Rowan found a different Felton’s Mill when he walked back through the gates.

The soldiers and mercenaries, what remained of them, looked at him with awe and fear. They stood to attention when Rowan walked by, and he got the odd feeling that discipline for them would no longer be an issue for Olivia anymore. As he shuffled in front of them, cheers began to form.

“A hero’s welcome,” Marcus said happily.

“I mean, we just went out into a monster horde, almost lost our lives, but somehow pulled through. That deserves something,” Rowan replied.

“I just hope Milena sees things the same way,” Marcus whispered as he watched both Olivia and Milena approach them with very stormy expressions on their faces.

Rowan grinned as he saw the two of them. But his grin soon froze when Milena grabbed one of her brother’s fluffy ears and violently manhandled him into a corner. Olivia, on the other hand, stopped a few feet short, crossed her arms, and just stared.

Even when the soldiers finally closed the gates, struggling against the push of the water, Olivia just stood there and stared.

“Umm.” Rowan cleared his throat, unsure of what to say. He was pretty sure she would reach for her potion pouch if he tried to go around her. “I’m sorry?”

“Was it worth it?” Olivia’s voice was tightly controlled, almost neutral, but he could feel the emotions hidden within.

Rowan took a moment to think. He had faced the strongest that the monster wave had to offer. It was reckless, but there were definitely benefits. For one, even though it was only him and Marcus fighting, everyone in their party got the full experience for every kill thanks to his blessing. Second, the wall defense became easier thanks to them drawing away most of the heavy hitters. And last, he saw how the others now looked at him. Rowan wasn’t just a person carrying the title of hero anymore, he was a real hero to everyone in the village now.

“I think so,” Rowan admitted. “We’re still alive.”

For a second, Rowan thought Olivia might punch him. Or at least slap him. She surprised him by closing the distance and hugging him.

He hesitated for a fraction of a second, then reciprocated. His heart also broke when he felt the subtle tremors running through her, but he didn’t regret the decision.

“I really thought you were going to die when you went down. Twice,” Olivia whispered against his chest, and all he could really do was hold her a little tighter.

“We can’t afford to just stand still and wait for things to happen anymore. If we want to get stronger, we’re going to have to get into the thick of things,” Rowan said softly.

When one of the soldiers awkwardly cleared his throat, the two of them suddenly realized that they were in the middle of the village and jerked apart.

“Ah, I was wondering if you want us to do something about all the bodies outside, Lady Sutton?” the man asked.

“No. The water’s not great for the meat, and considering the way this one smells.” Olivia paused to jab a finger into Rowan’s chest. “Keep the doors closed and make sure we have enough lookouts for when there’s a new wave.”

“Yes ma’am.” The soldier snapped off a salute, then started spreading the orders around.

“You know, we still have to deal with those bodies,” Rowan said. “The rain will slow things down a bit but when those dead beasts start rotting, we’ll have a plague on our hands.”

“That’s a problem for later,” Olivia huffed. “If the village falls, it won’t matter if there’s a plague or not.”

“Olivia!” Milena called out as she sprinted toward them. “We need to talk.”

Olivia glanced at the soldiers and mercenaries still around and led the way to one of the side houses. “Did your scouts spot something?”

“I’m not sure how to say this gently, so I’ll just do it. There’s an army headed our way. They’re about two days away at their current speed, and the army definitely belongs to a demon,” Milena said. “It’s a big army. Hundreds. Maybe thousands? All of them at least uncommon, from the looks of it.”

Olivia paled, but didn’t falter. “The same creatures as before?”

“Mostly. I caught a glimpse of some new types, but the eyes of a badger aren’t really the best around in the middle of this rainstorm.”

Everyone paused.

“Right then.” Rowan broke the silence. “So we have two days to prepare. That’s plenty of time. Worst case, we die in a way fit for bards to recount in their tales. Best case? We live and tell the story ourselves.”

Olivia laughed softly. “And who wants to join me while I break the news to the troops?”

Rowan really didn’t want to, but when Olivia headed back towards the soldiers, he followed.

—

A couple of hours later, once the initial preparations had been set into motion and Rowan managed to find the time to change into something that hadn’t been mauled by a rabid weasel, the hero party found themselves in Bron’s temporary lodgings.

The officer was still barely able to move his limbs, but they needed all the brainpower they could get for what to do against the approach army.

“Your father is probably fine, you do know that, right?” Bron rasped out.

Olivia’s eyes snapped to the man and for a moment, she gave off the impression of a deer in the headlights, frozen yet ready to bolt. Then the fight went out of her, replaced by a defeated look. It was as if she took the approach of the army as her personal failing.

“You say that, but look at what’s happening. There is a literal demon army marching right for us. If he’s fine, and that’s a big if, then why? How did this happen?” Olivia asked.

“I don’t say this lightly, nor do I mean it as an insult, but Olivia, your father is not perfect,” Bron said slowly. “If he were, he would still be a Duke.”

Olivia flinched like he’d struck her and hunched in on herself, prompting Rowan to draw closer to her. Bron glanced at the two of them before he continued.

“There’s no use thinking about this if it’s only going to distract you. What level are you all?”

“I’m still only level thirty-eight. Incredibly close to thirty-nine but I’m not going to make rare before the army gets here.” Olivia drew a shuddering breath. “The problem is, I really don’t see how we fight another demon. That last one took everything we had and…”

“And here I am,” Bron joked. “Still alive, although barely. Hero Rowan?”

“Twenty-eight,” Rowan replied. He was beginning to see how difficult it was to level up.

Rowan Clairfont

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

Level 28 Reckless Spear

EXP: 1645/60000

STR: 30*

VIT: 12

DEX: 30*

PER: 20

INT: 10

WIS: 11

Deck (5/5):

* [Heart] Keen Spear (Epic, Passive)

* [Class] Empowered Thrust (Common, Active)

* [Class] Blood Siphon (Uncommon, Passive)

* Persistent Regeneration (Rare, Active)

* Lavish Feasting (Rare, Passive)

Blessings:

* Awakened Blessing of the Stalwart Hero

“That’s not bad, considering that you were still a common class when we set out,” Bron said, lightening the mood.

Rowan promptly poured a bucket of cold water on the officer’s efforts. “But it’s slowing down. The experience requirements kept ramping up by five thousand for each level until level twenty-five. Now, they’re increasing in increments of ten thousand at a time. Honestly, I can’t imagine how much experience it’ll take to go from level thirty-nine to forty.”

“And we don’t have another unique potion to rely on. We don’t even have a rare class to lead us into battle this time. And that’s before we consider the fact that this approaching demon is clearly leagues beyond the last one we fought,” Olivia finished miserably.

“Well, about that. Maybe I can help,” Marcus cut in sheepishly. “Me and Milena both actually. We were on the cusp of getting to level forty before the battle. That’s sort of why I was so eager to go out and fight. And surprise? We both have rare classes now.”

Olivia and Rowan could do nothing but stare for a long moment, before the hero broke into a smile and dragged the wolf kin into a hug, slapping his back as he did.

“You oaf! You could have said something sooner,” Rowan exclaimed.

“Honestly, it’s mostly thanks to the wave,” Milena said in her gravely voice, her face stretched into a grin.

“It really is great, you know?” Marcus continued, pulling out of the hug and completely missing the fact that Rowan had tried his best to bruise his friend’s back with those gentle pats. “It might have taken us months or even years to get the experience for that last level.”

The hero’s hand was numb and Marcus looked like he was none the worse for wear. Rowan wasn’t bitter about it. At all.

“The two of you,” Olivia cut in. “You have rare heart cards?”

Marcus traded a glance with his sister. “We do. It’s part of why we decided to become mercenaries. There was no other way to use our gift back home.”

“I see, I hate to just ask this, but what can you do now?” Olivia asked.

Marcus didn’t even hesitate. “I’m an [Aura Guardian]! The class card I got now lets me extend my defensive stats to nearby party members and allies, nullifying a certain amount of damage dealt to them and taking on the rest myself. Unless I choose to pass on absorbing damage, no one is dying before me.”

Rowan was beyond impressed. Olivia was less excited. “And the penalties?”

Marcus paused, and Rowan had to resist the urge to chuckle at the way his ears and tail drooped downwards.

“You can pretty much count me out for any kind of damage dealing,” Marcus said. “My mobility is also a bit worse. And, obviously, if I take on too much damage, I can still get hurt.”

“I’m an [Elder Shaman] now,” Milena volunteered. Her voice was slightly less raspy than before. “I got a pretty useful ritual that I can perform for this upcoming battle. There’s just one slight problem.”

The wolf kin hesitated, crossing her arms in front of her chest protectively.

“Go on,” Olivia said, and Rowan was surprised at how gentle she sounded. He wasn’t sure when it had happened, but it seemed like the two had grown quite close.

“It’s a summoning ritual. I can call forth the spirits of past warriors to fight for me. They’ll be at the same tier as me. However, it’s expensive. Mana wise. On my own, I can maybe keep them around for five, ten minutes. I’m going to need a lot of potions to use them in fights.”

“What about the summoning time itself? How long does the ritual take?” Olivia asked.

“It’s not long, comparatively speaking. I can complete the final steps of the ritual in five minutes or so.”

“In other words, you can hold back on the ritual and then spring it if we’re losing or need an edge for the boss fight?” Olivia asked, her eyes taking on a far-away quality. She was making plans already, and Rowan wasn’t sure whether to be excited or worried.

“Yes, but if the warriors perish, I won’t be able to re-summon them. They’re fixed summons and take time to regenerate before I call on them again.”

“That’s fine. That alone gives us a ton more options than we used to have just ten minutes ago. I’m thinking about a basic defensive formation, with you in the reserves.” Olivia reassured Milena with a smile. “I’ll fight on the front. It’s not ideal, but with the size of the incoming army, I’ll probably hit the level cap at some point during combat too.”

“When that happens, come to me,” Bron interrupted. For most of the conversation, he had been content to let Olivia and Rowan lead the way. But he now shimmied up his bed to sit up straighter.

Olivia nodded. “I’ll need to be out of combat for a bit before I can apply stats or upgrade my class anyway. When that happens, Milena, you might need to use your ritual if the line starts to waver. But once I come back with [Combat Alchemist], I’ll be much more useful.”

The next item on the agenda was about the villagers. Thanks to Rowan’s recent heroics, they seemed a lot more willing to listen than before. And Bron urged the group to take advantage of that.

“If the rain keeps up, some of the weaker houses are going to collapse,” Bron warned. “You have to move them into the better houses, whether or not they want to. If skyfins are part of the next invasion force, then the odd villagers are going to panic and that’ll spread to the rest of the defenders if we don’t plan ahead.”

“I’ll make sure of it,” Olivia promised.

The last item was something from Rowan’s list.

“We have a lot of uncommon cards from the past few days. Should we distribute them out, maybe some of the villagers or mercenaries can use them?” Rowan asked.

“Don’t,” both Olivia and Bron said. The baron’s daughter paused while Bron continued on. “It’s never a good idea to be equipping new cards before a battle unless the card’s the same tier as your heart card. And even then, it’s best if they use the cards that they’re familiar with.”

“Right, no distributing cards then,” Rowan said. He looked at Marcus and Milena. “But what about you guys? We got a couple of cards that you might find useful.”

Rowan brought out Titanic Physique, Waterlogged Gasp, Chill Touch, Mirror Image and even Rot Shield.

Marcus sorted through the cards and picked out Rot Shield. “With my new class, Rot Shield might come in handy. I’ll have to test it out but if the rot mana covers everyone inside my aura, it’ll be a big deal.”

Rot Shield (Rare, Active)

Summon a film of rot mana that will cover your body and protect you from blows, damaging your enemies and their weapons in the process.

“It’s yours then,” Rowan said. “What about you two? Would the other cards be useful for you?”

He already sort of knew the answer. Olivia had seen every card with him and already picked out the ones that she liked.

“This one if no one else wants it,” Milena said, pointing at Mirror Image. Olivia shook her head. “Both my casting and my rituals force me to hold still. If I had that, I could at least distract any enemies from going directly for me.”

Mirror Image (Rare, Active)

Create convincing mirror images of your own body around you using your mana, confusing your foes and confounding their senses.

“You don’t want the Chill Touch?” Rowan figured she had the same problem with the card as Olivia.

“Thank you, but no.” Milena winced a little. “I’m not made for frontline fighting, in spite of the way I look.”

Rowan nodded, and pulled the rejected cards back. They’d either go into his pack to wait for sale when and if they survived their current circumstances, or he’d eventually scrap them. Either way, that was that.

With the agenda complete, the twins stayed around for a few more minutes making small talk before they left to prepare for the upcoming fight. Rowan lingered behind when noticed that Olivia wasn’t leaving.

“Olivia? There are only two ways to get [Elder Shaman],” Bron said slowly as he slumped back down in his bed. “Incredible talent or as a stepping stone to the epic [Ancestral Shaman] class, which is only available to what passes for royalty among the beast folk.”

“And?” Olivia answered. Rowan could swear he saw a smile briefly play across her features.

“I’m just saying to be careful, you brat,” Bron rasped as he closed his eyes.

“I will. We just have bigger problems right now,” Olivia said teasingly.

Rowan couldn’t really blame her. They were stuck in a remote village with defenses barely passable against beasts. Political intrigue of the beast folk was the least of their concern.

—

Rowan didn’t sleep well that night.

Every time he closed his eyes, he saw the rabid look in the weasel’s eyes as it went right for his face.

He knew the decision to stop Keen Spear at night was stupid, especially in the middle of what was essentially wartime.

He also knew that if he didn’t stop right then and there, he probably never would.

As Rowan tossed and turned, he realized that he missed home. A life where the biggest worry he’d have was about the next exam or trying to find a job. Now, he was fighting monsters and living minute by minute. There were good parts to his new life, but the experience just slowly sanded away at his emotional defenses.

After a zombie-like next day of preparing for the incoming siege, Rowan knocked on Olivia’s door the following night.

She answered and they had tea. It was nice. They fell asleep in front of the fireplace again, and Rowan didn’t have a single dream or nightmare until he woke up.