Stanley parried an attack and counterattacked. Jack was getting really good. Obviously, comparing Jack to him. Stanley knew that while his skills might have been be adequate to his age and level, he still had a long way to go.

He was in the military for a month now. He had to admit, military instructors were doing a better job than his father. He ended the spar with Jack and went to the house. Aleena was meditating. She sat on his own bed, and trained similarly to her.

Stanley wasn’t very happy, however.

‘I don’t like the current situation.’

His own training was progressing more or less as he expected. He already was putting as much effort as he deemed possible. His source of problems was his team. Stanley knew the statistics. His father told him about fighting as a monster hunter. That was the reason he couldn’t stand commoners’ attitude. It’s not like he disliked them per se.

‘It’s not their fault that they are lacking information. Still…’

Jack, Lillie and Patrick weren’t bad in that regard, actually. They weren’t training as hard as Aleena or he, but there wasn’t a large difference.

Anyone who knew the statistics could understand their chances.

There were about six million people in the interior. Two million were in the military.  Every year, roughly 120 thousand new recruits were conscripted.  A fifth of them were chosen as monster hunters. That are 24 thousand every year, but there are only about 8 thousand barons. Moreover, not all of them were monster hunters, only majority – probably around 6 thousand.

‘Only one person in a hundred manages to reach 4th tier. Only one in a fifteen manages to reach 3rd tier.’

‘Patrick and Lillie will probably die. Well, it’s not like they have no chances, but…’

Forth tier monster hunters were roughly half-half divided by origins, half of them being born in peasantry. Sure, Patrick and Lillie had a theoretical chance to get to 4th tier.

‘It’s also not like everyone dies. Many are just dismissed.’

To level up, monster hunters needed to fight a similar level monster. Since level is a good measure of strength – such fight were matter of life and death.

‘Even with numerical superiority, there are deaths. Fighting only weaker enemies make you stagnate. You will only get to 3rd tier when you are middle aged.‘

The military didn’t need such hunters, who were never taking risks. They were just transferred to man the walls.

‘Statistically, half of 2nd tier hunters die, while other half transfers to the walls. Our group won’t go for easy kills. Me and Aleena know all of this. Jack probably also will want to go for hard targets. Patrick and Lillie will have no choice, but to fight. Unless Lillie become a problem…’

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Stanley could already spot a few problems with his team.

‘First – Aleena. She has already given up on this team. She will most likely always stay in a safe position and do only what is necessary, while waiting until we all die out. She will be transferred to another team, after that. She is one of the geniuses.‘

Stanley didn’t want to be a leader, or rather, he wasn’t trying to be a leader. He didn’t mind being one, but he was concentrated on keeping his team together.

‘Jack could be a leader, but Aleena isn’t going to accept it.’

Stanley couldn’t let Aleena be the leader. That could placate her, as she might have thought think it’s better to have her own team under control, than a stronger one in which she will need to listen to someone. Unfortunately, she might have also thought the other way. If that happens, she would make decisions to doom them.

Such outcome wasn’t good for Stanley, even if he manage to survive.  

‘In a new team I will be outsider at first. As long as I’m friends with Jack, he will be willing to risk his life for me, when I’m in danger. It’s the same with Patrick and Lillie. Jack needs to survive. This way, after Patrick and Lillie’s death, the three of us will be the core and some other two guys will be transferred to us instead. It would be best if Lillie and Patrick were actually competed and survived as well, but this is just a pipe dream. It’s nearly impossible for everyone to survive.’

Some could call Stanley cruel and manipulating, but he didn’t think so. Charisma was just one of the skills. He had high charisma, and he was using it. Why wouldn’t he? It wasn’t like he was going to ditch Jack at the first occasion.

He wanted friendship with Jack, so Jack would risk his life for him, but Stanley was also prepared to risk his life for Jack. He wasn’t going to sacrifice himself, and there were risks too great and gambles he wasn’t going to take, obviously, but he would be a friend to Jack. Not the best friend, maybe not even a friend at all. He was going to fight in a team, though, and risk his life for teammates.

Stanley knew that a team was part of someone’s strength. Wolves hunted together, the same as other monsters. The same as humans. Charisma skills were part of his strength. He had battle tactic skill, and even Leader II profession. The profession was only increasing his stats, so he was prepared to replace it when anything better show around, but he wasn’t going to give up on using his skills.

‘Second – Lillie’

It was naturally connected to Jack. He had a potential.

‘You don’t get a class with the economy of movement skill, and without charisma out of luck.‘

Lack of charisma means a class was suited to work without other humans. A scout class didn’t have charisma as a class skill, because scouts should operate on their own. Jack class was combat oriented, however. Combat class without the charisma skill meant only one thing.

Stanley knew, that Jack had something that neither he nor Aleena had – a real life and death fight experience. The problem was that Lillie was trying to seduce and use him. He could easily see it. Lillie was offering her time, some accidental skin ship, small favors, like finding reading teacher. She was already reaping benefits. Jack was training with her, wasting his time. In the fight, he would be putting effort to make her safe, the closer they get, the more effort.

‘Lucky, Jack seems to be incapable to interpret those small signals, as he doesn’t have the charisma class skill, while Lillie seems to doesn’t know his lack of charisma makes him oblivious to her advances. She is afraid of a bigger move, thinking that Jack doesn’t like her and it will blow up their relationship.’

‘The worst aspect of it, is that I can’t do anything directly. If I told him that he is being used, he would not believe. Our friendship would deteriorate and that would push him to Lillie. She will use the occasion and completely wrap him around her finger.’

‘Maybe I’m just a pessimist…’