The rest of the day went out as normal for now. Despite going to jail for unjustified reasons, the two were allowed to venture out of the house for construction work. Thanks to Adam’s resurgence with the forge, construction has been flowing along like a waterfall.
Their tools repaired and their walls sturdy and reinforced, they worked overtime to build the town back to how it once was. With Zeke and Mikella’s help, it was all the more faster.
Now that Zeke’s skill of fixing items was known, he started to regret trying to impress Clara and Ana now that everyone was asking him to fix their items for free.
Mikella thought there was going to be a riot when Cloud stepped in to charge them for Zeke’s skill, but realizing that Zeke was a ‘crafter’ in that sense, they understood.
So Zeke got paid a lot of money–a lot, if gaining more than a gold coin throughout his work was anything to go by in just two short hours.
With his Recovery skill being at such a high level, the mana consumption was a lot easier to manage, and especially with the barrier buff going on, even better. That still didn’t stop him from working his ass off however, and Mikella wanted to follow suit.
They spent the rest of the day working with their fellow soldiers and comrades, and if the state of the town was anything to go by, it was assumed that it was around 65% fully recovered. It got to the point where even the children could go out and play now that the roads were fixed and stable enough.
During one of the breaks, Mikella sat at one of the wooden logs around the training yard near the outskirts of the town. It was where she trained with the rest of the soldiers other than the ramparts. It was great to train outside for magic spells, but sometimes going all the way to the entrance was a pain in the ass, so the soldiers got a training yard of their own near their homes for faster training.
The yard was barren of cobblestone and filled with dirt, and there weren't any shelves for wooden weapons–it was expected the soldiers would bring their own. There were some ragged dummies for target practice, and the soldiers worked hard to keep the place clean from any potential blood–sometimes children would come in and watch them train in delight.
As she sat there, her brow riddled with sweat and her jerkin stained from practically everywhere, she marveled at the town with a smile. She was glad to see that most of the buildings repaired were made by her own hand. It was a nice feeling–gratifying after so many hours put into helping the people have a place to sleep at night.
Looking up at her status screen, she knew that without all the training she put in, more than half of the town’s reparation wouldn’t be done by now.
> Name: Mikella Ashton (Overachiever)
> Race: Human
> Dragon Berserker: Level 37
> Attunement: Unbridled Fulmination (Tier 1)
> STR: 111
> DEX: 129
> INT: 19
> SPI: 24
> VIT: 33
> END: 84
> Free Points: 0
>
> General Skills:
> Kinetic Perception (U) Level 8
> Sword Mastery (U) Level 9
> Axe Mastery (U) Level 4
> Spear Mastery (U) Level 4
> Bow Mastery (U) Level 1
> Hammer Mastery (U) Level 1
> Pain Resistance (U) Level 7
> Meditation (C) Level 7
>
> Acquired Skills:
> Acrobatics (R) Level 9
> Hawk Eyes (R) Level 8
>
> Class Skills:
> Heavenly Strike Level 5
> Dragon Descent Level 5
> Aerial Advantage Level 3
> Draconic Fury Level 1
She made a lot of improvements, though compared to Zeke, there wasn’t much for battle so she only raised a few levels. Kinetic Perception, Axe Mastery, and Spear Mastery, even Meditation got an increase, with the mastery skills leveling twice over the months.
The only skill that surprised her leveling at all was her Acrobatics and Dragon Descent skill, but considering how many times she had to move about to get things done building the town, somehow it wasn’t all that surprising.
As she said to Zeke, she did learn how to use the bow and the hammer, both skills now filling up her General Skill list. If she was honest, she was still glad she got them even if it did fill up the list a bit more. She was approaching the ten only limit, having 8 skills so far. She had at least one spot left for when she eventually learns Magic Perception, but other than that, she found no reason not to fill up with more weapon Mastery.
With Skill Fusion available, she wondered if she could fuse all these skills together to make one powerful Mastery skill to trump all others… but that was for the future. She doesn’t even have one maxed skill in her arsenal, which ached her a little.
Still, it was something to look forward to, and unlike in the real world, the more work she put in, the more it showed through her screen. The exhilaration from that is enough to keep her going.
“Hey, Mikky.”
She saw her fellow friend and soldier Myra wearing the same clothing as her–a rough tunic over her torso with loose baggy pants, leather boots for rough work as proof by the stained mud and ground it was caked in.
Mikella has to remind herself that thanks to Myra being in the Expert stage, she looked more like a model every day. Her tanned skin was glistening with sweat with no flaw to speak of, and her auburn hair was tied behind her head, not a single lock misplaced. She was baffled at how attractive she was, and even more baffled that none of her soldier comrades hit on her.
Then again, she was their old friend. Plus, she was good looking even from before her milestone breaking. She also noticed the other soldiers looking more refined thanks to their milestone breaking, but Myra was by far the true winner. As Myra sat down beside her, she took a look at Mikella with a smile.
“Good work.”
“Thanks,” Mikella nodded with a smile. “You did good too. You just got finished?”
“Yep,” Myra remarked happily. “Me and the boys were just taking a break now. We heard the news yesterday… that’s some tough shit you guys were dealt with.”
Mikella grumbled a little before responding. “You don’t know the half of it.”
“How’s Zeke doing?” Myra asked.
“Oh, let me tell ya.”
Mikella had a smirk as she happily regaled Zeke’s reaction when they got jailed, including how he snapped back at the general when they mentioned spying on Clara.
“Holy shit, I would’ve paid to see that!” Myra guffawed, slapping her knee in delight. “Shit, that goes to show that mage got some balls. Hell, we’re also talking about a guy who fixed the forge all by himself, too. He’s been getting pretty popular lately.”
“Yeah, he’s becoming pretty handy lately,” Mikella said, almost bitterly even. “I’m gonna worry about how this is gonna turn out for him.”
“True…” Myra nodded. “At this rate, it doesn’t matter if he’s married or not–there’s gonna be plenty of girls wanting to marry him just for the forge thing alone.”
“Huh?” Mikella raised her brow incredulously. “The hell you talking about?”
“Uhh, exactly what I mean?” Myra raised a brow back at her. “Isn’t that what you were worried about?”
“What? No! I’m talking about how people are gonna see him as some tool without any feelings. They’re gonna keep demanding him to help, and being the kind of guy he is, he’s gonna run himself ragged.”
“Well, I kinda doubt that,” Myra shook her head with a small smile. “If what you told me is anything to go by, he’s gonna be just fine on his own. I’m more worried about the harpies ready to do some shady stuff to get his attention. Make sure to tell him to pretend to drink instead of actually drinking any cup he gets handed with.”
Mikella shivered at that. That was… surprisingly horrifying to think about. She’ll put that at the back of her mind as they went back to topic.
“Still, the general’s soldiers are coming by soon, huh?” Myra said, showing a rather complex expression. “Can’t say I’m not looking forward to it. You think they might be as powerful as Piker?”
“Maybe…”
Mikella told Myra earlier about what happened, particularly about Piker and what happened to him. It was a sordid realization that a soldier could be used like that, but Myra still kept being positive, enough to at least annoy Mikella with gossip and spicy stories.
Though, sometimes, she enjoyed them. Sometimes.
“I also heard some merchants are finally gonna come by. Here’s to hoping we get some good stuff after a while. Gods know how many people here need it.”
Myra stood up from the log, dusting herself off below the waist and waved at Mikella.
“Alrighty, that’s enough of a break. Let’s get ready to work, then we’ll have some extra time practicing our attunements. I got a feeling I’m finally handling my fire power way better thanks to this barrier. I might even tier up!”
“That’s possible?” Mikella asked, getting up herself. She wanted to get back to work anyways now that she got her breath. Her Endurance stat made it that much easier to get back into the swing of things.
“Sure, at least to get you close enough to tier,” Myra tilted her head. “You still need to have the source of where you got your attunement, but you can probably get a potion for that, or some natural treasure from going out exploring.”
“I wonder how you do that?” Mikella asked, mostly to herself. “Do you just, like, swallow it whole or something? I don’t like the idea of eating an electrified rock or plant…”
“Nah, nah. But man, that would suck, huh?” Myra shrugged. “You can just absorb it with your mana. You can do that if you practice, so let’s not dilly-dally and get to work!”
Mikella chuckled, Myra reminding her more of an impatient girl wanting to get front row seats to a concert. It really made her miss the days of being just a simple college girl back in the old world…
Then again, she actually prefers this one way better. She actually likes Myra, rather than pretending to like her. She followed her back to work, where a whole truckload of construction was waiting for her hands to start on.
…..
Another four days passed, and another four days of eventual toil and work before the new visitors arrived to the town. Just like the Ashton family, new folks arrived in cart loads as carriage after carriage came in, some carrying large amounts of supplies covered with leathered tarp to avoid being exposed to the outside elements.
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All the while, the lords stood by waiting on their own near the entrance, greeting most of the new folks arriving.
Well, mostly Cloud and Val as the actual lords. Of course, being a lord himself, Zeke and his family were there, and thankfully none of them had to talk to anyone.
Mikella decided to leave Clara with Ana back with Vivian. While she would’ve liked the idea of Clara meeting new people and getting used to others’ presence, slowly trying to bring her out of her shell, today is not that day.
Because she could clearly see the increasing number of soldiers built with sturdy leather armor coming in on their mounts. Each one wore a serious expression, and each one had a slightly colored design to their armor than Eve Glade’s simple black. Each one had a small insignia on their upper right chest, detailing some strange mark that Mikella didn’t care much to study.
She knew it meant one thing, however–it was to show that they were part of the kingdom of Sham-la, just like General Zacharia as he also greeted them by their side, thankfully away from them. Though a greeting from him is just a stoic look judging them.
She really wanted to just clobber him someday, but considering he’s at the Journeyman stage, it was like facing Val–and she already learned her lesson once. That was enough to just leave her grumbling and hoping that Zacharia would just step on the fantasy world version of a lego.
Zeke stood with a pale expression, his lips pressed tightly together enough to be melded. Mikella tapped him on the forearm, startling him.
“Take it easy,” Mikella said. The trotting horses and the rattling of the carriage was loud enough for her to speak normally. “If you start getting nervous, who’s gonna stop me from making a fool of myself?”
“Isn’t that your job to handle?” Zeke asked incredulously, but Mikella only smirked at him.
“My job’s making sure that nobody bullies you.”
“Yeah, yeah. Keep acting cute like that and you’ll make the soldiers fall for you. Can’t have that now, can we?”
“Hey, what can I say? That’s my default mode.”
Zeke rolled his eyes, used to the banter they have already, but Mikella smirked when he saw a small smile on his lips.
She knew this was just them trying to calm themselves down, but it was good to know that no matter what happens, she’ll always have Zeke by her side to make her feel at peace.
Not just his barriers–just him in general. It was also nice to find out that she can easily bully him to call her cute, which only made her want to bully him some more.
Eventually time passed to the point where everyone has settled by now. They had enough room thanks to the constant horde attacks, and ever since the barrier was put in place, there was no need for the ramparts to be filled to the brim with objects and weaponry. At least, not to the point of getting in the way of incoming visitors.
As for the barrier, they managed to get inside with ease as long as Zeke recognized them as allies. It was surprisingly easy for him, because the barrier is intensely connected to his will. If he feels threatened, then the barrier will keep out the hostile threat. Though that still didn’t stop the new onlookers from looking over at the barrier with awed fascination on their faces.
Some stepped out, looking straight up towards the sky to find the secure barrier surrounding them. Some looked a little worried, as though they stepped into unfamiliar land, but once they took a while to breathe in the calming atmosphere, the nearly recovered town going on in full swing, they released the tension in their shoulders and let themselves act freely, even beginning to ask about the barrier’s existence.
Cloud and Val went ahead to the rather well-dressed folks, a small number of merchants who came to their advice. Though unfortunately for Cloud, they were the merchants sent in along with his knights for aid, so in other words, they came in thanks to Zacharia’s persistence. That still didn’t stop Cloud from doing his duty to greet the merchants, as the town desperately needed the wares for continued prosperity.
So, having no other choice, Mikella and Zeke went off towards Zacharia to go and greet the new soldiers.
There were about a dozen or so soldiers, each one decked with their own armor signifying the kingdom. As far as Mikella could tell through Identify, they were around late to high Expert stage, some reaching nearly level 50.
Though thanks to the past two days, he and Mikella had been increasing in levels as well.
> Level up! You are now level 39. You gain 4 free points (4 FP total).
>
> You have gained +6 STR from your class.
> You have gained +6 DEX from your class.
> You have gained +6 END from your class.
It was a strange sight to see, leveling up just by doing nothing. Sure, Zeke often said that’s what he did, but he was also studying his ass off learning runes, which to Mikella is the equivalent of learning programming and mechanical studies all in one, on top of quantum physics.
Least, that’s how Mikella felt when Zeke tried to explain how runes worked just once.
Still, she would gladly take advantage of this, especially since they hadn’t had a shot of leveling these months thanks to the construction.
That puts them around in the near middle Expert stage. Myra was even higher thanks to their dungeon dive, but they were quickly catching up, much to Myra’s grumbling.
Zacharia was currently talking with them with Piker in tow, standing stoically as before. Mikella noticed that Piker looked a lot better now, if a little exhausted by the brim of his narrowed eyes.
“Hey, if you wanna apologize, you can do it you know,” Zeke whispered, startling her from how he knew what she was thinking.
“T-This doesn’t seem like the right time,” Mikella added, and Zeke nodded. While the timing wasn’t right, at some point, Mikella had to do it. She had every right to be pissed, but she was pissed at the wrong one.
Getting closer, they heard Zacharia speaking.
“I know the situation at the kingdom was rough, but I’m glad that you have all come to our aid,” Zacharia said, his tone implying no mirth or joy, but from a superior who expected nothing less.
“Sir! We’ll be glad to support you in any way,” One of the soldiers, a brazen-looking young man with short crop black hair saluted back to him. The other soldiers mimicked him as well.
“Good,” Zacharia nodded, and once he noticed Mikella and Zeke coming over, he pointed his chin over to them. “Allow me to introduce you to our new members that will be joining us. This is Zeke and Mikella Ashton. Zeke here is the lord by name of Eve Glade, as I have told you, along with his wife. These two have decided to join us for the cause of protecting Eve Glade.”
While Zacharia introduced them with no hint of malice or hostility, Mikella couldn’t help but be irked. To hear that they ‘decided’ to join them really made her ticked off, especially after being forced to join under the pretense of being some sort of evil mastermind behind everything.
That, and believing Clara is some sort of villain. That alone brought her closer to the edge of fury itself.
The other soldiers looked at them in bewilderment. Some with puzzling expressions, and others just plain incredulous. She didn’t care much about making a first impression, but Zeke thankfully pulled both their weight.
“We’re glad to be of service to Eve Glade,” Despite not being someone who liked to talk openly in a group, he spoke clearly. “And despite being in name only, as a lord, thank you for agreeing to come along to the town.”
That immediately set aside some of the soldier’s bewilderment. Seeing his composed self, even admitting that he was still just a lord in name, they nodded at him. However, that very same crop-haired man looked at him with a raised brow.
“You’re a lord? How can someone so young as you be a lord? General, is this some kind of hoax?”
The tone indicated various things, all of which set Mikella off greatly. While Zeke didn’t look that different, she noticed the subtle but apparent twitch of his lips. He was holding himself back even as the arrogant sounding soldier turned to the general.
“It is not a hoax,” Zacharia shook his head. “Do not underestimate his abilities. He is the sole person responsible for the barrier surrounding us.’
Raising his hand to show his meaning, the other soldiers now looked at the barrier with shock in their eyes. After turning their attention back to Zeke, he once again showed that same awkward posture, shifting his weight little by little.
“Impossible!” The same soldier said in aghast. “This little runt? I can’t believe it!”
“Umm, excuse me?”
Mikella finally spoke up, unable to hold herself back. Zeke looked back at her in shock, but Mikella stepped forward in front of him, facing against the tall man for herself.
He was about a half-foot taller than her, but she stood her ground, her back straightened as she stared up at him straight to the eyes. Surprisingly, the soldier almost looked taken aback by her closing in and staring so deeply at him.
“You’re no different yourself,” Mikella said, her tone calm, but her insides were boiling hot. “So how about you tone it down a touch or two?”
“Wha–?” The soldier’s face twitched, and in an instant, he scowled at her. “You better watch what you say. I don’t care who you’re fucking, that doesn’t give you any right to–”
Mikella kicked the soldier’s shin. Hard.
It was so fast, barely anyone noticed it, even Zeke. That was solely due to her vast amount of Dexterity, and a small hint of kinetic energy and attunement lightning just for good measure. As soon as the soldier felt it, he almost knelt, but Mikella didn’t let him fall so easily.
She grabbed him by the short hair, nearly clawing and ripping into his scalp, and kneed him again straight at the nose. The soldier’s blood flowed out of him like water as he fell to the ground. Now red stains marred the once cleaned and constructed street, which added to her annoyance.
Every soldier watched in shock at the scene for a few seconds before their instincts reacted. Each one pulled out a weapon, and aimed it straight at her. Mikella didn’t even turn phased despite not having a weapon on hand. She simply raised her hands, and smiled.
“He said something bad, so I reacted,” Mikella said, her tone as sweet as honey to everyone’s words.
Zeke, however, wasn’t having it.
“Mikella!” Zeke shouted, and that actually got Mikella to flinch. He doesn’t usually get angry, but when he does, he really gets angry. She faced him, grimacing at his scowl.
“Hey, he’s the one being disrespectful!”
“Yeah, but that’s no reason to attack him!”
Despite staring daggers at her, Zeke went over to the downed man and knelt down. The other soldiers quickly tried to stop him, but Zacharia spoke out loud.
“Let him be. This is a good lesson for all of you.”
Mikella was taken aback. She understood she may have gotten too trigger-happy, but she figured the general would be pissed at her, or start screaming, or something.
Instead, he had that look on his face that said that he either knew this was gonna happen, or hoping to. He kept staring at the downed soldier as Zeke healed him up with his Recovery spell.
Once Zeke finished and stood up, the soldier quickly got back up, his eyes widened and breathing hard. Then, he scowled heavily at Mikella, gritting his teeth.
“You fucking bit–”
“Basil.”
The soldier froze, his voice caught hanging in the air. Like an automaton, he stood up without pause, turned to the general, and returned to his position of being straightened, his fist over his heart.
“Sir!”
“That’s enough,” The general simply said. “You said your piece, and they reacted. Anything further outside of training is unnecessary. Don’t make this mistake again.”
“Sir, yes, sir!” The soldier, named Basil apparently, responded almost robot-like with fervor.
“That goes for the rest of you,” Zacharia turned to the others, who quickly saluted back in the same way. “As you saw, these two are capable. We’ll have more chances to see what they can do tomorrow when training starts. For now, head back to the inns and rest. Your rooms and meals are already paid for, so take advantage of that. Clear off the traveling exhaustion by tomorrow, understood?”
Everyone immediately responded ‘Yes, sir!’ before doing exactly as he said. As the soldiers funneled out in unison, Basil gave one last scathing look at Mikella before huffing away and returning with the others according to Zacharia’s orders.
Along with them, Piker also left, giving a look back at them. It wasn’t in contempt, but purely in concern. He quickly left after that, leaving only the two and Zacharia.
As the silence was about to take hold, Zacharia walked over, passing them by before saying:
“Make sure to keep that up for tomorrow. You’re gonna need it.”
Once the general left, Mikella and Zeke were on their own. Small blood still trickled on the street thanks to Basil, and the other people who watched the scene stood around for just a moment before leaving, hoping not to get anywhere in between what just happened.
Zeke let out a heavy breath. “Was that really necessary?”
“...Probably not,” Mikella finally said. Once all the adrenaline and anger got out of her, she quickly realized her mistake.
She of course wanted to hit him, but she should’ve had better control than that. She couldn’t help but think that after being out of actual battle for so long, the madness that once took over her was suddenly roused and went out of control.
Of course, that could just be a pitiful excuse for her behavior. She knew it all as well, but when that bastard decided to say something so wretched, she lost control for that short moment. She was even ready to fight off the entire group, but it was obvious that Zacharia trained them so well that they couldn’t even be bothered getting angry at her, except for Basil, of course.
“I’m sorry,” Mikella said, turning to Zeke. “I know I fucked up. I just…”
Seeing her hesitate, Zeke nodded to her. “Don’t get me wrong–That was a pretty sweet kick. He deserved it, especially for saying that crap. I know you’re always looking out for me… but I don’t want you to get in trouble for my sake, okay?”
Somehow, him understanding her turmoil even though she barely said anything of note was even worse. It stung her, as though she was utterly predictable to him.
But at the same time, her heart swelled over someone understanding her so well having to speak more words than necessary.
They discussed a bit about what actually happened within her body. Zeke revealed that he figured that was the case, but what’s done is done. In order for her to better control herself before her attunement could make it worse, she needed to train her attunement better.
And what better way than to get started on training tomorrow against a group of new soldiers? Suddenly, she was looking forward to facing them.