As the afternoon sun began to descend, Gideon, Grimsby, and Clonk headed back up the mountain. Simeon and Aurora waved goodbye, and the trio waved back until they disappeared as the road curved behind a hill.

Gideon was happy they’d made some friends in the village. He hadn’t expected that, to be honest. But knowing a couple of the villagers, especially ones who were well-connected in Emberly’s community, was a great start.

As they’d gone about their errands, Simeon had wanted to hear the many exploits of Grimsby the Rattlebandit. Grimsby had told more than a few stories Gideon was pretty sure had never happened—such as sneaking into a royal ball to dance with a princess—but Gideon said nothing. He wasn’t about to rain on the skeleton’s parade.

The farmers, too, had been impressed. Thankfully, it seemed Gideon had convinced them he knew what he was doing. A couple of them had asked Gideon when he would return to the village, hoping to get his help with their own pest problems. Until their long-term work on the castle could pay off, Gideon hoped that odd jobs around the village would let them earn what they needed.

Gideon was a little disappointed that none of his skills had increased in grade today. He’d been hoping that he would be rewarded after finally casting an acceptable [Quake]. Alas, nothing had happened. The lack of notifications disappointed him.

Once he returned to the castle, Gideon would have to ask Kelvan for advice on what to do next. He also needed to get back to searching the library. Besides the [Appraise] skill book, he was sure there was a wealth of knowledge to discover in that room.

The mountain pass, though steep, was easier to climb than it had been during his first attempt. Thanks to Clonk, he didn’t need to carry anything this time. The sun was lower in the sky, and a cool breeze blew down the mountain, so the heat was also less oppressive.

Though their cart was now weighed down by the goods they’d procured, Clonk seemed to move it just as quickly as he had that morning. Gideon wondered how great his Might was. If he could learn [Appraise] and rank it up, he would be able to check those kinds of things. His curiosity was gnawing at him.

“Clonk, do you still have attributes? Do you have any access to the system?” It was said that the gods granted the system to the mortal races as a way for them to access magic and power beyond their mundane limitations. It was the only way the mortal races could survive in a harsh world teeming with all manner of monsters and beasts, even if the world were less dangerous these days than in centuries past.

“Presumably,” the armor replied. “But I can’t see mine. I don’t think much about it, myself.”

“Ah,” Gideon said. “How about you, Grimsby?”

“Course I do, bub,” Grimsby said. “I can do anything.” Despite being far from the village, he still wore his disguise. Gideon wondered if part of him enjoyed it.

“Oh, what are your stats?” Gideon asked. “If you don’t mind me asking.”

“Higher than yours,” the skeleton said. “Fifty.”

“Fifty?” Gideon raised an eyebrow. “That would make them higher than anyone in recorded history.”

“Thirty, I meant.” Which would still have made him legendary, even if only one or two of his stats were that high.

“He has no clue,” Clonk said, his chest cavity booming with laughter.

“I do, too,” Grimsby muttered. “I’ve got all the stats. I wrestled a bear once.”

“Indeed? I threw a dragon off a cliff.”

“That’s all right,” Gideon said, regretting he’d even brought up the topic. “It’s not a competition.”

Grimsby’s jaw clicked. “It is, though. Isn’t it?”

“Definitely,” Clonk replied. “Saying it’s not a competition is exactly what I’d expect a level five with the lowest stats in our party to say.”

Are we a party? Gideon thought. It was funny to think of them that way, even if he guessed it was true.

“You know,” Grimsby said, “I slapped the goddess Celestra in the face once.”

“I would never perform such a sinful act. But I could if I wanted to. If I ever do, mark my words—she will deserve it.”

“Course she will.” Grimsby shook his head and kicked a rock. “You know, I outran a unicorn on foot once.”

“Was that a plains unicorn or a hills unicorn?” Clonk asked. “I’m unsure how impressed I should be.”

Gideon sighed. This was going to be a long walk up the mountain.

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Thankfully, Grimsby and Clonk eventually ran out of things to boast about, and they walked the rest of the distance in companionable silence. Gideon worked up a bit of a sweat, but he was still in high spirits as Castle Kastorus came into view ahead.

The sun was low on the horizon but not quite setting. They’d make it to the castle gates just before dark if they kept up their pace.

As Gideon had learned his first time, the last stretch of the journey was the most dangerous. He hoped the giant spiders would be less likely to attack them as a group. But if they did, he felt more capable of handling them than before. He wondered if a [Quake] right at the surface would be enough to cause them to lose their footing. The creatures were agile, so reducing their mobility would be helpful.

Their wagon was piled high with food, supplies to repair the roof, and some cloth and wool for bedding. For starters, Gideon was planning to re-stuff the absolutely horrendous mattress in his room and go from there. With a bit of work, he thought the castle could once again be a place people wanted to visit.

He just needed to convince his Uncle and think of a good name. The Rattlebandit Inn, though catchy, gave the wrong impression. Ideally, the name should be about the castle as a whole—not just Grimsby, even if the skeleton’s ego would have enjoyed it.

As Gideon was mulling over name ideas in his head, his reverie was interrupted by a high-pitched scream. In the mountain pass, it was difficult to identify where the sound was coming from, as it seemed to echo off the cliffs to either side of them.

“Another so soon?” Grimsby said, cackling. “When will people learn.”

“Let’s see if we can help,” Gideon said and began to jog forward, looking to either side of the trail, hoping to catch sight of whoever had made that sound.

“Help?” Grimsby cried. “We usually just watch from safety and laugh.”

As Gideon looked up, he discovered a more accurate way to locate the source of the noise. A few vultures had begun to circle. It looked like they were past the fork where the trail split to head up to the castle.

With a sigh, Grimsby began to follow him, and Clonk increased the cart's speed. Gideon felt his lungs burn as he raced up the trail, but Clonk soon passed him, the knight moving as if he was entirely unencumbered.

Gideon tried to keep up, but Clonk kept inching farther ahead. As they reached the fork in the trail, Clonk carefully left the cart to the side of the road, grabbed a spear from it, then pressed on by himself.

There was another sound of screaming, followed by some shouts. Gideon’s heart leaped as two people came into view, a man and a woman. They appeared pretty young, a similar age as Gideon. They both had light brown hair and piercing green eyes. The woman wore white robes, while the man wore a leather jerkin and carried a sword and shield. Something about them seemed strange, though Gideon couldn’t quite put his finger on it.

Behind them, a pack of at least a dozen spiders was in hot pursuit. Gideon sighed. Those things were a scourge.

As the strangers caught sight of them, the woman began to wave her arms frantically. The man, noticing one of the spiders gaining on his companion, turned around and slashed his sword at it as it moved in to bite her. The spider dodged, but the woman managed to get away.

The man, however, did not. Having stopped to attack the spider, he soon found his feet covered in sticky webbing. When he turned to try and escape, he only took a step or two before another spider shot its webbing at his arms. Gideon watched as the man fell to the ground.

Thinking quickly, Gideon reached ahead with one hand and cast [Hail of Stone] towards the spider. As before, the spider seemed to sense the spell and dodged to the side.

But it bought the man on the ground a moment of respite. He began to hack at the webs with his sword, trying to free himself. The closest spider lunged toward him, and he blocked it with his shield.

Clonk reached the woman and ran past her toward the man on the ground.

Gideon fired another [Hail of Stone] toward the spider. This time, some rocks grazed the side of the spider’s abdomen. But the spider dived past the man’s shield and bit into his side with its fangs.

Meanwhile, another dozen spiders were in pursuit, almost reaching the stranger. When they did, they would tear him apart. With a sinking feeling, Gideon realized that Clonk would not make it in time. And if Clonk wouldn’t make it, Gideon certainly had no chance. He stopped running and knelt on the ground, placing his hands against the earth.

He tried to reach out with his mana, not too deep this time, just a thin layer on the surface. Taking a deep breath, he focused on the area between the man and most of the spiders, stretching his focus and mana to their limits. “Quake!” he said, trying to target the area underneath each spider.

The ground shook. Despite their sure-footedness, the spiders began to stumble over newly formed cracks and fissures that erupted around them. The earth shattered as Gideon continued to feed the spell with his mana. He couldn’t see what was happening—too many spiders were bearing down from too many directions—but he felt the creatures treading on the uneven ground and the way the earth was all too eager to tremor at his command. At that moment, he felt an affinity with the land as they worked together for a common goal.

[ Low Mana Warning! ]

Gideon’s head pounded as the spell got away from him. There were too many places where he was needed, too many spiders to stop them all…

Clonk reached the man and stabbed the closest spider with his spear a few times in quick succession.

As Gideon felt the last of his energy leave his body, he took a long, deep breath, trying to keep himself steady as he felt the earth spin around him. But when he finally looked up, he saw the spiders fleeing back to their holes. A few of them lay dead around the man and Sir Clonk. Grimsby stood nearby, looking down at where the woman had collapsed in the road from exhaustion as if he had no idea what to do.

Skill Grade Increase! Your proficiency in Geomancy has increased to Silver Rank, Grade C. Skill Grade Increase! Your proficiency in Manasculpting has increased to Copper Rank, Grade A.

Gideon shook his head and slowly rose to his feet. He’d gotten the notifications he’d wanted. He supposed he should have been more careful about what he’d wished for.

Now that she was closer, Gideon could finally see what had seemed strange to him from a distance. The woman was tall and unnaturally thin, with pointed ears. As Gideon looked toward the man, he noticed the same features. They weren’t human. They were elves, which meant they were very far from home.

But why?

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