Monarch Chapter 57

Chapter 57

Rayne had been seen as a ghost his first day in this world, and now he was being looked at the same way again by Commander Evans and the three captains gathered in the command tent.

Captain Edran rubbed his eyes as if he couldn't believe he had crawled out of a grave. The woman he knew now as Captain Verella only smiled, finding the whole thing interesting while Captain Clark Doloris looked blank, staring at the commander instead of him.

The rest of them seemed to be too busy, uninterested or out in the dungeons to be here.

Rayne preferred that. Four pairs of eyes scrutinizing him was more than enough.

Commander Evans leaned forward first, his gauntleted hands steepled over the table. “Did you hear I already signed off your death record?”

“No, sir,” he replied.

“Now you know. When your squad came back to the camp half dead with the news you had fallen into a dungeon river, I thought you to be dead. Yet here you are, standing, all bloody,” he said, looking at Captain Edran who nodded at his words. “So, how did you survive? I have heard what happened in the dungeon from Shawn and Axel. I want to know how you survived that fall.”

Rayne clasped both of his hands behind his back and replied. “Honestly, I don't know.”

“You don't know?” Captain Verella tilted her head, her gray hair falling in front.

“Yes, when I opened my eyes, I was on the shore of the third floor. I only survived by eating seaweed I found there, and by having some luck.”

Commander Evans stifled a laugh. “Why don't you tell us how lucky you were?”

Tentatively, Rayne recounted everything that had happened down on the third level, careful to keep out the parts about [Lesser Regeneration] and going back to hunt more undead for stats. He also left out finding the bracelet in case it was valuable.

To explain why he had no injuries, he simply said that he had one health potion left.

Captain Clark snorted a few times through the story, and once he was finished, he raised a question. “Do you think we are bloody idiots? You survived a big fall, killed undead, found empty dungeon rooms, and a dungeon map before climbing out of a hidden path. If it's true, then where is this map?”

Rayne almost replied that he did think of him as an idiot, but simply took out the folded map carefully out of his pocket.

“Here it is,” he said.

He carefully put the map on the table, flattening the parchment with both hands. All of them leaned forward as the camp went silent for a few minutes.

All of them studied the map carefully.

Captain Verella was the first to speak. “You said you fought a dungeon beetle for it?”

“Yes,” he answered, taking out one of the fruits. “I got this fruit from the chamber, and everything I have said could easily be verified by just sending out a party there.”

Commander Evans picked up the fruit immediately and after rolling it on his hand, he took a bite out of it, and his expression immediately changed.

“The boy says the truth. This is a dungeon fruit.”

All the captains gazed towards him immediately. Captain Clark took the map in his hands, furrowing his brow as he steadied it.

Captain Edran stood up, patting his shoulders. “You did good, Rayne. The map will be a massive boon to clear out the dungeon.”

“Yes,” Captain Verella added. “We would need to verify it, but it does seem likely to be true.”

Rayne almost smiled, hoping that he could go back and rest. Despite the warmth from the brazier burning, he felt cold and uncomfortable being in the presence of Commander Evans.

Though, it wasn't him per se, but Rayne not wanting to delve too much into noble politics.

But then, Captain Clark put down the map and jabbed a finger at him. “I still don't understand what you meant by the dungeon rooms being empty, other than the one you fought this beetle in. You also mentioned undead. What were they doing in a bug-themed dungeon?”

Captain Edran frowned. “How will he know that, Clark?”

“He spent days there. If anyone should know, it's him.”

He turned his head towards Rayne who only shrugged. “I don't know. Every word I spoke here is my experience in the dungeon. Why was the third level mostly empty? It's something I had no idea of. It was my first dungeon dive, and I'm sure you and the other captains are much more knowledgeable about dungeons than me.”

He could have talked about his own theories on someone having cleared the dungeon before, but Rayne didn't want to answer more questions.

Either way, they could figure that much out without him.

If not for the dungeon map, Rayne felt sure that Clark would have brought out the fact that he had insisted to go further and went against Shawn's decision. A small case of insubordination would have been easy to put on him, despite the results.

But now, they had better things to worry about.

Commander Evans confirmed his thoughts when he finished the fruit. “Rayne, we will send a party to verify what you just told us. You did well in the rescue quest, and even brought back such a valuable thing as the dungeon map. Your merits will be recorded personally by me, and I would ignore your background and status as a forsaken when writing them down.”

Rayne widened his eyes. That was much more than he expected. Even the captains looked surprised, but before any of them could speak, Commander Evans continued with a smile.

“Also, you could keep the rest of the fruits and do what you want with them.”

Captain Clark immediately stood up. “Commander, those are valuable, and he had no right to them as a forsaken.”

Commander Evans only shrugged. “He earned them by bringing us the map. I deem it appropriate as a reward. Do you want to go against my decision?”

The man immediately sat down, waving his hands in denial. “No, commander.”

Rayne took that as a cue to leave, and saluted towards the commander. Before he turned, Captain Edran nodded at him with a smile and muttered, “Go rest for now. I will call for you later.”

Then, he left, leaving behind the commander's tent and looking for a place to sleep. Peacefully and safely for the first time in days.

***

It turned out Rayne didn't really get to sleep immediately. As soon as he got out of the camp, he got swarmed. Nate and Kesh had announced his arrival everywhere, and a lot of people came to see him.

Jason, Hobbs, Andar and a few other soldiers that had been in the dungeon. Most prominent of them was Dean who thanked him profusely for saving his life and not abandoning him. The man even offered gold and potions, but Rayne only took the latter.

It turned out Bran was still recovering as potions hadn't been enough to get him to full health, but had gotten the news. Casper on the other hand was in closed-door cultivation in her tent.

It took two hours of answering questions before he was able to go to sleep. At least, everyone had brought food for him and Rayne was able to enjoy a hot meal after days. The whole experience had made him realise the importance of cooking in the dungeon.

Rations could easily be lost after all.

He didn't know for how long he slept, but when he got up, it was already late at night. Kesh had told him that with most of the squad making it back, he would be sharing a tent with him, but the man was nowhere to be found.

Guard duty, Rayne guessed before he sat cross-legged and decided to utilise the time to work on his cultivation.

That was one thing he had been looking forward to the most after increasing his Arcane stat, but he had been too disturbed in the dungeon to focus on it.

He had gained six stat points fighting the undead on the third level, and felt like it would be enough boost for him to be able to open up the pathway on his left shoulder.

The camp outside was noisy—soldiers talking, boots stamping, fires crackling—but as he closed his eyes and exhaled slowly, the noise faded away until he could only hear his own heartbeat.

It felt strange to finally sit still after days of running, fighting, almost dying. But he slowly let the tension bleed from his shoulders.

The faint hum of mana thrummed under his skin.

“Alright,” he whispered to himself. “Let’s try this.”

He imagined his core—deep in the center of his chest, a tight knot of mana that pulsed like a second heart. It felt much heavier now. He pushed gently, guiding the flow upward, toward the left side of his body.

A familiar resistance met him immediately.

Previously, he hadn't been able to push deeper than this. The pressure felt like trying to shove water through a stone wall. It was impossible to push without feeling like his bones were about to crack.

But now?

Now the mana moved. Slowly, but it moved.

Rayne focused and applied a little more pressure. The stream of mana pushed against the blocked pathway near his left collarbone, grinding against it like water eroding rock.

His teeth clenched as a sharp sting shot across his shoulder. His breath caught, sweat starting to bead on his forehead. He didn’t back down.

Mana swelled, pushing harder, vibrating under his skin. The pressure built and built until it felt like something might snap—either the blockage or his damn shoulder.

Then, a crack echoed.

The sensation was internal, not physical, but it felt real enough to make him gasp.

Mana rushed into the newly opened pathway like water through a burst dam. Warmth spread across his left shoulder, crawling around the bone and sinking deep into muscle. Strength followed it and he suddenly felt lighter.

He sagged forward slightly, opening his eyes, and the next second, words appeared in front of him.

+1 point in Arcane.

As soon as the notification buzzed in his mind, he smiled. But he knew that it was just the start.

Rayne didn’t stop.

He closed his eyes, and guided the mana again, further this time—down the length of his left arm. The next block sat somewhere between his bicep and elbow, thicker than the last one. He pushed, and the resistance hit him immediately, like a wall slamming back.

Pain flared sharp and hot. His fingers trembled.

But he held on, gritting his teeth. There was a lot of pain, but he knew it was manageable.

He kept the mana steady, shaping it into a pounding rhythm. Each push loosened the blockage little by little. Sweat rolled down the side of his face, and his breath turned ragged.

He didn't know how long he kept pushing his mana, but then the blockage finally cracked—just a hairline split—but mana instantly forced itself through the opening. Rayne seized the chance and pushed everything he had into it.

A burst of heat shot down his arm.

The second pathway opened with a rushing surge like fire roaring through a tunnel. His whole arm tingled, buzzing as mana flowed freely from core to wrist.

Rayne opened his eyes and let out a shuddering breath and leaned back, staring at his hand in disbelief as faint wisps of warmth coiled through his fingers. Notifications sounded out the next second.

+1 point in Arcane.

Two pathways open in a single sitting.

A week ago, he would’ve laughed if someone claimed that was possible.

He flexed his hand slowly, feeling the difference. His arm felt lighter and stronger, as if it had finally woken up after years of sleeping. The difference was much more than when he had opened his first pathway, and he regretted not having a proper offensive mana skill to test out.

But as he wondered if he should try to open up one more pathway tonight, he froze.

The tent flap rustled suddenly.

The lantern flickered as a silhouette stepped in.

Casper.

She paused at the entrance, eyes widening, looking over at him. Then, her eyes paused at his left shoulder and Rayne saw a faint trace of mana in them.

Her voice came out low and shocked. “…Rayne. How the hell did you get that far already?”

Rayne blinked back at her, sweat still dripping down his jaw, his arm trembling from the aftershocks of breakthrough, and wondered how she had figured it out.

And what was he going to tell her?