Before the monster could complete its roll, Dumrivil grabbed onto both of its forward legs and pinned it to the ground. The rat screamed and struggled to get out of Ezra’s chokehold. But it was too late. The rat’s movements slowly ground to a halt until it stopped completely.

[For defeating a monster using improvised materials, you’ve gained the title “Improvised Weaponsmith”!]

[For defeating a monster using your bare hands, you’ve gained the title “Titan’s Grasp I”!]

[You’ve leveled up!]

[You’ve leveled up!]

Ezra loosened his grip and stepped away.

“I told you that you should have more balanced stats,” Filamenta said.

Ezra grunted. “Oh, and now you wake up. Were you just sleeping?”

“I was. Even a spirit as powerful as me needs rest, you know.”

“Yeah, well I’d prefer if you didn’t do that in the middle of a battle.”

Filamenta’s laughter echoed from all around like wind chimes on the breeze.

“Is that an admission that you’d prefer me by your side, Ezra?” she said.

Ezra’s face turned warm and his left eye twitched.

“That’s not what I meant,” he said.

“Sure,” Filamenta said. “Anyway, how about you go ahead and view those new titles you’ve gained? Something is interesting about them, I’m sure.”

Her tone was playful. Ezra got the feeling that there was something more than a little good about them.

First, he checked his new skill.

[Exotic Weaponry]

Grants the wielder proficiency with unconventional and rare weaponry, allowing the effective use of weapons outside standard categories like swords or spears. This skill increases accuracy, damage, and handling of exotic weapons, such as whips, chakrams, fans, and weaponized tools. At higher levels, the user can unlock advanced maneuvers and secret techniques unique to each exotic weapon type, increasing their unpredictability and lethality in combat.

Interesting. So as Ezra leveled up the skill, he’d get better and better at using all sorts of different exotic weapons? That one was worth leveling up. There was one odd thing about the skill—did [Canefighting] not count as an exotic weapon? Apparently not, given that it wasn’t till now that he got the [Exotic Weaponry] skill.

He looked at his titles.

[Improvised Weaponsmith]

Awarded to those who have turned the unlikeliest of objects into tools of destruction. With quick thinking and resourcefulness, you can find a weapon where none exist. Monsters beware, anything in your hands can be dangerous.

+5% damage when using weapons or materials not traditionally designed for combat (rocks, sticks, random debris, etc.).

Improvised Mastery: Slightly improves the durability of makeshift weapons.

Well, that was fine. There was nothing special going on there, but in a pinch, 5% might make a major difference. He looked at the next one.

[Titan’s Grasp I]

Awarded to those who show the potential for immense strength. Though your power is still growing, your grip has already begun to surpass that of ordinary mortals. Your hands are tools of domination, and with time, you will crush anything in your path.

+10% Strength when using grappling, crushing, or throwing attacks.

Titan’s Hold: Increases the effectiveness of grapples and holds, making it harder for enemies to escape and increasing the duration of stuns.

Crushing Blow: Grants a chance to deal bonus damage based on Strength when delivering unarmed strikes or crushing attacks.

Seismic Shock (Cooldown Ability): Unleashing your growing might, you can slam an enemy into the ground, dealing AoE damage and briefly stunning all nearby enemies.

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Goddamn.

That was a really good title. Seismic Shock looked all sorts of interesting, and he was eager to try it out. The only problem was that his Constitution still sucked balls—he had to get it higher if he wanted to engage in close combat without seriously risking his life.

He equipped it.

“How did you know that it would be this good?” Ezra said. “Are you hiding these abilities from me?”

Her tone cooled. “Of course not, Ezra. You’re my partner. Despite our… disagreements, I would never stifle your growth on purpose. The reason I knew is that I have access to your System, remember? I just read ahead.”

“I see.” Ezra frowned. “Why did I get these bonuses out of nowhere? I feel like I didn’t get this much in the past.”

Filamenta chuckled.

“The System favors you, Ezra,” she said. “That much is clear. But it can’t just hand out abilities willy-nilly. There are certain rules in place, and when it comes to titles, the rule is that you have to truly challenge and surpass your limitations. In the past, you haven’t done that. You found your niche and stuck to it—which is clever—but the System cannot reward you on that basis.”

“Why didn’t you tell me this?” Ezra said. “I would’ve invested in Constitution and killed something with my bare hands.”

“Firstly,” Filamenta said. “I don’t know the exact requirements. Your best shot at getting titles is just going to be fighting dangerous monsters that’ll require you to think outside the box. Secondly, would you have listened to me if I’d told you, anyway? I’ve told you to invest in your Constitution and Strength for the past several weeks, but you’ve ignored me completely.”

Well, shit.

She kind of had a point there. Perhaps Ezra needed to rectify that. She… probably, actually knew what she was talking about. Ezra popped open his menu and used his new skill points on his Constitution, raising it to 18.

243/500

Ezra nodded to himself. The next thing to do would be to get his Constitution up to 50. It was time to stop acting like he knew best. There would be times when Dexterity and Wisdom alone wouldn’t be enough and Constitution would keep him alive during those times.

A hum came from Filamenta.

“Thank you, Ezra,” she said. “I appreciate that you chose to listen to me, truly.”

Her voice had been lighter, more serene. Ezra rubbed the back of his neck. He’d been kind of a dick to her, hadn’t he? And here she was, just happy that he was making good decisions for his own sake.

Perhaps Filamenta was a better partner than he’d given her credit for.

Dumrivil walked over to him.

“You were leveling up?” he said.

Ezra nodded. “I got a title for killing it with the rope.”

Dumrivil slouched and his head drooped down. “Damn it man, how are you so lucky? My last 50 stat was [Perfect Posture]. Why the hell would I need that?”

Ezra looked at Dumrivil’s slouched back. Seemed like that skill wasn’t even that effective.

Malin walked over.

“You two were excellent out there,” he said. “I’ll need to talk with your commander about giving you a promotion. If we had just ten more men like yourself, then I could conquer the world!”

Ezra nodded. “Thanks, sir. Just a result of the excellent training we’ve received.”

Malin stroked his goatee. “Yes, well, I’m serious. What’s your commander’s name? I need to speak with them.”

Well, shit. That’s not good. Ezra glanced at Dumrivil. His lips drew into a thin line.

“Uh…” Ezra said. “Well, the problem with that, you see, is that, um—“

Dumrivil cut in. “We transferred in recently! Funny that, but we haven’t even gotten the chance to check in, you know?”

Malin stroked his goatee. “I see. Well, you’d best go check in, huh?”

Ezra and Dumrivil nodded slowly.

“Right, we’ll get right on that,” Dumrivil said.

The two of them slowly turned around and started to walk away.

Once they were a few feet away, Ezra breathed a sigh of relief. Dumrivil reached up and adjusted his scarf.

“That sucked,” Dumrivil said. “That was really close.”

“We probably don’t have much time,” Ezra said. “We should get ourselves over to that command tent and find those documents as soon as possible.”

They marched over to the command tent, heads held high. It wouldn’t do any good for them to be discovered because they were a little too suspicious-looking. They were two steps away—

And they passed through the sheet covering the entrance.

The both of them fanned out to the left and right. Ezra pulled out books and started flipping through them, while Dumrivil went through a stack of papers. They spent several minutes doing this, the seconds ticking away like a clock in Ezra’s mind.

Most of the books were coded—rather than refer to monsters directly, they instead spoke about ‘beasts of burden’. It was a clever trick, probably designed to stop people like Ezra and Dumrivil.

Ezra put down one book and picked up another. He flipped through it, then paused. It was a book containing a list of cities. Plans for distribution and transport of ‘beasts’, along with plans for ‘peacekeeping’ after the fact.

“Dumrivil, look at this,” Ezra said.

Dumrivil put down a sheet of paper and walked over. “What is it, did you find any evidence?”

Ezra shook his head. “Just take a look and tell me what you make of this.”

Dumrivil picked up the book and started reading. After a few seconds, his face turned pale.

“This isn’t good,” Dumrivil said. “This really, really isn’t good.”

Ezra glanced over at the doorway to the tent.

“What is it?” he said.

“He’s not planning to stop here,” Dumrivil said. “Toria is the first step. He’s planning to unleash a horde of monsters on major population centers. Afterward, he’s going to come in with his mercenaries and set himself up as the kingpin.”

Well, shit.

“Wouldn’t the Demon Lord make his move?” Ezra said. “Isn’t Villscha just setting himself up for failure?”

“Yes!” Dumrivil dabbed the sweat on his forehead with his scarf. “I don’t understand what the man’s thinking because he’s just going to get himself killed. There’s no good outcome for him.”

Ezra frowned and stared at the paper. “Perhaps he thinks he’ll be able to use the monsters as a weapon against the Demon Lord?”

“If he does, then he’s an idiot. The Demon Lord is the ruler of all monsters. Their father. They’re not going to listen to a guildmaster with a power complex.”

Ezra leaned down and looked closer at the bookshelf. “There’s got to be something here, some direct evidence that can be used to convince outsiders and prove that Villscha is connected to this mess.”

Dumrivil set the book down and picked up another sheet of paper. “It’s become all the more important that we succeed. If we fail here… the amount of chaos and suffering that will be unleashed will be enormous.”

Ezra didn’t particularly care about that part of things—it would just be frustrating if he starved to death because all the farms had been razed. Of course, he wasn’t going to tell Dumrivil that part. Ezra reached down and picke up another stack of paper. Once more, it was all coded plans.

Ezra’s head twisted and he faced the entrance. His eyes sharpened and his body tensed.

“Dumrivil!” he hissed. “They’re here—“

The sound of bow strings being pulled backward filled the air. With a twang, dozens of arrows pierced the tent from each side.