’How could he...?’
"Daniel Nightfire! You have scored 68 out of 100, better than 40% of your mates. Come forward to choose your Path."
Daniel was still shivering in disbelief when his name rang out. He shot up from his seat and made his way to the podium.
On the way, he passed Eren, who was already heading back to his own seat. Daniel tried to lock eyes with him. Eren did everything he could to avoid it, keeping his gaze on the floor as he walked.
"How could you, Eren? How could you do this to yourself?" Daniel spoke so low that only Eren could hear.
"I’m sorry, Daniel," Eren muttered back, before the gap between them grew too wide.
Daniel turned to face the General Master and let out a rough sigh. He took his certificate and headed for the Path-choosing screen.
Meanwhile, every eye in the hall was on Eren as he made his way back. Somewhere along the way, faint murmurs began to rise from one corner.
"Who does he think he is?"
"He really chose the Settler Path?"
"Maybe he doesn’t know what he’s doing."
"Seriously? Who doesn’t know what they’re doing at their own Path Choosing Ceremony?"
"His score was sixty-nine, by the way."
"He’s going to die on his first night. Trust me."
Eren paid none of it any attention. He sat back down, calm as ever.
"What was that, Eren? What have you done?" Kai asked, glaring at him with wet eyes.
"We all promised to choose the Explorer Path. Why did you..."
Bradley was still trying to speak when Eren cut in.
"I’ve been wanting to tell you guys about my plan," Eren began, "but I knew it would make you restless, and disappointed in me."
"I didn’t want to spoil the good days we had left at the academy, so I kept it to myself. But believe me. I have always wanted to become a Settler."
Kai and Bradley stared at him. There was a boldness in his voice they had never heard before, a calm certainty, like nothing in the whole world could make him change his mind.
"You may go back to your seat."
The General Master’s voice rolled out from the podium, and they watched Daniel walk back down. He had chosen the Explorer Path, but only he knew how hard it had been to settle on that after his best friend had picked a different one.
Daniel looked devastated, and anyone who knew him as Eren’s friend could easily understand why.
After several more names, the ceremony came to an end. Kai and Bradley both scored 66 out of 100 and both chose the Explorer Path.
"The Exploration and Settlement Program Confirmation starts at 4 PM at the City’s Portal Unit tomorrow. Remember, this could be the last time you see your beloved friends and roommates. Do well to hug and kiss them goodbye, or you might regret it."
"Congratulations, students!"
"And to the three students who chose the Settler Path, the very best of luck."
"You’re going to need it."
Those were the last words the General Master said before he left the hall.
Out of over a thousand students, only three had chosen the Settler Path. It was so rare that people felt those three needed to be questioned.
Why?
About twenty thousand years ago, humanity went through something no one had ever seen before. They called it the Worldbreak.
One day, portals tore open above cities across the world. No one knew where they led, who made them, or why they had come. Some brave fools walked in. Some never walked out. But enough of them returned to prove it... On the other side of those gates was a different world entirely, vast and wild, and humanity knew absolutely nothing about it.
Monsters roamed everywhere. Demons, Beastkin, Orcs, and Winged Beings had built civilizations across the land, though even all of them together had not claimed ten percent of it.
The first generation of humans struggled to survive. They trembled, and they bled, and millions died.
Then they discovered something. In that world, a human being could gain incredible magical powers.
That was the turning point. They fought back against the monsters and carved out territories, and before long, humanity was strong enough to build a civilization of its own inside that world.
They named it Dominion Expanse.
Fast forward several thousand years, and the human civilization inside Dominion Expanse had grown unimaginably strong and significant. Almost every human dreamed of entering it, where they could choose to become either an Explorer or a Settler.
Explorers travel across Dominion Expanse, discovering and mapping new places and lands. They hunt monsters along the way, and most of them have no goal of settling anywhere.
Settlers do the opposite. They establish permanent human settlements. They claim land, build homes, grow communities, and defend their territory with everything they have.
A Settler starts with almost nothing, and in the beginning, any disaster can destroy them. If they happen to land in a dangerous zone, many don’t survive their first day, or their first week.
An Explorer can return to a safe, strong human settlement whenever they want. A Settler cannot. A Settler stays in their territory no matter what, because for them, there is no going back.
Countless Settlers had lost their lives over the years. It was publicly known information that the success rate of a Settler was 10 out of 100.
With over 88% of new Settlers dying every year, who would want to become one?
Good answer. Almost no one.
◆
The three students who chose the Settler Path were the talk of the day.
After the ceremony, everyone went back to their dormitories to pack up and prepare to head home. They had officially graduated from the Preparatory Academy, and the next phase of their lives was waiting. Just like General Master Nathaniel Grassman always said, this was where the real journey began.
"Your journey in life begins the moment you choose your Path, and you had better be ready for it."
The four of them walked back to the dormitory together.
Kai and Bradley walked in silence side by side, while Daniel and Eren followed close behind. The tension had not died down.
"I can’t believe it, Eren. I can’t believe you chose to risk your life in the most obvious way possible," Daniel said.
"We’re all risking our lives by entering Dominion Expanse, aren’t we?" Eren asked. "Explorer or Settler, it doesn’t matter. We’re all walking into a world where some crazy monster can come out of nowhere and rip our heads off. Or maybe we run into a Demon with a thing for blood and flesh."
"The only way to not risk your life is to stay here on Earth and live a normal one. None of us are doing that," Eren added.
Daniel’s eyes darkened at another defensive word from his best friend, a friend he knew so damn well, and who was about to get himself killed.
"We both know, Eren. We both know being an Explorer is the safest choice we can make to survive. We travel and hunt in groups. No one is alone. No one dies alone," Daniel said.
"That doesn’t change the fact that a group of Explorers can be wiped out just as easily," Eren replied coldly, without turning.
Those words only made Daniel angrier and sadder.
"Did you forget? Did you forget what happened to your brothers? Adrian and Lucas. They both chose the Settler Path, and... and now they’ve vanished without a trace," Daniel said.
"Your father... he... he hasn’t come home in eight years. He was a Settler too, and..."
"That’s the point, Daniel," Eren cut in.
"They all died in Dominion Expanse on the same Path. I shouldn’t repeat the mistake they made. And yet here I am, getting ready to walk the same road."
"Why?" Daniel asked.
"Because I want to rewrite their failures. I want to make every one of them proud," Eren said.
"My father and my brothers might have failed as Settlers. But me?"
"I won’t fail. That’s a promise."
Daniel’s breath caught. He could feel the sincerity in those words, and the determination behind them. He had always known Eren as someone who, once he promised something, would see it through.
This one was a matter of life and death, but it was still the same Eren he knew.
And somehow, Daniel realized he had to stop trying to change his mind.
They reached the dormitory, packed their things, and got ready to leave. They all agreed to meet at the City’s Portal Unit before going their separate ways.
◆
Eren finally arrived home after three years away. Once again, he laid eyes on the town where he had grown up, the place full of his memories.
Walter District. One of the middle-class residential areas of Caster City, the neighboring city to California City.
The town was as quiet and peaceful as ever, with little to no change at all. Three years wasn’t long. He hadn’t expected anything different.
When he reached the door, he let out a long, heavy sigh before knocking.
KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!
Seconds later, the door opened, and standing there was his beautiful mother, Elsa Blake.
Her eyes widened with joy the moment she saw him, and the next second she had her arms wrapped around him.
"Welcome home, Eren. Mother missed you so much," she said, holding him tight.
"I missed you too, Mother," Eren answered, though he didn’t hug her back.
His voice was cold, which wasn’t new to her. Ever since his last brother died three years ago, Eren had been cold and quiet.
He isolated himself all the time and stopped seeing his friends. He still had his mother, his only family, but that didn’t change the fact that his father and both his brothers had been swallowed by the cruelty of Dominion Expanse, chasing glory, power, fame, and wealth.
She had protested against him joining the Preparatory Academy, but Eren went anyway.
Later that day, over dinner, Elsa finally asked her son which Path he had chosen.
She was sure he wouldn’t repeat the mistake his father and brothers had made. She truly believed her last surviving son would become an Explorer and come home to her often.
"You chose the Explorer Path, right?"
Eren raised his cold face to his mother, who was staring at him, waiting, almost impatient.
"No, Mother."
"What?" Elsa’s eyes went wide.
"I’ve only ever had one goal, Mother. To become a Settler in Dominion Expanse."
"I will make up for the failures of Dad, Adrian, and Lucas. I will become a Settler, and I... Eren Blake..."
"I will succeed."