The Enlightened Blade

Raj made good time, traveling to the camp in roughly 20 minutes, his advanced body doing wonders for his stamina and speed. He ducked a branch, stepped over a root, and started to slow at the faint sight of what looked to be a camp. He still could not see it in full, so he approached what he now identified as yet another clearing at a cautious pace. As he approached the treeline, he was amazed to find an entirely functional camp on the other side. It had only been a few days, but somehow, this camp in front of him looked like it had been up and running for a while.

Small tent-like structures that seemed to be made of animal pelts encircled a large, pristine lake. This clearing has the same stuff as mine did, Raj thought, But it is bigger.

Raj also took into notice the large cave that lay in the middle of the tents. It was facing the lake, and Raj happened to be directly across from its entrance. He was able to see multiple people inside, along with some wounded. If I had to guess, the cave probably houses the leadership of the camp, and maybe acts as an infirmary as well.

He continued scanning the camp, spotting guards patrolling the perimeter, and what might’ve been hunters skinning animals and roasting them on a stick. That made Raj think it would be dinner soon. Just then, Raj’s stomach growled, the mere thought of food serving as a reminder of the fact that he had not eaten in a while, and it would take him a while to set up a place to cook his food. After a moment of thought, his hunger and desire for human contact won out, and he walked out into the clearing slowly, hands held up.

“Hey!” Raj yelled. Immediately, at least 20 pairs of eyes locked onto his figure. Raj belatedly realized that there were around 30-40 people in this camp, which was around a third of the people who were even in the tutorial. It actually might be more than a third, seeing as how there have probably been some deaths.

The archers of the camp raised their bows, and a few of the guards nearest to him raised their weapons. “Wait!” Raj shouted, starting to panic. Him walking out into the open of the camp with no warning could have very well resulted in him getting shot down in an instant, but his realization came too little too late. “I come in peace!” Raj tried, hoping that the cliche line would earn him some brownie points with the group.

“Who are you, and what do you want?” The guard at the forefront of their defense said, not letting his guard drop. “And how is your level so high?” My level? How could they possibly…

With a thought, Raj activated Identify(Common) on the man speaking to him.

[Human(Warrior-Common) lvl 4]

Raj continued to scan the other defenders, and their classes varied, with a lot of guards and archers, and a few mages thrown into the mix as well. As he kept using Identify(Common), however, something became very apparent to him.

They are weak, he thought. At least, compared to me they are. No wonder they are so nervous. In their defense, however, Raj had been through some insane battles, and luck was a large part of why he was even alive. By that logic, it made sense that he was a higher level than these people.

“I have been through some crazy shit, okay? I have been super lucky until now, and that luck carried me through a few hard battles. That’s the reason I’m so strong,” Raj said, reiterating his previous thoughts. The guard faltered, unsure of what to do. He eventually came to a decision, and, after whispering something in the nearest guard's ear, he ran off.

The other guards did not seem to want to talk to him, so Raj settled for a silent staredown. The tension was palpable, and Raj saw more than a few fingers twitch. Heh, he sniggered. That would be such a stupid way to go out. Thankfully, Raj’s worries were assuaged when the guard from earlier returned, this time with another person in tow.

Raj immediately could tell that this guy was one of, if not the only leader of the camp. He carried himself with confidence, and Raj was certain that the new guy was underestimating him. He wasn’t even holding his weapon after all. Unbeknownst to the leader however, was the fact that Raj could summon his sword at a moment’s notice from his spatial ring. Raj activated Identify(Common), trying to gleam some more information about the leader in front of him.

[Human(Mage-Common) lvl 7]

Raj’s guard was immediately up, and he was slightly shocked to see the man’s level. After a moment, however, he realized that it only made sense for the leader of the camp to be at a high level. He wasn’t the only one who used Identify(Common), however.

“How the hell is your level so high?!?!?” The other man said, looking absolutely flabbergasted. He immediately brought up his hand, which looked like a harmless motion, but Raj remembered that the man was a mage, and he was probably ready to cast a spell.

Trying to once again broker peace, he responded by saying, “Like I told your guards, I had some crazy encounters with high level monsters. I was lucky to get out of there with my life, okay? So can we just calm down? Since you seem to be the leader, maybe we can take this to the cave or something?”

The other man gave his words some thought, before honing in on his last two sentences. “Haha, you think I’m the leader?” He said, letting out a chuckle. “Well, I’ll take that as a compliment, I suppose. But no, I am not the leader. Our leader is stronger than even I am.”

How the hell? Raj thought. Raj was genuinely curious at this point, and even a little excited to see that there were other strong people in this tutorial. Maybe we can survive and complete the objective if we work together.

The other man continued talking, looking more excited now. “Here, follow me. I can assure you that as long as you don’t give us a reason, we won’t harm you,” he said, turning towards the camp. “Now, follow me.” Not seeing another choice, Raj followed, the rest of the guards following behind him. The man led him through camp, past the tents and the curious stares, and around the lake, until they eventually reached the cave. The rest of the guards stopped trailing them, and Raj entered the cave behind the man.

After about half a minute of walking, Raj heard the man say, “Hey boss. Got a new guy here. Came out of the forest, and he is strong.” Raj heard something shift in the distance, and a man emerged from the darkness, an axe held over his shoulder.

“Thanks Paul, I’ll take it from here,” the man replied in a gruff voice. Raj used Identify(Common) on the man, and his eyebrows rose at what he was seeing.

[Human(Warrior-Common) lvl 9]

Now that is interesting, Raj thought, excitement shining in his eyes. The other man also cracked a small smile, evidently using Identify(Common) as well. The man suddenly brought his axe around, and shifted into a fighting stance. Raj did the same, summoning his sword and grasping it with both hands. Let’s go, he thought. They both raised their weapons, and dashed towards the other, eager to determine who was really the strongest.