Chapter 158
Rayne went to bed earlier than usual that night.
After the ranking duels had ended, he had spent another three hours with Bran, Jason and Kesh discussing the training schedule for the coming weeks.
Kesh had volunteered to help look over the newer recruits and assimilate them while Jason had chosen the forsakens. Bran talked mostly about formations, strategy and battlefield discipline, leaving Rayne to handle the overall structure.
By the time everything had been planned out, exhaustion had finally caught up with him.
But when he slowly opened his eyes the following morning, he wasn't even remotely surprised by what he saw.
A man was crouched beside his bed.
One hand was carefully slipping beneath Rayne's folded clothes while the other searched through the small pouch lying beside them, his movements so practiced that they were almost silent.
Rayne watched him for several seconds. Then he chuckled.
“Monty,” he said lazily, “you aren't going to find anything valuable in my belongings.”
Monty's entire body froze at once.
For a heartbeat, he remained exactly where he was, his fingers still buried inside the pouch before his head slowly turned toward Rayne.
His face drained of color at once.
His eyes widened so much that they looked ready to fall out of their sockets, and his mouth hung slightly open without a single sound escaping it. It wasn't the expression of a thief caught stealing.
It was the expression of someone who had just looked up and found a dragon staring back at him.
Instinct took over.
Monty scrambled backward so quickly that he nearly lost his balance, one hand slamming against the wooden floor to stop himself from falling before he hurriedly scooted several more feet away from the bed.
Rayne simply watched him.
“Don't think about running,” he said calmly. “You'll get caught.” His gaze lingered on the terrified man for another moment before he added, “And I'd rather not punish you with broken bones.”
Monty's breathing became noticeably quicker. Rayne, meanwhile, pointed toward the open window.
“You came in through there?”
Monty gave a stiff nod.
Rayne glanced toward the second-floor window for a brief moment. It wasn't easy to climb through there, the walls didn't have a lot of holdings.
Turning back, he asked, “You have a wall-climbing skill, don't you?” Monty's eyes widened again. “What level is it?”
The thief stared blankly at him.
His lips parted once, then closed again. His throat bobbed as he swallowed, clearly struggling to force any words out.
“F-Forgive me, Squad Leader,” he finally stammered. “I... I would never do anything like this.”
Rayne frowned. He pushed himself upright until he was sitting comfortably on the edge of the bed before repeating himself.
“I asked you a question.” Monty flinched. “What level?”
The thief nervously licked his lips. “Level... Level Two.”
Rayne nodded. That was roughly what he had expected.
“You've been stealing for a long time, haven't you?”
Monty's expression stiffened.
“Your file says you were once a town guard before you were caught stealing a large amount of gold from a merchant.” Rayne folded his arms. “But that wasn't the first time, was it?”
Monty's gaze dropped toward the floor.
His fingers repeatedly rubbed against one another while his breathing grew increasingly uneven. Every instinct he possessed seemed to be screaming at him to deny everything.
So, Rayne quietly activated [Commander's Aura]. Mana flowed through him before an invisible pressure settled over the room.
Monty's back instinctively straightened.
His shoulders tensed, and it almost looked as though an unseen hand had wrapped itself around his heart.
“No...” he admitted in a strained voice. “I've... I've been stealing for a long time, Squad Leader.” He hurriedly raised both hands. “But I swear I'll never do it again.”
Rayne studied him for another few seconds before slowly shaking his head. “Only time will tell me that.”
Then, he let the pressure disappear.
“For now, you can leave.”
Monty blinked. “...What?”
“Go,” Rayne said, waving a hand dismissively. “And don't ruin my sleep next time.”
For a moment, Monty simply stared at him, completely unable to understand why he wasn't being dragged away for punishment.
Then survival instincts won out.
He sprang to his feet, bowed so quickly that he nearly stumbled over himself, and hurried toward the open window funnily before realising he can leave through the door, but before he could open it, Rayne spoke again.
“You forgot something.”
Monty froze for what felt like the tenth time that morning. Slowly, he turned around, his face already beginning to pale again.
“The five gold you took from around my room,” Rayne said evenly. “Put them back.”
The thief's eyes widened.
Without uttering a single word, he awkwardly reached beneath his shirt before producing five neatly stacked gold coins. His movements had none of the confidence from earlier as he quietly walked back and placed them on the small table beside Rayne's bed.
Only after making sure every coin had been returned did he step away again.
Rayne gave a small nod.
“One more thing.” Monty looked as though he wanted to cry. “Go find the cook. Yesterday he mentioned needing someone to carry sacks of flour from storage. Help him with that and whatever else he asks you to do today.”
Monty blinked in confusion.
“If you don't,” Rayne added calmly, “I'll find out.” He paused just long enough for the warning to sink in. “And don't steal.”
Monty's face flushed with shame. He hurriedly nodded several times before mumbling, “Y-Yes, Squad Leader.”
This time, he didn't hesitate. He practically fled through the doorway after gently closing it behind him.
Once he was gone, Rayne let out a slow sigh and rubbed his face.
For one brief moment, he was simply glad that the man sneaking into his room had been a thief instead of an assassin.
Then again, he doubted the outcome would've been much different, other than the punishment.
Ever since arriving in this world and realizing how easily his life could end, he had become an incredibly light sleeper. Even the faintest disturbance was usually enough to wake him.
Monty simply hadn't known that.
Besides, after reading the man's file, Rayne had been expecting him to try stealing sooner or later.
It just wasn't something Rayne had expected to happen on the second day of taking command over his squad. Then again, after reading Monty's file, it made perfect sense.
If the thief intended to steal from him, the earliest opportunity was always going to be the safest one. Before routines settled in, before he truly got to know the men under him, that was when someone like Monty would naturally make his move.
As Rayne was still thinking about that, the door to his room opened once more.
“Why's this open?”
Nate poked his head through the doorway before stepping inside without waiting for an answer. Bran, Jason, Kesh and Heins followed behind him one after another.
Rayne had asked them to meet him here in the morning yesterday because the conversation he wanted to have wasn't something he intended to hold during breakfast with the rest of the squad around.
To get the new recruits accustomed to one another, he had already ordered everyone to eat together before training every morning, leaving his room as the only place they could speak privately.
Once everyone had entered and Bran quietly shut the door behind them, Rayne immediately explained what had happened. Starting from waking up to find Monty searching through his belongings to questioning him before sending him off to help the cook as a punishment, he recounted everything without leaving out any details.
The room remained quiet until he finished. Then Nate scratched the back of his head and laughed.
“Ah, he's an amateur,” the forsaken said with a grin. “No wonder his face was flushed when we passed him on the stairs.”
Rayne nodded. “His character is questionable,” he admitted. “But he'll make a good scout. His wall-climbing skill alone makes him valuable.”
Bran rubbed his chin thoughtfully before giving a small nod. “Just need to beat the thief out of him.”
Rayne looked at the old man for a moment before allowing himself a faint smile. “I'm sure you can do it.”
Bran merely snorted in response while the others chuckled quietly, but the light atmosphere only lasted for a moment. Rayne's expression soon became serious again, and the room instinctively fell silent.
“Anyway,” he said, looking around at each of them in turn, “that's not why I called you all here.”
Jason pulled over a nearby chair and sat down, resting both forearms on his knees.
“Your question from yesterday,” he said. “Whether it's worth taking a huge risk to get out of the shackles of a forsaken.”
“It's not only that.” Rayne's gaze shifted toward Kesh and Heins before continuing. “It's also about a great deal of treasure. More than that, it's a chance to retire into the service of a noble house with a respectable position waiting for you there.”
The words had barely left his mouth before Kesh let out a loud curse.
“Fair Henrexa's tits,” he blurted. “Do you even hear what you're saying?”
Rayne didn't interrupt him.
“Axel worked for decades before a baron's family finally took him in,” Kesh continued. “He survived a lot of things, you know, and even then it wasn't easy. Noble houses don't just take in commoners, especially those without mana. Unless you've got years of experience behind you, they don't even look your way.”
“That I know,” Rayne replied calmly. “Everything you said is true. But what I'm talking about... is something that's actually possible.”
Bran slowly inclined his head, studying Rayne's face. “But it comes with a great risk. Doesn't it?”
“Yes,” said Rayne, taking a slow breath before answering. “If I had to estimate it, there's probably less than a ten percent chance of coming back alive.” He paused briefly before shaking his head. “No... less than five.”
The room became completely silent for a few seconds before Jason grunted. “I'll take those odds.”
Nate glared at him. “It's a good thing you don't make decisions for the rest of us.” Then he turned back toward Rayne. “Can I ask a few questions?”
Rayne hadn't expected Nate of all people to be the first to start asking questions, but after giving the man a nod, the forsaken immediately began firing them one after another.
Most of them were exactly what Rayne had expected.
Nate wanted to know whether this deal would involve the Godless Ruins or something after they had completed the expedition. He questioned how trustworthy the person behind the offer actually was, what guarantee they had that they wouldn't simply be discarded after risking their lives and whether this was something Captain Edran or the rest of the squad leaders already knew about.
He even asked what would happen if they accepted now but later decided to back out midway through the expedition.
Rayne answered each question as honestly as he could while carefully avoiding the one thing he had promised to keep secret.
Prince Caelan's name.
Instead, he explained that the offer had come from someone powerful enough to make it happen and that, as far as he knew, nobody else within the warband knew about it. This wasn't an official military quest. It was a private arrangement that only involved him for now.
Whenever Nate asked something Rayne genuinely didn't know, he admitted it rather than trying to invent an answer.
Throughout the discussion, Bran remained unusually quiet.
The old man rarely interrupted, though Rayne caught him studying him more than once. Out of everyone present, Bran was probably the only one who had a fairly accurate idea of where the offer had originated.
After all, he knew Rayne had privately met Prince Caelan two days back.
Fortunately, he kept that thought to himself.
By the time Nate finally ran out of questions, Rayne felt that he had revealed almost everything he safely could.
Looking around the room, he met each of their eyes before speaking again.
“You don't have to decide today,” he said. “Think it through properly. Don't agree unless you're actually certain.”
Kesh scratched the back of his head before letting out a long sigh.
“If I could choose,” he admitted, “I'd rather not take it. The Godless Ruins are already terrifying enough with all the stories floating around about them. We don't even have the right equipment to venture deep inside that place, much less willingly go on a death quest that's even more dangerous than the one we're already expected to survive.”
Rayne slowly nodded. Everything Kesh had said was true.
The Godless Ruins weren't a place ordinary soldiers willingly entered. Even veteran adventurers hesitated before stepping beyond the edge, and the expedition itself already carried enough danger to wipe out entire warbands.
Adding another quest on top of that only made the odds even worse.
At the same time, it was also one of the biggest reasons he had wanted to consult his party before making any decision.
Deep down, he already had a fairly good idea of what most of them would choose.
Jason had practically accepted the moment Rayne mentioned freedom from being a forsaken. Nate's endless questions weren't those of someone searching for an excuse to refuse. They were the questions of someone trying to figure out whether the risk could be justified.
If those two agreed, Kesh would most likely come around despite his concerns. Bran would probably do the same after weighing the situation carefully.
The only real uncertainty was Heins.
Even then, Rayne suspected that after hearing everyone else's opinions, the meek soldier would eventually choose to follow them.
One thing he had learned about his party over the past months was that they had changed.
After surviving one life-threatening battle after another, they had almost become accustomed to walking into impossible situations. They no longer viewed danger the same way ordinary soldiers did.
And after Bran had finally managed to break through the first wall, Rayne knew there had already been conversations among them about reaching their own limits and eventually surpassing them.
That was another reason he had called this meeting. Not simply to hear whether they agreed or disagreed.
He wanted their help.
If they were going to gamble their lives, then they needed to stack every possible advantage in their favor.
After letting the silence linger for a few moments, Rayne finally spoke again.
“Right now,” he said, “even if we decide to accept, our chances of surviving are far too low. Better equipment alone won't be enough. We'll need artifacts, supplies, detailed information about the Godless Ruins and anything else that can increase our odds of making it back alive.”
Everyone around the room nodded.
Bran folded his arms before asking the obvious question.
“So,” the scout said, “do you already have something in mind to get all that?”
A slow smile spread across Rayne's face.
“Yes,” he replied. “We're going to negotiate.”