He put them on and left Sam with the bodies heading back up towards the village As he walked passed his cabin he once more gave the men tending his fields long looks But ultimately they seemed to mean well as they at least had a basic grasp of harvesting the fruit without destroying the plant so he once more held his tongue
In the area between the cabin and the village around a dozen lean tos of a much lower quality than Sam’s had sprung up Much more official looking was the wall that was being erected around the village At this point it was made of stacked logs and mud chest height Apparently one of the new arrivals had some ideas about construction because there was also a shoddy looking gate
There were even a few people hanging around the gate as if they were guards making this seem like a much more official village They all hurried out of Randidly’s way however as he approached
Even he wasn’t prepared for what was awaiting him within the wall His initial guess had put the people around the village at 100 but there were more than 300 people sitting around crouched in groups whispering to each other
Daniel who was talking to a large group of people saw Randidly arrive and hurried over to him Thank god you are here Big news Bad news apparently the mayor over at the town went crazy after obtaining his class and is driving a bunch of people away Donny is just letting everyone get a class if they wish but
Daniel looked at the ground and then finally said are you really not going to help at all tonight
No I’m not Randidly confirmed eyeing the people around him critically So there had been some sort of shift in power over at the nearby base huh Going tomorrow to investigate and see about the glass containers was even more important
But for now
Randidly turned back to Daniel I didn’t want to do this but talk to Donny and get him to purchase the miscellaneous shop and buy vials for potions I won’t participate but that doesn’t mean I won’t help prepare you
Decklan narrowed his eyes looking at the tide of monsters rushing towards the village There were a lot of people dead weight in Decklan’s opinion who didn’t choose to take a class and attempt to grow stronger These people were just here for a place to rest so the final count of individuals with classes was 77 There were even several newcomers with rather interesting classes
But Decklan didn’t give them much attention even the pretty girls who came over After all without the Ghousthound this would be a long night It was hard to tell how many of the 77 would remain in the morning A monster wouldn’t check how pretty you were before it ripped your face off and munched on your organs
As instructed by the Ghosthound they had spent most of today sorting themselves into groups based on how they would build The results were skewed 34 most of which were people who survived the earlier days were going a strength build and were under Dozer’s lead They were a rough looking group but honestly everyone was after several days of killing monsters without showers
Decklan had 27 men under him focusing on speed scouting hiding and of course killing It wasn’t true that stats had to follow body type so it was slightly surprising how many huge men had chosen to build speed their bodies now rushing around with an unnatural grace
10 had chosen or been pressured into the roles of damage soaks most of their points going into Vitality and Endurance They followed Donny and were standing rather nervously with their shields made by Sam standing behind the gate
The remaining 6 were Mage types with a rare useful individual who had a rare Blue Mage class She was a woman in her 40’s that had apparently been a rather avid Dungeons and Dragons player at the local library and had surprisingly embraced the new world quite quickly chopping at the bit to get herself a class Two of the other mages were Ptolemy and an individual who got the class Herbalist which meant they would mostly focus on healing
Ultimately their long range fire power amounted to three dunces throwing Mana Bolts and the Blue Mage tossing icicles It was a far cry from the devastation that the Ghosthound could cause
The one bright spot was that the Ghosthound had provided potions A lot of them Decklan reached down and felt the 10 at his belt 5 stamina 4 health 1 mana
But then someone on the wall began beating a drum signalling that they were coming
First group to the front Donny shouted leading a group of 8 people including Dozer to the front These were the veterans who could take the brunt of the damage while the 20 or so people behind them would rotate in to give the village’s ringers a breather
Behind them the rest of the class individuals waited in reserve with Daniel in case monsters scaled the walls The NCCs or non class characters as they had been jokingly referred to huddled around the central building and the two strange shops that Donny had purchased
But Decklan shook his head and gave a hand signal to the 20 men with him As a unit they scaled the wall which was rather easy from the inside and crouched low on the outside of the wall waiting Once the fighting started Decklan’s job was to sweep the stragglers who couldn’t make it to the fighting at the gate ones that tried to surround the village
Although the term used was stragglers Decklan was under no impressions that his job would be easy If anything it would be the hardest But he just grinned That’s how he wanted it
He heard it the moment that fighting started There was a slam and defiant shouts from the defenders and growls and hisses from the monsters
A golden glow exploded from the gate Donny using his skill Aegis to boost the health and stamina of those around him Decklan didn’t like the punk but had to admit that his class was incredibly useful Especially in larger fights like this
After a few minutes Decklan heard the sounds of approaching monsters Smiling slightly he drew his daggers and gestured to his subordinates They had work to do
Donny couldn’t breathe and hadn’t been able to for a long time He also didn’t have time to check his status he just kept his shield up with one arm downing mana potions with the other and activating Aegis
Three wolverines and a lizard rushed into the man to Donny’s left sending him stumbling back
I can’t ’ Donny thought to himself just wanting to drop and let it all go but instead he found himself stepping forward The step was unwilling and he could practically feel Randidly’s foot against his back shoving him forward And the question that had kept Donny up these past two days rang incessantly in the back of his mind
What will you do Donny ’
His shield bash took the lizard in the side of the head stunning it his sword whipping out to stab into its shoulder Stab and retreat sidestepping and stabbing again The man behind the guy who was knocked back had been blocked by the displaced person but the individual behind Donny had not
Grecko had been one of the first people to get a class and was a grizzled man just south of forty When Donny shifted over to the left Grecko shifted up his huge axe smashing down towards an unsuspecting Wolverine
It was Daniel’s idea originally Following a front line strategy similar to roman legions No one had been an expert in history but they had muddled their way through to a working concept And it had been working well enough for the first 20 minutes or so But now everyone was losing their edge as the battle dragged on longer than they had anticipated
Donny felt three taps on his back and stepped back gratefully two people moving forward to take his place After about 10 feet Donny felt confident enough to turn around looking at the resting warriors Dozer was there his chest heaving throwing back two stamina potions at once
Seeing him do so Donny blinked then considered his own status screen
Level 15
Health(/R per hour) 92/358 (63 25)
Mana(/R per hour) 8/75 (3)
Stam(/R per min) 11/211 (22)
Vit 19
End 13
Str 20
Agi 11
Perception 9
Reaction 11
Resistance 22
Skills Newbie Village Chieftain Lvl 84 Hiding Lvl 7 Running Lvl 9 Grappling Lvl 7 Club Wielding Lvl 2 WoodWorking Lvl 2 Construction Lvl 3 Labor Lvl 11 Heavy Blow Lvl 15 Mana Bolt Lvl 1 Ride Lvl 1 Honorable Charge Lvl 5 Stalwart Defense Lvl 13 (1) Sword Master Lvl 8 (2) Shield Mastery Lvl 16 (3) Shield Bash Lvl 9 (4) Aegis Lvl 9 (5) Legion Thrust Lvl 4 (6) Sidestep Lvl 5