Returning to the camp after discarding my disguise was an easy matter, although I still made sure to keep my sword in a way that didn't grab a lot of attention. A magical sword was precious. Exactly how much, I didn't know, but I didn't need an accurate valuation to guess the extent of the trouble it would trigger for me in the camp if that was revealed.

And while I was more confident to handle such trouble if the need arose, that didn't mean I would be strutting around, inviting trouble.

"Euon, where have you been?" was the first question I received when I stepped into the Red section.

I might have responded tersely if it wasn't for Jertann's worried tone as he asked the question. Silas and Terma were with him as well, and they were gathered around an open fire, wearing identical worried expressions.

Zolast was awake too, but he was fiddling with his cart, cooking something if the smell was any indicator. A good idea, as I had no doubt that most of those archers would return depleted, and would be looking for something strong to replenish them before the fight.

"I couldn't sleep, so I went for a walk," I said, careful not to commit to a timeline in case they had noticed my absence before the alarm. While they processed my answer, I put the small bundle that hid my sword back in my tent.

"Really, at this hour?" Terma asked as I walked out of my tent.

"I'm an old man, sometimes, sleeping uninterrupted is difficult," I said. I didn't take the question seriously, as he was just stressed by the sudden alarm and Karak's absence. "Do you think Karak will be okay?" Terma asked, looking at me.

"Of course, they will either kill the beast down, or it will retreat before our forces can catch up with it. Our camp was too late to react."

"Really?" Terma said, relieved.

"That's what I told you, brother," Jertann said, but Terma just shrugged, ignoring his brother.

"Still, it's bad. The monster is clearly huge if we can hear its roar from such a distance. Imagine if Karak is lucky enough to deliver the last hit," Terma said. "I can't imagine how much experience it would give."

"Doesn't really matter, little boy," Zolast interrupted as he closed in, carrying a large tray of food. I immediately grabbed one, not in a position to turn my nose to some extra recovery. "Not when they are under command."

I didn't look at him despite wondering what he was talking about, not wanting to reveal my lack of knowledge. Luckily, I wasn't the only one. "What do you mean?" Terma asked, and I could see Jertann sharing a similar expression as well.

"You haven't fought under someone with a Command skill, right?" Zolast said, and they shook their head. I just enjoyed my food.

"Our village chief wasn't exactly a high-level noble and didn't have many skills. He only had two skills, and one of them was to keep the monsters away."

"And the other was to order us around like servants," Terma added petulantly.

"Terma!" Jertann warned, whispering. "How many times I have had to explain to you don't say such dangerous stuff where people can hear!" After poking his side, he turned back to Zolast. "Sorry about him, don't take him seriously," Jertann begged.

"No problem, he's just a boy," Zolast answered. "But to answer your question, Command skills are different. When you connect to a squad, as far as the System is considered, the whole squad is one solitary person, and the experience is awarded to the group."

"That's not too bad, is it?" Terma asked. "Less experience, but it means more chances to take it down."

Zolast's expression was enough for me to guess things weren't as simple. But still, he explained to Terma. "Not really. The commander of the squad has the ability to affect the distribution…"

"So most of it will be taken by the commander. Parasites—" Terma tried to continue, but Jertann closed his mouth panicked.

"Do you want to be executed for treason, brother? Keep your mouth shut!" Jertann whispered into his ear, his expression especially tight, enough to tell Terma that it was not just brotherly teasing. He fell silent, looking at the ground, sullen.

"It's just not fair," he muttered.

I flicked his nose, and he looked up. "Life is not fair, get used to it," I said as I took another bite. "There's no point acting petulant when facing an unfair situation. You either accept it or keep your head low and gather your Strength until you're strong enough to change things."

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

"What about fighting bravely for justice," Terma challenged.

I shrugged. "The idiot that fights bravely dies bravely. Life doesn't care about our show, only our results," I answered. Terma didn't seem convinced, but his hero worship was enough to keep him silent and thinking. Jertann nodded at me, glad at my intervention.

I said nothing as well, enjoying my food even as I considered what I had learned about Charisma. It was already an imbalanced Stat by forcing others to obey, and during a casual conversation, I had learned two other uses; keeping the monsters away, and monopolizing experience while commanding.

An interesting feature, and it gave me some inclination of why people might have allowed the existence of classes with Charisma rather than rebelling to destroy all. I wondered where else it could be used. It could probably be used to gather more monsters as well, especially the weaker ones. The ability of the river beast certainly implied such a thing was possible.

After a while, I shrugged and focused on my food. The other uses were academic until I could get a better sense of how to use Charisma, and unless I could find a skill to help me — which would be very difficult considering its restricted nature — I only had a long, grueling path of experimentation.

Today, I was barely able to make a start.

While I was busy polishing the second portion, a familiar yet unwelcome face intruded into our little corner. Gert.

"What do you want?" Jertann said as he looked at him with a frown.

"There's an emergency going on," Gert said.

"Are we going to start moving soon?" I asked.

"No, the opposite, actually," he said. "We have received the news from the young lord. He decided to continue hunting the beast, and he ordered us to continue camping and wait for him. So, we're going to settle down and wait for his return. But it's only supposed to last a couple of hours."

"Oh, really," I said. "We're going to stay there and wait until they return, even as the rest goes away. Any idea when they'll return?" Gert shook his head. "Good then," I said as I stood up.

"That's it," Gert stammered, showing that he had been waiting for a bigger reaction.

"Is there anything I could do?" He shook his head. "Then what's the use of complaining." Then, I looked at Zolast. "It looks like it's going to be a messy affair," I commented.

"Nothing too hard to manage, as long as I get some select cuts from some of the larger beasts," he commented, and just like that, a frown bloomed on Gert's face.

"That's against the agreement. We agreed to sell the cuts with more Vitality to inner camps without exception —" Gert started, defending the deal with an intensity that was only possible from someone who was receiving significant kickbacks. However, he fell silent when I put my hand on his shoulder. "But on the other hand, maybe a few pieces wouldn't be amiss under the circumstances?" he muttered. I tightened my grip. "Half?" he whispered fearfully.

I looked at Zolast, and he nodded. "Good, that's a deal," I said. "We'll be there in a minute, you can go first and start organizing the defenses," I said, then smirked. "And, I hope you won't stay back to arrange the logistical details, we need your leadership at the front!" I warned.

"Of course not," he said as he dashed away.

Jertann laughed at his retreat while I turned to Zolast, looking for signs of discomfort, but he just shrugged, showing that he understood the necessity.

Good.

"Actually, bring your cart with you, I'm sure a lot of people will be willing to pay some premium for emergency food," I said. "Without the archers, there will be a lot of wounded."

"That's difficult to defend, with all the monsters attacking," he said.

"Not really a problem," I answered. "I'm sure these three will be enough to protect you for a share of your income," I said. "And I just need some strong food. I still have a lot of Health to recover."

"Sounds like a good deal," Zolast said, then looked at me. "I expected you to argue against staying here more," he said.

I shrugged. "It's not like there's anything I could do. And it's just for a few hours of delay, nothing we can't make up with some extra speed," I said. Actually, there was some. With my abilities and a lifetime of experience, I could easily sneak into one of the other camps … but why would I, when the situation was almost completely tailored to my benefit?

I would stay here, away from any noble that might notice the echoes of my Charisma, experimenting comfortably and gathering experience.

And, even if the worst happened and monsters gathered enough to overwhelm the camp, there was always a river to function as my personal highway.

No, I had no reason to get away. Instead, I gestured for Zolast to stop as he grabbed his cart.

"I'm sure the young man here would have no trouble helping you, right?"I said as I pointed at Jertann, who blushed, yet nodded. "Good," I said as I walked into the tent, and played with the bundle that held the magical sword, turning it into a rudimentary backpack and sheathe combination.

I didn't want to walk around with a magical sword, but leaving it in the tent was a bigger risk. Then, I grabbed my halberd, twirling it to get used to its weight once more after my most recent change of stats.

The weapon was already light in my hands before, but now that my Strength was almost double, the change was even bigger. The weight turned into nothing, and Agility helped me to control it better.

"It's finally good to have a proper weapon," I commented, loud enough that several people around us heard it as well. I wanted to create gossip that halberd was my primary weapon.

The reason for it was simple. I wanted to display elevated combat capabilities now that the situation escalated. My new Stats had already brought a qualitative change in my capabilities, enough that I dared to push a bit more while still leaving some safety margin.

Ideally, I would have stayed as an old man and hunted only the smallest beasts, but that would mean sacrificing the potential Experience I could gather, which would trust my safety to others.

An unacceptable choice.

[Class: Hero

Level: 13

Experience (0/43,500)]

[Health (3/225)]

[ Experience: 18,210]

[STATS

Resilience: 30

Vitality: 15

Strength: 33

Agility: 22

Perception: 20

Memory: 3

Charisma 1

LOCKED…]

[Stat Points: 6]

[SKILLS: Archery of Destruction (0\X)]

[ABILITIES: Elevated Life - Basic - Human ]

[Alignment: Unaligned]