MM - Chapter 143 - A SOLITARY STEP

Raine’s one-sided beating continued until his core members threw in the towel one at a time. In a surprising twist, Mel caved first, claiming to need a short break. She logged out with a wave. Raine had directed most of his killing intent toward her during the training, hoping to trigger her genesis. When she said she needed to leave early, he could only hope it had something to do with that. 

The others suffered greatly from losing their healer, leaving only three to split Raine’s delicate mercies. Rhino was the last to give in. At some point, he swore aloud to hit Raine at least once before giving up: he failed. Laying on the ground, the youngest member of Astra Infernum stared at the dark sky, lamenting their utter defeat, “I don’t get it. Our attributes are the same. How are you so damn slippery?”

Raine snorted, “You started using the spear, what, a day ago? Your foundational stances are nonexistent, and you consistently let your emotions get the better of you, unbalancing your Discipline. If you want to beat me, you’ll have to put in as much work as I have.”

“Work?! But there were four of us! Are you saying you’ve put in more work than all of us combined?”

“Yes...” Raine drawled. “On your feet. I’ll show you some stances that can easily be altered to fit whatever style you come up with.”

Rhino sighed but stood, cracking his neck with a deep stretch. His paranoia reared its head as he squinted in Raine's direction, “Why not show me the best ones?”

Raine bent his legs, lowering into the first stance. He withdrew a Common Grey spear from his inventory, demonstrating the correct angle to hold it, “Because I don’t know your martial path. You have decent instincts. If you listen to them, they’ll show you how to advance.

Fizgore shook his head, blinking in disbelief, “Decent instincts, you say? The kid’s a monster.”

Since he drew attention to himself, Raine shifted focus to Fizgore while a blushing Rhino attempted to copy his stance. “You made good progress, brother. Did you find understanding?”

Fizgore nodded sharply. He had indeed noticed how each clash with Raine saw him losing not due to any single overwhelming attack, but a series of movements that culminated in his back pressed to the sands. The harsh lessons reminded him of Raine's words when they first met, ‘True combat can be thought of as motion, distilled by malleable purpose.’

Fizgore understood what Raine was implying; every action had the potential to be rife with purpose. A punch was not merely a punch; it was a prelude to the strike to come, which in turn led to the next. However, with the rapid pace of ZionLine’s combat, putting that knowledge into practice seemed impossible. “While this one deeply appreciates your attempts at guidance, he may be too foolish to see the light of dharma.”

Raine smiled fondly, “Some lessons cannot be learned without wisdom, and wisdom only comes from doing. Use the gold I gave you to challenge the tower until you reach the fifth floor. There, you will find the way forward.”

“The fifth floor?” Fizgore and Rhino glanced at Celeste, who was angrily twirling her staff near the arena wall. “She has not spoken of her experience there, only to say she will not return soon.”

“We’ll see about that,” Raine smirked. 

Continuing to progress was vital for Celeste’s survival in the outside world. Since he didn’t have time to personally train her, she needed another way to repeatedly push herself to the limit. The Tower of Triumph was ideally suited to the task. Blindly throwing herself into it time and again wasn’t an optimal method either.

Raine focused a spike of killing intent in her direction and she spun to face him with a Charged Blast flaring to life at the end of her staff. When she realized he wasn’t about to attack, her lip lifted in a snarl. She flung the prepared bolt to the side where it exploded into the sand.

Damn. Nice reaction.

Celeste clenched her jaw to not react to the complimentary thought, which only made her look more upset. Her stomping over to see what he wanted didn’t help. By the time she reached him, Raine was thoroughly amused. “It's good to see you motivated. Interested in a slightly more efficient method than randomly swinging your staff?”

“What do you think?” Celeste hissed, “You keep insinuating you'll train me, but all I get is another beating! Not like my life is on the line or anything.” Her sarcastic venting concluded with a huff as she blew a loose strand of fiery hair from her eyes.

Fizgore frowned at her tone. Even in the past, he was never one to tolerate disrespect toward a teacher. Knowing what was coming, Raine raised a hand, cutting off his admonishments before they began. Fizgore scowled but held his tongue.

Raine narrowed his eyes at Celeste, not needing to say a word for her to realize she'd made a mistake. Raine so casually supplied the best instructing she'd ever received that it was easy to forget how valuable his lessons were. While he appreciated that her life was in danger, that wasn't necessarily a terrible thing. The pressure would drive her to new heights, bringing her closer to her goals.

Her face twisted as though she were in great pain, “I-I’m… sorry.” The words left a foul enough taste in her mouth that she nearly spat. 

Raine beamed in response. 

Look at this little fireball growing up, trying to be nice. So cute.

“Apology accepted. As for your training, I already showed you everything you need to do.”

Celeste was filled with pride, not from Raine's praise but from receiving it without outwardly reacting. Internally, her temperature shot straight up as her heart raced. [Was that the first nice thought he's ever had about me? Shit. Why do I care so much what this asshole thinks? So frustrating.]

She cleared her throat, breaking eye contact, “I don't understand. What did you show me? When?”

“At the gym. Push yourself to the breaking point, then focus on muscle control. Repeat that five times, then rechallenge the tower. Keep doing that; you'll be amazed how quickly you advance.”

Celeste cringed, not at all looking forward to what Raine made sound so simple. With the way ZionLine brought the senses to the brink of death when Discipline bottomed out, it wouldn't be as arduous as she envisioned. The suffering would be real, but getting there repeatedly would at least be quick.

Raine nodded, understanding well the pain and misery she was in for. “This is the optimal method for learning to control attributes, Connection, and your physical body. Not only that, it's the best way to prime your brain for genesis. If you ever want a mental ability, then you have to put in the work.”

His last words had Fizgore and Rhino fully tuned in, nearly to the point of drooling. Raine smirked at them, fully understanding their hunger. Luckily, they achieved genesis in the past with little outside help. It wouldn't be long before all three were sparing with manifested killing intent.

She should be close to discerning… No. Better to not overwhelm her with an entirely different kind of training. We'll work on that next.

Raine critically eyed Fizgore and Rhino, “Celeste will show you how it's done. I've got to head out for a few days to prep for our next raid. Here,” Raine opened a trade with Fizgore, unloading several dozen pieces of equipment and a hundred gold. “Can you pass these out to everyone who didn't get any raid drops? The gold should be enough for arena rentals and multiple tower attempts per day.”

Fizgore dipped his head low, palm in fist, “As you wish. Thank you for your guidance.”

“T-thank you for your guidance!” Rhino parroted, mimicking Fizgore's bow.

Celeste shook her head, “Unh uh. Nope. No way. You're not paying me nearly enough to bow. Actually, you're not paying me at all.”

Raine fended off her indignation with a stony expression. “Not paying you, eh? Guess you don’t like that staff as much as I thought.” Raine held out his hand but Celeste was already gone, having teleported out of the arena with wide-eyed panic before his sentence was finished.

The three gave each other knowing looks. Rhino chortled, slapping a knee, “Women, am I right?” Fizgore and Raine’s smiles slipped. They stared at the suddenly nervous boy who quickly turned away, lowering into the stance Raine showed him.

Raine hid a smile as he waved, “Don’t get in too much trouble while I’m gone.” He teleported back to the emporium's lobby. 

Before he could take a step, he was accosted by a rough-looking group of men. Their leader was a lithe level seventeen warrior in a complete set of Lustrous Blue armor. Two swords were sheathed across his back, their pommels sticking over either shoulder. His voice was deeper than his skinny frame would suggest, and his unique accent only made it more jarring, “Hail, mighty warrior. I am called Jarl Yogrund. I represent the Coalition of Guilds.”

“Not interested,” Raine stepped around Yogrund and his band, heading toward the exit.

“You say that now. When the powerful guilds arrive in Silverlight, those like ourselves will be hard-pressed to farm materials and levels unless we unite to face them. Do not be so eager to face the storm alone, friend.”

Raine lifted two fingers over his shoulder in parting, “Let them come. Astra Infernum will be waiting.”

Jarl Yogrund was a well-known figure in the distant past. The Coalition of Guilds was run by his older brother, Ramakin. They did indeed stand against the major guilds for a time, right up until they bent the knee and joined the highest bidder. After that, the brothers disappeared. Raine didn’t need allies who were only out for a payday leading to cushy retirement.

Raine made it to the auction house without further incident. He withdrew the five thousand gold and change from his most recently sold items. If the prices continued to rise at their current pace, he would beat his projected income by a couple thousand. While ultimately a drop in the bucket, every bit counted.

Using the kiosk’s advanced search functions, he browsed the available materials, finding what he needed. The Gromglenn Boomsticks required four lustrous quality materials: Blasting powder, casing, wick, and a detonator, and each of those was comprised of several separate parts. Unsurprisingly, none of what Raine needed was available for sale. 

Instead, he bought basic parts that were required to harvest some of the materials on his own. Buying more than enough for his needs cost a measly fifteen gold. His next stop was the Gromglenn yard. A Return Stone brought him outside of Vile Peak Town. Raine found himself inside a press of players surrounding the walls, all eager to get inside and away from the aerial threats of the local beast population.

Rising to his tippy-toes, he peered above the crowd to the streets inside. They were unbelievably packed with players. Despite people standing so close together you couldn’t fit an arm through, they maintained a semblance of order. Each street had been divided into two lanes. The mass of humanity pushed and shoved itself along at a plodding pace; it was a battlefield Raine wasn’t about to deal with.

A light hop had him shooting into the air. He flew over hundreds of heads. Tens of thousands more were ahead of him inside the walls. Lunging on solid air, he quickly circled the town before landing atop the fortifications near his destination. Several guards spun toward him with hands on their sabers, expectedly outraged.

Upon seeing him, they immediately released their weapons and bowed, “Favored One! Apologies for our rudeness.”

“Nonsense. I appeared as an assailant. Your swift reactions were exemplary. My goal is to enter the Gromglenn encampment,” Raine tilted his head to the nearby yard that was blissfully free of players. Two hulking monstrosities covered in sharp metal spikes stood on two thick legs, guarding the entrance. They were four meters tall and nearly as wide, easily keeping players away through intimidation factor alone. Though there were always a few who couldn’t help but take a closer look at the fantastic creations: Raine among them.

[Gromglenn Rattlemecka (Elite Noble): Level ??? (HP: ????/????) This siege engine is the pinnacle of gromglennoid ingenuity. A fearsome combination of awesome might, stalwart defenses, and mobility]

They brought out the big guns? Must have been an incident.

The guard captain interrupted Raine’s thoughts. “Further apologies, Favored One. We were commanded against taking to the streets unless it’s to break up an altercation.”

Raine chuckled, shaking his head, “I’ve no intention of going through the streets. I can jump from here, with your permission, of course.”

“So long as there is no damage to the walls, I have no issue with that. However, the Gromglenns are an independent faction renting this plot. If they take offense, there’s nothing we can do to interfere.”

“Great. Thank you, Captain,” Raine dipped his chin in appreciation, then lightly hopped from the wall and soared through the air.

He landed next to Gazmo who didn’t even acknowledge his existence. The little half-monster half-humanoid was staring at the rattlemeckas with a blissful smile, likely lost in some fantasy about piloting one through a battlefield. Raine understood perfectly. He’d only seen vods of them in action: they were destruction incarnate. Owning a single one would make his guild an unstoppable force for years to come.

Raine cleared his throat, unwillingly gathering Gazmo’s attention. He bared a mouth full of sharp teeth, his words high-pitched, gravely, and quick, “You-you’s back. What want now-now?”

“A few materials.”

“Hurry-hurry. I’s busy.”

“I can tell. Thanks, Gazmo,” Raine chuckled, wasting no time accessing the shop that sprang into his HUD. He bought the few items he needed, then teleported back to Silverlight City.

After returning to the crafting hall, the next three hours passed in a blur of hasty preparations. Having everything he needed, there was no reason to continue renting the crafting space. He cleaned out the room of all his materials, then logged out to take a quick break and check on Mel.

He found her meditating in a corner, coated in sweat. Her breathing and heart rate were regulated, unlike Raine’s. His heart attempted to pound its way out of his chest when he sensed a delicate pulse of killing intent radiating from her.

It worked. The heavy dose of ReGen, along with ZL's abundant access to killing intent, was enough for a talented non-martial to develop a mental ability. Fuck. If this secret gets out, I'll have a dozen grandmasters knocking down my door in an hour.