Takis was facing the hardest, most stressful moment of his life.
He never had an easy life, his fate was determined by having the Scholar class while living at the edge of the wilderness, where nothing was more important than direct combat capability, forcing him to fight for every scrap. The forced migration only made things harder for him … until the day fate finally gave them a savior.
Holy Crusader.
Ironically, his life didn't get any easier after that. By virtue of pure luck, he had noticed the presence of his old steward mixing with their poor group … which triggered a chain of events that ended up with him as the leader of their little group.
Their little group was not that little anymore, creating a new challenge for Takis. Leading all of them, balancing the resources, arranging the logistics, leading their tactical arrangements; and, in the process, constantly explaining to the stronger warriors why they needed to stay as a part of the formation rather than going forward recklessly.
Sadly this wasn't a discussion that got easier as their levels got higher. Takis was aware that it was not his achievements that earned their respect, but the fact that he was the sole connection to their mysterious supporter. Even if the Holy Crusader didn't show up again, he continued to provide their group with Advanced Skill Stones, weapons, and even occasional Stat stones; every single one, a treasure that they could never have touched otherwise.
Afraid of losing that support, the others assented to his leadership, leaving Takis with the responsibility of working harder than he ever had in his life. He wanted to excel, but not because he was afraid of losing his position.
For once, he was making a difference.
Then, came another challenge. Finally, a real mission from the Holy Crusader, to which the whole group responded with enthusiasm. Some because they wanted to pay back the great favor, others because they wanted to prove themselves so they could get even better rewards.
Takis knew it wouldn't be so simple. Any issue that the Holy Crusader would actually require their help with would be dangerous. Maybe dangerous enough to cost them their lives, but Takis still accepted.
It was his chance to do something important with his life.
Even if it killed him.
At one point, he was sure that it would be the end. One last valiant struggle as the cultists slowly weakened the town which was already lacking its leader and its elites. The soldiers were still confident that their precious baron would return to save them, but Takis knew better. A mere baron could never face the army that surrounded them in the open field.
It would take a miracle to save them …. and a miracle, they received.
Takis knew that the Holy Crusader was strong. After all, he had single-handedly saved them from a group of cultists and had safely led them away when they summoned one of their monsters. When the Holy Crusader used magic to ignore the siege, he suspected that his understanding of the Crusader's power might have been inaccurate.
Then, he started chopping down summoned monsters, the kind that required a small army and several minutes to take down, with just a few blows, forcing Takis to adjust his understanding even more, making him realize that, by sheer coincidence, he might actually have joined an organization that a Scholar like him had no business being involved with.
And, that was before the army returned, led by a Priest that broke the siege single-handedly.
…
Takis was facing the hardest moment of his life, because he stood in front of the Holy Crusader and the mysterious Priest while they stayed silent for almost ten minutes, examining the scouting plans that Takis had prepared on their request.
At the same time, judging his value. Takis just stood still, doing nothing as he waited for them to state their judgment. It was supposed to be about the plan, but Takis knew that it was also a test of his worthiness.
"This is garbage," the Priest suddenly exclaimed, and Takis flinched, his heart sinking. One call, and just like that, all of his hopes were gone. Maybe he shouldn't have been surprised. After all, he was a mere scholar. He wasn't worthy of being in the same room with such exalted beings.
"Come on, holy one," the Holy Crusader intervened. "He's young, he can be educated. Why don't you fix his plans and he can just implement them. He worked hard. Let's not go around discarding people."
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"Very well," the priest answered. Takis expected him to grab a pen, but he just waved his hand and a blue glow covered the paper. When it faded, the plans were completely transformed. An incredible display of magic. Takis had worked with several mages already, which gave him a sense of understanding regarding their capabilities.
He couldn't begin to imagine the control necessary to use such a trick.
"Take it, and implement without change," he ordered. Takis reached to grab it … and froze. "What are you waiting for, boy? Move," the priest admonished.
Takis wanted to follow his order, but he failed. The reason: the contents of the plan. If there was one advantage of his class, it was the speed it allowed him to process information. It allowed him to grasp the new plan. Which was…
Garbage.
There was nothing else that could be said about it. It looked better on the surface, but with both the timings and the scouting patterns changed, it removed any possibility of scout parties supporting each other in case of an emergency.
Takis might have understood if there was any gain in scouting speed. He would have hated it, of course, but understood. Yet, this…
"Are you deaf, boy? Quickly. We have things that actually matter," he said, his tone dismissive.
Takis froze. Everything he wanted was at his fingertips. All he needed was to implement the plan, and he would be a commander at an organization far beyond his capabilities, fighting and being a hero. It was everything he ever imagined, and more.
He just needed to sacrifice a few of his fellow villagers. Just like nobles always did. It couldn't be wrong if they were doing it constantly, right? Why should he care when they didn't?
It was his chance. His only chance.
"May I have a moment to examine the plan, my lord," Takis said, hoping that it was just a mistake.
"No," the answer came, thick and sharp. "Implement it as is. No changes."
Takis took a deep breath. "My lord. The plan, in its current form, will lead to some unnecessary losses. If I could make just some small changes, I can reduce the loss of life—"
"Denied," the answer repeated. "If they die, they die. It's only right to die in the service of our divine lord," he said. Takis looked at Lord Crusader, hoping that he would intervene, but with his helmet blocking his face, he could see nothing other than absolute stillness, showing he had no intention of overruling the priest. "Now, follow your orders, peasant!"
With that last order, a thick veil fell upon him. Charisma, Takis recognized. Several nobles had tried to use it on him, but it wasn't that hard to resist once he focused on his determination. Just stand still, focus on his determination, and wait for the weight to disappear.
He had never felt one so strong. The pressure fell on him harder. Takis felt his legs losing all feeling as he collapsed on his knees, his mind blanking. Even thinking was getting hard.
Lord Crusader stood up, and Takis felt a sharpness against his neck. "Are you going to defy the orders of the holy one, just for the lives of a few worthless peasants?" he asked, his voice soft and deadly, telling Takis that the wrong answer would cost him his head.
"Y-yes, my l-lord," Takis answered, desperate to stay awake.
"You owe me your life," he said. "Is this how you repay me?"
Impossibly, the weight got even heavier. Takis raised his gaze, trying to make eye contact. The helmet prevented it, but Takis didn't care. He wasn't going to die like a coward. "Y-you …" he stammered. "You're f-free to take my life as you wish, my lord," Takis declared. "But I won't sacrifice the lives of the people that trusted me."
[Stat Potential Awakened: Charisma
Accept / Reject]
A miracle. He accepted it immediately, hoping that he could somehow use it to bargain. An awakened stat was important. Maybe, just maybe, he could bargain with them to protect his men.
He was afraid of who would lead them once he was gone.
The miracle turned out to be a useless one. At this point, the weight on him was heavy enough to prevent him from speaking. He tried to use his new Stat to somehow counter it, but he didn't have one of the rare classes with free points. And, without any free stat points, it was helpless.
Lord Crusader raised his sword, but Takis refused to close his eyes, waiting for his end.
"Enough, Euon. He has more than proved himself," the priest spoke as he threw his hood back, revealing an old man.
Just like that, the weight over him disappeared, yet, his mind refused to start working. For once, his thoughts stilled.
"Hey, I told you he's a nice kid," the holy crusader answered and removed his helmet, revealing an even older, unfamiliar man.
No, not unfamiliar, Takis realized. He looked similar to the lord steward, but not close enough to be brothers. Maybe cousins? It wasn't the most important thing to focus on, but Takis still focused on that.
He would faint otherwise.
Takis looked blankly at the hand that was pointed at him. "Sorry about that, kid," the holy crusader said as he grabbed his arm and lifted him to a chair. And, Takis felt a glass in hand. "Drink," he said.
Takis followed it, and a burning sensation covered his throat, the burning sensation leaving him coughing and wheezing. But at least, his mind started working once more.
"W-what's going on," he stammered.
"Well, we needed to make sure you're trustworthy before we could reveal some important facts to you," the holy crusader said. "Like the fact that we're not actually followers of some sun god. It's just a ruse to keep the military from bothering us while we save lives."
"I … see," Takis said, which was technically a lie. He didn't. His mind was still not working properly.
The holy crusader — no, not holy crusader, but Euon — continued. "Now, let's meet properly. This is Zolast, a priest and the guildmaster of the Dawn Hammers —"
"Not for long," Zolast cut in. "Mahruss is ready to take over."
"Never, no stealing my officers, old man. I need him to run the casinos. I can't have him dealing with a bunch of useless nobles all day. He's important."
"Hey, if I'm old, you're ancient. And, I don't have time to tend to the guild with this church nonsense. What if …" Zolast started to answer, and Takis found himself listening to a pointless argument filled with insults, while he watched, determined to wait until the world made sense again.
It had to start making sense soon.
Right?