiped out by some ancient beast looking for breakfast. I refuse to let the Bloodfang Clan become another forgotten pile of bones."

He paused, letting his words sink in.

"I know the stories. The old tales say barbarians always die in these woods. Fuck that. We’re breaking the script. Out there are fat villages, rich caravans, and soft women who’ve never known a real man. Glory, meat, and power are waiting, but only if we have the balls to go take them."

’The game storyline triggers a huge barbarian massacre right here in these woods,’ Kane reminded himself.

The warriors stared at him. Then Brak slammed his spear into the ground.

"Chief’s right!" he roared.

"I’m tired of eating fucking tree bark! Let’s go spill some civilized blood!"

The camp slowly erupted. Axes banged against shields.

Men shouted and cheered, their blood finally boiling.

The sound grew louder until the entire camp was roaring in agreement.

Brak raised his spear and shouted his strong support, fueling the fire in the men’s eyes.

The clan packed up their meager supplies in record time.

Tents were folded quickly, and the wagons were loaded with dried meat. Thora rode close to the front of the column on a stolen brown horse.

Her heightened life-sensing ability was a passive skill granted by the Harem Bond.

She acted as their primary navigator, closing her eyes to sense hidden dangers and map out the safest paths through the dense trees.

Sira took a longbow and stayed at the very rear of the group. She kept an arrow nocked, guarding the back of the column with a serious expression. Kane led the entire procession from the front.

They marched for three hours without any issues.

The trees started to thin out, hinting at the open plains ahead. Then the air grew unnaturally cold.

[Event: Trial of the Leaving]

The system window appeared in Kane’s vision just as the sky turned black. The forest itself was trying to stop them because they were leaving their designated starting zone.

Rain suddenly poured down in torrents, turning the dry dirt path into deep, slippery mud.

Visibility dropped to almost zero in a matter of seconds.

The wheels of the supply wagons sank into the muck and refused to turn.

"Keep pushing, you lazy fucks!" Kane roared, jumping off his horse.

He grabbed the side of the lead wagon and heaved with all his strength, muscles bulging in his arms.

"Move it, or I’ll leave your useless asses here!"

"GAH!"

This storm created extreme tension and served as a harsh reminder of the clan’s current weakness.

"Chief," Thora shouted, pointing her finger toward the dark tree line.

"Three hostile signatures approaching fast from the left, and two more from the right."

Before Kane could grab his axe, five corrupted timber wolves leaped from the brush.

They were starving and highly aggressive because of the system event.

Kane drew his iron battleaxe and swung it in a wide arc. The blade caught the first wolf in the ribs, sending it crashing into a deep puddle.

The second wolf lunged for a nearby spearman, but an arrow suddenly pierced its neck.

Sira lowered her bow at the rear of the column, offering a smug little smile through the pouring rain.

The third wolf snapped its jaws at Kane’s leg.

He stepped to the side, pivoting his hips, and brought the axe down hard on the back of the beast’s neck.

Slash

The wolf collapsed into the mud and dissolved into ash. Two more wolves jumped at the supply wagons.

"AHHHHH!"

Brak thrust his iron spear forward, catching one beast in the throat while another warrior chopped the last wolf down with his new axe.

"Don’t stop moving," Kane commanded, wiping rainwater from his eyes.

"We push through right now. Protect the wagons and keep your eyes open."

They fought their way through the storm for another brutal hour.

Sira picked off several smaller monsters from the rear while Kane and the vanguard crushed anything that dared to block their path.

The men were exhausted and covered in mud, but they never stopped pulling the wagons forward.

Thora guided them around three more ambush points, saving dozens of lives with her skill.

Finally, the dense trees gave way to wide open space.

The storm clouds broke apart as they crossed the invisible border of the starting zone.

Eighty warriors are exhausted.

Kane stopped his horse on the crest of a small hill and looked back at the woods one last time.

The tutorial officially ends.

He turned his attention forward and surveyed the vast, rolling plains of his new world.

A few miles away, smoke curled up from the chimneys of a small, prosperous farming village.