Blaze grit his teeth and cut down two more boars. “We need close-range weapons. Spears are good at distance, but if there are enough numbers and they get in close, we’re screwed.”
Erik studied the battlefield. Blaze was right. “You’ll have them tomorrow, and spears,” Erik promised, firing again and taking down another boar. “Form up ten across and four lines deep.”
“Understood.” Blaze cleared his throat. “Blade section, up front, ten men across. Second, third, and fourth section, behind!”
With the archers, the rush of the boars was stopped. They could hear the howls of wolves coming closer.
The heavy infantry followed their orders. If they were slow, they would mess it up for everyone.
The four lines formed. The sergeants checked on everyone as powder was applied to minor wounds and people drank water and shoved food into their faces. They had been fighting for hours and it was already late afternoon.
Erik checked on the archers, making sure that they were in good positions. He let Glosil and Rugrat know what was going on as Blaze personally went through his lines, checking on people.
Erik moved to the badly wounded. He didn’t need long to heal them fully. They looked at him in shock, as if he were some wraith that had come out of nowhere. Their sergeants got them back on the line and the heavy infantry’s morale shot up. They had thought that they were alone, but Erik and the archers had been watching over them the entire time.
Erik checked that the archers found good positions flanking or behind the heavy infantry. He shuffled them so that they would direct the battle and the wolves.
He left his two best scouts out ahead of the battle and Roska appeared beside him.
“Make sure every spell counts. Stay behind the heavy infantry and cut off the wolves from flanking the heavy infantry. Only use Mana Bolt when I tell you to and never go below twenty percent Mana unless it’s life or death,” Erik said.
“Understood,” she said simply. Her hand picked at the side of her pants.
“Don’t worry, you’ve got this,” Erik said, seeing her nerves.
She gave him a small sheepish smile. He knew how rare a thing it was and couldn’t help but smile back as a wolf charged out of the forest. Arrows took it down. Those who had fired reloaded with their new levers built into the butt of their crossbows. Three more wolves jumped over its corpse. They were cut down again, but more were coming. They moved in erratic patterns. They were much smarter than the boars, with an alpha wolf leading them.
Crossbows fired again and again while they thinned and directed the wolves. They weren’t able to stop them all.
Erik fired his modified crossbow. Each arrow took down a wolf as he calmly looked over the battlefield.
“Brace!” Blaze yelled, taking direct command of the heavy infantry.
The first two lines met the wolves with spears, taking the full force.
“Hu-ah!” Niemm called out on the front line with his section.
“Hah!” The first and second line withdrew their spears and stabbed forward again, the action no longer conscious at this time.
Wolves let out yells as they were stopped by the spears, their hides turning bloody.
The archers worked to reduce the pressure on the heavy infantry and guide the wolves.
“We’ve got two more wolf groups coming in,” one of the scouts still out in the forest said.
“Use the leopard scat—that should deter the other wolf groups,” Erik said.
“Understood!”
“Second rank, advance!” Blaze yelled out. The first line returned to the rear as the second pushed forward, taking their place.
Wounded looked after themselves, or by other members of the heavy infantry. Erik healed up those in the worst condition.
The wolves weren’t dumb and they were trying to circle the heavy infantry, or get in low at their ankles.
Erik and the archers had to focus on driving the wolves away from the flanks.
I just can’t shoot fast enough with this. Erik put the crossbow back into his storage ring and threw up both of his hands. He circulated Mana through his body faster and faster, compressing it into bullets. As he looked ahead, his vision zoomed in.
Looks like this counts as Marksman skill in the Ten Realms.
Erik had only thought of this; he hadn’t tried it out before. Finally, he directed the small Mana bullets through his Mana channels, down his arms and out the tips of his fingers.
Small Mana bullets shot out of his hand. When they struck the wolves, they went off like firecrackers. Based on where they hit, they would kill the wolves instantly or leave them with serious injuries.
Quickly the situation changed as Erik stopped firing with both fingers and concentrated on his right finger, increasing his accuracy.
Wolves died in droves. Three full packs had been drawn in by the smell of blood, some fifty wolves.
The groups set into a rhythm, the heavy infantry being changed out on the frontline and resting at the rear before they moved to the front again. The archers tried to reduce the threat while Erik guided the wolves toward the heavy infantry and stopped them from flanking.
Erik put down his hands as he looked over the battlefield.
“Hu-ah!
“Hah!” The last wolf’s pained howls were cut off abruptly.
The heavy infantry stood there, waiting for their next order as the archers reloaded and looked over the area for anything that was moving.
“Anything else coming?” Erik asked the two scouts quickly.
“Nothing. It looks like the leopard scat worked.”
“Keep an eye out for more,” Erik said.
“Understood.”
The channel was cut as Erik looked to Blaze.
“Gather up all of the corpses. We need to head back to the village,” Erik said.
“Yes, sir!” Blaze got his people organized. They swept the battlefield, clearing away all of the animal corpses.
Erik treated everyone who had bad injuries. No one had died and the medical training made it so that anyone badly wounded had got back to Erik for him to heal.
Everything was cleared up and the archers tossed out leopard scat. Even if the area smelled bloody, the lower-level creatures would be scared back and the higher-leveled creatures didn’t come this close to the village yet.
The heavy infantry was formed up and they quick marched back to the village. They were dead tired, but their every action was completely different from how it had been in the morning. They reacted to every command as fast as possible. They looked out for one another as well.
The sergeants didn’t have to yell much and they seemed to be part of the sections now. They’d gained every person’s respect.
The whole force moved away from the forest as night was coming in. It wasn’t long until they had left the forest behind and they were walking through the cleared fields.
Erik checked the different groups working in the fields, expanding the layered defenses. There were nearly no crews working on reinforcing the walls anymore. With the new shifts, work didn’t stop in Alva Village.
They didn’t have much time left until the beast horde was unleashed on the village. Erik could even see one watchtower had been built and another was underway.
The spear unit’s clothes were tattered; blood stained the cuts in their shirts and pants. They stood proud, not caring of their appearance as they moved forward.
“Two and Three section, break for dinner and get cleaned up. Blade section, Fourth section, we will be assisting in building the defenses of the village.”
Erik and his archers moved toward the city as Blaze saw to the administration of the heavy infantry units.
Their day hadn’t ended yet. With their current ability, they didn’t need more than six hours of rest to recover fully.
Erik took the time to view the notifications that had appeared.
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Level: 43 (Apprentice)
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Long-range weapons are familiar in your hands. When aiming you can zoom in x2.0
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Skill: Stealth
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Level: 25 (Apprentice)
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When in stealth, your senses are sharpened by 5%
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Upon advancing into the Apprentice level of Stealth, you will be rewarded with one randomly selected item related to this skill.
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You have received the spell book: Silence
10,000 EXP
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97,481/140,000 EXP till you reach Level 14
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Nearly all of the heavy infantry had been raised up to become level nines. The sergeants were closing in on level twelve. Erik was still behind. He had focused on increasing his Mana system and his Body Cultivation but although they gave rewards, it wasn’t enough Experience to become a level fourteen existence. Fighting creatures that were below his level was incredibly easy. The level eight boars only gave him some two hundred and fifty Experience; the level six heavy infantry earned nearly seventeen thousand Experience.
When they were all fighting as a group, the person who got the kill got the most Experience but the overall group also got partial Experience, allowing everyone to grow rapidly.
The archers he’d taken out were now all level eleven. It would be incredibly hard for them to make it much higher unless they directly fought only wolves.
Now they would become part of the village teams, helping to speed up the work on the defensive features. They would also take up patrols, easing the strain on the guards who had been turned into sergeants for the Alva defense force.
Also, with their greater knowledge, they could help to improve the general population’s combat capabilities with crossbows.
Erik wanted to diffuse the effects as much as possible. The more people talked and shared, the stronger they would be as a whole.
Erik made it back into the city. He dismissed the fighters with him and told them to report to Elise in the morning.
They understood. Although they might like being fighters, they knew that Alva Village needed builders as much as it needed fighters right now.
Erik went to go and find Glosil.
He was overseeing the second watchtower being erected.
They were simple structures. Stairs led to a raised platform, with a wooden wall facing out with a simple wood roof on top.
Storage bracelets were hung up on the post to the rear of the hut. In it, people could find a whistle, arrows, and spare bows as well as rations and healing powder.
Erik and Rugrat could take more of a backseat as the five pillars of Alva Village took over running the day-to-day of the village.
“Looks like you’ve been busy since I was gone,” Erik said.
“I heard that you ran into some trouble,” Glosil said.
“Yeah, thankfully the archer team knew how to handle themselves because we’d been out hunting wolves this morning, but we separated them out from the pack and killed a few, not dealt with entire packs. The heavy infantry did well—took a beating but they’ve got strength to them.” Erik looked out at the two sections who had put down their kit and were now working to dig out defensive potholes and traps in what were once fields.
A few of the heavy infantry were patrolling the area, looking for threats in case something came up on them.
Erik felt a disturbance in the air. He looked over toward the Village Hall. “Did Rugrat go back to the Village Hall to rest?”
“Yes, he did. Sorry for not reporting sooner.”
“No worries. He didn’t send me a message—he must’ve been wiped.” Erik’s voice dropped lower so Glosil could barely hear. “Little bastard reached level fifteen, looks like.”
Erik turned thoughtful, wondering just how much Rugrat had increased his smithing. He had been out on more patrols than Erik, but with the small Experience gain, it must have been down to the increases in smithing, his Marksman or stealth.
Erik’s expression sobered as he rubbed his storage ring, as if sensing the snake poison sac that rested within.
***
“Hello, you little money grabbing formation,” Erik said, addressing the auction platform.
With sales made through the platform, he had raised another three gold, just paying for the previous losses.
Erik pulled out a chair and sat. He looked over the list of different people. There was information on what they did and the paths they wanted to pursue. He couldn’t give them all books but for some of them, he had information or items that would be able to help them.
Slowly he made notations beside each name, filling up the pages.
He opened up the auction platform, placing bids on different manuals and technique books, buying out some fully.
He then moved to the weapons section. First he browsed shields. When he selected it, he could “view” it: a version of him appeared with the weapon or item next to him. Erik checked out the size and build of the shield.
He went through a few different types. Once he found what he wanted and they had enough, he bought a group of fifty square shields priced at three silver each.
Then he moved over to the weapons, getting a single-handed sword. It went for four silver each but there were batches of thirty.
Just the weapons came to nearly three gold; the manuals and technique books had come to three gold. Erik used the remaining gold he had to buy healing potions and powders, draining all of his savings. In the next three days, his auctions would be completed and he could expect more gold to come back to him.
Erik shut down the interface, looking at the items in his different storage rings.
With a sigh, he headed for the main square where dinner was being served. He found the different leaders and a tired-looking Taran sitting there, waiting for him with food.
Erik grabbed his own meal and joined them. He transferred over the different goods to them. They all got different books with their list detailing which items were to go to whom.
Then Erik passed Jasper the healing potions and powders; the shields and swords were given to Blaze and he gave the excess over to Glosil.
Blaze gave out a report on the condition of the heavy infantry, Glosil on the last of the training and the training that the specially picked archers would be undergoing to increase their levels.
Everyone else had been trained at least with the crossbow and were working to build up the defenses or cutting down more lumber.
People were putting their all into their work and it showed. Morale was high and the people were confident. The showers and bathrooms were being used properly, dealing with the waste of the city.
“Most think that they’ve died and moved into a noble household,” Jasper joked. The others smiled and grinned.
Bathing with warm water wasn’t something that they were used to, let alone doing it every day, nor were they used to having beast meat in their meals and being given healing powders and potions in case of emergency.
“Well, for the next couple of days, we won’t be able to get anymore manuals and books. Currently we don’t have any more gold remaining,” Erik said.
This got shocked looks but they seemed to understand. They had been spending so much on books it only made sense that it would run out at some time.
Rugrat appeared and wandered over to the eating line. After retrieving his dinner, he made his way to the stage. He looked as if he’d just woken up as he hid a yawn.
“All right, so construction, first from my lesson.” Rugrat cocked his head to the side, going back through his memories. “This morning, do you have any questions?”
People started ra
ising their hands and Rugrat went one by one, trying to help them out as much as possible. As he talked, the meeting with the department heads for Alva Village started to come to a close.
“So, Taran, how about those spears and crossbows?” Erik asked. The others were all interested too, wanting to know just what level his ability had reached.
“If it was just me, then mid-Apprentice grade. With Rugrat’s help, I can make mainly mid-Apprentice grade, with the occasional high-Apprentice grade weapons,” Taran said with a tired but proud smile.
The others all congratulated him as Erik showed a pleased smile. With better equipment, they could increase their attack power, increasing their combat ability even without increasing their overall level.
“Okay, also, tonight I will be attempting to temper my body. I don’t know how long it will take or what the effects will be. Rugrat will be assisting me, but depending on how long it takes, we both might not be of much use tomorrow,” Erik said.
“If it’s okay with you, I’d want to post a few guards at the Village Hall. That way you’re not disturbed,” Glosil said.
Erik paused before nodding. “I’ll agree to it.”
The others didn’t look pleased that Erik was going to try to temper his body but they didn’t raise any other concerns.
***
Erik headed back to the Village Hall after the meeting.
He sat down and pulled out the forest snake sack. It was still full and there must have been two or so liters of liquid held inside still.
Erik moved to the bath in the Village Hall. He pulled out the forest snake’s scales and laid them down inside the tub. The scales were unaffected by the poison, so they were the best material.
Erik poured in hot water he’d taken from the showers; being in his storage ring, it hadn’t cooled yet.
Rugrat knocked on the door a few minutes later.
“Come on in.” Erik’s guts twisted in nervousness.
“Look at you—just like taking a bath, right!” Rugrat laughed.
Erik laughed but his heart wasn’t in it. They both knew that it would be much more than that.
“All right, so the plan is that I will get in and you’ll monitor me and release the poison slowly. First it will attack my skin, then my muscles and finally reaching into my organs. I will be using Minor Wounds Heal to increase my regenerative abilities. I will be using Wraith’s Touch salve on my neck. It numbs the nerves so I won’t feel anything below my head. Make sure to monitor me and if anything happens, use Minor Wounds Heal to help my regenerative ability.” Erik pulled out an IV bag. It had a pink, on the border of red, color to it.
The Two Week Curse Page 37