《Extra's Return with SSS Plunder System [Progression Fantasy | Regression]》 Chapter 1 - [Plundered: One-Time Reversal] There were many lessons an aspiring adventurer could learn from his peers. How to pick good quest, how to negotiate the fees, how to cooperate with their party¡­ No one, however, could prepare them for the one element that all the missions, all the adventures, had in common. Boredom. A vast steppe to the left, a deep primordial forest to the right, and an endless string of road stretching as far as one could see - if not for the impenetrable darkness of the deep night. This scenery that Theo''s party of five had to endure for the past three days wasn''t doing them any favors in terms of dealing with the greatest enemy of adventurers ¡ª boredom. And so, desperate for something to occupy their thoughts, they just chatted away, discussing anything and everything in a desperate bid to counter the overwhelming boredom. Two weeks. That''s how long it took them to reach this godforsaken place that map-makers had long given up on, throwing their tools aside and marking it as "here there be monsters." And if their luck would have it, that''s how long it would then take them to return. This whole mission, a month-long expedition, would be decided withing just few short minutes in between. "Silence!" The huntress raised her fist, cutting everyone''s chatter at once and bringing all five of them to a sudden halt. After weeks of nothing but boring themselves to death as they traveled, their five fated minutes were about to begin. Snap. Up ahead, the heavy warrior of the group snapped his fingers and reached his hand to the back, over in Theo¡¯s direction. Wasting no words, Theo reached to the side of luggage strapped to his back, clipped the man¡¯s heavy axe out of its holster, and, after taking but a second to calculate the trajectory, tossed it ahead. Out of the whole group, only the Huntress fervently refused to leave her main weapon with him, refusing to accept the sense of unease she felt without it even if it came at a cost of losing the benefits of Theo¡¯s carrier blessing on it. This then continued as Theo distributed the party¡¯s weapons around, ranging from the leader¡¯s bastard¡¯s sword, through the twin rapiers of the swashbuckler and at the saintess¡¯ decorated staff ending. The whole process lasted no longer than three seconds, completed in perfect silence as the group readied themselves for combat. Two weeks after their departure from the frontier town, the climax of their adventure was fast approaching. ¡®Today¡¯s the day, man,¡¯ Theo gulped his saliva down as he retreated to the very back of the group and armed himself with a surprisingly simple knife, just slightly longer than what one could find in your average kitchen. He kept it in his off-hand, however, already using his dominant one to pick one of the soft-glass potions from the special vine tacked to the sides of his tiered luggage. As opposed to the four geniuses ahead, Theo, even after years of struggle, failed to find a single field he would be naturally talented at. Be it magic, swordmanship or even agility or raw power, his potential was - at most - average. Yet, unable to free himself from the company of those four, after many years of struggle, he finally managed to combine all of his weird talents and abilities to be of some help to the group. A quest he ventured on all on his own volition, unable to bear the thought of being just a mere mascot of the group, an introvert who just happened to get lucky enough to be adopted by the extroverted four ahead. - He is coming.- The Huntress, low on her knees, raised her fist, only to open it up and point ahead, before closing her fist again and shaking it one, two, and then a total of three times. ¡®Thirty seconds,¡¯ Theo read the signal, clenching his fingers over the sphere of the soft-glass potion full of vicious substance, ready to do his part. Whether he had to support the Saintess healing efforts or annoy the living hell out of their enemy, he was ready. Off to the side, the saintess¡¯s staff shone with a dim light for a fraction of a second, only for the night to suddenly grow all the darker as the divine-rank covert spell hid their presence - the ace card of the party, perfectly suited to the most reliable tactic non-ascenders ever developed for hunting those who absolved themselves of human limits. The time passed slowly in the silent darkness of the imperial outskirts. Seconds trickled by just like usual¡­ and yet, the thirty seconds that one would normally fail to notice the passing of, now¡­? Now, this short moment seemed to stretch out to infinity. Roughly ten seconds after the Huntress¡¯s signal, Theo heard it. The sound of a lone pair of boots crushing the small stones of the gravel road underneath the weight of their owner. Five seconds later, the rest of the group shifted a bit, indicating they¡¯d also taken notice of the sound. A minor detail that didn¡¯t escape Theo¡¯s attention. ¡®Don¡¯t get conceited, man,¡¯ Theo thought to himself, wiping the smirk that momentarily emerged on his lips. ¡®You might be a jack of all trades, but they are the ones who actually mastered their own fields.¡¯ Theo took a deep breath, calming himself down as he laid in wait, patiently looking for the first sign of his companions springing up the ambush. This wasn¡¯t the time to let himself be distracted with useless thoughts. Not when their target was an ascender, a being that went beyond the limits of human talent. The Huntress shook her fist one last time before moving it to pull the string of her bow. To the side, the Saintess¡¯s staff shone with dim light again, stacking yet another blessing over the group - blessing only further reinforced by the Carrier buff on her staff. Five seconds. By now, Theo could make out the silhouette of the lone man absentmindedly walking in their direction, just a few steps away from where the fate would draw everyones¡¯ lots. His companions, on the other hand, didn¡¯t even need to see their target, not when the man¡¯s overbearing aura more than just made up for the lack of direct vision. ¡®Three, two¡­¡¯ Theo breathed out as he counted in his thoughts. Right as he was to mentally voice ¡®one,¡¯ however, he swung his right arm and tossed his vicious potion ahead. Snap! The whole group leaped into action all at once, their movements shattering the delicate weave of the Saintess¡¯s covert spell. The leader pulled his sword from down low, drawing an upward arcs right at where the ascender stood. Two steps off to the side, the swashbuckler lunged out, not at the target himself, but at a diagonal that cut off two of the man¡¯s possible routes of escape. A bit behind, the Huntress released the string of her overdrawn bow, her explosive-strapped arrow shining with the light of the Saintess blessing as it shoot forth, ready to explode behind the ascender¡¯s back.This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. Lagging behind everyone, the heavy of the group brought his axe up high, aiming right at the only possible spot their target could dodge to. This was the true and tested way of dealing with the ascenders, a tactic one still needed a whole group of experts to perform. Contrary to what bards just loved to sign about, even ascenders could only guard from so many simultaneous attacks! A split of a second before all of those attacks struck, Theo¡¯s potion left the range of his influence, the soft-glass of the spherical vial solidifying back into the shatter-crystal it was made with. PANG! The sound of the curse-potion shattering combined with the noise of the swords clashing, as the heretic pissed all over their elaborate plan, opting to just stand¡­ and take all the attacks head-on. The potion shattered, splattering its sticky, mana-rich content all over the heretic while the party¡¯s the leader collapsed, his sword cleaved in two along with his entire dominant side, sliced off by the man¡¯s attack that Theo¡¯s eyes failed to follow. Both the swashbuckler and the heavy gritted their teeth and ignored the plight of their partner, pressing with the attack. The heretic, however¡­ just took it. Rather than stepping back after a successful counter, he pushed into the attacks instead, allowing the swashbuckler¡¯s rapier to pierce his gut while just¡­ slapping the heavy axe¡¯s blade away with his hand, using this opening to drive his sword into the heavy¡¯s heart. ¡®Shit!¡¯ Cursing to high heavens, Theo forcefully restrained his emotions and grabbed another potion instead. Judging by the faint glow around the leader¡¯s terrible wound, the Saintess was already on it, meaning¡­ ¡®Just hold on!¡¯ Right as the heretical ascender pulled his sword out of the heavy¡¯s chest, Theo¡¯s potion of divine healing smashed against the man¡¯s back, restoring his wound roughly at the same speed as the heretic¡¯s blade created it. In this short moment, however, the heretic already smashed the rapier¡¯s blade with the pommel of his sword, leaning off to avoid the swashbuckler¡¯s next lunge, already driving his knee into the lean man¡¯s stomach and sending him flying. ¡°AARGH!¡± Save for the sound of metal clashing against metal, leader¡¯s pained scream was the very first noise to cut through the silence of the night, followed by a small, localized explosion of the Huntress¡¯s shining arrow. An explosion that finally shed some light on this brutal, bloody scene. By no means was the heretic in good shape. The shards of Theo¡¯s cursed potion stuck out all over his skin and clothes, quite a few of them turning crimson from the man¡¯s blood as the shattered crystal absorbed it, only reinforcing the power of the liquid curse those shards were coated with. That was a good sign. The fact that the marks of the curse had yet to appear on the man¡¯s face, however, told a different story. Thankfully, that wasn¡¯t all. Two arrows grew from the heretic¡¯s chest, just an inch or two shy of his heart. The rapier¡¯s broken blade stuck out from the man¡¯s stomach, his blood vividly flowering over his plain clothes. Theo¡¯s team, however, was in far worse shape. The leader was slowly breathing his last, the saintess¡¯s spell struggling to keep up with the rate at which the man was bleeding out. The heavy was in a slightly better state, but the strain of having his heart pierced and then forcefully restored was quite visible even from Theo¡¯s point of view. Even the saintess was already bleeding from her eyes and ears, burning through her mental reserves to maintain her spells and keep the leader alive. Out of everyone, only the Huntress and Theo remained perfectly well¡­ But while the flash of the exploding light allowed Theo to better orient himself in the situation, it also gave the heretic the opportunity he needed to locate the annoying fly that kept skewering him with arrows. Poof! At one moment, the heretic just stood there, scanning the whole area with his eyes as he rapidly took stock of the situation. Next, he was half-leaned forward, his entire body bent by the momentum of a powerful slash with which he cleaved the huntress in half. Theo¡¯s hand trembled¡­ and grasped another potion. There was no time for grief over the loss of a another long-time friend. The only way for any of them to survive, was to deal with this damned heretic first! ¡®Hesitate and you die,¡¯ hypnotizing himself with the mantra, he grabbed another potion¡­ But with the first decisive loss, the cohesion of the group shattered in an instant. To the side, the saintess collapsed, her eyes empty and burned out from the strain of the several spells she was trying to juggle at the same time. Ahead,, the heretic already jumped at and decapitated the swashbuckler, only now revealing the full extent of his ascender-worthy agility. By the time Theo blinked and bent his arm to toss his next potion, the heretic had already driven his sword right back into the heavy¡¯s chest, redoing the same wound that Theo¡¯s potion almost healed, while stomping down on the leader¡¯s throat, crushing it beneath his foot. ¡®Shit! Fuck!¡¯ It didn¡¯t take a genius to understand what was happening. And yet, despite watching all of his long-time friends fall¡­ Theo¡¯s brain simply refused to process this information. And so, he went ahead and threw the binding potion¡­ only to realize that by the time the soft-glass left his hand, the heretic was there, just a few inches ahead, staring him down with a mix of amusement and curiosity brimming in his black, otherwise emotionless eyes. Then, without another word¡­ Theo smiled right as the man brought his sword for the final strike of the failed ambush. ¡®Bind!¡¯ The potion shattered just an inch behind the heretic¡¯s back. It was a gamble. A gamble Theo never thought he would actually perform. A gamble based on nothing but the one skill in his arsenal he never found real use for. A gamble that made him smirk as the heretic drove the cold blade through his heart. Theo¡¯s mouth trembled as his body stumbled forth, hanging on the ascender¡¯s sword like a puppet on a puppeteer¡¯s string. From the outside, it could look like a trusted friend leaning in to share some sort of great secret with his companion. Visibly amused, the heretic appeared not to mind this kind of final act of the fight, holding off for just a single moment from pulling his sword out and ending Theo¡¯s story here and now. And as Theo¡¯s lips reached near the heretic¡¯s ear¡­ ¡°Usher in me.¡± The world started to fade from Theo¡¯s eyes right as his greatest trick, one he never got to use before, finally activated. And for but a single instant, he shared all of himself, all of the causality affecting him, with the target of his shrewd, taboo-breaking trick. The effects of a sword piercing his heart included. *** [System: Condition Check] [Conditions Fulfilled: 97/97] [SSS Rank Talent Unlocked!] [Activate: Plunder] [Plundered: One-Time Reversal] [System: Condition Check] [\] [/] [\] [/] [Conditions Fulfilled: 472/999] [Calculating Range] [One-Time Reversal Activates!] *** Several lines of strange, blocky text appeared right before Theo¡¯s vision, only for his fading consciousness to fail to even register them. Yet, as the world before Theo¡¯s eyes blacked out¡­ *** *** *** ¡°GO!¡± A powerful, guttural shout filled the air, causing Theo¡¯s well-trained body to jump up and leap ahead, perfectly matching the jump of two dozen fellow cadets of his group. There was no time to waste, nor any effort he could or was allowed to spare! This race, this exam¡­ their results would not only decide whether or not they could attend the royal academy, but also the terms on which they could do so! Would they be forced to endlessly juggle side jobs and lectures just to keep themselves fed and clothed? Or maybe they would gain enough credits to afford a room in the academy¡¯s dorms along with all the privileges that came with it? Or, if they maxed out the score from all three of the ranking tests, would they enter the academy as a part of the royal class, with benefits no others would be afforded? Theo matched his running speed to the rest of the group, relying on nothing more than the muscle memory that translated the drill sergeant¡¯s voice into a strict order, an absolute obligation his muscles would never fail to follow. On the inside, however, the young man was too shocked to form a single, cohesive thought. Not only because he somehow failed to die and - as it appeared - went back in time. No, that wasn¡¯t even the biggest surprise of the day, as weird as it might seem. Even the death of his friends and his own demise became nothing more than fleeting, irrelevant matters Theo simply couldn¡¯t be bothered to think about in the face of the core discovery he made. Because for the very first time in his¡­ in this life, he opened his eyes to see this world for what it was. A world of the novel he read back in his teenage years. A reality of adventure, grief, and moral lessons, as packed with great joys and wonders as it was with hardship and struggle. A world¡­ where he was but a side character, who the novel¡¯s author only ever afforded three paragraphs worth of content. But as if just hoping to change his fate so that wouldn¡¯t end up as a corpse of an extra, now that he knew this was a world of a certain story, he also had the literal apocalypse to worry about! ¡®But¡­¡¯ Still relying on just his muscle memory to keep running, Theo gulped his spit down his throat. ¡®Since when do extras get talents second only to divine?¡¯ he asked himself, refusing the desire to just look down at the palms of his hands out of fear that doing so would cause him to stumble and fall in a race where he could, according to the plot of the story, afford absolutely no mistakes. ¡®And what¡¯s with that crazy number of conditions necessary to unlock that plunder skill of mine?!¡¯ Chapter 2 - A Proper Way To Run a Marathon ''So many questions, so few answers¡­'' Theo thought, taking a deep breath even though doing so came with the risk of screwing up his breathing rhythm¡ªan integral part of his current running effort. ''At the very least, if anything, I have all the time in the world to think things through!'' This run was more of a marathon than a sprint. Or, to be more precise, a marathon mixed with elements of an obstacle course, endurance trial, and performance assessment. ''I recall reading somewhere that originally, it was intended not to test people''s stamina but the cadets'' ability to pace themselves while being tempted by the importance of the exam''s results, but¡­'' As strange as it felt, Theo could still remember his past life. Even though it was a weird mix of his actual memories and just¡­ images his imagination produced back when he was reading the novel of this world, he still had access to it. That''s why, beyond any doubt, he could tell the original purpose of this exam was long lost, turning the whole exercise into its most crude form. ''It''s a pity I don''t really remember the grading scheme for it, though,'' Theo thought, smirking a little as he realized just how much his perception of this marathon had changed. Back in his original life, when he still wasn''t aware of the true nature of what this world or he himself was, he had spent absolutely every last bit of his energy to finish the race in a respectable seventh spot. A spot that gave him just enough credit points to ensure his enrollment in the royal academy and, along with the score from the written exams later on, got him into the academy dorms. Right now, however, despite having the clear path right ahead of him¡­ Theo decided to change things a bit. ''What''s the use of going back to the past if I''m just going to relive everything as I did before? That''s the easiest way to just remain a damned extra throughout my entire accursed life!'' As great as that plunder ability of his sounded¡­ it had way too many conditions, most of which Theo couldn''t even guess, to rely on it. Right now, rather than depending on something as unreliable and outright foreign, it was best to focus on the opportunities that lay ahead. ''Wait, if I recall correctly¡­'' Theo squinted his eyes, only to suddenly stop, nearly causing several cadets who were running behind him to crash into his back. "What the fuck, man?!" "Huh?" "Idioooot¡­" In the end, only a few of the cadets even bothered to comment on his strange behavior. Those who were ahead didn''t even glance back to see what had happened. Those who saw it, however, didn''t dare to risk losing the balance of their breaths for something as trivial as commenting on Theo''s apparent idiocy. ''Isn''t that bastard going to come down to the dueling area to bully whoever is insane enough to still go there after this exam?'' Theo thought, stunned by the realization while mindlessly watching his fellow groupmates overtake him and quickly run up the path. The cadets ahead had already taken the corner leading them across the inner gate of the cadet''s camp and into the hunting grounds rife with uneven ground, hills, obstacles, and even small-fry monsters¡ªmonsters incapable of seriously harming the cadets but more than capable of slowing them down. ''Isn''t this a good opportunity to kill that bastard before he ascends?'' Theo gritted his teeth. Even though his memories of his past life were weird¡­ the feelings of watching his friends get slaughtered were still too fresh to be dulled by the change. Theo could still see the burned-out eyes of the saintess, the decapitated head of the swashbuckler, the upper half of the huntress''s cleaved body¡­ ''No, that''s stupid,'' Theo thought, taking a deep breath as he finally afforded himself a moment to look down at his body. ''I''m in no shape to fight him, even if he''s still a mere seventh-rank swordsman.''If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. Closing his eyes, Theo took another breath, chasing all his thoughts aside. He held his breath for a short while before slowly pushing the exhausted air out, relaxing his body despite just how much his lungs craved fresh air. ''First, I need to get a good score in this run. And for that end¡­'' Running was a simple exercise. One that was rather hard to do wrong. But just like many other seemingly basic abilities, it too could be mastered. ''Relax,'' Theo thought, taking a fresh breath, allowing the refreshing breeze to refill his lungs and, in turn, replenish the momentary strength in his muscles. ''Tense up the right muscles,'' guiding himself through the process, Theo flexed just the right parts of his body necessary to execute the motion of running. ''And now, let it guide you.'' Amateurs ran just as nature intended, using all sorts of muscles that weren''t necessary for the process. Proper runners, however, simply went through the motions and allowed their bodies to carry them ahead. ''Now.'' Theo started with a slow walk, no faster than a crawl. Even if he knew what to do, he had yet to ingrain this knowledge into his body. Taking just the first step took him about twenty seconds. His second step wasn''t any faster. The third one, however, only took him a quarter of a minute. By the tenth step, the right muscles started to warm up, allowing him to cut the process to just three seconds. By the hundredth step, he reached the speed of a casual walk. ''Don''t let the time pressure you. The time you are losing now, you will easily win back later. This run is long enough for that!'' Step by step, Theo started to speed up. By the time he reached the corner of the camp''s fence¡ªthe same corner his fellow cadets had taken several minutes ago¡ªhe was already jogging. By the time he finally reached the line of trees, he was no slower than he had been when the sprint began. ''Now we''re talking!'' Rather than running like mad, Theo was seemingly gliding through the air, using just a minuscule amount of energy to keep going¡ªa fraction of what he had used before. There was still one more step that he could take to both raise his speed and decrease the strain on his body. To slowly infuse his mana into the few muscles he used to run. ''Yeah, I better forget about it,'' Theo thought as he breezed through the relatively easier part of the marathon, catching up to the slowest of the cadets right as he entered the infamous obstacle course part of the run. ''Getting a better time isn''t worth the risk of someone potentially noticing me doing so. I wouldn''t hear the end of it if a teacher came to question me about how in all that''s holy I''ve managed to do it.'' For others, the obstacle course was hell incarnate. An uneven path rife with protruding stones and tree roots, with random bushes growing directly on the poorly maintained road. A path that forced others to slow down and carefully measure their steps lest they wanted to risk straining their ankles on a random obstacle. Theo, however, had no time nor intention to slow down. Instead of running in a relatively straight line, he opted to keep altering his direction, maneuvering between the obstacles rather than conquering them the easier way. It was a process that inevitably put a much bigger strain on both his body and his brain, forcing him to endlessly calculate just the right path that allowed him to both avoid the obstacles while also keeping the turns as shallow as possible to preserve as much of his momentum as he could¡­ But even when this strain reached its greatest point, the total energy Theo used was still less than what he had spent back when the exam began! By the time Theo emerged on the other end of the obstacle course and entered the hill area, he had already regained his position roughly in the middle of the group, to the shock, amazement, and amusement of his colleagues. They had seen him stop and then stand in place as they ran. Logically thinking, for Theo to catch up, he had to have greatly overexerted himself! That meant he had failed to preserve his energy for later, when the weight of all the miles they had left behind would be the greatest! For them, Theo had given in to his pride and pretty much eliminated himself from the race, decreasing the competition for all the other cadets. Much to their chagrin, Theo continued to press forth, soon matching and then overtaking the rest of the middling group, further reinforcing their most reasonable belief as he left them in the dust, chasing after the most athletic eight of the group. ''Yeah, fifth spot in this run should give me enough credit points to get what I want at the exchange office,'' Theo thought, paying absolutely no mind to the cadets he passed through, with his sights already set not on getting the best score possible but on getting just high enough on the ranking to gain access to all the opportunities he had failed to grasp in his previous life. ''I could try to go for a fourth or third, but¡­'' Theo sighed. He had long since reached the optimal pace for the run. Still, while his effort was much more efficient than before¡­ this exam was called a marathon for a reason. And no matter how well he ran, it would still take most of what he had to offer to complete it, proper running form or not. ''Yeah, fifth spot it is,'' he thought, slowing down just a tiny little bit below his optimal running speed. ''This way, I should have just enough energy left to learn all I need to learn from that bully of an ascender!'' Chapter 3 - All But a Matter of Picking the Right Opportunity - Huff, huff, huff - By the time Theo emerged from the woods, the sun''s position had shifted from the edge of the blue dome of the sky roughly to its middle, as the early morning of the day gave way to its afternoon. Roughly four hours after the exam started, Theo was finally about to complete the run. His muscles were burning. His throat was parched from all the intense breathing that powered his efforts, lacking even the momentary relief of lubricating it with a refreshing sip of water. This run was designed to test the cadets'' endurance. Their ability to overcome the great distance of the dash was supposed to be as important as their ability to keep going even under the harsh conditions of having absolutely nothing to drink while also overcoming the growing hunger, a result of the exam starting at the same time as when the cadets would normally get their breakfast. In every way possible, save for magically altering the weather, this dash was designed to break a man, wring out everything there was from him, and then see how far he could go¡­ And, with the degradation of the knightling boot-camp''s understanding of the true essence of this exam, to see how fast the poor cadets could actually complete it. But now, four hours after this hell began, Theo could finally see the finish line. And, with how he refused to speed up beyond the least exhausting pace possible, he could also see the four of his colleagues who were going to reach the finish line before him. First, Antarex dashed past the spot where everything began, now transformed from just an empty part of the greater boot camp into a holding zone for the examiners, all of whom had gathered nearby a small rope drawn between two wooden poles stuck into the ground. After a momentary cheer for the race''s victor, the next two ran past the finish line, closing up the top-three lineup, fully consisting of the cadets known to have quite the history with the knights'' corps. It wasn''t those three, but the very next contender crossing the line that was actually worth the praise, as they managed to stick to the three favorites even with all the training and experience they lacked in comparison. Still, just as there was several seconds'' worth of time difference between the third and the fourth spot, it wasn''t until several seconds after the fourth cadet reached the end of the race that Theo finally approached the red-painted rope, only to then lightly jump over it before slowly slowing down in the space ahead of the finish line, already vacated by those who crossed the race''s end in advance. "Huff!" Breathing out from the very depths of his lungs, Theo leaned down as he rested his hands on his knees, fully banishing every last iota of air from his system, only to then wait for the inevitable. Theo''s lungs exploded in pain as they searched far and wide throughout his body for fresh breath, only to find none. His vision blackened while his entire body grew weak. For but a short moment, his heart rate only accelerated¡­ Only to then slow down, as his body started to rapidly shut down in a desperate bid to remove the obstacle of his conscious effort that kept him from breathing. ''Good enough,'' Theo thought, breathing out with all his might only to then finally allow himself a shallow breath, one that he exchanged with a proper, deep breath as soon as the first dose of fresh oxygen exploded within his bloodstream, staving off the process of him losing consciousness.Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. "You''ve reached the finish line fifth, with the time off¡­" Theo raised his eyes right as the young knightling approached him with nothing but a piece of paper, a goose''s feather, a small bottle of ink, and some sort of weird apparatus he then raised up to measure the position of the sun in the sky. "With the time of four hours and a quarter," the clerk announced, only to dip the sharp end of his feather into the thick ink before scribbling some details into his paper. "Your points will be calculated once the first¡­" The young man hesitated for a bit, only to take a quick glance at his paper, smile, and then raise his eyes back up to Theo''s face, "-first eight cadets finish the race. Until then¡­" Theo took one more deep breath before straightening his back and affording the young knightling just a single look, then turning his attention elsewhere as he started to walk away. "Huh?" At first, the knightling only moaned in surprise, only to shake his head and perk up as he called after Theo. "Hey! Where do you think you are going? How can you leave when you have yet to learn your score?" The young knightling wasn''t angry. There was no reason for him to be angry, after all. Now that the test was over, Theo had every right in the world to just up and leave¡­ But with how much this exam would weigh on his total score, the soon-to-be cadet simply didn''t expect anyone to leave the venue before learning their actual results! Still, hearing the confusion in the knightling''s calls, Theo turned his head over his shoulder and smiled at the kid¡­ No, the young man who was likely to advance to the role of this boot camp''s cadet sometime within the next two or three years. "And what benefit would there be for me to stay?" Theo asked, allowing just the corner of his lips to twitch up into a small half-smile. "I will get my points whether I''m here to hear how many I''ve earned or not." Theo shrugged his shoulders and looked away as he started to pace away from the test venue again¡­ Only for the youth to call him again! "Just wait¡­!" Theo rolled his eyes. "Actually, I have places to be and things to do, so if you wouldn''t mind¡­" Rather than finishing his words, Theo just looked away and picked his pace yet again. But the young knight-to-be wasn''t going to let him go that easily. "And where do you think you are going?! It''s not like there''s anything you can do after giving it your all to this race!" The young knightling''s words certainly rang true¡­ Or so they would, if it was Theo''s original run at life. Right now, however, his assessment couldn''t be any further from the truth. "Oh, I''m exhausted, sure," Theo laughed it off, only to then wave the kid away, no longer bothering to stop for his calls. He was just there to note his time and inform him of the result, holding absolutely no authority beyond that. And right now, it just so happened that Theo indeed had places to be, people to meet¡­ and bullies, the wrath of which he was aiming to make the most out of. "Wait, don''t tell me¡­" The knightling''s eyes turned wide as he stared at Theo''s back, only to then break out in a dash, quickly running after the young cadet, only to catch up, grab Theo''s wrist¡­ And then end up staring at his empty hand, as Theo freed his arm with just a single swing. "What the heck do you want?" Theo didn''t mind a few questions, but an attempt to stop him when he was in an actual hurry? ''This is starting to get annoying,'' he thought, putting on an angry look on his face as he turned towards the young knightling, ready to scold him¡­ "You are not really tired, are you?" the teenager asked, staring at Theo with a shocked look on his face and a baffled look in his eyes. "But why¡­? If you tried just a bit harder, you could''ve¡­" ''His confusion is real, huh?'' Theo thought, taking in a breath to calm himself down a bit. "Let me clue you in on a certain secret, kid," Theo finally stopped and even went ahead and turned to face the young clerk. "Sometimes¡­" He reached out and placed his hand down on the teen''s shoulder, prompting him to look up and lock his baffled stare on Theo''s face. "Sometimes, the visible opportunity is just there to hide the real thing from everyone''s eyes and ears," Theo stated, only to then put on a vile smile as he thought about what fate likely had in store for his own near future. "And sometimes, the best possible opportunity there is can be hidden beyond the facade of getting your ass viciously stomped on by a bully no one else would dare to even approach." With a mix of mature desire to just share his wisdom and experience with the next generation and the amusement of watching how the confusion only grew on the teen clerk''s face, Theo smirked before tapping the kid''s shoulder and then moving away. ''And sometimes,'' he thought, the amusement vanishing from his face as he geared himself for what was about to go down soon, ''sometimes, you have to go and provoke that bully yourself.'' Chapter 4 - Senior, do you dare? The opportunity Theo aimed to exploit was something both common and extremely rare¡ªa situation that played right into everyone''s hands at the camp and at the royal academy it was affiliated with. Contrary to the rest of the massive knightling boot-camp, the duel grounds were open not only to cadets but to all those who would bother to register at the camp''s office. For cadets, it was supposed to be a chance to train with their future seniors, generally much stronger than the cadets themselves. An exercise designed to teach them futility and how to recognize it, followed by make-up lessons on how to deal with an enemy exercising his absolute advantage. For the academy students, however, this was the place to vent. Did the noble caste at the academy bully a commoner a bit too much? Where else could he go if not to the dueling grounds where he could vent some steam by bullying his cute, would-be juniors? Even the nobles themselves were frequent visitors, more than happy to show the future members of the commoners'' caste their rightful place, beating the shit out of the few naive idiots who believed in the egalitarian theory recently popularized in the academy classrooms¡ªa theory that only reached as far as the professors'' eyes. For the teachers at the camp, however, it was absolutely the best thing, allowing them to skimp on training the cadets while still having proof that they got themselves properly beaten into shape. Today wouldn''t be any different, if not for the fact that today''s guest of the dueling grounds was actually an unusual one. Not only wasn''t the man a noble¡­ he wasn''t a commoner either. In fact, he was a fallen noble, still holding on to the vast wealth his ancestors built for him, but faced with the reality of his family losing the land grant, he found himself on the outside of most of the big cliques that ran the school from the inside. He was a man of talent, wealth, and great effort, forced to keep his head low by circumstances he wasn''t at fault for. ''And if my memory serves me right,'' Theo thought as he approached the biggest of the dueling grounds, ''today is the day his long-time girlfriend was stolen by a duke''s heir or something¡­'' This wasn''t an event that Theo would normally remember, if not for two of his fellow cadets falling into the trap of the man''s duel invitation, only to end up failing the whole boot camp because of it and then having to serve three entire years in the lower knights to gain the right to give it their best shot again. In fact, the story about the girlfriend was just a theory Theo came up with after analyzing this event years in the future, when the news of that poor bastard''s corruption was making rounds across every guild''s branch in the kingdom. The moment Theo stepped into the dueling grounds, however, one part of his theory was proven true. The air was brimming, shimmering restlessly under the oppressive force radiating from a young student donning the academy robes who defiantly stood in the middle of the marked-out dueling circle. According to the place''s customs, the way he just stood there was akin to him throwing a challenge at everyone and anyone, cadets and their teachers included. In short words, it was the highest insult one could commit by the ways of the dueling courtship. And while the few other cadets who just happened to stroll past the area¡ªtwo of Theo''s former¡ªfuture?¡ªfriends included¡­ Some didn''t even dare to look in the man''s direction, while others were already fuming as they inched closer and closer to the edge of the ring.Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. "You really got guts, I will give you that," Theo spoke out before anyone could commit the sin of idiocy by stepping into the dueling circle. Or, from his perspective, before anyone could get a shot at this golden opportunity presented in all its mirth and glory. The student standing in the ring had a face too familiar for Theo to forget. So familiar, in fact, he had to resist the desire to just burn his life away to break a bunch of taboos and gain access to the skills he wasn''t yet ready to wield, all in a bid to slaughter the bastard before he could grow too strong. ''Calm down, brother,'' Theo spoke to himself in his thoughts, taking a deep breath only to¡ªagainst everyone''s expectations¡ªtake a step ahead and cross into the dueling ring. ''He''s just a man.'' The student was just a man. Five years older than Theo, already well-established within the world of adults. The mark on the shoulder of his academy uniform designated him as seventh rank, someone who had already touched the threshold of mastership in his field, the type of field easily indicated by the elegant sword hanging off his hip. "This cadet pays his respect to the senior," Theo cupped his hands together in front of his chest only to then respectfully bow to the man, swallowing the blood oozing out from his very own lips that he had to bite hard to stop himself from lashing out. This was the man who killed all his dear friends just a few hours ago! But at the same time¡­ he wasn''t him at all. Not yet, at the very least. ''And not for as long as I can help it,'' Theo thought, relaxing his hands and raising his face to look at his senior. The student¡­ smiled lightly. His face was void of any marks of a recently broken heart or withheld fury. He just stood there, as calm as a flowery meadow, watching Theo with what looked like a mix of amusement and curiosity. ''Was the story about his girlfriend fake after all?'' Theo thought, only to twitch when the student laughed out before cupping his hands together and mirroring Theo''s bow. "I''m Gracian Monroe, rank seventh, swordsmanship scholarship student," he introduced himself as he bowed, his face¡ªwhen compared to how he would be in the future¡ªbrimming with all sorts of emotions. "And I do assume that by stepping into this ring, you do understand and accept its rules." Gracian''s look steeled up as he locked his gaze on Theo, following every tiniest twitch of the young cadet''s body. Five years of the age difference. Five years of nothing but constant growth that the royal academy facilitated. A gap so massive no cadet could ever hope to bridge¡ªnot against a rank seven swordsman who had already made a name for himself when the best of this year''s cadets could barely qualify as a full-fledged rank one. It wasn''t a fight between a David and a Goliath. It was a fight between a fledgling student and a fledgling master of the blade. "I do, senior," Theo bowed again, only to quickly rise and lock his eyes back on Gracian''s face while resting his hands down on his hips. "Before we start, however, I would like to suggest a bet!" "A bet, huh?" Gracian leaned his head over his right shoulder, his hand already gravitating to the handle of the sword strapped to his hip. "And what would that bet be?" he asked as sparks of curiosity exploded into flames within his eyes, only further fanned by the bright wind of amusement born out of Theo''s suggestion. "It''s simple. I''m nobody while you, senior, are a master, so how about the loser owing the winner two favors?" Theo suggested, clearly aware of just how idiotic this proposal was. For what benefit would a royal-class adventurer have in owing favors to someone as meaningless as the current Theo? Still, this was a bet Theo made with the benefit of hindsight. And before Gracian could ever reply¡­ "As for the bet''s content, how about giving me three free attacks, with the winner decided by the first solid strike?" On the outside, those terms couldn''t be more favorable to Theo. Three free attacks, with Gracian only allowed to remain on the defensive for their duration? And then victory decided by landing just one solid hit on the opponent? But Gracian¡­ Gracian was a rank seven swordsman. Someone fated to, even if only through corruption, become an ascender. Theo, on the other hand, could maybe, just maybe, by abusing his enormous pool of experience and repertoire of tricks, reach the outskirts of rank four. It was an unbridgeable gap that just three free attacks wouldn''t change anything about. Gracian knew it. Everyone who just happened to be close by as things got interesting knew it. Theo knew it as well. But if there was one thing that his years'' worth of training and adventuring taught him, it was that fights could never be decided before actually playing their course out. And so, raising his chin, he locked his eyes on Gracian, the bloody bastard from the future, before dropping his hand down to the handle of his sword¡ªthe same sword that he was forced to bring along on his recent exam, only adding to the burden of the long dash. "Senior, do you dare?" Chapter 5 - Mind Games "Senior, do you dare?" Gracian looked down at Theo''s face, his expression betraying nothing that Theo could use to guess the man''s mood. There was no way for him to know whether his gamble would work or not except by¡­ waiting for the man to reveal it himself. "Are you absolutely sure you know what you are doing?" Taken aback by Theo''s suggestion, Gracian ended up so confused, he actually gave him a good-faith opportunity to back down. ''Or maybe he''s already playing mind games, trying to put doubt into my moves by making me reconsider?'' When it came to swordfighting, generally, it was one''s body that fought. It was simply a contest of both practice, revealed in how well one could counter the opponent, and sheer ability, an aspect that could be boiled down to the limits of how fast and unpredictable one could swing their blade. In the heat of battle, there was no time for elaborate tactics, strategy, or plan of action. It was for that very reason that every swordsman would develop their own school of thought, of moves, to have something for their instincts to draw from during an actual fight. But Gracian wasn''t just a simple swordsman! As a rank seventh practitioner, he had stepped into the realm of mastery. And while he had yet to advance beyond the first of the three master ranks¡­ he was on an entirely different level compared to a mere rank one, someone whose limit was still within the first of the beginner''s ranks. "Yes, I''m sure. If it''s with those stipulations," Theo crossed his arms over his chest, leaving himself no time to doubt his choice even once, "then I''m happy to proceed." Theo looked ahead, right into Gracian''s face, refusing to turn his eyes away. This too was a part of the pre-fight mind games, the only part of the duel where one''s character and words could have any real effect. Gracian stared back at Theo for a moment, only to then laugh softly before unsheathing his sword in one graceful move. "Let us partake, then," he called out, only to drop the flat of his sword on his shoulder while slightly pushing his legs apart to get a better, more versatile foothold. "Come as you will!" Gracian was grinning, rightfully confident in his ability to dodge whatever attack Theo would throw at him. But¡­ Just in the very corner of his eyes, there was a single hint of a wrinkle, the tiniest possible clue revealing the seed of doubt Theo''s actions and words had planted within his soul.Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. ''When it comes to mind games, you are several decades too young to try to match me,'' Theo thought, keeping his face perfectly still as he pulled out his crude sword and took a moment to stand in a proper stance. This fight, Theo had long since played in his head. Standing atop the years of his own experiences, he could estimate the limits of Gracian''s ability and speed. He knew what to expect. And by planting this single seed of doubt into the man''s head, he ensured Gracian would give him his full attention, just in case Theo''s strange confidence wasn''t baseless. A small precaution for the senior not to let a random junior humiliate him. A respectable dose of foresight undiluted by arrogance, something one could only gain by overcoming struggles they initially dismissed. Normally, it was a mark of a truly experienced adventurer or knight, but right now? Right now, Gracian''s undivided attention was exactly the one element of the puzzle Theo didn''t control directly. ''Now, let me show you how to play mind games properly,'' Theo thought, still keeping his face perfectly frozen as he finally found his balance and put his body into a simple, basic stance. ''The fancier a move is, the less effective it is going to be.'' This was one of the many lessons Theo received from fate and various instructors. And so, rather than putting his limited energy into some unorthodox strike that could potentially catch Gracian off guard¡­ Theo just rushed with all his strength, springing up from his frozen stance as he leaped toward his opponent. A stupid move, depriving him of a proper foothold and trading the entirety of control for a slight burst of momentum. But Gracian¡­ couldn''t exploit this obvious opening. He was to afford Theo three moves, after all! And so, watching Theo quickly approach, Gracian braced himself to quickly deal with Theo''s limited moves, regain his mobility, and end this farce. Theo landed just a few feet away from the man, shifting his body low as he dove to Gracian''s left, putting himself at an advantage of attacking from his dominant side while forcing Gracian to defend with the opposite¡­ Only to halt his strike in the middle, grit his teeth through the pain of straining his wrist, and then counter-slash at his senior''s unguarded right instead! This was pretty much the limit of how much Theo could do before he would inevitably crash into his senior. His body was too slow to let him try even harder. On the other hand, however, accurately throwing a feint while charging in with a leap¡­ was not something Gracian could ever expect from a mere first rank. That move alone was enough to bring Theo''s classification all the way up to the last rank of the beginner realm, or maybe even into the first rank of the advanced class¡­ But that was it. Theo struck from the left, twisted his wrist, and then corrected over to the right. Not moving his feet a single inch, Gracian swung his sword, ignoring the feint only to brace Theo''s attack with his guard and then guide it away from his body¡­ For Gracian, this kind of defense was legitimate child''s play. Something he''d done thousands upon thousands of times. And now that he figured out how the fight would go, the hint of caution in his eyes vanished. But Theo''s sword, rather than just stopping at the limit of the young man''s reach¡­ continued to move off to the far right, guided away by Gracian''s guard. The weight of his deflection didn''t seem right either. Baffled and curious, Gracian followed after Theo''s sword with his eyes¡­ Only for Theo to dig his fist deep into his senior''s stomach, gnashing his insides for the split of a second before Gracian jumped away, stumbling on his feet to recover from the heavy strike. Three free hits. The elaborate feint a proper rank-one swordsman would never be able to execute. Even the arrogant confidence and lack of doubt¡­ those were all just facets of Theo''s mind game. Because before Theo could even ask for the three free strikes, he had already decided to end the fight with just one. Chapter 6 - Theos Two Favors The marathon-type exam left most of the cadets out of the batch dead tired. It made them push themselves to their very limit by dangling the most coveted prize in the whole area¡ªscore points. That''s why, out of the oldest batch of the cadets, only a very few of them gathered, most of whom belonged to the second and third groups, one of which had their exam tomorrow while the other concluded theirs yesterday. When it came to the younger batches, those who had yet to qualify for the first rank, they were outright disallowed from visiting the dueling grounds beyond the scope of their set lessons and exercises, as the instructors found it counterproductive to let them spar without supervision. That left only a select few to actually give a crap and attend today''s rounds of bullying, making for a very small crowd to witness Theo''s strike. Even then, when Theo''s fist dug into Gracian''s stomach, everyone gasped. And despite their small number, their coordinated sigh was enough to turn the air still. Thump. Despite taking a solid hit, Gracian softly landed just a few steps away, easily killing off the momentum that carried him. But as he raised his face¡ª "Thank you for the fight!" Theo pressed his arms along his waist before bowing down with his entire upper body. "You little¡­" Gracian''s face grew red as he took a step ahead, ready to charge Theo down¡­ Only to sigh out and slow down, merely raising his hand and patting Theo''s shoulder as he came to a stop but a few inches away. "Honestly, that was a good one," Gracian praised while tapping away at Theo''s upper arm, each tap heavier than the one before. "You''ve won the bet, congratulations!" The strikes grew stronger and stronger¡­ only to reach their peak weight right as Gracian spoke. Gracian then held his hand and pressed it down against Theo''s shoulder right as he opened his eyes and locked them on his junior''s defiant glare. "Now, what do you want me to do?" Gracian smiled without even a single iota of warmth behind his curved lips. "Two favors, wasn''t it?" Theo defiantly looked into his senior''s face, only to retreat two steps¡­This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. And bow down again. "First, I wish for Senior to kindly teach me swordsmanship for the two weeks of the camp that I have left!" Keeping his head low, Theo made sure to bow in the most formal way he knew. ''Just like I thought, huh?'' While all of this was playing out, the once-again-young man''s thoughts couldn''t be directed anywhere further away. ''The plunder didn''t activate¡­'' Theo didn''t have a convenient message window that would detail all the missing conditions for his talent to activate. Those requirements were something that everyone had to discover for themselves, which was also why talents of higher ranks were so increasingly difficult to learn¡ªfor the higher the talent''s rank, the greater the number of conditions for its wielder to activate for the skill to work! While lacking any form of quantification, he could still feel it. ''Whatever it was that allowed me to plunder that guy''s ability to go back, it is missing now. But¡­'' Theo squinted his eyes a bit. ''Is it because I failed to fully defeat him? Or maybe I outright need to kill my targets for this talent to work?'' "Wait, you want me¡­" In the meantime, Gracian took his sweet time to process Theo''s words and actions, so different from what he likely expected. "Me!" he emphasized, pointing his hand at his own chest. "To teach¡­ you?!" Glancing up, Theo could see the critical confusion in his senior''s eyes. Now that he had pretty much humiliated him, he was asking the man to beat the crap out of him on a daily basis? Even though there were only a few cadets in the crowd to observe the process, their rumors quickly grew loud enough for Theo to start hearing their whispers. Is he a masochist? - - A suicide by senior, huh? - - Maybe he lost his mind from the strain of the exam? - - Gracian, quite clearly, heard those whispers too, only adding more valid concerns to his bottomless confusion. "And the other one?" Theo took a deep breath. ''Now, you know what to do, don''t you?'' he encouraged himself before taking a deep breath and raising his face. "After this period of tutoring is over, I will ask you for something that won''t benefit nor hinder or harm either of us. It will be but a suggestion, one that I will, with all of my heart, urge you to follow." Theo pushed his mana reserves to their absolute limits, using what little magic his current body could wield¡ªas expected from a commoner attending the knight''s boot camp to gain his qualification to join the academy¡ªto endlessly refine it over and over again. Then, with the minuscule amount of superior, extremely condensed mana he managed to refine, he infused it all into his very voice, making it merely seem much grander and deeper than normal. It was a relatively simple, audio-visual trick designed to slightly affect one''s perception of the other party''s words. But it also mirrored the side effect of using a certain talent that was as common as it was capricious, if not totally random, in use. Gracian squinted his eyes. "Let me reiterate," he raised both of his hands and took a step back, as if gesturing at everyone to slow down. "You want me to bull¡ªtrain you for your last two weeks at the camp, only to then ask me to do something that neither of us stands to benefit from and that I''m free to refuse?" Gracian raised his eyebrows and locked his eyes on Theo''s face. "Well, now that you''ve put it in this way¡­" Theo raised his hand and¡ªas he relaxed his face a bit and even forced out a clearly forced smile¡ªscratched the skin behind his ear. "Yeah, I know it sounds weird, but that''s exactly what I mean and what I want." Chapter 7 - Prove You Are Worth My Time! "The deal was for the loser to owe the winner two favors," Gracian finally said after staring Theo down for what had to be a good two minutes. "Call me scum if you wish, but we''ve never agreed on what favors they would be." Theo squinted his eyes. Before, Gracian emanated the aura of power, the overwhelming might allowing the man to seemingly crush everything stupid or unfortunate enough to stand in his path. Right now, however, his expression, the look in his eyes¡­ The look in his eyes didn''t match his words. His voice, in fact, didn''t match his words either, with how full of hidden tension it was for it to be Gracian''s mere attempt to wiggle himself free of the responsibility. "What is it that you are trying to say, Senior?" Still respectful, Theo decided to dig a little bit deeper. By the disjointed features of his face, voice, and words, he could tell Gracian''s didn''t match his true intentions. Yet, for some reason, he still decided to use just those specific words. ''Is it because of the people¡­?'' Theo cast a quick glance around the sparse crowd, noticing their tense faces as they all awaited with great anticipation just how this conflict would resolve itself. And while there was one or maybe two cadets who genuinely sympathized with Theo and now showed looks of concern¡­ The rest of them, simply hoped for Gracian to put Theo back in his rightful place. ''Stay mediocre and no one will bat an eye on you. Take one step ahead, and everyone will peck you to death,'' Theo thought, releasing a short sigh. ''Is it a good thing for people to be pretty much the same as they were back on earth, I wonder¡­'' "If you want me to teach you," Gracian finally spoke again, only to bring his sword down and insert its tip into the ground just deep enough, for the weapon to give him some support as he leaned forward, "you need to first prove you are worth wasting two weeks of my life for." The young man then smiled before switching to lean over to the back so far, he could remain upright only by holding on to his now entrenched sword. "That punch, for how clever it was," Gracian nodded his head as he once again praised Theo''s feat, "obviously doesn''t count." The next part, Gracian didn''t even bother opening his mouth to communicate, opting to just turn his eyes and lock them on Theo''s discarded sword before moving them back to Theo''s face and then just¡­ staring him down with an intense, empty smile. "If that''s all that it takes," Theo muttered, only to move up to where his sword ended up dropping and pick it up. He then moved right back to where he came from before assuming a proper dueling stance with his legs firmly on the ground, just a bit wider than his hips, allowing him to properly lock his center of weight in place. If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. The art of reading people was one of the many non-classified skills that Theo obtained in his bid to match up to his friends. A skill that allowed him to better haggle during the supply runs, read more into the quests offered or even have an easier time discerning truth from lies during an investigation. The problem with this skill, however, was just how much the target''s state of mind would affect the outcome. Normally, just by remaining calm, one could render their emotions and thoughts invisible to self-taught empaths like Theo. Heck, reading one''s opponent was one of the major aspects of pretty much every classified field, be it magic or weapon-related. This made the ability not to let themselves be an easy read one of the basics for those who stepped into the realm of masters. Which was exactly why Theo continued to shake his target''s emotions, from the audacious bet, through all the provocations and confusion he inflicted upon his poor victim, all the way to his recent remark. And now, he could see that for all that Gracian said thus far¡­ His senior had absolutely no intent of letting this opportunity slip from his grasp. ''He fell for it,'' Theo nearly smiled. ''Well, looking at it from a certain perspective, my warning is indeed prophetic, so I can''t even claim to be scamming him, but¡­'' "Stand!" Paying no attention to Theo''s thoughts, Gracian plucked his sword from the ground before assuming the dueling stance himself, foregoing the usual steady position in favor of a side-ways half-lunge, holding his sword slightly behind the centerline of his body, ready to lunge forth at the first given opportunity. ''Isn''t it weird for a seventh rank to so easily fall prey to such a simple suggestion?'' Whatever the answer to that question was¡­ It had to wait. As soon as Gracian shouted his order, Theo raised the middle point of his sword to his forehead in a salute before swinging the blade down and changing his stance to a more defensive and reaction-oriented one. ''Now.'' But a single instant before Gracian moved, his muscles shifted a bit. And the next thing Theo knew, was his senior suddenly appearing just a step away, his sword already bearing down upon his head. ''Well, I expected this would happen too,'' he thought, gently shifting his body as he raised his sword and struck Gracian''s blade just hard enough to push it off course, to a trajectory beyond the limits of his chest and arms. The world suddenly turned black. Theo''s vision only came back when his entire body filled with stifling pain radiating from a seemingly random point low on his back. ''Did I feel on a stone or something?'' he thought, struggling to get up from the ground where he - before he could even take note - ended up. Theo reached underneath his back and then, surely enough, pulled out a jagged stone that unfortunately just so happened to protrude from the ground right at the spot Theo fell down too. "Why did you take the hit just now?" Gracian asked, casually standing a few meters away with a bright expression all over his face, pretending to be inspecting the state of his impeccably cut fingernails. Theo squinted his eyes, his thoughts racing through his head as he rushed to guesstimate what answer his senior was likely to be looking for. "It''s because I was too slow to both raise and then reinforce my guard." ''It''s because this body can''t quite catch up to the speed of my thoughts just yet,'' he thought to himself as he omitted quite a lot of other details he could point to as culprits for his failure. "Wrong!" Gracian shouted out, only to shake his head in disappointment before standing right back in the same, aggressive stance as before. "Again!" ''Is this how you are going to play this?'' Theo thought, taking in a deep breath¡­ and then picking up his sword again, only to return to his original spot and ready himself for the next bout. "Again!" Gracian smirked, "And if you want to teach me, then you better figure out the proper answer before I will be ready to leave!" Chapter 8 - Good Answer "Again!" ¡­ "Again!" ¡­ "Again!" ¡­ ''Again, again, and, just to be sure, again!'' Theo gritted his teeth. There was nothing wrong with his senior beating the crap out of him, ensuring that after every short bout, Theo would have a new bruise to remember this day by. And yet¡­ no matter how hard he tried, Theo simply couldn''t find the answer that would satisfy his opponent. ''I know of a thousand small mistakes I make with every move, but¡­'' Theo spat out some blood from his swollen mouth before using his sword as a crutch to pick himself up from the ground. Against all the odds of the bets openly circulating among the few spectators, he stood up yet again. ''I know of a thousand small mistakes, but how many of those could someone on my level realistically notice?'' With Theo''s SSS-ranked ability still falling just outside his grasp, he was a weakling. An extremely experienced and overqualified weakling, but still a weakling. The very fact that, despite his honest attempts, he couldn''t overcome Gracian''s sword was the best proof of that. His body wasn''t honed enough. His instincts were too dull, and his reaction time was too slow. ''Heck, I don''t think I could fight him even back when I was at my peak strength, not without resorting to quite a few different tricks, at the very least!'' Amidst the answers Theo could pour out just off the top of his head, none of the ones he could normally notice appeared to satisfy his senior. ''And with so many people around¡­'' Theo threw a glance around the excited crowd, watching with exhaustion as more and more money continued to change hands as his resilience shattered all but some of the most hyper-optimistic bets on how many bouts he could endure. "Again!" Not stopping even for a moment, Gracian called out. After roughly an hour of sparring again and again, merely a single drop of sweat trickled down his forehead, sliding down the curvature of his amused eyes, crossing his cheek, and dropping off his straight-cut jaw. "Yes, senior!" Losing nothing of his temperament, Theo raised his sword again, standing in the exact same stance as he had so many times before. Sure, he could alter it to make all sorts of movements easier and faster¡­ but the very moment he would do so, Gracian would account for the change and attack from yet another angle, one that would instantly punish the adjustment to Theo''s basic stance. The young man tried it all. During his best attempt thus far, four bouts ago, he managed to block two strikes and then push Gracian''s blade away with a counter. Still, before he could exploit it, the damned swordmaster had already recovered from the rebound, easily deconstructing his entire attack only to slam the face of his blade right into Theo''s exposed side.The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. In the rest of his attempts, he would only average a single block before the bout was decided. Still, Theo refused to give up. ''This is my best shot not only to practice real swordsmanship but to potentially plunder his potential, whatever it might actually be,'' he thought, gritting his teeth as he took a deep breath, readying himself for yet another of his senior''s assaults¡­ This time, however, the attack didn''t come. Instead, Gracian just stood in his spot, staring daggers right into Theo''s face. "Why do you keep losing?" Gracian asked, opting to lower his sword and press it into the ground rather than charge Theo down for the nth time. "Because I''m too slow to react, too slow to move my blade, too slow to process the fine details I can observe¡­" Theo began listing all the things he''d said thus far. Ultimately, all his supposed faults boiled down to the fact that he was fighting someone he had no practical right to ever defeat. "That''s not it," Gracian stated, only to sigh and shake his head. He closed his eyes and stayed silent for a moment, then opened them again and looked at Theo with renewed determination. "But I think I know why you can''t find the correct answer," he stated, shaking his head once more before locking his gaze on the crowd excitedly watching the proceedings from beyond the sparring grounds. "All of you, scram!" Out of seemingly nowhere, Gracian screamed with an intensity he hadn''t shown during any of his bouts with Theo. And just like puppets suspended on thin strings of reason, the spectators first froze¡­ only to quickly start leaving the place. ''Those kids,'' Theo thought, looking at the cadets not even halfway past the next dueling ring before they started arguing over how to split the money from the ultimately undecided bets. Still, while the small crowd was leaving, both Theo and Gracian remained perfectly silent, waiting for the moment they could talk without anyone listening in. "Listen, kid, I know you are not pushing yourself anywhere near your limits, be it during our bouts or when I''m asking why you lost," Gracian claimed, letting go of his sword and crossing his arms over his chest. "So I will ask again: why do you keep losing?" Theo looked at his senior, took a shallow breath, and then sighed it all away. "I''m losing because I''m only using what little ability to wield the sword I have," he now stated more openly, revealing one of the biggest points he couldn''t bring up with so many fellow cadets watching. Theo then cleared his throat with a cough before adding, "I''m losing because I''m fighting fair." Finally, as if it were some sort of miracle, Gracian smiled. "There''s no such thing as fighting fair or unfair," he stated, shaking his head while keeping the small, satisfied smile. "In a fight, there''s only winning and losing. So this time, my question is different," he claimed before going silent, plucking his sword out of the ground, and aiming its tip right at Theo''s face. "Why do you insist on learning swordsmanship when it''s clearly not your forte?" ''I didn''t expect him to catch on to that,'' the young man thought, struggling to decide his next step¡­ or rather, his next words. For a moment, Theo weighed his options, torn between having a constructive conversation with an actual master swordsman and the idea of keeping the true extent of his awareness hidden from someone as pivotal to the greater story of this world as this would-be heretic. "I do that because only by pushing myself beyond what I''m aware I''m capable of, I can match those who can easily overcome a modest yet moderate effort with nothing but the talents, the potential they were born with." This was the truth not only in Theo''s past life but in his current attempt at it as well. ''Whatever this plunder ability is, it''s not convenient enough to just make my life a smooth ride. And if it works somewhat close to how I imagine it does¡­ I''m only going to need even more effort to make proper use of all the talents I will plunder in the future.'' This answer, however, also appeared to be the breaking point for the conversational stalemate the two men found themselves in. A breaking point that only elevated Gracian''s smile and allowed him to adopt a somewhat softer look on his face as he dropped the flat of his sword onto his shoulder and raised his chin. "Finally, a good answer." Gracian smiled¡­ only to lower his sword and sheath it at his hip. "Same time tomorrow?" For a moment, Theo stared at the man with disbelief. ''He''s letting me off THAT easy?'' According to Theo''s mental calculations, it would take at least an hour, likely two, of bullying before Gracian would let him go. ''Well, you don''t look a gift horse in the mouth, do you?'' he thought, sighing as he finally allowed himself to relax a bit. "Same time tomorrow it is." Chapter 9 - Gracians Unexpected Mercy "I think this will be enough for today," Gracian said as he, as was his habit, rested the flat of his sword against his shoulder. "I''m not some monster to tire you out the day before the exam," he added, sighing as he put his sword back into its sheath. "Thank you for your teaching," Theo muttered, struggling to produce a single word through his swollen lips. Today marked the seventh day since his lessons with Gracian started. Every day, after completing the obligatory morning guard duty at the camp''s perimeter, he would rush back to mark off the daily step-marching exercise. Then, for an excruciatingly long hour, Theo would do nothing but repeat the very basic sword strikes, all to the rhythm and beat set by the camp''s instructor. Then, and only then, was he free to either study for the tests, practice his swordsmanship, or pretty much do whatever else he believed would give him an edge over his fellow cadets. Contrary to most of his colleagues, however, rather than using this time to keep honing his basic abilities or studying for the exam as important as the marathon from a week prior, Theo would then dutifully march off to the dueling grounds¡­ Only to pretty much get beaten over and over again. The training formula was pretty much the same as back when he was still trying to convince Gracian to help him. They would meet up, do a short warm-up routine, and then just¡­ bout. They would duel again and again, with Theo''s only break coming in the form of Gracian patiently pointing out his mistakes and areas to improve. Each day, for five long hours, Theo would get beaten up to the limits of what he could recover from overnight. By every reason or logic, rather than harsh training, Gracian''s regime was outright torture. A torture no sane man could endure for more than a day or two. For Theo, however, pain was an old friend. And with every doubt, just like his flesh would gain a new bruise from where Gracian would twist his sword to strike him with the flat rather than the edge of his blade. Yet, for every bruise that would mark his body, he was pinning down all the bad habits that he had gained in his original lifetime. Fixing them was a whole different matter, one that neither Gracian nor Theo had any hopes of resolving within the short time they were to work together. No. All Theo''s bouts with Gracian did was help him pinpoint the mistakes he never knew he was making. The slight shift of his body weight throwing him off-balance if the strike was heavier than he expected, a weakness a skilled and observant opponent could easily develop and then exploit. The way Theo''s grip on his weapon would be too stiff in some cases and too relaxed in others. Theo''s tendency to make his body follow the path of the strike, leaning into the attack more than he should¡­ There were those and a thousand other mistakes that Theo committed on a daily basis, mistakes as deeply ingrained into his brain as were all his other proper habits. With every bout, however, more and more of those mistakes made up Theo''s list, allowing him to ¡ª with time ¡ª fix them. Today, however, was different. Because Gracian''s lesson, instead of the full five hours, lasted merely two. And it was because one of the two exams Theo still had to take was going to take place on the morrow.Stolen story; please report. "Thanks for the mercy," Theo said while spitting the blood from his mouth ¡ª a consequence of Gracian''s sword grazing Theo''s bottom lip after the young man''s extremely narrow parry. "But with tomorrow''s exam, I might also be late for our lessons, so, if possible¡­" For Theo, as painful as those lessons were, they were outright invaluable. And while he already had the plans for the rest of the day, the perspective of losing out on the few hours of this precious opportunity to learn¡­ "No means no, kid," Gracian smiled, shaking his head with a hint of inspiration behind his curving mouth. "I admire your dedication, but I don''t want you to lose out tomorrow because you will be too tired to think," he stated, only to then lock his hands behind his back and push his chin up as he looked at Theo along the bridge of his nose. "And there is this one matter I need to attend to today anyway, so it''s not like I can afford to teach you as usual today." ''So that''s the real reason, huh?'' Theo thought, not quite naive enough to voice this thought out. ''And judging by the glint in his eyes¡­'' Theo squinted his eyes a tiny little bit. ''A booty call, isn''t it?'' "Well then, if such is the case," Theo stated, only to put his sword back in its rightful sheath before bowing down. "Thank you for the lesson, senior!" "You really are something else, kid," Gracian chuckled only to then wave Theo away. "Also," he said, right as he turned around, "don''t rush that exam, just not to be late for tomorrow''s practice. And with that said¡­" Gracian hesitated for a little before shaking his head and fully turning away. "Good luck tomorrow," he called out, not even looking back as he walked away. "Thanks," Theo mouthed, still bowing, only raising his head a good while later. ''Now then, should I go out to the city and do this by the books, or¡­'' Theo''s eyes darted away from his senior''s back and over to the massive forest making up roughly a third of the camp''s border. In the direction of the camp''s gate, right the way Gracian took, there was the nearby city, one of the capital''s satellite towns. It was filled to the brim with all sorts of jobs, of both official and not-really-official nature. And for someone like Theo, with a desperate need to test several theories for how his plunder ability might work, it was a treasure trove of criminals he could lawfully catch and then sell for profit at a local guard''s station. Going the other way, however, meant¡­ unknown. There was no telling what monsters lurked in the forest''s depths. What was the one thing that Theo could be certain of, whatever he would find in the forest''s depths wouldn''t be something someone on his official level, mere first rank, could survive against, not to speak about actually winning. One way offered predictable missions, guaranteed remuneration upon the quest''s completion and was generally a much safer, more reasonable route to take. The other way, however¡­ Just like it was one big unknown when it came to the dangers within, the rewards Theo could reap from just a single trip, if lucky, would be greater than what he would be able to achieve when working as an adventurer for weeks if not months. Still, it would be a greedy move to pick the forest. And according to Theo''s memories, he did, in fact, go with the safer choice back in his original run at life. "Haaah¡­" Theo sighed again, hanging his head low as he looked away from the camp itself and turned his eyes over to the huge, thick woods just ahead. "How can I expect my fate to change if I''m only going to do exactly what I did in the past?" he asked himself, gritting his teeth at the mere idea of repeating all the mistakes he made back in his original life. ''Wouldn''t that make me an idiot to do everything the same way I did, repeat the process exactly as it originally happened¡­ and then expect some other results to show up?'' This wasn''t a problem that applied just to this one, single instance. It was a full mental shift of the paradigm that Theo diligently followed in his original life. ''If all I ever do is follow the cold reason, aren''t I bound to end up exactly where I did in my original life?'' Theo sighed out before pushing himself further and further, soon leaving the relatively more open areas of the forest as he reached its outer core ¡ª a part of the biome where nature suddenly flexed, changing from the sparse, flowery mix of low-growing vegetation and just a few trees overlooking them, to no less than a full-blown jungle! ''With that line of thought, doing away with reason and just following my guts is the only way to change the future, isn''t it?'' Theo thought, quickly recalling the bloody scene that made him so desperate to make sure that memory never had any chance of turning into reality in this timeline. Theo then sighed before delving even deeper into the forest, braving straight into the forest''s outer core. ''A hunt in the woods it is, then!'' Chapter 10 - Berserk Spores Leaving the camp''s designated area couldn''t be any easier. The philosophy of the training officers was quite simple¡ªwhoever wanted to train was free to venture out into the forest part of the camp, where only the weakest of the monsters could venture, thanks to the robust barrier that guarded the camp''s perimeter. Sure, it was easy to get hurt or even find oneself in serious danger¡­ But who were the camp''s officers to tell cadets not to do it? Still, with how little to no practical rewards there were for hunting those small fries down, hardly anyone even bothered to partake in this kind of personal training. Between those two issues, the forest area of the camp lay pretty much forgotten by most, taken for no more than an element of the camp''s background. Theo, however, had no plans of sticking to the insides of the barrier. And as a spell array designed to keep monsters out, he, as a human attempting to leave, could do so with little to no difficulty. ''Now,'' the young man thought as he confidently stepped over the array. Right now, his body had laughable little in the way of mana. He never trained or worked towards the goal of increasing it in his current past, limiting his strength to mostly just his muscles. This would, in his previous life, continue all the way until the latter years of his academia life, when the saintess pretty much kidnapped him before holding poor Theo in her basement for the two weeks during which she lectured him over all the benefits of utilizing both physical and magical strength. It was a lecture that originally opened Theo''s eyes to the world of low-rank magic, from which he could go on to develop a majority of his later kit. Right now, all of that knowledge, all of his expertise¡­ They were all for naught. All due to Theo''s extremely lacking mana reserve. ''I''m behind everyone by at least a year or two by now, so if I want to learn better magic, I really need to make every opportunity here count.'' Theo took a deep breath¡­ before diving into the unrestricted part of the forest, one that wasn''t banned from visitation simply because no cadet would be dumb enough to ever venture there. Only the actual young knights¡ªtrained in the same knightling camp, just on the other end of the camp''s massive ground¡ªwould ever approach it, and then only with their teachers¡ªseasoned knights themselves¡ªand only during their final exam to obtain the qualifications to swear in. "And even those would stick rather to this place''s outskirts, huh?" Theo muttered as he carelessly just¡­ ran into the woods, paying no mind to any of the dangers nearby. When it came to the absolute basics of swordsmanship, he was no match for Gracian. That senior-turned-heretic would go on to become an actual ascender, a being that went beyond the whole concept of ranks. And all of that, with nothing but a simple sword in his hand. Theo intentionally limited himself to just the basics when training with Gracian, knowing full well their importance in the much more robust system of combat any fighter would develop for themselves. In a way, one''s methods of combat were all just a logical conclusion of them playing to their strengths!This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. If someone was fast, they would try to further exploit their agility. If strength was someone''s forte, they would train even harder in a bid to just¡­ overpower everyone. ''By knowing what foundation they grow their power from, you can kind of derive most of the practicals of their present style.'' Stuck deep down in his thoughts, Theo paid no mind to the pack of evolved goblins, a pair of orcs, or even a lone ogre wandering through one of the rare forest clearings hidden by all the high trees surrounding them. When it came to swordsmanship, just like his exercise with Gracian showed, Theo could barely hold to the first rank. Now, a week of training later, he could somewhat confidently stay within the first rank, maybe starting to eye the second rank by the camp''s end in half of a week''s time. The average monster of this forest would hold an equivalent of the third rank. Adjusting for their tendency to pack up, rule-excluding pretty much only the solitary species, one had to be out of their mind to venture into the place marked as rank eight danger zone. Surrounded by the thick trees, with swaths of relatively strong monsters coming from every direction and always a bunch of apex predators lurking around to snatch free prey¡­ one had to reach a level near the absolute mastery of their combat ability to even think about surviving. Theo, however, was bound by no such rules. Not because his prior knowledge somehow gave him immunity from the real danger of this place¡ªnot at all. The monsters here would rip him apart as easily as they would any other cadet! Theo, however, never planned to give them the chance to do so. "That should be enough." Paying no mind to the likely presence of a few specimens smart enough to understand speech, Theo halted his dash, only to smash a bunch of herbs he picked on his way to the forest''s inner layer, and spread his arms out to smash his herb-full open palms into the trunks of the random trees along the way. The herbs burst into a greenish mist, a mist Theo then hurriedly ran into before taking as big of a breath as he could. ''Oh shit,'' he thought before the intensity of everything¡­ spiked. In a single beat of his heart, the world around him grew just so much more complex, and with it, interesting. In a single instant, Theo heard the small insect nearby brushing leg against leg to clean it, the creeping of a massive canine monster through the nearby undergrowth, the shallow breaths of a pack of shadow goblins already lurking around. ''The first step is always the heaviest.'' Theo thought¡­ and leaped forth with absolute disregard for his own safety. This was a display of primordial wilderness only the berserk bush could provide with its drug-like level induction of adrenaline into its victim''s system. It was a lethal poison, one that would erode Theo''s innards within a few short minutes of getting himself high on power by literally burning his body away at the cost of leaving it in a state of random spots of necrosis. For but a single moment, already mid-leap, Theo turned into a wild, primal beast. He landed right by a small group of wicked monkeys hiding within a nearby treetop. Theo swung his arm¡­ And three wicked monkeys, all of them fourth rank equivalent, exploded into bloody mist, torn to shreds by the rank six wind-blade Theo constructed by wringing out every last iota of the minuscule amount of mana his body commanded. Clumps of the monsters'' flesh, innards, and bones rained down all over the tree''s huge branches, drenching Theo in the splatter of thick, black blood, not all that unlike what his very own blood was in the process of turning into. As the two mixed, however, Theo closed his eyes, allowing himself just a single instant of respite. And drenched in the monster blood, Theo opened up his entire soul to the burning sensation of the monster''s miasma, the mana corrupted by its wicked will, to fill every muscle of his body. Disregarding the slight glitter of the monster stone falling through the leaves and getting lost somewhere down on the ground, Theo took a deep breath in and opened his eyes. ''That''s better.'' Monster mana flooded his flesh, eating away at its essence at a rate much faster than the spread of necrosis from the lethally-powerful drug he infused himself with before. In simple terms, Theo cured one poisoning by subjecting himself to an even stronger curse, one that would claim his life in a matter of not hours, like the spores of the berserk bush, but mere minutes. "And now¡­" Despite feeling the cold touch of death''s scythe on the back of his neck, Theo smiled. "Now we ramp things up a bit." Chapter 11 - A Strength To Die For "Now, we ramp things up a bit," Theo muttered to himself with a slight smile, only for his consciousness to waver for a second, and his entire upper body convulsed, causing him to hang out from the branch he was on and throw up a mouthful of blood. This bloody vomit broke the pleasant delirium of the Berserk bush, leaving behind nothing but its speed and senses-reinforcing effect. And with the miasma erosion now eating away at his flesh from the inside of every cell of it¡­ Theo only grew all the more susceptible to all the pains of the process. ''Keep a hold on it!'' Theo cheered himself up, fighting off wave after wave of unbearable torture as he looked down. Below the tree, monsters were already starting to gather. Sensing the blood in the air, some small predators rushed to see if they could snatch a part of someone''s prize. Following them, bigger predators lurked around, ready to pounce on their unsuspecting brethren¡­ With apex predators already converging on the place, more than happy to have such a buffet congregate itself for them to feast upon. What started with just a bunch of relatively weak monkeys now turned into a situation capable of bringing out cold sweat on every adventurer''s back. Regardless of how things would go, this sort of gathering was often the chief cause behind monster stampedes! "Just a little bit longer¡­" Theo muttered to himself, holding for his dear life to what was left of his consciousness, bristling with all the corrosive miasma that melted away at his insides. Then, Theo saw it. The huge, carriage-sized body of one of the forest''s kings slowly moved between the undergrowth, creeping closer and closer to the gathering of unsuspecting monsters. Then, it pounced, stretching its agile body in the air as it shot forward and fell down on a massive bear-like monster. Its claws tore the bear-like monster''s hide with ease, clawing away entire chunks of the monster''s back right as its long, sharp teeth sank down over its opponent''s neck, quickly severing all the major bloodlines. Augoma, the sixth-rank bear-like monster, died just like that. The feline king shook its head a few times, snapping its prey''s neck to ensure it was properly dead before raising its head and slowly scanning its surroundings while letting out a small growl, scaring all the monsters that couldn''t match up to its strength. "That I can''t have you do," Theo clicked his tongue, only to finally release the lock of his miasma, unleashing all of it in just one sweeping attack. The wind blade that he used to shatter the monkeys into a thin mist of finely diced meat and blood now grew as large as Theo himself, assuming the form of a scythe as it fell down to the ground. During its fall, it appeared as nothing more than a projection of light cast by a small stone in an uncontrollable descent that made all of it look extremely eerie. Before it could touch the ground, however¡­ ''Now, it''s quite literally out of my hands,'' Theo thought, falling down onto the bloodied branch as he attempted to assess the damage caused by the two poisons. Thankfully, to a degree, his gambit worked just as planned. The monster''s miasma eradicated all Berserk bush influence by simply eroding all of the parts already damaged by the herbal drug. But what was even more important, this miasma burned away at the intent of Theo''s flesh, now leaving it to gradually degrade into a formless mass lacking any sort of purpose. Or, as Theo preferred to look at it, it left his body in a state just perfect for molding anew. ''Pop.'' As the back of Theo''s head struck down against the wood of the thick branch he sat on, his wind blade fell all the way down to the ground. Swish! It was but a momentary explosion of magical energy. A blade of wind manifesting like a scythe''s blade with Theo''s tree at the back-end of it, only for it to then swing all the way across that center point, cutting away at all the monsters that gathered for the feast, save for those few who managed to jump away.This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it ''Tsk, it dodged,'' Theo thought, casting a weary glance down the tree, at where the feline king of the forest lunged away, jumping at a nearby tree and digging its claws into its bark to remain off the ground, away from the path his wind-blade took. But while the big catch escaped¡­ Theo could clearly see the bodies of roughly a hundred different monsters falling apart into meaty, bloody chunks, filling the forest with a rare moment of true, pristine silence. It was as if even the trees themselves dared not to rustle their leaves on the wind, too scared of the culprit behind this mayhem taking notice. Theo, however, had no more strength left to celebrate, his body convulsing as the damage to his insides quickly approached critical levels. ''It''s do or die, man!'' Prompting himself with the last of his energy, Theo drew a simple rune in the air only to activate it right as he breathed his supposed last. - Press - The runebearer''s lawful order instantly took effect, squeezing down all the monster corpses in the circle left in the wake of Theo''s scythe, wringing their corpses dry as all of their blood seeped into the ground. This was one hell of a massive waste of money. Each of those monsters'' hides could fetch a good price in the town''s market. Some of the monster remains Theo''s lifeless eyes could see could be sold for quite the fortune, allowing him to just ditch this camp and the academy and start a life as a rich, playboy noble from some distant lands no one heard about. But riches and wealth weren''t Theo''s concern. The dead had no use for the money of the living, after all! Yet, just before Theo could officially cross over and test all sorts of theories about the afterlife with his another and likely final death¡­ The thin string of pure, raw determination that held him back, rather than snapping¡­ it suddenly grew thicker. With the blood of a hundred demons pressed into the ground, the whole area quickly started to exhibit first signs of miasma curse as all of the plants began to simultaneously wilt out and die¡­ But, for just a short moment, the whole area exploded with raw, pure spiritual energy, like one of those legendary dragon veins that some of the kings and high nobles supposedly monopolized. This raw energy shot up, purified by the very ground itself as it cleaned the monster''s blood from its corruption. But raw energy could not remain within the corrupted source. And so, it could only be expelled, shot up, and regurgitated by the ground itself as it turned from fertile grounds full of life into the cursed zone like many others in the forest. It was this very energy that Theo''s body sucked up like mad, totally deprived of mana itself and in just the perfectly mendable state this raw energy needed to easily start healing it. Yet, even with just the last of his consciousness, Theo still managed to grasp the reins of this process, affecting the way in which nature brought him back to life, as he gently nudged it to overwrite parts of himself he was extremely dissatisfied with. Theo continued to soak in this seemingly endless energy for a good few minutes before the process finally came to an end, as the now cursed ground expelled all of the power from the corruption itself it could now feed on. ''And so, the circle closes, with this land soon giving birth to a whole new host of monsters,'' Theo thought, fully aware of this world''s endgame. ''Thinking about it, even my death was nothing more than one of the many stepping stones for the bad guys to execute their scheme and bring about an end of the world, wasn''t it?'' Theo thought, now that he was armed with the knowledge of this entire place being a carbon copy of the novel he''d read in his past life. Taking a deep breath in, Theo closed his eyes and then exhaled, carefully inspecting the state of his now healed body. This process wasn''t over, though. There was still that feline king, one of the apex predators of the forest that would succumb only to the monster emperor inhabiting the center of the forest. The reason why just the centermost part of this jungle had its separate rank classification, putting the rank eight of the forest outer rings to shame as its core boasted the highest rank of them all - ultimate. This oversized cat was but an insect to the abyssal monster residing in the forest depths, a monster that in Theo''s original life required a group of seven ascenders to bunch have it slayed, and even then managed to drag three ascenders, half-gods of humankind, with it. But for current Theo¡­ "Yeah, it''s not worth fighting it out, is it?" Theo turned his face over to the cat as he lowered his arms, settling in his new, empowered body. His flesh was all the same, with hardly any changes coming to it. But his mana reserve¡­ This feline king, a rank seventh¡­ no, quasi rank eight monster, simply looked back at him before squinting its eyes and turning around, more interested in the squashed scraps of meat of the other monsters than it was in duking it out with someone boasting Theo''s kind of aura. ''You might be quasi rank eight, but I used to be quasi rank ten!'' Theo boasted in his thoughts¡­ Only to fall down to his knees, his body convulsing yet again as he vomited blood again, this time a much darker, blacker kind of it. ''It''s nothing, it''s just the impurities¡­'' Theo thought, trying to calm himself down¡­ But worn down after force-pushing himself to the level of strength currently unheard of, he could barely afford to keep himself awake. Doing anything beyond that¡­ ''Tomorrow''s gonna suck balls, huh?'' Theo thought, as his eyelids continued to grow in weight, slowly sliding down his eyes. ''Heh,'' suddenly, Theo''s mood slightly improved. ''What won''t a man do to grow stronger, huh?'' Chapter 12 - Ticking Bomb Within the realm of this world''s power, Theo found himself in a rather unusual spot. Most of the people of this world would focus on pursuing mastery in one field, only branching out to others once they found the limits of their talent. This was all because reaching higher realms of mastery in one field often brought forth greater results than just trying to learn the basics of another field. That''s why, when it came to any field in specific, Theo was at the rock bottom. His lack of talent with the sword kept him at the peak of the second realm of expertise even back in his original life. However, now that his body had reverted and lost the edge Theo''s years of training gave him, even a whole week of training with Gracian only allowed him to fix his basics to the point of reaching the second rank! When it came to magic, however¡­ Theo''s talents were just as disappointing as they were in regards to his ability to swing the sword around. Still, while pure magic was never Theo''s forte, it was the foundation for a plethora of other skills that he developed, skills that all required some degree of mana to work. Which was precisely why Theo, despite all the drawbacks of using this method, decided to go all in during his forest visit. That''s why he used ground-purification of miasma, a technique developed only a few years into the current world''s future. That''s why he signed a death warrant on himself twice. That''s why he didn''t mind absorbing all that miasma despite the devastating effects it had on his body. It was all because showering his body in the purified mana while it was in a state of nearly complete decay was the quickest and most reliable way to raise his qualification as a pure mage all the way to the middle of the second realm¡ªthe fifth rank! Reaching the fifth rank was a feat that normally would take one with an average talent between three to five, maybe six years of constant effort, training, and study. And right now, having been spared all of that sweat, Theo had no other choice but to pay the price for his growth with blood. ''This really sucks¡­'' Theo thought, after crawling a measly few steps over the ground before throwing out another mouthful of blood. Having his body restructured so forcefully left him feeling like a mage with the spell preventing the hangover who, only after years of drinking, realized that there was a limit to that spell, only for all of the accumulated drain, pain, and nausea to strike the unfortunate mage all at once. But with the raw might of the pure mage of the fifth rank bustling in his veins¡­ it more than just made up for all the pain and torture he had to undergo right now. ''As long as I reach the test venue, all will be good,'' Theo thought, already planning for the coming exam even though there were still some hours before the day would come to an end.A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. But with his body in a state that only allowed extremely careful and intervalistic crawling, the route he took in a matter of several tens of minutes before by walking now turned into a great journey that he couldn''t conquer any faster than with several solid hours of this desperate crawling. ''At least no one should find and bother me while I''m still in the forest,'' Theo breathed in and out, trying to mutate some level of physical strength from his mana¡­ before pushing his limbs and crawling a few more steps, only to then collapse directly onto the ground, powerless to inch another step forth. The only reason why Theo could allow himself to be in the forest in such a state was because of the specifics of the pure mage field of expertise. A pure mage was never a role anyone would want to stick to long-term. Contrary to all the other denominations of the magic-wielding job, a pure mage''s role was limited to just wielding their own mana, absorbing more of it, and growing better at managing its internal flow. In a sense, every mage had to be a pure mage, but hardly any mage ever remained as just a pure mage. This role was just a step, a process of building the foundation of one''s magic necessary to then effectively wield it later on. It was also why there were only a dime and dozen of those who ever bothered to reach the peak realm of pure magic before pivoting towards a more useful job in all of this world''s history. ''If only that damned main character wasn''t one of those few, I might''ve disregarded this step and just done the necessary minimum again,'' Theo thought, moving back with his thoughts to his past life, where he only ever reached the third rank as a pure mage, satisfied with the amount of mana this level of expertise provided for all of his other abilities. But now that he had the benefit of hindsight¡­ or should it rather be called, the benefit of a reincarnated extra aware of this world''s true nature and, by his knowledge of this world''s story¡ªits future¡­ With all of that knowledge, Theo would have to be stupid not to mend his ways! ''Just a little bit more!'' And so, Theo continued to crawl through the forest undergrowth, only having his oppressive, pure-mage aura to thank for keeping all the forest monsters at bay. Or maybe it was the putrid smell of all the death he brought and miasma he extracted that kept the monsters at bay? Regardless of what was the reason behind it, Theo continued to crawl, vomit blood, lose his breath, and then crawl some more¡­ all the while wielding more mana in his battered body than he actually knew how to use! ''But what if¡­ this amount of mana is not only more than I know how to use, but also more than I know how to handle?'' This question Theo could find an answer to only in one way¡ªby actively trying to use his newfound strength. While all his mana did was roam through his flesh, he didn''t have to fear losing control of it. But the moment something would excite it, a bloody duel with a master swordsman, for example¡­ ''Yeah, I guess I can''t go back just yet,'' Theo thought, pretty much right as he could feel the first hints of relief from reaching the camp''s barrier and then easily crossing over to safety on its other side. ''Not when I''m literally a ticking bomb!'' As little as Theo cared for the other cadets, he wasn''t the bloodthirsty monster that would disregard their lives for the sake of nothing more than his own convenience. Which was why, after nearly four hours of crawling through the dirt, rather than trying to rush this last stretch before reaching his tent back in the camp¡­ Theo stopped while still hidden well in the depths of the camp''s part of the forest. He stopped¡­ and then spent nearly a quarter of an hour pulling himself up the trunk of a random tree, only stopping when he sat down and rested his back against it. Then, for the next ten minutes, he struggled to cross his legs and put himself in a position his brain habitually associated with internal training. ''Now, let''s see,'' Theo mouthed to himself once his body stopped convulsing from the extreme effort sitting down took from him. ''How would I even go about testing my mana control?'' Chapter 13 - Through The Cold Mist ''Curse this life, curse this damned duty, curse this accursed camp!'' Uriel''s mood couldn''t be any more foul than it was right now. Soaked from head to toe in the thin mist that would emerge every single day precisely an hour before sunrise, he continued to pour his complaints out in his head while gritting his teeth in reality as he continued on the path along the forest''s edge. ''This is what I get for being diligent? This is my reward for working so damn hard?!'' Resisting the desire to just slam his fist into the nearby tree, Uriel had no other choice but to grit his teeth even harder. Acting up while on camp patrol duty was one thing¡­ But acting out while accompanied by one of the camp''s higher officers? For his career in the knights, this was a massive no-go zone. "There''s nothing better than this cold mist to wake a man up in the morning, isn''t it?" Oblivious to the inner struggle of his subordinate, Castor, the academy delegate superintendent to the camp, smiled as he raised his face, seemingly in a bid to expose it even more to the bone-chilling cold moisture in the air. "I''m sorry, sir, but I''m not yet mature enough to appreciate it," Uriel admitted, squeezing his hands and buttocks down in a bid to stop as much warmth from seeping through his wet clothes to the outside. "That''s¡­" Castor glanced over his arm, only to smile gently before shaking his head. "That''s understandable. I used to hate this duty with a passion back in my days. But you see¡­" This middle-aged, perfectly built man shook his head with an annoying degree of profundity written all over his face. "Once you grow up and get past your most energetic period of life, waking up¡­" The man stopped for a moment, both his voice and his steps as he looked even further up than before. "Once you reach a certain age, you will forget what it means to wake up well-rested. But wake up, you must, so finding those small, clever ways to make the mornings more bearable is going to become your favorite pastime." Grinning from ear to ear, Castor chuckled a little, only to then shake his head again. "But I guess it would be too much for me to assume you can appreciate it at your age. And seeing how you cannot even hold your shivering down¡­" He paused for a moment, only to shake his head for the third time before waving his hand in the air. "How about you go and run for a bit? Doing so should warm you up, and you could finish the patrol route a bit faster to go get proper warmth back in your shed."A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. Uriel''s eyes widened a bit with excitement born from those suggestions. ''Wait, can I really?'' Was it a trap? Was it a test? Or maybe¡­ those were the genuine feelings of the camp''s superintendent? Uriel''s position in the knightling camp was out of the ordinary¡­ and the young man knew it better than anyone else. He didn''t belong to those peasants trying to earn their qualifications to join the academy, but he was no ordinary knight-to-be either. Instead, following only the courses of his own choosing, he would stay in the camp for many times longer than any other cadets, helping out with its organization and administration in exchange for the chance to learn from the very best. While the path Uriel took was uncommon, it wasn''t unheard of either. And while he was one of the fortunate few field noble designates, he couldn''t really afford to make mistakes. ''The moment I stumble, there''s a whole bunch of potential designation candidates ready to snatch this role from me,'' Uriel thought, gritting his teeth from both the annoyance and the freezing cold, only accentuated by the moisture of the mist and the sharp winds rushing towards the forest, only to then slam into the trees and make the woods'' direct perimeter all the worse to endure than the rest of the camp. But¡­ Reason told Uriel to just clench his jaws, pray to the heavens, and endure the bone-chilling cold. But something as lofty as reason paled when faced with the immediate desire to find some warmth! "Thank you for your consideration, sir," Uriel stood at attention as he bashed his closed fist into his chest. "I will be going, then!" By all means, this was a stupid idea. To split up a two-man patrol unit meant going against all the treaties describing the very role of this scouting-slash-patrolling formation. ''Heck, knowing when following the treaties is necessary and when it is not is also a part of my training regime, isn''t it?'' Finding just the right excuse, Uriel nodded his head to Castor to show his respect before taking a deep breath¡­ and then taking off, using the warmth of actually pushing his muscles to slowly thaw the ice that seemingly took over his insides. At first, running through the cold morning mist only made Uriel feel all the worse. But after a few tens of steps, the first signs of warmth started to finally appear as his muscles worked overtime to keep him going. ''This is starting to feel nice,'' Uriel smiled at his own thoughts, finally able to put aside his hate of this accursed duty¡­ Only to stop right in his tracks when his senses rang for an alarm. ''Something¡­ is not right¡­'' Rather than making a full stop, Uriel distanced himself away from the line of the trees, still making the slightly exaggerated movements of a rushed sprint while actively slowing himself down as he raised his awareness to its limits. ''There!'' His eyes snapped to the source of his unease, a small, bundled-up figure of one of the cadets, resting his back against a random tree while hot steam continued to rise up from him, thawing out the morning snow forever persisting within the forest''s undergrowth. Hot steam that only made it all the easier to notice all the dark blood covering the cadet from head to toe, as if he literally bathed in a monster''s blood. ''A murder?!'' Only coming to a stop once he found a tree wide enough to fully hide him away from the other party''s view, Uriel calmed his breath down. Now that he just managed to work out some sweat, stopping and letting the mist cool him right back down was a recipe for spending the next two weeks to a month in the infirmary tent. And the sight of that bloodied cadet only served to drive the nail for why the patrol units always consisted of, at the very least, a two-man cell. ''I really shouldn''t have split away,'' Uriel cursed under his breath, daring to take a slight, careful peek from beyond the tree. Thankfully, the cadet didn''t move. He just sat down under the tree, breathing deeply while keeping his eyes shut, as if the presence of the monsters of the camp''s forest was not something he would ever be concerned with. ''Maybe he''s just resting? But why would he¡­'' Uriel squinted his eyes¡­ only for his face to then turn still. ''Wait, isn''t that the guy that didn''t even bother checking how many score tokens he would get?!'' Chapter 14 - Perverts On The Loose?! ''Just how long are those two going to pretend they are sneaking around?'' Theo kept his eyes closed ever since he sat down to slowly, carefully bring his mana under proper control. And yet, roughly midway through the process, he first sensed one, and then another presence approaching. At first, he expected them to just pass on through, judging them to be one of the many unfortunate bastards assigned to the earliest patrol duty of the day. Then, as the two continued to rudely linger just outside the standard range of basic detection, Theo started to internally curse his luck, changing his assessment from unlucky bastards to one of the camp''s officials. ''Who else would have time to just¡­ stand around? But,'' Theo resisted the desire to open his eyes and verify his findings, ''if they were actual teachers or officers, wouldn''t they try to check up on a stray cadet?'' This situation made little to no sense. But rather than trying to still force some logic on it, Theo decided to just conveniently ignore the whole issue and focus on the problem at hand¡ªreining in his mana. The process itself wasn''t all that unfamiliar. To a degree, it was quite similar to learning how to use the boosts from buff-class spells or potions, by allowing one''s body to get used to the sensation of the increased strength, slowly overwriting the limiters designed by the divine to stop humans from using so much strength that they would end up harming themselves. Focused on nothing but this task, by the time those two uninvited guests showed up to this remote part of the camp''s forest, Theo was pretty much done with the job. The mana now moved through his flesh in the form of a constant stream rather than the raging current it was after his tricky tactic. But¡­ But there was still one more crucial step for him to take. And it was to actually unleash this mana while he was still in a somewhat mendable state, to force his body to develop proper channels for doing so. Otherwise, Theo would have to face the one event that was extremely amusing to all the onlookers back at the mage''s tower but fittingly painful to the one subjected to the experience. He had yet to lose his magic virginity. And if he allowed himself any further delay, his body would recover completely, forcing his mana to first break free from its confines before Theo could actually make any use of it! ''They are still here¡­'' Theo thought, gritting his teeth in silent frustration. He still had some of his patience left¡­ But judging by the warming-up of the air, the sun was already rising. And with it, it would soon be the time for the exam! ''Okay, I guess that''s it.'' Taking in a breath so deep his chest visibly moved, Theo opened his eyes and then blinked them a few times, allowing his eyes some leeway to get used to the light of the morning.Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! He remained stationary for a few more moments before finally cutting the slack and rising up, all the while holding onto the tree for some basic support. ''Head, torso, arms, legs, check,'' Theo thought, running his focus through every general area of his body in search of potential problems. Thankfully, save for some residual pain¡ªone that he pretty much expected to keep bothering him for the next few days or up to a week or two¡ªhe managed a full recovery. ''Should I chastise them or not,'' Theo thought as he started to move around to warm up his exhausted limbs. Yet, after stealing but a single glance in their direction, masked as but a casual, sweeping scan of his surroundings, Theo quickly made his decision. ''Superintendent? What the hell is he doing out here? Isn''t he supposed to open up today''s exam?'' Theo thought, only for his body to suddenly grow stiff. ''Wait, exam!'' In the process of actually waking up, Theo had no other choice but to acknowledge that his internal clock wasn''t as precise as it would be in over ten years in the future. And what he took for early morning¡­ was an early morning, just at a much later stage than Theo predicted! "Damn, I''m going to be late!" Making a scene to give the two onlookers something to think about, Theo reached out to wipe the morning sweat from his forehead, only for his hand to return not only moist but also sticky and covered in a dark-red color he didn''t actually expect. "Oh right¡­" he muttered, eagerly recalling the formula of a spell that would only be developed some five years in the future, before taking in a deep breath and breaking his magical hymen by unleashing his mana through several paths of least resistance his flow could find. Theo then held on to the spell formula for a while, allowing his brain to get comfortable with its projection¡­ Before opening up the palm of his hand and stirring up his mana all the while invoking the feeling of casting magic he was perfectly familiar with. WHOOSH! A sudden gust of wind covered Theo from head to toe as his mana ignited and burst into flames. Flames infused with just one special quality, of only burning through stuff that had mana on its own. Originally developed as an anti-magic spell, designed to counter a wide array of magical attacks, it quickly became a trick pretty much every adventurer in the world would learn just to rid themselves of all the monster-borne filth and blood. The flames rose up and quickly spread over the entire surface of Theo''s skin and clothes, eating away at all the blood and guttural grime he bathed in just a few short hours ago. The whole process lasted only a few seconds, with the flames dying out as soon as they consumed all of their magical fuel and reverted to using Theo''s own mana for sustenance, allowing him to sense the burden and cut the supply. ''Now then¡­'' Freed from the filth of the yesternight''s battle, Theo shook his head before turning towards the forest''s edge and taking his very first step since the start of his hunt¡ªthat is, if one were to exclude the several hours long crawl through the forest on his way back from the fight. By the time he finally emerged from the woods, Theo took a quick scan of his surroundings, only to realize that the two freaks who somehow found it interesting enough to observe him for hours on end were now nowhere to be found. ''I never really considered this to be a viable option¡­ but do we actually have two perverts on the loose, roaming the camp at night only to just¡­ peep at their victims for hours at a time?'' He then swallowed a gulp of saliva as he recalled the one face he actually did recognize. ''Is it why the superintendent claims to like this job so much?'' A cold chill moved up the young man''s spine as his imagination painted this whole encounter in extremely different colors. "Well, I guess the less you know, the better you actually sleep." Pressed for time, Theo had little to no other option but to drop the topic and rush to the camp''s center, where the exam was supposed to take place. Yet, after taking just a few steps, he couldn''t help but look over his shoulder, strangely wary of his surroundings, a sense of an actual danger he felt in this place for the very first time in both of his lifetimes. Chapter 15 - Painful Exam Originally, Theo¡¯s greatest gripe with the exam was all about balancing his answers. Even though this was the first of the two written exams, and one that was only supposed to check whether the cadets possessed the absolute minimum of knowledge and ability to actually study at the royal academy¡­ Maxing out its score was bound to bring more attention upon Theo than he was willing to endure. That, in turn, greatly raised the test¡¯s difficulty, for Theo now not only had to be able to answer every question perfectly¡­ but then cut down on his answers so that his score wouldn¡¯t lead to too many eyebrows being raised. ¡®That was what I thought this test would be all about, but to think I would be too distracted to even raise my eyes¡­¡¯ The reason for Theo¡¯s foul mood was simple. One of the two perverts that spent several hours doing nothing but just watching him pretend to sleep was the exam¡¯s proctor! ¡°This exam, while not as heavy in terms of the score tokens you can gain from it, is decisive for those who want to advance to the royal academy. What¡¯s more¡­¡± Theo hardly paid any attention to the camp¡¯s intendent as he walked through the huge class filled with nothing but simple stools paired with single desks. Or rather, he did his absolute best not to pay attention to the man, worried his momentary expression of disgust, if noticed, could reveal how he was aware of that man¡¯s weird preferences. ¡®If I learned anything about how the world works, it¡¯s that sometimes it¡¯s better to pretend not to know than try to make the best use of what you know.¡¯ And so, Theo sat down on his stool, leaning heavily over his desk while waiting for the camp¡¯s intendent to finish his round, stop enjoying the sound of his own voice, and finally distribute the papers to all the cadets. Finally, after what felt like well over an hour, the exam¡¯s proctor finished his overly long speech and placed a stack of papers on the front desk of each row, only to then instruct the cadets to help themselves to one packet of the papers before passing the rest of them to the back. ¡°I hereby announce the start of the exam!¡± This was the first sentence of the man that Theo paid any real attention to. And as he raised his eyes, he did so just in time to see the man flip a huge hourglass sitting on the lecturer¡¯s desk before retreating to the back of the room from where he had a good view of the entire classroom. ¡®Now, let¡¯s see¡­¡¯ Leaning down over the paper, Theo opened up its first page while already grabbing his feather and dipping its sharpened tip into a small bottle of ink sitting in a special slot on his otherwise perfectly ordinary slab of wood of a desk. [Write your full name and registry number] ¡®Right, what did I even expect?¡¯ Theo thought, stopping himself from rolling his eyes as he quickly scribed a total of four letters and then seven numbers. [What¡¯s the name of the kingdom you are a part of?] Theo took a deep breath. ¡®Now I know why I couldn¡¯t remember even a single detail of what this test was all about,¡¯ he thought as he dipped his feather in the ink again. [Carean Kingdom] There was another name, an official name that the royal scribes would put on the royal-stamped documents and all the diplomatic papers. But on this test, writing something like ¡°The Federation of Carro and Lerean of House Helran, sanctified by the union of His Majesty Tyrol the Great and Her Holiness Ester the Pure¡±¡­This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. ¡®Yeah, I better not do that,¡¯ Theo thought, his lips curving up a tiny little bit as he imagined the wild scenario where he would forgo all caution and go all in on this simple test, giving out answers some of the royal scribes would struggle to come up with on the spot. Thankfully, after a few more questions regarding local noble houses, basic laws all had to follow, differences between peasants and the nobles, and the likes, the test finally reached the one and only part Theo could remember. For it was one of the sourest memories of his original timeline he still retained in his mind, even all those years later. [Explain the standardized system of ranks] Seeing this string of letters that converged to make up words and then pass on the examiners¡¯ meaning, Theo let out a heavy sigh before dipping his feather a bit deeper into the ink vial than before. [A standardized system of ranks aims to split up every field that one can progress through to grow their skill and ability, reflected by the improvements to the results of his crafts. The standard dictates a total of three realms of mastery, each consisting of three ranks depicting the degree of growth within the realm, and a realm of true mastery. Those realms are that of a rookie, adept, and professional, each divided into early, advanced, and late rank.] So far, this was Theo¡¯s longest answer. Yet, he didn¡¯t need to fear anyone suspecting him because of how formal it was. Just like the ranking system itself, the formula describing it was also standardized and was something that every cadet had to be able to recite at any point of the day, even if woken up in the middle of the night, beaten to the verge of consciousness, and then tasked to recite it. When it came to understanding what any of the words within that formula meant, however¡­ ¡®I¡¯m willing to bet not a single fellow in this room could explain what it actually means,¡¯ Theo thought, happy to move on from the question as soon as he could. Back in his original lifetime, this exact formula was what kept him depressed for years as his lacking talent meant all of his efforts and results would never be rated in a just way. Then, Theo¡¯s heart dropped a little when he saw the next question. [If someone obtains seventh rank as a swordsman, eighth rank as an attack mage, and fifth rank as a cook, what will be his corresponding social rank?] Theo took a deep breath before inking his pen and getting to writing while trying to ignore the stifling feeling in his heart. [Eighth rank] This standardized system of ranks had no concept of mixing ranks. And while it wasn¡¯t as bad as to take an average out of all the ranks one obtained¡­ it only ever accounted for the highest rank within one¡¯s arsenal. It was exactly for this reason why Theo had to endure the mental torture of his friends holding themselves back from accepting their rightfully earned quasi-noble title that all those who stepped into the realm of a professional could attain with just a little bit of bureaucratic effort. A grief he then went through again, when his friends held back¡ªjust for his sake¡ªfrom becoming fully-fledged nobles when they all reached the tenth and final rank in each of their respective fields of expertise. Thankfully, with this question, the examiners moved on to much broader stuff like listing out the most popular fields, highlighting benefits of joining the academy, or outlining the duties of all those born in the common status. At that stage, however, Theo had to intentionally drag his hand down, pretending to put a lot more effort into the writing than he actually needed, all to avoid the scenario where he would be the first to finish the exam and grow perfectly still. In the end, just like during the marathon exam, Theo waited for four other cadets to close their tests first before submitting his own and escaping the pervert-overseen classroom. ¡°Haaah¡­¡± Stepping out from the building, Theo took a deep breath before relaxing his slightly sore muscles. The pain of what he went through in the forest was still there, constantly reminding the young man of the perils of what awaited him in the times and adventures to come. But, for the short moment of breathing out, he managed to calm down, shut his thoughts, and relax. ¡®Just one more test to go,¡¯ Theo thought, reverting for but a moment to his past self from his first lifetime, a time where he actually took those exams seriously. ¡®Just one more, and I will be all done and ready to enter the academy!¡¯ Theo rejoiced, trying to ignore the nagging feeling of his reason trying to remind him that, according to his very own plans, his time at the academy was going to be much, MUCH worse than anything this knightling camp could throw at him. Only for Gracian to emerge from behind the corner of a nearby dining hall, with his huge, vicious smile forcing Theo right back to reality. ¡°How did you do?¡± Gracian shouted over the distance, a dark mist preceding every step of his as if he was some sort of a legendary boss monster for Theo to defeat. ¡°I think¡­¡± ¡°I don¡¯t care.¡± Before Theo could even attempt to reply, Gracian cut him off only to reach to his belt, pull out a wooden sword, and toss it in Theo¡¯s general direction. ¡°Now, stop slacking like all those idiots around and get your arse back to the dueling grounds. On the double!¡± Chapter 16 - Rage of the Past Future ¡°Parry!¡± Clang! ¡°Side-step! Lower your guard!¡± Clang! ¡°Arrow, dodge!¡± Pang! The flat of Gracian¡¯s sword reached Theo¡¯s side, digging deep enough into his ribs to make quite the worrying sound. ¡®Fuck¡­¡¯ Breathless, Theo fell to his right knee before tumbling over to the side, dropping his sword and rolling away in a desperate bid to keep the fight going. ¡°Oh?¡± Gracian didn¡¯t give him even the slightest opening, expressing his pleased surprise just as he threw another strike. Deprived of his weapon, Theo focused entirely on dodging, reading the movements of his senior¡¯s entire body to position himself for another escape. Jump. Dash. Retrea¡­ LEAP FORTH! Sensing the opportunity, Theo prepped his foot for an escape to the back, only to then kick the ground with his feet instead, diving right underneath Gracian¡¯s sword and opening his arms as if he wanted to hug his hips¡­ ¡°Sloppy!¡± Holding nothing back, Gracian twisted his wrist and smashed the back of Theo¡¯s head with the pommel of his sword, sending him tumbling straight to the ground. ¡°Ugh¡­¡± The small rocks hidden within the earth painfully marked Theo all over, not even sparing his face as the momentum of his fall made him, quite literally, eat dirt from under Gracian¡¯s feet. ¡®Breathe in, breathe out¡­¡¯ Closer to losing his patience than ever, Theo took a moment to rein in his emotions before gathering his strength and pushing himself off the ground, all so he could spit out the dirt he had taken a bite of and breathe again¡ªthis time properly, through his mouth. Yet, as Theo rose, he noticed the difference. Gracian, who would normally retreat by now and ask his standard question of what Theo did wrong¡­ He didn¡¯t move from the spot where he had sent Theo to the ground, holding his sword¡ªas usual¡ªon his shoulder while looking down at Theo with a complicated expression on his face.Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ¡°Is it just me, or did you do something since yesterday?¡± At first, Theo entertained the idea of trying to hide the truth. It was just a fleeting thought, however. ¡®I used to be of even higher rank than him, albeit not in swordsmanship. And I bet I could tell if someone grew stronger through means outside the field I would be tutoring them on.¡¯ Theo locked his eyes on his mentor for a moment before breathing in again and finally picking himself up from the ground, retreating a few steps in silence to pick up his sword, then turning back to his senior¡ªalbeit without raising his weapon to indicate readiness for another bout. ¡°I did indeed. Just a small trick to set the foundation for my magical development later on,¡± Theo said in the most casual voice he could muster, all while screaming ¡®this isn¡¯t your business¡¯ with a tired and outright bored expression. ¡°Oh, I see,¡± Gracian¡¯s face darkened a little as he lowered his sword to a combat-ready stance. ¡°So you¡¯ve decided to go with half measures?¡± ¡®What?¡¯ This conclusion was so far removed from the truth that Gracian¡¯s remark actually managed to catch Theo off guard. And just like Theo himself a moment before, when given an opportunity¡­ Gracian was more than eager to take it. Pang! Theo raised his sword, almost too late to block Gracian¡¯s stepped horizontal slash. Yet, as he blocked with a part of his blade far from its center of balance, his sword gave in under the force of his senior¡¯s strike, the handle nearly wrestling itself free from Theo¡¯s wrist. But Gracian¡¯s strike didn¡¯t stop there! ¡°In swordsmanship, there are no half-measures!¡± he screamed with a noticeable amount of anger in his voice as he pressed the attack. This time, however¡­ he attacked with his sword¡¯s edge rather than the flat. And as soon as Theo¡¯s parry failed, Gracian¡¯s sword pressed on¡­ ¡®Shit!¡¯ Having no time to think and sensing the killing intent in Gracian¡¯s voice, Theo¡¯s instincts took over. Theo¡¯s eyes widened. His heart beat harder, pumping more adrenaline-rich blood through his veins than usual. The mana within him stirred up. Pang! The sound of swords clashing filled the air, even though Gracian¡¯s blade merely bounced off seemingly nothing, filling the arrogant swordsman¡¯s face with disbelief. But just as it had become the norm, Theo didn¡¯t waste the opportunity. Repelling the sword by redirecting it with a simple, extremely ordinary surge of mana, Theo brought his arm in a circle away from his chest, slashing away¡­ Only to let the handle of his sword go, sending it flying just an inch from Gracian¡¯s face. But rather than stopping there, Theo continued his slight spin, going as far as lunging with his off-leg, shooting his off-arm in the senior¡¯s direction¡­ For but a single frame of existence, Theo recalled the moment when this man slaughtered his friends. When he pierced his very own heart. When he smiled at the corpses as Theo was about to breathe his last, seeing them as nothing but random flies to swat away. And within this single frame, Theo¡¯s rage ignited just as his fingers closed on Gracian¡¯s throat, ready to crush his windpipe by closing his fist¡­ ¡°Khe¡­¡± The moment of Theo¡¯s rage passed. And so did the moment of Gracian¡¯s surprise when his student suddenly managed to¡ªseemingly effortlessly¡ªovercome the master who had bullied him for the past week. Still, contrary to Theo, Gracian held his sword, ready to rain down strikes on Theo¡¯s unprotected side¡­ But he didn¡¯t do it. Just as Theo opted out of squeezing down on Gracian¡¯s throat, his eyes locked on a vaguely familiar set of lines that appeared right over his senior¡¯s face. *** [System: Condition Check] [Conditions Fulfilled: 461/512] [Calculating Range] [Plunder possible] [Do you wish to plunder: ] *** Chapter 17 - A Crutch? *** [System: Condition Check] [Conditions Fulfilled: 461/512] [Calculating Range] [Plunder possible] [Do you wish to plunder: ?] *** For but a second, Theo¡¯s gaze lingered on his master¡¯s face as his fingers held the man¡¯s throat. ¡°¡­¡± The moment came¡­ and went. Theo relaxed his hand and retreated two steps, staring blank-faced at his senior. ¡°That was¡­¡± Regaining his voice, Gracian coughed before managing to get even one full sentence in. ¡®Should I?¡¯ Theo took a breath in. From a certain angle, this was the end goal all along. Despite not knowing anything about his newly gained talent, Theo never forgot about it. He could recall the feeling from when it first happened. And for some reason, he could tell that besting his opponent was likely the way for it to activate. But now, Theo breathed out and relaxed, allowing the adrenaline-filled moment to pass. Just like that, the visual prompt shattered into a thousand pieces before scattering in the winds as if it was never there. ¡®No.¡¯ Theo¡¯s expression grew cold, as if an overwhelming bout of exhaustion took him over. ¡®This is a bad idea,¡¯ the young man thought, thinking back to the parts of the novel he could clearly remember. The novel that spoke of the future of this whole world, making it pretty much prophetic text. Only for those memories to be prophetic¡­ ¡®The more I interfere, the further the events will stray. And from the rules of the butterfly effect¡­¡¯ Theo sighed before stepping back again, fully dispersing the last of his thoughts about the ability to plunder Gracian¡¯s great talent. ¡®Contrary to me, whose death only afforded me one line in the novel, Gracian¡­¡¯ At this point, Theo held his breath a bit, only to then slowly exhale it out. ¡°That was a good bout,¡± Gracian finally spoke again. ¡®He is not only related to the five geniuses, who were all considerably big side characters, but was fated to ultimately fall at the protagonist¡¯s hand, giving him great insights that allowed the main character to grow his swordsmanship even further.¡¯ Theo gulped his saliva as he finally managed to calm himself down. ¡®And I already plundered one of his skills,¡¯ he thought before shaking his head a little. ¡®I shouldn¡¯t go as far as to take away his swordsmanship talent, lest the story of this world¡¯s future would change.¡¯ Theo took in a fresh breath before stretching his back.Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. ¡°Maybe, but I¡¯ve still used a crutch, didn¡¯t I?¡± Theo sent his mentor an eye. ¡°Well, the results speak for themselves,¡± Gracian shook his head, still reeling from the unexpected loss in the encounter. ¡°Still, for you to be able to fight on that level right after the exam¡­?¡± he raised one of his eyebrows only to put his sword back into its sheath before crossing his arms over his chest. ¡°No more bouts today?¡± Theo asked, baffled by Gracian sheathing his sword. Normally, all his mentor did would be resting his blade against his shoulder. He didn¡¯t come to explain just what was Theo¡¯s biggest mistake¡­ By every means, just by hiding his sword away, Gracian managed to make the situation extremely unusual. ¡°No, not for today,¡± Gracian shook his head. ¡°I know it won¡¯t sound like the usual me, but everyone needs rest. And I¡¯m not going to push you any further than I already did. It¡¯s best if you just rest and think about our last duel for now.¡± Gracian turned over to Theo, closing the distance his student previously retreated, placing his hands down on his shoulder and then looking Theo deeply in the eyes. ¡°What was different? What changed? How did it feel? What things did you ignore? What stuff did you prioritize?¡± Gracian spat out a series of questions. ¡°You need to think back on all of those, figure out all the differences. Honestly, noting them down would be for the best too.¡± Gracian shook his head. ¡°Crutch or not, you managed to land a proper hit on me. And to make that happen, it wasn¡¯t just a matter of you compensating for what you lack in swordsmanship with something else,¡± Gracian shook his head again, this time also pursing his lips together. ¡°What you needed to make that happen was a change in mindset. And this small change is what I want you to focus on for the rest of today, for it will be much more beneficial to you than just trying to figure out how to slightly improve the way you swing your sword or move your feet.¡± A moment of silence followed as Theo stared at his senior, not sure if he was to expect some further nuggets of wisdom or if Gracian had finished by now. ¡°With that being said, I don¡¯t really get why you would rely on a crutch like that,¡± Gracian ultimately shook his head before going right back to the very same mindset he showed before¡­ although without the addition of the killing intent in his vibe and a generally much milder approach. And hearing this, there was only one thing Theo had to say straight from the top of his head. ¡°Not everyone was born equal in this world,¡± the young man said while locking his eyes on his senior¡¯s face. ¡®Which I now know all the better, with how there indeed are ranks to the talents people can have¡­¡¯ he thought, recalling the details of the two prompts of his latent ability and how it classified both of Gracian¡¯s skills in ranks, but ranks different than the ones humans used to grade people¡¯s talent. ¡°Some are born with talent, some are born without it. And while there¡¯s a level that both can reach with the only difference being the time it takes them to do so¡­¡± Theo shook his head. ¡°There is still a level beyond which one without a talent can never reach. And what you demand of me, this perfect kind of duel in which I make no mistakes and act out every tiniest movement of mine to perfection?¡± he asked, only to shake his head a lot more energetically than before, all the way to then cross his arms over his chest and lean his head over his shoulder as he gave Gracian a tired look. ¡°Whether you like to accept it or not, talents do exist. And I¡¯m simply aware that when it comes to talent, I didn¡¯t get much luck.¡± ¡°Talent?¡± Gracian almost moaned, ready to roll his eyes at the motion. ¡°That¡¯s one hell of an excuse to ignore the areas you are still not good enough at!¡± he claimed while opening up his arms and ending up with pointing his hand straight at Theo¡¯s face. ¡°Talent this, talent that. If you think your missing talent is the only reason why you cannot assume proper form and keep it throughout the bout¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s not that I can¡¯t,¡± Theo shook his head again as he interjected, ¡°but it¡¯s more on how it will take me much longer than the time we can spend training. This limit is something I¡¯m fully aware of, hence why I accepted this kind of training. Not because it¡¯s effective short-term,¡± he stated while looking directly into Gracian¡¯s face, fully aware of the weight of his words when spoken right in the face of the man teaching him, ¡°but because it gives me enough material to look back on and study.¡± Theo shook his head for one last time before relaxing his hand and turning around, ready to take Gracian¡¯s advice and take the rest of the day to look back on just how different their last bout was to all the ones before it. ¡°The improvements you expect me to make in the short two weeks we can train together are the improvements I¡¯m hoping to implement over the next few years that I will spend at the academy. So, it¡¯s not like I¡¯m giving up on all that you taught me just so I can get that sweet, sweet taste of victory,¡± Theo turned on his heel, moving away from the dueling grounds before he could even finish making his point. ¡°I¡¯m just aware of my own limitations enough to know it will take me years to improve on the things you advise me on.¡± Chapter 18 - Camps Graduation ¡°It¡¯s really happening¡­!¡± ¡°I can¡¯t wait!¡± ¡°Oh, come on, just start already!¡± The last day of the mandatory course of the knightling camp was traditionally free from all of the activities save for the two. There were no more exams, no more trainings, no more lessons. Just the score token bestowal ceremony that doubled as a camp¡¯s graduation celebration, and then the short interview the camp¡¯s chief would conduct with every cadet to determine their path for the future. And right now, after a month of constant efforts, struggle, and challenges, it was finally time for all the cadets of Theo¡¯s batch to be rewarded for their efforts. ¡®Just a little longer,¡¯ Theo thought, doing his best to hold his emotions back. He couldn¡¯t care less about the ceremony, as opposed to all the jubilant cadets all around him. He cared little for the act of receiving tokens too, with how he could already guess how many of those he had earned and how every last one of those tokens had already found their use within his plans. What he couldn¡¯t handle, however, was the awful waste of time that this whole ceremony was, once one were to shed away all the ceremonies, speeches, and rites. It was an event more for the camp¡¯s chief to jerk off to the sound of his own voice than a ceremony directed at the cadets themselves¡­ Even if, judging by the quick look Theo spared to his fellow cadets, most of them failed to realize it themselves. ¡°Morning, company!¡± Stepping out from the entrance to the logistics building, the camp¡¯s chief shouted. ¡°Morning, Chief Camp Officer!¡± All the cadets screamed back while stretching their backs and slamming their fists into their chests. A month of constant discipline exercises finally revealed its worth, turning a bunch of the young men¡¯s voices into one coordinated scream that appeared to be much more than just the sum of all its elements. It was the kind of scream soldiers would use on the battlefield, not to scare their enemies off but to make themselves forget about the fear of the nearing battle. And judging by the small smile that emerged in the corner of the camp chief¡¯s mouth, Theo and his fellow cadets managed to nail this exercise. ¡°As I¡¯m sure you are all aware, you are all going to be conferred the points you¡¯ve earned in the three consecutive exams. Points for brawn, points for smarts, and, for those who seek the path of enlightenment in the royal academy, the points for wisdom. After this ceremony is over, during your interview with me and the camp¡¯s superintendent, a prized guest from the academy, you will decide how you wish for those points to be used.¡± Theo took a deep breath, ready for the chief¡¯s words to now diverge towards some meandering topics of tradition, history, noble tales, or some other bullshit he couldn¡¯t care less about. That¡¯s what happened back in his original life, leaving him so bored of the process he could hardly recall a single thing the chief said back then. Now, however, that the chief¡¯s speech was about to begin anew, all Theo could do was chill out and relax in hopes of getting the most out of this time anyway. ¡®If I can¡¯t train or be otherwise productive, the least I can do is get some well-deserved rest!¡¯ ¡°Normally, this is where I would give you one more exam, one more test of endurance to see whether you can handle mental strain as well as you did physical¡­ But screw it. To those of you that wish to pursue a career in the noble retinues, you already know everything. Those of you that will go to join the academy, you are going to learn everything you need during the interview. So what¡¯s left for me to say here?¡±If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Right as Theo completed the round of gradually compressing all of his muscles only to then relax them before settling into that sensation of slight bliss, the camp¡¯s chief decided to turn Theo¡¯s plans on their heads, opting out of the lengthy speech in favor of just moving things along. ¡°So, as to not waste your precious time, time I¡¯m quite sure you have all sorts of other things to use for, let¡¯s get this over with,¡± the chief called out. At first, the cadets weren¡¯t exactly sure how to react. ¡°Yes, sir!¡± ¡°Yes, chief!¡± ¡°Awesome!¡± A few of them tried to shout something, only to grow awkward when not only did no one pick up on their call, but there were also other people trying to get the crowd to shout something else. Still, while the chants didn¡¯t pass, the noise gradually grew and continuously reforged itself, all the way to the point where it became something as simple as a standing ovation from the cadets expressing their happiness in the camp chief¡¯s choice. ¡°Tone it down, everyone!¡± Stepping up from the side, one of the camp¡¯s lesser officers cried out. ¡°If you are so happy things will move on faster, stop trying to slow them down yourselves!¡± The noise died down as quickly as it came to be. As it was all happening, the camp¡¯s chief grabbed a stack of papers prepared on a stand near where he stood, only to then bring them up as he turned back to the crowd. ¡°I will now read the names from the highest score down to the lowest. It¡¯s a blink-it-and-you-will-miss-it kind of deal, so you all better listen carefully!¡± The chief raised his hand to his mouth and coughed into it, clearing his throat before proceeding to the next and arguably the most important step of the whole ceremony. ¡°Leonard Kratus!¡± One of Theo¡¯s fellow cadets, the kid Theo could vaguely remember taking the third spot during the marathon exam, marched ahead to the front. ¡°Leonard Kratus! You¡¯ve obtained a total of two hundred and twenty-one tokens! Congratulations,¡± the chief announced before reaching his hand out and then shaking Leonard¡¯s hand. ¡°Your duty to the crown is hereby fulfilled. You are now free to proceed down this hall,¡± the man raised his hand and pointed at the side entrance to the logistics center of the camp, ¡°where you will be able to complete your interview.¡± Once again, the cadets started to clap their hands. Some even went as far as to whistle as the best one of their group left for greener pastures. ¡°Coming second, Mave Potocki, step forward!¡± Once again, a cadet moved up to the front, shook the chief¡¯s hand, and accepted their two hundred score tokens before proceeding down to the logistics hall side entrance. ¡®And there we go,¡¯ able to guess the scores of his exam, Theo knew what to expect to happen next. ¡°Coming third¡­¡± The vibe of anticipation filled the area as the cadets tried to all guess who would be the one to claim the last honors out of the top three ranks. Would it be Mark, who topped the endurance exam? Or maybe one of the two Ygren siblings, who were known for their great academic inclination? Yet, as whispers spread throughout the small crowd, as the chief did a double-check on the name on the papers in his hand, as some cadets prepared to clap¡­ ¡°Coming third, Conscript Theo seven-seven-six-three-three-seven-nine!¡± The chief looked down and cast a sweeping glance through the crowd, only to then lock his eyes on Theo¡¯s bored face. ¡°Step forward!¡± ¡®Wait, while I knew I was going to be third¡­¡¯ Theo squinted his eyes a tiny little bit, only to then start walking to the front surrounded by nothing but total silence and the stunned gazes of his fellow cadets. He ranked fifth in the marathon. And for him to still claim the third spot overall¡­ While there were some muscleheads amidst the crowd of cadets who only knew how to swing their iron, most of them were capable of some basic math and reason. And faced with such a weird happenstance, they quickly calculated just how insane of a score in both of his written exams Theo had to achieve to secure the third spot for himself. A spot above athletic Mark, above the Ygren siblings, above all three other nobleborn of the group¡­ For Theo, however, it wasn¡¯t his rank that made him so wary. It was a hint of a weird vibe hidden at the bottom of the chief¡¯s eyes that caught his attention. Still, there was nothing he could do but just walk up to the front where the chief shook his hand before passing over a small, rectangular trinket. ¡°You¡¯ve obtained a total of two hundred and fourteen score tokens,¡± the chief announced in a silent voice, as if too ashamed to announce it out loud. Yet, as soon as Theo turned in the direction the two before him went, the chief finally showed his colors. ¡°Not so fast, cadet!¡± he called out¡­ Only to point his hand in the opposite direction of the side entrance, guiding Theo in the direction of the camp¡¯s main training ground instead. ¡°Your interview is going to be a little bit different,¡± the chief announced, the corner of his lips making up something that, in a really critical case, one could consider a small smile. ¡°It seems you¡¯ve caught the eye of quite the interesting bunch!¡± Chapter 19 - Unorthodox Interview ¡®I don¡¯t recall anything like this happening,¡¯ Theo thought as he followed the camp¡¯s chief order and marched off in the opposite direction of where he expected to be sent away to, ¡®be it in my previous run at life or in the novel itself!¡¯ While the first case, of the details of his lives starting to diverge, could be explained with the butterfly effect¡­ why was his current treatment something the novel never mentioned? ¡®And there were a total of three side-stories revolving around the knightling camp, so¡­¡¯ Theo lowered his eyes as he maintained a steady pace and empty, emotionless expression, daring not to give anyone even a single hint of something as unimportant as the current state of his mind. ¡®How come a situation like this never happened before, neither in my own memories nor in what I could remember from the books?¡¯ All of that, however, was just the tip of the iceberg. Because after moving on from pondering over the general issue at its broadest reach, Theo looked more into the practical details of it. ¡®There are only so many people, so many roles at various institutions that have the means to make such a massive change to the ceremony,¡¯ Theo thought as he reached the building¡¯s entrance and pressed the simple doors open, making his way inside, only to then follow the main corridor ahead. While he didn¡¯t show it, his mental state had long since entered pre-combat mode, perking up towards hostility and danger detection at the cost of slowing down his steps just enough to give him a little more time to keep scanning his surroundings. Yet, for all the preparations Theo made, the surprise attack he expected¡­ never came. For as it turned out, whatever was powerful enough to orchestrate this whole event was also powerful enough not to hide their actions or intentions at all. ¡°You are finally here.¡± As soon as Theo turned a corner, he came face-to-face with a cadet he couldn¡¯t quite recognize. At the very least, it was the young man¡¯s face that he failed to recall, but thanks to his aura¡­ ¡®Isn¡¯t he one of those two perverts that spied on me?¡¯ ¡°Who are you?¡± Theo lowered his upper eyelids, openly showing his discontent with how the situation developed. Regardless of who this kid was, he couldn¡¯t be the one behind this whole situation. With how the camp was the domain of the royal knights, there was only one person of this kid¡¯s age with enough political power to mess with the ceremony. And by all means, this cadet looked nothing like the kingdom¡¯s second prince! ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter who I am. I¡¯m here just to guide you in,¡± the cadet announced right as he pulled open the doors to one of the rooms before stepping aside and then pointing his hand towards the open doors, silently inviting Theo in. Theo allowed his stare to linger on the cadet for a while before rolling his eyes, taking a deep breath, and stepping inside. There were only two people within the room. The camp¡¯s intendent sat behind his massive desk while holding an elegant cup filled with booze fragrant enough to come straight from the royal wineries. Yet, while the superintendent was of as high a rank as one could get within this camp¡­ it was the other person that caught Theo¡¯s attention and instantly forced him to roll straight back into his combat-ready mindset. ¡°Welcome, Cadet Theo,¡± Castor opened the meeting with a perfectly blank expression on his face, devoid of even the standard, courteous smile one would expect from the academy¡¯s delegate. ¡°While it pains me to say it, before we proceed with the interview, my guests would like to ask you some questions first,¡± he stated, only to point with his chin to the silent guest waiting in the far corner of the room. Theo glanced over, pretending he only noticed the silent man now, before rolling his eyes. ¡°I do not consent.¡± ¡°What?¡± Castor, taken aback by Theo¡¯s sudden and unexpected statement, asked. ¡°I do not consent to any form of questioning. As of this very moment, I no longer fall under the scrutiny of martial laws, thus rendering any attempt at extracting information from me, without prior and written consent, illegal and predatory,¡± Theo said, easily switching over from the combat-oriented mindset to one he often employed in the past when dealing with the royal officials as a quasi tenth rank. ¡°What¡¯s more, the mere fact of bringing up an inquisitor of the faith I do not subscribe to into this meeting constitutes a heavy breach of both the camp¡¯s and the academy¡¯s protocol, which I¡¯ve noted and will report to the appropriate authorities.¡± In the end, contrary to all the other teachers, the superintendent wasn¡¯t a military official. He was a bureaucrat. And the only thing that mattered when dealing with this kind of person was keeping the initiative. And the moment Theo allowed himself to lose it¡­The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. ¡°You certainly are a well-informed one,¡± the inquisitor spoke out for the very first time as he moved from the corner where he stood to the side of Castor¡¯s desk. He then rested his hands over the desk¡¯s edge before leaning over the whole thing, pinning his eyes straight on Theo¡¯s face. ¡°Certainly more informed than what one would expect from a peasant-born cadet.¡± The smile on the inquisitor¡¯s face was as devoid of warmth as Castor¡¯s expression was devoid of any emotion whatsoever. ¡°You stand accused of espionage, monster collusion, and breaking the taboo,¡± Castor stated, ignoring all of Theo¡¯s former remarks. ¡°And while it is certainly true we are not in a lawful position to pursue you for those crimes, it¡¯s best if you don¡¯t forget,¡± the superintendent finally revealed a confident smile as he leaned in over his desk, the spark in his eyes revealing how certain he was of having the upper hand, ¡°while it¡¯s mostly just a tradition by now, it is well within my power to keep you from applying to any of the academy dormitories, whether you have points to afford it or not.¡± At this point, Theo couldn¡¯t help but smile. Or rather, as someone with nigh-perfect control over his facial expressions, he decided it was alright for him to smile at this precise moment. ¡°You mean, the dormitory that¡¯s advertised as the most important choice for the cadets so that they never look into its predatory practices?¡± Theo asked with the same smile he allowed himself to wear since just a moment ago. ¡°That works great because I never intended to apply for any.¡± ¡°Do you really think you can just roam the kingdom freely with those heavy accusations weighing on you?¡± Feeling that the whole meeting wasn¡¯t going the way they planned, the inquisitor spoke again, this time turning to a threatening tone and sharp look on his face. ¡°Are you deaf, or do you simply pretend to be?¡± Theo snapped right back at the man. ¡°I do not subscribe to your faith. And judging how you are the only figure of authority here, those alleged crimes are not backed by the royal investigative unit,¡± he stated, only to spread his arms open and then shake them. ¡°In other words, those with the power to pursue the crimes you mention didn¡¯t find the accusations solid enough to invest their time in them. That¡¯s why you are trying to scare me off into just¡­ listening to you and doing whatever it is that you want of me, right?¡± At this point, Theo allowed his smile to turn into an amused smirk. ¡°This insolence shall not go unpun¡­¡± ¡°Just to stay on the right side of the law,¡± Theo interrupted the inquisitor, a man whose role was but a product of the author of the novel falling for the popular misconception of what this glorious institution actually stood for in history. And while the faith of this world, in general, had very little to do with the faiths Theo could remember from his original life back on Earth¡­ the institution of inquisition still remained, portrayed in the very same way that anti-church propaganda painted it to be back in the real world. ¡°I am recording everything that¡¯s happening here, be it your threats, your attempts to scare me off, or now, an attempt to escalate the situation,¡± Theo stated, only to raise his hand and pull the sleeve of his uniform down, revealing three rings of runic writing of pure mana written into his skin. A sight that rooted the inquisitor in place as he squinted his eyes and looked closer at the runes, only for his face to then turn slightly whiter and for him to retreat a step. ¡®As if I had the qualifications to actually make those work,¡¯ Theo thought as he stopped himself from rolling his eyes. As he was currently, Theo could, at most, flash his spells. As in, summon their effects for but the slightest of moments before the innate simplicity of what magic he could maintain would lead to the spell¡¯s collapse. Right now, he was a pure mage, not a runic, combat, or investigative one, greatly limiting what he could do. But as this wasn¡¯t something the other party could know¡­ ¡°An investigative magic, huh?¡± Castor muttered, his face turning ugly right as Theo covered his arm with its sleeve before locking his hands behind his back. ¡°You do realize that you just made those¡­ alleged crimes of yours all the more believable right now?¡± What Castor said¡­ was right. There was a very limited strata of people that would learn this kind of magic, that would spend years learning how it worked, how to control it, and then how to best use it. And the magic imprint Theo revealed just now was a skill even more exclusive, kept only for those who aimed not to be diplomats or investigative mages¡­ but spies. ¡°As those are only alleged and backed merely by the Sect of Purity, they fail to classify as something that I should be concerned with,¡± Theo stated before shrugging his shoulders. ¡°Now that¡¯s settled, however, how about we move on to the interview and point allocation? Or should I keep recording this meeting so that I can later bring it up to the camp¡¯s chief attention?¡± On his own, Theo couldn¡¯t deal with either of those two. For now, he managed to gain the upper hand purely by how neither of those two ever expected a lowly cadet of peasant birth like him to even imagine the idea of talking back. If they were to implement the full extent of their authority to bring him down, however¡­ ¡®And that¡¯s why, rather than dealing with them by my lonesome, it¡¯s best to make them think I¡¯m about to turn this into a factional dispute.¡¯ At this point, Theo couldn¡¯t be bothered to even hide his genuine smile. ¡°That¡­¡± Castor hesitated for a moment, only to breathe out and hang his head a bit lower than it was before. ¡°That won¡¯t be necessary. But when it comes to the points, I can¡¯t help but be curious,¡± sensing an opportunity, Castor raised his face with a renewed spark of confidence in his eyes. ¡°If you have no plans to join any of the dormitories, nor the ability to do so unless you stop talking smack, be a good cadet and just do what you are asked to do, what would you like to allocate your score tokens for?¡± Hearing this, Theo closed his eyes and took a deep breath. ¡®Here we go, jumping straight into deep waters and then diving deep as opposed to trying to stick to the surface,¡¯ he thought as he gathered his wits before slowly prying his eyes open and then locking them onto the intendent¡¯s face. ¡°I wish all of my points to be allocated to the service of raising my qualification rank,¡± Theo stated as he raised his chin and looked at Castor along the bridge of his own nose. ¡°As for whatever score points are left, I wish to exchange half of them for special class privilege while turning the rest of the tokens into the kingdom¡¯s hard currency.¡± Chapter 20 - He Stank! ¡°This damned¡­!¡± Castor slammed his fist down at his table as soon as he could be sure that damned smart-ass of a cadet had left not only the room but the area of the corridor from where he could hear the noise. ¡°Your true personality is leaking,¡± Gazen muttered while rolling his eyes as he stood by the window and looked out, either adoring the nature, praying to the Pure, or looking out for possible ambushes. ¡°Get a grip.¡± ¡°Tsk,¡± Castor clicked his tongue before taking in a deep breath, leaning back on his chair and then hanging his head as far to the back as he could. He held his breath for a moment before slowly breathing it out, only allowing his head to return back once not a single bit of air remained in his lungs. Only then, when he took a fresh breath, did the camp¡¯s intendent allow his eyes to pry open again, right as his face returned to its usual cheerful mask. ¡°I¡¯m fine now,¡± Castor said, a hint of calculative coldness appearing in his eyes as he leaned over his desk, placing his elbows atop it only to cup his hands and then press them against his mouth, as if to hide it away. ¡°Then again, just thinking about that bastard¡­¡± Castor¡¯s voice grew slightly louder, only for the man to then take another deep breath, bringing his emotions back into a controlled state. ¡°How come he came so prepared? It¡¯s not like there were any hints for him before the ceremony! And those runes¡­¡± Castor shook his head. ¡°Are you really sure they were real?¡± he asked, turning his head to take a look at the Purity Inquisitor. ¡°Oh, they were real,¡± Gazen smiled as he spoke. ¡°Don¡¯t get me wrong, they weren¡¯t active, but¡­¡± He shrugged his shoulders, unbothered by the whole event in the slightest, ¡°they were real. Even if he couldn¡¯t really use them.¡± At this point, Gazen squinted his eyes before directing them outside the window again, as if searching for some clues for the question he held in his head out in the absolute and pure randomness of nature. ¡°Oh, and if he got under your skin so much, why did you play along with his requests? Aren¡¯t you an academy big-shot? Surely, even if he flaunted protocols in your face, there had to be something someone of your station could do to sabotage him¡­?¡± Hearing this, Castor threw his friend a fiery gaze. ¡°Why didn¡¯t I do that, I wonder,¡± he summed up Gazen¡¯s whole point in a sarcasm-overflowing voice, only to then roll his eyes and slam his hand against his precious desk again. ¡°Maybe because I was under the fucking impression that he was recording it all?!¡± Castor looked away from the inquisitor¡¯s figure and took another breath¡­ ¡°Shit!¡± He slammed his hand at his desk again, this time heavily enough to leave a permanent dent on its surface. ¡°If you knew, why didn¡¯t you tell me so? Or indicate it somehow?! Fuck!¡± Castor raised his fist to slam it against his desk for the fourth time, only to stare at a drop of blood sliding down his fist¡¯s outline before dropping down right where he had damaged the desk just before. ¡°Fuck¡­¡± he muttered as his voice lost all of its power, his hand powerlessly dropping down back to the desk, making the man look like a deflated balloon, ¡°he played us exactly how he wanted to, didn¡¯t he?¡±Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. ¡°Oh, you are the one who failed to see through any of his tricks. Don¡¯t bunch me up with the likes of you,¡± Gazen commented, turning his face just enough for his friend to be able to catch his smirk. Yet, after holding his smile for a short moment, Gazen then shook his head as he sighed. ¡°To tell you the truth, though, I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve figured all of his tricks either. I just happened to be well-versed in the runic writing he used, so I could recognize some odd points, allowing me to connect the dots. As for everything else, though¡­¡± Gazen shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t even think I¡¯m qualified to try to figure that kid out, you know?¡± Those words left Castor stunned, his eyebrows raising high enough on his face to reveal just how flabbergasted he was by such high praise coming from his friend¡¯s mouth. ¡°To hear you say something like this about a mere cadet¡­¡± Castor squinted his eyes. ¡°Doesn¡¯t that make him a prime suspect of an actual, high-class spy?¡± Contrary to the huge and all-over-the-place reactions of his friend, Gazen merely rolled his eyes. ¡°And would a spy like that resort to painting fake runes on his wrist, just because something didn¡¯t happen as he expected it to be?¡± Gazen shook his head. ¡°To be honest, if those runes were true and active¡­¡± For the very first time, the inquisitor held his words back, hesitating for a while whether to leave them unsaid or to make the commitment of voicing them out. ¡°If those runes were true, I would¡¯ve killed him right here and now, consequences be damned. I would rather rot in the tower for a few months than let another one of those fuckers get into the academy, but¡­¡± Once again, Gazen held back his words as he turned away from the window and raised his hand to rub his chin, a gesture that quickly evolved into him biting the nail of his thumb. ¡°That guy¡­¡± Once again, he cut his sentence in its middle. This time, however, he didn¡¯t hesitate or doubt whether or not his words were worthy of actually turning them into reality. He simply struggled to find the right words for what he meant. ¡°That guy was just too weird for me to figure out. He knew the high investigative runes and could paint them better than most experts, yet lacked the ability to actually use them? He knew the protocol and procedures enough to outclass an old-time quill-driver in a match of legislative wits? And there was this matter that made you call for me, what was that again?¡± Castor squinted his eyes a bit, patiently listening to his friend¡¯s rant, knowing full well Gazen would rarely throw his words out to the wind for no reason. ¡°When I¡­ No, when we first spotted him¡­¡± Contrary to his friend, Castor had no qualms about cutting his sentences short. Just like his true face, his true self was much better at writing words than spelling them out, even if it was something no one who knew his official persona would ever be able to guess. ¡°Actually¡­¡± Castor shook his head before raising it up a bit. ¡°Uriel! Come inside!¡± Like a perfectly trained and disciplined soldier, the young noble designate wasted no time in following the command, pushing the doors open and then stepping inside within a single second from Castor shouting his command. ¡°Uriel reporting, Camp Intendent!¡± Standing at attention with his chin raised and his fist slammed against his heart, Uriel stretched out as much as he could while daring not to look down at his temporary master or the high-key guests of his. ¡°Tell us, what was the thing that you noticed about the cadet we invited just before?¡± Castor asked, waving away Uriel¡¯s formalities with no desire to respond in a way he was actually supposed to. ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± Uriel dared to look down at his master before stealing a quick glance at the Purity Inquisitor beside him. He then raised his chin again as he looked up, all the while gulping his saliva down as his face tensed up a bit. ¡°He stank of monster miasma, sirs!¡± Chapter 21 - Quick, Well and Cheap. Now, Pick Two! After the stressful time at the knightling camp, the cadet¡¯s immediate future depended mostly on the path they wanted to follow. Those who aimed to join the military would receive a small, one-time pension and a total of a month of free time. During that time and with that money, they were free to do whatever it was that they wanted. Be it touring brothels, going back to the family to share their first taste of crown-guaranteed money, or doing whatever it was that they deemed worthy of that precious little money and time they had left before joining the disciplined life at the military¡¯s barracks. The few exceptional cadets that qualified to join the knights would have their free time cut by half to just two weeks, while their pension increased by over three times. It was done to accommodate all the nobles that opted to join the order the true and tested way, as opposed to some of the modern aristocracy that, in their pure pursuit of the title, would use their connections and bribes to insert their spawns directly into the more decorated yet less militarily valuable knightly organizations. Yet, just like with the military, what the young cadets would do with that time or money was entirely up to them. Finally, there were those who both qualified and then expressed the desire to join the academy. Those cadets would gain no pension or time limits of any sort, leaving them free to decide when to join the academy or what to do with the score tokens they¡¯d gained back in the camp. Contrary to the first two options, however, they couldn¡¯t count on any form of support from the military, their knightly order of choice, or even the kingdom itself. Some would join the academy right away, more than happy to enjoy the benefits of the dormitory-based lifestyle. Others would follow the same path, not for the dormitory-backed boons, but out of pure desire to start their curriculum, taking a first step on the long and arduous yet extremely rewarding path of mastering their field of expertise. Then there were some who would keep their score tokens close to their chest, opting not to use them right away but to take some years to go back home or back to their former job, only using their tokens when they were ready to pursue their path of personal growth. Theo, however, didn¡¯t pick any of those paths. And while there were as many possible routes for a camp¡¯s cadet to take as the camp had cadets in its entire history, Theo¡¯s choice¡­ it was still something so extraordinary, so out of the norm, it was bound to attract a lot of eyes to it. That is, if anyone in the academy had a single clue Theo even existed to begin with. ¡®I need to hurry it up,¡¯ Theo thought, gritting his teeth and clenching his fists, struggling to hold the one and only feeling he never fully mastered control over. The feeling of powerless frustration. But how was he supposed not to get annoyed when his grand plan was currently put on hold¡­ all because the queue to his smithy of choice was so damn long?! ¡°Take a deep breath and calm down,¡± one of the fellow victims of the long line attempted to spark a conversation. ¡°This wait is the true prize of this place, given how cheap their weapons are,¡± a middle-aged man¡ªan adventurer from the way he looked, dressed, and talked¡ªrevealed while shrugging his shoulders. ¡°No matter what it is that you desire, between getting something quickly, getting something of good quality, and getting something cheaply, you can only ever pick two.¡± This adage rang true not only in this world¡­ but also back in the modern reality Theo originally hailed from. Yet, if there was one soul that Theo could actually blame for his current problem, it would be the author of the novel that this world was all about!This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡®That damned bastard¡­¡¯ Theo cursed under his breath while pretending to take the stranger¡¯s advice, taking deep breaths to act as if he attempted to calm himself down. ¡®He just had to set this world to be right at the dawn of the industrialization era!¡¯ The reason why this particular smithy was so cheap yet offered weapons worth much more than their asking price was simple. It was the first business in this border town that implemented some of the new metallurgic processes, allowing for much easier and thus cheaper refinement of metals. Along with the change from forging to casting, they managed to bring the price of simple weapons down by a huge margin, making them the busiest smithy in the entire area, constantly swarmed with low-level adventurers and fame-seekers who sought to replace their worn-down gear for cheap without compromising on the quality of their armaments. Ten years ago, this option wouldn¡¯t even exist, forcing Theo to come up with another solution. Ten years later, and those inventions would inevitably spread so much that all the surviving smithies would offer their weapons at a relatively affordable price. Right now, however, with the better smelting, refining, and casting methods still in a heavily experimental phase, this particular smithy was the best and¡­ And only choice Theo really had. In theory, with the small fortune Theo obtained by exchanging the score tokens directly for money, he could go to any other smithy in town and just splurge on his weapons¡­ That is, he could do it if he remained in the kingdom¡¯s capital, a week of travel by carriage away from the nearest frontier. Now, however, after paying for the spot on the coach and saving enough money to pay for the trip back while keeping just enough for his living expenses¡­ Theo had no other choice but to seek his equipment from the ¡°Smith and Besson¡± business, a smithy popular enough that it even earned a mention in the novel itself! ¡°Thanks. As simple of an exercise as it is, it helped,¡± having absolutely nothing better to do than cry over this massive waste of what little precious time he had, Theo opted to just engage with the man. ¡°And I guess you are right. I¡¯ve heard their weapons are cheap and good enough for what they are to be used for, so it only seems right for all of us to wait our fair share for a chance to get our hands on them.¡± ¡°That¡¯s the spirit, young man!¡± the adventurer grinned before turning his head towards all the people in the line still ahead of him. And seeing the line indicating there were still some hours before he would reach the smithy¡¯s counter, the man¡¯s expression soured in a mere instant. ¡°But yeah, knowing it¡¯s fair and then standing around for hours on end¡­¡± he shook his head before heaving an exasperated sigh. ¡°While they are about the same thing, they are entirely different things in their own right, aren¡¯t they?¡± ¡°They sure are,¡± Theo nodded his head, fully aware of where the man was coming from. For an adventurer like his newly made friend, a day spent in the queue was a day he didn¡¯t spend hunting. Or, in simpler terms, it was a day he didn¡¯t get a chance to earn his keep, putting a heavy strain on any low-rank adventurer¡¯s pouch, given how hard it could be to make a living when hunting small fry kind of monsters. For Theo, however, the pressure came from an entirely different angle. His special class privilege came with a month-long time limit. If he failed to show up to claim it in time, he would lose the right to attend whatever lessons, lectures, and exercises he desired, regardless of the standard progression of topics assumed within the academy curriculum. He had already spent a week to reach this frontier town and had to be ready to spend another week getting back. Adding three days of buffer in case of some unforeseen incidents, the month Theo had already shrunk down to less than two weeks. Less than two weeks to prepare for all the hardships and challenges of surviving within the royal academy without the benefits of the dormitory. Less than two weeks to grow the foundation of his strength to the level necessary for the development of his core abilities without access to proper combat and monster materials. He only had thirteen days to prepare for everything that awaited in the capital, from the rush through the ranks, through the bullying of the upper-class students, the inevitable investigation from the inquisition, and likely interference from the camp¡¯s intendant¡­ ¡®Just like always, everything starts with making a first step, though,¡¯ Theo thought, pushing his thoughts aside not to let them overwhelm him while he tried to keep breathing deeply, desperate to find something to calm his mind. Yet, as the line finally moved, allowing Theo to make a single damned step, his face still ended up darkening. ¡®I know it¡¯s just a first step and all¡­ but why does it have to be so damn slow?!¡¯ Chapter 22 - Gold-worthy request A huge, wooden sign hung down from a small pole, attached to the wall just by the smithy''s entrance. The sign itself was covered with simplistic pictures outlining the general prices within the store, with each picture of an item accompanied by a picture of red, blue, or empty circles. ''A knife for two silvers, sword for seven silvers, axe for five, and an arrowhead for two bronzes apiece, huh?'' Theo took note as he scanned and then committed the sign to his memory. Now that he finally waited for what he was due and was just a few customers away from reaching the smithy''s entrance, the speed at which the queue moved appeared to slow down even further. ''Is it just my perception, or are people really starting to take their time inside?'' Theo thought, watching how a lucky fellow just left the smithy through the side door, happily carrying away two clattering pouches and two sheathed swords. For him, the watch was over. For Theo, however, it had yet to conclude. And the few patrons before him were clearly of the more troublesome kind, given just how long each of them would take inside! ''This is really getting on my nerves,'' Theo thought, clenching his hands as he forced himself to calm down and patiently wait his turn. One. Two. Three. Finally, the adventurer Theo talked with before finally reached his own turn, happily stepping into the smithy only for its doors to close right in Theo''s face, forcing him to wait for the man to leave before he could enter himself. ''Assuming they won''t mind my small favor, I should be done in an hour or less, leaving me¡­'' Theo turned to the side and looked at the sky, measuring the position of the sun relative to the path it took in the sky since morning, ''just enough time for a quick hunt, huh?'' For the very first time in Theo''s second¡ªthird?¡ªlife, he could see the tangible benefits of waking up extremely early to have something done. Just like his original parents taught him, way before he somehow merged with the novel''s extra, by dragging his flu-ridden ass over to the doctor hours before the clinic would even open, all to claim a better spot in the queue¡ªpreferably before it would even form! Sure, waking up early to go stand in the queue didn''t pay off as much this time, given how Theo had already lost a better part of the day, but it left him with just enough time to turn around and forcefully make the day somewhat productive.This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. "Next!" Finally, the doors to the smithy opened up for Theo, allowing him to step into its smoky, heavy-aired bellows outfitted with nothing but a simple yet massive stone counter and a huge, sweaty man¡ªa picture-perfect example of a fantasy-born smith¡ªbehind it. "What do you need?" the man asked while wiping his forehead with his huge, fatty, and gloved hand. "A sword? A knife? A spear maybe?" Theo smiled lightly before reaching for his money pouch, safely tucked inside his pants and then secured with two stretches of thin steel wire. "I need two swords, three spears, three knives, and arm braces," the young man said without hesitation, not even caring enough to peer over the counter into the depths of the smithy or at the weapon display rack hanging on the wall behind the blacksmith manning the counter. "A-any models in particular?" Theo''s rather huge request only threw a tiny hint of surprise into the smith''s voice. "Just whatever that''s most popular. But this order will also come with a request," Theo added before the man could turn away to grab the wares. "While I''m here, would it be possible for me to borrow a table to modify those weapons to my liking?" he asked before pulling out a gold coin, worth more than thrice the price of all that he ordered. "That, and I would like a few answers." The smith''s eyes instantly locked in on the gold coin, forcing him to reassess Theo as a customer. In the end, this sweaty bulk of a man stood up from the stool he was half-sitting on before leaning on the counter and tapping down on it with his stubby thumb. Chuckling a little, Theo flung the coin up, aiming it so that it fell down right by the smith''s hand¡­ Only to vanish into thin air as the man swiped his hand and grabbed the golden piece. "Ask away." "Do you guys buy raw materials? If not, where best am I to go to sell off the spoils of my hunt? And, would you offer a proper discount if I were to make orders big enough to keep paying with those?" Theo asked, only to fish out and flash a sister to the gold coin he just spent. "Raw materials¡­ That depends," the smith shook his shoulders. "If it''s something we can use and if you have it in yourself to stand in the queue all day, sure," he said while waving his hand, dismissing the topic as something below his station to even address. "For stuff like meat, furs, and the like, your best bet is to seek out the carver''s guild, smack-dab by the city''s outer gate. As for your last question¡­" the smith suddenly grew silent, his eyes tracking every tiniest move of the golden piece in Theo''s hand. "We are already selling for cheap, but¡­" The smith shook his head, as if he was about to refuse Theo''s request. "But I will see what can be done. And if you really want to order enough to pay with gold, there might be some wiggle room left. As for a workshop," the smith shook his shoulders again, "there''s more than enough space for you, just as long as you don''t bother anyone." Theo''s smile grew wider as he threw the second coin to the smith before jumping over the counter and moving behind the man and then past the narrow passage that connected the shop to the smithy proper. "One last thing," having spent two entire gold coins so far, Theo called out to the shopkeeper yet again, "could you bring my weapons over to my station rather than to the counter?" he asked while keeping his small, courteous smile. "I don''t see a point in you bringing them out, only for me to bring them right back to the shop." Chapter 23 - Two Objectives for the Frontier Town There were two precise objectives Theo had to accomplish within the limited time he had before hurrying back to the academy so as not to miss out on the benefits he had secured. The first was to grow stronger, to proverbially level up, even if there was no such mechanic in this universe allowing for one to get such a linear and trackable way to measure their growth. For that reason, he purchased all the weapons he needed for the hunt and now was in the process of cutting them down to shape¡ªor, to be more precise, chiseling away the wooden parts he saw as nothing but excess. And so, he would cut away at the knives'' handles, adding some ridges for better grip¡ªone that wouldn''t betray him even if the weapon was covered in a thick layer of blood, slime, or ooze. The young man had even less mercy for his spears, brutally cutting away half of their handles, turning them from stabbing weapons into throwable projectiles. Sure, they were nowhere near as handy as proper javelins or the like, but at just two silver coins apiece, Theo opted to go with the less optimal but simply cheaper design. Those makeshift javelins were consumables, after all, designed to be replaced rather than withstand wear and tear so they could be reused ad infinitum. The swords were the only weapons Theo left as they were, their simple design leaving pretty much no room for improvement. The whole process of chipping the excess wood away would normally take about an hour. Yet, between Theo''s currently clumsy hands and years'' worth of expertise, it wouldn''t take longer than half that time. Wouldn''t¡­ if not for the other purpose for his visit to the smithy¡ªa purpose that, for now, he could satisfy just by taking his time and looking around. ''It''s just like I thought,'' Theo noted, watching how the smithy''s apprentices continued to run around with all sorts of weapons, carrying them from the workshop to the storage room, and from the storage room to the shop where they would distribute them to their customers. There were at least twelve of those apprentices running all over the place, with a further three much older men working the metal back in the smoky bellows of the smithy. All in all, out of fifteen people deployed to this location, only three¡ªmaybe five, if the opportunity allowed¡ªwould actively produce wares by blasting the ores into iron juice of just the right properties before pouring said juice into the charred clay casts. ''From how things are here, I think everything should work out just great,'' Theo thought, intentionally slowing his hands as he kept a lookout for every tiniest detail that would allow him to further his second agenda. His second purpose for coming to the frontier town, where death was common and lives were cheap. And, contrary to how he acted around his money thus far, money was precisely the reason for Theo to come here. If it was just about hunting, Theo could find more than enough opportunities to do so around the capital. If it was about earning money, he knew a hundred and one methods to extract money from unsuspecting victims, making himself maybe not rich but affluent in the process.Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. But when it came to securing both, there was no better place than here, in the bellows of this overworked smithy. "Okay, I think that will suffice," Theo finally dragged his eyes away from the smithy''s insides and pulled them over to his weapons, inspecting his job before carefully stuffing them all over his outfit. The knives went into a simple holster strapped across his chest, allowing for easy access that would position them just right to toss at the enemy. One of the swords ended up on his hip, while the other¡ªmerely a spare¡ªended up strapped to his back, soon joined by the three makeshift javelins. After a quick test, Theo confirmed that, as opposed to his spare sword, he could draw his longer projectiles with ease, finally completing the gear-side of his setup for the rest of the day. And with it, Theo quickly cleaned up his station¡ªfor leaving it dirty would invite ill will from the smiths he wanted to cooperate with¡ªand then left the building through its side entrance, ready to embark on the adventure that his entire mission in this town was centered on. The hunt. "Excuse me¡­ s-sir¡­" Right as Theo emerged from the smithy, took a deep breath of relatively fresher, cleaner air, and stretched out his chest, looking out into the sun with his thoughts already out beyond the frontier''s lines¡­ a small voice dragged his raised chin down as his eyes reached lower and lower, only stopping when he locked his sights on a small frame of a young child at his feet. The child reached out with its two hands, not to ask for charity, but to grab Theo''s hand and then drag it to a tiny, messy wooden stall with just a bunch of half-wilted flowers and fruits of dubious freshness displayed on the wobbly corner. "W-would you l-like to buy a flower, good s-sir?" the kid asked, forcing a smile on its mouth while its eyes filled with silent desperation. Theo raised his eyes as he took a look at the stall appearing as if it could collapse at any moment. The run-down, half-burned house behind it, with a whole bunch of small children playing in what likely used to be a backyard and a lone, drunkard of a man sitting behind the stall''s counter, caring neither for its half-spoiled wares nor something as simple as catering to customers. "A flower, you say?" Theo muttered to himself, eyeing the whole picture, only for the child to pull on his sleeve again. "Or a fruit! We have f-fruits too!" the young boy added, not sure whether to be hopeful now that someone actually stopped to hear his pleas or distraught that Theo''s attention would soon fade away. "That''s¡­" Theo finally locked his eyes on the drunk, snoring man before drawing his gaze back to the child. "You know what, I have no need for flowers or fruits, so keep them for someone else," Theo smiled as he squatted down to match the child''s eye-line, only to then grab its hands¡­ and stuff a silver coin inside. "Take this and go get yourself and your siblings something to eat," he advised, already standing up. This wouldn''t change a thing. By helping out now, all Theo did was make this kid more eager to beg for charity from others in the future, likely inviting trouble either from the annoyed customers of the smithy, the smiths themselves, or heavens know what other threat roamed those dilapidated streets. The thing is, helping out was not Theo''s goal in the slightest. And the slight twitching of the drunkard''s eyes already implied what other trouble would come the kid''s way, long before he would have a single chance to turn the silver coin into something to eat. ''This might be backhanded, but I can''t really afford to play fair now, can I?'' Theo thought, closing his eyes as he took his first step, soon turning his walk into a jog as he hurried toward the city''s outer gate. The seeds were sown. But for them to grow into Theo''s solution to everything that he gave up on when he decided not to aim for a spot in the academy''s dormitory¡­ there was still one major, if not outright most important, step for him to take. A simple step of hauling his ass over to the forest and then turning his weapons from expenditure into tools that would allow him to earn back their cost tens, if not hundreds, of times over! Chapter 24 - Out For The Hunt! Walking down the main street of the frontier town, Theo kept getting reminded of the ground-up origins of this place. Just fifteen years ago, this place was as deserted as every other fragment of this depopulated borderland. With but a massive, infertile steppe spreading out as far west as one could see, there was little to no incentive for settlers to come to this particular spot of land. All of that changed roughly ten years ago, however, when a local outburst of monsters led delegate adventurers and fame-seekers to discover a massive complex of ancient ruins, dungeons, and monster lairs, all interconnected in one evolving compound of above-and-underground structures. Within the last ten years, the controlled expansion of this chaotic mess led to the creation of a huge jungle smack-dab in the middle of what was supposed to be an infertile, endless plain of grass, along with several other biomes necessary to cultivate and interbreed the monsters nested deep within this place¡¯s core. What was supposed to be a terror for the nearby villages and settlers, and a potential threat to the much more developed communities due east, quickly became the source of immense wealth for all those who dared to reach for it. For the monsters were all too eager to slap those greedily overextended hands, protective of their unnatural habitat. Still, when it came to this frontier town in particular, one could see the signs of its growth history in everything. The generally bulky style of the town¡¯s architecture was all for the sake of reinforcing the dwellings of the early settlers from the pre-wall era. As soon as Theo moved from the old town to the new districts, however, the buildings grew noticeably more frail, more practical, and cost-effective. Down the main street, there were even some multi-story buildings with several more set to be finished in the near future, now that the town¡¯s wall sported robust towers with siege engines ready to shoot down any threat from the air that would dare approach. This city was a weird mix of the evolving architectural styles, each one adapting to the ever-changing circumstances of the developing city. Yet, if there was one thing that united it all, it was the method locals and immigrants used to build the city up. Everyone that came to the area would add a small bit of their own, all within the range of their means and ability, building up on what was constructed before. And that¡¯s why, as Theo walked down the main street towards the city¡¯s outer gate, pretty much all the shops and businesses on its sides catered to those either setting off on a hunt or just returning from it. Dismantling shops, ready to take off the burden of the bloody, menial task from the adventurers¡¯ backs for but a small, honest fee. Butchers dealing with monster meats. Appraisal shops, where one could identify various artifacts and herbs they could find over in the borderlands as the amalgamation of the nearby dungeons came to be known. The closer Theo got to the so-called ¡°heading¡± gate, however, the smaller those shops became as the road widened, allowing for greater foot and cart traffic to pass through before spilling over to the rest of the town. The crowd that gathered at the gate, however, gave this design of the road a perfect and quite obvious justification, given how the closer Theo approached, the harder it was to even pass through the endless stream of people walking one or the other way. Some were going out of the town, paying their toll on the way out. Others were coming back from their hunts, trying their best to appease the tax-men standing there to take the crown¡¯s share of their loot. And even with how, over time, the defensive gate became pretty much a ticketing center for the borderlands beyond it, passing the standard toll queue would still take quite some time. Time that Theo could no longer spare. ¡®This is all but a justified cost,¡¯ he thought, gritting his teeth as he switched lanes off closer to the center, soon moving beyond the better part of the main queue.This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. In the end, Theo only had to wait about ten minutes. Yet, this time-save came at a steep cost of the toll raising from the standard single silver coin for passage to a whopping five times as much! Still, after dropping two entire golden coins on the smithy just to get his weapons and some preparatory information for later, Theo managed to fish the coins out of his purse with only a slight hint of displeasure flashing on his face. Then, the young man finally stepped through the several-meters-long tunnel of the gate only to finally emerge back where he felt most at home at¡ªout in the wilderness. There were still a huge crowd of people gathered around, just like it was the case on the other side of the gate. Here, however, the further Theo went, the less and less crowded the area became, all the way to the point where only a few other adventurers remained in sight, with everyone else either staying back at the gate or vanishing into any of the other thousands of small paths one could pick through the borderlands. Some dove into the ruins, hoping for a quick, lucky shot at finding a piece of lost technology that could be dismantled for the precious materials it was made out of. Others headed straight for the ravine, where the most hunt-optimal monsters nested. Theo, however, as time-pressed as he was, headed straight for the thinner part of the forest, the habitat outright perfect for the one monster that would appear in the starting area of pretty much every world in every novel, game, or series Theo read in his original life. The goblins. ¡®I know I¡¯m punching far below my weight, but¡­¡¯ Theo heaved a deep sigh. There was a reason why the borderland goblins became an endangered species within the next three short years. In fact, their culling would begin in roughly thirty months, just half a year away from when one could no longer find a single goblin nest anywhere within the forest. And it just so happened that Theo¡¯s interest in the local, modernizing smithy perfectly aligned with the reason why all the adventurers of the frontier went into a frenzy of goblin hunting. A reason that, according to the novel¡¯s generalized timeline, wouldn¡¯t be discovered until close to a third of Theo¡¯s time at the academy, making it impossible for him to profit off it in his original timeline. ¡®Which is exactly why I can¡¯t let this opportunity pass,¡¯ Theo thought, pulling out one of the shortened spears off his back before firmly grasping it in his hand as he lowered himself down on his knees and looked around. There was absolutely no point running around the forest in hopes of randomly stumbling into goblins. Sure, it was a valid tactic given their current population levels¡­ But why waste time running around, when all one had to do was look? ¡®There.¡¯ Theo¡¯s eyes quickly drew to an uneven animal path marked by the crushed, twisted, and otherwise mangled vegetation. Contrary to literally everywhere around it, there was hardly any grass growing in that thin, jagged line, implying a physical stress on the ground repeated over a long period of time. In other words, it was a path used much more than what one would expect from a simple animal track. Theo crept closer, stopping just outside of the path he spotted. He leaned in and took a closer look at the nature of the damages to the bushes and grasses around. Most specifically, which direction were those bent towards. ¡®To the right, huh?¡¯ Turning his head first to the left, Theo ensured no goblin patrol was approaching. Sure, if he chanced upon one, he could just kill them all¡­ But what if the noise warned the others? What if those pesky, green-skinned monsters were to swarm him? That would make it harder to kill them off in an efficient and pragmatic manner! ¡®It should be safe, for now,¡¯ Theo thought after taking a few more moments to observe everything he could about the path before finally turning his attention to where it led. ¡®And that means,¡¯ he thought, pinning his eyes in the direction the path disappeared in, meandering through trees, bigger bushes, and all sorts of various features of this once-flat and empty steppe that, under the influence of the borderlands, turned into a thick forest. Fanning the fingers of his right hand to stretch them out, Theo rose up from his knee and moved down the path, caring not for the obvious marks of his presence he was leaving in his wake. He was simply too big not to leave a huge trail behind, not when the monsters and animals normally using this path were, at most, half his size. Still, it mattered not, for by following this simple, narrow path, Theo soon found himself at the crossroads. A place where several smaller paths converged, marking the congregation spot for the goblins for whenever they would set out for a hunt themselves. A spot that allowed them to form a multi-nest horde, which in this area was the necessary force the goblins needed to gather to match other monsters roaming those woods. Lacking in personal strength, goblins always made sure to compensate with numbers and the vicious nature of their hunts, making them one hell of a tough opponent for rookie adventurers¡­ But for Theo, who knew their habits and nature like the back of his own hand, they were nothing more than pitiful prey. ¡®And now we wait,¡¯ Theo thought after finding a relatively uncomfortable spot near the place where the trails converged, giving him the perfect vision of the spot while forcing him to stay in one hell of an uncomfortable position, ensuring he wouldn¡¯t just doze off to the pleasant, soothing sounds of the forest. Chapter 25 - From a Bust to a Jackpot? ¡®They are coming.¡¯ The muted sounds of steps, when emerging from the background of an otherwise silent forest, felt like the noise of a raised alarm. Theo opened his eyes before fanning his fingers to warm them up again. ¡®No half-measures,¡¯ he thought, slightly raising his spear-wielding arm as he took aim¡ªnot at any of the monsters, for he could not see any of them yet¡ªbut right at where they had to pass through. And surely enough, within a few heartbeats, the bushes moved before a total of six figures emerged from behind some of the thicker trees. ¡®Wait, hobs?¡¯ The dark-green-skinned monsters that emerged onto the path Theo observed weren¡¯t exactly what he actually expected or hoped for. While still classified as a goblin subspecies, they were much tougher, more resilient opponents, dwarfing their lesser cousins by growing as big as an average human, with their heavily refined physiques reaching levels many humans could only ever dream about. ¡®That¡¯s a letdown,¡¯ Theo thought, breathing out silently as he pulled his arm back. A heartbeat later, Theo strung his arm forth, throwing the makeshift javelin straight at the furthest hobgoblin in the group. ¡®Still, it only makes sense,¡¯ he thought, rising up right as the commotion of having one of their brethren skewered by a spear distracted the rest of the small pack. ¡®Since it¡¯s still a long way before the culling starts,¡¯ he pulled up the next spear off the holster on his back, ¡®it only makes sense for them to evolve and try to expand.¡¯ Just like every clan of early humanity would come with a leader, every goblin¡¯s nest came with its own leader. Depending on the nest¡¯s size, the leader could be as weak as an elder goblin or a class-goblin of any kind. Yet, as the nests grew stronger, so did the strength of their leaders, turning them into hobgoblins, bugbears, noble-class goblins, all the way to the king and emperor goblins for the biggest nests known to man. Yet, as those nests continued to expand beyond what their habitat could handle, the pack would send off part of its elites to establish a colony-nest. ¡®While this trap ended up as a dud,¡¯ Theo thought as he leaned back and waited for a short moment, patiently holding his spear and watching how the hobs started to move, desperately trying to figure out just where the first spear came from. ¡®There.¡¯ Wasting no time, Theo waited for two of the hobs to align with his aim before twisting his body as he threw his spear. This time, however, rather than gripping the wood with all five of his fingers, he left just his pointing finger to rest along the length of the wood. And right as the spear was about to fully leave his hand¡­ ¡®Go.¡¯ Theo infused but a sliver of his mana into the tip of his pointy finger, activating it right as the wood dragged against the very tip of his pointing finger, adding a little bit more force to his throw. Whoosh! The spear easily cut through the air and several leaves that stood in its way, piercing straight through the first hob¡¯s chest, only to then impale the heart of a second one, driving down the number of the colonizing pack to half its original strength¡­ before those monsters could even figure out where they were attacked from. ¡®This might be a dud, but seeing how they are trying to expand, their nest is bound to be really juicy,¡¯ Theo smiled, pulling the last of his spears before dropping his cover and charging in. By now, the hobs were properly alerted. And with his second throw, he pretty much gave away his direction, losing the advantage of the surprise necessary for something as simple as his crude spears to reach the hobs¡¯ flesh. ¡®And so, rather than throwing it from afar and giving them the chance to dodge or reflect the spear,¡¯ Theo thought, giggling in his mind as the adrenaline of the moment burst in his veins, threatening to tunnel his vision down to just his targets.The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. Theo ran up almost all the way to the remaining three hobs, only to then step onto the side of a rather large stone protruding out of the ground, using it as a brace as he transferred all the momentum of his dash into the force with which he threw his last spear, twisting his body at his hips to accelerate his projectile even more. From up close, and with just how much faster Theo¡¯s last attack was, the hobs attempted to dodge, but to no avail. Theo¡¯s spear cut through the air, then through the hob¡¯s clothes, its tough skin, and then drove pretty much halfway through its entire body, only stopping when the blade appeared to strike the inner side of the hob¡¯s ribs on the opposite end of its muscular body from where it struck. Already up close, Theo didn¡¯t wait to admire the results of his tournament-worthy throws, pulling out two of his throwing-adapted knives¡ªone for each hand¡ªbefore jumping up and ahead. A stupid move when fighting an intelligent opponent, for it deprived the young man of footing and thus the ability to change and adapt his movement. Hobgoblins, however, for all the strength and brawn they brought to a fight, certainly forgot to pack some intelligence in their evolutionary tree. And so, seeing yet another projectile shooting through the air, rather than taking a closer look to see it was Theo himself rather than just another spear, they braced themselves down and swung with their weapons, more to bounce the projectile away rather than to strike Theo down from the air. Theo, however, was much slower than the spears he threw. And after the hob swung his club only to miss Theo¡¯s stomach by several inches, Theo fell down upon him like a hawk, resting his feet against the hob¡¯s muscular chest while dropping his knife-armed hands down and drilling the blades straight through the hob¡¯s eyes and into its brain. No matter how muscular or tough-skinned a monster was, there were always weaker points for a hunter to attack. For all the magic they used to allow all the transgressions to biology that the monsters¡¯ bodies actually were, some laws simply couldn¡¯t be broken with the convenience of magic. And in the case of nearly the entirety of the goblin¡¯s biological family tree, their eyes allowed the quickest and easiest access to their most vital point, lacking in its primary use as it might be¡ªtheir brains. ¡°Aeuk!¡± the hob uttered a short, silent cry of pain before its nervous system collapsed as Theo twisted his knives, turning the hob¡¯s brain into a bloody mess. He then relaxed his grip on the knives¡¯ handles before kicking against the hob¡¯s still chest, jumping off the monster while already moving to draw his sword. Despite the death of all of its fellows, the last hob didn¡¯t seem to be bothered or scared in the slightest. Was it just THAT brave? Or maybe it was too dumb to understand the concept of fear? Maybe its inability to see through the likelihood of its own demise was what allowed it to foolhardily charge Theo down, swinging its sharp-stone-embedded club right at his head? ¡®That¡¯s why I hate those bastards,¡¯ the young man thought, diving to the side to avoid the strike and then turning mid-jump, only for his back to crash into the tree, allowing him to regain his mobility faster at the cost of a mild, dull pain in his spine. The hob waited for nothing, already following up its first attack with another charge, caring not for the fact that as it swung its arm back to take another swing at Theo, the trees now obstructed the path its club had to take to reach Theo¡¯s head. Still, the hob¡¯s muscles weren¡¯t for nothing. And as feeble as it might look when compared to steel weapons, its club wasn¡¯t made with normal wood either. It was made with the wood local to the borderlands. And with the combination of those two, the hob simply didn¡¯t need to care about anything that stood in its attack¡¯s path. CRASH! The hob swung its club down, crushing the young tree in its weapon¡¯s path, ready to crush Theo¡¯s head in one go. ¡®They are damn boring to fight.¡¯ Theo dove underneath the hob¡¯s strike, moving as low as if he was walking on his knees, only to finally pull his sword up and then drive it up right as he suddenly stood, pushing his blade right into the hob¡¯s armpit. ¡°AAARGH!¡± A powerful scream filled the forest, likely alerting all the monsters nearby of the ongoing fight. Before the hob could utter another scream, however, Theo pulled himself up on his sword¡¯s handle, driving it to deepen the wound even further, only to fish out his third knife as he rose above the hob¡¯s chest before driving the knife down into its eye to finish the bastard off. ¡°Phew,¡± dropping back down to the ground, Theo took a quick look around while arming himself with the last two knives in his possession and taking his time to inspect his surroundings. ¡®You can never be too careful,¡¯ he thought, calming down only when, even after quite a while, the forest around him showed no signs of approaching monsters. ¡°Now then,¡± Theo put his spare knives away as he grabbed the handle of his sword and stepped down on the hob¡¯s chest, pulling the blade with a powerful jerk while holding the monster¡¯s corpse down with his foot. Yet, as he dropped the bloodied blade down on his shoulder in the habit he picked up from Gracian, he looked down at the remaining corpses in the vicinity before heaving a deep sigh. ¡°While I might¡¯ve earned quite a bit, this doesn¡¯t really bring me any closer to my goal,¡± he muttered to himself before moving ahead to retrieve all the weapons he used, only to then drag all the hobs¡¯ corpses to one spot before digging his spears into the ground around them while arming himself with the sturdiest of all his knives. ¡°God, I never figured out why others like this part so much,¡± Theo whined as he drove the knife¡¯s blade into the first of the hobs he defeated, carving it open to access its heart where the hob¡¯s monster core resided. Then, once he stuffed the bloodied piece of green crystal into his pouch, Theo moved up the carcass before removing the hob¡¯s left ear and saving it in the very same pouch. ¡°I know this is literally how adventurers make money, but¡­¡± Theo¡¯s face twisted with disgust as he kicked the carved-out carcass out of the way before moving on to the second one, ¡°money be damned, I really can never get used to just how disgusting this part of the job is.¡± Chapter 26 - Baiting the Bloodfangs ¡®This is really taking a lot longer than I thought it would,¡¯ Theo thought as he tried to get himself as comfortable lying down on a tree branch as he could. Still, there was a limit to how much a man could relax while actively hiding in a tree¡¯s canopy, especially when he picked his branch not for its comforts, but for good visibility on the spot just a bit ahead and enough room to properly move around. It¡¯s been over an hour since Theo concluded his fight with the hobgoblin colonizers and around fifty minutes since he extracted whatever was of real worth out of their corpses before leaving their bloodied remains out in the open. And yet, even though his scent has most likely disappeared from the place for quite a while now, no monsters worth their name approached the spot yet, not even with all the blood that he made sure to scatter to better bait them out. ¡®At this rate, I will have to go bonkers on that camp,¡¯ Theo thought, pressing his lips together as just the thought of doing that was enough to make his body shiver. He could single-handedly bring carnage to the goblins¡¯ camp he aimed for. But him being able to do something didn¡¯t mean he was happy to pay the price of doing so. Especially when he wasn¡¯t anywhere near desperate to resort to such dangerous means as what he would have to employ to solo the goblin horde. Yet, as time continued to pass, the calculation of risk, cost, and benefit continued to change, making the option of just going bonkers more and more enticing. ¡®The sun¡¯s already setting,¡¯ Theo thought as he looked up to what little sunlight passed through the tree¡¯s leaves to where he perched up. ¡®At this rate, I might really need to¡­¡¯ The unnaturally loud rustling caught Theo¡¯s attention. Before he could even finish his thought, his mind cleared, leaving him perfectly focused on the bloody area ahead and then its immediate surroundings. ¡®There you are.¡¯ A small smile crept on his lips as his eyes locked on a low-bearing, mid-sized creature creeping through the forest undergrowth. ¡®Bloodfang,¡¯ Theo thought, recognizing the way in which the patterns of the monster¡¯s fur made it blend with its surroundings, obscuring the outline of its body and making it rather hard to spot it from anything on the same level as the monster. Yet, watching from above and looking out not for shapes but movement, Theo made the task of spotting the monster rather easy for himself. ¡®And since one is already here,¡¯ he thought, closing his eyes to kill his focus before opening them again and then scanning the area as far out as his eyes could see. Then, his smile widened. ¡®The rest of the pack is bound to be somewhere close.¡¯Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. Just like goblins had a tendency to live in colonies, evolve as their numbers grew, and then send their elites to establish a new colony once their domain could no longer support the size of their nest, bloodfangs had their own set of habits to follow. ¡®There they are,¡¯ Theo thought to himself as he raised the shortened spear in his hand, his eyes jumping from one elusive figure in the bushes below to the next. There was a total of seven bloodfangs, horse-sized cats that low-level adventurers would consider the apex predators of the borderlands. And to a degree, those low-level adventurers would be right. Because when it came to the outskirts of the borderlands, those oversized cats indeed were one of the toughest opponents to fight with, even if they were but prey for the real monsters hiding in the deeper areas of this place. After taking quite some time to scan the area for dangers, be it through smell, sight, or hearing, the scout of the pack finally emerged from the bushes and approached the neat row in which Theo arranged the vivisected corpses of the hobs. Then, after taking just a little bit more time to inspect the site, the bloodfang raised its adorable head before¡­ barking at the rest of its pack, signaling for them to come out and feast upon their findings. ¡®Well, that¡¯s my cue,¡¯ Theo thought, allowing himself to lose the balance only to then swing down on his branch and carefully lower himself down to the ground, landing in the precise spot where he removed all the twigs and sticks from, leaving nothing but soft, moist moss. Thump. Even with how careful he was, Theo¡¯s landing still created a tiny bit of noise. Yet, as he perked his head up and looked through the bushes ahead towards the feasting pack¡­ ¡®Good.¡¯ Once again, just like he did before when he was about to deal with the hobs, Theo stretched his hand out, as far back as he could, even going as far as to twist his body at his hips. Then, for the next several seconds, all he did was just stay frozen in place, his eyes registering every tiniest movement of the bloodfangs ahead. The way they would bite into the hobs¡¯ meat only to then sharply pull with their neck, twisting and turning their heads all the way to the point where they would tear away the hobs¡¯ flesh, allowing them to comfortably swallow their prize. The way the blades of their shoulders protruded from their backs as they all laid down low while feasting, trying to make themselves as small of a target to spot as possible while eating and thus vulnerable. The way each of the bloodfangs would dutifully hold back from eating and raise its head to look around for threats, only allowing itself to go back to eat when the next oversized cat in the group would raise its head to take on the warden¡¯s task¡­ Theo took all of this in, quickly constructing a pattern of movements of the pack. A pattern that was only slightly different from what he had learned years ago. But for his plan to work, precision was of paramount importance. ¡®Okay then,¡¯ Theo thought, taking a deeper breath than before only to then go through the motions again, string-snapping his body as he twisted at his hips and threw his spear. Before the first projectile could even reach its target, Theo already grabbed the other, no longer caring about making noise. Because by the time he grasped his second spear, by the time the bloodfangs all perked their ears up and raised their heads¡­ The first spear shot right past the cat nearest to where Theo hid, grazing its side and leaving a long, bloody cut over its hide. ¡°RAWR!¡± No longer having any need to stay silent, the wounded cat made the noise to alert the rest of its pack¡­ Only for Theo¡¯s second spear to soar in from between the trees and pin another cat¡¯s left hind leg to the ground. The bloodfangs jumped. The pack split up without a single bark, roar, or other form of primal communication, instantly dividing in half, leaving one perfectly healthy bloodfang to defend its wounded packmates while the other four dashed in the directions the attacks came from. By the time they leaped up and came crashing down at the spot Theo was hiding at, however, the young man was already running for his life with all the might of his well-trained body, caring not for the noise he made or the quite obvious trail he left in the wake of his nigh-crazed dash. A wake that obscured the markings left behind tens or maybe hundreds of goblins that treaded the path before him. Chapter 27 - Monsters Standoff ¡®To think that the experience of running that damned marathon would come in handy so soon,¡¯ Theo thought, nearly laughing out loud as he continued to dash through the thick woods. He tried his best to roughly follow the goblin tracks, only ever deviating from them when he could cut some corners or take a visible shortcut while making it clear which path he took. Yet, for every step he took, the bloodfangs came closer. Those oversized cats were not apex predators of the borderland outskirts for nothing. And while their toughness left a lot of room for evolutionary improvement, they more than compensated for it with their agility, maneuverability, and vicious levels of damage they could deal the moment they pounced on their target. That¡¯s why Theo made sure never to give them a good shot at doing so, trailing between the trees, slightly changing his directions, or outright jumping over obstacles¡ªall in a bid to either stay out of their pounce¡¯s range or to have something between himself and those vicious cats, preventing them from leaping forth to begin with. Yet, no matter how fast Theo ran, those cats were faster than him. Their entire lineage developed in this weird place. This forest was the bloodfangs¡¯ natural habitat, not Theo¡¯s. And given just a little bit more time, they would surely catch up to him, forcing the young man to desperately fight not for the materials he could obtain by dissecting them but to fight with his all while still putting his life on the line. Theo, however, failed to wipe the smile off his face. After all, everything was going according to his plan. ¡®If my calculations are right, then their nest should be just around¡­¡¯ Before he could even finish the thought in his head, the trees around suddenly started to grow sparser and sparser, soon turning his surroundings from the thick part of the woods into one of the many clearings dotted all over this massive, overgrown forest. And a clearing like this was just the perfect spot for goblins to develop their camp. ¡®Now, to lay the bait properly,¡¯ Theo thought as he suddenly turned sideways, opting to just slide on the undergrowth for the short instant it took him to throw the last of his spears in the general direction of the clearing ahead. A throw that he then instantly followed by ending the slide only to start running again, this time not at a comfortable and efficient pace, but as if death itself was breathing down his neck. This dash lasted only a few steps, however, allowing Theo to gain enough momentum to just¡­ jump, grab the branch of one of the bigger trees around, and then swing on it, transferring his forward speed into an upward force that carried him just high enough to disappear from the bloodfangs¡¯ radar. ¡°Huff¡­¡± Theo breathed out as he grabbed onto a much higher branch of the tree he picked, hanging onto it right as he watched the pack of four bloodfangs sprint past the tree and onto the clearing, only to see his spear mere seconds after it landed. Or, to be more precise, only to see Theo¡¯s spear dug into the ground but a few steps away from a poor goblin who¡ªsurprised by the spear falling right by its side¡ªjust happened to look towards it.You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. And, by extension, it looked right the way the bloodfangs came running from. ¡°Skreee¡­?¡± Before the poor goblin could even make a proper sound, the leader of the pack jumped forth, stretching its nimble arms only to collapse its fangs down on the goblin¡¯s head, smashing it as if it was a watermelon rather than a living being¡¯s skull. Thump. Thump. Thump. Theo¡¯s heart beat so loud, he couldn¡¯t help but worry whether it wouldn¡¯t alert the nearby predators. Right now, it was all or nothing. Either the bloodfangs would be satisfied with the kill, associating the goblin they just killed with the attacker behind the spears tossed at them, or¡­ ¡°Skree?¡± Just as Theo was about to sigh out and give up, sensing the bloodfangs were quite likely to just retreat, satisfied with the kill, another goblin emerged from a nearby burrow, looking around with confusion. The bloodfangs froze, their ears pricking as they all turned their sights towards the new target. The poor goblin froze as well, although for a much different reason than those oversized cats. And by the time the leader of the bloodfangs¡¯ pack made a single step towards its next target¡­ ¡°SKREEEE!¡± A loud, panicked cry escaped from the goblin¡¯s mouth. And then, the whole clearing suddenly came alive. Every tiny hill, every valley, even the land that appeared to be flat¡ªall of those burst open as more and more goblins would come out, look around, zero in on the bloodfangs, and then join the ever-growing cry, soon putting the whole nest on high alert. On the other hand, the bloodfangs had stopped their initial advance, calmly looking around to assess their situation, likely judging their odds as they were faced with the choice. To fight or to escape. The reasonable choice would be to escape, giving in to the overwhelming and still growing numbers of the goblins swarming out of their individual nests and burrows, not to bring up the huge boulder sitting on the face of the only bigger hill in the area now moving, only to reveal a huge, dark tunnel from which even more of those green-skinned brats came running out. But if there was one thing that all monsters in this place lacked, it would be the ability to reason. Or maybe their way of reasoning was different than the one humans developed? Either way, judging by how those oversized cats gave out a low growl as their backs arched up and their heads lowered¡­ Whatever reasoning those bloodfangs followed, it clearly forbade them from giving way when faced with a huge number of those pesky green-skins. Theo used the noise generated by the standoff between the two to finally pull himself up on the branch and then find a somewhat comfortable spot on it to sit at, watching how the situation continued to escalate. On the goblins¡¯ side, they¡¯d now properly swarmed the entire area, turning it into a sea of green. And while most of them only had their brittle nails and weak fists to defend themselves, there was also a contingent of their higher-leveled brethren that came in armed with all sorts of primitive weapons. And if that wasn¡¯t enough, now that the simple goblins had all come out, their higher ranks quickly followed, revealing nearly a hundred hobs, a bunch of bugbears, and even several chiefs! ¡®Judging by their numbers, this looks like a king-sized nest,¡¯ Theo thought, casually scratching his chin as he pulled out his sheepskin and took a swig of the clear water. Yet, even against those overwhelming numbers¡­ the bloodfangs didn¡¯t give in. No. Instead, the three missing members of the pack had now rejoined the group, not a single one of them carrying even a single mark of the wounds Theo inflicted on them¡­ Which was one of the reasons why those relatively simple monsters could reach their apex predator rank. For what they lacked in defense, they more than compensated with a magic-based regeneration ability that could rival the biological recovery of Trolls! Now that both sides were at the peak of their strength, the standoff continued, with goblins trying to scare the intruders off with their shouts and cries, while the bloodfangs replied with their low, guttural growls. ¡°Now, show me the worth of the borderlands monsters,¡± Theo muttered to himself, lowering the sheepskin from his face, worried it would obstruct his view. And then, as if following the instigator¡¯s command, both groups cut their cries short and charged ahead.