Leaving the distillery in Henry's hands, Sean exited the mill. He could have started brewing perfume alongside the alcohol, but glass containers—ideal for fragrance—were too fragile to transport. Better to wait until Yorn, he decided, where glassblowers could craft proper vials.
Glancing at the morning sky—just past 9 AM—Sean resolved to continue grinding in the Elven Forest. Back at the castle, his companions chatted in the hall: Kyle, the Secret Keeper, sipped tea with the Silver Hand Recruit, Monica; Lucio, clad in hunting leathers, debated tactics with Windsor, now a Bronze Rank warrior.
"Morning, Sean!" Lucio greeted him first. "Heading to hunt today? I've been waiting ages."
Companions bowed: "Good morning, Lord Sean."
Sean nodded, addressing Lucio: "We leave soon—and this time, all my friends are joining."
" Them? " Lucio knew the companions were all Black Iron Lower Rank, but different classes might help. "Fine by me, as long as there's venison. I'll grab my bow and meet you at the south gate."
"South gate, not north," Sean called after him.
Lucio paused, uneasy: "I'm still Bronze Peak, not Silver. The Elven Forest's outer ring is safe, but what if we encounter a Silver Rank beast?"
"Relax," Sean reassured him. "Windsor's advanced to Bronze—and he has a secret technique to temporarily reach Silver Rank. We'll be fine."
Lucio gaped at Windsor, who ignited bronze battle qi with a snap, the energy hissing in the air. A warrior over 30 breaking through to Bronze in a week? He deduced Windsor must be a hidden guard from the Laine Grand Duke—no ordinary man could progress so fast.
"Alright, south gate it is." Lucio left, relieved he'd never disrespected Windsor.The Race to Level 20In his chambers, Sean changed into hunting leathers, calculating his EXP: Level 16, 213/700. Six hours of hunting plus two hours of Kyle's meditation yielded 300 EXP daily. To reach Level 20 (Bronze Rank), he needed 3,187 EXP—about 10 days, assuming 17-19 required 800-1,000 EXP each.
"Upgrading is so slow," he sighed, though he knew his pace was unnatural. Natives like Lucio took years to reach Bronze; even Olga, a mercenary captain, had spent decades honing her Silver Rank. Sean's sub-month ascent from Black Iron to Bronze would astound any mortal—if they knew.The Need for SpeedStill, complacency was deadly. Benjamin the Bishop, Lucas the Gold Rank warrior, even Lucio on the cusp of Silver—Sean needed strength to survive Yorn's politics. No gold follower yet, but every level mattered.
"Let's move," he told his companions, tightening his sword belt. "The Elven Forest awaits."
Windsor nodded, flame imp and voidwalker already in human guise, while Kyle murmured arcane protections on their gear.
Ten days to Level 20, Sean thought. Then Yorn's luxury market—and whatever secrets the city holds.
In a world where power dictated survival, even a "divine" lord couldn't afford to stop grinding. The Elven Forest's monsters would fall, one by one, to his growing band of misfits—each kill a step toward the Bronze Rank that would open new doors… and new dangers.