Archelius gave his orders with the cold efficiency of a tactical computer. There was no time for empathy; the survival of the group depended on absolute discipline.
"Theodore, you are on resource management. Scavenge the Lurker remains for scales and residue. We need potions and better armor immediately," Archelius commanded, pointing to the steaming corpses outside the cave.
Theodore, who was accustomed to ordering others, nodded numbly. "Yes, Archelius. But... what about the smell? Won't that attract more?"
"That is where Raji and Lisa come in," Archelius continued, ignoring Theodore's question. "This area is Level 5 to 8 territory. We need to move toward the valley where the Level 10+ enemies are more concentrated. Raji, you are the scout. Use your small size and speed to identify patrols. Do not engage. Do not be seen."
Raji bristled. "I was an elemental master in the Academy! I'm not some common grunt!"
Archelius fixed her with a gaze that instantly silenced her. He slowly activated the War God's Strike on his Divine Edge. The blade hummed, casting a chilling violet light over her defiant face.
"You are nothing here, Raji," he stated, his voice flat. "You are Level 2, and you cannot cycle magic. If you try to fight, you will be eaten. The System gave me power, but it gave you something else: low-level mobility and sensory perception. Your only value is as a guide and, if necessary, bait. Accept your role, or leave."
Raji stared at the lethal blade, her fear replacing her arrogance. She had seen the raw power of the War God System in action. "I... I understand. I'll scout."
"Lisa," Archelius turned to the third student, whose training was in illusions and mental projection. "You have the most useless skill set here, but you were observant. You will stay with Theodore and focus on spotting threats that Raji misses. Report every anomaly. Your survival depends on perfect information."
He tossed Raji a piece of the Void Lurker scale. "If you see anything Level 15 or higher, scratch a mark on this scale and bury it. Do not return until you are certain the path is clear."
The students moved immediately, driven by the sheer terror of disappointing their powerful, unfeeling new leader. Archelius sat by the fire, monitoring the map and his Core Power, healing the remaining exhaustion from the Raptor fight.
Training the Bait
For the next eight hours, Archelius used the students as highly efficient scouting tools. Raji would move ahead, marking paths. Theodore and Lisa worked tirelessly, processing the remains of the Razor Hounds and Void Lurkers Archelius had killed earlier.
[Simple Potion (Rank F) x 3]
[Arm Guard (Rank F) x 5]
The students were soon armed with basic protection and a few potions, giving them a slight edge.
As the dusk settled—a perpetual, toxic twilight in Aethelgard—Raji returned, her face etched with exhaustion, but also a flicker of pride.
"Archelius, I found a patrol route," she reported, keeping her voice low. "Level 10 Crawlers and Level 12 Shardsmen. They run the route every hour. There's a chokepoint between two broken columns, far from the main ruins."
"Excellent," Archelius praised, a rare word that made Raji stand straighter. "We will use that route. Theodore, I need you and Lisa to move to the side of the route. When I engage, you will watch for flanking attacks. If a Level 15+ threat appears, you sprint back to the cave. Do not look back."
"Understood," Theodore replied, gripping the handle of his new, scale-forged dagger.
Archelius then presented the truly dangerous part of the plan.
"I need to hit Level 10 tonight. To do that, I need to clear the Level 12 Shardsmen quickly. They are fast. I need a distraction."
He looked directly at Raji. "You will draw the first attack. Use your speed. When the Shardsmen focus on you, I will engage the group leader with the War God's Fist."
Raji's eyes widened in fear. "Draw them? They will slice me in half before you can move!"
"No, they won't," Archelius countered, his voice steady. "They are programmed to eliminate the lowest threat first to conserve energy. You are the lowest threat. Use your Sprint Burst movement to gain a second of advantage. It's a risk, but it's calculated. If you move fast enough, you live. If you hesitate, you die. Your life is a tool, Raji. Use it well."
The students, recognizing the cold, brutal logic that governed this world, accepted the strategy.
The Chokepoint Blitz
They moved under the deepening twilight to the ambush point—the narrow passage between the two ruined columns.
Archelius hid high above the passage, concealed in the shadows of a fractured archway, the Divine Edge thrumming faintly at his side.
Below, Theodore and Lisa were tucked into the rubble, barely visible. Raji moved into the open, directly in the path of the patrol, her tiny silhouette stark against the obsidian ground.
The sound of grinding crystal announced the arrival of the patrol: four Level 12 Shardsmen.
Raji, trembling, waited until the Shardsmen were within ten meters. She took a deep breath, yelled a panicked, challenging cry, and activated her innate speed, sprinting toward the cover of a nearby stone.
The Shardsmen instantly redirected their attack, focusing on the obvious, exposed Level 2 target. Razor fragments of crystal flew past her.
"Now!" Archelius commanded psychically.
He dropped from the archway, moving with a silent, devastating power. He channeled his core, using the full Rank F+ potential of the War God's Fist. He struck the lead Shardsman—the patrol leader—with a force that annihilated the crystalline entity entirely.
BOOM!
The resulting explosion of power disoriented the remaining three Shardsmen. Archelius activated War God's Strike and moved with practiced, lethal flow.
He used the Divine Edge to carve a brutal, sweeping arc, bisecting the second Shardsman before it could regain its focus. He parried a panicked attack from the third, redirecting the momentum into a fatal thrust.
The final Shardsman, recognizing the overwhelming power difference, broke ranks and attempted to flee. Archelius pursued with a devastating Sprint Burst, catching the fleeing entity in two strides, ending the fight with a swift, clean cut.
[Shardsman (Level 12) Defeated. XP Gained: 120.]
[Shardsman (Level 12) Defeated. XP Gained: 120.]
[Shardsman (Level 12) Defeated. XP Gained: 120.]
[Total XP Gained: 360. Current XP: 500/3200.]
Raji, frozen behind the cover, watched the entire display. The terrifying speed, the efficient killing, the absolute dominance over enemies that would have slaughtered them all—it was the power of a War God, not a bullied schoolboy.
The New Goal
Archelius recalled his subordinates. They were shocked, but Raji was alive, and the mission was a success.
"Report," Archelius demanded, sheathing his sword.
"Path clear, Alpha—I mean, Archelius," Raji corrected herself quickly, her voice respectful. "No flanking threats."
"Good," he said, allowing himself a small, internal satisfaction.
He now had a highly efficient, repeatable XP farm. He spent the rest of the night clearing the patrol routes, pushing his Core Power to the brink each time before allowing the Level Up to refresh his energy.
By dawn, the silver light of the System surged through him three times.
[Level Up: User Level 9!]
[Level Up: User Level 10!]
[Level Up: User Level 11!]
[User: Archelius]
[Level: 11 (XP: 200/6400)]
[Rank: E]
[Core Power Restored: 100/100.]
[Available Skill Points: 3.]
He immediately invested all three Skill Points into his primary Rank E skills, elevating their potency and increasing his base stats dramatically.
He was now Level 11, with maximized Rank E defensive and offensive skills. He could easily handle Level 20 enemies now.
He turned to his weary, but safe, subordinates.
"The Level 12 patrols are depleted. This area is too low-yield. We move now," Archelius announced, pointing toward the Citadel of Whispers on his Map. "The Citadel is a nexus. It holds the key to resources and higher-tier enemies. We move in as a scouting party. Our survival demands it."
He looked at Theodore, Raji, and Lisa, not with disdain, but with a cold appreciation for their new, crucial utility.
"You are no longer students. You are my first squad. Your training begins now. We march to the Citadel."