Tension

The big burly man named Michael stood there waiting for Will to come back, only showing the frown on his face for a moment before it returned back to it's usual 'kind' smile.

Will may not have noticed the sudden change in expression on the man, but Lumen was in constant alert mode and so didn't miss Michael's reactions to Will's words. It seemed he was the only one of his group who had noticed it as well as everyone else had their eyes trained on the members of Michael's group behind him.

Lumen was certain that all this big humanistic talk that Michael was spewing was all for show and his actions would be different the moment they were assimilated into the group.

He didn't believe that anyone would have such selfless motives at this point in the tutorial as if anyone had a brain, they would have realised that this 'tutorial' was just the beginning, hence it's name.

It was clear that they would not be returning to their normal and mundane lives in society when this tutorial ends, but they also didn't know what was awaiting them after the end.

Perhaps it was more life and death survival, perhaps it was something else. Nobody would know until it happens.

The only reliable thing the members of the tutorial could go off was the fact that there was a level system to calculate each person's individual power. Not to mention the ominous 'Soul Tier' option in everyone's status' that hadn't changed once after multiple level ups. Clearly there was more to this power system than meets the eye.

Hence this was the reason why Lumen didn't trust Michael's words at all. He must have something to gain in terms of personal power by increasing the number of members he has in his team.

Soon, will came over to him and started speaking in a low tone.

"What do you think, Lumen? Should we trust these guys and join them? If I'm totally honest I am getting off vibes from this Michael fella, he is too kind for someone in a survival situation like us..." Will had wisely pointed out some flaws from Michael's persona as well as he quietly discussed them with Lumen, the other three behind him also silently listening in.

However Lumen didn't reply, as Qu Quan and Shivi were the first people to initiate a conversation of sorts with Will and Lumen, although not in the usual way of talking.

The two of them quietly fished out a stick and some beast blood from their inventories as they wrote a couple words on one of their old clothes before their class awakening.

'THEY LISTEN, SUSPICIOUS...'

The five members of Lumen's group made sure not to make any obvious changes in expression as they read the words written on the old cloth, doing their best to hide their methods of communication from Michael and his group as they pretended to wait apprehensively while Lumen 'thought' about his answer to Will's questions.

After a short 10 seconds Lumen suddenly spoke, "While I think joining a bigger group would be beneficial for our survival, we are doing just fine by ourselves and it would be much more difficult to level as fast as we are now if we have to split the experience earned with even more people."

After he said this to William, he turned to the tall and stocky Michael and spoke.

"Hence, unfortunately we will have to decline your kind offer. We very much appreciate the opportunity to join forces, but we are fine by ourselves."

Michael's kind smile didn't falter this time as he had expected this answer from the moment Will revealed he wasn't the leader of their small group.

But at this point he stopped focusing on Lumen and the others as he spoke directly to Will once again. "You seem like a fine young man, you must be a mage, right? We would very much like to welcome you within our ranks, as you can see we only have 1 other mage ourselves so it is hard to tend to everyone's injuries with just 1 heal spell, especially with it's high mana cost."

Will looked a little shocked and confused as now Michael had clearly given up on inviting the others and instead had asked him directly to join his group.

He tried to conjure up some words but he didn't get the chance before Michael gave a glance to the others and spoke once again.

"I'm sure you made some connections with your colleagues over the last couple of days, right? They could come with us as well, if they like. But you must join us, you know the saying 'there is safety in numbers', right? With your status as a mage I can personally guarantee you will get the highest treatment and safety in our ranks, not to mention the opportunity to gain many levels. You must join us."

Michael seemed to put on a persuasive tone at first, but this wouldn't work on Will so easily as he was also one who took pride in his charisma and wouldn't fall for such easy persuasion, he was the one usually dishing it out after all. But once Michael noticed that it wasn't working, his tone slowly changed to a somewhat sombre and almost demanding tone.

Even Lumen with his lack of skills interacting with human society could read the obvious undertone in Michael's words.

The mood of everyone present had shifted, be it Lumen, Will or Michael as his kind smile had disappeared at some point. Lumen pushed his brain to 110% ability in order to analyse the best way to deal with this situation. But he couldn't come to any definitive conclusions as every solution depended on how the man in front of them would react in the coming moments.

Will was also looking sombre and a little bit nervous as they were outnumbered nearly 3 to 1 so if they were attacked, there was little chance of them coming out on top, even considering Lumen's skills.

But in the midst of the silence, Michael continued speaking.

"So what will your answer be young man? Will you join us?" He continued, this time in a calm almost storytelling tone.

"You should know, this place is unforgiving. We had two mages in total at first, but unfortunately one of them died in battle. We are running low on health potions, our only mage's mana capacity isn't nearly enough to sustain everyone's injuries. As you can see, I am very serious when I say you will be treated fairly and well."

Will was about to respond when the man uttered a final sentence.

"We need you far more than they need you."