“That was the coolest fight I’ve ever seen,” said Fresia as she jumped off her camel.

Although we were starting to get close, I had to leave soon enough so I didn’t care for idle conversation. “Sure. Now go and make sure nothing else is lying in wait.” She wouldn’t have much value to me after I got to the third grade. No beasts could threaten me here, nor was she strong enough to carry her weight in combat. Plus, she probably wouldn’t want to speak to me in a couple of weeks.

“Yes Sir,” she said before heading into the small oasis.

Soon after she returned and gave the location a thumbs up. We set up camp, filled our water skins, and let the camel’s drink.

That night we spent it amongst the trees and shrubs which populated the oasis. For the next week and a half, we travelled through the desert in vain pursuit of a mythical land. In that time, we stopped at two other oases without finding another beast. I started to get worried that I wouldn’t be able to get to the third grade before we either encountered the ocean or an actual human settlement.

Thankfully, on the third week of travel we found the largest oasis yet. The greenery expanded in all directions for more than a kilometre. Trees which climbed five metres into the sky were doted amongst shrubs and bushes.

“We’ll need more than one person to go and inspect the land,” said Urizzo.

While he talked, I used my heat vision to try and identify any signs of life, however, the heat radiating out of the sand obscured my vision.

“Fresia, go with the guard leader’s scout,” I said, and she nodded but didn’t speak, which was rather unusual. “What is it? Do you sense anything?”

“I’m not sure,” she said. “I don’t sense anything overwhelming; however, there is a weak but stagnant aura in the oasis.”

I turned to the guard leader’s scout which was currently talking to him. “Do you sense anything?” I asked once again.

She nodded and spoke, “There seems to be a great number of beasts there. If I were to guess, this is the home of the grizzos.”

This news made me smile. “How many do you think live there?”

“I can’t be certain, but there should be at least forty if not more.”

Even for people without the hero’s blessing this spot was an experience point heaven. I would need to take out these pests with the fewest number of people to maximize my gain. Although I only needed to kill eight to gain a grade, if I could reach grade 3.5, I would get an extra job point which would help me deal with the guard leader.

But then the realization dawned on me. There were only five combatants in this caravan and the only ones moderately capable of defending anyone were Urizzo, his scout, and me. Seeing that these beetles ran away last time something special might happen if the capable people fought together, far away from the others. This was an opportunity I couldn’t waste.

“Urizzo let’s deal with them, bring your archer along.”

Urizzo smiled and took out his two-handed blade. Although he was stiff and valued safety, he was still an old warrior who wished to fight while he still had the energy to do so. Thankfully, he had completely forgotten about the safety of his young master. No, these people had long become my subordinates, and I would take advantage of it.

#

The three of us stood at the entrance to the oasis. The low buzz of dung beetle wings echoed alongside their murmurs. However, this time they didn’t act belligerently.

“I sense twenty of them ready to attack us,” said the scout in a low voice. She had her black hair tied in a bun. Her brown skin was dotted with black scars and deep folds. A result of the desert's scorching heat and sandstorms. She had probably been fighting alongside the Urizzo since her youth. “There are around twenty-eight to thirty-five grizzos hiding further back.”

I nodded, in all honesty there was no way to approach this fight. It would simply become a free-for-all with these numbers. I wouldn’t be surprised if the grizzo’s end up killing themselves in the scuffle.

“Can you fire an arrow at one of them? They don’t have any armour on their face,” I said.

“That’s easier done than said.” She nocked an arrow aligned her sight with a something in the distance and released it. Soon after the sound of hard keratin shell breaking branches resounded in the forest. An indescribable silence washed over the surrounding and a full minute later a swarm of grizzos flew out of the oasis, black scythes exposed.

Before the bugs could reach us, the scout managed to take care of four grizzos. She probably had a low-grade cap. Probably around grade two to three, however, even with this crutch one could still increase his weapons proficiency. When the grizzos reached us, those who faced me fell to the ground paralyzed, and those who faced the guard leader left with a broken face and carapace.

That’s when I saw Urizzo’s face contort slightly. “You were a mage?”

Although I had used my magic previously, it wasn’t flashy so it could easily be covered up by a quick kill after the paralysis. Now, when right next to me there was no way, he couldn’t notice it.

I confirmed his suspicion with a nod. It didn’t matter if he knew my secret for a few minutes. Anyhow, he was too busy to worry about it right now as he continued to parry the grizzos strikes.

I swung my sword without worrying about my mana. As soon as a grizzo met my blade and fell to the ground, I stabbed it in its head. Soon the swarm calmed down. They had already lost eleven members and we had lost eight arrows, some energy, and fifty mana points.

“Fifteen more are coming,” warned the scout. She then hesitated for a few seconds. “And the last seventeen are heading for the young master.”

The guard leaders’ eyes flashed for a second while his body instinctively shifted to face his rear; however, I spoke up before he began to run back. “As long as every warrior kills four of them, they’ll be fine.”

Urizzo went silent for half a second, probably in an internal struggle. “But they’re of the same rank as the grizzos. There’s no way they can kill four each. Why did we listen to you?” He blocked another grizzo’s large scythe. However instead of standing his ground he started to fall back, undoubtedly shaken. This encouraged another grizzo to strike at his leg.

It seems that the charisma’s effect wore off pretty quickly when the other party realized he had been played. Although, the fact that I hadn’t been slashed to bits by him was a testament to the power charisma held over others.

“If you run back the grizzos will have your head!” I screamed to get his attention. I didn’t care about his opinion of me right now. I needed him to draw the grizzos attention and make my life easier.

“Argh!” He screamed while he delivered an abnormally strong blow to the grizzo which slashed his leg, thankfully protected by leather pants. “If anything happens to him, I swear to Selinna I’ll have yours in return. Fuck if you had used your mage skills, the others wouldn’t have died.”

Before I could speak up another grizzo attacked me. Thankfully, they weren’t too difficult to deal with it since the grizzos had concentrated their forces on the Urizzo who crushed one insect after another. At this his rage boiled over. The grizzos intensified their attack. They were defending their home and wouldn’t let up. Not for us or the ones atop the sand dune from which one could hear the clashing of swords and scythes.

Urizzo turned to run towards the young master. Of course, the grizzos took the opportunity to slash at his back. The guard leader disregarded it at first since his leather armour provided a decent amount of protection. However, when their scythes started to cut through the leather, and he realized escape was impossible he turned around and started to fight them head on once again. The scout did her best to stave away any grizzo which tried to take his back; however, his blood had already started to taint the sand red. Each swing, each blow, each slash was filled with rage. He lost all sense of pain and started to cut the grizzos without difficulty. Unfortunately, this newfound strength also gave him tunnel vision. The grizzos took advantage of this and attacked his now unprotected back with more ferocity as all parties had gone mad.

While I swatted down dung beetles with my numbing spell. The guard leader incurred more and more wounds. Finally, after the great effort of the guard leader the grizzos were all eliminated, and he fell to his knees in exhaustion. On the other hand, the scout had gone through all her arrows, trying her best rid Urizzo of the grizzos which clung to his back. When she realized that there weren’t any sounds being produced atop the sand dune she frantically ran back.

She seemed to have forgotten I existed, so I opened my status screen. I could let the guard leader bleed a bit more before confronting him.

Level 7 --> Level 10

Grade 2.5 --> Grade 3

Gained 1 job point

Level 1 --> Level 2

Exp (900/1100)

Intelligence

Resistance

Endurance

Strength

Agility

Perception

Charisma

Mana

34 (+2)

32 (+5)

47 (+5)

36 (+6)

44 (+5)

41 (+5)

52 (+6)

231 (+61)

Lightning mage:

Lightning element (you can now create lightning)

With the increased skill points gained after increasing my grade and levelling up four times, I can now leave this decimated group of men. Each type-M/22 world’s system was different after all so I always liked to take is slowly at first. Trying to scam a noble when you didn’t know what kind of items or skills existed in a world was always an unwise thing to do. However, a village caravan was a good warm up. I had gotten lucky this time.

I walked up to the guard leader covered in wounds. He was on all fours. His back had the most atrocious wounds. One of them went from the shoulder blade all the way down his back. His blood had even saturated the sand under him, creating a tiny blood puddle. However, the fact he remained conscious was a testament to his strength. His true strength, not the one set upon him by the system, but the strength of ones will and determination. If not for those arbitrary limits, he would undoubtedly be a great soldier fighting back the sea people. Unlike worlds like earth, where one’s limit was set by oneself and other humans. In this world, if you were born with a maximum grade of five, you would be an average man for the rest of your life. And if you were born with a maximum grade of four, you would be a village caravan guard for the rest of your days.

“You’re a mage.” He said while he huffed and puffed air and blood.

I didn’t respond.

“What do you want with us? Why did you lead us here? Who does it benefit? You’re not a sea person, nor are you a follower of the goddess of fertility. Is your chiefdom trying to invade us through the desert? But then why just send you?”

He was asking a lot of questions, to which he would get no answers. I applied the last bit of my mana on my foot and stepped on his back. Although he was bleeding out, the last wind of any warrior couldn’t be underestimated. Especially in a world of skills and magic. The man collapsed to the ground, blood streaming out of his mouth. Yet, he was still conscious.

I raised my sword above his neck. “I’m sorry, I’ve lied. The country isn’t beyond the sand, but beyond the stars.” My sword came down on his neck. I looked up to the top of the sand dunes and heard a scream. Since I couldn’t see the scout, nor should she be able to see what I had done to her boyfriend, so I guessed that they had lost.

I walked up the sand dune and there I saw dung beetles rolling corpses in sand cocoons.

They sprayed a yellowish mucous on a corpse, let it sit for a few seconds, then they used the back of their scythes to push the corpse forwards. Letting the sand cling to their future meal.

There were four grizzos left. They didn’t pay any heed to the women crying on her knees next to her young master’s corpse. I decided to let her have her time. As soon as I killed one of the grizzos I turned to the other three. However, they seemed so invested in their task at hand and didn’t seem to care about anything else. They were truly a botched species. It was no doubt that they only existed in distant oases away from any potential predator.

I sat down next to the scout. “I’m sorry.” I said, and I truly was, however, trillions of humans came before the few millions who resided in this backwater.

I got back up after comforting her and raised my sword to the stars. The guard leader’s blood dripped down the shaft of the blade, onto my, if I may say so myself, massive forearms, and finally onto her neck. Yet she didn’t move. She had given up on life, no differently than Yoruze who had been rolled up into a sand meatball. With a swift motion of my arm, my sword cut through air and flesh.

Level 2 --> Level 3

Exp (550/1200)

Intelligence

Resistance

Endurance

Strength

Agility

Perception

Charisma

Mana

34

33 (+1)

49 (+2)

37 (+1)

44

41

53 (+1)

233 (+2)