The aftermath of the battle was quick.
The fires had burned out hours after Marcus' death, leaving behind a scorched wasteland of ash and bone. The barns were nothing but blackened skeletons of wood, and the wheat fields were trampled flat and stained red.
The air reeked of iron, smoke, and something fouler that clung to the tongue—scorched flesh and death.
They’d won, though no one looked like victors.
The garrison had six soldiers dead, but all of the deserters had either fallen to flames or sword. Even the ones that managed to run were caught and executed.
The army mandated that every deserter be killed on sight for a long time, and they did just that.
Fortunately, they were able to find more survivors. There were three garrison members that had hidden behind the barn when the sniffer had arrived.
Kesh and John also returned on their own after an hour of hiding in the forests.
Both of them were relatively safe. However, Kesh had run into a tree while fleeing from the sniffer and had a dislocated shoulder. But nothing a potion couldn't solve.
With them safe, all of his party had made it out alive. That was maybe the biggest victory for Rayne.
If he returned to Axel with soldiers dead on a supply mission, whatever the circumstances, he doubted it would go well. Though he was sure he would be berated for being late with the supplies.
After all, that had been his quest. Not to kill deserters. The deserters had simply left him no choice.
Captain Baker seemed to understand it too. Or maybe he simply didn't want to trouble them more as he let his party head back to the garrison first, promising that he would be handling everything from here, and that they should rest the next day before leaving for the frontlines.
Rayne didn't argue.
The captain might have done a cowardly thing, but after seeing Marcus, he almost understood it. He and his party were also too tired to help in the cleanup.
Even reaching Bricksall was a chore.
Once they did, all of them headed to bed, and Rayne slept the whole night like a kid. He overslept and felt refreshed for the first time in weeks. He'd expected nightmares about Marcus, but none came.
Even the cuts and bruises he'd gotten in the battle were gone thanks to [Lesser Regeneration].
Though, he was hungry.
Fortunately, Jeff had already returned back to the garrison, and once Rayne showed his face, the now-bald man sent food to his room alongside briefing him on the cleanup.
Captain Baker had stayed behind, leading the cleanup with soldiers that had been able to survive the battle mostly unscathed. The rest were back in the garrison, resting and recuperating their injuries.
The garrison didn't have health potions for everyone, so they were left relying on herbs and bandages. But Jeff said it was no big deal since none of them were critical.
He also mentioned that they were able to recover a good amount of supply given to the deserters. Most of it was kept under a trapdoor, hence escaped the flames long enough for the soldiers to retrieve them.
It wasn't everything, but something was better than nothing.
They were also able to discover some army records Marcus had stolen.
Jeff left after Rayne finished his food, and the rest of the day went on his bed. Kesh and Nate did the same thing in the other room while everyone else left for the brothel, saying they needed to let off steam after the battle.
He briefly considered going to meet Mona, since he had to turn her down the other night, but Rayne was too drained for any romantic entanglement. Plus, he would be leaving the next morning, so he didn’t think it was worth it when he hardly knew her. Instead, he simply stayed in his room, resting or taking a walk around the garrison. There were not a lot of soldiers around, but all of them greeted him warmly and respectfully.
A welcome change Rayne quite enjoyed. But his mood never became cheerful. His mind kept moving back to Marcus and the mana sniffer, and a voice in his head kept telling him that he was too weak and he needed to go out and train.
Rayne agreed with it, but didn’t want to drain himself a day before they would leave for the frontlines.
He didn't touch his sword the whole day, but he was able to figure out another way to train his skills.
***
Rayne sat on his bed, alone in his room. A knife lay across his thigh, glinting faintly in the morning light, and he looked down at his bare arms.
He placed the knife’s edge against his forearm and drew a shallow line. Blood welled instantly, hot and slick, sliding down to his wrist.
Sharp pain followed, and he almost hissed, but it soon dulled. He watched the wound closely, counting the seconds as he breathed through the sting.
Suddenly, he felt hints of warmth moving through his body and onto the wound.
The bleeding slowed. The skin twitched faintly, knitting itself back together. Not completely—not fast—but enough that he could see the magic at work. The pain slowly faded, and he frowned.
“Seven seconds to partially heal such a small cut,” he muttered to himself. “I need to get faster.”
He waited another moment, hoping for a notification of the skill leveling up, but when nothing happened, he did it again.
This time, he chose the other arm.
The knife slid deeper, and he hissed through his teeth, watching as red filled the cut. Sweat ran down his neck, and he waited.
It took eight seconds this time. Each wound closed slower than the last, his skill having less mana to work with. He needed to get his Arcane stat higher, but if he kept up his training, the skill leveling up would surely help.
It was still at Level 1, and Rayne wanted it a notch higher, especially before facing the dungeons.
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It was literally training through pain and blood, but he didn't have the luxury to take it easy. More battles were going to come, and he wanted to be at his very best.
He wiped his hands on a rag, then flexed his fingers. The wounds were gone, replaced by faint pink skin. That would heal slowly over a day.
Although he hadn't gotten a level in [Lesser Regeneration], he had made gains in his status.
With just one thought, he pulled the status over.
***
Status (1/3)
Name – Rayne Frayser (Human)
Age – 21
Class – Soldier
Rank – Common Soldier (Forsaken), Valeria Kingdom
Level – 23
Health – 96%
Mana – 73%
Stamina – 100%
Stats
Strength – 47
Vitality – 18
Endurance – 45
Agility – 45
Arcane – 11
Status (2/3)
Titles
Bastard of the Fraysers
The Tortured Child
Soldier of Valeria
Survivor of the Trolls
Otherworlder
Skills
General Skills
Valerian Language Mastery (Basic) – Level 5
Lycarian Language Mastery (Basic) – Level 2
Foraging (Basic) – Level 2
Mathematics (Basic) – Level 2
Toughened Physique (Uncommon) – Level 3
Footwork (Basic) – Level 3
Unarmed Mastery (Basic) – Level 2
Pain Tolerance (Uncommon) – Level 3
Class Skills (2/10)
Sword Mastery (Basic) – Level 2
Formation Knowledge (Basic) – Level 1
Unique Skills (4/10)
Skill Stealer (???) – Max
Goblin Tongue (Uncommon) – Level 1
Umbral Sight (Uncommon) – Level 1
Lesser Regeneration (Rare) – Level 1
***
Since the troll war, he'd only had two instances of battles where he had killed: one was against the slasher apes, and the second was with the deserters. And since he’d killed quite a few of them, he managed to level up twice in one night.
His Strength, Endurance, and Agility stats were carrying his status, while he had stolen one point in Vitality two days back. Sadly, there had been no gains in Arcane after that session with Casper.
The skills were mostly the same too, other than [Toughened Physique], which had grown in level, probably because of all the blows he had taken from Marcus.
He wasn't quite at the bottleneck of Level 30, but he was getting close, and Rayne wondered if he would be stuck at it or be able to evolve his class. It was hard to say, but at least his stats and skills would not be stuck no matter what.
After scanning his status one more time, he closed it and picked up the knife again. A knock rang on the door just then.
“Rayne, you up?” Kesh’s voice sounded out.
“Yeah,” he replied. “Wait a second.”
He got up from the bed, pushing the bloodied rag under it, then walked up to the door and opened it.
Kesh stood there with a smile. “It’s time. Captain Baker returned early in the morning from the barn to see us off. I already loaded up everything in the cart.”
“You checked the supplies?”
“Yes.” Kesh nodded. “Everything is there. The captain didn’t even keep some stuff for himself.”
“I would have been disappointed if he did. You go ahead. I’ll be down in a minute.”
Once Kesh left through the stairs, Rayne moved back to take his supplies and check the room one last time. He didn’t want to leave anything behind.
He searched once, picked up his weapons and pack, then made his way down the stairs. Even from the second floor, he could hear a considerable buzz from the ground.
As he stepped down, every garrison member gathered there cheered his name, and some patted his shoulders. He smiled at them, moving outside through the open door where Captain Baker, Jeff, and his party stood.
The supply wagon was filled with crates and bags, and Jason and Welix were feeding the mule an apple. Nate gave him a wave from the front, drinking from a flask he knew was filled with a potion.
His injury had been too severe to heal in a day, and the garrison had given him enough potions to seal the wound shut, even if it might take a few days.
“Rayne, you’re finally here,” Captain Baker said, smiling at him. “Your men have already checked the wagon, but you can do another check. I made sure the frontlines won’t have any complaints. I also put in a whole report of what happened here, so you wouldn’t be troubled.”
Rayne stared at him. “But that would surely get you an inquiry.”
“That’s alright,” he muttered. “Since we killed the deserters, I don’t think the army would be too harsh. At worst, my pay will be cut, but I have enough savings.”
Jeff nodded from the back, touching his shiny head. “Yes, the crown might have strict rules for the army, but the army looks out for each other. We’ll be fine.”
Rayne nodded. This was for the best. He doubted anything big would happen since Marcus was clearly a high-priority target for the army. He might not be rewarded due to his rank, but the others surely would.
“What about what we discussed yesterday?” he asked, looking at both of them. “About the family?”
Jason glanced at them then, and Captain Baker straightened up. “We’ll make sure we get back the bodies and give them a proper funeral. The barn will be remade too, and if we can find any of their relatives, it will go to them. I wish we could do more.”
“I think we all want to do more,” Rayne said, then looked back at the sky. “I think we should be on the move now. I want to reach Algar as soon as possible, then make the way to the frontlines.”
Captain Baker smiled. “Yes, you should. The dungeons are waiting for you, and I believe I have something that might help you out when you delve into them. You can read, right?”
Rayne nodded and noticed that the old man was holding something beneath his cloak. He took it out and flipped it over for him to get a good look.
It was a book.
A thick one with the cover of a knight standing right in front of a gaping maw of a cave. There was no title written, and the book looked old, with a few pages sticking out.
“Don’t judge by the cover. It’s not a storybook. It’s a journal,” Baker said.
“A journal of whom?”
“A soldier. He apparently died a decade or two back, but noted his experiences with dungeons in this book. After his death, this book was passed down from one soldier to another, and I had it for a long time. I believe it will do you more good than me, since I’m not stepping into another dungeon in my life.”
Rayne took it from him, flipping it around. This would certainly help, even if it could only give him a general sense of what to expect in the dungeons. Till now, all the information he had came from Bran, who only told him to expect traps and monsters.
“Thank you,” he said.
Baker shrugged. “Don’t fret it. It’s a small thing. You’ve done far more for me and the city with your strategy.”
Rayne opened his mouth to say something, but a clap took his attention as he saw Jason and Kesh eyeing him, pointing at the wagon.
“We should be on our way,” Kesh said.
“Yes. Let’s move!” he replied, giving one last look at Baker and Jeff. “I’ll hold onto more favors from you, then.”
They only smiled as Rayne moved towards his party. Welix handled the mule and sat on the front of the wagon with John. He whipped it lightly for it to start moving slowly through the streets.
Rayne walked to the side of it, looking at the journal in his hands. At least he would have something to pass the time with till they reached the frontlines.
Once they joined the main camp, he would be diving into the first dungeon of his life.
***
