Adrin gained level 3 on the very last day. It was hard when he didn’t have the confidence to properly hunt goblins. All he could do was set up bait and traps before finishing the stranglers with arrows.
It didn’t always work, and between the girls, he didn’t have much time. Something he should keep in mind for a more productive future.
However, he recalled that he used to charge in head first to any challenge in the game, but that was it, a computer game. A virtual world.
It was very different in real life when his life was at stake. He caught himself shaking every time he went too deep into the Wilds.
Now, completely merged with the spirit of his past life, he had two sets of memories that he could use to his advantage. He had no great plan or ambition, and he didn’t have a clue what his future would look like.
But one thing was for sure. He still wanted to build himself a mecha as he had always dreamed from he was little until the moment he died of old age. Exoskeleton armor would be a great start even if it was a faraway dream.
Adrin sighed. He would figure it out around his lack of talent in magic. He should be because his internal mana had made almost no progress at all.
Gaining level 3 Villager gave him only one aspiration point, and he had a hard choice to make between all the skills he could gain from the girls. It wasn’t a huge choice but it was still important to decide carefully.
In the end, he still went for Marla’s unique ability. The skill in bed would give him a chance to sow some influence while he was still too weak to go against people in power in this world. It would be an advantage no one could see coming.
The logic of his decision was based on two simple reasons. He wanted to build something powerful, and people in power would always want more power.
The oracle had made it clear to the chosen one. Even the movies could teach him something.
These people would try to hook him with all kinds of worldly desires which include fleshy pleasures. Reality was usually much crueler than fiction. He also would gain some control of his libido if he had the skill, unlike what happened in the past month.
He was never cunning or good with words, so it left him with the plans he could come up with. It might be a dirty plan but still a plan nevertheless.
Adrin felt like an idiot needing to justify his choice to himself.
He had to because of the guilt that kept haunting him even now.
After swallowing a sigh, Adrin called out his status. At the moment he was relaxing by the gate waiting for the recruiter to arrive.
Name: Adrin || Age:17 || Villager [level 3]
Life: 50/50 || Stamina: 70/70 || Mana: 10/?
||
Strength: 6 || Intelligence: 5 || Agility: 5
Willpower: 15 || Perception: 3 || Dexterity: 5
Endurance: 4 || Vigor: 5
||
Bodybuilding [3], Arithmetic [1], Melee weapons [1], Spearfishing [1], Marksmanship [1]
Mana Sense [3], Crafting [2], Cooking [1], Farming [1], Lascivious [1]
||
Hack [1], Throw [2], Aim Assist [3], Sneak [2]
Marla and Emi weren't here to say goodbye because of two reasons. One, he didn’t want them to make a scene, and two, because they literally couldn’t even leave the bed.
Last night was one memory they would never forget, Adrin chuckled.
---
Hana sighed as village number six came into sight. She had already seen enough drama for her whole life only after the third village. One part of her regretted making the decision to come along with the recruitment drive, but another part of her knew that she just had to.
She might meet someone with the criteria if she came with the recruitment.
It could be pointless, but she had been at the edge of civilization for too damned long. In order to graduate, she had to go through her last assignment, recruiting two candidate mages from the station decided for her. It was how the kingdom kept the mage's number high.
The problem was, all the good spots were already reserved for the privileged. The rich and the sons and daughters of the nobles. As a commoner, she had the worst of the places where people didn’t even know how to benefit from their awakenings properly. Most of these kids didn’t even awakened yet and it would very stupid to not take part in it.
Stolen story; please report.
As a result, she had been stuck here for four years already. Four long years without the ability to prove herself, or continue her research, or even go shopping on the weekend. She was losing her mind and barely able to keep it together.
And her only choice for stress relief was the captain. She couldn’t have sullied her name by spreading her legs to random recruits or soldiers. The other mages would laugh at her when she returned. She could go crazy tossing spells a girl had her needs.
Hana couldn’t believe her luck when she found a girl with magic talent on this trip. The girl, Nerina was able to use her will to move mana because of her elven blood. It was a rare find this far from the border.
But it was a lot easier to pick her out when she was an outcast. The only problem was the trauma growing up, but that would be easy to overcome when she became an apprentice. Everybody loved some elven blood in the academy.
Harison, the handsome, and youngest captain in history, pulled the reins of his ride when they arrived at the gate. The look of confusion plastered on his face when only the village head and the guards were there to meet them.
There were no family members, lovers, or random people crying over their doomed recruit. Well, doomed according to them, of course. The kingdom would do its best to keep them alive well after the two years of mandatory work time.
The silver-haired King wasn’t a fool like those before him.
A volunteer stepped up when the question was asked. He was not in any distress or worry no matter how she looked at him, that was why he escaped her attention.
The young man named Adrin just asked where he should sit in the wagon after introducing himself while shaking Harison’s hand. He was too calm even for a volunteer.
And unlike others, he was armed to the teeth with a bow and quivers, an ax and dagger around his belt. The dark-haired youngster had an odd combination of weapons. The boy with boring brown eyes nodded at her when their eyes met. Other boys and girls were shaking in fear while Adrin yawned as if it was just another boring day for him.
But for some reason, Hana found it hard to take her eyes off the young man. Something about the young man was pulling her eyes to look at him. Was it his lean build? Unlike the captain, she could never say Adrin's looks were the reason she found him pleasing.
Harison shrugged when she turned towards him with questions in her head. The man also didn’t know what was up with this village and their only volunteer. The captain hadn’t given it any thought because he didn’t really care as long as he got a recruit from each village.
That was the deal to live and protect by the army from catastrophic level threats like giant monsters or hordes. A rare occasion but not rare enough to feel safe.
The caravan and its Jandor-riding guards continue the journey after a few minutes of rest. The beast was calm right now but she had seen it in action. Not even a mage would take them lightly.
One more village and they would head back to the young dungeon town, Littledove.
And again, Hana found herself looking at the man who was now sleeping on the bumpy ride. He couldn’t be a mage, right? That was the only explanation that came into her head.
Every person who could manipulate mana could tell one another even though they had never seen each other. That’s why she had decided to join the horrible bumpy trip.
Nerina in front of her was also looking at the man. The green-haired girl only looked away when the man yawned and stretched. The girl didn’t know how popular she would be when they arrived at the academy with her cute face and petite build.
The elven blood made her grow much slower and she would retain that youthful look much longer than anyone else. She would be a darling of the academy. Hana was jealous of her.
They arrived at the next village soon, and this time the usual drama began. They would have a longer stop this time and Hana had the excuse to walk around stretching her legs.
She got down and walked towards the second wagon which the boys were huddled together. They cowered when the mage came around. Including this village, there would be fifteen new recruits for the dungeon town.
A pretty good number to replace the ones who had served their time. Death was quite rare unless the recruits had ignored every safety precaution drilled into them.
But make it sixteen. Hana turned towards the village gate and there were two volunteers instead of only one. They looked like brothers, one which should barely meet the minimum age requirement. Volunteers were not rare even if the recruitment was treated like a death penalty, but all volunteers share the same fate.
They were unwanted children whose parents might have perished for whatever reason. Most would begrudgingly volunteer while others were excited about the new opportunity. This pair of kids had some crying for them, at least. Unlike the last one.
Harison came towards her. “Should I put the sleeping boy on the girls’ wagon? The two refuse to take separate wagons and I don’t want to make it harder for them.”
“Sure, he doesn’t look like he might cause a problem,” Hana agreed.
Haris nodded his thanks and walked past her to give the news to the young man. They talked a little before Adrin shrugged and went on to take a seat on the first wagon. The five girls cowered away when he hopped on. It was as expected because of their circumstances.
What was unexpected was the man offering slices of dried meat to the girls. He might have done it to ease the tension and it worked. The girls hesitated at first before he took one to chew on himself.
Surprisingly, the quiet Nerina took the first slice before everyone else took their share. Some even asked for seconds and the young man just handed it over with a smile.
Hana took her place on the wagon before they got moving again. Adrin hadn’t ogled at her like other boys and his eyes were closed as soon as they were on their way. His calm confidence and nonchalant put the girls at ease, at least.
It wasn’t planned, but the new recruits had the first taste of their future when the goblins attacked.