NOVEL NEXT Chapter 73: Paladin's Locked In!
Ace's Sixteen and The Camp's few hunting groups headed out for a short hunt. Ace's team included Chaewon, Alex, and Mercer. Tyler and Seraphina had joined them, forming a six strong enough to beat top Sixteens on Gravehaven Isle.
They moved in a standard formation. Alex led. Mercer and Tyler followed close behind, with Seraphina and Chaewon flanking.
Ace was nowhere to be seen; he'd chosen to work as a pawn should. He moved ahead to scout the area with Cherry perched on his head, enjoying the wind. Other pawns wove between trees and bushes with barely a sound.
"It's amazing how Don Capo moves without a sound!" said a girl older than Ace. She'd picked up a bow under his influence and fallen in love with archery.
Another archer nodded. "Yeah. I'm watching how he moves and trying to copy it."
"I asked, and Don Capo gave me a few tips. Wanna hear them?"
"Yes! Gimme, gimme, gimme!" The girl beamed, eyes bright as she leaned closer.
Thank you, Don Capo, the man thought, happy to get some attention in this hell.
Soon, Ace raised his hand. Everyone locked onto him. He made a few signs showing the number of monsters ahead and their positions.
The pawns pulled back to relay the news to their teams. With coordinated steps, everyone prepared for the first clash with regular two‑headed wolves, fanning out to take the best angles.
Tyler was impressed. "You didn't have much time to teach them all… but they're really well‑coordinated and efficient."
Ace, who had already reached his team and delivered the news, nodded.
"Best of the best. Practicing since day one. No hand-holding. It paid off. Now the others follow."
"It raises everyone's chances of survival." Tyler nodded, pleasantly surprised.
A real surprise, however, was moments away. Unaware of the full potential in The Camp's best hunters, Tyler cast his buffs on everyone nearby. His buffs weren't as strong as the ones he'd used against Ignis Caro, so he could cover everyone.
"I increased your strength and pulling strength. Add more force to your shots, and spin your arrows for better penetration," Tyler called out, voice carrying through the line.
When the archers fired, they felt the difference immediately. So did the wolves as arrows tore through hide and lodged deep. Howls rolled through the forest while the hunters pressed the attack, arrow after arrow.
On a thick branch above them, Ace tracked their shots. He'd been the first to spot the pack and had already calculated how many teammates it would take to wipe them out. Now those numbers played out as the two‑headed wolves began to fall, one by one.
So they all think of me as Don Capo.
No one noticed his deadpan look. The Camp's best already treated him as the boss and moved on instinct.
"Their accuracy and teamwork are beyond what I thought!" Tyler blurted, finally grasping the real surprise.
Seraphina slipped past him and climbed the tree to stand beside Ace. He glanced over and smiled, wordlessly asking what she wanted.
"We should fight too. My Ranker Ranking Reward is the Loot Option. I can choose the loot from every corpse my teammates and I kill. It's limited to your Sixteen now," Seraphina said.
At the word "loot," Ace's expression tightened. After they killed so many Ignis Caro in the Heaven Village, the loot burned out and no one claimed anything.
Now Seraphina could pick the loot and share the options. Farming just became more efficient—and fun.
Exactly what I need, too.
Ace nodded. "I'm confident only we can handle the boss. We'll take a different path and tear through it while the others use a safer route."
"Have you already spotted a boss?" Seraphina asked.
"Yeah, more or less," Ace replied.
He could have told her he knew the boss's location from his minimap, but he didn't want to. That skill might save him if Gesta plotted against him—or took over Seraphina.
In truth, he knew the spot from his first life. He knew its skills and weaknesses.
Ace and Seraphina dropped down and briefed the others on the alternate route.
Mercer lifted his head, eyes steady, and met Ace's. "I want to fight with you all."
"Have you managed to open your Holy Codex?" Ace asked.
"Yes. I decided to pair it with swordsmanship. It worked yesterday, so I want to put it to use and get practice in real fights before anything dangerous shows up," Mercer said.
Though he was far from the eighteen‑year‑old Mercer Ace had met in his first life, he wore the same determined expression. Little bro's confident. He could already see the paladin in him from that single look.
Feels like watching my little brother grow into a man.
Ace chuckled. "Yeah. With Alex. Front line. Fight head-on and heal your allies. That's a paladin. Hidden class, hard to awaken. But you can do it."
"A paladin… Yes. I will become a paladin for everyone!" Mercer said.
Ace's chest tightened. In his first life, Mercer's reason for becoming a paladin had been the opposite.
He hadn't wanted to fight for others, only for himself. He hadn't wanted to heal others, only himself. He wanted to be a self-made man who could survive on his own, trusting no one.
Ace still remembered Mercer's cold, distant look at their first meeting. The idea that this man could heal never crossed his mind. In fact, it would've made more sense for that Mercer to cast curses.
Yet Mercer found a redemption arc and opened his heart to others, Ace included. He even gave his life for him after Ace kept forcing Mercer into his team and fights.
Edward Sawyer was similar, but worse. He involved himself with people yet treated them as disposable, as if a person's value could drop to zero.
I wonder if Edward Sawyer had at least a small change of heart after the recent events.
Ace didn't dwell on him. He picked up the pace toward the boss's location.