Chapter 54 | Bound by Gear, Forged by Power

Seeing Sierra lost in thought, Matthew did not speak up to urge her.

He had a clear calculation in his mind for doing this.

First, a portion of this money originally belonged to Sierra. She had risked her life to hold off Remy; according to the default rules of adventurers, she deserved a share of the spoils.

Strictly speaking, the spoils he obtained from the goblin nest should theoretically be shared a tiny bit with Sierra and Hal, who were in the same team.

Compensating her now with the coin pouches of Remy and his lackey was reasonable and saved him the trouble of taking money out of his own share.

Second, and most importantly, Sierra was the only “outsider” besides Calm and Hal who knew that Brody and Flynn had entered the forest with them.

Although they had now aligned their stories, claiming that Brody “had already returned to the county seat after completing his mission,” it was hard to guarantee that Sierra wouldn't have doubts. It was best to use wealth and goodwill to form a united front first.

He would appease her with tangible benefits first. Once Matthew's strength grew, he would no longer have to fear any unknown dangers.

Sierra fell silent for a moment before finally reaching out. Instead of putting them away, she untied the drawstrings and poured all the coins onto the wooden table between them.

With a clinking sound, the copper and silver coins gleamed faintly in the twilight.

She lowered her gaze, her fingers sorting through the coins. After a moment, she divided them into four roughly equal piles.

“Matthew...” Sierra looked up, a trace of seriousness appearing on her delicate face. “It's true that I held Remy off, but you were the one who ultimately killed him and resolved the threat; without you, Hal and I wouldn't have survived, nor would we have gotten this money, so these four shares should be split equally among us.”

Matthew looked at the girl in front of him, momentarily stunned.

He had expected her to accept it or refuse a portion of it, but he hadn't expected her to choose the most fair and unifying method so decisively.

Ultimately, he didn't refuse any further and simply nodded solemnly. “Alright, we'll do as you say.” He swept his share toward himself.

There were about a dozen silver coins, which was also a decent amount of wealth.

Only then did Sierra reveal a relieved smile. She quickly gathered her share of coins back into her pouch, tied it carefully, and tucked it close to her body.

After doing all this, she relaxed completely, leaning back against the wall and letting out a long breath, obvious exhaustion written all over her face.

The continuous battles, tension, injuries, and intense emotional fluctuations had finally caught up to her; now that she relaxed, fatigue washed over her body like a tidal wave.

Seeing how exhausted she was, Matthew said, “It's getting dark. Why don't you rest here for the night? Instructor Calm has space here. It'll be safer to head back tomorrow morning after you've recovered some strength.”

Hearing this, Sierra tilted her head slightly, teasing him with a subtle hint of playfulness, “Driving me away already? Aren't you going to ask me to stay for a few more days?”

Matthew was startled and quickly waved his hands to explain, “Of course not. I just see that you're exhausted and injured. It's already dark outside, and walking the mountain paths at night isn't safe.”

This wasn't an exaggeration; the mountain paths were indeed unsafe. Not only did wild beasts roam them, but there was also a risk of encountering rogue bandits looking to take advantage of travelers.

This was also why Matthew had asked Old Joel in the village to purchase a Green bow.

He paused and added, “Besides, there's no one at your home to take care of you right now, is there?”

The teasing look faded from Sierra's face, replaced by a warm, slightly helpless smile. “Don't worry, Matthew. My brother is at home.”

Hearing this, Matthew nodded. “Then it's up to you. You can stay as long as you like.”

After chatting for a bit longer, Sierra found an empty room and settled in.

A moment later, Instructor Calm returned. He first tended to Hal's injuries, then pulled Matthew out to the courtyard to sit face-to-face.

The night had deepened, and the stone table and benches in the courtyard carried a cool chill.

Calm did not speak immediately. Instead, he picked up the pitcher on the table, poured a cup of cold water for both himself and Matthew, and drank his in one gulp, as if to organize his thoughts and shake off the fatigue of his travels.

Matthew sat quietly, waiting for the instructor to speak.

Calm set down his empty cup. His lips twitched upward in a rare, slightly teasing smile. “That girl, Sierra... hmm, she's quite nice. Kid, make sure you don't miss your chance.”

Matthew had not expected the usually stern and cold instructor's first words to be this!

Isn't this just pressuring me to get married?

He froze completely, his eyes widening slightly, temporarily at a loss for words.

Seeing Matthew's reaction, Calm's rare smile quickly vanished. He returned to his usual steady and serious demeanor, even carrying a hint of boredom, as if thinking the boy was a hopeless case.

He then steered the conversation back to business:

“I've handled everything. Rayson's parents... although they are grieving, with that condolence money, they will at least have no worries about their livelihood for the time being.”

He looked at Matthew, noticing the lingering tension in the youth's eyes, and softened his tone:

“Matthew, you don't need to worry too much.”

“The Brody family is in Abilan County, which is a long distance from our remote village. Just a one-way trip would take a normal merchant caravan a month. When Brody came out to perform this mission, according to the habits of noble young masters, recruitment, resting... all of that takes time.”

“Even if the Fiery Lion family really notices something is wrong, or if Brody's branch has doubts and sends people to investigate or track him down, it will take at least two or three months.”

“Besides, Brody's status in the family is likely not high. For an unimportant branch member to go missing, with the Fiery Lion family's vast size and inevitable internal strife, their reaction might not be as fast or intense as we fear.”

Matthew listened carefully to Instructor Calm's analysis, and a large portion of his worries dissipated.

The instructor made sense. Distance was the best shield, and the internal operations of a noble family were far more complex and slower than one would imagine.

As for the main goal of this adventure—finding out what was happening in the forest.

Matthew didn't want to think too much about it right now. After all, a single kobold priest had nearly wiped them out. Even if he knew that deeper secrets and more powerful entities were hidden in the depths of the forest, with his current strength, there was absolutely nothing he could do to change it.

The only thing he could do now was become stronger.

“I understand, Instructor.” Matthew then asked the question lingering in his mind, “Then, Instructor, how does one become a Class holder?”

The fundamental reason Instructor Calm had never systematically explained the specific requirements of a Class holder to Matthew was that the speed at which Matthew's strength skyrocketed was simply too terrifying, completely shattering conventional understanding.

In Calm's decades of experience, for an ordinary person—even one with decent talent—to go from basic training to touching the threshold of a Class holder usually required several years or even longer of painstaking grinding.

Mastering the basics of a breathing technique was a major hurdle, requiring day after day of accumulation and steady effort; physical fitness and basic skills also required painstaking, slow effort.