Ronan raised the bow and started forming another arrow, the shifting movement of the creature between his legs making it a real struggle to keep his aim straight. The power of an epic skill wasn't to be laughed at, however, and he soon figured out that if he gripped the raptor tightly with his legs and kept his abdomen loose the movement of the creature while running had far less of an impact on his aim.

The second of the weird creatures exploded to an arrow a second after he figured it out, mid-leap. The third crashed into the sand just short of the raptor's tail, thanks to the plucky creature running for its damn life. It clearly hated—or feared—whatever these things were.

Ronan raised his bow again and let the arrow fly the moment he'd finished enchanting it. The creature was caught right in the face while running and it blew up, joining its two allies in death shortly after.

The brief encounter with the strange desert creatures was exciting and allowed Ronan to push his skills a little further, even if he hadn't directly gained anything in his status page. He'd wanted to work on archery this iteration, ever since he received the bow, and he had done exactly that.

The larger sun, the one that was closer to the planet, began to set first. It vanished behind the horizon about four hours before the distant sun's light began to fade. However, the distant sun seemed to stay in view even as the three moons of the planet appeared and night fell.

The raptor refused to travel in the dark. Ronan could respect that. He dismounted and realised he'd not prepared for a night in the desert. Even with his stats he could feel the biting chill of the cold.

When he turned back to the raptor, he panicked. The creature had completely vanished. He wondered what the hell had happened when its jaw poked out of the sand.

"What the fuck?" he muttered. Walking over to where the raptor's head was poking out of the sand, he realised that it had dug a hole into the ground in the time it had taken him to look around the desert and feel sorry for himself.

It retreated into the burrow and made a gentle whining noise. He peered into the dark hole in the sand, wondering how it wasn't collapsing on itself. The raptor appeared again a few seconds later, tapping its head against the sand and then going back inside the burrow.

Ronan realised it wanted him to follow it inside and tentatively crawled behind it. He looked up at the 'roof' and realised it had been packed down with some kind of liquid. He didn't want to think about it. As long as it was secure.

The biting windchill had ceased the moment he entered, which was a blessing. The burrow was spacious, and as the raptor put the finishing touches to it, he realised how it had done it so fast.

Rather than digging through the sand it was simply compacting the loose desert sand into a tighter area and using its saliva to keep it in place. Ingenious, if a little gross.

"Well, goodnight. Thanks for the burrow and the ride." Ronan was about to lay his head against the sand when he realised it was formed with the raptor's spit.

Thankfully he had the captain's uniform in his inventory. It was too damaged to be of use as armour or clothing, but folded up it made a perfect pillow.

Two more days of travelling in that manner brought Ronan and his scaly companion to the gates of a new city. This one was far larger than Kayir, with a similar bubble that stretched over the entire place.

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Grathamor.

The walls were taller than Kayir's, but the setup was essentially the same. Ronan knew that news of his attack on the logistics city had to have got out, as the three captains had come to kill him. He was on his guard.

He actually took out the uniform from the captain that he'd slept on and replaced the lieutenant's uniform he'd been wearing before. Even with the extensive damage he felt that it would be a better disguise. If he could weave a clever enough tale he'd be able to get inside the city. That was all he needed.

No one else except the Governor would have the strength to stop him. Actually why do I even need to bother with all the subterfuge. I can just walk into the city and find the guy to kick his ass. Ronan sighed as he had just put on the uniform for nothing.

At the very least, he looked cooler in the gold than the purple of the lieutenant uniform.

Once he was done he got back on the raptor and they continued towards the gate. He went straight past the short queue at the gate, getting a few odd looks but no real complaints. The captains were the second highest authority on the planet, after all—who would dare complain about him getting priority entry to Grathamor?

"Captain! What happened? Let us help you—" The soldiers at the gate rushed over to him the moment he got close and started fussing over his torn uniform.

"No need." He interrupted the soldier and raised his hand to silence the others. Ronan was grateful he'd remembered to put his mask back on, otherwise he would have blown his cover in an instant. "Take me to the Governor. Don't ask questions, soldier."

The soldiers straightened up immediately. They performed the fist against chest salute. The one who had initially spoken stepped forward from the others. "I will escort you right away, Captain. The others will stay to guard the gate."

Ronan nodded and followed the soldier as the Grathen turned around and walked into the city. This scene felt familiar somehow.

They stood in front of a tower. It was the single tallest building that Ronan had seen on the planet. Nothing in Kayir had come close, not even the logistics headquarters or the spaceport. It was nothing compared to a skyscraper from back on Earth, though.

The soldier saluted Ronan once more in the way the Grathen did. Ronan nodded. "You are dismissed, soldier. Good work. Watch that gate closely, now."

"Yes, Captain!" The soldier turned and walked away, beaming with pride after Ronan's praise. He almost felt sorry for the poor sod who'd just delivered the lion to the sheep.

Ronan looked at the tower for a few more seconds before walking towards the door. It was time to fight the strongest person on the planet and finish his conquest, and with it the first step of the Path of the Gladiator.

He was surprised it had been this easy. Not easy, but not as terrifyingly hard as the tutorials had been the first times he attempted each difficulty.

I still have to face the governor. Probably best not to say anything that could raise a flag before I fight the fucker. Ronan realised he'd already done that, but he could stop now before he planted another.

The door opened for him as he approached. That was surprising. Or not that surprising. He was in the captain's uniform and this was the Governor's tower. A public building, possibly? He walked into it, not sure what to expect.

The ground floor was empty. There was just one more door at the back of the room. An elevator, like the one that had been in the logistics headquarters in Kayir.

Ronan didn't hesitate to step into it. He wasn't sure what—or who—awaited him at the top, but he wouldn't shy away from this challenge.

The elevator took about forty-five seconds to reach the top of the tower. He had his bow out before then, and was prepared to put it away and conjure a new weapon at a moment's notice.

When the door opened, it revealed a rather normal looking office. It wouldn't have been out of place in a corporate building back on Earth. There was a solitary alien sitting at the desk, wearing a plain black robe unlike the uniforms any of the other Grathen had worn.

"So, you are the one who has been causing all this trouble on my world. A shame about the captains. It always takes ages to get new officers shipped out, and I'll have to take some punishment for their deaths. At the very least, I'll enjoy killing you, invader." The Governor saw through Ronan's disguise instantly.

[Garuku 1 - Agrathen Governor Lv.136]

Ronan let his first arrow fly right into the governor's face.

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