Even as he trembled, experiencing the worst pain of his life, Takis was still praying for a god that he didn't even know his name for the fortune they had been granted.

Takis was not a man of great prospects. He had already been twenty, but, as an unfortunate Scholar born in a border village, there were limits to what he could achieve. It was a relatively rare class, and from what he had learned, if he was fortunate enough to be born near a city, he would have made a decent living.

Unfortunately, he was born on the border, and he didn't have the money to afford to travel. Add in his orphan status, with no one caring enough to help him level up, he barely cleared his first promotion when he was sixteen, worst in his village … and things got even worse after that.

With no money, no family, and being under-leveled, he was hardly the favorite person in his village. So much that, when the order of evacuation came, he was secretly glad … it was finally a chance to make a difference. And, maybe, just maybe, a noble would notice the advantage of a class that granted Intelligence and Memory stats rather than Strength.

Unfortunately, the first stage hadn't been as smooth as he had hoped. Based on his abilities — or lack of it — he had been assigned to one of the caravans at the edge, supposedly to help him level up, but Takis knew that dismissive attitude enough not to expect anything.

Still, he never shied from hard work, so even at the border camp, he worked until exhaustion turned into torture … he was even making himself a new living.

Then those cursed nobles started playing games. Their leader was reassigned several times, each with their own decisions about best to receive the port city, and things hardly got any better when their orders changed, and they were ordered to settle near a new dungeon … almost a thousand elatriss away. Worse, it was only for their own group, meaning they had to travel without the protection of the other caravans.

Takis should have felt excited about that possibility, but unfortunately, he had experienced just how little nobles had cared about their lives … and the pathetic knight that they had been assigned to their camp as their leader, doing nothing but drink, hardly helped him to recover his trust toward their supposed betters.

The knight's decision to escape like a thief in the middle of the night, deserting his mission, hardly helped his impression.

Takis wasn't particularly torn-up about the sudden disappearance of the knight that had been assigned to lead them, as he hadn't done anything but drink all day. Unfortunately, he also brought twenty of their best warriors away, pushing their already troubling situation to the depths of the abyss.

Every day, more people got overwhelmed by the wild energies, leaving fewer people to fight against the danger, and every day, leaving less people could fight … which increased the damage they received, increasing it further, catching them in a vicious cycle.

Unfortunately, during that dilemma, his Intelligence was a curse. It helped Takis to calculate the disaster drawing close, to the dangerous point that would trigger a final disaster.

Then, something Takis hadn't predicted happened. A group of evil worshippers appeared, ready to hasten their demise. Even as she tossed and turned as she tried to process the foreign information and pain, the fear that grabbed his heart the moment they appeared was vivid in his memory.

And, so was the courage that followed…

With everything that he experienced, he was convinced that the nobles were all rotten, useless, and selfish, not even willing to risk their comfort for the lives of a bunch of peasants.

However, the golden knight that appeared from nowhere changed his mind. Takis expected to be sent forward as a distraction, while the knight killed the evil cultists easily and gained a reputation.

Who cared about the lives of a bunch of peasants when there was glory to be gained?

Apparently, the mysterious knight did, rushing forward to deal with them while making sure they stayed safe, rushing among the enemies in a reckless rush … and rather than focusing on victory, he focused on saving their lives.

Going as far as bequeathing them a true treasure … eighty advanced skills to protect the camp. Of course, when he asked for volunteers, no one expected that, and only forty of them stepped forward, the rest losing the opportunity of a lifetime.

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Even with the sudden appearance of the dungeons making skills more accessible, a complete combat skill was hard to attain, let alone an advanced variant.

Takis was among those forty volunteers, which was the source of his current torture. Absorbing the skills was never an easy process. The stronger the skill, the more impact it created, due to his low level, it was even harder.

Yet, when it finally stopped, he ignored the pain and looked around, and noticed that he was being carried on a stretcher, along with the many others, everything but their most critical equipment lost behind. "You're awake," someone asked.

"Yes," Takis said as he pushed himself up to his feet, barely registering the jealous looks of the rest. Hurried, he called his status screen.

[Class: Scholar

Level: 17

Experience (1,271/16,400)]

[Health (52/170)]

[ Experience: 4,182]

[STATS

Vitality: 17

Intelligence: 25

Memory: 17

[SKILLS: Advanced Spearmanship, Stab]

[ABILITIES: — ]

After reading, he was ready to look for a spear, but before he could do so, someone already passed him one.

"U-unbelievable," he murmured the moment he grabbed the spear, letting it twirl and dance, suddenly feeling like there was a book in his mind, displaying a perfect combat technique, and his body followed it perfectly.

He moved from one move to another, feeling invincible. Every hit he delivered to his imaginary enemies was delivered perfectly … every step was perfectly measured. Just by the way he moved, he was confident that he could take down a large beast alone.

For once, he could imagine all the moves he needed to make to enable such an achievement. For once, he could feel his Intelligence having the proper tools to work. It wouldn't be quick, not without Strength to boost his attacks, but he could achieve such a thing alone.

Incredible.

He lost himself in excitement as he practiced, glad that he had received the opportunity. He would have loved to practice on the beasts, but currently, there weren't any around them. But, at a great distance, he could already see a flying fortress that had come down to the deal with the lacking number of beasts.

Takis was ready to show his abilities … but before he could do so, one of the flying carts approached them, landing in front of them. "Stop, all of you are arrested on the suspicion of worshipping evil gods!" a soldier shouted even as he stepped down.

And, just like that, Takis felt anger filling him once more. Just as he was finally about to have an opportunity to save himself, the nobles were interfering again. His grip tightened around his spear, ready to fight.

For once, he wasn't going to let things go.

But before he could do so, an old man from their group moved forward. "If I can have a moment to explain, great commander," he said with a simpering tone that hurt Takis. Even when they were struggling for their life, they had to act like sycophants. "We were under attack from the evil cultists when a great hero appeared…"

Soon, the old man was far away from them, in front of the soldier. Takis readied himself to attack, knowing the habits of soldiers. Drunk with their power, they would punish the old man for daring to approach them without prompting…

And, Takis was fed up with being pushed around. He was ready to attack.

But, what he expected to happen did not happen. As the old man spoke with them in hushed whispers, the impatient anger of the guards slowly disappeared, replaced with a smarmy smile, followed by the old man passing them a pouch subtly, no doubt a bribe.

That surprised Takis.

Not the part that the soldiers accept a bribe … but the fact that the old man had enough silver to bribe them. If he had that, why would he not use it to join a better camp? He could have avoided their suicide mission that way —

Then, it clicked, and once it did, Takis cursed himself for taking it too long to realize, the excitement distracting him from the most basic question. The old man was not a part of their camp. Takis had never seen him before … since his Memory ensured he would never forget a face, he couldn't have just forgotten him.

No, he thought as he watched the soldiers go back into their cart and fly away, that was not possible. And, if he had any doubt, that disappeared by the reaction of the rest of the camp once the old man spoke. "We don't have time to waste. Let's move away before the beasts start attacking once more."

The people at the camp just followed his order, acting like nothing extraordinary was going on. Even he found himself running, but he changed his direction enough to meet with the old man.

However, when he arrived next to him, the old man spoke first. "Smart kid," he said. Takis found himself blushing. Normally, back in the village, when someone called him smart, it was usually an insult, mocking his useless stats, but the way the old man spoke felt much different.

"T-thank you, sir, for saving our lives," he stammered.

"It was my lord that saved the life of you lot, I'm just here to make sure the stupid soldiers don't waste his efforts," he said.

Takis nodded. It was already what he meant. Clearly, the old man was a subordinate of that knight — not that it was an insult. It still meant he was superior to Takis in every way, be it in capability or in social class.

Before he could say anything else, however, the old man spoke once more. "Unfortunately, I can't stay here for long. We have others to save. Before I go, do you want to learn about the best way to use the skill you have just received against the greater threats?"

"Yes," Takis answered immediately. "I'll do anything."

"I don't need anything other than a promise. We only want you to protect the others as we protected your group."

"Of course, my lord," Takis answered, finding that deal more than fair…

"Good, let's start with a formation called phalanx…"