Legendary Shelter Survival Guide

"Yeah, tell us," Sarah chimed in, making it clear she had been waiting to ask this for a long time.

"The quest world… it was a whole new reality for me. A civilization built on magic from the start. Heroes saving the world is a common occurrence there. Its beauty may not compare to the lush forests of the Plains of Aemerion, but it has structures crafted by master masons and lumber workers. A true work of art." Lucas spoke with a nostalgic smile, as though describing his own home.

Sarah frowned slightly, as though things were finally starting to make sense.

"How long were you there?" she asked seriously. Lucas looked at her, the smile still on his face. For some reason, that calm gaze frustrated Sarah.

The creak of a door came from the shelter as John and Bill slowly made their way to the camp. Bill avoided eye contact with Lucas.

"Now that everyone's here, I'd like us to first address the issue Bill is having."

"You… Don't you all see? It's not just his status! Even the way he acts has changed! This is not our LUCAS!" Bill yelled, making eye contact with Lucas for the first time.

All eyes turned to Lucas, who still wore a small smile, unfazed by Bill's outburst.

"Bill, why do you think that? Why do you believe I'm not Lucas?"

"Do you think you can fool me? I can see a person's skills, stats, and everything with a single glance. But you…" Bill trailed off, his face turning pale as he averted his gaze again. Lucas finally understood the issue completely.

"What do you see when you look at my status?"

There was silence. After a few seconds, Bill finally spoke again. "It's all question marks... When I looked at it, my brain felt like it would explode… the pain…" He pressed his hands against his head as if trying to massage away the discomfort.

"Bill, I understand where you're coming from. Seeing such drastic changes in someone after just a month is beyond strange. But think about it, have you ever seen these 'question marks' before? Why do you think that is?" Lucas asked, making Bill look at him again.

"One more thing, just for clarification, have you ever seen the stats of someone who has all their skills above level 15?" Lucas added, and suddenly, gasps and shocked exclamations filled the air around him.

"Level 15?!" Jerry shouted, jumping to his feet, his eyebrows raised in disbelief.

"Please, calm down, Jerry. We have an important issue to address," Lucas said seriously, causing Jerry to sit back down.

"What the hell is happening?" Haley muttered in disbelief. First, Lucas revealed he had all his skills above level 15, and then he managed to calm Jerry in a matter of seconds.

"You can't see my stats because your level of 'Inspect' isn't high enough, Bill. I wouldn't be surprised if you couldn't even see my name on the status screen."

Bill was shocked, but Lucas, sensing others' emotions, could feel Bill's light understanding beginning to form. It was enough for Lucas to develop it further.

"Sandra, would you like to say something for reassurance?" Lucas asked.

"I can confirm, Lucas might have changed, but he's still the Lucas we knew, not someone else."

"I know that," Sarah interjected, her frown deepening. "But that doesn't answer my question, Lucas," she said confidently, her voice louder than usual. Everyone was already shocked, but seeing Sarah speak so assertively was almost surreal.

Lucas didn't respond immediately. He looked at the ground for a moment, then at John, whose eyes seemed to say, It's your choice.

'I could say anything, and they'd believe it... such is the power of my skills. But I don't want that,' Lucas thought.

"Fifteen years…" he muttered, causing jaws to drop. "It's been 15 years in that world, mastering nearly everything. Smithing, alchemy, lumber work, leatherworking, tailoring, weaving, pottery, masonry, magical engineering, enchanting, rune crafting, cooking, preservation techniques, artifact crafting, construction... you name it.

I learned it all, reaching the peak for the sake of this territory and its development. So yeah, 15 years."

Silence fell over the group. No one knew what to say. Even John stood by, simply observing.

But soon, the sound of sniffling broke the silence. Lucas turned in surprise.

"Why are you crying, Sarah?" he asked, standing and kneeling before her.

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"I-I'm sorry, Lucas," she said through her sobs, her face scrunched up as tears flowed uncontrollably.

"You've *sobs* worked so hard, and I've been such a horrible person since you came back… I… please, forgive me," she cried, leaning on his shoulder for support.

Before Lucas could place a reassuring hand on her head, she pulled back.

"But… I don't like the way you look at me," she said and abruptly stood up.

"Wai—" Lucas reached out to grab her arm, but she ran to the back of the shelter, disappearing from sight.

Lucas remained kneeling, lost in thought. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't understand.

"What did I do wrong?" he asked aloud, though the question was more for himself.

"That was bound to happen. You've been looking at her like she's a child," Haley chimed in.

"What?" Lucas asked, bewildered.

'Wait, have I been doing that?' he thought.

"It's not your fault, Lucas. It's been 15 years for you… but only a month for us. Sarah isn't wrong either," John said, grabbing Lucas's full attention. He observed Lucas's expression and continued.

"To her, it's only been a month, and we all know you two were together, Lucas. So, being so emotionally distant would make anyone feel hurt."

Lucas remained silent, unsure of what to say.

"I'll go talk to her. Everyone, you can take the rest of the day off. We'll resume our duties in the morning," Lucas said before heading to the back of the shelter, leaving the others at the camp feeling uneasy.

"I don't know what's happening anymore..." Sean said the things everyone was thinking about.

"It's strange but we have to give it time..." With some reassurance, John could only wait for things to unfold before he could take any drastic measure if there was a need.