The moment they left and got themselves some gear, the two returned to the Mystio household. Once they got everything well underway, the women left the house after saying their goodbyes to the children, facing the men who will be staying behind.
“Alright, here we go, winning the bread as usual,” Val joked, smiling while waving at the two men. Both Zeke and Cloud couldn’t help but smirk at the thought, knowing that they can’t say anything about it.
It was decided earlier that Zeke would remain back at the household while Mikella would head out to hunt with the other soldiers. While being able to provide support would be beneficial, Zeke’s true purpose is to raise his Runist class in the proper way–by actually learning how to make runes.
They didn’t have much of a chance to learn it before starting the horde battle, as Zeke had only just received the Runecraft skill and the class. But now with several levels under his belt, the learning would be a lot quicker.
“Make sure to take care of them, Val,” Cloud said, waving back. “And of course make sure to come back yourself.”
“Obviously,” Val said without hesitation. “Zeke, Cloud can be a little bit much, but I hope you can bear with it. Hopefully you’ll recover quickly too.”
“Here’s to hoping,” Zeke said. “And I’m actually looking forward to learning from Cloud. Mikella, be careful out there, alright?”
“Don’t worry, Zeke,” Mikella said. “I’ll be fine. Just focus on recovering and learning as much as you can. I’ll be coming back in a few hours anyways.”
Mikella waved back at him, but she could see that Zeke didn’t look as confident as Cloud did with Val. It wasn’t all that surprising, considering that they’ve always been together while hunting monsters as Zeke always provided his barriers.
She didn’t want to say it in front of him, but she wanted to find out how well she can fight without his help. She knew that it was possible her skills could slack in the future if she kept relying on a barrier to cover up her mistakes. While having it around is essential for a tough fight, if she ever planned on improving herself, she needed to fight by herself.
After they said their goodbyes, Val led Mikella over to the entrance of the town. They planned on scouring the forest beyond and taking out some of the remnants of the horde.
After the horde, the scouts reported that the number of monsters that have been gathering had greatly decreased. Thus, it would be better for the town as a whole that the soldiers would head out there to not only train themselves but to also minimize the monsters that could be drafted into another horde. Val also suggested trying to find something like intelligence between them. The idea of monsters going all in for an attack that would’ve killed them all isn’t some bad coincidence.
Mikella couldn’t really believe a monster smart enough to lead other monsters. But then again, all she faced were the knights with no will of their own, a wyvern that just wanted to kill them, and a bunch of beasts. That giant knight however made it clear in her mind, reminding her of the words that still shook her insides to this day.
She’ll probably never forget that day, nor the words. It has become another reason to focus on becoming stronger.
Her attributes were impressive, but that was about it. She wasn’t quite sure how good or bad they were, and the only thing she had that really proved anything were her skills. She knew that in the next three levels she would receive another skill choice for her class, and she wanted something that could help Heavenly Strike do even better than before.
While it was a powerful skill, it was pretty difficult to use, its usage demanding and hard to accurately attack with it.
“Are you nervous?” Val said, turning to her and bringing Mikella out of her thoughts.
“Oh, a little…” Mikella agreed. She was mostly nervous about being away from Zeke, but also excited to find out just how far she can reach.
“It’ll be okay. Zeke might not be around to give us his barriers, but the rest of the soldiers are very capable on their own. We’ll look out for you.”
“Oh… really?” Mikella asked in surprise. “I figured we would be hunting by ourselves. Won’t we have a penalty on XP for bringing so many people around?”
“True, but we’ll mostly separate into big groups. For now, I want everyone to stay together with a maximum of ten people. The XP would still be diluted like you said, but this is more about finding balance in their skills rather than getting stronger. It’s always more important to keep your basics solid than to keep getting stronger without having a handle on it.”
Mikella nodded in agreement. She just recalled that not just her, but everyone leveled up quite a bit during the last horde attack. That meant that not only did they gain some attribute points, but learned new skills from their classes. Once Val explained that part, Mikella understood immediately what she meant. Though she still wished to level up some more, for now, practicing her skills would be enough.
“By the way, how has your class been faring for you?”
“Huh?” Mikella tilted her head. “What do you mean?”
“I’m just curious, that’s all,” Val shook her head. “I’ve been around loads of people where they have some difficulty adjusting to a class they chose, especially if it’s a class that they never trained or learned from before. Dragon Warriors, as far as I know, haven’t been around for many years. That’s why I’m curious to see how you’re faring.”
“Huh…” Mikella huffed. “That can happen? I mean, I don’t feel any different than usual.”
“I see,” Val nodded. “But just to be sure, make sure to tell me anything if you ever feel strange. I don’t have to worry about Zeke since while Runists are rare, they’re well known across the mage community. Cloud can help him just fine to adjust to his class.”
“Oh, that’s good,” Mikella nodded. “Alright. I’ll let you know if I feel anything.”
Though if she was honest, she still didn’t know what’s the big deal about being a Runist. She hadn’t seen anything that constitutes runes, at least.
Once the two finished that conversation regarding classes, they reached the entrance, finding the other soldiers waiting for her. Some looked eager to move, while others were discussing animatedly about the fights to come. But when Captain Valorie came into the scene, every single one of them straightened themselves and saluted her.
“Captain!” One of the soldiers, possibly the veteran soldier leading a squad, answered. “We’re ready and able to move along.”
“Good,” Valorie nodded, turning to the rest. “See here, everyone! Today, we’ll be focusing on two things! First is to ensure that the monsters around the vicinity are eradicated to protect the town. Another is to find any evidence of what resulted in these recent battles. I refuse to believe that it was just a coincidence. Anyone who has any details or theories regarding this, come up to me at once as soon as you find solid clues.”
Everyone saluted, shouting ‘Yes ma’am!’ in unison. As she walked forward, she kept speaking.
“But do not get lax! This isn’t just an expedition to discover new things. This is also for your training! I expected some of you to have learned new abilities after the last fight, so I want you to first communicate with each other, then act accordingly. Anyone who dares to strike without thinking of their fellow soldier and end up injuring them will face me instead of any monster. Are we clear?!”
“Crystal, ma’am!”
The soldiers replied faster and more uniformly than before. There was a hint of fear in their eyes, figuring that a mistake could end up hurting each other would make them wind up as Val’s target practice. Something that Mikella knew quite well that none of them wanted.
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
It made sense why Valorie didn’t want anyone to get hurt before any major battle. If anyone else were to get hurt and it was only due to someone’s eager excitement to pull out a new skill, it would only make things bad for everyone else, even if the new skill was useful to have.
But she knew that it wouldn't happen so easily. So with that, the soldiers went off in different groups, and thankfully for Mikella and Myra in the same group, Captain Valorie was coming with them.
Not for their own safety, of course. It was to ensure that each group is led well, and offer any advice if any soldiers had questions about their abilities. Being the first was great for Mikella as she wasn’t used to these ventures, but perhaps that’s why Mikella joined her group in the first place.
…..
A few minutes of walking passed without anyone finding a monster. Mikella knew that it wasn’t going to turn into an instant action scene the moment she left the town, but she figured it would be at a resounding start than this.
Still, it allowed her to take a better look at her group. Obviously the captain was staying behind, as she had no purpose in attacking and only planned on leading. She also planned on visiting the other groups to see how they’re doing, but basically she’s here as a deterrent if shit hits the fan.
Meanwhile, six other soldiers were with her, which included her first friend of the soldiers Myra along with her own pals, two male twins. They apparently grew up together, so they were long time childhood friends.
The other three were some of the random soldiers that joined up, so Myra didn’t know them as much outside of combat. They are, however, considered friendly and capable of handling themselves.
Normally in the first day, Mikella would have trouble figuring out which is which, but in this world, differentiating them couldn’t be any easier. Myra, obviously, was a spear user wearing the lighter version of a leather armor, just like Mikella. The twins shared the same armor type of leather with metal plating over their chests, shoulders, and forearms. Both each wore a longsword and shield.
They acted as tanks together, using their shields to defend against the monsters. She remembered them going all out with their longswords however whenever Zeke used his barrier with them, something that the two clearly appreciated as they didn’t have to get bashed all the time with their shields.
The other three had different weapons. One of them carried a bow, and was the first one leading the group acting as a scout. He was farther away than usual, wearing some padded clothes with some leather on his bracers and boots. He also had them colored almost green to match the forest, making it easier to blend into his surroundings. She was a bit worried that she easily lost the scout, but found out that it was a skill of his to hide himself in the darkness of the forest. A reasonable skill to have for someone who has a class specializing in surveillance.
Another was a hardcore axe user. His bulging muscles made it clear through his leather armor along with some metal plating only around his hands and forearms. Finally, the last one wielded a short sword and a dagger, with either having one out or two at a time whenever the situation demanded it.
What surprised her was that there were no mages involved, and clearly no healer. It made sense, the more she thought about it. She hadn’t seen any mages coming by, and when she asked Myra, she said that the magic spells could make it difficult to fight in, and even worse if the forest caught fire or was damaged by the elements during this.
They still need this forest to make some money for the future, after all. It wouldn’t be good to ruin the land where they could find potentially good herbs to use, or beasts to skin their hides for the winter and for sale.
“I see movement. Over there near the north-west side.”
Mikella instantly focused, grasping her sword fight. It was such a culture shock for her, not having to worry about the heavy weight. But it also played her mind, thinking that it was such a weaker sword because of it. But she forced herself to reconsider. It’s a new sword, and that was why she was here; to get further training.
Obviously, Val stood this one out as she let Myra lead the group instead. Myra spoke out in a hush voice.
“Alright, who’s got this?” Myra asked, getting one of the brothers to speak up.
“I do! I got a new skill I wanna try!”
“Go for it.”
Just as it was decided that one of the brothers would be fighting, the monster that the scout spotted appeared. It was actually a pack of monsters instead of just one, and there were quite a number of them.
She Identified to find that it was a pack of Dire Wolves, each one nearing level 25. She was surprised by the high levels, but then again, most of the monsters she faced in the horde were higher level than that.
And that made her pause. Even if she didn’t have the Identify back then, the beast she fought when they were stuck in the forest for two weeks was clearly weaker. If she had to guess, it should’ve been around her level or just a few digits more. But now, they were nearing level 30, almost at the milestone for them.
Are they getting stronger? Is it because of the horde?
It only made more sense why this expedition to train and fight monsters is also a good reason to cull the monsters. If they were getting stronger somehow, raising their levels, the monsters would only become so strong that they can overtake the town easily.
She finally understood why the soldiers of the town are always so active. It’s an ongoing duty to take down the monsters around their town, using the chance to level up and get stronger while making sure the town is safe for those who can’t fight.
But something clicked in her head. Clearly, there weren’t many soldiers as there were townspeople who didn’t fight. Why don’t they try and level up themselves? If everyone else leveled up like the soldiers did, then they won’t have any issues with fighting monsters.
The crafters she can understand staying behind. Who wouldn’t want to have support by repairing their equipment and making food to eat? But then what about the people just living their lives? Some were just playing around and some others were just hanging out. She didn’t know exactly what class they had, but if it doesn’t have anything to do with fighting monsters, then what was the point?
She knew Zeke was doing his best to learn more about the world, but the way it is now, it seemed like they were just leaving the fighting to those that wanted to, not realizing the importance behind it.
All the while, she watched the man with the sword and shield fight the pack by himself. His new skill made it easy to pick out a weak spot and take out a wolf’s limb and cause it to fumble about. But the other wolves clearly outnumber him, forcing the man to use his shield to defend himself.
“You need any help?” Myra asked, already having a sword in hand.
“Y-Yeah! Sorry, this is a little too much for me!”
The man didn’t even bother to showcase how strong he was, clearly knowing that he was in a rough spot. Myra and the other twin proceeded forward, with the other three staying back. They were looking out for any other monsters that might come around.
Mikella figured that she should go in as well, but Val stopped her when she put a hand on her shoulder. She nearly flinched at that. Val can be so fast without her even knowing she was coming by.
“Only three or so should fight a small pack like that. Anymore and it’ll get confusing.”
Mikella nodded. she figured the other three were standing guard, but it was possible that they were also adhering to the rule. The moment Mikella eased up, the other three somehow shifted weight. She realized that they were staring at her, figuring that she was going to join.
“Don’t worry about it,” Val said, only speaking to her. “Everyone here is trying to help each other advance and level. Trying to get in the way of one’s progress is looked down upon. They probably would’ve chided you if you kept going after my advice.”
“Oh, so is this about the XP sharing?” Mikella asked, getting Val to nod.
“Having this many around would dilute the XP if everyone attacks at once. It wouldn’t even be worth it. That’s why for expeditions, everyone goes in three at a time. But I won’t let any soldiers die out there. That’s why I made these groupings. It still affects the amount of XP you get by having so many around you, but it’s better than suffering a lethal injury.”
Mikella could only agree. She understood well enough how they work. Experience points are such a valuable thing, but not so valuable that they would give up their life in the process. At least, that was Val’s point of view.
Soon, the pack was put down easily enough. It was only around five or so, not much of an issue after the horde yesterday. Myra clearly carried the group while the brothers were more focused on defense. In exchange for that, Myra didn’t have to worry about a single wolf attacking her side, so she can focus more on dealing with one wolf at a time. It was a good dynamic when magic isn’t included in it.
Then again, it would probably be better if they had the archer scout score some hits, but then that would be breaking the three-only rule. So it was suggested that those who knew each other for long and fought along with each other would be better suited. She was starting to understand further and further how the soldiers work, their methods and patterns easily coming to light.
Suddenly she felt antsy. It was a good fight shown by Myra. Mikella wanted to do her part as well, so when Myra came over, as though it was easily written on her face, Myra smirked.
“Don’t worry, you’ll get in the next time we group. For now, let those guys handle the next one. You think you can handle it by then?”
Mikella’s cheeks grew red after getting figured out so easily by Myra. She laughed out loud at her, slapping her shoulder with a goofy grin. She never felt so new before, mostly having little choice but to fight to survive with a barrier mage and her ten year old sister.
But she also felt too anxious. She wanted to fight, to really give it her all. She understood the controlled fighting, but she also wanted to let loose. She actually wished that another mini-horde or something would come by so she could kill some more. But she held it in. She was sure that everyone else was giddy to kill some more, and that was why this system was made.
If everyone were to go in, someone was going to get hurt, regardless of how much they tried to get stronger. And Val won’t allow that. With her as the captain, nobody would bother going against her.
So with that, Mikella followed the group out further into the expedition, grasping onto her sword tighter as she learned more about her group’s fighting style.