Having taken the position of the boss nominally, Thalric finally thought to ask something that had been on his mind since his entire time traveling to this camp. He turned to Paul, still not seeing a single thing above their head.

  “Why is it that you have no level?” He asked, bluntly.

  The boy looked at him in confusion for a moment until the words registered, causing his already puzzled face to scrunch up even more.

  “I am still 19 years old. Of course I have no class. But I will in a month.” Paul said, as a small smile formed after the end of the statement.

  “I see.”

  Ignoring the odd looks the duo gave him, Thalric contemplated on his answer, wondering if classes were not given randomly and were based on a set of factors that decided on what someone would receive. Given his personal experience in attaining a class, it could be assumed that the world had gauged his prior experience, despite the actions having not taken place in the same world. If it worked in this way, then his recruitment in the far future would have to be those who were on the cusp of what this world most likely considered adulthood. He imagined it was standard practice for militaries, at least the elite forces. Which did not even factor the artificially inflated start that nobility probably had in this world by ensuring that they met and stacked certain requirements that had to have been researched for hundreds, maybe thousands of years for specific classes. The possibility painted a dangerous elitist world, but one of great opportunity if played right.

  A newcomer entered the tent, causing Thalric to shift his focus from his thoughts and look at the bandit. The new individual was a slim man with brown hair, lean physique, and a serious demeanor. He prepared to speak but hesitated upon seeing the trio standing together. The bandit briefly looked at Thalric before approaching Rex.

  “Hey Rex, anything I should be aware of?.” He gestured at Thalric as he spoke, looking at him with interest.

  "Vern, I would like to introduce you to your new boss, Thalric. He’s a Rare Classer and I had to give him my position or else he would have probably killed me.” Rex said with a toothy grin.

  Vern’s eyes widened as he shifted his gaze between Rex and Thalric. A unreadable expression had sparkled in his eyes, but then he returned his attention on Rex.

  “You’re serious?” His brow rose.

  "Pretty much. Paul tells me he killed Dave’s group on the way here, despite being only at level five and surrounded. I have no chance in fighting him, even at level nine." Rex paused and then looked in the direction of the exit.

  “Though I don’t know if it’s a good idea for the others to know of what he did. Dave did have people he was close with in the gang.” He muttered to himself, loud enough for vern to hear.

  A grimace spread across Vern’s face and grunted his agreement. That was when Paul spoke up and mentioned that they had already told the men guarding the entrance that they had died in a wolf attack.

  “Better for us to stick to that story to avoid any future issues.” Vern suggested and the rest agreed.

  Moving on, Vern moved closer to Thalric and greeted him properly.

  “ My name is Vern. I’ve been Rex’s right hand man since the very beginning” Vern said.

  “And a damn good one” Rex said, placing a hand on Vern’s shoulder.

  “Forget all that. What's the plan, boss?” Brushing off Rex's praise, Vern asked Thalric.

  Thalric looked between the expectant eyes of the group around him with a thoughtful expression. His eyes became distant, and he turned around, walking to the tent’s exit in relaxed pace.

  “Introductions are necessary.” His resolute voice traveled through their ears.

  Together, the trio followed behind Thalric, with Vern whispering towards Rex for further information on the situation at hand. When Thalric heard Rex explain his motives on becoming the new boss, including his intentions on warfare; a curse had emitted from Vern's lips. This caused a barely perceptible smirk to appear on Thalric’s face.

  They strolled down to the center of the large cavern, plenty of members paying more attention to Thalric now that he had Rex and Vern in his entourage. They stopped and Rex bellowed loudly, his voice throughout the cavern, loud enough that the guards at the entrance would hear.

  “All of you get over here now! I don’t wanna have to repeat myself!”

  In about a minute, everyone had gathered in front of the entourage, creating a crowd of just over thirty people, according to Thalric’s quick estimate. Yet, the discipline on display left much to be desired. Despite a superior calling for their attention, they continued to whisper among themselves and their bodies slouched with engrained laziness. The time it took for them to organize in the center was ridiculous to him. Thalric realized he had a considerable amount of work ahead to drill in the standards he viewed as acceptable in these men, and even more time would be required to surpass those standards.

  His eyes hardened as he scanned the group and those who noticed immediately froze up, quieting down quickly. It was a cascading effect and soon everyone had become silent with immense tension in the air. After the message was understood, he glanced towards Rex with a stern expression.

  This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  Rex averted his gaze and coughed, addressing the crowd.

  “Listen up! I’ve decided to step down as the leader! This man will be your boss from now on.”

  He gestured at Thalric which made most of the attention hone in on him. While the crowd started getting loud with protests and questions, the former leader spoke again.

  “He is a Rare Classer! Show him some damn respect!” He bellowed, which made many gasp and other clasped their mouth shut upon hearing those words. Their eyes were glued on Thalric in apprehension. All except for one.

  It was a huge bald guy, who was almost as tall as Paul and as muscular as Rex. He pushed through the parting crowd with a furious expression on his face. His eyes drilled into Thalric’s with great fury as he marched. Rex was about to intervene but Thalric shook his head, and met the man halfway.

  Their eyes pierced into one another, with Thalric showing a cold intensity while the man had a boiling ferocity.

  “I don’t care what you are! I will not follow some little level 9 chump. Get out of here or else I’ll make you.”

  From behind Thalric, Paul was wincing, turning away to avoid seeing anything that might happen. While Vern was rubbing his chin in thought, observing the interaction in interest. And Rex had a bored expression, as if he knew the outcome.

  When the bandit received no response, only an unblinking glare from Thalric, he growled and opened his mouth to speak once again. But in a split second, his entire world turned upside down. Thalric had his free hand clasped over the guy's mouth, grasping with an iron grip over his jaw. One of his feet had been swept from underneath and the momentum of Thalric pushing forward had slammed the bandit to the ground with tremendous impact. In a blink, Thalric had his knee pressing down against the bandit’s chest, and his hand grasped onto the man’s now broken jaw. The fury in the man’s eyes were replaced with absolute shock that transitioned into horror when Thalric raised his battleaxe in the air over his shoulder.

  Everyone else was alarmed and the trio behind were too stunned to move.

  In a swift movement, the axe came down, with the bandit closing his eyes and awaiting his demise. A loud vibration rebounded through the surface of the cavern, as the blade dug into the ground, inches away from the bandit’s ear.

  Atop him, Thalric felt a warm and wet sensation below him, implying that the man had urinated on himself. Which might have occurred at the same time that he had drifted into unconsciousness.

  The fear in the air was palpable and no one dared speak as the only sound that could be heard was the wind echoing from the cavern’s entrance.

  Thalric scanned the crowd with a deadly glimmer in his eyes, which was met with aversion. He spoke in a calm but warning tone.

  “Do not question my authority. Unless you wish for me to not miss next time.”

  There was no verbal response; the only replies were a series of nods.

  “I don’t believe I heard you correctly!” He intoned loudly.

  The realization struck each of them one by one, and they all shouted in unison.

  “YES SIR!”

  He lifted himself up and stood straigh, easily pulling the large battleaxe out from the tear on the ground.

  “Good. Now, my name is Thalric. I will be your Supreme Commander from this moment forth. That designation is because I will be forging you all into soldiers. Is that clear?”

  There was some hesitancy in the crowd but everyone still answered, the fear still embedded into their minds.

  “YES SIR!” The cavern shook with the collective voices.

  Thalric turned around, walking past the dumbfounded trio. He spoke over his shoulder as he headed back to the leader’s tent.

  “Training will begin tomorrow. You are all dismissed.”

  The crowd repeated their earlier answer and scattered quickly, not wishing to gain the ire of the new boss. As they did so, Rex quickly caught up to Thalric, with the others following soon after. Rex spoke low and in a more reserved tone towards Thalric.

  “Sir, was that the best way of handling things?”

  Thalric did not look at Rex but replied anyways.

  “Yes, this world is clearly for the strong. I am strong, and I will continue to get stronger. It is better for that scenario to be handled in a way that prevents repeats.”

  The trio sighed and nodded in acknowledgment.

  They gathered inside the tent once more and Thalric sat on his throne, with the men standing there awkwardly, not knowing what to do. Thalric was in his thoughts briefly until he spoke.

  “What I am about to say shall not exit this tent. If word of it spreads due to anyone in this room, I will personally execute you.” He stated coldly.

  “Don’t worry, we won’t say a word!” Rex blurted out in a hurry and the others made similar comments.

  “I need knowledge of this world. Primarily because I am not from this world. I will be asking some questions.” Thalric admitted.

  “An outsider….wow.” Paul muttered, and Thalric recognized the term matched his title. His eyes narrowed, as the implications were clear. However, he pushed that aside when Rex addressed him.

  “I believe we can help. I haven’t known Paul for very long but Vern and myself have lived in larger towns and cities, so we know and thing or two.”

  “Alright. Let’s get started then.”