Even from a distance, Arthur could see the first man stand up and spread his hands in an exaggerated manner, as if he’d run out of patience with his friends’ jeering.

He seemed like he was about to add something when the rubble under John’s feet suddenly echoed behind them.

The four men around the fire shot up instantly, their laughter gone. They immediately grabbed their weapons from the ground as they formed a quick line in front of the flames. Then, the man who had been speaking this entire time roared, his eyes straining through the mist.

"Who’s there?"

John quickly raised his free hand, his spear resting harmlessly against his shoulder as he stepped forward,

"Easy there, friends. We don’t mean any trouble. We’re just passing by."

Arthur stood beside him, his eyes locked on the four men.

He didn’t really know if these people were friendly or not, but if any of them turned hostile, he wouldn’t hesitate to fire a [Water Arrow]. He highly doubted they’d stumbled upon another group with a mage who’d also found a skillbook.

...Still, slim as the odds were, they weren’t zero, so he braced himself just in case.

The four men glanced at each other before easing down slightly, though their grips still stayed on their weapons. Then the man who’d been telling the story stepped forward.

There were noticeable black circles under his eyes, but he carried himself like the group’s obvious leader.

He stopped in front of Arthur and John and gave them both a once-over before he finally stretched out a hand.

"Ah, sorry about that. We’re a bit on edge, you see. Still, it’s good to see new faces. I’m Greg."

"I’m John, and this is my buddy Art," John said, lowering his spear fully.

It was only after the men behind Greg eased up too that Arthur nodded and shook Greg’s hand as well.

"My name is Arthur," he added in an even tone.

The moment their hands met, the familiar chime rang in Arthur’s mind, followed by a translucent status window that appeared right above Greg’s head.

[Name: Greg Knox]

[Age: 43]

[Species: Human]

[Class: Warrior]

[Title: -]

[Level: 7]

"This guy’s actually level 7?" Arthur’s eyes widened in shock.

He and John had been hunting nonstop this whole time and had even cleared a goblin settlement, and yet this man called Greg was actually a full two levels above them?

However, the shock on Greg’s face was even more apparent than Arthur’s, as the middle-aged man stared at the system window above Arthur’s head in clear disbelief.

Unfortunately for Greg, he didn’t even get a chance to speak before John stepped forward,

"What the hell dude? You’re already level 7? How’s that even possible?"

Greg struggled to pull his eyes off Arthur’s status window, before turning to John and giving him a strained smile.

"I’ve been hunting around here since yesterday. I haven’t even slept yet. Honestly, it’d be weird if I wasn’t level 7 by now. It’s these bastards behind me who are all slowpokes."

Arthur glanced at the three men behind Greg, who all shot the middle-aged man looks ranging from mild irritation to outright scorn.

Still, none of them argued.

Greg was clearly the strongest among their bunch.

Without any delay, Greg introduced his group one by one. "These here are my guys. Mark, Elias, and Trent. We’ve been hunting together this whole time. They might look like this, but they’re actually pretty dependable. Don’t let their appearance fool you. I’d reckon we’re probably among the ten strongest groups in the city."

Arthur nodded as the three men behind Greg stepped forward in turn.

Their status windows blinked into view the moment their hands met, and to Arthur’s surprise, the three men were all level 6.

Just like Greg, they didn’t have a title, but they were all a level higher than him and John.

These are the ’slowpokes’ Greg mentioned?

And yet, like Greg before them, Mark, Elias, and Trent all reacted the same way.

When they shook John’s hand, their expressions didn’t change. If anything, the three of them relaxed a little when they saw the guy built like a pro bodybuilder being only level 5.

But when their eyes landed on Arthur’s status window, their expressions finally changed.

Mark blinked once, then leaned a little closer, as if the glowing text was going to vanish if he didn’t confirm the words a second time. Elias swore something under his breath, while Trent rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand and checked again, a look of disbelief etched across his face.

Then, Greg finally asked what he and his men seemed to be wondering about.

"Arthur, you... are a Mage?"

Arthur kept his face expressionless before responding with a nod. A stiff nod, but it was impossible to hide this anyway.

Well, not that he was planning to.

The moment he confirmed it, John let out a hearty laugh and threw an arm over Arthur’s shoulder, before facing the four men.

"You didn’t think he was just tagging along for the view, did you? This guy is basically a level 5 warrior masquerading as a mage."

Greg was the first one to shake his head, though the middle-aged man still couldn’t quite shake the surprise off his face.

In the end, it was one of the men behind him, the youngest-looking one who’d introduced himself as Elias, who finally broke the awkward silence.

He stepped forward and gave Arthur a light fist-bump to the chest, then asked with barely contained excitement,

"Man! It’s the first time we see a mage who’s not level 2, which is why we are all so surprised! So, say Arthur... since you’re a Mage and all, you got any skills yet?"

Arthur’s brow twitched at the unexpected question, but before he could answer, the back of Greg’s hand came crashing down on Elias’s head.

"Hey!" Elias yelped, rubbing his head and glaring at Greg, but the middle-aged man ignored him. The man turned back to Arthur, his expression softening into something a bit more apologetic as he continued,

"Sorry about that. We’re all a bit tired and were just about to head out, so if our questions are a bit insensitive, please bear with it. You don’t have to answer that. You two came just in time, too."

But Arthur shook his head and glanced at Greg first, and then Elias, before he answered,

"I’m pretty sure Mages aren’t any different from Warriors. I haven’t unlocked any skills after getting to level 5, so I suppose you can only obtain them through skillbooks."

Of course, Arthur conveniently left out the fact that he’d gotten his hands on a skillbook after killing a rare goblin boss, but that probably wasn’t something you told a group of people you’d just met for the very first time.

Elias scratched the back of his head, looking a little disappointed, but Greg just nodded and muttered a simple "figures..." under his breath, before they turned their gazes to the bonfire behind them.

Then, as if suddenly remembering something, Greg looked at the two newcomers and said,

"Ah, right! It’s only fair we share some information with you as well." Greg pointed at the fire behind them and continued,

"You’re probably curious why we can just sit around here without a care in the world, laughing and chatting so casually, right?"

Both Arthur and John nodded at the same time, and Greg went on without missing a beat.

"Well, this place is a bit... different. For whatever reason, this is the only spot on the mountain where neither the boars nor the Rock Serpents approach. It’s like a safe zone of sorts. We’ve been camping here since yesterday and nothing’s really crossed the boundary. Even when one of the boars chased Mark all the way here, the moment he stepped into the clearing, that thing just turned around and left."