“Names,” the guard demanded. He is holding an entry book and ready to write down the reply. The other two guards behind him were on standby, ready to intercept anyone who tried to pass without their acting leader’s approval. They wore black breastplate armor with a yellow long-sleeved shirt underneath, black pants, and black leather boots. The two guards had spears as their weapons and the acting leader had sheathed sword hanging on his left waist. Together, the three of them dutifully watched over the west entrance to Prevaentis Fortress.
Three girls that were questioned were still silent, the tallest and probably the oldest of them had no intention to answer in her face, she was the only one among the three who carried bags and goods. Apparently, it was their entire belongings and she had the role to carry them as she was the strongest. The second girl which was carrying the youngest stepped forward, “Nadja, Navish, and Reka of Grawthen Village.” The girl answered while pointing at herself, the youngest, and the oldest.
The guard leader wrote down her answer and glanced over them, he frowned when he looked at the oldest, “By the myth of gods, why and how are you level 0 and have no class?” he asked. The one who answered was Nadja, “She was about to undergo an exchange class, our village deemed we need more farmer-like class to tilt the lands than a seamstress.” The guard frowned even more, “was about to?” he queried. “Yes, when she was about to exchange her class, our village was attacked by a Chimera.”
A commotion broke out among the people that lined behind the girls. The three guards became tense. A chaotic crowd that tried to enter the city was not even on the list of the last thing a gatekeeper wanted. “You know the punishment for causing turmoil among the mass by spreading false information is having your tongue cut, right?!!” the guard yelled and unsheathed his sword, pointing it at the girls.
Nadja immediately turned her back to shield the little Navish in her hands, “SHEATH YOUR SWORD, GUARD!!! WE HAD ENOUGH OF BLOOD AND GUTS!!!” She shouted out of her lungs, her voice was a mix of sorrow and anger, she glared at the guard with teary red eyes, if looks could kill – that guard would already be dead. The little Navish was frightened by the shoutings and cried. Reka, who had been silent this entire time, slowly reached her concealed handgun in her waist, ready to pull it out and shoot the guard.
One of the remaining two guards walked to his frenzied friend and grabbed him by the shoulder. “Jose, sheath your sword, I’ll bring these girls to the guard station for questioning, you go and tell captain Tarmel, Jean would take over your today’s duty.” The so-called Jose did what he was told and run inside, and the so-called Jean walked forward to replace Jose and resuming his duty, “Bane, grab some additional hands on the way, I need help to speed things up so people could enter the city faster.” He said as he worked.
“I got it, Jean. You girls, follow me.” The tense breaker guard, Bane, led the girls into the fortress and eventually the station. He made them wait in a room and offered them warm tea and some slices of bacon before leaving them alone. The girls took the offer, the tea made them slightly relax and the bacon stuffed them a bit. Nadja had calmed down and Navish even fell asleep.
Not long after that, a man who looked like he had some ranks came in with two officers. He glanced over them and sat down opposite them while the officers were standing behind him. “I am captain Termel and I want to make this short. Do you vow that what you would tell me is the truth?” Termel cut right into the case. “Yes, we do,” Nadja replied short. “Alright, tell me what happened,” Termel said while crossing his arm. Nadja took a deep breath and began telling their story. “It was three days ago in the evening, a monster came and massacred our village, my mom made us hiding in a well. We hid while hearing the screams and cries of our mother, friends, and neighbors. But the sound of butchered people was short, when the night fell we only heard the monster’s growl and its loud steps. We were so frightened, even the little Navish understood that if she made a sound we would be dead.
“The beast growled and stomped and rampaged even more in the midnight, that and the cold of well’s water kept us awake until sunrise. When light entered through the gap of the well’s lid, we couldn’t hear the beast anymore. We wondered if the monster had gone but our fear made us keep hiding. Not long after that, we couldn’t bear the cold of the water anymore, it became a matter of how we die, freezing to death then drown in the well, or being eaten and shredded by the beast. We chose to get out, at least we would be able to see our family corpse and those of everyone we knew.
“There were only four things we saw once we were out of the well; blood, guts, and rubbles. They were littered everywhere. We walked around the village, hoping there were survivors beside us. We shouted, calling everyone who might be still alive, but silence was all we received. We dig out the rubbles of destroyed houses as much as we could, it took us not long to lose hope and abandon the task. Instead, we decided to dig graves and bury whatever was left of our people. It took us an entire day to finish. We would be so lucky to find intact bodies, but a separated half-eaten head or a torn body that had visible distinctive clothes were good enough. Unfortunately, most of what we found were fingers, shredded arms, ripped legs, littered guts, and puddles of blood. I am really glad I could bury my mother because most of her body and face were still intact.” Nadja smiled lightly, her eyes were teary.
“After we finished burying anyone we could, we waited out the night and scavenged everything we could in the next morning. Then We set out to Prevaentis Fortress and you know the rest of the story.” Nadja closed her eyes for a moment, calming herself.
“You said you found four things, what is the fourth? What happened to the monster, is it really gone? How do you know it was a Chimera?” Termel shot a barrage of questions. Nadja opened her eyes again and looked at the captain, “The fourth thing we found was the monster. It wasn’t gone, it was dead. We know it was a chimera just by looking at it.” Captain Termel looked at the table for a moment, “Why not immediately come here? Why wait a day?” He stared at Nadja with a doubtful look. “And leave my mother’s corpse in the open?” Nadja stared back, right into his eyes. Apparently, she was greatly offended by the captain's suggestion of what she should have done.
The captain frowned, he looked at the girls one by one, then closed his eyes. He probably was thinking about all the possible scenarios from the information he had and all the actions he should do to handle this problem. After a while, he opened his eyes again and looked at Nadja, “What would you do after this?”. Nadja opened her mouth and was about to reply, until she realized that she didn’t know the answer. It was as if it never crossed her mind, relocate to a safer place was instinctual. Reka took over her role and replied to the captain, “We would like to stay in the city and rest, we need time to sorted out our thoughts, and our feelings.” She looked at the captain with pleading eyes, so that this interrogation would end. So that they would let them go. “Do you have money?” Termel asked. “We scavenged everything we could from our village and found several coins, though it were only a few silvers and bunch of coppers,” Reka said with a sad smile, apparently she understood that even though they had been through so much, they could only rest for a short time with limited budget.
“Alright,” Termel stood from his chair, “I would treat this as you selling us intel. James, give the girls one gold coin each, ah – give it in silvers, that makes one hundred silvers for each girl” Termel looked at one of his officers, the officer in question just nodded at the order. “Guide them to Mia’s inn, I think that little sister of yours would be so kind to give them some discounts, or do you girls already have somewhere else in mind?” he glanced at them. Nadja and Reka shook their head, the little Navish was still asleep in Nadja’s hands.
“That’s it then. Be well, girls.” Termel left the room with one officer, the officer James however, stayed with the girls. “Come on, girls. Let’s grab your coins then go to the inn so you could rest.” He said while guiding them.
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“Generous, aren’t we?” Lucas teased Termel on their way to the captain’s office, Termel had to make a report and relay it upward. “Don’t tell me you wouldn’t do the same, I know you have a daughter, just like me. You know exactly how I feel about the girls, or do you never thought what would happen to our family if we were KIA?” Termel glanced at Lucas, quite annoyed apparently.
“Ah, you never like teases. That aside, you sure want to involve James’ family into this? Bringing them to Mia’s inn is more to overwatch them than getting them a discount, right? I bet you would have a difficult time with James once he comes back. You basically bringing work to his home after all.” Lucas warned him.
“It is worth it. If the girls’ story is true then most likely we would be given evacuation order for all the three frontier villa— I mean two frontier villages. The civilian area of the city would be flocked by two hundred refugees and we will have a hard time searching for the girls if the need for it ever arises. While making them stay in the military area is illegal, I don’t have the heart to put them in jail." Termel sighed, “I’ll grab an expensive bottle of wine on the way to smooth things out with James.”
“He is more of a tea person,” Lucas commented. “It’s a tea then, meanwhile – ” Termel stopped walking then looked at Lucas, “I need you to ascertain the truth. Lieutenant James, I hereby give you an order to investigate this case, go to Grawthen Village with your platoon and see if the girls’ intel match up. Pay attention to the Chimera, like what monsters it made of, what injured it to death, how the sign of the battle in the area, is there other Chimera or any monster walking inside frontier land, and I want you to patrol three hundred meters outside frontier land parameter to see if we could get any idea where the Chimera came from or any hostile party near frontier land. Prioritize to report and ask for reinforcement rather than engaging in battle. I want your report before evening.” Termel said with orderly looks and Lucas saluted him.
If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
“Wait, one more thing, Lucas,” Termel called Lucas who was about to go to different direction. “You absolutely certain the tall girl didn’t use spells to mask her level and class, right?” Termel asked. Lucas stopped walking and looked at him for a second, “Captain, who do you think am I?” Lucas smiled wryly, it has been five years since they work together and Termel should already know his specialty.
High Illusionist – level 178
“Right, That is a silly question,” Termel said to Lucas, to which he responded with a nod before he dashed to grab his platoon and execute his order.
Lucas can make a copy not only of himself but also of his squads. He can lower his level and masked his class to civilian-like classes. He was entrusted to examine people by several noble houses whenever they tried to hire maids and butlers. Even a level 239 assassin couldn’t fool him. But why, why is it doesn’t make sense to me. Three girls escaped Chimera’s maw because they had enough luck? Whatever, I know where to find the girls and still have to wait for Lucas’ report. Termel continued walking to his office, not forgetting to grab the finest tea to talk James out.
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“You sure about this? We could save ten silvers if we choose the medium-size room,” Nadja looked at Reka with a weary face. Girls her age should already rest without a care in the world when they were this exhausted. Reka smiled at her, “It is only for twenty days, and I have very good reason to want a separate room from the two of you. You see, the sorrow and sadness of the unfortunate event that happened to you still haven’t kicked in, but when they do, you would like to have some private time to settle with your grieves and make a peace to yourself. When that happens, you could send the sweet little Navish to my room.” Reka explained gently. “Come on, go to your room and get some rest. I would do that too,” She caressed Nadja’s head.
Reka dropped Nadja and Navish’s belongings in their room, then she left and let them rest. She entered the very next room and threw herself into the bed. “Finally, I could straighten my back on a bed.” She sighed deeply. “Now, what should I do about this?”
Ping! You have fulfilled the requirements, these classes are available for you to pick as your main class:
[Arcanemy]
Requirement:
You have killed an enemy at least one hundred level above you while being level zero and have no class. You fought and killed it alone without any amount of assistance and any kind of safety assurance. You killed it without any kind of spells. You do not believe in arcane until you saw your enemies use it.
Definition:
The unbeliever. They who deny arcane to their core. They use mana only as means to cancel their enemies’ spells and to prevent their enemies to use it. In front of them, their enemies will be as void of magic as themselves.
Okay, as cool as it sounds I will not choose it. I don’t want to be labeled as heretics and have the whole world hunt me down. Besides, spells are not the only way to kill, there are still the old classic physical ways to do it. I suspect a magic swordsman still would be a warrior who is well versed in sword techniques even without his enhancements and spells. Moreover, a defense-focused class is some kind of useless if I can’t drive out and end my enemy, it would only be a stalemate.
[Beast Butcher]
Requirement:
You have killed an enemy at least fifty level above you while being level zero and have no class. You fought and killed it alone without any amount of assistance and any kind of safety assurance. You fought it with a blade. You do not have any kind of swordsmanship and only use primal instinct to slash, stab and slaughter your enemy.
Definition:
The cowardly barbarian. Their fear and anger strengthen them. They are the very first to charge into a battle and the very first to flee from it. They do hit and run to weaken their enemies, then go berserk with their rough blade and crude swordsmanship to finish them off. They are well versed to frighten or angered their enemies to drive them out or bait them off.
The only time I used a blade was when I fought that tree monster, so I assume this class emerged from that fight. I was slashing bushes to clear my way in that forsaken forest, and suddenly branches and roots moved to warp my body. Thank god, It was not the first monster I encounter, or else I would stupidly standstill and be confused. They slapped away my handgun and hunting rifle, so my fifteen inches fixed blade knife which was already in my hand is all I had to fight the damn thing. That whole fight was basically me trying to chop off a tree with a knife. I was lucky the knife could take the brutes and the monster died even before completely chopped down. God, melee combat is awful. I don’t want to do it again.
[Goliath Killer]
Requirement:
You have killed an enemy at least two hundred level above you while being level zero and have no class. You have fought and killed it alone without any amount of assistance and any kind of safety assurance. You fought and killed it with pebble-sized projectiles created from harnessed power of physics.
Definition:
Giants slayer. A descendant or an equal to David, the Goliath killer. Impact is their weapon, created by their mighty strength and fearsome speed. They fight from a distance by throwing projectiles with their own hand. They fear only those who mastered the same technique. Arcane flows through their body, enhancing it, to rival the body of giants.
The only two hundred level monster I killed… was that Chimera. It took me about forty shots of .308 round to kill it. What a beast, even to kill an elephant it wouldn’t take that many shots. The whole ammunition I brought was used in that fight. Fuck, the Chimera was so big, even my three hundred meter shots didn’t miss even once. I had to keep changing position to keep the beast from charging at me. I shot it in the evening when it was still butchering the people, and it only really died in the night. I guess I would choose this class then. [Arcanemy] would only strip the Chimera off of its fiery breath, acid spits, and wind slash. It would still have its enormous body and sharp claws. [Beast Butcher] was out of question too. Only heroes could go toe to toe with the beast in melee combat. I am just a woman in her twenties who got transported while hunting elk in hunting season.
You choose [Goliath Killer] as your main class. The following skills are applied to you.
[Slayer’s paradox] 1st Phase level 1: Passive
Giant slayer is a giant on their own. Your small body is just a deception to throw your enemy off guard. Your health, strength, resilience, and stamina are amplified by 300%. Every level gained will increase the amplifier by 20%. Current amplifier is 300%.
Attention: The minimum amount of food, drinks, and sleep to sustain yourself are also increased.
[Killer’s Fear] 1st Phase level 1: Passive
Every killer fears those who could do what they could. Your reflex is greatly enhanced. You are an expert at evading fast rapid long-range attacks, especially a critical one. Your agility is amplified by 200%. Every level gained will increase the amplifier by 10%. Current amplifier is 200%.
Attention: non-stop fast movement for more than 2 minutes will double stamina consumption for the next 1 minute.
[Vengeful Persistence] 1st Phase level 1: Passive
You refuse to die until all giants are slain. Your natural health regeneration is greatly increased. Your natural health regeneration is 1% per 100 seconds. Every level gained will increase your regeneration by 0.5%. Current regeneration is 1% per 100 seconds.
Attention: Only healing spells that at least one phase above this skill’s phase are effective to help you recover.
[Nahuatl Atlatl] 1st Phase level 1: Active
Goliath killer’s throw is extremely far, ridiculously fast, and ferociously strong. Attack your enemies by throwing small projectiles with your own hand. Your throwing velocity is as high as 500 meters per second. Your STR and AGL enhance the throw potential power. Every level gained will increase your throwing velocity by 50 meters per second.
Attention: The projectile’s size must be less than half of your own palms’
[Veirk Barrier] 1st Phase level 1: Active
Sometimes there are attacks you cannot evade. For 10 points of mana you can construct a spherical barrier around you. The barrier will last for 1 second and can not be constructed again for 1 minute. Your INT enhance the barrier potential power. Every level gained will increase the barrier’s strength.
Attention: The damage you received in the span of 3 seconds after the barrier vanishes is increased by 10% and mana cost will increase by 10 every level gained.
[High Burst] 1st Phase level 1: Active
Once is not enough. This skill is integrated with [Nahuatl Atlatl]. Throw up to 10 projectiles within 1 second with high accuracy, precision, and additional 50% boost in power. Every level gained will increase the maximum amount of projectiles by 10.
Attention: Executing this skill will harm your body, particularly your shoulder and arm. Beware of the damage as it potentially will disable you from using your arm again until your natural regeneration heals it.
[STATUS]
Eureka Tears
Status Point : 0
Health : 2400 / 2400 [(VIT x 5 x 0.5 STR) x 3]
Mana : 42 / 42 [WSD X 2 X 0.5 INT]
Stamina : 405 / 405 [(END X 3 X 0.5 AGL) x 3]
VIT : 20
STR : 16
INT : 6
AGL : 10
WSD : 7
END : 9
1st Class [ Goliath Killer] --
[Slayer’s paradox] 1st Phase level 1: Passive
[Killer’s Fear] 1st Phase level 1: Passive
[Vengeful Persistence] 1st Phase level 1: Passive
[Nahuatl Atlatl] 1st Phase level 1: Active
[Veirk Barrier] 1st Phase level 1: Active
[High Burst] 1st Phase level 1: Active
Double-edged sword… whatever. Reka thought as she closed her eyes and fall into a deep slumber.