TCOB: CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Worth the time or effort

That evening, Sir Justin finally confirmed that Clyde's platoon and one other would depart on an expedition to clear a recently discovered dungeon breach.

No one was particularly surprised as word regarding the deployment had been floating around for quite a while, but hearing the confirmation still managed to sink the morale of the entire platoon… Not like there was much left amongst the men gathered in the first place.

Clyde wasn't particularly worried though as he laid on his bedroll, staring out the open tent at the risen moon. In fact, one could say he was somewhat relieved that they were finally going to do something progressive again. He was starting to feel he had reached a bottleneck in his training.

During the first few weeks, gaining experience in his new class,'Yeoman', was quite easy with even mild training. Back then, even simple training exercises with the sword could almost guarantee a small gain in experience. But recently, even with his best efforts Clyde's training appeared to be lagging behind the plans he had for himself. A fact which made him grow uneasy with each day seemingly wasted.

Every morning for the past seven weeks he would indulge in a private, gruelling self-imposed workout schedule before joining the rest of his platoon in their morning jog. Immediately after comes a chaotic duelling marathon which Sir Justin mentioned would help them adapt to fighting for extended periods.

Afterwards, the knight would give the platoon a short break during which they had their first meal for the day before resuming the training schedule, this time cycling through knife work and unarmed combat. Only in the evening when their bodies feel completely sore does the spartan training end. It is then the men receive another break and a chance at a second meal for the day.

At this point, it becomes a personal choice for each man whether or not to address the issue of their personal hygiene. A decision Clyde still strongly believed should rest in the hands of the supervisor.

There are no other breaks except on the weekends Sir Justin provides them with theoretical knowledge on the other topics pertaining to dungeon delving such as appropriate recon tactics and how to deal with what is commonly referred to as 'tides'.

Yet despite all this, Clyde could tangibly feel his training stagnate. It was almost as if the system was urging him to gain some real-life experience before rewarding him with the XP he had been working so desperately for.

Clyde sighed as he called up his status screen.

|Status|

Host Name: Clyde

Race: Human(Otherworldly)

Skeletal Age: 20

Gender: Male

Titles: N/A

Divinity: 0.2/????

Class(main) -

Yeoman:

Lvl: 2/10

XP: 91/100

Class(sub) -

Commoner(Peasant Farmer[Novice]):

Lvl: 2/10

XP: 87/100

Archer(Peasant[Novice]):

Lvl:1/10

XP: 7/100

Base attributes:

HP: 100/100

MP: 7.9/7.9

STA: 53/172

STATS:

STR: 29.7

AGI: 14.2(+2.84)

DEX: 15.5(+2.5)

INT: 55.7

DEF: 1(+0.5: FEET)(-1)

PRE: 17.4(+3.48)(+3.48)

CHA: 24.1(-4)(-0.4)(-0.4)(-0.2)

Class Skills:

~Yeoman

Basic swordsmanship(Two-handed style) Lvl 9

Basic knife work Lvl 7

Basic unarmed combat Lvl 7

Basic reconnaissance Lvl 2

Battlefield synergy Lvl 4

~ Commoner(Peasant Farmer)

Farming - Lvl 8

Foraging - Lvl 9

Hunting - Lvl 4

Fishing - Lvl 4

Basic Crafting - Lvl 7

Basic Culinary - Lvl 4

~Archer(Peasant[Novice])

Steady aim - Lvl 4

Lesser Night vision - Lvl 3

Lesser Target identification - Lvl 2

Lesser Ballistics sense - Lvl 2

Lesser Range finding - Lvl 3

Lesser Lead correction - Lvl 1

Lesser Motion tracking and detection - Lvl 1

Lesser Spatial sense - Lvl 7

Class Attributes:

~ Yeoman

Lesser Battlefield Sense - 20% increase in perception and agility on the battlefield

Soldier's Vigour - Stamina drain is reduced by 30% once Stamina drops below 70%. This attribute is stackable with other attributes or buffs with similar effect.

Class Penalties: -4 INT

~ Commoner(Peasant Farmer)

Hunger Resistance - Hunger status is delayed for 36 hours after a full meal. Continuous activation of attribute for more than two weeks without three days of satiation in between will trigger the Starvation Status(All stats will drop at a rate of 20% per every three-and-a-half days until status is lifted.

Hardy Folk - Stamina drain is reduced by 20% once Stamina drops below 50%. This attribute is stackable with other attributes or buffs with similar effect.

Class Penalties: -4 CHA

~ Archer(Peasant[Novice])

Sticky Fingers - Dexterity is increased by 20%. Effect is lifted if stamina drops below 70%.

Keen eyes - Perception is increased by 20%.

Class Penalties: -1 DEF

Items:

Coarse cotton shirt: Aerates the body. Provides decency. +0.1% heat resistance. -0.4 CHA. Conditions of Use; None. Durability; 0.8/1. Weight; 1. Special effect; None.

Coarse cotton hoses: Aerates the body. Provides decency. +0.1% heat resistance. -0.4 CHA. Conditions of Use; None. Durability; 0.7/1. Weight; 1. Special effect; None.

Crude leather sandals: Aerates the body. Protects feet. +0.1% heat resistance. +0.5 DEF: FEET. -0.2 CHA. Conditions of Use; None. Durability; 0.5/1. Weight; 1. Special effect; None.

Crude leather pouch: Storage device; 2 iron coins. 1 large walnut(consumable). A smooth pebble. Conditions of Use; None. Durability; 1/1. Weight; 0.2. Special effect; None.

Equipment:

|Stone knife| (x2)

+5 base damage

STA drain penalty; 0.1pts/min when in combat

Conditions of use; None

Special effect; inflict bleed status between 0.1~1pts/min per every registered effective damage

Weight; 3

Durability: 2/2

Cost; N/A

Inventory: (EMPTY)

|END|

As he glanced through the screen he realised nothing much had changed. The screen remained the same as it had been for the last four days.

'Ai…' Clyde sighed again. Frustrated, he snuggled deeper into his bedroll and closed his eyes to sleep. I really need to find something to kill soon or I might just run mad from anxiety…

…

Sir Justin soberly stood outside the barracks as he stared at the sky above. Twilight arrived as a woollen dove-grey sky, stained velvet at its edges that stretched until land met sky.

The knight, finding momentary solace in his trance, watched birds depart for their nightly perches. Time passed, enough to steal the last fragments of the daylight and welcome the night.

"Nervous?" a voice asked from behind him.

"No," Sir Justin replied mildly without turning back as he recognised the voice. "Maybe a little? It is my first delve as the leader after all."

"I know. That's why I came," the voice said, arriving in the form of a young woman dressed in a dark hooded cloak over a black dress with a strange wooden staff in her palm. Even in the dim lighting, her beauty was clear. Supple cheeks formed a tiny dimple as she smiled, her greyish irises appeared obsidian in the dark and a pair of soft lips that just begged to be seized and swallowed whole.

She was beautiful, so much so that the scar that extended vertically over her left eye only served to accentuate her beauty rather than diminish it.

Sir Justin's breath snagged slightly as he set his gaze on Nai's face. Forcibly regaining his composure he looked back to the gloomy sky. "Thank you for coming. I don't know what I would do without you."

"Flounder helplessly?" she replied with a faintly cheeky smile to which the knight chuckled. Their conversation dwindled into a calm silence.

"I don't know how to feel about all this though now that I am so deeply involved," Nai said, suddenly breaking the silence. "I had never really considered this before, but is sending innocents like this to the meat grinder with only a few weeks of training… not dreadfully cruel?"

"It is," Sir Justin replied blandly as he turned his gaze to the townsfolk in the distance. "It is also true that their sacrifices allow the rest of the world to be able to maintain some semblance of order in their lives. Ethania is a shitty place, Nai. We need people like them to keep all the bad stuff clogged off in those dungeons. That's the only way everyone else―including you and I―can live relatively normal lives."

Nai frowned slightly upon hearing his calloused words but didn't refute them. There was some truth in them after all.

Sir Justin chuckled lightly upon noticing her pouting frown. "Don't work yourself up so much. There is some good in all this for the men involved."

"Yeah," Nai huffed, "If they live long enough to come back that is…"

Sir Justin just shook his head with a small smile. Then he spoke.

"You see there is this man amongst the yeomen in my charge. His name is Clyde but everyone here just refers to him as the demon whisperer."

"That sounds ominous…"

Sir Justin just smiled. "Rumour is he was caught fraternising with infernals and got beaten half to death by his village lord. Apparently, he has been behaving rather strangely ever since.

Although quite introverted, the man was a remarkable fighter―the best of this set by an absurd margin. And while he doesn't display much, he is also frighteningly intelligent, more so than even your average squire.

More than a few men suspect he still receives aid from his demonic associates."

"Well, does he?" Nai asked with a frown.

"Not exactly. Listen, let me finish," The knight replied soothingly. "I did a bit of research into his past. While he was possessed once, he was exorcised by priest Jeriah himself. I also spoke with his previous lord over the past few weeks and it appears the young man might have inherited some of the memories left behind by the ghoul that possessed him. While this might be a wholly unsuitable example, his scenario shows what is achievable by these peasants if they have the right skills, opportunities or mindset. If by some chance he survives his first few delves, I can assure you that even without a demon's memories that man would eventually achieve nobility via the sheer force of his diligence and hard work alone."

Sir Justin looked away from the sky. "While to most this is a death sentence, it is also a great opportunity for a few lucky ones to completely rewrite their fate."

The two fell silent.

"But aren't you looking at things too objectively?" Nia said at last. "I understand your point but how many really end up that lucky."

"A very tiny percentage," Sir Justin admitted. "But I want you to ask yourself if there is truly another way to maintain this cloak of normalcy. If not, then there is no point worrying about others. The life of cannon fodder just isn't worth the time or effort."