The following day, as Avi stirred from the haystack, the sun had already reached its zenith. Despite the late hour, the camp was abuzz with activity. Recently arrived refugee farmers had settled nearby, infusing the surroundings with newfound liveliness. The chorus of cattle, sheep, and pigs filled the air, providing both a cacophonous symphony and a reassuring sense of normalcy.
Avi felt as if he had been through a trial by fire, yet the rewards were undeniably worth it—after the harrowing battles of the previous day, he had ascended two levels, granting him eight attribute points and two skill points to distribute as he saw fit.
"Attributes-wise, I'll focus on fortifying my constitution and agility, and I'll reserve the skill points for now," Avi decided.
Surveying his options, Avi noticed that his agility could surpass 30, exceeding that of any other member of the team. With the prospect of unlocking advanced skills in mind, he allocated six points to agility.
True to expectations, at the precise moment of completing the attribute upgrade, a previously concealed skill and its description materialized on the panel.
Swift: Your body's adaptability to the environment has reached the pinnacle of ordinary human capabilities, allowing you to disregard any terrain penalties and increase walking speed. (Unlocked when agility reaches 30; this skill can only be upgraded once)
Without question, this was an invaluable skill.
Recalling the skirmish in the forest from the previous night, Avi exploited the Greenskins' clumsiness by deftly navigating between bushes and tree trunks, leveraging the terrain to dismantle their ranks.
"A must-have skill," Avi remarked with conviction.
Investing one skill point into upgrading Swift, Avi allocated the remaining point to bolstering his Command skill. As the outpost continued to expand, insufficient Command skills could prove to be a liability in the future.
"Rafe focuses on strength and constitution, leaving agility to me," Avi reasoned. "But why haven't advanced skills unlocked after reaching 30 constitution?"
Inspecting Rafe's panel, Avi discovered that, in addition to leveling up, Rafe had gained significant experience from wrestling and logging, resulting in the acquisition of a new attribute: a trait.
Lumberjack: Enhances efficiency with axes, whether in felling trees or foes. Constitution receives an additional boost of 3 points, and the 'Endurance' skill gains 1 point.
Impressed by the potent effects, Avi delved into the explanation panel for the 'Traits' system.
'Traits embody acquired characteristics in later life. Positive traits can significantly enhance attributes and skills, while negative traits have adverse effects. Obtaining traits requires persistent and efficient task completion, with the possibility of acquisition during special events.'
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With Rafe's constitution now at 35, the acquisition of the 'Lumberjack' trait propelled it to 38, aligning perfectly with the 4 attribute points necessary to reach a constitution of 40.
Upon reaching this milestone, the system unlocked a new advanced skill for Rafe: Bullrush.
Bullrush: Physical prowess has reached the limits of ordinary humans. This skill further fortifies physique, enhancing strength, agility, endurance, recovery, explosiveness, and reaction time. (Unlocked when strength exceeds 40; this skill can only be upgraded once)
"These advanced skills would be the envy of superheroes in any ordinary world," Avi reflected wistfully. "Alas, this is the realm of Middle-earth Warhammer, where even the limits of ordinary humans fall woefully short."
Unfortunately, unlocking skills only applies to individual characters. In other words, a character must meet the requirements for unlocking skills based on their attributes, rather than unlocking skills for the entire team.
"This skill is really tempting, but I can't increase my constitution that much," Avi lamented.
In contrast, recent activities undertaken by Airen and Manid have yielded lower experience gains, which are insufficient for leveling up.
However, Airen acquired a trait: Coach. This trait enhances training efficiency and has a chance to reward soldiers with additional experience during training. Soldiers around the Coach during combat also gain morale boosts.
As usual, Manid had nothing new, but he possessed the 'Luck' skill, which was passable.
After organizing the skills and attributes of his companions and himself, Avi then opened the 'Outpost' interface to check the current situation of the camp.
Currently, they had 91 soldiers, including 8 Empire Greatswords, 25 Empire Archers, 11 Pioneer Squires, 17 Halberdiers, 14 Empire Swordsmen, and 6 Empire Spearmen. There were also 47 non-combatant villagers and 12 warhorses (including those of Airen and Avi).
"We've made significant progress recently, but it's still not enough," Avi muttered to himself. "We have too few villagers; we're far from self-sufficient. And the equipment hasn't been fully distributed yet. The Swordsmen are supposed to be upgraded to Cavalry, but we're lacking the corresponding equipment."
If he could create his own cavalry unit, there would be more tactical options in battle. Moreover, the mobility of cavalry was ideal for mercenary work, such as guarding, clearing out goblins, or killing rampaging beasts, which would be more efficient.
"Cavalry is a must-have, but it seems like the system doesn't have my kind of cavalry unit, one without horses. What would happen if I forced them to ride horses?"
Without a doubt, they wouldn't be able to ride. From the system's perspective, they lacked sufficient attribute and skill support. From a realistic standpoint, these infantrymen wouldn't know how to ride.
"We'll have to wait for Airen and Manid to return to find out if they can be trained as cavalry," Avi concluded.
Stretching lazily, Avi prepared to get up when he noticed Rafe hurriedly entering the tent.
"Boss, something's happened," Rafe said anxiously. "A group of bandits has surrounded our village. It seems they want food and money."
"What?" Avi doubted his ears. He approached Rafe and asked, "You said what? Bandits?"
"I knew you'd react like this, I'm the same!" Rafe wore a wry smile. "I don't know what these fools are up to. Just about twenty of them have dared to encroach on our territory, and now they're exchanging insults with the villagers who farm."
"What level of equipment do they have? They shouldn't be lacking," Avi inquired. "If they're just ordinary bandits, I feel like they would've been dealt with by the villagers long ago."
"No kidding, they look decently equipped, with about half of them dressed better than us," Rafe gestured. "They resemble the soldiers led by that golden-haired bastard. Their armor is shiny, almost blindingly so, and it looks pretty good."
"The golden-haired bastard...? Oh, you mean the Knight Commander," Avi realized, immediately grabbing his sword from the nearby weapon rack. "So, it's probably deserters from regular army units. Let's go check it out."