Raine continued coaching them for another two hours before calling it quits, “Alright. That's enough training. Bring back the equipment you borrowed.”

TwistedReligion held his borrowed wand behind his back, “What?! You're not going to let us use them anymore?”

Raine rolled his eyes, “Who said that? You can use whatever you want.”

One piece at a time, Raine dropped and organized the tutorial gear he'd looted from various donors. He made a separate pile for the better drops from the bandits, and a third for the superior croglock equipment. The group reluctantly handed back what they’d borrowed, which was added to the first pile.

Dusting his hands and keeping a wary eye on their surroundings, Raine explained, “Tutorial gear is two hundred. Basic is one thousand, and iron is two. Take whatever you want.”

Deloralicious froze, her left eye twitching sporadically, “You're making us buy them? I-I thought—”

Raine released a bark of laughter, “Buy?! Not a chance. These are for rent, by the hour. And there's a damage fee equaling the rent, per durability lost.”

Mouths agape, the group stared at him like they were seeing the real him for the first time. Richtor was the first to break the silence, “I knew it. He did the same crap when we were kids. I was almost doubting you were my brother there for a bit.”

TwistedReligion nodded emphatically, “Yup. Remember the lemonade?”

“How could I forget? My own bastard of a brother charged us for the water before letting us mix it!”

Deloralicious was still staring at Raine in disbelief, “We can't afford these. We'll be broke before the bear respawns. Is this some kind of trick? A test? Please tell me it's a test.”

Raine planted his hands on his hips, his tone turning dark, “You’re lucky I’m not charging copper! The monsters you're hunting drop lots of gear. If you take fighting them seriously, you'll replace this gear in no time. After selling your stuff and the hundred thousand I paid, each of you can easily afford this small upfront cost. Everyone knows you have to spend credits to make credits. Enough dallying. I’m not forcing you. If you don’t like the offer, don’t take anything!”

Explaining more than that would be countermotivational. The sunk cost fallacy will light a fire under their asses far more than any rousing speech. With nothing invested, and nothing to lose, why get off the couch?

They grumbled, bitched, and moaned, but eventually took the bare minimum equipment needed to fight. Once equipped, Raine led them at a brisk pace into the nearby forest. The moment they entered the shadows of the heavy canopy, deafening silence wrapped around them, punctuated only by the crunching of leaves beneath their feet.

Raine nodded approvingly when the group went on high alert, their heads swiveling constantly, weapons up and ready. They reached a rocky slope that led into a deep ravine that was impossible to spot from outside the forest. Shadows of deep night obscured their sight, and even Raine’s heart started to pound. The valley seemed to be holding its breath in anticipation.

All at once, burrowed in the ground, leaping from around rocks and down from the high ledges on either side, came a flood of spiders. The little light from the moon pierced hairy bodies to reflect from shiny carapaces. Each was little more than calf height, but together, they posed a significant threat to the unaware adventurer.

Before the party had time to complain, Raine picked up a rock and chucked it at the nearest spider. It hissed as the stone bounced from its tough body. Dozens of scrambling claws filled the air with clicks as it and its four nearest friends rushed the group.

image [https://i.imgur.com/j1emgVb.jpg]

Raine’s voice snapped like a whip as he took the lead, “Don't be afraid of these little ones! There are much larger in the ravine beyond. Those, you should fear. Individually, these are less threatening than the wolves you faced. Don’t get surrounded and you’ll be fine.”

He dashed forward, a flash of light in his hand morphing into a short sword.

[Hard Iron Sword: Common Gray - LVL 5 (Attack Power +10) (PTC +4) (ACU +3) (PHY +3) (Durability 40/40)]

Raine dug his heels into the rocky soil, leaning back. The first spider leaped, soaring over his head. As he passed beneath it, his sword flashed out and cut it in two. He boldly approached the next charging critter and it jumped in exactly the same way. He waited for it to be airborne before bending his torso to the side. It flew past, also bisected cleanly where cephalothorax and abdomen met. He calmly retreated, cutting them in half one by one as they leaped until all five were dead.

Jumping back rapidly with Discipline-fueled hops, Raine returned to the group, “It’s that easy. Dodge their opening jump, then hit them. If you miss, don’t turn around. Protect each other’s backs, and retreat when necessary. They won’t follow you into the woods, so rest there when needed.”

Kevinsbakon held his trembling shield before him, swallowing hard, “I-is this how you got strong so quickly? How did you find this place?”

Raine snapped at his obvious attempt to stall, “Focus! You want to get bitten to death again? Take this seriously. If you die and lose that gear, I’ll dock you a month’s pay.”

Suddenly, the spiders weren’t so terrifying anymore. Kevin nodded, hefted a rock as he’d seen Raine do, and threw it. He missed, but the next nearest group of spiders scrambled their direction anyways. He charged, doing his best to emulate Raine’s evasion. He failed again, miserably. Half the spider’s body crashed into his shield, unbalancing him on the rocky terrain and sending him to his ass. At the moment of impact, it released a burst of webbing that stuck him fast.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

Delora Lunged forward, plunging her long knife into the creature's head. It squirmed mightily with a dying screech, taking her weapon with it as it flopped out of reach. Twisted released a bolt of energy from his wand, somehow managing to strike the second spider just before it jumped onto Kevin. The hit sent it skittering backward, another of its kin crawling over it to get to the group.

Milkdud speared the dying spider, huffing with wide, panicked eyes as he scrambled away from its twitching corpse. Raine nodded approvingly as Delora dove for her dagger, snatching it and the single copper coin that appeared above it.

As Richtor used his staff to pull at the webbing binding Kevin, Raine stepped forward and cut apart the three spiders that were about to overwhelm them. He hustled the party back up the hill and the spiders halted their chase, hissing and swaying menacingly.

He addressed them casually, without a shred of recrimination, “What went wrong?”

Kevinsbakon responded first, “My foot slipped on the loose rocks and I got hit. I didn’t know they had webs.”

“Good. You should always assume the monster you’re fighting has a surprise for you. Anything else?”

“We were too far forward. If they didn’t reach us all at once, we would have been fine,” Deloralicious commented and Raine nodded.

“I wrecked the one about to chomp your face off. You’re welcome,” TwistedReligion bragged.

Raine turned on him so fast, he might as well have teleported, “You then proceeded to stand around with your wand up your ass. Instead of being ready to heal any injuries, Richtor had to pull him out of that web. Never force your healer to the front lines unless you want to slowly bleed to death while they’re back at a graveyard. That said, it was a good first try.”

TwistedReligion cringed, properly chastised. Raine locked eyes with each of them in turn, “Good luck. Go slow. It's entirely possible to reach level ten here depending on how deep you go. Support each other, remain vigilant, and keep this place a secret.” He tossed one of the items he bought from Torell’s cave to Richtor, “Don’t waste it. Cost more than you want to know.” Then, he turned back the way they had come, waving over his shoulder, “Don’t forget to use all the weapon types until your attunements are maxed!”

Richtor added the strange item to his inventory, then joined the group in watching his brother’s back until he was out of sight, each experiencing varying degrees of trepidation as the reality of being alone settled onto them. Deloralicious poked him in the side, startling him, “When did your brother get so reliable?”

“I-I don’t know. Honestly, he’s like a completely different person,” Richtor glanced down at his rented weapon and cringed, “Mostly different. C’mon, we better get to it if we don’t want to end up credless.”

Kevinsbakon, finally having a chance to vent without Raine’s disapproving stare, unleashed hours worth of pent up complaints, “Did I mention I hate spiders? Because I really hate spiders.” His voice pitched to a terrible parody of Raine’s, “Hey, come be a millionaire! Now pay me back half of what I gave you! And no slacking! Hey, why aren’t you thanking me? Can’t you tell I’m doing you a favor here!”

The group burst into laughter which was immediately cut off as two groups of spiders were attracted to the commotion and rushed them. They panicked, dashing for the safety of the woods.

Raine chuckled, watching them from the top of a nearby tree. They soon regrouped, psyched themselves up, and successfully fought off a group of spiders a few minutes later. It was a mess of a battle, but they won in the end.

Looks like they’re going to be fine. Good. That took significantly longer than anticipated but they’re a worthwhile investment. Family always is. Shame it took me ten years to figure that out the hard way.

Raine left the forest, traveling north along the road at a swift jog. He made decent time for his level. The few beasts and bandits who attempted to stop him were ignored; he shot past them, utilizing his deep Discipline pool to temporarily boost his speed.

Four hours later, The Recluse Mountains came into view. The name was no deception. Tall peaks crowded the horizon, perfectly framed by the rising sun. High above, large birds congregated in deadly flocks. They were the strongest beasts in the territory. Learning to keep an eye on the sky was excellent training for any wishing to step into the more dangerous areas beyond the mountains.

ZionLine was not a place for the faint of heart. Though its difficulty curve was steep, if one took their time, learning at each step, progress was inevitable.

Instead of continuing in the center of the road, Raine moved to the side, utilizing the cover of the trees to maintain his brisk pace. His first taste of the locals was a far more vicious version of the low level Prairie Raptors. It streaked out of the nearby trees in a blur of cobalt blue and crimson feathers. Seeing Raine, it perked up, its head twitching left and right.

[Highlands Raptor: level 11 - HP ????/????]

image [https://i.imgur.com/piR8JpH.jpg]

Raine had no desire to slow down long enough to fight the beast. Unfortunately, it was far too fast to easily outrun and its squawking would only draw more of its ilk. Less interested in a never-ending vexation, he reluctantly turned on the creature as it bounded his direction with a clicking warble.

Strength burst through his veins as a long battle axe appeared in his right hand. The weapon felt light in his grip, and knowing the raptor’s weaknesses, he charged.

[Hard Iron 2-H Axe: Common Gray - LVL 5 (Attack Power +21) (Attack Speed -.2) (PTC +8) (PHY +5) (Durability 40/40)]

The beast’s head dipped and extended, stretching forward. A glint in its eyes had Raine leaping early. The large bird blasted forward at triple its previous speed. The perfectly timed jumping Slash caught it right in the center of its head. [-196] The raptor released a strangled cry as the sudden weight destroyed its balance and its face slammed into the dirt. It slid below Raine, who softly landed after his downward Slash’s momentum was halted.

If he had missed, it would have been him on the ground. Timing such a simple counter after the innumerable life and death battles he’d faced was second nature. Still, he chose to fight without Rupture as relying on the skill too often would dull those finely tuned instincts.

By the time he spun and reached the raptor, it was nearly to its feet. His shoulder-check ensured it stayed down while his axe went to work. The long range of the two-handed weapon, and his occasional Discipline-powered kicks, allowed him to circle the helpless beast and chop into it with impunity until it released a final warbling cry and fell silent.

[Obtained 900 Superiority. 50% bonus for defeating a monster 1 level above you]

[Obtained 3% Attunement. 50% bonus for defeating a monster 1 level above you]

As was often the case with the pesky creatures, it failed to drop any coins or loot. And the paltry Superiority reward after his bountiful encounters with the crogs was a disappointment to say the least. The fight only lasted a few seconds, but the knowledge he would have to kill dozens more of them before reaching Vile Peak Town left a sour taste in his mouth. With no alternative, Raine plowed a path of blood as he continued down the road.