The rest of the night passed uneventfully. Thankfully, no winged beasts attacked us. I had been dreading the thought of fighting one with these men at my side. Especially after provoking Varric, every fight and drill I’d been part of up until then was with soldiers who followed orders, men who wanted to achieve something in the army. Out here, alone with conscripts who had been forced into service, or who were here only to survive another day, I felt more exposed than ever.
The night made it worse. The wall was dimly lit with only a few lanterns, the forest pressing close on every side. The constant rustle and shriek of unseen things in the dark wore at my nerves until exhaustion set in.
- Constitution: 16 → 16.5
- Strength: 15.5 → 16
- Agility: 12.6 → 12.9
Spiritual Attributes
- Intelligence: 18.2 → 18.3 → 18.7
- Wisdom: 15 → 15.4
- Willpower: 10 → 10.4
STATUS
Name: Edward
Initiate Class: [Junior Officer (Cadet)] – Level 4 (0 / 100 EXP)
Elemental Affinity: 0.1% Wind
Mana Cultivation: Tier 1
HP: 165 / 165
HP Regen: 45/day
MP: 341 / 341
MP Regen: 45/hr
Class Skills
- [Applied Military Theory (UC)] – Level 7
- [Soldier’s March (C)] – Level 19
- [Defensive Spearplay (C)] – Level 17
- [Guard Duty (C)] – Level 23
- [Minor Restoration (C)] – Level 15
General Skills
- [Memory Recall (UC)] – Level 3
- [Field Medicine (C)] – Level 12
- [Basic Rune Theory (C)] – Level 10
- [Siege Rigging (C)] – Level 15
- [Map Reading (C)] – Level 12
- [Mana Sensitivity (C)] – Level 5
- [Hand-to-Hand Combat (C)] – Level 20
I woke in the morning to a pleasant surprise. Leveling up was expected; I had been close, but the skill gains were not. Yesterday, [Guard Duty (C)] had already gone up once, so seeing another increase was unexpected. Maybe it was the tension of standing near the conscripts on the wall, or maybe it was the effort I put into forcing myself to stay alert through the night. Or perhaps it was tied to my discovery, a better understanding of how the skill actually worked.
An even bigger surprise was [Applied Military Theory (UC)] and [Memory Recall (UC)]. Both had climbed two levels. Thinking through patrol formations, watching the conscripts’ behavior, even weighing how to use words instead of weapons, it must have all counted as practice. My mind kept running through what I’d read back in Stonegate, linking it to what I saw right in front of me. That constant pressure must have pushed the skills higher.
And I also learned something important: Uncommon-tagged skills weren’t just titles. Each level granted a small increase to all my spiritual stats, 0.1 points per level. Spiritual stats meant more mana and finer control over it. I hadn’t realized [Applied Military Theory (UC)] or [Memory Recall (UC)] could influence that, or that they had any direct connection to spiritual stats at all.
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I was excited to explore these skills further. Would I gain stats with every level, or would the returns diminish as my attributes grew? And what about [Guard Duty (C)], it was already nearing the limit of a common skill at level 25. Would it evolve into something new, or stay the same and only shift into an uncommon rank? I knew skills didn’t immediately climb to higher tiers; they required certain conditions before advancing from common to uncommon. Would I be able to reach that point, or would my skills linger at the threshold for a long time?
I didn’t have long to dwell on the thought. At six in the morning, our full squad was supposed to assemble in the training yard to meet Sergeant Fenward. Out of habit, I washed my face, checked my gear, and put on my uniform properly without a second thought. When I reached the training yard, the sight that greeted me was almost worse than the night watch. The conscripts stood in a loose cluster rather than a line, their gear hanging off them, straps untied, armor crooked, leaning on their spears as if they were walking sticks. Only Michael, I, and the veterans stood in the proper file.
Even that small bit of discipline was ruined when I saw the sergeant himself. Fenward looked like he’d been forced awake after too little sleep. His eyes were bloodshot, and even he had two straps dangling loose on his cuirass. If my training sergeant had ever caught me with one strap undone, I’d have been digging latrines until my hands blistered.
“Listen!” Fenward barked, his voice hoarse but hard enough to quiet the yard. “We have two new privates completing our squad. The new joiners are Edward and Michael.”
“You two, if you haven’t been introduced, your squadmates are Walter, Colin, Jack, and Owen. Do it in your own time.” He waved that aside and continued, his mouth tightening as he spoke. “Now that we’re at full strength, we’ve been ordered to patrol north of the fort, up to fifty miles.” His lips curled slightly on the words, as though the order itself left a bad taste. “Our purpose is simple: clear out as many beasts as we can.”
He paused, rubbing at the stubble on his jaw. “Walter, Edward, Michael, see the quartermaster. Collect all required supplies. We leave in six hours.”
Then his eyes settled on me. “Edward. Before that, you’re coming with me to the lieutenant.”
After giving a few more orders, Sergeant Fenward motioned for me to follow. Together we made our way toward the central building, a two-story structure set atop the natural rise at the heart of the fort. Its base seemed carved straight from the stone of the hill, so the upper courtyard felt like it floated above the rest of the garrison. A strip of greenery lined the terrace there, a rare touch of life in all the stone, though I suspected it was meant less for beauty and more to impress officers and visitors with the fort’s stature. If I had to guess, the upper floor belonged to the Commander himself, giving him a commanding view over most of the walls, the training yard, and the endless forest beyond.
The very air seemed different near the building. Men lowered their voices, their steps sharpened, their posture stiffened as if on instinct. Even Sergeant Fenward, who had stumbled about with loose straps and bloodshot eyes in the yard, reached down to tug one buckle tight. It still wasn’t perfect, but it was closer. Everyone seemed to know this was the building that could make or break their careers.
Inside, the halls were wide and orderly, each marked with painted numbers. We passed doors marked “1” and “2” before stopping at “3.” The sergeant grunted at me to wait outside, then stepped in. I saw him pause to murmur something to a private at a desk. After a few minutes, the private returned, nodding briskly before disappearing again. Then the sergeant’s hand appeared from the doorway, curling into a beckoning motion.
From what I could tell, the ground floor was divided into multiple halls, each belonging to a different company. All of them seemed to branch toward the central stairwell, leading up to what was likely the main command hall on the upper floor.
Stepping inside, I felt like I was walking into a familiar place. The hall was neat, almost spotless. Uniforms fitted tight, boots dark with fresh oil, men moved with measured purpose. It reminded me of the main barracks office back in Stonegate. I hadn’t even realized how quickly I had grown used to that sense of order. After only a day and a half away from it, I found myself craving it. Instead of fear at meeting new officers, I felt a strange kind of relief; here, like I knew what to do, what was expected of me.
We approached a tall desk where the lieutenant stood reviewing a sheaf of papers. He was a lean man in his forties, his uniform immaculately kept, every seam aligned. His eyes flicked up as we saluted, steady and unreadable at first. Then I caught a flicker of something in his eyes, disappointment maybe, as they lingered on Sergeant Fenward. If the sergeant noticed, he gave no sign.
“C─Lieutenant,” Fenward muttered, catching himself with a rough cough. He straightened his back. “This is the intelligence private, as requested.”
The lieutenant’s gaze shifted to me. His voice was calm, clipped. “Private Edward, right?”
“Yes, sir!” I barked, trying to match the tone of the room.
“You are aware of your duties? I want detailed reports. Weekly if you’re garrisoned, after each expedition if you’re in the field.”
“Yes, sir!” I answered again, straight-backed.
The lieutenant turned back to Fenward. “Is your squad prepared for the expedition?”
“Yes,” the sergeant said simply.
“Good. The captain is tightening discipline across the squads. With beast activity rising, we expect more than a few full-strength expeditions. Be sure your men are prepared.”
He waved us off, but as we turned, his voice called me back. “Private. Take these.” He slid a few thin reports across the desk. “Use them as a reference for your own. They will guide you on format and detail.”
I stepped forward quickly, gathering the papers. Behind me, Sergeant Fenward didn’t wait; he was already heading for the door.
The lieutenant’s tone remained calm but carried a weight that felt directed at me alone. “This is a good opportunity to prove yourself. You can ask Walter for advice, he’s one of the most experienced privates in the fort.”
I gave a sharp nod. “Yes, sir.”
Dismissed, I turned and hurried out, clutching the reports as I jogged to catch up with the sergeant. The meeting with the lieutenant had given me direction, and maybe something more. Walter still seemed gruff and disinterested, but the lieutenant thought Walter was one of the fort’s most experienced, then ignoring him would be stupid.