It took a while for me to find Karak. While I was talking with Zolast, they walked away from the camp to keep their discussion private. Though, not as private as they were hoping, considering they were shouting at each other.

Jertann was swinging his hammer with a precision that surprised me. He had been showing great improvement since his promotion. Whatever ability he had received from Zolast allowed him to improve much more effectively compared to the others who had been promoted.

Whatever Zolast had spent, it was not a simple thing.

Karak didn't stay idle, swinging his dagger to take the approaching monsters. Unfortunately, unlike Jertann, his performance was horrible. It was not just that he had lost his dominant arm, which was bad enough, but the way the skills worked.

His skill activated whenever he swung his arm, trying to optimize his movement. Unfortunately, it tried to optimize the move while assuming he still had his right arm in place, ruining the balance of his attack. Instead of helping him, the skill was actually impeding his performance.

Curiously, he still insisted on using the skill.

As I walked closer, their argument turned impossible to ignore.

"I don't care about your arm. If you think that'll change anything—" Jertann was arguing as I walked back.

"I don't want to talk about it anymore!" Karak answered, his tone sharp, much louder than his usual attitude. "Without my arm, what use am I? You finally have the chance to rise just like you wanted. Do you think I want to be the rock on your neck, dragging you down just when you have a chance to rise to be something more than just another farmer? Do you think I can handle being the one ruining your dreams!"

"If you think I'll abandon my best friend just because—" Jertann continued, only to be interrupted by a rock hitting his head.

A rock that I had just thrown.

"Enough shouting, kids. Jertann, you still have a lot of work to do. Why don't you go and make sure everything is in order."

"Euon, it's not the time!" Jertann shouted as he looked at me, grinding his teeth. He was angry enough to lash out at me.

Understandable, but I had no intention of catering to that. "No, it's exactly the time. Go and deal with your responsibilities, while I have a nice talk with our boy here. I'm sure it'll be more useful than shouting constantly."

That was a slight exaggeration, of course. Their shouting match already had its use, showing Karak that he wouldn't be abandoned just because of his injury. It was his pride that was making him reject the offer.

I just need to show him that he was not useless. Watching the horrible manner that he had been using the dagger, I already had a way to do that.

Jertann didn't say anything, but he also didn't seem to be resigned to accepting that. "Trust me, boy, and leave us alone," I said. He frowned, but after a long silence, which he spent glaring, searching for something, he nodded.

"You better be right, old man," he growled before looking at Karak. "Don't do anything stupid," he said.

For a while, I said nothing as I watched Jertann walk away, busying myself with killing the monsters that attacked us constantly, my halberd dancing to kill any beast that got too close. Meanwhile, I watched Karak, who stubbornly drifted away to fight against the beasts despite the difficulties he was facing.

The stubbornness of the youth, indeed.

"Now, follow me," I said as I started walking away from the camp.

"R-really," he said, surprised as he looked at the camp.

"Don't tell me you're afraid of being hurt," I said, making a little dig at his pride. His concern was understandable, as he hadn't watched me killing larger beasts in droves to help others level up. Still, there was a reason I insulted his pride rather than consoling him.

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[+12 Experience]

…

[+5 Experience]

He was clearly feeling like an invalid after Jertann's offer of unconditional help, which was understandable. It was a dangerous world, and living without any self-defense capability was not something that could be swallowed easily. But, it meant, that, if I tried to console him, he would act pricklier.

So, I challenged his courage, the only thing he perceived himself to have left after his devastating loss.

He was tense, but he still followed me as we walked away from the camp. He even tried to step forward when a large bird dived down to us, ready to take point despite the great risk that it created for him. "Silly boy," I said as I jumped, meeting with the bird before it could complete its dive.

[+4210 Experience]

"W-what was that," he gasped in shock, surprised by my display.

"Not really important now, just follow me," I said as I continued to move until we were a mile away from the camp, with a small hill halfway to block the view.

"It's training time, boy," I said.

"W-what do you mean?" Karak said. "You have seen me. I can't use my skills anymore. I'm useless."

"No, you just can't use your skill, that doesn't mean you're useless," I said, even as his words confirmed just how integrated the skill usage was to their life. Even when the skill was hindering him, he continued to use it.

"What's the difference," he muttered.

"It's what we're here to explore," I said. "I have a way to might help you to fight still," I offered.

"Really!" he gasped in shock, his attitude flipping immediately at the suggestion.

"Yes, but as I said, it might. It requires a lot of effort, it will be painful, and still, there's a chance it might not work," I warned him. I not only wanted to help him, but I also wanted to understand more about the System, but I didn't want to do either while lying to him. "You need to be willing to take the risk."

It was too risky to promise success, only to fail.

I wasn't afraid of him rejecting the offer. With his injury ruining his fighting abilities, and with his god's abandonment preventing his chances of Promotion, he could either take the risk, or resign himself into mediocracy while his friends continued to rise, leaving him behind.

And, if he still chose to avoid pain in such circumstances, he wasn't worth my effort to help him in the first place. I didn't bother helping people who didn't try to help themselves. I was not a charity.

"You — you would do that for me?" he gasped.

"Not for free," I said.

He tensed immediately. "I don't have any money to pay you back," he admitted, ready to turn back.

"I don't want, or need your money," I said. "I can make enough of it alone. I want you to work for me."

"Really?" he said, looking at his empty sleeve. "Another charity—" he started, but I interrupted by poking his chest.

"Cut the pity party. I don't do charity, and I certainly don't allow useless people to work for me."

"But I'm useless," he admitted. "And if your help doesn't work out, I'll continue to be useless."

"No, while it'll help, I don't need a fighter for that job. Not every job needs muscle. I need someone I can trust, with sharp eyes and tight lips. As long as you're willing to work for me, we have a deal."

"I can't …" he started, but fell silent under my gaze.

"Stop. We don't have all day. Accept, and we can start. We can't waste the day while you dither like a lost child."

He looked at me, surprised at the intensity of my reaction, but after a while, he nodded.

"Good. Now, can you attack without using your skill," I said. He looked surprised, like someone suggested whether he could walk on the air unaided.

"No, that's impossible," he admitted.

I knew that was not the case, and not just because of myself. "Really? Do you have to use your skill every time you use a dagger, even if you're cutting bread?"

"No, but that's different?"

"How?"

He fell silent. "I don't know, it's just different," he murmured, showing that he hadn't thought about that before. It didn't surprise me considering just how integrated the System was to their way of life.

I wanted to see if I could break that habit … and how long it would take to break it.

"Just try," I said.

He looked confused, but he still tried … and failed, his skill once again taking effect, delivering an ineffective attack. "I … failed. I'm sorry," he said, despair taking place.

"Stop feeling sorry for yourself. I wouldn't have warned you if it was that simple. Now, try something else," I said. "Attack, but stop before the attack completes," I warned.

He tried again, and failed once more. "It doesn't work," he said.

"Again," I said to him. He swung his dagger again, but this time, the attack interrupted halfway.

The responsible, the blunt side of my halberd, hitting his diaphragm. "As you see, your body doesn't try to continue attacking once you are on your knees. Meaning, the skill can be stopped. You just need to practice enough."

He stood up, quicker than I expected, showing he used some Health to recover. Yet, for the first time since he had returned without an arm, I noticed a glint of determination in his eyes. "Good, stick to that hope, you'll need it," I told him.

He smiled, readying for another attack. "Before we continue, another point," I said, smiling suddenly. "Until I say, don't use your Health to help with the bruises," I said.

"R-really?" he said, not expecting that.

"Yes. Pain is the best teacher."