For two days Tepo was holed up in the library only accompanied by the elemental spirits.

The young man read with relish. His knowledge constantly increased. He learned of various spells, metals, minerals, plants, and beats.

He even got an overview of the many trinkets artificers and alchemists can produce. Be it potions, smaller bombs, or poisons, the possibilities were limitless.

But the most exiting books in the library were the experience reports of various dungeon divers. Although dungeons were random, there were still some archetypes one could look out for. Especially beasts didn’t exist in unlimited variety.

While Line was immersed in various tales, a sound suddenly came from the elevator. The young man looked up as the door opened and Quill stepped into the room.

“Morning, Line.”

“Morning, Quill.”, spoke the young adult with a tired voice.

Chuckling, the scholarly warrior asked:

“You look terrible. How long have you been reading?”

“Maybe…”, contemplated Line. “… about two days?”

“You should get some sleep. Low-level warriors aren’t that much more resilient than commoners.”

Tepo was just about to give a perfunctory answer when a long yawn escaped his lips.

“Ok. Guess you’re right. I just wanted to learn as much as possible before leaving for a while.”

Quill’s eyes stayed calm, as if to say, ‘as expected’.

“Mhm. That’s the right decision. Traveling is good for your advancement. You should come into contact with other warriors and increase the quality of your core.”

“Hmm… Is quality more important than rank?”

“Hard to say.”, explained Quill. “It’s definitely more practical. A higher quality increases your practice speed. Without it you will soon find that your advancement coming to a crawl.

Furthermore, the abilities you will gain are your personal advantages in and outside of fights.”

Line nodded in understanding.

So that’s it. This is the reason why warriors are competing for fame.

Turning his vision inward, sporadically some words still appeared and were destroyed by his core. Naturally, the Floating Rain City had mostly forgotten about him. Rather, it was odd that the Force of Natural Perception still affected him.

My core’s quality is slowly rising. I don’t know how much is needed to advance. But now I’m looking forward to more abilities. I should also begin to gather a bit of fame.

Thanking Quill for his advice, the young man closed his book and put it away. The two friends traveled downward. They met with Anvil in the kitchen, where Tepo ate some snacks while questioning his new friends about everything he read over the last two days.

Finally, the new recruit fell into his bed, exhausted. He slept for ten hours before waking up groggily. Asking the elemental spirits to prepare him a hot bath, Line smiled wryly as Fire presented him with boiling hot water only for Wind to try and cool it, emptying half the bathtub again. He would miss those silly spirits when he left the tower.

After a few amusing cycles the spirits finally achieved a suitable temperature, allowing Line to relax his soul and bones.

Achieving his best state ever since he arrived in this world, Tepo was ready to say goodbye to Quill and Anvil. But his new friends still had a small surprise for the young warrior.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

“You want to visit your home?”, asked Anvil with a kind smile on her ordinary face.

“Yeah. I’m taking a look.”, nodded Line.

“We won’t stop you. But I think you shouldn’t underestimate how volatile the world of warriors is.”

“Well, I’m at least a three-circled aspirant now. If I stay within the wind channels…”

“And you think you’re strong now?”, asked Quill leisurely.

Tepo hesitated slightly. Although he felt confident, he obviously wasn’t strong in a real conflict.

“Even commoners can travel between cities. I should be fine.”

“Tz.”

Anvil clicked her tongue.

“So many newbies die because they get confused by such misconceptions. Commoners and warriors are almost as if living in two different worlds. Don’t use your experiences so far to measure the world of warriors.”

“Although Anvil is a bit dramatic, her general sentiment is right.”

Anvil rolled her eyes at Quill, but the warrior continued nonchalantly:

“If you want to leave the tower, you should at least learn some spells.”

Line wasn’t stubborn. He listened to the two veteran’s advice, nodding slowly:

“Alright. You’re probably correct. As soon as I reach the first city, I will browse the market.”

“Mhm. Naturally, you could do so.”, spoke Quill as a teasing smile formed on Anvil’s face.

“Or you could ask your new friends for some boost.”

Sighing, Line showed some hesitation. He had already guessed the direction this talk might take. But he never liked to receive too much aid from others.

Ever since Shev became his foster father, Tepmodus knew that he would never be able to pay the old man back. He always felt guilty about it. Thus, he refused to owe others if possible.

Although the Web had helped him a lot already, as their member Line knew that he would repay them by working hard. But if Quill and Anvil now supported him with their personal resources…

Anvi looked into Line’s hesitant eyes. She frowned slightly.

“What? You don’t want our help? Do you think you are some bigshot already? We are still a few ranks above you, young man. We gather materials suitable for your level without even trying. They come to us if we want it or not! If you don’t take them, we will throw them away!”

Line watched Anvil’s face. The tall woman appeared genuinely angry. She felt as if Line didn’t treat her as a friend.

Tepo was caught between a rock and a hard place. He was reminded of his days in the army. As one of the strongest he always supported his comrades. He was always their pillar. And he enjoyed doing so. When his comrades succeeded, he was happy for them.

Now the roles were reversed. Quill and Anvil gradually became his pillars. The two veterans also wanted to support the new recruit.

A strange feeling overcame Tepo. It still wasn’t easy to accept these many changes. But for the first time he enjoyed this reassuring feeling of having someone supporting you unconditionally.

Line nodded as he took a deep breath:

“Ok. Sorry guys. I’m thankful for your help.”

Immediately Anvil smiled brightly. Her anger apparently went up in smoke. She had exaggerated it on purpose.

Next to her, Quill nodded nonchalantly, as if nothing could surprise him. The male warrior waved his hand as a variety of different materials appeared on the table.

“These are some simple materials Anvil and I prepared for you. You can take a look. I guess you have some basic knowledge about spells by now.”

Not harping on their conversation up to now, Line’s eyes lit up as he studied the various materials Quill had procured. A few of them he already recognized instantly.

This blue metal is Lonarzium. How did Quill and Anvil get their hands on this?! This doesn’t exist in the Carrying Winds World!

And this should be the claw of a Pónirai. With their moist skin they would hate it in this world. Certainly, the claw wasn’t cheap.

Line sighed lightly. Quill and Anvil really did their best to offer him some choice. From the materials he recognized, the young man could already imagine different sets of spells, forming various fighting styles.

But there were also some materials Line hadn’t learned about yet. He tried activating his [Scan] ability, hoping to find some clues. But this proved to be difficult. In the end he still needed Quill and Anvil to introduce those unknowns to him.

Only after his friends’ explanation, did Tepo have a full picture of the options they provided. Now it was on him to make decisions.

For now, I should try to get a good mixture of offensive and defensive spells. Mybe even something to escape from danger. Simple spells might be the most reliable in my situation.

Lonarzium is not bad. It becomes incredibly hard when it absorbs forces. If I copy this ability and make it my spell, my skin would harden and offer defense against physical impacts as well as spells.

The claw of a Pónirai is also a good choice. Even separated from the body it has an incredible penetrative power. As a spell it could enhance my knife or bullets, giving them a certain armor breaking effect.

But I also need to keep the necessary slots for runes in mind…

Line mulled a lot over his choices as Quill and Anvil watched. The two veterans didn’t give any advice. This was the new recruit’s decision. He had to figure out his own fighting style.

Since the two senior members still thought Line had an artificial core, it was even more difficult to help him. Artificial cores developed random abilities when their quality increased, making it difficult to find a corresponding fighting style.

Thus, silence fell on the kitchen as Line gradually formed a plan.