Now that it was over, everyone seemed to be in a state of relief. Sam strode forwards, and opened the chest. It was larger on the inside than on the outside, and it seemed to have a piece of gear for everyone in the raid party. Most of them were jewelry, as everyone had their own weapons, but some of them had gotten an upgrade.

There was a glistening rapier for Eduardo, fashioned from pitch black obsidian. An ornate targeting sight for Jeffrey, made out of a circlet of lava. The other three each received a ring, with different effects. Sam’s ring increased his ability to connect with his weapon and channel power through it. Talnor’s was essentially a battery, allowing him to store surplus electric charge. Finally, Lao’s ring let him channel the Dao more effectively. They were simple boosts, but welcome nonetheless.

In addition, there was a small card that contained fifty million credits and some more of the lava ore. When the chest was cleared out, the dungeon melted away, and they were teleported back to the mountain peak.

Sam summoned the ship now that there was space on the peak, and smiled. He, as well as the others, had needed a bit of a wake up fight. He needed one in order to get used to fighting after a prolonged period of training, and the others needed it because they had been stuck within the city for the last month and a half, without much opportunity to train. Just as importantly, everyone had leveled up a few times.

As they trooped on into the ship, Sam cleared his throat.

“Well done, everyone. That was a great showing, especially considering the level of the monsters. We came out of it with some valuable items, and even more valuable levels. Whatever the System throws at us next, we will be ready.”

A light cheer rang out from the others as they sat down, and soon everyone was meditating. Except for Sam, who was still suffering from success in terms of his Dao.

After a long wait, during which he trained his mana, they arrived at the city. The captains peeled off, and Sam retreated to train with Sarge. As he walked towards the Dao Tree, he scanned his ring once more.

Weapon Soul Ring

F Rank Magical Item

This ring increases the connection between a weapon and its wielder by channeling the conceptual energy of their weapon mastery more effectively. While wearing it, your movements and strikes will be more precise and accurate.

Sam had no idea how the ring actually worked, but it worked regardless. It was the reason that he was looking for Sarge. He wanted to test it out.

By the time he had found the Dao Tree, he spotted Sarge leaning against the fence, looking bored. Sam strode up, and the robot’s eyes lit up. Literally. They started to glow as he approached.

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“Finally. A break from the boredom,” Sarge intoned. “I was wondering if you would ever show up again.”

“Sorry about that. I have some new powers that I want to test out,” Sam replied. Then he grinned. “Are you implying that guarding these fine folk is boring for you?”

Sarge smiled wryly, and shook his head. Then he raced off.

“I won’t dignify that with a response!” He called out. It was clear what he wanted from Sam.

Sam raced after the robot, flaring his Dao to empower his movements. Even with all of Sarge’s speed, Sam still kept up. By the time they reached an empty training arena, Sarge seemed perturbed.

“What is it?” Sam asked.

“You’re starting to outgrow me. I was using near my maximum natural speed there, but you still kept up.”

The robot seemed a bit disconsolate, which made sense, given that his entire being was dedicated to being a training resource. Without being able to act as such, his existence was meaningless. Of course, Sam didn’t say that.

“You’re still useful for the other members of the faction. Most of them aren’t like me. F Rank is one of the formative ranks, and your presence will be invaluable for training up the newer faction members. In fact, why don’t you give your post at the Dao Tree to someone else, and start training people full time instead?”

“Really?” Sarge asked, his tone brightening. “You would do that for me?”

“Of course. You’ve been here from the very beginning. Why don’t you go set it up with the people at city hall? I’m sure they can get this done officially. I can wait.”

Sarge nodded happily, and then streaked off towards the city hall. Sam sat down and waited. He had to say, time passed strangely at his level of power. Sometimes, everything moved at a glacial pace, like when he was training. Other times, things passed in what felt like the blink of an eye. Perhaps this was the effects of his higher speed of perception mingling with the System manipulation of his mind, which would make him more agreeable to an incredibly long life. In any case, he could spare some time to wait for Sarge.

When the robot returned, he was ecstatic.

“I was signed on as the primary trainer for low level fighters. They’re going to set up a school for me to run tomorrow. For now, what exactly did you want my help with?”

“Right. I got a ring from a dungeon dive that says it increases my connection to my weapon. The only problem is that I got it after the dungeon was finished, so I couldn’t test it out.”

Sarge nodded. “Sounds good. You want to start now?”

“Yep.”

The two fighters stepped into the arena, and Sarge summoned a large shield. He anticipated Sam’s need to test his strikes against a constant, rather than during an actual fight. Sam held out his hammer, and closed his eyes, feeling out his connection to his weapon. He could feel a tendril of energy passing through the ring, and then expanding afterwards. He opened his eyes once more, and then rocketed forwards, bringing his hammer down.

It was like time had slowed down, and he could feel every moment of the hammer’s arc as it passed down. He knew that if he wanted to, he could seize control at any moment. It wasn't too much of an improvement to his previous control, but it was useful. He stopped the hammer an inch above the shield, and then finished the blow a second later. It struck with immense force for such a little windup, and Sarge was knocked backwards.

Sam twirled his hammer around, marveling at its complete devotion to his will. With his high stats, he had already been able to manipulate the weapon almost perfectly, but this was on another level. Sam put his hammer away, satisfied, and helped Sarge up. The gesture was completely unnecessary, but he did it regardless.