No matter how much training he put himself through, Jackie’s heart beat rapidly in his chest. He stood along with his comrades and allies of their unit, separated into different groups based on their function and uses. He was part of the classic melee fighters, filled with incredible fighters with powerful skills that would put him to shame.
The wet ground sloshed as their feet marched across the forested fields, taking down one monster after another, all of which were Journeymen rank. He had a hard time believing that such a creature could even exist around Eve Glade, let alone a whole ecosystem of them living below the town.
Sure, it was hundreds of miles away, but it still shook him. He could barely take one down before another had to help, and another to take it down while he supported from the side. He was mostly useful for distracting the monsters, his stats barely capable of scratching it.
He trained relentlessly, but he wasn’t as hardcore as Myra. Throughout their life, Myra had always been the type to go far beyond their stations, enough so that Jackie basically had to tell her off to leave him alone.
Putting aside the differences in their stats, skills, titles, and their own attunements, Myra had a drive that beat both him and his late brother to pieces. She’s the sort to train even after the day was nearly spent and everyone else rested. She’s the one that always forged through no matter the trial, trying to egg the others on to do the same. She’s the leader of the two knuckleheads that pulled them through the dark times back at the Federation.
She was someone he admired, though he would never admit that to her face. She’s got the arrogance that matched her drive. But that soon changed when the visitors came in. Zeke and Mikella changed the entire game for them. It made just trying to survive in the small town against a horde of Expert monsters seem so easy.
He could tell immediately how that affected Myra. It even punctured her own pride and ego, but that didn’t stop her. If anything, that only pushed her forward. Even if she managed to get an Acquired skill out of it, Myra would always push on through no matter the odds. Jackie was proud of that, and he knew Maxie would be too.
He still thought about his brother sometimes. At times, he became a memory, and other times, it became so real that he was gone. It made his heart ache, and his soul withered. He made his entire build to focus on working together with Maxie, something they both agreed to be as badass as hell. After all, with Myra being the way she is, the two needed to work together to support her.
But now with him gone, he was just Jackie. It was hard to change his build, however little it was. It just proved that Maxie was gone. Even Myra was affected, wanting to support Jackie rather than training herself. But he didn’t want that.
This was his own weight to bear. It was time for him to carry his own weight rather than let Myra take care of everything from now on. He was happy to find out that Myra was chosen to go along with Zeke and Mikella to some awesome adventure, probably getting stronger and stronger with each passing second. He was proud of that.
But he also knew that she’d be disappointed if he stopped trying. Hence, he gathered his courage and pulled his sword out to help his comrades face the Hunter that spotted them.
It spewed flames all around, trying to burn everything around it. The crystals became redder as seconds passed, yet they remained adamant, standing tall. Several other soldiers of his group used their shields or skills to defend themselves, and others just ran. He would’ve normally used his shield as well, but Jackie opted to focus on the blade for now. He dodged, his Dexterity lagging just slightly to get caught with the embers that burned his right calf.
It was unbelievably painful, but not enough to stop him, because if he did, he would die. As soon as the flames stopped, everyone ran in to attack the creature. While it had a tough hide and a fast reaction speed to everyone pouncing on it, not even the powerful Hunter could defend against an onslaught of powerful and well-coordinated team effort of Experts.
It soon died, the body carpeting the ground with its blood. Jackie breathed heavily as he felt his hands still simmer and burn, being so close to the fire-attuned Hunter.
The fact that Myra managed to beat this thing down with just three fighters and Zeke not even using his barrier was just incredible. There were half the times where he wished Zeke was there to support them, but even he knew how relying on his barrier all the time would prove to be an issue later on.
Still, it was hard. The healer at their side, Cacia, came over to dress their wounds with puffs of snow, which was absolutely perfect to counter the hissing burn of the flames. Jackie still flinched and hissed like a child when she came over to heal him, but he smiled and thanked her for the work.
He felt blessed just having a healer at all. Half the time, the healers back at Eve Glade were too busy healing the more injured folks, and of course Cloud was busy with his work as a lord. But with how well the soldiers were trained, even the healers were amazing at curing wounds, proving just how incredible Zacharia’s retinue was.
They continued onward to the fortress, the large stone structure that pierced through the large cavernous walls. And considering how big this place was, that seemed incredible in Jackie’s eyes.
The others all had tense faces, their jaws locked tight with eyes that burned with determination. For them, following Zacharia’s orders was the priority. At first, he was a little disturbed by how adamant they are in following such a scary guy, but after being with them for a while, he started to understand.
They all came from different parts of life, some from extinguished families like Nina and her beast-tamer build, while some others came from the slums. Putrid places within the kingdom that were barely taken care of. Being such a huge place, it’s no wonder there are some dark sides that not even the king could see.
Each one of them were taken in by Zacharia, given harsh training, but also were given valuable tools to survive, like gear and skill training. He even offered them a powerful attunement should they come up to the task. There were many, many volunteers to try, but more than 90% of those tryouts failed and left the retinue due to Zacharia’s harsh training regimen.
Only these soldiers survived, and were granted rewards based on their hard work. It’s the sort of thing that Jackie and Myra went through in Eve Glade, though at a slower pace. With their lack of funds, being in such a small town, it’s no wonder not everyone can advance as far as Myra can. Plus, being able to have attribute fruits is considered a dream to the commoners, so not everyone can actually be strong enough.
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Still, there were some interesting … characters in the retinue that Jackie can’t really get along with. One for example was actually coming by, his smug grin showing on his neatly trimmed face as he walked over.
“Looks like it’s another win for me,” Basil said. Despite his slightly short stature, he had the gall to look like he was looking down on Jackie. “An easy win too.”
“Didn’t everyone put in the effort to take the Hunter down?” Jackie asked, raising a brow. He was pretty sure there weren't any competitions either.
“Oh come on, you saw that it was me that dealt the last blow,” Basil jeered. “Then, blam! Head blown right off!”
After getting pelted by dozens of other strikes, Jackie mumbled, but it was so low that Basil couldn’t hear.
He also could admit, albeit bitterly, that Basil certainly was strong enough to deal enough damage. It’s just that the bastard was so pretentious sometimes, it’s no wonder everyone else just ignored him. But for some odd reason, Basil was sticking and jostling with Jackie since they got grouped up.
“Heh, I also improved by leaps and bounds. No way that chick can get the best of me this time,” Basil said proudly, a smug grin plastered on his face. “Soon she’s gonna come crying out for me to stop, but oh no, I’m going all in…”
There was a sickening grin to his face now, something that Jackie only rolled his eyes a little too hard at. Basil had this huge crush on Mikella ever since his defeat against her. Of course, even the soldiers of his own retinue can tell that he was grasping too far into the heavens.
He liked to pretend that he just wanted to bash her head in, but everyone knew of the long distant stares he sent at her whenever she trained along with the others. It was so obvious, Jackie wondered if everyone but him knew about it. Half the time, he expected Mikella to know about it, though that seemed unlikely.
No matter how, Basil always tried instigating her, but she either dismissed him entirely or missed the entire point and just outright bashed him in combat. Basil was trying too damn hard to impress her, but she only cared about the efficiency of the fight. She’s always been like that, a near replica of Myra.
Not that Jackie disliked her or anything. After it was revealed just how fast Mikella grew while fighting, everyone wanted a bit of her momentum. What they got in return was way more than they bargained for. She outright destroyed them in sparring, and egged them on to keep going. It destroyed them body and soul, and due to that, they grew way faster than they normally would have.
Something about her actually helped even the hardcore retinue soldiers to max out their skills, jumping leaps and bounds ahead in their progress. That’s more effort than they have ever done before she came in, her charisma higher than any stat she had. He honestly can’t imagine anyone trying to ‘tame’ her, no matter how amazing she is. She was certainly beautiful, more of a ‘cute and feisty’ to Jackie’s eyes than Myra’s ‘hot and flashy’.
But her personality can be a little… domineering, maybe. Half the time Jackie feared about his manhood being trounced by her overwhelming presence. And he wasn’t alone–half the men around him felt the same way, and others, like Basil, were entranced by her. Not to the point of trying to court her like Basil is, however.
The only guy he can ever imagine not just courting Mikella, but outright taking care of her for life is Zeke. The man’s a legend among the mages and warriors alike. Not everyone can help support a group and go all out fighting against Mikella of all people in pure combat. Seeing how Zeke could go toe-to-toe with Mikella with his rune buffs was just too amazing.
Magic was already incredible, but Jackie’s poor Intelligence and Spirit stats made it easy for him to find out that magic wasn’t his thing. He likes being physical, and the sword was at least easy to use. Unfortunately, that was the only thing keeping Jackie’s thoughts before he had to listen to Basils’ ongoing dribel about taming the wild electrifying beast.
Eventually they regrouped together with the other members of the team, reaching ever closer to the fortress. The scouts made it easy to traverse their way there now that the main team managed to discover the location, and more importantly, away from the other monsters. The monsters seemed to be more… agitated the closer they got, however, something that reminded Jackie of before.
Of that horrifying, dangerous tower that almost killed Myra during her Expert milestone, that caused the monsters to go crazy, and that caused his brother’s death. When he heard Myra that they were heading to the tower that had propped up there, he legitimately feared for her life.
He didn’t want to lose another friend, not again, to another stupid dangerous tower. But he knew that with Zeke, Mikella, and the other Lords by her side, she’d be fine. Plus, even the general Zacharia and that stick-in-the-mud Piker was with her. Besides, he wanted her to be strong, and what better way than to conquer the tower?
Still, he felt something was off, and it wasn’t the monsters either. They were always on top of searching for the other enemy soldiers, but so far they haven’t found anyone that has gotten this far. At the moment, their current leading officer, Moars, was reading the maps the scouts temporarily wrote, his intimidating face scrutinizing every detail.
“Dude… these bastards are so damn annoying…”
While his face was scowling like he was ready to kill, his incredibly lax tone and stressed wording made Jackie unrelentingly relax. Moars always made him feel as though he was too stressed out these days, and that he should just take it easy.
Though at the same time, he was more on his feet, ready for action. The man was pretty damn good, despite his weird tone and relaxed posture.
“The monsters are going crazy, and those soldiers are nowhere to be found… bummer,” Moars said, shaking his head. “How close are we?”
“A few miles ahead and we should reach the fortress,” One of the scouts reported. “About two hours or so.”
“Gotcha,” Moars nodded. “Alrighty then. Everyone, let’s move out.”
Though his order was low-toned, everyone got ready and prepared to head out. But not before something moved in the air. A small quake echoed, causing the nearby leaves of the crystalline trees to tinkle and crash to the ground, getting everyone’s attention.
Jackie unsheathed his sword without a second thought. He would’ve been proud of that reaction if it wasn’t for the creature that appeared at their midst.
A large bipedal creature covered in midnight fur, but it couldn’t hide the rippling muscles from beneath its limbs. Sharp claws on each of its hands and feet, with equally sharp fangs shown through its pronounced snout. Drool slithered down its open jaw, its lip raised in a growl as it showed its nearly yellowish eyes.
It was a growl that came from deep below, shaking everyone down to their cores. This wasn’t an ordinary creature, Jackie knew. It definitely didn’t belong in the biodome either, having no sign of a crystal or an elemental form at all.
A monster from the outside? No, that can’t be. Then, is it a part of Bastion?
Jackie identified it to be sure, but couldn’t hold back his shocked look at the result.
> Warrior, Level 81
“Fuck…” Jackie cursed.
“Hahaha, well look at this haul I found…”
The werewolf-like creature stood on its two legs with a wide chest spoke up. Its voice was near growling, but it clearly spoke in words Jackie could understand.
It twisted its head left and right, tilting it ever so slightly in confusion.
“But I heard you folks got lords at my level. Why are lambs wandering around all alone?”
The beast lowered its head, opening its maw ever so slightly. Jackie couldn’t help the fear slowly crawling towards his chest as he saw the beast… actually smiling.
“Ah, well. That doesn’t matter. At the very least, you can keep me company. You see, I like playing with my food.”