Upon waking up, I felt a slight pain in my back, although this time it was from sleeping on the hard concrete.

"It's becoming a bad habit," I muttered as I rubbed my back.

The events of the previous day slowly crept back into my mind, and apprehension washed over me. I quickly got up and grabbed my weapon to check my surroundings, although there was no immediate threat, so I returned to the tent.

Finally, I could sit down and reflect. My father had taught me the importance of meditation and reflection, especially after my defeats. This time, I hadn't just lost the duel and received injuries, but I had allowed an enemy to escape, one who wanted to kill me and would likely come back in the future to haunt me. If I want to survive until rescue arrives, I can't afford to be in that position again; I must take action.

A sigh escaped me again. I wondered if this was happening everywhere, if someone would really come to rescue us. Seeing the scale of what was happening here, if the same thing were happening worldwide, we could safely assume that society would collapse. However, given the level of these enemies, I had no doubt that my father and the military could handle the emergency on their end easily.

I meditated for a few minutes on my fight and then opened my eyes with determination. I opened the tent and purchased a new weapon. This time, I wasn't as poor as before, as I had more than 10,000 points. So, I bought a high-quality battle mace, and 5,000 points were spent there.

I was about to buy light armor, but I suddenly remembered my class and decided to take a look at it first.

Knight of the Holy Ashes, an improved version of a knight, belonging to the heavy infantry or squire branch. There was a lot of information in the description.

Class: Knight of the Holy Ashes

Description:

The Knight of the Holy Ashes is an elite class, whose origins are shrouded in mystery. They are devout and courageous warriors, committed to protecting humanity from the Demon hordes. They wear ornate armor adorned with crosses and sacred symbols, and their motto is "The Iron Mask Smiles Upon Us."

Distinctive Traits:

Oath of Loyalty: Knights of the Holy Ashes swear unwavering loyalty to humanity before a powerful crusader king. Their loyalty is their greatest strength, and they are willing to give their lives for the cause they represent. There will be no concessions or mercy towards demonic and possessed enemies; attacks inflict additional damage.

Weapon Mastery: Knights are experts in the use of melee weapons, especially longswords, war axes, and battle maces. It improves the speed at which they learn to use these weapons and combat tactics.

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Heavy Armor: They wear heavy armor that provides them with incredible resilience on the battlefield. As they grow, their training allows them to move with agility despite the weight of the armor, significantly enhancing a knight's power and enabling them to learn ash techniques.

Knights of the Holy Ashes can specialize in two distinct paths:

Bastion of Faith: They focus on defense, becoming unbreakable walls on the battlefield. They learn advanced blocking techniques and develop the ability to protect their allies in combat.

Sword of the Devout: They opt for offense, seeking to enforce justice through steel. They develop charging techniques and devastating strikes that deal extra damage to corrupted enemies.

"Every man must always choose. Ultimately, the path you follow is yours and yours alone. Your soul belongs to you alone."

The system's message ended with a message that made my heart beat strongly. This was how my father and mother had raised me, the way it felt right, to fight for those you love just because you love them.

I didn't find anything too crazy in the description, considering I could interact with a system and had faced walkers. The only thing left to see was related to these darn ash techniques. So, I immediately started looking for armor suitable for my class.

To my (mis)fortune, specific armor for my class had appeared in the store, which I was sure wasn't there before. The ash armor was too expensive compared to the regular ones, so I had no choice but to buy a low-quality one (one step above the horrible, which was the worst of all), and that cost me another 4,000 points.

As the armor set appeared in front of me, I noticed a significant problem: equipping all this would be terrible. I urgently needed people who could help me, not only with my personal issue but also in clearing the enemies. If we allowed them to accumulate between waves, it would become increasingly difficult.

As I checked the camp options, I noticed many options that caught my attention. Although some were grayed out and couldn't be chosen, and the majority were blacked out and unknown, in general, they all seemed to point towards the ability to create your own faction. For me, the possibility of turning this outpost into a sanctuary was available.

There wasn't much information on what the differences were, but apparently, a sanctuary allowed for faster recovery of willpower and could attract the souls of the ashes.

"No idea what that means, but it must be good if it's unique to me."

I selected the option, and I didn't feel that anything changed in the shelter. So, I struggled to equip my armor, as it was my first time using such heavy armor. It was time to clear this building of enemies; there was less than an hour until the next wave.

Although it was difficult to move with the armor, as it was my first time, it somehow made me feel powerful and confident. There was a purpose in what I was doing; I had founded a sanctuary where the most vulnerable students could rest. This gave me renewed vigor to move forward.

I descended the stairs, this time not bothering to hide. It was impossible to maneuver with heavy armor, so I confronted the walkers head-on. On the contrary, I needed to start fighting more directly to get used to my new class and its bonuses.

If it was already easy to eliminate walkers with my previous weapon, this time it had become so easy that I could even eliminate more than one with each strike.

I descended floor by floor at a pace that, before the system, would have seemed unprecedented to me. Unfortunately, it was still slow, and by the time I finished eliminating all the enemies in the building in my wing, the remaining time had passed.

A notification sounded in my mind.

"Congratulations on surviving the first wave; the second will begin shortly. Please remember to do your best; your merits will be evaluated, and appropriate rewards will be granted when you join Glamoria."