Both able to see him up close, and without a crowd of others around him, Aura was able to take in Maul’s appearance for the first time. The resemblance he had with Fortress was quite striking. Both were large, towering men. Not quite at the level of a body builder, but more like a well-trained football player. Unlike his father, there were some things that stood apart. Maul’s hair for example, wasn’t the jet black of Fortress’ but rather a dark brown. His skin was paler, and he lacked any facial hair. He looked slightly less muscled as well, but that difference could be explained by the full armor that Fortress had been wearing. The most striking difference were in the eyes. Whereas Fortress’ gaze had been cool and controlled, Maul’s were eager and almost hungry. Eyes that were taking in her own appearance, much like she was taking in his.

  “Hmm, it looks like I lucked out here, doesn’t it? Don’t worry girl, you’ll be seeing this plenty more often.”

  Chuckling in his deeper voice, Maul gestured over his bare torso with his free hand. The other holding a thicker looking shirt that some of the other men had already put on. At his remark, she inhaled sharply through her nostrils, all the while a flash of red grew on her cheeks. More from his own words than from the embarrassment of being caught looking him over. She was used to seeing people in various states of undress, as most firefighters were. And while she did want to retort, she held her tongue. Violet’s words about her possibly not having needed to mention her ability to use magic flashed through her mind. She already had some extra attention on her, so starting something probably wasn’t the best idea.

  “So, um, why is it you are all getting changed already? Are we going to have a training session or something?”

  Luckily, Kaelen spoke up and drew some attention instead. Looking towards her fellow player, she took in his appearance. He was probably an inch or so shorter than Maul was, while his build could best be described as lanky in comparison. Dark green hair topped his head and was in a messy style, which went well with his slightly refined facial features, and deep green eyes. If his ears were pointed and his features a little sharper, she wouldn’t be surprised to mistake him for an elf. Thinking about it, every native person she had seen thus far looked to be human. And with the mention back in the character creation that “Races” wouldn’t be available right away it did raise the question of if there were even any fantasy races in this world.

  Despite the attention being on him now, Kaelen didn’t back down as Maul took a step closer and looked him over. Unlike with herself, the look was more along the lines of someone trying to establish some level of superiority over the other. After a moment, a smirk grew on Maul’s face.

  “Good, you have some backbone to you. But no, there won’t be a training session. You wouldn’t know since you just showed up in the middle of the night, but I told all the guys here what to expect. For the past six years, new soldiers are sent out on the day of Awakening to deal with some of the monsters that get close to town. Better for them to know what they are getting into then to, than to let them wait a day and get cold feet.”

  Maul’s attention then turned towards her, and his grin grew hungry.

  “You better get changed as well. Because whether you are ready or not, once our “seniors” come in to tell us what to expect we will be moving. And I’d really suggest you do so to. Even though all of you girls were put on a squad for one reason, I’d rather you not be bruised and beaten when I save you and have you thank me.”

  That comment drew a round of chuckles from most of the other guys here. Except for Kaelen who looked a little awkward. At that comment, she could no longer hold back her tongue as she glared towards Maul.

  “If you think I’ll be thanking you for anything, then you have another thing coming to you boy. I don’t know what you think is going to happen, but I became a soldier because I can fight. And I will fight because it will lead to me getting strong.”

  Her statement resulted in silence for a moment, before another round of chuckles broke out from most everyone gathered. She could overhear comments about how “wild” she is, and how “fun” she will be. As she stomped across the room and towards one of the two bedrolls not already being stood by, she didn’t notice the glare that Maul sent her way for the comment. Not at the full context of it all, but at the fact that she called him “boy.” Kaelen meanwhile took this opportunity to slip to the other bedroll.

  Standing by her own bedroll, she looked down at the equipment laid out atop of it. It really wasn’t the most impressive spread of things, consisting only of a thicker looking shirt and pants in the same style of what she was already wearing, a waterskin, and a hefty looking stone club. A quick glance at the others showed that everyone had identical equipment, so at least at this she wasn’t being singled out. But there were still some issues with this equipment. The lesser issue was that the stone club was far more primitive than she had expected their weapons to be. While the greater one had her lost in thought somewhat.

  Just a top and pants… and they look bigger than what I’m wearing. That’s just perfect. And from what I’ve been feeling so far today, the only underwear that I have on is over my lower half. And the lack of any real privacy in this room means that all of these boys might just get a free show…

  Once more a slight bit of color rose to her cheeks at the thought, most of the chuckling having died down at this point. Just from her peripheral vision, she could see that the attention of many of them was on her in eager anticipation. Just to see if she could get out of doing this, she quickly opened that menu once more and clicked on one of the two options she hadn’t during the earlier check, Inventory. As it opened, a flash of disappointment went through her. The screen that was presented was completely blank, not even showing off the clothes she was wearing right now. At the very least, the lack of spare clothes on the bedrolls of everyone else in the room spoke of the fact that Inventory was a thing in this world.

  That was something to digest later, because right now she had a choice to make. Combat was probably going to be happening, so would she put her own comfort and modesty over protection? Of course not, she was a firefighter before, and protection was one of the most important things to consider. Still, she wasn’t going to give these boys the full satisfaction of things. Changing in the bedroll was an option, but she’d be on her back and able to be surrounded doing that. So, taking her thicker shirt and pants, she walked to one of the corners of the room. She could feel their gazes on her as she walked, and on reaching the corner she started to act.

  With her thicker shirt in one hand, her free hand moved to the hem of what she was wearing and quickly began to pull it up. While the room wasn’t cold, a chill ran down her spine as her old shirt was pulled over her head and tossed to the ground. That she was topless in a room full of strange men had her feeling queasy, and the whistling she heard didn’t help. Focusing on getting covered, she quickly started to pull the thicker shirt on. As she did, the reason for the thickness was readily apparent, as the material was stiffer in some places than others. And with the outer and inner layer feeling the same, it probably meant that there was some third layer in between them.

  Pushing that thought aside, she finished getting the top on and couldn’t hold back the slight groan that slipped out. While not too obvious, the top wasn’t a perfect fit for her. Particularly around the neck area, she could feel that her collarbone wasn’t covered. That along with the lack of any headgear just had her hoping that whatever they were fighting didn’t aim for the head. Untucking her hair, which had been caught down the back of the top, she moved on to changing out of her pants. This wasn’t as humiliating, as she had some covering on beneath it, probably more so than normal since it looked very much like some kind of boxers were covering her when her pants came off. And while the pants were similarly on the larger side around the waist, these at least she could adjust with a drawstring.

  The chuckling had died down at this point, and while bending over to pick up her discarded clothes was difficult due to the stiffness, it gave her a chance to calm down the blush on her face. With her inventory still open before her, she cautiously moved the discarded clothes to the inventory window and watched them appear.

  Just to check, she pressed on the tunic now that it was in her inventory. Doing so just had it reappear in her hand however, so she quickly stashed it away. It seemed that this world was more on the realistic side of things, so there wouldn’t be any quick changing of clothes and equipment. Now changed, and with her blush calmed down, she turned away from the corner and started to make her way back to her bedroll. All the boys in the room were smirking her way except for Kaelen, who gave her an apologetic look.

  As she reached the bedroll and bent down, she picked up the stone club. That it was light was surprising, but her attention was soon drawn as someone else entered the room. The man was older than the ones gathered around, but it was hard to tell his exact age. His skin was tanned and somewhat wrinkled, and his expression firm. He had scruff on his face, not exactly from shaving but more from an incapability to grow facial hair properly. His armor was like their own, and his dark blue eyes seemed satisfied as he looked them all over.

  “Good, you are all changed and ready. Either word of what has happened has started to spread to the Shelters when it shouldn’t, or someone among you was told ahead of time.”

  While his voice had an accusatory tone to it, the man pointedly didn’t look in Maul’s direction. Instead, he began to pace in front of them all, looking them over.

  “Regardless of that, all of you line up behind me. We are going to be heading outside of Fortress, and I will explain what will be happening while we do. Whichever two of you have the highest AGI will either be at the front or back of the line. We will be heading out together, and nobody is getting left behind.”

  Saying that, the man stood straight and at attention, having not even introduced himself. At his statement there was a quick discussion among the various boys as to who had the highest AGI of them all. She didn’t pay the conversation too much mind however, already knowing that she wouldn’t have to worry about this due to her own low AGI. Once it had been decided on, the line was formed and she made sure to position herself near Kaelen, who thankfully wasn’t one of the two lucky ones. With only a nod as his indication, the man then began to lead them out.

  As they pass, she could briefly see into the other rooms. What was presumably a ‘senior’ was standing in the entrance way to all of them and barking orders to change and get ready to those within. She didn’t catch sight of Jackie while doing so but could only hope that the other girls were okay. Though as she remembered what she went through herself, the grip she had on her stone club tightened slightly and her knuckles turned white. Jackie, at least, was probably fine given the way she carried herself. But it was the other two girls who had been forced to be a soldier, Hannah and Mary, that she was worried about.

  As they all left the building, the man leading them turned away from the rest of the town and began to just start walking. While she had noticed before that this whole little barrack area had been on the outskirts, she hadn’t really taken the time to look at said outskirts. An open grassy field was in front of her, stretching as far as the eye could see. What could be best described as a stream was visible as well, flowing along the edge of the barrack area and seeming to go around Fortress itself. The sun was high in the sky as they set out for this open field, marching somewhat disorganized into it.

  If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.

  For the next while, the only sound was that of grass being crushed underfoot, and that of insects scurrying about. Whether due to lack of rain, or just the climate itself, the grass wasn’t too tall and rather dry. Thus, it wasn’t too difficult to navigate through. The main issue for some of those marching, was the heat that bared down on them from the sun. She was feeling surprisingly okay, despite wearing the thicker clothing like the rest of them. Sure, she felt sweat building on her brow, but it was nothing compared to the heat of flames. Their pace wasn’t that bad either, and she figured out quickly that she wasn’t the only one with a lower AGI.

  Time was a hard thing to keep track of walking in a straight line like this. The sun had already been past the highest point in the sky when they set out, and it had to have moved at least a little bit when the man who had led them out there finally spoke up.

  “Alright, I think we are far enough out that our targets should start to be visible soon. So, with that, let me explain a few things.

  First off, my name is Cody. I have served Fortress for the past five years and have earned enough respect to be considered a ‘senior’ to you new soldiers. As such, I will be guiding you out here on these hunts for the foreseeable future. In addition to that, if you need training, you are not to bother one of the other groups’ ‘seniors’ or even the other soldiers. I have the Blunt Weapons Mastery skill to the Adept level and can teach you all well enough.

  Second, with regards to how these excursions will go. While two of you are new to Fortress, I am sure your old settlement faced the same issues, monsters. A nest of monsters resides close enough by and sends out groups of monsters every single day. While these monsters are not intelligent like us, they are somewhat organized. They hunt in groups of ten, and it is our job to make sure that they are wiped out before they can get close enough to Fortress to take any of our people.

  That, is where the third point comes in. Each squad is made up of ten members, which means that there will be one monster for each of you to fight. You are not, to attempt to fight more than one monster. Not unless the person fighting said monster calls for help or looked to be close to dying. Only then will someone be allowed to assist in that fight. And if that occurs, the one who needed help will pay back the one who saved them. How you do so is for you to determine among yourselves.”

  At that bit of the statement, she grimaced a little. She had a better idea now of what Maul had been saying about her “thanking” him. Before she could contemplate that too much, a somewhat transparent window appeared before her, much like a pop-up.

  As the window appeared, and with it details for the quest she apparently stumbled into, a mix of feelings filled her. There was some excitement that this was a thing, and the possibility of reward was enticing. But then it was tempered by the cost for failure, as well as the question of why this only appeared just now. There was no way to reject the quest, which she guessed made sense given how far out of Fortress they all were. It had essentially already started.

  As far as what the quest was asking for, things may be okay. While she may not have any experience in fighting, she did have some things going for her. Her STR was high enough that hitting something with a stone club should hurt plenty and she also had magic on her side. Thinking of that, her mind began to race to think up a chant for her spell, all the while Cody finished his speech.

  “There is more that I have to say, but it can wait until after our targets are dealt with. Just remember what I said, because if you falter and allow a monster to get past you, or you steal a kill from someone else, you will be punished.”

  After he said that, Cody stepped to the side and gestured for them all to step forwards. The guy at the front of the line hesitated slightly, only to be shoved to the side a little as Maul stepped forwards. Their organized line broke down at that point as everyone surged forwards, eyes peeled in search for whatever mysterious monster they were to fight. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Kaelen muttering something under his breath as he reached down to touch the ground. As he rose with a frown on his face, she approached.

  “Do you mind me asking what that was all about?”

  “Hmm, oh it was just me trying to use my Innate skill that I had to reveal. Hunter’s Sense is supposed to give me an idea if any beasts are nearby. I don’t know if it worked or not, a lot of this is still so…”

  “Strange is the best word I can think of. We can’t really say unreal since, well, it is all real.”

  “I guess you are right huh. By the way, I know we sort of all exchanged greetings before. But I’m Kaelen. I wish circumstances were better, but it is nice to meet you.”

  “I think all of us wish that were the case. But my name’s Aura, it’s good to meet you as well.”

  Walking and looking around as they spoke, a brief shake of hands was exchanged between the two of them. With no real idea what to be on the lookout for as far as these ‘monsters’ they were supposed to fight, they were walking a little blindly. Given how some of the other members of their group were similarly just stumbling around, that was some measure of reassurance.

  Still, much as everyone was looking for these monsters, the two of them were getting some attention as well. Maul was the most obvious of them all, a frown marring his face as he gazed at them. Even Cody, who was watching over them all, did occasionally glance their way. However, outside of the initial greeting silence remained between the pair of them. With all the attention on them, it wouldn’t do to discuss anything about the truth of their situation. After only a couple of minutes of everyone wandering around, one of the boys, who she didn’t bother to remember the name of, called out.

  “What the fuck are those?!”

  Drawing everyone’s attention, gazes followed where he was pointing and the monsters they were out here for were quickly visible. Much like by Fortress, the grass in this area while tall was somewhat flattened. Probably due to various marches and even combat out here. Thus, the monsters were able to be seen. By her best estimate, their bodies were around the size of large dogs, with their eight long legs made their size more imposing. The dark brown chitin didn’t gleam in the light of the day, but the many beady black eyes on the monster did. Clumps of displaced dead grass were caught in the hair that lined the monsters, and thin fangs were at the front of their mouths.

  As the boy called out to alert them all, so too were the monsters, these giant spiders, alerted to his presence. Chirping sounds escaped them, and the group of them began to charge forwards. From a quick count, there were ten of these monsters, exactly like Cody had said. And while their senior was sticking back and watching, Maul stepped forwards with his own stone club raised and called out.

  “Everyone spread out! We don’t want them to group up one person, and these things are big enough that we need room to fight. Don’t go too far, in case you need help.”

  His tone was different from the usual superior one, and likely out of respect for his father everyone scrambled to agree. They didn’t have long with how the Giant Spiders were charging towards them, but some semblance of organization did manage to be obtained. She split off from Kaelen and looked to the charging spiders, the arm gripping her club shaking a little as adrenaline and fear pumped through her body.

  Okay, as much as I wish I had more time to figure out how to use it, magic seems like a good bet here. These things can’t be too tough if they sent out complete newbies to deal with them, right?

  While there was unease at that, she shook it off and began to focus. Mana Bolt was her only offensive spell here, and she had no idea how to use her magic. There had been no tutorial, and even her spell list didn’t give much feedback outside of the fact that she would need a spell. So, all she could hope was that this worked. Raising her hand towards the approaching swarm, she took a deep breath to calm herself. Focusing hard, trying to feel out for mana, something seemed to click in her head. Whether that be from her intent or something else, she ran with it and started to speak.

  “Mana within me rise. Be unleashed upon those before me as I call your name. Mana Bolt!”

  Throughout the chant, a sensation had begun to rise inside of her. A warmth that seemed to pulse through her whole body, before reverberating back to her outstretched hand. A glow of light began to form there, and as the chant finished the light fired off from her hand. There was no kick back as it launched, and a slight bit of emptiness hit her. She pushed past it with a smile on her face as she came to a realization.

  I just did fucking magic!

  While not one to normally curse out loud, the excitement of the situation did have her doing so mentally. That excitement, soon crashed down as the Mana Bolt flew above the approaching swarm of Giant Spiders. Poor aim enough that her attack missed aside, she had to continue with this momentum. While there hadn’t been any notification for how much Mana she had used, she knew that she should have at least another nine Mana Bolts within her. Though the closing speed of the Spiders meant that she could probably only get one more off.

  Taking a calming breath, she extended her hand towards the spider that had split off from the swarm and had started to head towards her. Her other hand gripped the stone club tight and she hoped that it wouldn’t come down to having to use it.

  “Mana within me rise. Be unleashed upon those before me as I call your name. Mana Bolt!”

  Once more there was the pulse of warmth within her, and a flash of light that escaped her hand. This time, the attack hit the Giant Spider, square on the abdomen of the monster.

  [30 Damage Dealt]

  Rather than defeat it in one shot, it seemed to enrage the thing. Its legs tensed and with a hiss it jumped off the ground and right towards her. And between the speed of the spider and her own low AGI, she was only able to somewhat turn enough that the collision went to her side.

  [Critical Hit!] [-25 HP]

  A snapping sensation was felt in her side, followed by a rather sharp pain that flowed through her. Knocked to the ground and with the monster atop of her, she couldn’t focus on that too much. Even as the breath was stolen from her chest by the impact, she brought the arm holding the stone club around and smashed it into the side of the monster. A sickening crunch sounded from the impact, and the monster was sent sprawling away a little bit.

  [27 Damage Dealt]

  Taking a shuddering breath from landing on her chest, she began to push up to recover. Only for a hissing sound to be heard from the spider, followed by the feeling of something large jumping onto her back.

  “Get off of me damn it!”

  Some of the spiders’ legs were visible, and even short of breath she found the strength to swing her club while trying to push herself up. It lacked the strength of her initial blow but dealt some damage given the cracking of chitin and the blood that flowed. She knew that she needed to get this monster off her, else the likes of Maul comes over to ‘help’ her out. As she hit the legs of the monster, it wasn’t just taking these attacks. The beady eyes stared down at her and were drawn to the exposed flesh of her collarbone.

  [27 Damage Dealt]

  A lunge forwards of a head, the flashing of fangs, and a sharp pain followed by a burning one. All of this happened in seconds before a cry of pain escaped her mouth. With that cry of pain came a burst of extra strength, enough to push the monster off and back a little while as she stood fully.

  [-30 HP] [Poisoned Effect Gained.]

  While the notifications were ominous, for multiple reasons, the burning sensation in her body was all that she could feel of the poison. Blood was flowing freely from her collarbone down the front and back of her padded shirt, and she knew that this needed to end now. The monster was already recovering from her throwing it off, but it wasn’t charging her down again. While it did look decently injured from her attacks, there was no helpful health bar above its head to know how much fight it had left. Still, it wasn’t charging in for another bite but rather seeming to stand by and waiting.

  It is waiting for the poison to take effect.

  Having already known that she needed to end this before the poison did take effect, she didn’t hesitate. Gathering strength in her legs, she decided to imitate what the monster had done and jumped forwards towards it. Her speed in this way was faster than just moving on her own, and bringing the stone club back, she delivered a blow to the monsters’ side at the same time as she ran into it herself.

  [16 Damage Dealt]

  Surprisingly, there was no indication of taking damage from her charging towards it and colliding, unlike when the opposite had occurred. There was a cracking sound as her club smashed into the chitin of the monster, and outside of hearing a slight hiss and feeling something scrapping along the belly of her padded shirt, that was all that it could do. The monster went limp beneath her, before its legs splayed out as it collapsed to the ground.

  [Giant Spider Defeated!] [+20 XP]