It took me several minutes to worm my way out of the room. None of them believed me when they heard me say I was OK, but they respected my privacy enough to not ask too many questions. The fact they let me walk back to the guild alone gave me a boost in confidence, but that was quickly shattered by Claire’s happy statement.

“Ray will keep an eye out for you, you can trust him.”

Her cheery words bounced around in my head as my feet carried me towards the guild. How could someone’s view of a person differ so greatly from the truth? Claire was one of the most intelligent and worldly people I had met, and even she had been pulled in by Ray’s little play.

But who would believe me over him?

I was a new guy in town. Other than Claire, who trusted me based on instinct, no one else even knew my name. The most exposure I had ever gotten was when the boy named Robbie had announced my victory over the slime queen to the entire guild.

However I tried to play it, my accusations would be met with ridicule and doubt. People in this world respected those at a higher level than themselves. Whilst numbers didn’t mean everything, it did give a certain weight to your words. The person I wanted to take down had a much higher status than my friends and, from what I could tell, they were already far above most of the guild members.

And I was a level six nobody. If the guild members found out my actual level, it would lead to widespread confusion and mistrust. People selected their classes at level ten, how had I managed to choose mine before that point? Also, how was it possible I hadn’t reached at least that level at my age? My body turned and walked towards the outer gate. It wasn’t like I had a plan, but at worst I could live in the forest and hide away from everyone, until the day my friends arrived.

It's only a few days off. Screw this testing rubbish, and screw this town. I'm done.

From Rose's information, I knew which areas to avoid. The mana density increased further into the forest, but if I skirted around the edge there was another village I could go to. Ray had warned me against telling them about his tests, but he didn't mention anything about leaving. I did feel a weird connection to Claire and her friends, but that was secondary to the threats on my life.

“Hey, Rook!”

Karen yelled at me from her cart. There was a small crowd by the gate, so it wasn’t like I could leave on a whim. A conversation with her one last time might be just what I needed, and a tiny diversion would be very welcome.

“Hey, Karen.” I forced a smile as she waved at me. “Nice to see you again.”

“Sure.” Karen pulled out a sack from beneath her cart. “Do you want to do some processing again, I have a nice haul that needs-”

“Sorry, I’m a bit busy. Maybe later?”

Karen sighed and dumped the sack on her cart. She seemed genuinely disheartened by my refusal, but she wasn’t ready to quit just yet as she glanced at the crowd by the gate.

“Don’t tell me you haven’t heard the news?”

“News, what news?” I gave her my undivided attention. It couldn’t be possible that Ray had made his move already, I hadn’t done anything yet.

“The guards released a statement, apparently the bandits are making a mess outside.” She frowned at the crowd by the gate. “No one is allowed to leave the town until further notice, but those idiots are intent on arguing their way past the guards. Like that’ll work.”

This can’t be aimed at me. He’s disrupting the entire town just to teach me a lesson…

“Are you OK?” Karen asked as she rested her hand on mine. “You look a bit pale.”

“Oh, it’s nothing.” I pushed myself up. “I’ll take the processing job. It looks like I have the time to do it for you now.”

Karen passed me the sack and instructed me to not go over the top again. After I agreed to her terms, I set off towards the guild with the sack in tow. The streets were packed with various traders and guild members. One side seemed happy about the increase in business whilst the others were infuriated at the disruption of their plans.

“I only came in to pick up a package and they won’t let me back out. If they’d told me about this earlier-”

“It’s ridiculous. Who’s scared of a few bandits?”

“If I find out who’s behind this whole thing, I’ll beat the crap out of them!”

“Yeah, and if it’s the guard captain that made the decision, what then? You and whose army, huh?”

My ears caught various conversations as I walked into the guild. If these people knew the cause of the travel blockage was me, there would be hell to pay. Maybe that was Ray’s eventual plan if I made any more overt moves to escape…

For the time being, it would be a good idea to lay low.

“Hey, Rook!”

I turned to face the man who had shouted at me. Fortunately, it was a friendly face. Bryan waved at me from a side table and patted the seat beside him. I picked my way across to him and sat on the chair as he waved at the waitress for attention.

“Two drinks. I’ll have my usual and Rook can have whatever he wants.”

“Water.” I said in a dull tone. Bryan raised an eyebrow at me before he shrugged at the waitress. She gave us a practised smile before she walked off towards the kitchen.

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“You’re out to paint the town beige, it seems. Guessing you heard about the curfew, right?”

The waitress returned with our drinks, which gave me the chance to avoid his question. Bryan was happy to drink in silence, and I was all too pleased to go along with his decision. The water was slightly tangy, but it didn’t taste off at least. It could have just been my emotions messing with my sense of taste.

“Bryan, why don’t you like Ray?” I asked after I had finished half my drink. Bryan took another sip of his beer before he turned to me.

“It’s old news, but we got into a few fights in the past. He kept progressing and I stayed with my team.” He sighed as he stared into his cup. “I don’t regret my choice, but neither does he.”

“Did he betray you?” I asked. It wasn’t polite, but if Bryan was on the same level as me he would understand.

“What? No.” Bryan laughed at my bizarre question. “He just cares more about himself than anyone else. The others can’t see it, but I can.”

“Why is he so much stronger than you guys? Is there something I’m missing?”

“Oh, right… I keep forgetting how new you are…” Bryan placed his cup onto the table and scooched his chair next to me. “Areas in the world are affected by the density of mana within them. Some places have a massive amount, some have a tiny bit. Monsters are attracted to places with a density matching their needs, but it also affects the people who live there. The lower the density, the harder it is to advance.”

“Oh, so this town has a lower density of mana? Why don’t people just move somewhere with more mana?” It seemed like an obvious choice to me, but the suggestion made Bryan chuckle.

“Remember that monsters are attracted to mana? More mana, stronger monsters. If you don’t have the talent, you’ll get eaten alive before you grow.” Bryan poked my shoulder in a joking manner. “That’s where you’re lucky. Marked ones always grow easily, so you should be able to move around the world safely before too long.”

“Oh.” I took a sip of my drink as I contemplated his words. “What about you? Your group seems pretty strong, can’t you-”

“No.” Bryan shook his head as he cut me off. “We have a reason for staying as we are. Don’t mention it in front of Claire, she’ll just feel guilty again... Don’t worry about us.”

Bryan's usually cheery expression had vanished when I asked the question, so I dropped the subject and moved on.

“What about Ray? I guess he came from a higher zone, so why is he here? Why aren’t there any other high levels in town?”

“I should have guessed you’d ask about that. Once you advance past a certain point, you need the world to support you. If you move back into a low-density zone, it affects you. Your senses are dulled, your strength lowered. Basically, it’s not a good idea.”

“And Ray did it anyway?” I leant back in my chair. “Why? He doesn’t seem like the type to sacrifice himself.”

“No, he isn’t. Odd how you spotted that already.” Bryan raised an eyebrow at me but didn’t prod any further. “I don’t know why he did it, but it turned him into a saint to everyone else in town. The great guard captain, sacrificing himself for our protection.”

"But maybe he had another goal, something more... sinister?" I whispered. Now was the time to test the waters. Bryan didn't like Ray, but his current words didn't prove that his feelings had devolved into hatred.

"No, I don't think so." Bryan gave me a small grin. "I know him well enough for that. He might have some scheme, but he wouldn't do something to hurt others for his gain. I might not like him, but I know him well enough to say at least that. Don't worry about that, Rook, just focus on yourself."

Damn it. If I try to persuade him, that would just make me seem suspicious. There would be no way he would believe me without proof, and if he tells the others...

"Fair enough. I guess I'll think of him as a saint then like everyone else." I joked before I drained the rest of my drink. 

"I wouldn't go that far, but sure, if that's how you feel." Bryan grunted and waved at the waiter to bring over more drinks. The others reaction to Ray made a little more sense now, but it still didn’t help me out of my predicament. After my escape route had been cut off, the only option was to work myself to the bone. After this processing was done, I would ask for another load of materials, then another and another and another. It might not be as efficient, but at least it would push me in the right direction.

At least until the lockdown cleared. 

“See you later.”

It wasn’t fair to pull him into my mess. As much as he disliked Ray, it was clear Bryan didn’t know the truth. Who would believe that a high-level guard captain had stalked and attacked a new guild member, or that I had survived such an ambush? And that was if I could ignore the fact that Bryan would tell the others of my revelations, which would push Ray into another assault on Susan's life...

How would he react if his friend had died due to him? I knew how I'd act in that situation.

I'd have two people trying to kill me instead of one...

After I had dumped the sack on my bed and closed the door, the full weight of my situation crashed down on my head. The strongest warrior in town wanted to fight me, my friends thought he was out to protect me and only a few days remained until those from my world arrived with an angry god in tow.

And all I could do was process some rocks and leather and hope it helped me level up. The only other option was to sneak out of town, but all routes had been locked down by the guards under the pretence of security.

I'd say 'god damn it', but that would be a bit too on the nose. Why is his timing so perfect? 

I ripped open the sack, pulled out a chunk of ore and got to work. Rage had set my heart ablaze, but that did little to push me towards my goal. At least when I worked, it would let me focus on another task. The first processing attempt failed, but that didn’t get me down as I moved on to the next.

More failed than succeeded for a while before the rhythm kicked in. I practised my Transmutation as I worked. I didn’t utilise it to the same extent as my first attempt, but I at least used it to shave off any excess chips of stone. The ability improved the results a step further, which should make Karen happy.

And it moved my Transmutation closer to the next level.

The book stated you could only process a material once. After that, any further attempts would fail and the material would be lost. Transmutation seemed separate from this rule, but my mana usage kept it from being overly powerful. If these materials weren’t low rank, the losses would have been too much to handle for me, but Karen had been happy with the results of my last batch.

And when I managed to get to level ten, Rose would appear again. If she didn't have any advice for the situation, I could rely on the boost I would get from my advancement. The increases I would gain per test were massively increased due to my status as a 'transferred' person, so there was always a chance it would give me enough power to at least put up a fight against Ray.

Processing the materials left my mind detached from the anger and worry. I worked on in silence for several hours before the last piece fell to the desk. After it was packed away, I blew out the candles and settled down to rest. A single thought echoed through my skull as I dropped off to sleep. Not a nice image, but it would have to do for now.

He can’t keep the town locked down forever. He’ll let up after a few days, and then I can get out to the forest. I only need to last a few more days after that, and I should reach level ten. Then I can put up a fight, and I can ask Rose how to clear the tracker he put on Susan.

I smiled at the thought of Ray facing off against the god who would appear not too long from now. Maybe he would even help me accidentally if I played my cards right. There wasn’t much I could do against him directly, but maybe the timing of this was actually perfect for me after all.

You have your plans, and I have mine. Let’s see who wins this little game, Ray.