Day 12 A.F.

“Thank you all for gathering here today,” Darius said to his villagers in the meeting room of the Village hall. He’d intended to hold this meeting the previous day, but had gotten derailed by other tasks that had cropped up. but at least they had a functional communication tower and a rank two blacksmith’s forge and the crafting of the medical tent was under way. “As you all know, we have recently gained the Military Specialization. In order to take advantage of the bonuses granted by this specialization and our new fort just outside the Village walls, we need people who will volunteer to join the Guard.”

“What exactly does that entail?” one of the Villagers asked.

“Good question. The Guard will be a military force who’s main function will be keeping our homes safe. That means guarding the Village, hunting down dangerous monsters, and fighting the undead that threatens everyone’s lives. The system groups our soldiers into units of ten people with one Corporal in charge of that unit. At our current level of Advancement, we can have up to three of these squads and one Sergent who will be in charge of all the Guards. Joining the Guard will not only give free attributes as soon as you join, but training under a Corporal, especially in the training grounds, your combat skills will grow much faster than otherwise possible. I have also purchased sets of Scale mail armor for everyone who wishes to join. It provides much better protection than the Leather Armor most have had to use until now.”

Darius took a deep breath. he hated having to talk like that, so ended up giving up on the fancy official talking. “Look, there’s a whole mess of danger and we all want to be as safe as possible. we’ve got a larger than normal group of people who can fight, and we need your help. All this military stuff is just a means to an end, to make all you as strong as possible. who here wants to grow so strong that no one can march in here and take what we have? Destroy all we built? Take us as slaves, or worse, turn us into those unholy abominations, the Undead. Now I don’t care if you’re a guy, girl, or something in between. I don’t care. This system renders all that shit moot. The attributes we get from leveling up, or cultivating or whatever makes us stronger than any human in history. If you want to fight to protect your home and the people you love, join the Guard. We’ll give you all the tools and resources you need to become real powerhouses. If you choose to join, please, step forward.”

The villagers began murmuring amongst themselves, and Darius let them talk. He’d given his pitch and it was time to wait and see if anyone took him up on the offer. One by one, members of his Village walked forward and stood in a line. First Akira and her father Hiroshi stepped up, then Javier was shortly followed by his uncle Carlos. Carlos seemed to hesitate, but after some stern words from his nephew, he joined. Sophia was the next to step forward, along with everyone from his quick reaction force, those that still remained anyway. So, along with Sophia, Jackson, Avery, Liam, and Billy joined the growing row of volunteers. Evelyn with her silver bow stepped up, and then, to Darius’s surprise, Mei Ling joined. She still had an eye patch over her missing eye, but she held such a fierce look of determination that Darius felt a light shiver run down his back.

Michael Martinez was the first of the latest group that had joined the village, then several more people that had joined with him volunteered. Last but not least, Chad stepped up as well. Altogether, nineteen people had volunteered to join the guards. Honestly, it was more volunteers than he’d thought he would get. Nearly two-thirds of their population was ready and willing to fight to protect what they had.

“Thank you, all of you. I’m proud that so many here are willing to do what’s needed to keep everyone safe. For now, I call this Village meeting over. Everyone that volunteered, please join me at the base, and we will get things rolling.”

Once they left the Village and gathered in the Training yard, Darius addressed his new soldiers. “First things first, we have three kinds of unit we can train for. Infantry, Ranged and Calvary. Since we don’t have any kind of animals or vehicles to use, We are going to leave it at the first two. Those of you interested in Infantry, please gather to my left. Ranged, to my right.”

After everyone shuffled around a bit, Darius was left with twelve people who wanted to be infantry and only seven who wanted to be ranged. Looking between the two groups, Darius took a deep breath. he considered how to re-arrange them so there wouldn’t be more than one officer and ten soldiers, when he remembered he had a Sergent position to fill as well. “Hiroshi, will you accept the position of Corporal of the Infantry Troop?”

“Hai, Darius-sama. I will lead them with honor.” Hiroshi then bowed at the waist.

Congratulations, Baron Williams!

You have successfully promoted Hiroshi Tanaka to the rank of Corporal. As a result of this promotion, Corporal Tanaka will provide the following bonuses to his assigned squad:

· +10% Combat Skill Growth across all members.

· +5% Additional Skill Growth for: Unarmed Combat, Athletics, Bladed Weapons, and Dual Wielding

In recognition of his new role, Corporal Tanaka will receive personal bonuses:

· Warleader Skill (Rank 1) unlocked.

· +5% Growth Rate for the Warleader skill.

· +5% Mental Resistance

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

· +2 Endurance

· +1 Constitution

Corporal Tanaka is now fully equipped to lead and inspire his squad, enhancing their performance on the battlefield. Continue to invest in his leadership for greater success!

“Good, thank you,” Darius said after reading through the prompt. Then he turned to who had become his right hand in matters of combat. “Chad, will you take the position of Sergent? You will have Command over our forces second only to me,” Darius asked.

Chad thought about it for a minute before he finally gave his reply. “Sure, as long as I can still work on my Alchemy and have time to further my cultivation.”

Congratulations, Baron Williams!

You have successfully promoted Chad Johnson to the rank of Sergeant. With his leadership and expertise, Sergeant Johnson will provide the following bonuses to his assigned troop:

· +10% Coordination and Discipline across the entire troop.

· +5% Mental Resistance for all troop members.

· +11% Effectiveness for all alchemical effects used by the troop.

· +5% Growth in the Meditation skill.

· +5% Growth in the Stealth skill.

In recognition of his new role, Sergeant Johnson will receive the following personal bonuses:

· Warleader Skill (Rank 10) unlocked.

· +10% Growth Rate for the Warleader skill.

· +10% Mental Resistance

· +3 Endurance

· +2 Constitution

· +1 Intelligence

Sergeant Johnson's experience and leadership will greatly enhance the performance and coordination of his troop, making them a more formidable and disciplined fighting force. His continued growth will lead to even greater success on the battlefield!

“I don’t see a problem with that. Thank you for accepting your position. The rest of you, Do you Accept the duty and responsibility of being a Soldier in the Zuri Guard?”

As though they had all rehearsed that moment, everyone replied in unison. “Yes, Sir. We accept!”

Congratulations, Baron Williams!

A milestone has been reached! You have successfully enlisted your first 19 Soldiers, bolstering the strength and defense of your settlement. Additionally, through your leadership, you have promoted two of your soldiers to the rank of Officer, solidifying a strong chain of command.

As a reward for your efforts, you have earned the following:

· +1,100 Experience Points

· +57 Loyalty for the Village of Zuri

· +38 Morale for the Village of Zuri

· +1,100 War Points

Your growing army and established leadership structure will ensure the continued safety and prosperity of the village. The people look to you with confidence, knowing their future is secure under your command.

For Glory and Honor, your legacy grows!

Darius was surprised to find he’d gotten experience points and more War points for enlisting people into his military, he’d been hoping for the increase to Loyalty and Morale but hadn’t really expected it. he heard a faint ding ring in his ears and noticed that the experience point award had pushed him well into the next level. He was Level seventeen now, and about a thousand Xp away from hitting Level eighteen.

As Darius finished reading his rewards, he heard Chad clearing his throat. When Darius glanced at his new Sergeant, he saw the man tilting his head towards the ranged combat squad. It took Darius longer than he would have liked, but he eventually picked up what Chad was putting down.

Darius looked over the other squad, thinking hard about who should be put in charge. He hadn’t worked closely with most of them, except for Avery, and he was more of a healer than ranged combat. Then his eyes fell on Evelyn Miller with her silver Soul-Bound Bow strapped across her back along side her quiver of arrows. He remembered that she had taken the Ranger Archetype Tome and had Archery and two other skills at the apprentice rank. If there was anyone who could help train them to be better ranged combatants, he was sure it would be her.

“Evelyn Miller, will you accept the rank of Corporal, to lead and train the Ranged Combat squad?”

Darius saw her shoulders move back and her head tilt up in obvious pride at being asked. she didn’t delay like Chad had, almost immediately she replied. “It would be my honor sir.”

Congratulations, Baron Williams!

Evelyn Miller has been successfully promoted to the rank of Corporal. Her promotion will bring new strength and expertise to her squad, as well as personal growth as a leader.

Squad Bonuses:

· +10% Combat Skill Growth across all squad members

· +10% Additional Skill Growth for Archery, Stealth, and Knowledge: Nature

Personal Bonuses for Corporal Evelyn Miller:

· Warleader Skill (Rank 1) Unlocked

· +5% Growth Rate for the Warleader skill

· +5% Mental Resistance

· +2 Endurance

· +1 Constitution

For choosing such a capable Corporal, one with two Apprentice-Tier combat skills, Corporal Miller’s Squad will receive:

· +2 Dexterity

· +2 Wisdom

As an Apprentice Tier Corporal, Corporal Miller will receive an additional:

· +1 Endurance

· +1 Constitution

With her new rank and abilities, Corporal Miller stands ready to guide her squad to greater success and battle readiness. Your army is growing stronger with each promotion!

Darius hadn’t known there were ranks to each military title, and that increasing them gave raw attributes not only to the officers, but also the soldiers under their command. He really needed to focus on…what did Ethan call it? Skill Grinding? Yeah, we really need to focus on some serious skill grinding.

Darius pressed his fist to his heart and bowed his head slightly to his new soldiers. They picked up on the new salute quickly and smacked their fists to their own heart, giving Darius a deeper bow, bending at the about a forty-five-degree angle from the waste. “Sergeant, Equip your troops in their new armor. Training begins today.” Then realizing he hadn’t told Chad where he’d stashed all the Armor he’d bought; he then led them to the armory that was behind the workshop. Stacked alongside one wall sat a series of wooden crates, each one holding five full suits of scale mail armor. “Give me a list of any weapons or other equipment you will need and I will supply them. we need everyone fully kitted out.”

“Yes Sir,” Chad replied. When the two men’s eyes met, Darius saw a strange gleam behind Chad’s eyes. It felt like a brimming excitement was brewing in there. “I also noticed some training manuals in the classroom, So while everyone here gets changed, I’m going to go over them and come up with a training schedule.” Chad then saluted Darius with a fist to his heart once again and set about opening crates and organizing everyone. With a nod of satisfaction, Darius left the Base. He still had other duties to attend. A lord’s work is never done.