Breath in breath out hold breath in breath out hold. I look at them all laughing at me as I stand to my feet, my blade summoned to my hand, they laugh all the harder at me, the blood of my friends and my ward drop from my face. I could have stopped this, or I might not have but I will make them all pay for this. As the energy runs down my blade, I bring it up to face them. Now they stop laughing as I start to run at them...
A bump, the grinding of gravel and the low murmuring of voices all around me. The only new thing is the smell of sweat. I could almost taste the salt in it. As I try to think of what I was dreaming of before I hear the voice of my travelling company, or I guess my fellow prisoner. He was a high elf from the inner part of the empire from what I understood he is because he pissed off the wrong person but never said how. Well, he had silver hair like most of his kin, pale skin and amber eyes and skinny even for high elf.
"It looks like we are nearly at the training camp, and I realised that you never told me why you were sent here?" He said in his high but oddly soft voice.
Ahh yes why I am being sent to the front lines well that was because my closest friend and my family got into a debt and as, so they pushed it all on me and pretty much sent me here as a death sentence. But I had a plan, and nothing will get in the way of it. If I climb up the ranks, I can get my revenge on them but first.
"I got put into debt by my family, Alor." I said in a bit of a gruff voice because unlike Alor I was a human.
"Ah a very common thing to be sent to the front for, tough luck my friend."
Just before Alor started speaking again, we came to a stop and the low mummering grew louder and even some started shouting like they still had some hope of not going to the front lines.
"I didn't murder him!"
"Please, I can pay me debt!"
"I have a family!"
But that didn't last long as I felt an aura descend upon us all.
You are under the effect of suppression.
You have failed to resist suppression. You are now under the effects of suppression!
I guess I failed so much to resist the suppression that I didn't ever know what it does. The suppression felt unpleasant like you were winded and you have a lack of air with someone pressing on every uncomfortable point on my body. It also looked like Alor was having a hard time by the look on his face and if it wasn't for the suppression, I might have laughed but not now. As the feeling was getting worse the longer it went on the noise around us started going out till no one was making a sound. Just as it was getting truly unpleasant, I heard the sound of feet on the gravel crunching noise seeming to break the tension as a soldier peered into are cart. There were about ten of us in the cart. As he grabbed the closest one of us, the iron chains pulled on the rest of us the clack of melt could be heard from the other carts around us.
It had been a bit of time since I last got to stretch my leg as I could feel the muscle loosen. I squinted at the mid-day light as I could see others around me trying to stretch a bit. We were in a packed dirt field with buildings in the north to the east which looked like some type of half built wooden structure, but I could see some people run through it and to the west was a standalone building but instead of a door was a black void a Dungeon. But before I could ponder anymore a voice crack over the group.
"Listen up you low lives!" The voice came from a tall and athletic high elf but unlike most elves had tan skin, short black hair, sharp facial features and amber eyes that almost looked red, wearing well-made dark brown and red clothing.
"You are here now and in less you die or gain the rank of Lieutenant you are staying in the front line, and you only have a month here before we send you off so listen up!" Their voice boomed out over us all and I think I saw one of the faraway people stumble as the suppression fell upon us again.
"I don't care who you were or were you came from but now you are here, and you are given your last chance to stay alive as this one-month training will be all you get so don't make me regret train to dirt eaters." As they stopped and looked around, seeming to be waiting for something, no one said anything, and I don't know if they smiled or glared at us before. "Good there might be some hope for you lot now you all will be split up into four groups and be given one of four basic classes."
After that the group of soldiers that had taken us out of the cart started splitting us up into four groups and luckily me and Alor were put into the same group. As I look around, I could see are group was made up of human's, high elf and to my surprise a beast kin and it looked like a fox's kin at that what made it so strange was most of the beast kin wear on the far side of the empire or fighting it before I could get a better look, I hear my name being called.
"Adalric Fallnight." The voice sounded a bit bored, but it cut through the noise with ease.
As I stepped up to the person who called me, he asked. "Show me your stat screen."
I had little reason not to so after a second, he and I could both see my stats.
Name: Adalric Fallnight
Stats: Strength 15, Endurance 15, Agility 12, Coordination 13, Magic Power 10, Magic Regeneration 10
Class: Farmer (Basic)
Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
Level: 15
Skills:
Mass Till Earth (Spell): This spell tills a 10ft-by-10ft squire that can be increased by the Magic Power attribute.
Healthier Crops (Ability): Any crop you are looking after will grow bigger and healthier as well as being more resistant to diseases.
Perks N/A
Diven Boon / Boon: N/A
Curses / Ailments: N/A
"Hmm okey here take this and go to the right and wait in the square with you leave before you are told you will be attacked." He said that with such little emotion that it seems that it wasn't the first an uncommon thing but before I left to the right, I got a notification.
Kain is trying to teach you the Warrior class (Basic) do you accept?
Yes / No
I thought that soldiers in the army got the Legionnaire Advanced class, but it seems that when you are forced into it, you are not that lucky. You could have as many classes as you want or could get but you would need to level them each. Classes where split into 6 groups the lowest and easiest to level was the Basic classes only having 20 level, next was the Advanced classes with 40 levels, the Expert classes had 60 levels, Master had 80 level, with Sage having 100 level and unique class were given to people how made a new class or his last one to have it.
Without much of a choice I accepted the class and to my surprise I gained a level as I was making my way to the waiting spot. But before I could have a better look at the screen the Beast Kin quickly followed behind me. 'That was quick; most have already had a combat class." I got a proper look at him. He was wearing rages like the rest of us had golden hair and blue eyes, a soft face must have been around 17, well his fox's ears had brown tips and the same went for his tail. He looked like he wanted to say something to me but as I made eye contact with him, he closed his mouth and quickly looked away. 'I wasn't that scary; was I might have been a high thing? I was only a head taller than him?' But with a shrug I turn back to my screen.
You have gained the Warrior class (Basic)
Unused XP 105 has been used for Warrior.
You have levelled up to level 1 please pick your level 1 skill.
I guess killing chickens, pigs, cows and sheep paid off as I look at the skills the class had given me as the area slowly filled up with people.
Dash (Skill) - You move fast in a straight line. The maximum distance is governed by the endurance stat.
Power Strike (Skill) - You can empower an attack to do more damage to a target. The damage increased with a high strength stat.
Pain Resistance (Ability) - Well in a battle you will feel 10% less pain.
Second Wind (Skill) - You can regain half of your stamina but after using it you will feel twice as exhausted.
Butcher (Skill) - If a target has surrender or is helpless you can do critical damage to the target.
After looking at the options I first removed Butcher as it just seems unpleasant and useless in helping live next, I removed the Power Strike as well as I could increase my strength to hit harder. How much I would like Pain Resistance it will not help right now leaving the last two Dash and Second Wind. But how much I wanted to have Second Wind I couldn't see myself sticking in a fight. If I needed to use it I would rather run away so I decided to get Dash.
You could only get skill every 10 levels and the first level of each class and skill did get stronger the higher level you were. Well the level in between each skill you got one stat point but I hear higher skill classes give more.
As I finished picking my skill Alor walked up to me with a face that said any hope he had of getting out of here was gone but when he saw me he gave a tired smile.
"Adalric looks like you got a beastie flowing you." As he nobs to the beast kin.
As I look at the beast kin they open their mouths to reply to Alor but before he could the booming voice of the one that used the suppression started to speak again shutting up the beast kin and all other conversion, well what little had started.
"Now that all of you have been given your new classes and have been split up training will begin." I wasn't sure but I thought I saw a grin appear on their face but it was gone too fast to be sure.
"And the first bit of training is to level up your new classes in the Dungeon." Now that got a reaction from the groups and one tried to run and now I know why we shouldn't run away as the woman got impaled by three large roots. I didn't even see who used the skill.
As the woman's body dropped to the ground it was like a hammer as the noise could be heard over the shouting and with that noise the shouting slowly died out till a new silence was born.
"Now we aren't just throwing your live away you will be given supplies, some weapons and armor as well you will be going in with your full group" They shouted. "Now group 1 you will be going in first, you will be given a bag with the items you need."
As the first group was given bags full of items and started to make their way slowly to the Dungeon. As the last one entered the Dungeons void door the Dungeon winks out. Time moves faster in Dungeons so it shouldn't take too long for them to come back but as I was thinking that. The suppressions person's voice started talking again and now I could hear the amusement in it.
"Those were the highest level people the people send here and I don't know who sent you but do know we make the strongest soldiers out of this type of recruit but will also have the highest mortality rate as well." As they sent that the void door popped back into existence and of the 40 people that went in there only 10 came out and all of them looked ready to die there.
"Group 2 move to the Dungeon!" Not having any way to sense magic I could still feel the compulsion the person used to force the next group into the Dungeon.
"We are fucked if that was the strongest group." One of the people in my group said and I did agree. Only a minute later the next group came out. They had more people, but one was missing an arm but still 13 people was better than 10. But as the third group went in less than 10 seconds the void door reopens and no one came out.
Now it was our group and with almost no prompting we all started moving, only stopping to pick up our bags. They had quite a weight to it as I looked up at the true sky one last time and sent a prey to the gods and walked into the void door. It was my first time going into a void door and it was unpleasant as it felt like being pulled in every direction and being pushed into a small hole.
----------------------------------------
I look around at the new environment. It was a mountainous area, grey stone with snow everywhere, some trees poking out of the snow and a castle of blue ice in the distance.
"What do we do now?" A soft voice asked me and it was the beast kin look at me like I was in charge.
I look at him and say "Well we survive." As I look at the group of 40 people and I think back to that dream, with a spark in my heart I move back to the group.