Gold was the best thing in the world.

  That thought rang in Rayne's mind with each step he took to Captain Edran's office.

  Eyes followed him at each corner, the patrolling soldiers glancing at him as he passed them by—more at his new gear than his face.

  It had already been two days since the blood duel, and the celebration had lasted the whole day, then the night until Rayne had been too drunk to continue.

  Once he had woken up, he had headed straight towards Master Lander's workshop to buy out the red iron sword and shield, despite the hangover. Since he now had a hundred gold coins in possession by defeating Fredrick, he could afford most things in the workshop.

  Though he had thought to save the gold by simply using the red-plated shield and steel sword that Fredrick used in the duel, they were a bit too light for him. His current gear fit him like the puzzle piece they had been missing all along.

  Alongside them, he had also bought bracers and gotten his hands on three health potions. He wanted to get even more, but a soldier was only allowed to buy three at a time.

  Forsakens weren't given the potions with basic gear, but they could buy them. And for Rayne, there was nothing more important than an item that could save his life. [Lesser Regeneration] was good, but he had realised a potion was much faster.

  Bran had also approved of his purchase.

  He kept walking with a stride until he saw the tower come into view. Two soldiers guarded the entrance to it as usual, and one of them scoffed as he stopped.

  Rayne's reputation had turned for the better in the last two days, and soldiers had stopped provoking him, but it didn't mean everyone was simply going to forget his background.

  He kept his face neutral as the soldier stepped forward. “What brought you here, traitor? You want to challenge Captain Edran too?”

  Rayne simply smiled. “I was informed that Captain Edran wanted to see me.”

  “I wasn't informed of that,” he replied, looking back at his partner who smiled back. “You can go back. The runner must have made a mistake.”

  Rayne's smile fell from his face. He didn't have to think to know what was going on. He had seen it in the mess too when he had gone for breakfast. Everyone knew he had money now.

  That meant parasites like the two soldiers who thought they could get a share of it.

  “Are you sure?” he asked, studying the face of the guard. “Captain Edran is a busy man, and if I return now, and it turns out it was for something important, he will certainly ask me why I didn't report to him.”

  “What the fuck do you mean?” the soldier hissed.

  “I just mean if he asks me, I will be a good, honest soldier and tell him what you two told me. I'm sure it wouldn't take long for him to summon you two for an explanation then.”

  The soldier almost looked ready to draw his blade then. He took a step forward, looking straight into his eyes.

  “Are you threatening me?”

  “No, just predicting what would happen.” The soldier's hand moved towards his hilt. “If I was you, I wouldn't do that. You have seen what I did with Fredrick. It won't take too long to do the same to you. Put it down and let me go inside.”

  For a few seconds, Rayne almost readied himself to push his weight to the left to dodge the attack, but then the second soldier put his hand on the enraged one's shoulder.

  “Let's not create a scene,” he said. “We are better than a traitor of the kingdom.”

  The soldier sighed, then his anger deflated, reason coming back to him. He glared at him, then gestured towards the door.

  “Move, or I will cut you in half!”

  Rayne barely registered the threat as he brushed past them without another word. He opened the door before moving towards the stairs. A few weeks in the army had been enough to teach him how to handle these soldiers, and the added confidence from his stats and gear was enough to keep them at bay.

  His boots thudded against the stone as he climbed, each step measured despite the weight of his armor.

  At the second floor, the corridor to Edran’s office stretched ahead. The air was quieter here, the murmurs from outside blocked by stone walls. He reached the captain’s door and paused.

  For a moment, he simply stood there, wondering why he had gotten the runner early in the morning. Whether he was going to suffer for putting Fredrick in the healer's tent.

  Then, he raised his hand and knocked once.

  “Enter,” came Captain Edran’s firm voice.

  Rayne pushed the door open. The office smelled faintly of parchment and ink. Edran sat behind his desk, papers neatly stacked beside an inkpot, quill resting idle in his hand. His sharp eyes rose immediately to his face, scanning him from head to toe, lingering on the armor and sword before hardening slightly.

  But it wasn’t the captain’s stare that made Rayne’s muscles tense.

  Axel leaned casually against the far wall, arms folded, expression unreadable. He gave him a once-over and moved to pull a chair to sit on.

  Rayne shut the door behind him. The click of the latch sounded louder than it should have. The room seemed to draw in around him, silence heavy enough to smother even the thoughts in his head.

  He put his hand over his chest and bowed. “You called for me, Captain Edran.”

  “I did,” he said. “There's much to discuss with you, Rayne. I'm pretty sure you have heard everything that's been said about you and the blood duel in the past few days.”

  Rayne slowly nodded. “People don't usually whisper around me.”

  Edran's smile thinned. “I have seen that.” He leaned against his chair. “Fredrick should be out walking around the fort soon. His injuries weren't bad enough for him to need more rest. And that's why I have called you here.”

  He tilted his head. “I don't plan to have anything with him, captain. For me, everything ended with the duel.”

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  “That it did,” the captain replied. “If only Fredrick thought the same thing. Listen to me, Rayne, House Lanrice had ties to the military. Even now, one of his brothers is there on the frontlines against enemy kingdoms. He already lost the blood duel, but it won't stop him from acting out in another way. I won't accept such childish struggles in my warband, not when we are soon to be marching towards the dungeon outbreaks.”

  Rayne almost frowned. Edran didn't have an absolute way to deal with Fredrick without offending his house, so he was telling him to be the bigger person. He wouldn't mind it if it actually meant that he could walk without looking over his back.

  But in his experience, Fredrick wasn't such—

  “We aren't telling you to go find Fredrick and grovel at his feet,” Axel's voice cut in through his thoughts. He turned to look at his squad leader. “We simply want you out of here until things cool down.”

  Rayne blinked. “Out of here?”

  “Yes.” Captain Edran nodded. “We will be marching to the frontlines in a week. At worst, ten days. Once we are out on the road, everything will be about the dungeons and the outbreaks. There would be no rest on the frontlines as there's always a job. Fredrick wouldn't be able to act out on anything even if he wants to. It's just till we leave—both me and Axel decided it would be wise for you to be out of the fort.”

  “But where will I go, Captain Edran?” he asked, looking between the both of them.

  “On a quest,” Axel said, smirking. “As it turns out, something came up that would have required a small party to take a trip to Bricksall.”

  “A supply run,” Captain Edran added. “By the time you return, we should be on the march. You can catch up to us, and the frontlines have asked for more supplies anyway. There's an army garrison there that stores supplies that come from the headquarters. You will find it easily.”

  Axel nodded, moving up from his chair to pat his shoulder. “You know the ledgers well, so you are more than perfect for the job.”

  Rayne almost flinched at the breath. Axel had clearly been drinking the night before and probably heavy stuff that lingered.

  He took a step back, focusing on the quest at hand. A supply run didn't seem bad, and he had gotten no chance to see the world beyond Fort Algar till now. But he also caught something in Edran's tone that made him pause.

  He matched eyes with the captain and asked, “Who else is going to go with me?”

  “Axel recommended the party you found the warlord with,” he replied. “There should be more people I trust from other squads, but it would mostly be the ones you have already fought with.”

  “Will Bran be with us?” he asked.

  Axel clicked his tongue. “No, Bran and some other senior scouts will be going ahead, mapping out the path to the frontlines and making sure we don't run into any trouble.”

  Captain Edran nodded in agreement. “Yes, there is news of deserters from the frontlines, and some of them have grouped up. So, we need to send a scout team to see if there are any signs of them around our path.”

  Rayne couldn't help but feel disappointed by Bran's absence. The supply quest would be far easier with him around. He was the only person he knew that had knowledge of Pascar Plains geography.

  Maybe he sensed his thoughts as Axel spoke. “You can get the map of the plains in the old library if you want to. Even without it, there should be someone who knows the path to Bricksall in the supply squad.”

  “Old library?”

  “It's in the eastern tower,” Edran replied. “You can go look for it. Top floor. You can't miss it. Lots of different maps there. Go take one. You will be leaving tomorrow morning for Bricksall. Is that understood?”

  Rayne doubted he had the option to reject it. No common soldier could reject an order from the captain, and a simple supply quest sounded like a good change of pace before reaching the frontlines.

  He inclined his head. “Understood!”

  “Good,” he replied. “You can leave now.”

  Axel opened up the door for him at the order, and Rayne walked out, briefly wondering if Axel had requested to send him on the supply quest in a bid to win his favour back. Then, he disregarded those thoughts.

  Even if that was the case, he didn't feel anything but guarded suspicion against him.

  Axel was trying to further his career by keeping good relations with the noble houses, particularly House Lanrice. Loyalty to him wouldn't do him good.

  For Rayne, he was simply his assigned squad leader, and he wanted to keep it so.

  Instead of worrying over Axel's intentions, he moved to descend the stairs and crossed the two guards who glared at him as he made his way towards the eastern tower. He had passed it by during morning training with Bran, but had never expected it to hold a library.

  He had assumed there was none in the fort, simply because most soldiers were illiterate and couldn't read or write. He now realised that might be the reason why no one talked about it.

  The eastern tower loomed over the fort, gray stone walls cracked from weather and time. Rayne looked over at the masonry as he approached the base.

  No guards stood at the gate, and he easily opened it up. A spiral staircase stood right there, coiling upwards, and he stepped on it, taking careful steps.

  The stairs had no railings, and one wrong step would mean a bad fall to death. After everything, he would be damned if he died by slipping on the stairs.

  He passed by a few floors, seeing no one around before finally the stairs ended. He stepped on the top floor and looked around before seeing an oak door on the side.

  It creaked when he pushed it open, and at once the smell of old books hit him.

  The library was larger than he expected. Sunlight streamed through windows, spilling golden light across rows of shelves stacked with scrolls, tomes, and bound ledgers. Dust motes floated lazily in the beams, and silence hung heavy. The room was circular, and in the center, a great stone column supported the roof.

  Rayne stepped inside quietly, eyes scanning the rows of bookshelves. Edran had told him to look for the map here, but he hadn't said he couldn't take his time to read the books.

  But as he took a step towards the nearest shelves, a voice called out.

  “Rayne, what are you doing here?”

  He froze, taking a step back and looking around before he saw her.

  Mage Casper sat at one of the reading tables right under the window. A tome was placed in front of her and she tilted her head as her eyes locked onto him.

  “You didn't answer me,” she said again, breaking him out of the mild surprise.

  “Captain Edran sent me to look for a map of the region,” he replied hurriedly. “I would be heading to Bricksall for a supply quest. I'm sorry—I didn't expect anyone to be here.”

  “No one is normally,” she said, gesturing to him to move towards the table. “But I live in the tower.”

  Rayne obliged, stepping towards her. “You do?”

  “Yes, I took it when I came here because of the library. Captain Edran has a room here too, but he mostly stays in his office. The eastern tower used to be the nobles’ quarters but then it got too old.”

  He nodded, taking another look at the library. That explained why there was a library in the fort. Although he doubted all the nobles liked books, they certainly did more than commoners who weren't educated.

  “The map cabinet is behind that shelf,” she said, pointing at a large bookshelf on the left. “You will find a regional map there. They are old, but the roads haven't changed.”

  “Thank you,” he said, taking a step towards the shelf, but then paused, looking back at Casper who still had her eyes on him. “Can I request something of you?”

  “What?”

  “I was thinking, if it's not any bother, I can read some of the books here. I haven't been able to read anything since coming to the army.”

  For a second, his heartbeat quickened as Casper looked down at her tome. Although she had helped him in the past, he knew that mages weren't the most accommodating in the kingdom.

  But then she nodded. “Yeah, sure. Take a seat. I wouldn’t mind some company.”

  ***

  A/N - Lots of comments with the last chapter. Let me clarify, Rayne actually wanted to kill him but the note made things different. There's more to it, but it won't come till later. He's not really a goody shoes mc, even if he cares about his people and Fredrick won't bother him for a lot of chapters.