Cheese rushed out into the cold night, his heart heavy with an unsettling sense of dread. The darkness seemed thicker, more oppressive, as if the air itself held its breath. Tompson, Torv and Waff were by his side as he remounted the wall and surveyed the killing field from the top of the gatehouse. The ground below was still field with the dead goblins who had assaulted the walls only hours before, and it stank to high hell. The distant sound of a horn from the tower to the south echoed through the night—its single, sharp blast summoned the men to arms. The gatehouse was already manned by twenty soldiers, with another hundred or so scattered across the wall slowly forming for battle.

But it wasn’t just the number of men that unsettled him, so few scattered across such a long wall. It was the exhaustion that clung to every soldier, a weariness that was more than physical. The earlier battle had been brutal, and only a couple of hours had passed since its bloody end. The men had barely rested. Cheese himself felt it—his limbs were sore, his mind fogged with fatigue, but there was no time for rest.

Gelrock and Mauren were already there, waiting. As Cheese arrived, Mauren immediately gave his report.

"The enemy is gathering," Mauren said grimly, his voice tight with concern. "Our scouts just returned. Another thousand or so have joined their ranks. They’re forming up for something... bigger. And they are human"

Cheese nodded, his gaze flicking to the horizon. That is what the scout had meant when he said Cheese needed to see for himself. Their foes were joined by men. it was not a suprise given the earlier conversation. His thoughts were interrupted as he looked over at Gelrock. The smaller man stood in full plate armor, the faint gleam of metal catching the torchlight as he warmed his hands by the fire. Cheese’s eyes fell to Gelrock’s title, a flicker of something warm in his chest as he saw [Gelrock, Expert]. Cheese smiled as he realized the older man had broken through the barrier before him.

"When did that happen?" Cheese asked, his voice betraying a hint of surprise as the other officers gathered.

"Earlier today, during the battle," Gelrock replied with a knowing smile. "Did you think my highest skill was ‘Teacher’?"

Cheese offered a wry grin. "Honestly, I hadn’t really thought about it. Too bad—we won’t have time for training in the morning."

Gelrock looked momentarily insulted, then grinned back. "Why do you think I’m here, boy? This is where the fight gets real. And I’ll be watching you—making sure you don’t make too many mistakes."

Cheese paused, a thought suddenly crossing his mind. "Speaking of training, do you know any tricks for improving Observe?"

Gelrock’s eyes lit up with amusement. "So, you’ve got it, eh? I had a feeling you would. Skills like that tend to run in families. Your father’s Observe skill was something special—yours might not be quite up to his level, but we’ll see. What can you see with it?"

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Cheese hesitated for a moment. "I can see mana."

The air around them seemed to go still. Gelrock’s gaze sharpened. "Anything else?"

Cheese shook his head, a flicker of frustration in his chest.

"Well, fuck," Gelrock muttered. "Usually, that skill comes with some nice bonuses. Your father’s was Uncommon, and you don't see that often. How about you what's yours?"

Cheese’s smile was small but satisfied. "Mine's Epic."

Gelrock’s expression shifted—his eyes widened as if he’d just heard the gods speak. For a moment, Cheese thought the smaller man might actually pass out. Gelrock let out a breath, as if trying to recover. "Epic, you say? Well then, I guess that’s something to look forward to. Epic—that’s a different animal. I’ll wager you’ll unlock some interesting additions as you grow with it."

"hat’s your highest skill?" Nold, the page who had stuck close to Cheese, asked Gelrock.

Gelrock gave him a pointed look. "Dagger."

Cheese blinked, surprised. He had never imagined Gelrock as a dagger user, especially not in full plate armor. But then he noticed the sword at Gelrock’s hip, the bow slung across his back, and the small, wickedly sharp dagger sheathed beside it.

"A well-rounded warrior has many tools," Gelrock said with a smirk, warming his hands once more by the torch.

"Bladesman," Mauren interrupted, his voice tense. "They’re moving."

Cheese’s gaze snapped to the distance. The enemy’s torches were shifting, their movements slower now, more deliberate. They were not closing with the walls, simply fanning out. His chest tightened. He activated his Observe skill, watching the enemy ranks. Among the scattered lights of their forces, he could pick out the dimming glows of officers. But then his attention shifted again—to Gelrock, standing next to him. The small man blotted out most of the light around him, his own presence somehow overwhelming Cheese’s ability to focus. Cheese shifted slightly, recalibrating his senses.

Still, despite the enemy’s numbers, he didn’t feel the same fear he had earlier. There was no sign of greater skill among them—only a mass of bodies.

"Why are they attacking?" Cheese asked, his voice grim. "What do they want, and why the hell did they hit us earlier today? They are just throwing away lives."

"To test us," Gelrock replied, his voice cold but steady. "Earlier, it was like swatting flies. A wave of children I barely had to think about. It gave us some levels, but otherwise for us it was just a waste of energy. Id wager they learned a bit though, and tired us out. Let me ask you, Bladesman—do you feel any real threat from their force?"

Cheese shook his head. "No, I don’t. Even my skill shows them as no stronger than us. Yet they are stronger than what came at us earlier in the day."

Gelrock nodded, a grim smile creeping across his face. "Aye, but our men say there are trolls among them—at the Expert level. Yet those are not assaulting the walls. I don’t think they want to risk their best troops yet. They’re probing us, testing our strength. They’ll wait until they know exactly what they’re up against... then they’ll hit us when they think we’re ripe for the taking."

"Then what do we do?" Nold asked, his voice laced with a bit of panic.

Elder Tompson chuckled, his laughter full of warmth and assurance. "Why, we grow, boy. They’re sending us a whetstone to sharpen our blades. And we’ll use it."

Gelrock nodded in agreement, his tone more confident now. "Aye, these tactics might have worked in the past, but now? Now they’ll only serve us. As long as we rotate the men and keep pushing, their skills will grow faster than the enemy expects."

Cheese felt the dread that had gripped him at the start begin to fade, replaced by a newfound optimism. He looked around at his men, at the officers, at the warriors who stood ready, despite their weariness. The first bows twanged in the distance, and Cheese’s heart lifted.

"Well then," he said, grinning wide. "Let’s use it for all it’s worth."