Chapter 6: Refugee Town

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Disciples of minor and major Knighthood orders began their attack with unbridled impetus. They claimed most of the territory Banniard had explored as a wave of workers began building colonies in their wake.

The campaign was a success, the Marshal had led the Orders and swept across the demon filled land, but then things went awry a certain cold night when his men began to turn against themselves…

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“Why the face?” Collin closed on Attalus from the side. “They’ve been doing pretty good, considering their levels.” He pulled the reins to make his horse walk at the same pace as his.

Attalus looked at the bandaged legionnaires marching behind them. “Good is not enough. They need to do excellent if they don’t want to find a spear piercing their throats next time. I don’t even know how they survived after so much shit went wrong. Even the auxiliaries did better.”

“Well, the auxiliaries are veterans, even if they’re stults. You can’t compare them.”

“Anyways, they should have done better.” He clicked his tongue and glared at Collin. “You should also do better.” He said. “You weren’t injured last time and you still skipped the last three drills.”

Collin raised his eyebrows, his droopy eyes gaining some zest. “I give results, what does it matter? You said it yourself: Results is all that matters.” He said, imitating the stern tone Attalus forced when lecturing the recruits.

Attalus snorted and looked away. It was the truth, but it didn't make it any less annoying that Collin skipped half of the practices. He ignored the droopy-eyes comments about cutting the trainees some slack and rode in silence.

After the close call in Southwell’s sewers, Attalus retreated from the city with his injured legionnaires. It gained him some subtle insults from legate Aetius, but at least he managed to get away from any plots the Regina’s faction had for him—assuming that what happened in the sewers was not one of their plots to begin with.

He didn’t know how his father would react to him leaving the subjugation so quickly, but at least they still completed their scouting mission and achieved a little from their trip to the sewers. They managed to rescue survivors from Southwell’s fall a whole year back. It wasn’t some epic achievement, but it should be good enough to earn the legionnaires some reward. Maybe they would even be promoted to a legion and he’ll finally get rid of them.

“Hey.” Someone called out from behind.

He turned his head and looked down. It was one of the boys. Kancil. “What is it?”

“How much longer?” Kancil said. “All I can see are trees and dirt.”

Attalus smiled. “Not much. We’re going up a hill right now, that’s why you can’t see the town, but we should take half a day more.”

Kancil nodded and walked back towards the other two boys.

Attalus stared at them and let out a smile. He liked the three boys pretty much. They showed a discipline worthy of a legionnaire, even the jumpy one, not like the noble recruits. They never complained and showed proper respect to his orders, though Kancil had a certain edge in his tone anytime he spoke to him. He couldn’t blame him. What he experienced in the sewers should have hardened his mind beyond a normal kid of his age.

It still surprised him how Kancil didn’t even bat an eyelid when he told him how the world had become a mess after Gods’ Day. At least the other two showed a more normal reaction to the news.

After seeing how they fought in sewers against his legionnaires he would like very much to recruit them. They had the coordination to fight back and injure three legionnaires almost twice their level even though they were utterly surrounded. It was the kind of fierceness and tenacity he wanted to see in his legionnaires. It was a shame that the other boy had died. After that they surely wouldn’t want to join the legions anytime soon—not willingly at least. He didn’t blame Bellamy for what he did, the situation had been too sudden, but still. What a shame.

I’ll try to recruit them anyway. He decided. He wouldn’t lose anything with trying. Of course, he’ll have to wait after they’re registered in the new God’s System when they reach the refugee town. And then go through the tedious paperwork to add them to his team if they accepted.

The legionnaires kept marching with sunken faces, drained of any vigor. That’s what a near death experience, then a week of march while still doing the daily training did to unprepared minds. The eighty auxiliaries surrounded them, being the only ones really prepared for any eventuality, apart from Attalus’ team.

Half a day later, the sun on its way down, they reached the refugee town, just as Attalus had said. From the distance they could see a wooden palisade surrounding the town and right in front the foundation of the wall that would probably become the walls of a future city core. Further ahead were numerous fields full of mature crops almost ready for harvest.

As they approached they could see stults working in the fields with the utmost care as if their lives depended on it. They probably did. If the stults could not produce enough food they would surely be forced to enlist in the auxilia and serve as cannon fodder for the colonies in the Dark World. A death sentence for most. Though it didn’t matter for the kingdom’s citizens. There were enough stults around to replace them.

Attalus could see the town guards tensing as they approached. He raised his arm and made his men stop twenty meters away from the wooden gates and he reined his horse forward. He took out a steel insignia from his baggage and showed it to the guards.

The guards straightened and bumped their right fists on their chests. “Centurion.” They saluted.

Attalus nodded at them, his brows twitching. He hated the word. It bounded him to a larger organization. That’s why he put so much effort in making his men call him ‘Captain’ instead of ‘Centurion’. That’s how mercenaries addressed their leader, no matter how strong he was or how many men he commanded. He liked to think that he’d form his own band of men following the same principle of mercenaries: freedom.

The guards opened the gate and he made his troops march forward.

“Hey.” He stopped and called one of the guards.

“Sire?”

“Where’s the enforcement office?”

“Follow the street and after you reach the first tavern turn to the right, sir. You shouldn’t miss the building.”

“Thanks.” Attalus nodded and continued.

The town was a rare sight. Stults and citizens walked side by side in the streets going about doing their things. It was a sample of the perfect society many scholars dreamed about, where no man was above another. Attalus knew it would not last long. After the walls were finished the town would slowly but surely send the stults to live out of them as more citizen refugees arrive—after the war began there was no shortage of those.

After a great metropolis like Southwell fell, many other cities and town surrounding it went with it as a result of the wave of demons that escaped from the dungeon. Survivors from Southwell and all those places fled to other cities and metropolis, but eventually they would have to settle in a new town if they wanted to have a solid foothold for their families. That’s when they entered the town and the stults left the walls’ safety.

In Attalus’ opinion, it was kind of unfair for them to be sent out after making the city flourish, but that’s just how things were. He wouldn’t stop living his life just because stults were treated badly.

Attalus brought his men to the tavern the guard mentioned and made them wait there. The place was huge in terms of taverns and allowed both citizens and stults, as it was the town’s trend.

Then he took the boys to the enforcement office. The place was a single-floor building with a ceiling four meters high.

Slayers filled the place, something that would have been considered impossible before the war began. Their line of work was one of hunting demons and mana beasts, but since they were almost extinct it was harsh to live as one.

Now with Southwell’s dungeon break and demons filling the land again, the profession thrived. With so many plantations and villages ravaged by the creatures, the only option for poor peasants and stults was to try to make a living off killing demons. Of course, young men and legionnaires thirsting for a real fight also became slayers now that there were enough demons to hunt.

It didn’t matter the reason; the fact was slayers were multiplying as fast as demons.

“Remind me. Why do we need to do this?” Kancil asked. Miles and Tim seemed in the brink of correcting his manners.

“Remember what I told you about the new god’s system?” Attalus said. “Well, the Aetherlings ordered that every citizen registers in the system. It helps the enforcement ministry to flag criminals and manage bounties, among other boring things.”

“Still, I don’t understand the rush.”

Attalus shrugged. “Divine orders. If an enforcer finds a citizen not registered in the system, they’ll need a good reason as to why they’re not registered yet. Since the enforcement office was close, I decided it was better to save you the trouble.”

Kancil nodded and looked ahead, silent.

“Thanks.” Tim said, tense because of Kancil’s attitude.

“My pleasure.” Attalus smiled and moved to a counter at the end of the room. He took out his steel insignia and showed it to the receptionist.

“Centurion.” The man saluted.

“Yeah.” Attalus returned a half-hearted salute and then pointed at the boys. “They come to register.”

The receptionist squinted his eyes at the boys and asked. “Why now?”

Kancil, Miles and Tim looked at each other, then Kancil began. “We-”

“They’re survivors of Southwell’s incident. I can vouch for them.” Attalus said.

The man frowned, not understanding completely what was that of survivors, but nodded. There was no need for further questions if a centurion took responsibility for them. He took a blue orb from behind him and put it on the counter. “Infuse your mana and your masteries.”

Miles and Tim went first, both their status and levels were rather high for commoners their age, but it was only natural after having to survive for so long in the sewers. The receptionist asked their names and after infusing his own mana in another blue orb he took out, their names appeared added to their status. Then it was Kancil’s turn.

Kancil grabbed the orb and began to infuse his mana. It flowed violently into the orb, then slowed down into a graceful flow, then it turned random and sparse, then sturdy. His mana flowed in various ways, but the intensity and control never wavered.

Novice | Stult

Age: 14

【Level: 8】

【Mana: 4/4】

Magic Power: 3

Mana Control: 12

Mana Perception: 4

Constitution: 12

Agility: 11

Skill: 17

Strength: 13

Core: 【Coreless】

Elemental Mastery

Fire - Beginner (2/10)

Water - Beginner (3/10)

Earth - Beginner (3/10)

Air - Beginner (2/10)

Attalus’ face paled and he gaped at the board.

A stult.

Kancil, the one among the three boys that showed the most talent, a stult. Just that word was enough to make him ignore how outstanding most of his other stats were. A plebeian boy of his age wouldn’t have that kind of stats. A patrician boy of his age would only have similar stats thanks to elixirs and potions to help him grow faster.

It didn’t matter.

Being a stult immediately barred him from learning battle skills and training with breathing techniques or meditation techniques. That was the basic difference between a stult and a citizen. A stult would never be a match against a citizen of the same level if the later had a single battle skill, and a stult would be left in the dust after he turned 15 and the citizens of the same age began training with breathing or meditation techniques. It was a fact and the reason why the social hierarchy was structured like it was.

Attalus sighed and shook his head. “A stult, huh…”

“Your name?” The receptionist asked, his voice gaining a tinge of disdain.

“Wait, he isn’t a stult.” Tim said. “His parents are citizens. The law says that a coreless citizen is still a citizen.”

“Well, bring me his parents and he’ll be a ‘coreless citizen’ instead of a stult. Otherwise, he stays a stult.”

“W-we don’t know where they are.” Tim looked down.

The receptionist snorted. “Trying to trick the system about that could get you in serious trouble, boy. Be thankful that the lord centurion covers for you. Otherwise…”

Tim’s brows creased, his gaze wavering. “But he-”

“Forget it.” Kancil interrupted him. “Remember what I told you about my parents. It wouldn’t matter even if we knew where they were.” He said and looked at the receptionist. “Since it seems like I have no parents, I’m Kancil. Just Kancil.”

“At least our stult is reasonable and doesn’t want us to lose our time.” The receptionist nodded and infused his mana in the blue orb. “It’s done.” He said. “You can check it with your bracelet and see.” He told Attalus.

Attalus nodded and did so.

Timothy Fletcher | Novice | Commoner

【Level 5】

Miles Ludel | Novice | Commoner

【Level 6】

Kancil | Novice | Stult

【Level 8】

He pointed his bracelet at each one and their basic status plate appeared on the blue screen on his bracelet. “Thanks.” Attalus nodded at the receptionist and turned around. “Let’s go. You’ll need some food now.” He walked out of the enforcement office, the boys following.

Attalus walked looking down, his head a mess. He still wanted to recruit him, even if he was a stult, but it would be doing him a disservice rather than a favor. He didn’t plan to fight goblins and hobgoblins all his life. He would move to stronger things after all his teammates become Warriors. If he took Kancil with him he’ll find himself facing enemies too strong and his progress stale without a breathing technique.

He might have progressed fast during his time in the sewers, but it was surely some kind of divine luck that allowed them to survive for so long. One couldn’t rely on luck to fight greater demons.

As far as he knew it took a stult ten years of training to join the main body of the auxiliaries, only then is a stult useful in battle. He didn’t have so much time to wait for him. The other two boys surely wouldn't want to join him without Kancil. He sighed and shook his head. It was a lost case. Better to leave them live their life at their pace than forcing them to match the pace of the elite band he wanted to create.

They returned to the tavern where the rest of the group rested. The auxiliaries sat on a side of the building, looking like a gray shadow due to their uniforms. The legionnaires and his teammates sat in front of the large bar at the end of the room. He’d just been out for barely an hour and there were already a few of them drunk and bruised from a recent fight. They were a mess.

“It’s done?” Collin approached and asked.

Attalus nodded.

Collin looked at the boys and then at Attalus with a knowing gaze. “Will you-”

“No. We’ll talk about that later.” Attalus stopped him, knowing what he was about to ask.

Collin shrugged and did not ask any further.

… …

Attalus and his men stayed in town for the night and the next day they were departing from the town at the first light.

“I guess this is where we part ways.” Attalus said. They were standing in front of the town’s gate, the legionnaires waiting in formation a few meters farther away.

“Yes.” Kancil nodded.

Attalus looked at the boys, still regretful for how things turned out. “Take this.” He took out a small pouch from his baggage and gave it to him. “It will help you guys to settle in town. There should be enough for a month.”

Kancil extended his arm by reflex and took the pouch. He looked at the cloth pouch with a frown.

“You should consider joining the local guard. They’ll definitely accept you if you display your skills as you did back at Southwell. At worst you can do some farming works while you get a better job. Just don’t stay there too much time. You guys don’t belong to the plantations.” He said

“Thank you very much lord Attalus.” Tim said. “We are in your debt.” He bowed deeply and Miles followed.

“I’m just doing my job.” He smiled. “I’m still sorry for not helping more, but we must continue with our schedule.”

“N-no lord Attalus. We wouldn’t dare to ask for anything more.”

Attalus chuckled and nodded. “May the Aeternum guide your steps.” He waved his hands and walked away. What a shame. He kept repeating in his head. Maybe he’ll be able to recruit them in the future, when he his band has grown enough to take care of them. He hated very much losing the opportunity of recruiting such inspiring boys.

“Hey.” Kancil called out from behind.

Attalus turned his head looked at him. The boy had new clothes and had taken a bath, but the bandages he kept around his right eye and left arm, and his disheveled hair made him look like a street urchin. “Yes?”

Kancil looked down and clenched his fists, his brows trembling. “Thanks- for… everything.” He said.

Attalus let out a wide smile and nodded. “My pleasure.” He said, then continued on his way. A harsh and long training awaited him and his men.