Chương 59: Chapter 58. Goodwill

Rayne stared at Casper, unable to wipe the sweat still trailing down his cheek. His left arm buzzed faintly with lingering heat, the pathways he'd just opened pulsing like a second heartbeat. Casper stepped closer, boots silent on the dirt floor of the tent. Her gaze stayed locked on his shoulder, and Rayne had the distinct impression she wasn't just looking at it. She was seeing through it. Her eyes shone lightly with mana as she crouched down to his level before exhaling softly.

"Since our session that day, you have managed to open two pathways. And probably in one sitting, if I'm right." Her eyes flickered up to meet his.

"That's not normal. Do you know how long it takes an average person to unlock one pathway after their first one?"

"A week or two," he guessed. She shook her head.

"No, a month is the average. It took me two and a half weeks to unlock each pathway, and I was cultivating sixteen hours a day. Your speed will put you on the line of geniuses." Rayne felt his heart sinking. He was no genius, and he had a feeling Casper knew that, yet he had been caught red-handed. What was he going to say now? Was she going to report him to Captain Edran who would surely be interested in how he had grown so fast? How did he stop that?

"Don't worry," Casper said.

"I'm not interested to know how you managed to open them so fast." Her words immediately cooled his beating heart, and he wiped his forehead with the back of his hand.

"Why not?"

"Everyone has secrets. I have several." She smiled.

"In the end, you still have an ancestral bloodline and their houses always birth the best spellswords and mages. Even the gods discriminate by blood."

"But you think my advancement isn't because of my blood?"

"Maybe it is, maybe it's not. Trust me, no one can find it out. Just make sure you don't leak any mana out, especially not in the army camp. Or you will be found out, and they would want to know how you learnt mana cultivation." Rayne slowly nodded. That would be disastrous, knowing how guarded mana cultivation was among nobles. Though, he guessed that he could explain it with his background. But that was a bridge he would cross when he got there.

For now, something else made him curious and he asked, "What do you mean leaking mana?" Casper smiled, shifting a little closer. Rayne immediately grew uncomfortable, but her smile turned to a grin.

"I'm just checking your pathways thoroughly. Don't move. As for leaking mana, it's fairly simple." She reached forward and pressed two fingers lightly to his shoulder. Her fingers were cold at first, then warm as faint streams of mana pulsed from her skin into his. The sensation crawled under his flesh—uncomfortable, but not painful. She talked as she checked his pathways.

"When one opens up more and more pathways, their mana doesn't stay in their core. Think of it as making channels around a river. The water would flow, right?" Rayne nodded.

"Yes, so with more pathways, my mana might leak."

"Yes," she affirmed.

"It wouldn't be a problem right now, but maybe after you opened one more pathway on your left arm. You would need to have good control over your mana to make sure it doesn't happen." Casper finally removed her fingers, her eyes staying at his left hand for a moment before she looked at him.

"Your pathways are a little crude, but that's normal when you barely had any guidance. Just flow more mana through them, and they will be on par with mine. With one more pathway opened, you might even be able to learn a mana skill or get one from the gods. Having mana influences every class." Rayne blinked slowly, taking it in as Casper stood up. He rubbed his left hand, and the question he had mused for weeks sprang up in his mind. He kept his eyes locked on Casper who simply looked at him innocently.

He could see no malice in her eyes, but he couldn't be sure of her motives and decided to ask.

"Why are you helping me?" Casper's smile thinned.

"You have performed exceptionally since you joined Captain Edran's warband, and even he sees your potential. I'm just helping you realise that."

"For what?" He asked.

"He needs capable soldiers, and you growing stronger would ultimately—""But he didn't ask you to teach me cultivation,'' he interrupted, seeing that she was unwilling to reveal the real reason. But Rayne didn't intend to let this go.

"You did it on your own. I want to know why." Casper sighed.

"Why do you want to know?"

"Until I know the reason, I wouldn't feel right to take your help. What you are helping me is valuable, but everyone and everything has a motive, Mage Casper. I simply want to know yours."

"I am not walking you to a trap." If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it's taken without permission from the author. Report it.

"Then, could you tell me why you are so generous to me? If not, I'm sorry I wouldn't be able to take any more help from you." Casper's brows furrowed and she stiffened. For a moment, she looked back at the tent flap, and Rayne wondered if she was going to simply leave. He also realised that he might just be antagonizing her by asking reasons behind her actions, especially since he knew she didn't want to talk about them. But he couldn't continue taking help and not knowing the reason.

Finally, she spoke, "I would only be talking about this once. Do you know how noble families keep dozens of mages and spellswords loyal to them? Not all of them are born as silver blood." Rayne shook his head.

"No, I don't."

"They sponsor them," she replied.

"All noble families with spare gold and resources sponsor commoners with potential and help them gain an arcane class. They provide a way for a poor family to change their fate through a sponsored son or daughter and in exchange, they want loyalty. I am a commoner, Rayne, and I was sponsored too. Not only did I get help to gain a mage class, but also an entry into Astra Academy that's mostly reserved for nobles." Rayne slowly took it in, and it didn't take him long to connect the dots. Casper smiled at him.

"The Fraysers sponsored me." At once, he got the answers to the question he had been looking for. Casper hadn't helped due to an ulterior motive, but because she was still loyal to his house. She continued, bringing him back from his thoughts.

"I was studying in the academy when the news of their betrayal to the crown reached everyone. All of them were killed, but I was spared since the crown saw potential in me, and I hadn't been involved. Other noble families also wanted to take me in, and in the end, I decided to take on the offer of House Sinclair to help out Edran and got assigned by his side in the army," she paused, then looked in his eyes.

"But finding you here felt like the gods wanting me to pay back the favour I received. Does that satisfy you?" Rayne nodded.

"It does. I never expected to get help like this, not from a mage like you."

"There are still people with goodwill toward the Fraysers, but they are dwindling since there's no future for the house," she said, her tone taking a depressing note.

"The crown would also kill anyone openly supporting them."

"So, I have no support. Got it." Casper sighed.

"You have my support. House Frayser might be gone, but you are its last surviving member, and I will make sure I pay my debt to them through you. Does that satisfy you?" Rayne took a moment to reply, trying to gauge if there was more to her help than just an old debt to his house. But when he didn't find anything else in her gaze, he nodded.

"Yes, I'm still grateful for what you are doing for me."

"You should be," she said.

"Now, I should leave. I only came to check on you and confirm the news of your return for myself. I have work to do. You should rest and not try to open up another pathway." After saying that, Casper turned, not waiting for him to say anything else, but Rayne kept staring at the tent flap, thinking of her words. His association with House Frayser had done nothing but bring him unnecessary trouble and animosity till now, and it was the first time it was bringing him benefits.

If he believed every word of Casper, it also meant that he had a strong ally in the army. He just had no idea about it before. Rayne rubbed his forehead and laid his back on the cot. For the first time in weeks, his mind buzzed with all the information he knew about the house he belonged to, and with it, he couldn't help thinking of the lineage quest. He hadn't looked at it after the first time, but it was still there, urging him to become a squad leader.

He wondered what would happen if he actually managed to become one. And why was his lineage given such a quest in the first place? Unfortunately, thinking of it brought forth no answers, and Rayne could simply hope that he would get them. If not today, then with time.

For the next three days, Rayne's life settled into something he almost forgot existed—routine. No running for his life. No undead charging at him in the dungeon. No chimera roaring behind him. Just a simple life in the army camp. Most mornings he woke to the sound of clanging pots, distant drills, and the cold breeze sweeping in from the forests. Kesh or Nate usually dragged him out for guard duty, where they stood on the walls, talked shit and watched the treeline like it might suddenly sprout another dungeon.

Rayne didn't mind. Guard duty felt peaceful now. Predictable and a good change of pace for him. He enjoyed everything a lot. Other than the newfound fame that had been the result of those rumours spreading of him making it out of the dungeon alone. Nate had narrated the story to a few soldiers who had mixed their own spices into it until the whole thing had become highly exaggerated, and the one version that went around the most was the one in which he fought the chimera alone to escape.

As a result, soldiers greeted him differently. Some clapped his back. Others stared in awe. A few whispered "gravewalker" under their breath like it was already a title. There were of course enough people still looking and treating him like a traitor, but the rumours of his strength made sure that none of them would dare to start a fight with him. In between all this, the only major thing that happened was one of Commander Evans' men visiting him in his tent.

At first, he had been on guard, but then it turned out the man had brought coins. A lot of them. The commander might have given him the fruits, but that doesn't mean he couldn't offer to buy them from him. Rayne would have liked to keep the fruits since they were as good as potions, tastier, and probably had hidden properties he'd no idea of. But saying no to the commander would simply be rude, especially with him offering ten gold for each fruit. Hence, he ended up selling the five fruits he'd left.

He hoped that it would at least make the commander look at him in a better light, if not outright support him. Rayne spent the rest of the time resting, cultivating, practicing sword forms, and adjusting to life in the army camp. Casper didn't visit him again, but Bran did. The veteran was still on rest, but looked much better, having regained his strength. He didn't stay for long, only telling him to not laze around and continue his training since it wouldn't be long before the next dungeon run.

And on the afternoon of the fourth day, those words came true when Axel called for Rayne in his camp. He hadn't seen his squad leader since the dungeon, and the old alcoholic looked far less fierce looking him up and down. He even asked about his health which Rayne felt was simply unnatural. But when he moved to talk about the reason why he was called, Rayne froze.

"Rayne, you have done well since the campaign against the goblins, and despite your birth and status as a forsaken, you have acquired merits that couldn't be ignored. I had a talk with Captain Edran, and both of us feel the same thing. We want you to lead a party, not a temporary one like the supply quest, but a real one to conquer dungeons."

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