MM - Chapter 106 - AND THEY’RE OFF!

Talerra stopped before Raine, bending her knees and politely dipping her chin, “Sorry we’re late, Master Alaric.”

Raine wasn't even an official expert in the past, so being referred to as master was jarring. Still, there was no reason to correct her. According to the world's current standards, he qualified as a class five martial master. Thanks to the clever deception utilizing his high Connection, she was under the impression that he was closer to peak class five, which was well beyond the abilities he could display in reality. A peak class five could be considered no longer human; their physiques were beyond classic comprehension, bordering on the superhuman.

He didn’t even know the method to cross that cavernous divide, as it was a closely guarded secret of the powerful families that ruled the world. Raine didn’t feel an ounce of concern regarding this disadvantage. After all, in the past, many new martial families were born around this time, and they all shared one commonality, a patriarch who came to power after delving into ZionLine.

The secret to becoming a grandmaster was here somewhere. If he maintained his momentum as a forerunner, the rules governing Vaateaire would eventually thrust him into the fortuitous encounter he needed. All he had to do was survive it and learn. Then, no one would have the power to stand in his way.

Aghast at Talerra's subservience, their group's healer—PristineCanvas—inhaled sharply with a hand over her heart, “Young miss, who is this man for you to show him such face?”

“Master Alaric, please excuse Dame PristineCanvas's ignorance,” Talerra's words had the woman’s eyes bugging out of her skull, though she kept her mouth shut. “Even the patriarch afforded Master Alaric due courtesy, insisting we deepen our relationship. Any insults against him or his disciples will be taken as insults against myself. Is that understood?”

The bite in Talerra's tone was indeed understood. Her party clasped their shoulders, bowing in the style of the Phoenix Clan. Returning her attention to Raine, Talerra spoke in a too-sweet voice, “I hope my members are acceptable for your task. While their individual talents may be lacking in your eyes, their character is without equal.”

“I’ll take your word for it, and their signatures,” Raine sent them each a contract he’d prepared long ago. The pride they felt at her praise fell to despair as they read the non-disclosure stipulations, especially the repercussions for breaking them.

“A-all assets, physical and digital?! A permanent ban? There isn’t a fool alive who would sign such a vile thing,” PristineCanvas hissed. She was livid, though careful not to direct her aggression at Raine himself.

Talerra and FierceFire received a different version of the contract, which only forced them to pay remunerations of five hundred million credits, along with a similar ban. Credits aside, now that her grandfather had chosen to invest so much into ZionLine’s development, there was no way Talerra would take the contract lightly. She gave Raine a pleading look, “Isn’t this a bit much? Surely we can lessen the penalties?”

“Not a chance. The only concession I’ll consider is adding a clause about selling you specific pieces of the information you’ll gain on this raid. That only applies to you. The others either sign as is or get lost,” Raine crossed his arms, waiting.

FierceFire shot Raine a venomous glare, then pulled on her friend’s sleeve, dragging her to the side of the road. The rest of their party followed. They put their heads together, arguing vehemently. Celeste sidled up to him, a grin on her lips, “Why is watching them struggle like fish on the hook so satisfying?”

Guess she only partially learned her lesson after attacking the doctor.

“Because you’re a bitch,” Predictably, Raine’s retort had her bristling. He returned her glare with a smirk, “Before you say anything, you should check your messages.”

Celeste’s mouth opened to swear at him, but she thought better at the last second and did as suggested. A few seconds later, her jaw dropped. Her limbs trembled as she squeaked a response, “A peak class four in two weeks! Are you trying to get me killed?”

“Not at all. I’ve got both things you’ll need to easily succeed. If you’re extra nice, I might consider giving you one of them.”

There’s no way she’ll turn down the chance to grow that strong so quickly. How does it feel to be the fish on the hook? I hope she remembers this moment the next time she wants to antagonize someone I’m trying to ally with.

“Y-you-you… Argh!” Celeste turned away from him and screamed at the heavens. She stomped back to Mel’s side, breathing heavily through her nose.

Good girl. If we can curb that temper while maintaining her inner fire, she’ll become a priceless gem. Big if. I should dig into how a twenty-year-old from a wealthy background ended up with such a gargantuan chip on her shoulder. It might come around to bite me in the ass if I don’t.

[You’re damn right I’ll bite you on the ass!]

Celeste didn’t dare respond to his thoughts aloud. Mel saw her expression and put the pieces together well enough. She ducked in front of the younger girl, holding her shoulders at arm's length and hiding her huge grin from Raine. Meanwhile, Fizgore flashed him a double thumbs-up, not masking his enjoyment of the show.

Talerra’s group came back wearing resolute expressions. FierceFire stuck a finger in his face, “This is all about the credits, isn’t it? You’re trying to swindle us again, and I won’t stand for it!”

Raine rolled his eyes, “You’re right about the creds but entirely wrong about why. What you’re about to witness will reveal secrets on how to massively propel a guild’s prosperity. I’ve no intention of giving that information out for free.”

Something changed in Talerra’s tone, and Raine instantly recognized it as hunger. She leaned toward him, breaths ragged, “M-massively? If it’s coming from you, it can’t be simple… How much? I’ll pay in advance.”

Raine furrowed his brow, not understanding why she had gotten so excited. A few seconds passed as he adjusted her contract before sending her the new copy. She signed it almost without reading the changes, then turned to her party, “Sign, now!”

They reluctantly acquiesced, though FierceFire couldn’t help but mumble, “When you regret this later, don’t come crying to me.”

“Great, let’s go,” Raine led the way out of Silverlight. The sun was a sliver on the horizon, casting deep shadows across grain-filled fields. Tall wooden fences lined both sides of the road, lending to the appearance that they were entering a vast tunnel.

Raine picked up speed, sprinting down the road at a pace they couldn’t possibly match. His people smoothly burned Discipline to keep up. They couldn’t match his attributes, but they made a significantly better showing than the Phoenix players.

Utilizing Discipline to travel wasn’t widely understood yet. Even Talerra, who was proficient in the resource’s uses during combat, failed to flawlessly activate the traveling mode every time, and she was the best of the bunch. They quickly lagged behind, allowing Raine to reach his destination first.

Off to the side of the road, a lone windmill stuck out like a sore thumb. Beyond it, there were fences, marking the end of civilization, of safety. Raine stopped at the wooden gate that gave access to the structure, waving to a stealthily dressed, middle-aged man leaning against the sturdy stone exterior.

[Deep Scout: Level 55 (HP ????/????)]

The scout approached Raine with a wary nod, “You Donner?”

Raine shook his head, amused by the Vaaterran’s prudence, “Alaric. Did you already find the caves?”

Now that he was a noble, Raine had the requisite reputation to hire small mercenary companies, and that’s precisely what he’d done before leaving the administrative facilities. They cost a whopping two hundred and fifty gold, but without their help, it might take him weeks to find the Caves of Quindimire.

The scout shrugged, “Don’t know. I’m only s’pose to escort you ta Sularab. Capn’ al take ya from there.”

Raine was intimately familiar with the Town of Sularab. It rested on the far western reaches of the Alabast Lowlands—a zone nearly four thousand kilometers wide, “That far? I know the way. We’ll fly and meet you there.”

“Suit y’self,” the mercenary grunted, then took out a Return Stone and vanished.

Fizgore led the pack, reaching Raine first with a grin like he’d won a gold medal. He slid to a halt, then turned around and flexed his bicep at the rest of the group, “Patience, persistence, and perspiration have once more paved the path to success!”

Rhino arrived a second later, leaping forward to high-five Fizgore with a laugh. They stood shoulder to shoulder, arrogantly watching the others struggle for third place. Mel won it, whooping and jumping up to slap their outstretched palms.

Surprisingly, Celeste was nearly at the back of Richtor’s team, a furious snarl plastered to her face. While true that learning of her upcoming duel was a shock, it shouldn’t have been enough to cause her to fail at utilizing Discipline. Raine tapped fifteen percent of his Potency, slapping her butt when she zipped past him. The crack was heard loud and clear as she flew forward two meters from the force. [-15]

Mel gasped, consumed by envy as Celeste landed and spun around wearing an aghast expression. Raine spoke before she got the chance, “Are we really going back to day one training? Get your emotions in order, or I’ll beat your ass black and blue.”

Her teeth clicked shut, and her nostrils flared, but she didn’t refute his accurate take. Embarrassed heat colored her cheeks as she nursed her sore rump. Raine wasn’t done. He ran a steely gaze over the rest of his people, “None of you are correctly utilizing your attributes yet.”

He took a deep breath, voice dripping with threat, “You might feel that what I’m about to do to you is unkind, unfair, or mean. While true, it's nothing compared to what we’re heading toward. This will be your last chance to train before we arrive at the raid. I promise you, a death there will be a hundred times worse than anything I’m going to put you through. I want each of you to survive, and grow, not die uselessly.” They nodded unwillingly, each showing their own signs of intense nervousness.

To hammer his point home, Raine gently stomped his foot, releasing a blinding wave of dirt. They saw a meter-deep crater when it thinned, sweat sprouting on their foreheads, “Now, your training begins. Mel and Celeste are the only ones pretty enough to enjoy my palm; the rest of you, will get my boot.” Only Mel and Fizgore wore excited expressions, though for entirely different reasons.

Raine pretended not to notice Mel licking her lips, “Our destination is the top of that mountain.” He pointed northwest to where the dark shadow of a lone mountain jutted from the landscape, “We’ll be flying from its peak. There’s a tower at the top that you’ll all have to climb. It will take near-perfect mastery of your attributes to pull it off. Anyone who doesn’t make the cut won’t be participating in the raid and will be stuck farming low-level drops for the next two months.”

“Two months?!” TwistedReligion shouted. “But I have debt payments to make. If I don’t start finding good drops to sell in the next week, I’ll be forced to sell my-something precious!”

Milkdud tried to hold in a laugh, but it came out anyway, “Your virginity isn’t that important, pipsqueak.”

TwistedReligion held his backside with both hands, shaking his head vigorously, “Just because you’re loose enough to park a tractor doesn’t mean you have the right to belittle the sanctity of my body!”

Raine facepalmed while the rest of the group roared with laughter at Milkdud’s slack-jawed, crimson expression, “That’s not what I meant, and you know it!”

“Enough messing around,” Raine called off their fun with a wave of his hand like he was dismissing a foul odor, “Twisted, if you don’t want to farm garbage, then follow Mel’s lead in practicing acrobatics while you run. Remember what I said. This is your last chance. Train your attributes and Discipline usage like I taught you and you’ll be fine. I’ll be with the Phoenix people. If I even catch sight of your dustrails, you’ll regret it.”

Feeling the sincerity in his threat and seeing the group led by Talerra approaching fast, the group took off. Raine called after them, “By the way, there are level eighteen beasts out here at night. Don’t you dare think about dying!”

He only warned them due to concern for Richtor’s crew. They were a solid team. After his warning, they would stick together and be fine. Raine fingered his newest item, eyes alight with the desire to finally put it through its paces.

[Heart of Plutus: (Accessory - Ring) (Heavenly Amethyst - Damaged) (All attributes +15%) Contains the last remnants of the fallen celestial Plutus. Through it, fractions of his power may be brought to bear. Only one fraction may be active at a time (Cooldown: 10 minutes)]

Since he was still far from his past self, Raine had quickly acclimated to the huge fifteen percent boost to all his attributes. 

Practically glowing with excitement, he activated the second ring's function, and a rush that put a sugar high to shame swept through his blood. Raine’s Finesse and Acuity leaped to over one hundred and sixty each. The wind shifting the tall grains slowed dramatically, and the individual footfalls of both groups grew more distinct. His body was light as a feather, zinging with energy that yearned to be released.

[Fraction of Grace: (FNS +20%) (ACU +20%) Upon command embody the Grace of Nirvana increasing Move Speed by 400% and Attack Speed by 150% for 15 seconds (Cost: 200 Discipline) (Cooldown: 5 minutes)]

Raine waited what felt like hours for Talerra to arrive. They stopped before him, huffing and sweating. Raine shook his head, slowing his speech slightly so he wouldn’t sound like a singing chipmunk, “How did any of you make it all the way to Silverlight wasting Discipline like that? Stop forcing it into your muscles and push it through your feet, into the road. Sixty-second break, then use these.” Raine passed out a few of the cheap scrolls he’d stockpiled.

[Scroll of Travels: (Common Grey) Boosts unmounted traveling speed on roadways by 300% for 2 hours]

Talerra’s eyes widened, “How did you get so many? They’re almost fifty gold on the auction house and sell out instantly.”

“That much?”

Did selling so many cause people to rely on them instead of learning how to travel normally? Or am I underestimating how long it took for common Discipline use to be understood?

Raine shrugged off the unimportant mystery, “Just use them. We’ve got a long way to go. I won’t let you take a week to get there.” They scowled at his condescension, but Raine wasn’t done. Since he’d brandished the stick, it was time to pull out the carrot, “Fifty gold to each of you for every one of my teammates we pass. They didn’t get the scrolls, so if you learn how to connect your Discipline with the road, we’ll catch up in no time.”

“R-really?! Fifty? You’re serious?” One of the twin brothers exclaimed. He stood straight and bounced on his heels, raring to go.

Raine adopted a predatory grin, his toes twitching in anticipation of catching up to and delivering the promised boot to the slowest person, “Oh yes. Quite serious indeed.”