At the mouth of the alley, the soldier nodded at Levi and gestured with his spear. Levi beamed at him. “You’re the no questions type. I like that about you.”

“Shut up and walk.”

Levi mimed zipping his lips and moved his feet.

“What was down there?”

“What happened to no questions?”

The soldier angled his spear toward Levi.

Levi put his hands up. “It was just a raccoon. Those things make freaky noises. I scared it off.”

The soldier nodded. He turned away from Levi again.

They reached the barracks in a short time. Rows of identical dorms stretched off down the aisle. The soldier pointed at the first four. “Pick one.”

“I choose… number one!” Levi said.

Reaching to his hip, the soldier drew out a metal tag and hung it on the door. He pushed the door open, revealing a dark interior. He grabbed a torch from the exterior wall and touched it to a candle inside. “Gather at dawn outside your room, at the ready. You’ll find everything you need inside. A bed, nightclothes, and a change of day clothes as well. We’ve also provided you with basic toiletries.”

“Like toilet paper?”

The soldier gave him a blank look.

“Loo roll? Tissues? The back pages of a cheap paperback?” Levi tried.

“The toilet is at the end of the barracks,” the soldier said, pointing to a rundown hut at the far side of the field.

“Message received. Leaves it is.” With a final thumbs-up, Levi stepped into his room. He turned around, taking stock. It was a simple room. One bed, one window on the far side of the room from the door, one chair. Cloth was folded neatly on the chair, and a few sundries sat atop the clothes.

The soldier clunked away. The second his boots cleared the corner, Levi stepped out of his room. He glanced around. Seeing no one in the immediate vicinity, he walked around to the back of the building.

Before long, Kai appeared. He glanced at the dorms, then slid into the second room. Reaching into his pocket, he hung a metal token on the door.

A soldier clunked by, leading another victim. Levi perked his head up. Colin glanced around, timidly following the soldier. The soldier gestured toward the third room. Colin stepped inside.

Excellent. Levi pushed the window open from outside and slid in as Colin shut the door and waved goodbye to the soldier. He slipped across the room and sat down on the edge of the chair.

Colin turned around. He jumped. His eyes went wide.

“Good evening, Colin. I couldn’t help but notice your reaction at the dinner table,” Levi said.

Colin raised his hands. Blushing, he turned away. “I—I’m flattered, but I’m not—”

“You want to run away, don’t you—wait, huh? What?”

“What?” Colin returned, equally flustered.

Levi raised his brows. “No, go on.”

“Nothing, it’s nothing. You—you go on,” Colin said quickly.

Levi chuckled. He stood and paced the room, putting his hands cooly behind his back. Subtly, he checked his ass for cuts. I really should’ve checked on the razor they gave us before I sat on that pile. I guess they only had straight razors back then, but still. Dangerous thing to toss on a chair. “I saw you. You want to run away, don’t you? There’s no one else around. You can admit it now.”

Colin’s eyes flicked to Levi. He gulped, then nodded, barely half an inch.

Levi grinned. “Excellent. I have a plan, but it requires your cooperation. If you weren’t on my side, I’d have to bother you until you gave in.”

“S-so, what’s the plan?” Colin asked.

Levi bridged his hands together. “Right now, they’re on guard. They’ll be on guard until they’re convinced we’re on their side. So, we don’t escape now. We wait. Wait until we reach the battlefield. Fight one battle, even. And then, only then, do we make a break for it.”

Colin gulped. “But that means we have to fight. In battle. Risk our lives.”

Levi waggled his finger. “Don’t worry. That’s where your part comes in. You’re a healer. I have a high pain tolerance. I fight, and you heal me, and only me. If I can fight recklessly, I can keep anyone from reaching you. You’ll be safe, and you’ll be keeping me safe. We will survive. And after battle, we’ll escape.”

Colin took a nervous breath. He thought for a moment, then nodded. “Okay. Yes. Okay. We’ll do that.”

“Once we get away, we’ll have to live rough for a few weeks until the army forgets about us, or while we make a break into enemy territory, but then we’re home free. We get to live our best isekai life.”

“A peaceful life. That’s what I want,” Colin said firmly.

Levi clasped him on the shoulder. “And that’s what we’re going to do. Find our peaceful lives. Just as soon as we get away from this bullshit.”

Colin nodded. He took a deep breath, then nodded again. “Yes. Right. We’re going to get out of here.”

“Yes!” Levi released Colin and backed away. He paused. “Oh, one last thing. They mentioned a class-up, or whatever. I need you to choose whatever class heals more. Go hard on healing. I’m going to pick a stealth class. Between the two of us, we’ll get out of this alive.”

Colin gave a thumbs-up.

Grabbing the windowsill, Levi slung his leg over. “See you in the morning.”

He hopped down and crossed back to his room. He slid in through the window.

Brooke stood there, arms crossed.

“Whoops. Wrong room.” Levi began to back out, then paused. He squinted. “Wait, this is my room.”

“That’s right.”

He slid in. “So, me, you, a man and a woman, all alone in my room?”

“Stop whatever you’re doing,” Brooke demanded.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable. I just assumed—”

She gave him a dead look. “I meant the plan. Your stupid conspiracy theory. Stop it.”

Levi raised his brows. He took off his shirt and tossed it on the bed. “No.”

“Excuse me?”

“No. I’m not going to stop.” He unbuttoned his jeans.

She gave him a look. “Are you really undressing?”

“Are you really trespassing in my room?” Levi kicked his shoes off. He gripped his pants and raised his brows at her.

“You’re disgusting.” She backed through the door.

“You’re committing a crime. I’m not. Seeeee ya!” Levi gave her a jaunty wave and shut the door.

“You stop what you’re doing!” she called as she left.

“I’m getting naked in my room whether you like it or not!” he shouted after her.

She made a disgusted sound and marched off.

Levi locked his room. Half-dressed, he sat down in his chair and stared at the door. He ran his hands down his face and took a deep breath. “I’ve got this.”

--

Everyone but Kai gathered at the break of dawn and headed back down to the same field. Kai was there when they arrived. He and Captain Tash faced one another, swords drawn.

They clashed. Sparks flew. Captain Tash narrowed her eyes. With a flick of her sword, she sent his blade to the side. One quick step, and she put her blade to his throat.

Kai grimaced. His nose twisted in disgust.

Behind him, Levi raised his brows. Interesting. Captain Tash didn’t have a status sheet, if the Grand Mage could be trusted. Nonetheless, she could fight on par with Kai, the member of their team with the strongest stats. She clearly had some ability to reach higher strength levels than ordinary people from Levi’s world. He couldn’t discount people without status sheets in this world—or at least, not at his current level. Wonder if that’s why they pump us up to level ten first.

Then again, the Grand Mage doesn’t appear to have been isekaied. Maybe it’s possible to reach the same heights as those of us blessed with the System, but it’s harder or slower. He raised his brows. No—I bet that’s it. It takes decades to build a mage without a System. With one, it takes days.

No wonder they’re summoning us. We’re not cannon fodder. We’re cannons, who are also fodder.

“Good. You were close, that time.” Captain Tash stepped back. Lowering her sword, she sheathed it and turned to the others. “As I promised, you face hobgoblins today. They’re more dangerous than ordinary goblins. In the wild, they often possess small bows or slings. Here, they are merely stronger and larger goblins. Take care. We have had heroes die to the hobs before. Especially healers.”

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Colin stiffened. He clutched his staff tight to his chest.

“I won’t let them touch you,” Levi promised quietly, patting Colin’s shoulder. After all, he needed Colin for his plan. No way was he letting some shitty little goblins ruin his meticulous efforts.

Colin relaxed just an inch. He managed a nervous smile at Levi.

Captain Tash clapped. Soldiers stepped forward, distributing their weapons once more. Levi tossed his sword, getting a feel for its weight. He checked his status. How much did I grow?

Levi | 18 | Lv 4

Class: Soldier

Str: 3

Mag: 4

Dex: 3

Spd: 8

Def: 4

Res: 3

He chuckled under his breath. “Ah. Now I see.” No wonder Adelie had cowered after summoning a Soldier. It was the everyman class. The great at nothing, okay at everything class. The even-growths class. Except for speed, which was twice as high as everything else. Levi shrugged to himself. If he had to pick one stat to be high, he could do worse than Speed.

If a Hero, who started with ten in each stat, could fight a non-System-possessing Captain on even footing at level five, then he was well and truly fucked. It’d take him ten levels to hit Kai’s starting point. Five more levels to match fifteen points. And that assumed Hero could only grow one point in each stat per level.

I need to Class up fast. This Class is shit.

The soldiers turned the crank. The cage creaked up out of the ground. Large, yellow-skinned goblins clamored at the bars, A few of them gnawed at the iron. Massive fangs jutted out of their jaws, and slit-pupiled eyes glared at the five of them.

Kai strode out in front of the group. He raised his sword. “Let’s begin.”

Levi and Jake exchanged a nod. They walked out in front of Colin and Brooke. Brooke stepped slightly in front of Colin, who hung in the very back.

The cage door struck the ground with a resounding blow. The hobgoblins burst free.

Kai laughed. He swept his sword, anticipating a mad rush.

The hobgoblins saw the strike coming. They leaped into the air, dodging Kai’s strike. Stubby wings unfolded from their backs. Like leathery chicken wings, they weren’t nearly large enough to allow powered flight, but they could glide and fight gravity for a few seconds. The highest leaper propelled himself toward Kai’s face, while the next two behind him swooped for his limbs. They latched on, weighing him down. The second he was incapacitated, the rest of the hobgoblins swarmed him. Yellow flesh and bright fangs flashed.

“Kai!” Brooke screamed. She sniped one of the hobgoblins off him with a well-placed fire beam. One hob fell away, singed and stinking.

Jake rushed toward Kai.

Levi sighed. “He kinda deserves it, but I could use a homicidal distraction.”

Digging in his toes, he blasted off the ground. He sprinted past Jake and closed in on Kai. He dashed by. His sword flashed.

Two hobs fell to the ground, gripping severed limbs. A third one screamed like a stuck pig, a massive slash open in its side. Its organs slopped out, soaking blood into the floor.

Levi whirled around. Recognizing him as a threat, the hobs lifted off Kai to hurtle at him. Their little wings powered at the air.

Levi slashed once, twice, three times. Three hobs hit the ground.

Kai let out a bloodcurdling scream. He ripped a hob off his face and threw it to the ground, stomping its face in. Grabbing left, right, and center, he tore the hobs off him. The second they hit the ground, they rebounded at Kai.

“Nah. Not today.” Levi spun his sword around and stabbed. As Kai pulled the hobs off of him, Levi finished them off.

Jake jumped into the battle. He helped Kai peel the hobs away. Colin ran up, too. He kept a healthy distance between him and the hobs, but raised his staff. Gold light streamed into Kai and the others. Deep gashes on Kai’s flesh began to seal shut.

Brooke fired off another few fireballs, destroying the few hobs who survived the onslaught. Panting, she leaned against her staff. “Kai, come back. Join the formation. Please.”

“I’ll be ready, next time,” Kai growled. Lifting his arm, he wiped blood off his face. Gold light danced around him, sinking into his many wounds.

“No, you won’t. Don’t be a dick. Or do. I mean, it was kinda funny watching you get swarmed by a billion hobs,” Levi informed him.

Kai narrowed his eyes at Levi. He lifted his sword.

“Hey, edgelord. Watch where you point that dagger. We just saved your life. We don’t have to, next time,” Levi said. He lifted his finger and pushed the sword away.

“I don’t need your help.”

“Okay. Have fun with the hobs,” Levi said. He put his hands up and backed away.

Colin glanced at Levi. He backed away, too, and lowered his staff.

The gold light faded. Kai wavered where he stood. He whirled around, glaring at Colin. “What are you doing?”

Colin jumped. He went to raise his staff again. Before he could, Levi put a hand on his arm and pushed it back down. He looked down his nose at Kai, doing his best to adopt the exact bratty child attitude Prince Harold had had days ago. “You don’t need help.”

Kai bared his teeth. “Healing and help are two different things.”

“Levi! Let Colin heal him,” Brooke snarled. She stomped over to Colin and reached for his staff.

Levi pointed his sword at her. She jolted to a halt. He waggled his finger. “Nope. Kai cooperates or he doesn’t, but he doesn’t get the benefits if he doesn’t cooperate. You remember kindergarten, right?”

“He’s going to die!” Brooke snapped.

Levi glanced over his shoulder. Kai panted, his face twisting in pain every time he heaved a breath. Blood ran down his whole body from a multitude of cuts. “Eh. Die, no. Be in pain for a long time, sure. Do you want him to do this same dumbass thing the next time they haul a crate of hobs up here, and put us all in danger trying to save him? Again? Or do you want him to learn his lesson and play nice?” He glanced at Kai. “This is still the kindergarten curriculum, in case you’re following along.”

Hatred flashed over Kai’s face. He lifted his lip, and his nose twisted in disgust. “You’d withhold healing from an injured man?”

“I’d do it from an injured dumbass,” Levi returned. “Fight with us and get healed, or don’t, and get mobbed by the next round of hobs. What do you say?”

“I don’t need you,” Kai bit. His hands shook in anger.

“Yeah, sure. Fine. Accepted. But do you want us?” Levi paused. He cleared his throat. “I mean, do you want to be healed?”

Kai’s whole face twisted up. He clenched his hands into fists. “I do.”

“Good! The first step is admitting you have a problem. Okay. Now for step two. Will you fight in formation with us, instead of trying to soak EXP alone on the frontlines like a dumbass?”

He looked away. His jaw moved.

Levi lifted a hand to his ear. “Couldn’t hear you!”

“Fine! Whatever. Just let him heal me,” Kai grumbled.

“There we go! That was easy, wasn’t it?” Levi beamed and clapped. He stepped back, letting Colin lift his staff again.

Colin stepped forward. Gold light flowed to Kai. Despite his best efforts, Kai’s shoulders unwound. Tension flowed off his body as his wounds closed. His eyes shut. He let out a slow breath.

Levi patted Colin’s shoulder. “Good work, soldier. You did a great job standing up to Kai. Stick close to me, and you’ll go far.”

Colin nodded. He managed a nervous smile.

Brooke scoffed. She rolled her eyes and turned away.

Captain Tash walked over from the edge of the field. As the last gold sparks faded from Kai, she looked them over. “Ready for the next round?”

“Ready,” Levi confirmed.

Kai grunted. He pushed his hair back and adjusted his grip on his sword.

Levi leaned toward Captain Tash. Raising a hand to his mouth, he stage-whispered, “That’s edgelord for ‘I’m ready.’”

Captain Tash broke a grin against her will. She raised her hand. “Ready the next round!”

The chains creaked. The cage lowered back into the bowels of the earth. The group backed away, and this time, Kai came with them. He stood in the middle, flanked by Levi and Jake. Eyes straight ahead, he refused to acknowledge them in any way.

“Get in my way, and I won’t hold back,” Kai muttered.

“Don’t threaten Jake with a good time,” Levi shot back.

Jake startled. “What? Why am I catching strays?”

“You know why, trip boy.”

“I really did trip!” Jake protested.

Levi raised his brows, but said no more.

The cage clanked to the surface. The hobgoblins roared, banging their claws on the cage.

“These things have intelligence. They can use strategy. Don’t be a hero,” Levi said, raising his sword.

Jake nodded and lifted his fists, assuming a fighting stance.

Kai just grunted.

The cage door dropped. A tide of mustard-yellow flesh stampeded out. The three of them held their ground, waiting.

Brooke hefted her staff. Fireballs bore the frontrunners to the ground. The hobgoblins behind them trampled over them in their mad rush. Blood splashed over their ankles. They closed in on the three melee fighters.

Swords flashing, fists flying, the three of them rushed to meet the hobgoblins.

The day passed quickly. Cage after cage of hobgoblins creaked to the surface and unleashed its deadly occupants. Time and time again, the five of them struck them down. Before long, everyone was level five, but as Captain Tash had predicted, their growth slowed there. By the end of the day, Levi and Brooke were level six, and Kai alone reached level seven. Jake and Colin lingered at the back of the growth rates, only reaching level five.

In this manner, the five days Captain Tash had prescribed came to pass. By the fifth day, they were all at level nine. Both the slow and the fast levelers were dragged to the same pace by the immense amount of EXP required to level past level five.

Or maybe this is as far as these weak monsters can get us, Levi noted silently. All the monsters they fought now had been captured by ordinary soldiers and put in cages. But they had the System. Stats. The ability to level up faster than an ordinary soldier of this world. They needed more than the kind of monsters mere soldiers could catch.

As the last of the monsters died, Captain Tash walked out onto the field. She clasped her hands behind her. “Welcome to the evening of the fifth day. I trust you all have reached level nine?”

“Sir, yes sir!” Levi said, snapping a salute.

Colin nodded nervously. Jake glanced at Levi and managed a sloppy salute. Kai harrumphed, and Brooke nodded primly.

A roar echoed up the shaft. The cage shuddered as it descended into the earth. Levi glanced behind her, raising his brows. “The hell’s that?”

“This is your first true life-or-death battle. No one will step in to save you. This monster is a boss monster that even I am not comfortable facing without a full party.”

At the distant walls, wheels rumbled. Cannons faced inward, dark, broad barrels pointed down at the field.

“Should you fail, we will launch cannon fire at the beast. Those remaining alive at that juncture should flee for their lives. We will fire indiscriminately.”

“Got it. Taking out the trash,” Levi muttered to himself.

“Should you succeed, you will have the right to Class Up. You should choose your class wisely. The right class can make or break an Awakened, such as yourself.”

She looked slowly from left to right, taking them all in. “I have high hopes for you. You’ve grown immensely since your arrival. Defeat this monster, and claim your Class advancement.”

Captain Tash glanced upward at the cannons. “Or die under the weight of a hundred pounds of lead. The choice is yours.”

With that, she strode off. She raised her fist. The soldiers manning the wheel pulled with all their strength, but still struggled. Another dozen soldiers ran to the wheel and helped them turn it. The chains screeched. Slowly, the cage crawled into view. This cage was taller than the rest, and the bars thicker and further apart. Black iron reinforced the corners. As it lifted, its occupant came into view.

A hairy head. Two massive horns, curling over either side of two long, broad ears. A flat nose, wet, dripping with spittle. Two dark eyes glared at them. A long, pink tongue snaked out of the flat muzzle, licking the wet nose. Broad, human shoulders. Massive hands, large as dinnerplates. A chest you could spread a picnic blanket on. And huge, furred legs, ending in hooves big enough to crush a head in a single step.

Levi gasped. He jumped in place. “Ohmigosh! A minotaur! Fucking sick! This is the best!”

“We have to fight that thing,” Brooke reminded him.

“Yeah, but look, if we die to a minotaur, that’s sick as fuck. Die to a goblin, and that’s just kind of sad,” Levi pointed out.

Jake nodded. “He’s got a point.”

“Minotaurs are classic. I mean, literally Classic. Who doesn’t want to fight a minotaur at least once?” Levi said, spreading his hands.

Colin glanced at Levi. He gave a nervous nod.

Kai nodded.

Rolling her eyes, Brooke snorted. “Men.”

“Enough talk. It’s time to fight,” Kai said, drawing his sword.

“No, no, no. Not enough talk. Not at all.” Levi turned. He pointed at Brooke. “Hammer him out the gate. Everything you’ve got, and I mean everything.” He turned, pointing at Kai and Jake. “We’re the frontline. Block him. Distract him. If he gets past us, we’re dead. We stake our lives on keeping the backliners alive.” He looked at Colin. “Prioritize heals to whoever the minotaur is focusing. If it’s you, run. That goes for you too, Brooke. If the minotaur starts going after the backliners, it’s our job,” he gestured at the three melee fighters, himself included, “to draw aggro, no matter what it takes. Break an arm. Lose a leg. Doesn’t matter. Colin will patch us up. We can’t let him reach Colin. He reaches Colin, and we’re dead.”

Jake nodded. Brooke twisted her lips, but she nodded as well. Colin tightened his grip on his staff.

“As if I wasn’t going to do that already,” Kai scoffed.

“Good! Good talk. Alright. Let’s oneshot this thing,” Levi said. He turned around, drawing his sword.

The cage reached ground level. All five of them tensed. The door clanged open.

The minotaur swung its giant head. Left. Right. Those hateful black eyes locked onto them, and they widened. It pawed the cage floor. Lowered its head.

Levi crouched. He adjusted his grip on his sword. “Here it comes.”

With a hideous roar, the minotaur charged.