It worked! He saw everything! A large white window materialised before the knight wielding a mace and shield, startling him initially. Yet, recognising the box adjacently floating to the rider, he discerned all the details with clarity. However, now that he recognised the box floating next to the rider, he could see all the information clearly. The knight’s name was Tobias Steiger. He was [LVL] 50. He was a [Warrior] in the [Paladin] class and had 6750/6750 [Life Points] and 100% [Mana]. One part of the window was dedicated to some statistics.

  Strength: 39

  Intelligence: 45

  Regeneration: 34

  Armor: 47

  Resistance: 50

  Constitution: 50

  There was a row indicating Tobias’s [Origin] was from Germany. He wasn’t sure where he’d heard the name before. The knight’s [Affiliation] with- oh.

  The guild. The name Carnifex swiftly dampened his euphoria. An area indicated the box had a second window, but he lost his concentration. His mood soured at the thought of the Baron.

  “So?” Reacher inquired. “Did it work?”

  “Yes,” he replied half-heartedly. “Thank you.”

  Content with his good deed for the day, Reacher smiled throughout their trek. Upon reaching the mountain, the caravan veered away from their group, continuing on a narrow path through the mountains. The knights hadn’t conversed much, merely exchanging pleasantries, but Reacher seemed glad they had departed. Maybe he’s jealous of their armour?

  When the miners reached the cave and Reacher busied himself distributing water, he seized the chance to covertly inspect the Mace. He whispered “inspect,” catching PP’s attention momentarily, but the big man handing out pickaxes didn’t react. Now, let’s see…

  He discovered that the Mace was named John Reacher and that he was also a [Paladin] like the Tobias guy, but he couldn’t be more different. He was [LVL] 24 with 3680/3680 [Life Points] and 100% [Mana]. Reacher’s statistics were noticeably inferior.

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  Strength: 22

  Intelligence: 24

  Regeneration: 18

  Armor: 26

  Resistance: 31

  Constitution: 32

  He deduced that a higher LVL correlated with elevated stats. He’s envying Tobias for sure.

  Reacher hailed from a place called USA, and he was pretty sure he knew that place well. Naturally, Reacher was also allied with Carnifex. He must have stared intently at Reacher, for he shouted at him to quit gawking with an irate face. It’s best to stop playing around for now. I’ll try it out some more tomorrow.

  After a long day in the mine, he went to bed with excitement. Finally, something novel broke the monotony. He could finally see what the Adventurers were talking about. He recalled the day in the Slaughterhouse when the Baron inquired about his stats and LVL. Bonatelli had questioned him on other matters he couldn’t recall, but he unfortunately had forgotten by now. I wonder what my Status looks like. The Players seemed to have a problem with it.

  That night marked the first time in months he dreamt again. He was a paladin clad in full heavy armour on a battlefield, racing through smoke, dodging flaming enemy arrows while frantically searching for someone. He was running as fast as he possibly could, coughing from smoke-filled lungs and limping from an arrow lodged in his calf. He found the blonde woman he he was looking for lying in a ditch, her armour battered and her face charred. She was near bleeding out, her trembling hand reaching for him. The golden glow on his palm was poised to heal her, but just before their hands met, a massive shadow bearing a bright light loomed within the smokescreen, and they were suddenly engulfed in a massive fireball. Gods, no.

  He awoke the next morning to sunlight warming his eyes. He felt flattened, as if struck by a falling tree. Initially disoriented, it took him a moment to recover from deep sleep and assess his surroundings. Not a soul was about. The slave camp was eerily silent. How strange. Where is everyone?

  The sun was well-risen, yet no one was preparing breakfast. He crawled out of his sleeping bag, once Cadmun’s tent, and circled the campsite. Surely, they didn’t leave without me, right?

  The cooking pots remained clean but dry, indicating no use since yesterday. The slave rags still hung on the clothesline. They had to be around. He heard movement from a rustling tent, and a drowsy Cadmun emerged.

  “Cadmun, where is everybody? We’re late!” he exclaimed, slightly alarmed.

  Cadmun, however, was unbothered by their late awakening. Sir Frost ignored his panic, rubbing sleep from his eyes and lazily made his way to the stacked firewood.

  “Why is everyone still sleeping? We have to go!”

  He knew Cadmun didn’t want to talk to him, but in an emergency situation like this, it seemed permissible. Nonetheless, the bald man silently placed logs in the fireplace and methodically got to work, disregarding his panic.

  “Please help me wake them, Cadmun. The Adventurers will be here any minute. The others will be in trouble.”

  Cadmun groggily responded, “Happy Hero Day, Recruit.”

  What?

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