The Infinite Bk. 01 Ch. 06

Cooperation

It took a full day to ride back to the village, repeating the original journey he had made when he first arrived in this timeline, but now doing it alone. Like the day before, he arrived as the sun approached the horizon. Fatigue gripped him, so he went straight to the inn. He took his seat at his usual table and the innkeeper brought two trays of food. "I was worried when you didn't show up for dinner last night or breakfast this morning. Where's Tin?" she asked.

"She died."

The woman set down both trays. "I'm... I'm so sorry."

"She was just a slave," he replied. He then pulled one of the trays over and ate his meal in silence.

Having lived out of the inn for the past month, everyone who came for drinks was used to the sight of Noah and Tin eating together. A few people, noticing her absence, inquired just as the innkeeper had, and Noah told them the same thing he told her. His emotionless response angered Holly, one of the chambermaids, and she grabbed Noah by the collar and lifted him to his feet.

"She was a nice girl! Everyone here knows how devoted she was to you! Don't you dare say something like that about her!"

Noah stared her in the eyes. "Does any of that even matter?"

Perhaps it was the way he said it, or the coldness of his eyes, but she dropped Noah back to his seat and stormed off in disgust. After that, no one approached Noah. When he was done with his meal, he made his way up to his room. This time, when he opened the door, there was no greeting. The candle was unlit and there was no fire in the fireplace. It was just a dark room.

Noah shut the door behind him and went straight to bed. Having gone two days without sleep, he was exhausted, and a deep, dreamless slumber enveloped him.

--------

"How much longer are we going to wait?" The impatient voice came from a young man with a halberd on one shoulder and an obvious chip on the other. He was sitting on the front porch of the Fault mansion, along with Oath and the two other members of their team, Beth and Mira.

"He said he would be back today, but I know he also has business to attend to," Oath replied.

"Do you have any idea where he rode off to?" Beth asked.

"No clue."

"I don't care how tough you say he is," the man with the halberd said, "if he rode out into those woods at night, he's dead for sure."

"Shut up, Trevor. When Beth and I met him, we knew that he was the real deal."

"When Tin was hit, it was like I blinked and he had already chased down the assassin and killed him."

"I still call nonsense on him taking out three men in that field."

"I looted their corpses myself."

"Oh, there he is!"

On the road leading to the mansion, a galloping horse with its rider could be seen. Noah approached them and climbed off his horse. "Sorry I'm late."

"That's the nice ring. You look more like a noble than I do," said Oath.

It was the knight ring, all done after the town jeweler had worked on it. The avenium runes had been covered up and the enhancement jewel was set on top of the crest. It was certainly gaudy, but sometimes gaudiness had its own charm.

"Thanks. Beth, Mira, you're doing well, I see. When did you form this party?"

"Right after we met you in the woods. We looked around for anyone willing to team up with us and found Oath and Trevor," said Mira. "And I'm sorry about Tin."

"Me too," Beth added.

Noah simply nodded. "So the baron has asked me to lead this team to conquer the dungeon crab. Before we do that, I need to—"

"You aren't leading anything," said Trevor. "You're not the boss of us, just the babysitter for the baron's son."

Noah took a deep breath and rubbed his temples. "Ugh, one of you people. This is the last thing I need.

Listen, here's what's supposed to happen: you and I spend the next week playing the game where I act as the stern yet understanding authority figure, and you keep throwing temper tantrums due to some unspoken deep-seated issue. By the time we arrive at the dungeon crab, you'll hate me more than ever, and almost get us killed, probably with me having to save your life. However, your screwup will help you realize you're full of nothing but bravado and horse shit, and you'll finally decide to listen to me, allowing me to break your hard outer shell to help you solve your behavioral problems, which I'm guessing is about your father or getting molested or something along similar lines. We'll capture the dungeon crab and form a long-lasting friendship of respect and trust.

Now, that is what is supposed to happen, and as much as I would love to go on that emotional journey with you, I have literally a million better things to do with my time. So, let's nip this in the bud right now. You and me, one on one, until one of us can no longer stand. The loser has to listen and obey the winner until the dungeon crab is captured, including an order to leave the party."

Most of what he said went over everyone's heads, but bless Trevor's heart, he was smart enough to realize he had just been insulted. "You son of a bitch!" he barked as he got to his feet and pointed his halberd at Noah.

"That's the spirit. Give it your best shot, because if you don't take me down, you're going to end up swallowing a lot of blood."

Trevor took a stance, leaning back and gripping his halberd with both hands, and enveloping the blade with mana. It was just like the spell the goblin chief had used on his sword to increase the strength of his slashes, meaning that getting hit with that halberd would surely be deadly.

"Trevor, stop this! This is insanity!" Mira implored.

"No, don't get in his way," said Noah as he removed his ring. "The most important lessons hurt the most."

Trevor lunged with a decent form and thrust his halberd towards Noah. It wasn't just the destructive power of his halberd, his speed had more than doubled. "Mountain-Splitter!"

It was by a thin margin, but Noah stepped to the side and the blade missed. He grabbed the shaft of the halberd and delivered a bone-crushing punch to Trevor's nose, causing him to let go and stagger back.

"That was a good thrust. I imagine you've spent plenty of time practicing it."

Trevor's face was pouring blood, but he remained standing and glared at Noah with limitless hatred. "Give it back!"

"Fine, but I think it's been established that you can't hit me with it."

Noah tossed the halberd back and Trevor caught it. He wasted no time in charging the blade with mana, producing an impressive aura. This time, instead of a thrust, he made a wide swing. "Erasing Cleave!"

Once more, Noah simply backed out of his range, escaping with zero damage. Then, when the coast was clear, he closed in and delivered and uppercut to Trevor's jaw, busting his teeth and making him an even bloodier mess. This time, Trevor couldn't stay on his feet and fell back, trying and failing to contain his cry of anguish. Looking around, Noah could see the baron's servants watching from the fields and through the windows.

"Noah, that's enough! You two need to stop this!" Beth exclaimed.

"He's the one who decides when we stop. Feel free to give him a health potion, though."

"I don't need a fucking health potion!" Trevor shouted.

He scrambled to his feet and went at it again. He abandoned the idea of using magic and attacked Noah with a barrage of rapid-fire stabs. Noah deflected each attack with his shield, and when Trevor tried to get in close for another swing, he once again grabbed the halberd and stopped Trevor from moving. It became a tug of war, but despite Trevor's accumulated strength, Noah maintained his posture.

"You know what I'm going to do now, right?" Trevor tried to figure out how Noah would throw another punch, but instead, he let go of the halberd and sent Trevor falling onto his ass. "Your skills with that thing aren't that bad, at least, if you just stick to hunting monsters, but you'll never hit me with it. Try showing me how good you are with your fists." Noah placed his hand on his longsword and slowly drew it halfway. "Unless you'd prefer to stick to armed combat, in which case I'll gladly humor you."

Trevor abandoned his halberd and charged, sending a straight right punch towards Noah. Noah caught his fist and then struck his elbow, snapping his arm like his bones were made of glass. Before Trevor could even scream, Noah silenced him with another punch to the nose, once more knocking him to the ground. It didn't seem like he was going to get up, so Noah took out a health potion and poured it on his face. The spray woke him up and healed his nose and mouth, though his arm would have to be reset before a potion could mend it.

"So, do you want to keep going? I can go all day if you want. I mean it, I've got nothing but time. And we can go whenever you want, this isn't your only chance.

Now I suppose there are a number of ways we can go about this. We can do the whole emotional journey thing, but the fact that I've explained it kind of takes away the magic. You can just leave the party, I'll give you that option. There's the option of waiting until I have my back turned and then getting your revenge, which, again, you are free to do so at any time, but at your own risk. Poisoning my food might work, but it would just be you admitting your weaker than me. I suppose your best option would be to shut your fucking mouth, accept that I'm stronger than you and smarter than you, and pay attention to what I will teach you, as it will improve your skills and your chances of survival.

From there, we can go to the dungeon crab, and you'll easily overcome challenges that would have killed you at your current level of strength. With a good amount of effort and coordination, and no shortage of luck, we'll conquer the dungeon crab and become rich beyond our wildest dreams. There is always the option of betraying us down there and running off with all the loot, but boy, oh boy, you'd better make sure I'm dead, because you don't want me coming after you, you really don't.

So, what do you say?"

Everyone was silent, waiting to hear Trevor's response. He was glaring at Noah and taking deep, angry breathes through his nose. "You say you can make me stronger?"

"I guarantee it."

"We conquer the dungeon crab and we're done, right? I never have to see you again?"

"You can retire to some fancy beach house, you'll be so rich. I'll never bother you again."

"Fine."

"I'll let the three of you fix his arm. I need to speak with the baron inside."

Noah stepped onto the porch and entered the house, walking right by the spot where Tin had died. "Is the baron in?" he asked, addressing one of the maids.

"In his private study, sir. He's waiting for you."

Just as Oath had done the day before, the maid knocked on the double doors and announced Noah's arrival, with the baron granting entry. The old man was behind his desk. "That was quite the spirited match outside. Your skills are the real deal."

"The real skill is producing results from it."

The baron walked over to his whiskey set and poured himself a drink. "I'm glad you returned. I'm sorry for the loss of your companion."

"Don't worry about it. I already killed your brother and his son."

The glass fell from the baron's hand and shattered. "What?!" he exclaimed.

There was an immediate knock on the door. "My Lord, is everything fine?" a butler asked.

Noah's gaze never left the baron, without any sense of fear or anticipation of what might come next. He simply waited for a reaction. The baron gripped the corner of the desk but managed to control himself.

"Everything is fine. We are not to be disturbed." When he sensed the butler had left, he turned his attention back to Noah. "You wouldn't even give me the chance to talk you out of vengeance?"

"It was nothing of the sort."

--------

It was midmorning, and Noah had just claimed his ring from the jeweler, the last of his morning errands, and with information given by those around town, he now stood before the home of the local baronet. It was in the outskirts of the town, one of the farms, and neither the fields nor the house were on par with the baron. Despite the rank of noble, baronets were simply commoners with the prefix 'Sir' or 'Madam'.

He found the baronet repairing a cattle fence behind the house. He was identical to the baron, but without the beard and sporting fewer wrinkles. Noah was invisible so the man didn't even notice him approach, but was calm when Noah pressed the blade of his knife to his throat and told him to drop the hammer he was using.

"Sir Edwin Fault, I presume?"

"Who's asking?"

"Did you hire four men to kill the Oath Fault?"

"Now why would I try to kill my beloved nephew?"

"To get your son the rank of baron. But if you aren't going to answer my questions, I suppose I can always ask him, or maybe your wife."

"You must be the bastard who saved him from that goblin den. I had to pay that adventurer a good deal of money to kill him. To think he'd be such a chickenshit and leave the job to goblins."

"Did your son know about the hit you put on his cousin?"

"He would have killed that talentless brat himself if I hadn't talked him out of it. He didn't do anything. You have a bone to pick, put that knife away and let's solve this like men."

Noah's answer came in the form of a fluid flick of his wrist, severing Edwin's jugular and sending him tumbling to the ground, trying pointlessly to stop the bleeding. Noah stood by to confirm the death and then made his way towards the fields, where the baronet's son was working.

--------

"There was a time when I took great joy in making people suffer, and I've been working to change myself since then. I don't allow myself to kill for pleasure or vengeance, and certainly I didn't kill them for what they did, but what they would continue to do. Associating with you and your son has already cost me the life of a loyal subordinate, and I'd rather not give anyone the chance to get in my way.

If I were to allow them to live, they would continue to try and kill you and Oath, and I'd have to clean up the mess, just like I've been doing since I found your son in that goblin den. The last thing I'd want is to capture the dungeon and then get ambushed by your brother's henchmen when we're too tired to fight back. I assume you had forgiven your brother because he is your family, despite his attempts to kill Oath, but you're hiring me to keep Oath alive, and if I'm going to do that, it will be done my way.

If you have any objections, state them now."

Ivan didn't respond. He simply slumped in his seat and exhaled deeply. Deep down, he knew that his brother had to be dealt with in one form or another, in order for his son to inherit the rank of baron. However, even if it had been slim before, there was always a chance of reconciliation. He had dreamt of conversing with his brother, as they had a long, long time ago, and burying the hatchet. Now that possibility was gone forever. Noah claimed he hadn't acted out of vengeance against his brother, but Ivan couldn't help but feel he was the one being punished.

"I thought as much. Despite your brother and nephew dying, I'm aware that your son still had little prospect of inheriting your title, so the dungeon capture will proceed as planned. We didn't have the chance to talk about payment for this job, but don't worry, I'm not interested in money or land. There is something else I want."

--------

It took more than one healing potion to repair Trevor's arm, and that could only be done when the bones were reset. He was all patched up by the time Noah made his return.

"I promised the baron we'd set out in a week for the dungeon. That was two days ago. For the next five days, I'm going to evaluate each of your skills and see where improvements have been made. First, we're going to hunt some monsters. I want to know your combat skills and see how well you work as a team. You all have your weapons, so we're going to depart now and travel light. Any objections?"

No one said anything, not after watching how he thrashed Trevor. But their silence was not out of fear, rather an awareness that Noah knew what he was talking about. He was the oldest of the group by only a year, but they all sensed he had much more experience than they did.

"Good, then let's depart. Oath, you know the area. Please lead the way."

"I actually know the location of a magic spawning circle. Let's head there."

They gathered some supplies and set off into the wilderness, leading a pack horse to carry back their harvested monster parts. From the moment they were enveloped by the darkness of the trees, they were vulnerable. The territory of the monsters was well-established, due much in part to the summoning circles that they spawned from. They only intruded into human territory when there was a shortage of food or their numbers had grown too great, issues that were both solved by the constant flow of adventurers working to curb their population.

As they walked, Noah spoke to everyone.

"Mira, we talked once before about this. Have you developed any skills for close-quarter combat?"

"I've been training with my staff since then. Oath and I spar a lot when we're not hunting."

"What about magic?"

"I haven't been able to develop anything for fighting enemies up close."

"We'll work on that. Oath, Beth, can either of you use magic?"

"I can't," said Oath.

"I can create water, but not in any kind of attack. I use it to fill up my water skin."

"Good, we'll definitely need that in the dungeon. You're still using your bow as your main weapon, right?"

"Yeah, and I got poison for my arrows just like you..."

She trailed off, remembering what Oath had told her. Tin had been shot and killed with a poison arrow. Noah paid no attention to the drop of her speech.

"What about close-range? Any weapons?"

"I use a knife."

"Good. Trevor, you can activate magic when you thrust and swing your halberd. Anything else?"

"Nope, the halberd is all I can use."

Noah had picked up some scraps of info on the different branches of magic in this world, and Trevor appeared to be in the warrior class, just like the goblin chief. Warriors could only activate their skills with specific weapons, which depended on the individual. He wasn't exaggerating when he said the halberd was all he could use. He couldn't activate his magic with any other weapon.

"We're here," said Oath. He then stopped in his tracks. "On second thought, I think we should turn back."

Noah looked ahead. On the forest floor, he could see a large magic circle, consisting of runes and assorted shapes. Standing in the circle was a bear the size of a minivan. However, its body was faint, translucent, like it was just a hologram, but with each passing moment, its color deepened.

'Is it teleporting? No, it's solidifying. The circle is converting mana into physical matter and assembling it. So, that's what it means for a creature to be summoned.' "I've never seen a bear like that out here."

"It's a sledgepaw, a rare breed. It is to regular bears what that hobgoblin was to regular goblins. We should get out of here before it attacks. This is a little bit out of our league."

"No, it's perfect. We'll wait for it to finish spawning and then take it on. For all we know, the dungeon could have far worse monsters."

"All right, then let's take formation," said Oath.

"Wait for it to attack us. Taking your time in setting up a firing squad while it spawns won't give much experience or information."

It took only a minute for the bear to fully materialize, immediately spotting Noah and the group and labeling them as enemies without any kind of hesitation or confusion. It released a roar of fury and charged, signaling the start of the battle. Noah kept his distance while the group spread out, surrounding the bear. Beth nocked a poison arrow in her bow and shot the bear in the neck. It turned to her and snarled, about to lash out with its claws, but Oath attacked from the side and slashed at its shoulder with his sword. The beast's hide was tough, and Noah couldn't tell if the attack had actually done any damage. Enraged, the bear knocked Oath aside. Like Noah, he was wearing leather armor, and while it stopped the bear's claws from reaching his flesh, the armor itself was nearly destroyed by that one swipe.