I left the village and set off towards the bandit camp. The leader hadn’t said anything else as I left his house, but I took his silence as agreement. He had trusted me before, so he would have to trust me again. There was no logical reason for me to give him the money. If the bandits had wanted to find a reason to take over the village, they could have done it in a multitude of easier ways at any point.

My confidence had increased after all of the gains in the dungeon. I had passed level ten, gained the boost in stats from the advancement along with the skills it had provided. Whilst I was still a Supporter, my level and my power no longer matched. I could fight against someone who had passed their level twenty-five advancement test, and that should cover most of the people in this area.

This area has a lower density of mana. Most people won’t be able to pass their second advancement here, so I should be safer now.

“Not really. Don’t get overconfident, Rook.” Rose spoke up as I tried to hype myself up. “You can beat the people around here because most of them can’t move to anywhere with more mana. The people in those areas are stronger, more skilled and more dangerous. If one of them came back here, even if they were at a similar level to you, it would be difficult to see who would win.”

“Right.” My shoulders dropped. What she said was true, but she didn’t specifically need to say it right now. I hadn’t been getting overconfident, per se…

“Good. I’ve seen a lot of marked ones get egotistical too early. You grow faster, but that’s only in certain areas. Talent and practice make up the majority of someone's skill, especially as you go further along the path you’ve set for yourself.” Rose seemed happy with herself as she watched my dreams crumble.

“He’s pretty strong still, though. For a Supporter, I haven’t seen many with more power at his level.” Cory chirped up in my defence. Before I could thank him, he continued. “Well, he’s still a Supporter though. By the time he buffs himself up to matching another class, they’ll blast him to pieces.”

“Thanks.” I muttered through gritted teeth. Cory, who had gotten his own back for my use of him as a torch in the tunnel, settled back into my inventory with a snigger. Rose didn’t say anything further, which left me alone with Claire.

“It’s OK, Rook. You’ll grow plenty strong soon enough.” She tapped me on the side of the head consolingly. “Supporters are weak, but you can use that as an advantage. The easiest fight to win is against an opponent who underestimates you.”

It didn’t take too long to move through the forest. A few wolves popped out at one point, but they sprinted off in terror as they saw me approach. At first, I thought it was due to an increase in my presence from the advancement, but then I realised the truth.

I had a slime queen riding my shoulder. What wolf would stay around if such a monster wanted to eat them up?

But I couldn’t put her back in my inventory. After she had melded into the core, she had officially returned to the land of the living. Unlike Rose and Cory, who could hide at will, she would remain an open companion throughout my journey.

“Could you beat those wolves?” I glanced at the orb who bounced happily on my shoulder.

“I doubt it. I could barely beat a normal slime right now.” Claire spoke happily, as though her weakness was unimportant. “I can control myself enough to get away, though, and the less intelligent creatures should run away if they spot me.”

With that confirmed, we finally arrived at the bandit camp. Claire clamped onto my shoulder and went still. It wasn’t common, but some people had odd ornaments on their armour or weapons. A grey orb on a shoulder would be peculiar, but not enough to draw attention.

“Cub!”

A person dashed out of a nearby tent and grabbed my arm. It took me a moment to notice who it was but, when I did, I couldn’t help but smile.

“Hey, Leah. How's things?”

“Never mind me, what about you? We thought you’d died, but we couldn’t find any sign of you when we moved the troll.” Leah looked me over for several seconds before she took a step back. “We passed the dungeon, but then it threw us out. It’s been sealed since then, but it didn’t disappear. Clive’s been going insane.”

“Really?” I held back a grin as I glanced up at the central building. “I guess he would be mad. Maybe I should avoid him for now.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea. He knows we passed the dungeon, but he was infuriated when he found out you hadn’t got out. He wanted us to all go back in, but that was impossible. We’ve been ordered to not leave the base until he says otherwise.”

“Did he say anything else?”

“Well, everyone heard the argument. He got into a fight with the commander before we got back. Apparently, someone took something important to Clive, and the commander wouldn’t help him find it.” Leah frowned as she stared at Clive’s main base. “Clive shouted something about a woman in the cells, and the commander got really… mad. Even we felt it, and we weren’t even in the camp yet.”

“Oh, right.” I patted her on the shoulder and leant down beside her to whisper in her ear. “Can you gather up the others from your village, I have a message from the leader.”

Leah stared at me for several seconds before she nodded and moved back into the tent. It shouldn’t take her too long to bring them together, but it would give me the time to move on the plan I had just thought up.

If this prisoner is important to the bandit king… maybe I can use that. I want him to answer some questions, so I need to lay out some bait.

Unfortunately, my plans were thwarted instantly. The guards around the mansion had increased drastically in number. Before, there had been one or two people posted at the main entrances, but now each one had four at least. They glared at anyone who approached, which created a large no-mans land around the building.

Damn it. Maybe I really do need to see Clive? That should get me inside, but how do I lose him then?

“Oh, if it isn’t Cub. What’re you doing skulking around here!?”

The loud voice made me jump out of my skin. I spun around to face the newcomer, though I had already guessed his identity before I saw his grinning face.

“Hi, Ron. Long time, no see.”

“Sure, sure. Wanna answer my question, Cub?” Ron didn’t return my greeting as he stepped towards me. Five people spread out behind him and blocked off the escape routes. The only way I could go would be towards the mansion. Maybe that was his plan, though I couldn’t see why he would want to force such a thing.

“I just got back, so I was going to see Clive. Why do you ask?”

“Really? Someone stole something, you leave. The commanders beef up security, you try to sneak back in.” Ron folded his arms as he rocked back and forth on the balls of his feet. “Fishy. Too fishy.”

“I’d hardly call walking out in the open sneaking, Ron.” My patience had worn thin. “Only an idiot would think that. Are you an idiot, Ron?”

The lumbering man froze for a moment before a wicked smile broke out. He waved to the people behind him and pulled out his axe.

“You're threatening someone who was ordered to keep people away from the commander’s home.” Ron twirled his axe and stepped towards me. “Take him!”

The five people dashed forwards at Ron’s call. I pulled out my staff and buffed myself with my three Novice abilities. I would keep the Rage abilities to myself for now. A trump card lost its value the more people who knew about it.

“Strengthen. Accelerate. Dexterity.”

The first two were easier to use, but the last took a second of focus to activate. That was likely due to its low rank combined with the higher tier of the ability. Technically, I shouldn’t have access to it until at least level twenty-five.

Two of the people slowed down as they heard the last buff, but the rest arrived before me in at the same time.

Too slow.

I didn’t even bother with my strike ability. A quick sweep of my staff knocked all three from their feet. They didn’t have time to react before I stepped past them and landed a solid hit to each of their foreheads.

They weren’t dead, merely unconscious, but the speed of their defeat terrified the others. The last two members of the group shared a look before they turned and sprinted off into the camp.

And that left Ron.

“Well, that was a surprise.” Ron raised an eyebrow as I stepped towards him. “I guess you forced your way through, too? Do you really think that makes you strong, Supporter?”

“What do you mean, forced?” I cocked my head to one side. Either Ron was trying to bluff, or he was seriously stupid.

“Never mind, I doubt you’d admit to it. You're a coward, unlike me.” Ron grit his teeth and pointed his axe at my face. “I’ll show you the difference in our skill. You won’t get lucky this time!”

A crowd had gathered, attracted by the sounds of battle. The guards at the mansion had stepped towards us, but they remained close enough to their posts that no one would be able to sneak past. No one made a move to interrupt our duel as they watched Ron work himself up. Several murmuring conversations broke out around us, one of which was loud enough for my ears to catch it.

“That guy, he really gave up on progressing? Who would want to force their advancement? He gained a boost now, but he’ll never go any further.”

“I think he took the loss before to heart. He’s a Warrior, and he lost to a Supporter. Never mind forcing an advancement, I’m surprised he didn’t jump off a cliff.”

“I guess you’re right, but it’s such a waste. He wasn’t too bad, he just made a mistake…”

Ron ignored the crowd as he glared at me. Everything that had happened to him was my fault, as far as I could make out.

“Enrage! Furious blows!”

His muscles bulged as a red tint overtook his eyes. A sense of pressure burst out from him as he strode towards me like a demon. Even with all of my advances, I still felt a foreboding sense from the man in front of me.

I need to be careful. If this goes wrong, I’ll use my Rage abilities. I should be defensive to start-

Ron blurred slightly as he bounded towards me. His axe, which had been a slow weapon previously, buried itself into the ground where I had stood a moment ago. My increased speed had barely countered his blow, but his attack wasn’t finished yet.

A wave of air caught me before I hit the ground. My armour absorbed some of the impact, but it still blasted me several metres away. Ron grunted and pulled his axe out before he sprinted at me again.

Damn it, no time to buff now. What the hell happened to this freak?

As Ron launched another attack, I dodged again. This time, rather than moving away, I jumped to the side. Each of Ron’s attacks were followed up by a vicious blade of air. His second ability, which would be the one he gained from his advancement, was the scariest of the pair.

He had turned from a pure melee fighter, into a ranged hybrid.

I thrust my staff towards his chest. If my blow hit, that would force him back and create some space…

“Buffed strike!”

“RRRAAAGGHH!”

My strike landed squarely in the centre of his chest, but it didn’t seem to affect him. Ron’s muscles bunched up to retrieve the blow as he swung his axe towards my side.

Before he could cut me in half, I twisted my staff and caught his axe shaft. I couldn’t stop the blow entirely, but I could use it as a prop to launch myself away. As I landed on the ground, I ducked down.

Not a moment too soon.

The air blade from Ron’s blow swept past me and into the crowd behind me. A serious of screams rose up as they realised what was about to happen, but they were cut short as a heavy crunch rang out across the area.

Oh god, what the hell did he do?

I turned to face the crowd, fully expecting a scene of devastation.

“I’ve got your back, Cub. Take him down!” Leah grinned at me from behind her shield. Ron’s blow had carved a chunk from it, but she had managed to block the majority of his blow. I gave her a nod and turned back to Ron, who stared at me unblinkingly.

Maybe the fact he almost killed some of the crowd stopped him, but I doubt that will last too long.

“You’ve gone too far.” I pushed myself up and pointed my staff at him. “This ends, now.”