Morning came with Torvald's stick banging against the training yard fence.
"Up! You maggots sleeping in today or what?"
Jade groaned, rolling off his straw bed and grabbing his spear, his muscles still screamed from yesterday but he was getting used to it
The others looked about the same when they gathered at the yard, Numerius yawning so wide his jaw cracked, Yuzon checking his bowstring with half-closed eyes, Mataranas shuffling like a zombie, and Nathaniel looking like he hadn't slept at all
"Rough night?" Jade asked him
"Don't wanna talk about it"
Torvald didn't give them time to wake up properly, immediately barking orders for formation drills, shield wall with Mat in front, spears and clubs behind, Yuzon on the flank with his bow
They moved through it smoother than before, Jade's thrusts were cleaner now, Numerius wasn't swinging wild anymore, Yuzon's arrows actually flew straight, and Mat held the center without budging
Even Nathaniel looked less like he was gonna stab himself
"Better," Torvald grunted after an hour of non-stop drilling, "you're almost not embarrassing"
High praise coming from him.
"Now pair up, live sparring, no crying when you get bruised"
Jade faced off against Numerius, spear versus club, they circled each other in the dirt and Jade could feel something different today
His movements felt lighter, sharper
Numerius swung and Jade sidestepped, jabbing with his spear and catching Num in the ribs, not hard but enough to score a point
"Ow! When'd you get fast?"
Jade didn't know, he just moved and his body responded better than it should have
They went three rounds and Jade won two of them, his UI pinged constantly with skill gains
Then it happened.
Mid-thrust against Numerius, his vision flashed white and a notification blazed across his UI:
LEVEL UP
Jade - Level 2 Peasant
Attribute Points Available: 1
Focus Points Available: 1
He stumbled and nearly got clocked by Numerius's club.
"Whoa you okay?"
"Yeah I just-" Jade blinked and the notification was still there, glowing and insistent
Around him the others were stopping too, Yuzon had frozen mid-draw, Mataranas dropped his shield, Numerius was staring at nothing, and even Nathaniel looked dazed
They'd all leveled up.
Torvald noticed immediately, "what's wrong with you lot? Look like you've seen ghosts"
"Just uh, dizzy," Jade said quickly, "can we take a break?"
Torvald squinted at them but waved them off, "fine, water and rest, back in ten minutes and you better not be slacking"
The group huddled by the fence, all of them pulling up their UIs and staring
"Level 2," Numerius breathed, "holy crap we actually leveled"
"Attribute points," Yuzon said, his eyes scanning his screen, "one point to spend, plus a Focus point for skill specialization"
Jade looked at his options, six attributes to choose from and his brain immediately went to strategy mode
"What are you guys picking?"
"Vigor," Numerius said without hesitation, "more health means I don't die when someone stabs me"
"Endurance for me," Mataranas said, "need to hold the shield longer"
Yuzon was quiet for a moment, "Control probably, better accuracy with the bow"
Nathaniel stared at his screen with a frown, "okay so do I go physical and actually survive fights, or do I invest in Cunning and Social for the long game"
"Long game?" Numerius asked
"Yeah like in the actual game, high Social and Cunning means better persuasion checks, recruiting lords, trading, getting out of sticky situations without fighting," Nathaniel was talking faster now, working through the logic, "but right now I can barely hold a sword so"
"So you're wondering if you'll live long enough to use those stats," Yuzon finished
"Exactly"
Jade considered it, "your Trade's already at 35 though, you've got a natural advantage there, doubling down might be smarter than trying to catch up to Num's combat ability"
"But what if I get stabbed before I can talk my way out"
"Then Mat blocks for you," Numerius said with a shrug, "that's what parties are for right? We cover each other"
Nathaniel chewed his lip, still staring at the attribute screen
"Fine, Social, but if I die because I can't swing a sword properly I'm haunting all of you"
"Deal," Jade said
Jade spent his point on Intelligence, more skill points when leveling meant faster progression overall, and his Focus point went into One-Handed and Polearm specialization for a boost to both
The moment he confirmed it his body felt different, like someone had fine-tuned his muscles and reflexes, not superhuman but definitely better than yesterday
"This is insane," Nathaniel said, staring at his hands after putting his point in Social, "I don't feel stronger but I feel like I could sell you guys a broken wagon and you'd thank me for it"
"Don't get any ideas," Yuzon warned
Before they could discuss further a villager came running into the training yard, some kid Jade vaguely recognized from the fields
"Torvald! The elder wants the militia at the village square, says a messenger came from the lord!"
Torvald's expression hardened, "all of you heard that, clean up and get moving"
The group exchanged looks, messenger from the lord couldn't be good news
They grabbed their gear and headed to the village square where a crowd was already gathering, farmers and their families clustering around the well while Torvald and a few other village men, the ones with actual combat experience, stood near the elder
The elder was waiting with a man in travel-stained clothes, probably the messenger, and his face was grim
A dozen other villagers stood in a rough line, the able-bodied men who'd been training with Torvald or working as part-time guards, Jade recognized a few faces from the bandit raid
The messenger stepped forward, his voice carrying across the square, "by order of Lord Eristan, all villages in his domain are to send their militia to muster at his castle, bandit activity has increased and there are reports of Sturgian raiders crossing the northern border"
Murmurs rippled through the crowd, worried mothers clutching their children
"Each village sends what it can," the messenger continued, "you march in three days, bring your own weapons and what supplies you're able, the lord will provide additional gear and rations once you arrive"
The elder nodded grimly and turned to address the gathered militia, "you heard him, Torvald's trained most of you over the past weeks, some of you fought in the bandit raid, now it's time to prove you can defend more than just our fields"
His eyes swept over the group and landed on Jade and his friends, "you five especially, you held your ground when it mattered, I expect you to do the same at the castle"
A new quest flashed on Jade's UI:
March to Lord Eristan's Castle
Time Limit: 3 Days
Reward: Unknown
Jade glanced around at the other militia members, there were maybe fifteen total including his group, all of them looking varying degrees of nervous
Torvald stepped forward, "get your affairs in order, say your goodbyes, we leave at dawn in three days and we don't know when we're coming back"
The crowd started to disperse slowly, families pulling their men aside for quiet conversations
"Wonderful," Nathaniel muttered as they stood together, "we're going to war"
Numerius clapped his shoulder, "hey at least we leveled up first"
"That makes it worse somehow"
The elder caught Jade's eye and gestured for the five of them to approach, the other militia members were already heading off to their families
"You lot are green but you've got potential," the elder said quietly, "stick together out there, watch each other's backs, villages like ours can't afford to lose good fighters"
"We'll do our best," Jade said, trying to sound more confident than he felt
The elder nodded, "see that you do, dismissed"
The group stood in the village square afterward and nobody spoke for a long moment
Finally Yuzon broke the silence, "we need better gear, three days isn't much time but we should spend what denars we have on upgrades"
"Agreed," Jade said, his mind already working through the logistics, "split up, gather what you can from your families, meet back at the blacksmith in an hour"
They scattered and Jade headed to his tiny house, wondering if Angry Dad would be there
He was.
The burly man was sitting at the wobbly table, sharpening a farming sickle and he looked up when Jade entered
"Heard the news," he said gruffly, "lord's calling for fighters"
"Yeah"
The man set down the sickle and stood, walking to a corner of the room where he pulled out a small wooden chest
"Your grandfather was a soldier, fought in the last war before he died, this was his"
He opened the chest and inside was a mail coif, old and a bit rusted but still intact, along with a better dagger than the rusty piece of junk Jade had been carrying
"It ain't much but it's better than nothing," the man said, his voice softer than Jade had ever heard it, "don't get yourself killed out there"
Jade stared, something uncomfortable twisting in his chest, this wasn't his real dad but the gesture still hit different
"Thanks"
The man nodded and went back to his sickle, conversation over
Jade took the gear and left, the mail coif was heavier than he expected but his UI confirmed it was an upgrade
When he met the others at the blacksmith they all had similar stories, Numerius got a better club from an uncle, Yuzon's mom gave him more arrows and a leather bracer, Mataranas had a proper metal-rimmed shield from his grandma who'd apparently been saving it, and Nathaniel showed up with a decent short sword and a small purse of denars
"Hilda's mom gave me this," he said quietly, holding up the purse, "said to buy something that'll keep me alive"
"That's sweet," Numerius said
"It's guilt," Nathaniel muttered, "because Hilda's been crying apparently"
"Dude"
"I know okay? I know"
They pooled their denars and bought what they could from the blacksmith, better arrowheads for Yuzon, a reinforced club head for Numerius, leather gloves for everyone to prevent blisters
By the time the sun was setting they were as ready as they'd ever be