CHAPTER 27: STRATEGIES AND SECRETS

After breakfast, we were told that the king wanted to meet us in the early afternoon. That gave us a few hours of rest before the audience. With nothing else to do, we called the four girls into the room and decided to have a strategy meeting. Well to be fair it was mostly my idea, the rest just went along with it. I mean we need to figure out how our skills were going to work with each other. Judging by the last fight we can’t just wing it...

“I hope everyone had a good night's sleep. Good job on the last fight, it was close but we won. I know some of you may feel like you want a rest but the demon’s won’t wait for us, so we need to press on.” I say to the nods of everyone else.

“Ok, first off order of business I want everyone to check their equipment later. Any damage is to be repaired or replaced. Speak to the blacksmiths and artisans later. I need all of your equipment back in perfect working order. Most of our armor took a beating and Alfie you need a new shield.” I say as I look at Alfie who nodded.

“Now then, does anyone have any thoughts on the fight?” I ask as I scan the room.

“I wasn’t very useful…” Momo said softly.

“Yes the barrier was a great hindrance, we couldn't get any good hits in. The only one who could do any significant damage in close range was Ivan. Katsuro managed as well but that’s only because you had the experience to fight in a way your abilities weren’t suited for.” Charlotte said.

“Yeah I felt I was just a shiny sand bag for that fight.” Jacob added with a sigh.

“It is your job to absorb the enemy’s aggression. If you felt like a sand bag then it means things are playing out as they are supposed to.” Ivan said.

“Thanks Ivan… makes me feel much better. Nice to know I’m a good sand bag.” Jacob replied with a roll of his eyes.

“You’re welcome.” Ivan replied calmly.

“Our tactics rely too much on ranged firepower. We were doing fine during the first phase of the fight. Things went south when that barrier reformed. Once the demon invalidated our ranged attacks, we lost most of our damage output.” I say.

“The barrier was reformed with the souls of the remaining demons. I think we may have to clear the demons before we take on the Rift next time.” Charlotte said.

“That would mean, we would have to mass an attack on the demons. Which means we will have to give ground in order to ready for the assault. Population centres will have to be sacrificed.” I say as I ran the possible strategies through my head.

“Not sure how I feel about that…” Jacob said softly.

“It might take weeks to prepare a sizable army, there is no guarantee that the Rift won’t grow too large in the meantime…” Charlotte said.

“Then we need to shorten the time, if we can reduce the time needed for a sizable force to engage the demons then this will be less of a problem.” I say.

“How would we do that?” Jacob asked furrowing his brows.

“We could keep them centralised at key areas, near main roads and ports. Scatter the small scouting forces across the continent instead of larger groups of soldiers. Chopping up your forces like that just makes them ineffective, it’s obvious the forces available through this method do not have the ability to fight a holding action for any significant length of time.” I say.

“Then what about the cities?” Jacob asked.

“They are dead either way, if we stick with the current strategy then we are just wasting soldiers. Soldiers in this world need levels, this limits the ability of Regus to replace lost soldiers. We need to conserve our fighting resources, the civies are less important than soldiers.” I say calmly as I weighed the options in my head.

“We can’t just sacrifice cities like that, public opinion will drop, people will lose hope, there will be rebellions, mass desertion. Some of the soldiers may have families in the cities or towns that we will have to sacrifice. The only reason you managed to persuade those soldiers to fight to the end was because they had families in Northedor.” Charlotte said.

“Yeah, you need to give people an ideal to fight for, treating people like expendable pawns is a quick way to get people to hate you and rebel.” Jacob added.

“Wouldn’t the fact that this is the end of the world make people fight?” Ivan asked as he furrowed his brows.

“No they’re right, humans are inherently selfish and short sighted. You need to lie to them and give them some fancy words to keep morale up. Morale is just as important as the soldiers themselves…” I say with a sigh as I turn to look at Charlotte.

“Not exactly the way I would I put it… but yes the general concept is correct.” Charlotte said stiffly.

“How bad were the past Rifts?” Jacob asked as he looked at Amethine.

“The legends are not very clear, in fact what we have seen is very different from what I imagined.” Amethine replied.

“Do you have any estimates on how bad the damage was?” I ask.

“The legends say that the continent lost around half the population…” Amethine said softly.

“Damn…” Jacob said softly.

“Wait then how did this continent maintain its level caps? If the attrition was so severe most of the highest leveled individuals would be dead.” Charlotte asked.

“I am not entirely sure of the full story, I only read a bit about it in the Royal Magus College Library here in Regus. I only read about it because I was curious. Since everyone knew the rifts and heroes would be coming soon, I did some research in my spare time.” Amethine said as she looked down.

“So what did you find out?” Jacob asked.

“The heroes are not only here to defeat the Rifts… they are also here to help replenish the levels of the population… Apparently in the past Rift all the heroes were male. They were the Light Hero, Earth Hero, Fire Hero and Magic Hero. They each took multiple wives and helped to restabilise the population. Knight Commander Zorah is a progeny of the Fire Hero, her ancestor was one of the Fire Hero’s wives.” Amethine said.

That took everyone off guard, so we were supposed to… get people pregnant... to make sure that the bloodlines remain strong… Well fuck me, that’s not going to go well with us…

I looked up and I saw Volva wrap her arm around Ivan’s when she heard those words, a very sour look on her face. Not that surprising considering the Lupus did the whole mate for life thing…

I sensed Charlotte’s gaze on the side of my face and I turned to see her biting her lip as she looked at me.

“Relax, I’m not that into polygamy.” I say as I reach over and take her hand.

“That may be true, but politics usually cares little for our opinions…” Charlotte said softly.

“I don’t think I can do that, I can barely handle one girlfriend and all the talking about things that I don’t even know how, when or why it started. For guys it’s just get it done and move on. But for girls they like to talk about it... then think about it… then talk about it some more...” Jacob said as he ran his hand through his hair.

“You should listen, we girls gave good ideas too you know.” Charlotte said with a scowl.

“I know… it’s just... you all have so many of them…” Jacob said, at those words I sensed Charlotte bristle but Jacob was still caught in his past relationship vietnam flashback so he didn’t seem to notice.

“So sometimes I just pretend to listen… and sometimes I get caught and… well things can get quite ugly…” Jacob said wearily.

“I wonder why…” Charlotte said coldly.

“Well, erm… moving on…” I say, trying to change the topic.

“Don’t try to change the subject.” Charlotte snapped as I flinched at those words and let go of her hand.

“Sorry…” I muttered in reply, Charlotte can be surprisingly scary...

“The nobles will want assurances. The arrival of the dark hero marks the end of an age. Many houses will fall, the most powerful may seek to avert this fall by siring one of your children…” Amethine said quietly from the side.

This calmed everyone down. Amethine was right, at some point the nobles will make a play. Filianoreh was clear, my arrival is the sign of the end of Regus. Or at least, the Regus they know. The world will survive along with the population, it is the nation that will fall…

“Would the nobles not cooperate with our efforts to seal the Rifts?” I wonder out loud.

“Surely they can’t be that stupid? I mean if the Rifts overwhelm the continent everyone is dead.” Jacob replied.

“No… they might…” Charlotte said as she cupped her chin.

“Really?” Jacob asked, surprised.

“I took Psychology, remember? One of the things we are taught is that when a person feels they have nothing left to lose they can start to do things that border on insanity. We learn this because as potential future leaders we need to be aware of such things with regards to extremists and cults.” Charlotte said with a sigh.

“To a powerful noble if the nations fall, chances are they will be killed. Especially if you are a powerful one as the most likely ones to survive would be lesser nobles who hold little to no power. A toothless enemy is not worth the trouble. You might as well let them continue running their small domains as it would be more trouble than it's worth to find a suitable replacement administrator.

The more powerful nobles will realise if the Rifts are sealed they die, if the Rifts aren’t sealed they die as well. So they may decide to use their influence to hold the world hostage. Assure their survival or the whole world dies along with them.” Charlotte finished with another sigh.

“I’m not sure if the soldiers will listen to them. A noble’s desires aren't much in the face of the end of the world to the average person.” I reply.

“It’s not just the soldiers. There are ways to hinder our efforts without soldiers. Threaten to burn the harvest under the guise of a blight, intentionally slow ship transports to absurdly low speeds citing weather for the delays, send low quality equipment to the front under the excuse of making a management mistake. They can do many things if they want to, they will choose a critical time when they have the most leverage to threaten any sabotage.” Charlotte said.

“That would be problematic.” Ivan said

“We could always kill them and put someone new in charge.” I suggest dryly.

“Although assassinations do have their advantages, we would need to prepare a suitable replacement or the whole region will be put into disarray. The new ruler would need to get themselves up to speed on the affairs of the realm. That could take weeks assuming we only needed to replace the head noble. If anyone on the lower rungs were removed as well, that would take even longer.” Charlotte said as she pinched the bridge of her nose.

“I mean in the worst case scenario we can promise we will do it after the Rifts are gone since it would lower our levels.” I say.

“What if they only have sons?” Charlotte asked softly.

“Then we promise to do it after the Rifts, after all if you get pregnant you will be out of commision for nine months. When the Rifts are over, we’ll be so high leveled, no one can ask us to do anything.” I reply.

“What if they rebel?” Ivan asked.

“Then we see if there’s anyone on the market for a new domain. With the Rifts gone, we can deal with nobles piecemeal. If we are going to be as strong as I think we are when we hit level 100, we can take on the whole continent.” I reply.

“Alright…” Charlotte said with another sigh.

“Ok now then, our abilities. What did you guys get after getting the levels.” I ask.

“I got a skill tree that let me get some upgrades.” Jacob said.

“Did all of you get the eight levels?” Ivan asked.

“Yep.” Jacob replied.

“Yes.” Charlotte added with a nod.

“Huh I got ten levels…” I reply with a frown.

“What?” I heard Jacob ask.

“Hang on, do all of you have things you can do to increase the exp that you can get?” Charlotte asked.

“Yeah? Why? Don’t all of you have the exp bonus from being in combat?” Jacob asked.

“No mine is based on the healing I do and the damage I mitigate with my barriers.” Charlotte replied.

“Mine is based on the damage I do.” Ivan added with a frown.

Now that is interesting, it seems the eight gods put quite a bit of thought into the design of the classes. I just assumed everyone had the same skills, having more exp when you kill things is pretty bog standard as far as RPG exp boosts go. The only one I thought was strange was the 100% boost when I killed non-hostiles from [In Cold Blood].

“Katsuro what’s yours?” Charlotte asked as she noticed my silence.

“Mine is when I kill things.” I replied as Charlotte’s eyes widened slightly.

“Well that’s probably the most conventional one. Considering that most games give EXP boosts for when you kill mobs” Jacob said with a shrug.

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“Really?” Ivan asked, sounding perplexed. It’s not that surprising he doesn’t know, I don’t think they get to play computer games in a Russian village.

“I’m not familiar with video games as well, never had much time with all my school work.” Charlotte said.

“Yeah, that’s why I didn't question it, it just seemed so normal as far as EXP buff’s go.” I reply as I look around at the rest.

“Well it suits you, Hero of the god of death and all that.” Jacob added with a smirk.

“Then what about all of you?” I turn as I look at the four girls.

“Our levels went up strangely.” Amethine said as she looked away and lightly scratched the side of her head as if confused.

“Strangely?” I asked.

“Yes, we all leveled by eight except for Momo who leveled up by ten.” Amethine said.

“Wait so all of you got the same levels except for Momo? Why is Momo the only one who got the same levels as Katsuro?” Jacob asked, as he crossed his arms, his brows furrowed in confusion.

“That’s not all, Momo got a different skill class as well.” Amethine said.

Shit, looks like the fact that I’m a [Dark Champion] and not a [Dark Hero] is about to come up. Honestly I don’t mind telling the rest at this point… I just forgot that’s all. After the fight with that Rift I think I can trust them. I mean I have some trust issues but we are stuck here together as things are and they haven’t done anything for me to distrust them...

“Different how?” Charlotte asked as she tilted her head.

“The rest of us got the [Heroes Sworn] but Momo got the [Champions Sworn] skill class.” Amethine said with a frown as she herself was puzzled by this fact.

“[Champions Sworn]? What the hell?” Jacob asked, confusion colouring his tone.

“But if Momo gets the same levels as Katsuro… then…” Charlotte muttered as she slowly turned to face me. I know I’m caught, it’s honestly not that hard to deduce if you think about it…

“Ok… I have something to tell all of you…” I say hesitantly.

“I’m not a Dark Hero…” I say as I turn to see Charlotte’s eyes widen.

“You lied to us?” Charlotte asked, sounding hurt.

“No… yes… I... “ I stammer as I see Charlotte’s eyes widen.

“Look, when I first arrived…” I began.

“You’re not a Dark Hero, you’re a Dark Champion. Styx has been calling you that all this time.” Charlotte said cutting me off.

“Well… yes but…” I start as I rub the back of my head in anxiety. I see Charlotte’s eyes flicker and I could practically see her piece it all together in her head.

“Our companions have to follow our orders, that means… you told him to lie…” Charlotte said.

“Charlotte…” I began.

“When were you going to tell us? Don’t you trust us? Don’t you trust me?” Charlotte said as I internally winced.

“I do trust you… all of you. I just didn’t at first…” I say as I reach over to take Charlotte’s hand she lets me but as I give her hand a squeeze she doesn’t squeeze back.

“I thought you trusted me…” Charlotte said softly as she pulled her hand free from my grip. This gesture alone stung more than anything in recent memory.

“Not cool dude, but... I can understand why you did it.” Jacob said with a sigh.

“What? He lied to us!” Charlotte snapped, I could hear the edge in her voice, she’s upset…

“You know how I told you my brother had a similar thing going on as Katsuro?” Jacob replied.

“Yes?” Charlotte asked, caught off guard at the sudden change of topic.

“He had some serious trust issues, he was paranoid about everything. He didn’t trust anyone anymore, he just bottled himself up. It’s one of the most common symptoms of PTSD. But I assume you know that Charlotte, you took psychology afterall.” Jacob said as he shot a look at her.

Charlotte bit her lip at those words, she lowered her head, her golden hair dropped down and covered the sides of her face like a curtain.

“You aren’t upset that Katsuro lied, you’re upset that he lied to you…” Jacob said as he leaned forward in his seat.

“I don’t usually do couple counseling but I know enough about relationships to know it can make people stupid. I know you’re on the naive side but you're not that naive. Considering what Katsuro’s been through I think a bit of initial distrust isn’t that surprising. We’ve known each other just over a month and yes fighting with our lives on the line has a way of bringing people together but there are limits to that.” Jacob said calmly.

“I thought you would at least have told me…” Charlotte said as she turned her head and I saw her blue eyes were glistening.

“I do, I just forgot, or maybe I just didn’t want to think about it, maybe…” I say as I falter at the end.

“Maybe you didn’t trust that I would be wise enough to forgive you…” Charlotte said softly. I feel my mouth go dry at those words and I want to open my mouth to deny it. But I know it’s true, for all my feelings for her I just didn’t trust her enough, I didn’t trust her with the truth and I didn’t trust her to forgive me for lying…

“Listen you two, I’m not sure if either of you have ever been in a serious relationship. But I doubt it judging what I’m seeing here. Real relationships aren’t like the stuff you hear in the fairy tales, you will keep secrets from each other, you will get into arguments. The important thing is that you need to understand your partner isn’t perfect, they will hurt you, they will make mistakes, so if you want this thing between the two of you to last you need to learn to forgive.” Jacob said, wearily.

“Life is a dance and only the fortunate find their partner…” Ivan said softly from the side as we all turned to look at him.

“My grandmother told me this when I was a boy. I don’t fully understand it but… I think I’m starting to.” Ivan said.

“Well that’s a very poetic way to say it, but it’s true. Honestly the two of you barely know each other, Charlotte do you even know what’s Katsuro’s favourite colour?” Jacob asked.

“No…” Charlotte muttered.

“Yellow.” I reply as I reach over and take her hand again. This time she squeezes back as she turns her gaze to mine as a small smile appears on her face.

“That’s my favourite colour too.” Charlotte said, the two of us pause for a moment and just look at each other. But like all good things, the moment passes...

“Thanks, Jacob, who knew you were so good at this.” I say with a smirk.

“Hey give a brother some credit. As you know I had my fair share of relationships.” Jacob said with a smirk of his own.

“I suppose experience counts for a lot.” I reply with a small laugh.

“Alright I guess it’s time I told you everything.” I say as I look back up at everyone.

“My skill class is the [Dark Champion] the reason it’s different is that my level cap is 150 not 100.” I say as I watch the rest widen their eyes in surprise.

“Damn... ok I’m starting to understand why you wanted to keep this a secret. With the whole level cap thing, something like this is nothing but trouble.” Jacob said.

“Hang on, do you think Filianoreh knows?” Charlotte asks as she furrows her brows.

“Yeah now that you mention it, she seemed mighty interested in you Katsuro.” Jacob said as he crossed his arms.

“This does explain a lot, I felt her interest in you was unusual.” Ivan said from the side.

“I don’t think so, I’m also the only one here which she has any leverage over. The ruling class and the main religion universally hate me. Having her as an ally would be definitely useful. If she knew I could become so much more powerful than all of you, why would she even think that I would keep my side of the bargain?” I reply.

“That is true, with our current power up just from sealing one Rift, it wouldn’t be that far fetched that when you reach level 150 you might as well be a demigod in terms of power. You would be so powerful nothing in this world could touch you, you could break nations single handedly.” Charlotte said.

“Yeah, now that you put it that way, I wouldn’t try to blackmail you like that Katsuro. I mean it’s obvious Filianoreh is smart, she wouldn’t make that kind of insane plan.” Jacob said.

“Speaking of power, I think we should move on to what we received when we sealed the Rift.” Ivan said.

“Yes, I think this tangent has gone on long enough.” Charlotte said.

We then laid out what we got. What surprised me was how different our options were.

Charlotte had four skill trees, one for offensive skills, one for healing, one for buffs and one for barriers. She had the widest choice among us and hers also had the most tactical options. Judging on the skill cap alone, Charlotte had the hardest skill set to use. With so many possible specialisations chances are she would end up diversifying which means she would need to track many things at a time in a fight. Good thing she’s the smartest person in the room...

“So you don’t have any upgrades for your weapon?” I ask.

“No from what I can tell my staff gets upgraded automatically as I choose my skills.” Charlotte replied.

“Since yours is so complicated, how about we hear what the rest have first?” I suggest to a nod from Charlotte.

As for Jacob his was rather simplistic, a single main skill tree with small branches radiating out from the main branch. Not much diversity in choices, mostly just side upgrades that Jacob choose to invest in if he so chooses.

“So mine’s really simple. I can go up the tree and get new abilities. There are two side branches at each step of the tree. One for the sword and one for the shield. The thing is these side branches look to be mutually exclusive. Like for example for the first one I get this passive ability that reduces [Damage Taken] by 20%. I then have a choice to either spec into the shield which will give my shield a further 20% reduction in [Damage Taken]. Or I get an ability that lets me store 10% of [Damage Taken] into additional power for my next attack.” Jacob explained.

“Hmmm, that’s interesting. So what do you think? What should you take?” I ask.

“Well judging from that fight with the demon I need to be a better... sandbag. I obviously can’t do much damage, firepower is you and Ivan’s department. So I think I’ll take the boost to the shield.” Jacob replied.

“Thoughts?” I ask as I look around the room.

“I agree it to be wise although I have some mixed feelings about the whole putting you there to be used as a shield affair.” Charlotte said with a sigh.

“Don’t worry about it, I’m the best man for the job, so that’s what I’m going to do.” Jacob said with a casual wave of his hand.

“Alright then so you will go up one level on the tree and spec into the shield.” I say.

“Wait, go up the tree first and see what else unlocks then decide.” Charlotte said.

“Yes that would be more prudent.” Ivan said.

“Ok… the new level shows that the next level unlocks an ability that grants a wide barrier that blocks missiles. The side tree’s have the choices of increasing the power of the barrier and reflecting missiles back at the attacker.” Jacob said.

“Hmmm. I still think I should take the shield buff on the first level. I’ll be in melee combat anyway, so I’ll need the durability.” Jacob said after a pause.

“Yes one of my barrier skills that I can choose can help with missiles so I think that would be a better choice.” Charlotte agreed.

“Ok anyone else has anything to add? No? Ok moving on then.” I say as Jacob’s shield glows and it changes its appearance. The front now had looked to be thicker and had much more intricate ornamentation.

“Ivan?” I ask as I look at him.

Ivan’s tree was split into two trees, one for single target damage and the other for area of effect. Also quite simplistic but apparently the trees branched out quite heavily with potential paths. So the complexity of the choice would increase as time went on.

“So you can either do one very hard hit or fire a hail of sharp rocks…” Charlotte muttered.

“Essentially, the damage of the area of effect seems to be low on each individual but it covers a wide area. The single strike does significant damage and it has great [Physical Resistance Penetration]. I am feeling that the single strike ability is more suitable based on how hard that demon was.” Ivan said.

“Yes, Momo can handle the clearing of the chaff. You got an upgrade to a skill right Momo?” I ask as I turn to her.

“Yes, I got an upgrades to [Searing Blade] and [Firebolt], they now hit a lot harder.” Momo said.

“I can help with that too, I got some interesting choices for mine. I should be able to do a lot more to swarms of demons.” I say.

“Ok then I shall take the single target strike. It is called [Ferrus Cull] it’s an upgrade to my old skill [Ferro Smash].” Ivan said.

“The next step in the skill tree reveals two new options. One is an enhancement to my [Beryl Ambassador] the other is a completely new buff ability called [Echoing Strikes] it causes my strikes to hit a second time but at only 40% effectiveness.” Ivan said.

“Woah that second one seems strong, that’s a 40% increase in damage.” Jacob said with a whistle.

“Yes, I agree. I feel I should take that one.” Ivan said with a nod.

“Alright then, wish I had something that cool though…” Jacob said with a small pout.

“Your defensive buffs are powerful Jacob. The way this world damage system works makes it an all or nothing system. If the damage you receive is lower than your shield’s [Resistance], then that attack might as well not exist. It’ll just bounce off.” Charlotte said.

“Yeah that’s true, I’ve seen what ridiculously tough armor looks like. Those tanks I fought back in my world were almost invincible to brute force attacks. Even rockets did little to no damage, I’ve seen anti tank shells just bounce off the hull. Trust me nothing is scarier than an enemy you can’t even damage. If the enemy can’t damage you then they have no path to victory.” I say.

“I suppose that’s true, I wonder will I get to the point that those demons can’t do anything to me.” Jacob wondered.

“Doesn’t seem entirely out of the question a 40% reduction to [Damage Taken] at such an early level indicates that you may be getting much more powerful as our levels climb.” Charlotte said.

“You might even get something that makes you invulnerable for a short period of time.” I say as I think about some of the games I’ve played that had such abilities.

“Ohh that would be cool, I wonder if I will glow gold…” Jacob said with a smirk.

“You mean more so that you already do?” Ivan said dryly.

“No I mean like my whole body turns gold like a statue.” Jacob replied.

“Then we could just shine a light at you then it would [Blind] everyone.” I say with a smile to the laughter of everyone else.

“Ok now what do you have?” Jacob asks.

“Guns.” I reply.

“I would say that’s surprising but my mother told me it’s not good to lie.” Jacob said with a laugh.

“So what kind of guns?” Ivan asked.

“There’s three types, one’s a close range shotgun, the second is a medium range SMG.” I say as I spot the look of confusion on Charlotte’s face..

“Submachine Gun. It’s a small machine gun.” I explain answering the question that I know is coming.

“Lastly there’s a long range rifle. I already had a look and I feel I should take the SMG and the rifle. The rifle has extremely high damage, it does 2500 damage and the shots have 50% [Global Resistance Penetration]. So it should smash through most defenses, I think it’ll be really useful against the bigger demons.” I say.

“Hmm an SMG would also be useful against all those swarms of demons. Probably not so much at extreme range but honestly most weapons here can’t do it either. Guns definitely outrange the magic and bows here.” Jacob said.

“2500 damage is a lot. The strongest attack I can bring to bear is only 1500 damage and I have to be in melee range. With that rifle you can hit targets from a long distance, it will definately be useful on the more powerful demons.” Ivan agreed.

“Then all in favour of the SMG and the rifle?” I ask and the rest nod their assent.

“Ok then…” I say as I pick them out.

I select the rifle first and I see the next tier only gives an improved version of the rifle although powerful it fulfills the same tactical niche. At this point I rather have tactical flexibility over a little more damage. So with that I select my choices and I summon the rifle first. I look down and I see the rifle’s body is made of ebony wood and the barrel is made of a white silver metal. On the body of the rifle engraved in gold are the words, “Simuna’s Regards” no idea who this Simuna guy is but the rifle seems pretty good.

“That’s a Russian rifle…” Ivan said as he peered at it.

“Huh really?” I ask, surprised.

“Yes, it’s a Mosin Nagant, I’ve seen it on posters showing the Royal Guard. The elite soldiers of the Tsaritsa.” Ivan said as he examined the rifle in my hand.

“Huh is that so…” I reply as I look down at it. I still don’t have the best feelings of Russian things in general. I mean Ivan is alright, he’s a good guy but… I rather have a rifle from any other nation if I’m being honest...

With that thought in my head I summoned up the SMG and gazed down at it. This one was made of black matte metal and as usual it had the engravings of its name “Thousand Cuts” engraved onto the side. This one looked rather crude in design, it looks like a weapon you would use during World War II.

“Oh cool a Grease Gun.” Jacob said in excitement.

“Grease gun?” I ask in confusion at the odd name.

“Yeah it’s an American SMG, my great grandfather used it in the second world war. He was the assistant driver in a Sherman Tank. We still have his Grease Gun stored in the attic somewhere.” Jacob said as he gazed at the gun.

So this one was American, well American is better than Russian in my book. I mean the Americans did leave Japan for dead… but at least they weren’t the one killing us…

As I turn to Charlotte I notice she’s looking at me with a strange expression on her face. Her head is tilted slightly as she looks at me with a troubled expression on her face.

“What?” I ask as I look at her.

“No it’s nothing… anyway. I guess we can decide on what I should pick.” Charlotte said with a shake of her head as she deflected the question.

“Ok…” I say slowly at her strange behaviour.

“I think I should take the Barrier and the Heal abilities. I feel the buff would be good, but I feel we don’t have the experience to utilise the buff effectively so I feel the Barrier and Heal would be more useful.” Charlotte said pressing on and pretending that her strange behaviour never happened.

“What’s the buff?” Jacob asked.

“Increase to [Damage Dealt] and increase to [Movement Speed]. It seems good but considering that most of our damage comes from range I think perhaps it wouldn’t be as useful.” Charlotte replied calmly.

“Yeah I think you’re right. Then what about the heal and barrier?” I ask.

“The heal is an upgrade to [Isha’s Embrace] it changes it so that my three heals can now be concentrated on one target. In the past I couldn’t stack the heals on top of one target with a single cast. It will give me increased options in a fight allowing me to drop a large heal on a single target. As for the barrier it’s a wide cast barrier that shields everyone with a strong barrier for a short time. It’ll be useful in the event we get hit by some wide area attack. It also has the added bonus of giving us resistance to [Crowd Control] and [Status Ailments] while the barrier is active.” Charlotte explained.

“Acceptable.” Ivan said.

“Yep that seems good.” Jacob said with a shrug.

“So I suppose it’s settled then.” I say as I look up at the clock.

The king should be summoning us soon. We should probably get ready…

The rest catching my meaning with my look at the gaze began to rise to their feet and started to get ready. As I went into my room to grab my helmet I sensed someone at the door. I turned to see Charlotte standing there with a troubled look on her face.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

“Just now, when you got the rifle. You had this look on your face… you didn’t look happy when Ivan said the rifle was Russian…” Charlotte said.

Sharp as always… I’m starting to understand what Jacob meant that having a relationship with Charlotte would be difficult in it’s own way...

“No… errr… it’s nothing.” I reply softly. I don’t wanna say that I used to kill Russians as a job. I mean Ivan is just a few meters away from where I’m standing...

“You said you were a soldier, a soldier in a war. Russia is close to Japan… was your war fought against Russia?” Charlotte asks.

I don’t reply, I just turn away and reach for my helmet. I put it on and clip the straps in place.

“Katsuro… talk to me.” Charlotte said gently.

I grit my teeth and exhale. Without turning I reply.

It’s easier to imagine that the enemy is a faceless one…

Demonise, them strip them of their humanity in your mind

They are demons to be culled

No mercy, no quarter

It is always easier to kill a demon than another person

I fought and killed demons

No different from what I’m doing here…