I had understood [Dishwasher] and [Teacher], but how had I unlocked [Tactician] after half an hour of playing around with ants?

I sat back contemplating the panel, Aron had mentioned that some classes were harder to unlock than others so I guessed different requirements of various difficulties had to be met to unlock a class. So far each class I had unlocked had come after an action related to the class, so it was likely, you had to at least perform an action related to the class as a minimum hurdle.

But since actions from my past life clearly didn’t count towards unlocking classes, maybe knowledge did? After all, I hadn’t forgotten things I’d learnt, but the only things I could think of related to [Tactician] was having taken a course in politics at school, I’d also worked in sales and been an assistant manager at Tesco, though I doubted those last two counted.

So if that was right that meant I probably already met the knowledge requirement for a lot of classes and only needed to perform an action related to them to unlock them. Guess being from earth wasn’t as useless as I'd thought it was.

I grinned to myself thinking about all the potential classes I could easily unlock.

“What are you grinning at lizard?” the blacksmith glared at me “You’re not planning a prank are you? Coz if you are, I’ll skin you and turn your scaly hide into decoration”

I bared my teeth at him, snarling, tail curling in anger.

“Keep hissing you little beast and I’ll pull those teeth out” Slowly I closed my mouth but kept glaring at him, a sliver of fear rooted in me at his threat, unsure of how serious it was.

He turned around but not before I heard him muttering “Fucking lizards shouldn’t be allowed around people, no different from monsters”

Anger warred with very real cold fear in my chest, how normal was violence here? A significant portion of the villagers did carry weapons; maybe pulling teeth was a standard punishment here.

Distinctly uncomfortable sitting here now, I felt vulnerable and exposed. Scanning the blacksmith up and down I knew that I had no chance in a fight, and if I believed the status, then chances where he’d levelled a class and increased his stats and at the moment it was an unknown how much of a difference that made.

Feeling restless and trapped, I shifted around discretely, tail twitching and wings attempting to stretch under shirt, before folding down and repeating.

When after a while nothing else happened, I calmed down a bit, unless I gave him a reason, he probably wouldn’t bother me again. Just had to keep my head down and ignore him.

After a watching him warily for a while I got bored again. He was likely all talk; they probably didn’t pull teeth from children as punishment here. Reassuring myself a bit I looked back at the ants, they’d made significant head way with the apple core; there wasn’t much left.

Looking around I tapped a claw against my leg. Being here really was a pointless waste of time.

I remembered Aron saying that you could get rid of a class after you chose it. Thoughtfully I looked at my options, there was no harm in trying one out, and they weren’t permanent after all.

Looking at available classes, I selected [Tactician] since there was no way I was choosing [Dishwasher] and I didn’t have any interest in [Teacher].

Are you sure you want to make [Tactician] your Class 1: Yes/No?

Pausing briefly I selected yes and the panel reverted to my normal status screen except now instead of [None], [Tactician Lvl 1] was written by class 1 and I had 10 skill point for it.

I tried selecting [Tactician] and a new panel appeared.

[Tactician Lvl 1] Skills points: 10 Skills: [None] Skills available:

[Motivational speech] - 10 Skill points

[Battle sense] - 10 Skill points

[Convenient Environment] - 10 Skill points

I tried selecting the Skills to see what they were but the only thing that told me is that they all cost 10 Skill points each. I frowned, so I just had to guess what they did, well I suppose it didn’t matter what Skill I picked, so I picked [Battle sense] since it sounded the least boring and a panel appeared.

You have chosen [Battle sense] for 10 Skill points, are you sure you wish to proceed? Yes/No?

Note: Skills cannot be changed at a later date

I hesitated, but I was only level 1 and if the Skill sucked then I could just get rid of the class and start over with different Skills so I selected yes.

[Tactician Lvl 1] Skills points: 0 Skills: [Battle sense Lvl 1] Skills available:

[Motivational speech] - 10 Skill points

[Convenient Environment] - 10 Skill points

I smiled; I had a Skill now, my first step of actually doing something, before I was just going with the flow, but now I'd chosen something. Now I just had to figure out what the Skill did and how to use it. I tried selecting [Battle sense] again and this time it actually had a description.

[Battle sense] Increased awareness of your allies, enemies and neutral parties

Well damn I’d been hoping for something that told me where fights were happening of maybe even predict when they would happen. Irritated I picked at the ground in front of me, digging shallow holes with my claws. Might as well try it, no harm in that.

Testing how to activate it I thought [Battle sense] and suddenly the world took on a faint blue tinge. It was so slight I barely noticed it at first until I looked at the blacksmith and saw a faint red sheen covering him. It was barely noticeable but somehow I could still sense the red even with my eyes closed. I looked down at the ants and they had a light greenish glow around them. I almost laughed; I had ants as allies.

Experimentally I followed their trail to the hole in the wall, beyond that there was a vague green aura but it was so faint I could barely see it when I squinted, I suppose that was the limit of the Skill at level 1. Well it wasn’t entirely useless but not exactly useful right now either.

Thoughtfully I watched the ants; I’d unlocked the class playing with them so I should also be able to level it with them. Peeking another look at the blacksmith to make sure he was occupied I started building a defences along the ant train, walls of scrap and twigs, and I dug furrows on either side to make trenches. I leaned back to survey my work but no panel appeared and the ants didn’t seem to care that I’d defended their position.

Honestly it was a sorry defence, and who was I even defending against? A spider would easily be able to get over that so it was kind of pointless. Frustrated I leaned back, its not like there was even a counter or some way to see if I’d gotten any closer to level 2. Maybe there was a book on how to level [Tactician], I could ask Aron, but I hated admitting he knew more than me. Scowling I slightly slapped the side of my face; I really needed to get over myself, if Aron knew then I should just ask him.

I yelped at the sudden hissing sound and explosion of steam as the blacksmith put something glowing hot into the water trough.

“If you can't keep your trap shut, get out, I don’t need you distracting me” he barked at me before turning back to his work.

Cautiously I stood up and inched my way to the door, when he didn’t stop me, I opened the door and left, breathing a sigh of relief when I closed the door. I suppose as long as the teacher didn’t find out I wasn’t doing my apprenticeship, it would be fine.

Standing on the doorstep to the smithy I looked around a bit lost, I couldn’t go back to the Stag’s Crown for a few more hours and Aron would be busy with his apprenticeship.

The smith’s forge was near the village wall so I wandered up to it, the last buildings stopped roughly 5-10m away from the wall, leaving a stretch of land with short patchy grass before the wooden palisade started. Looking both ways, there weren’t any people at this part of the wall, walking up to the wall, there were engravings on it too and I rapped it with my knuckles. No reaction, but the wood was thick and the poles had been planted deep into the ground. It had rudimentary scaffolding on the inner side so people could walk along and look over the top, but no ladder or stairs in sight.

Walking to one of the support beams for the scaffolding I put my hands on it and tried to shake it. It didn’t move an inch, satisfied; I looked around, still no one here.

Testing my claws on the wood, they sunk in without a problem. I grinned, they might be short and stubby now, but they were sharp. Experimenting with how much weight they could hold I eventually put my feet on the beam and attempted to climb.

The moment I let go with one hand to reach for the next hold, my other arm gave out and I slipped to the floor landing on my feet and managing to keep my balance by swinging my arms briefly. My claws had held up fine but it seemed like I didn’t have the upper body strength to climb. Determined I tried again, trying to move as fast as possible, which didn’t get me much further before slipping back down.

Irritated I kicked the pole, which caused miniature reverberations and nothing else except a throbbing toe, which I ignored as I refused to jump around on one foot.

Thoughtfully I looked at my boots and flexed my toes in them. My feet also had claws, so I sat down and pulled off my boots and socks, standing up to experimentally dig my toes into the ground, I looked back at the pole. I tried climbing again and this time digging my foot claws into the wood. It worked surprisingly well since my legs could support my weight and after a few mishaps I got the hang of it and made it to the top.

Climbing onto the scaffolding and look across over the village. I could see most of it from here, if had to guess there were maybe 300 buildings in total with people milling about their daily lives and the wall curving around the whole village. There were 3 gates that I could see, the main one I had come through, a similar one at the opposite end of the village and a little on a bit further from where I was.

Turning I went to the edge of the wall and looked out over the grasslands. It looked so peaceful, with the tall grass swaying in the breeze, a few trees and boulders dotted around the hilly landscape as a few dirt paths and a slow running river meandered through.

Looking away from the idyllic scene I prepared for what I’d come up here for. Standing at the edge of the scaffolding I looked down at the 2m drop I had climbed up. My boots, stuff with my socks, were neatly nestled against the pole. Taking off my shirt I stood there in my thin sleeveless undershirt, which allowed my wings room to spread. I dropped my shirt onto my boots and stood there cautiously flapping my wings. They really did not look like they would support my weight at all, but if I had wings, then they must be functional in some form.

Taking a deep breath I leapt off the scaffolding spreading my wings wide and flapping a hard as I could. I dropped like a rock and managed to just about catch myself on my hands to stop myself from eating dirt.

Reddening slightly I looked around to make sure no one had seen that. Relieved no one was here I stood up and brushed off the dirt, well it seem like my initial assessment was right, I had felt some resistance in my wings, but nowhere near enough to hold my weight to fly.

Maybe I just didn’t have the right technique?

Trudging back to the Inn bruised and dirty having attempted many different ways of flapping my wings with varying decreases of no success, I was tired and annoyed with a pounding headache.

The bell rung as I opened the door to the Inn and Jak yelled, “Get to the kitchen; there’s dishes waiting for you Sasha”

My tail dropped, damn I’d forgotten about my restaurant duties. Walking into the back I rolled up my sleeves and passed Hitch who was busy chopping vegetables while Jak was adding something to a large pot.

Aron wasn’t back yet, so it was just me washing up in silence, taking care of dishes that had piled up from lunch to get ready for the dinner crowd. The bustling of the kitchen soon faded into the background as I focused on scrubbing the dishes attempting to ignore my aching body and head. I really shouldn’t have thrown myself off the wall that often.

I could feel my headache getting worse; it was like a constant thudding pain that refused to go away. With renewed vigour I scrubbed harder, I just had to get through this evening and then I could sleep and it would be fine.

“Hey Sasha, you never believe what happened today” Aron appeared at my side and I jumped looking trying to focus on his sparkling eyes and wide grin in his blurry face. Gradually I noticed he had a faint green tinge as suddenly the headache disappeared and I felt incredibly light headed. I dropped the sponge and let the cup in my hand sink under the soapy water in the sink, gripping the side of the sink, the blue scales turning a few shades lighter.

Was I on the floor? I looked at Aron’s distorted panicked face as he gripped my shoulder, when had he come closer? Something was wrong with the kitchen; the sounds had changed from a steady hum to hurried noises, but I couldn’t really make it out, everything was disjointed.

My head hurt. Blearily I opened my eyes, a panel appeared, but I couldn’t focus and willed it away. My whole body felt as if it had gone through a meat grinder, my mouth was dry as I tried to swallow, moving around hurt but I managed to turn my head to the side. Aron was sitting on his cot with Jak and leapt up looking relieved and frustrated. I tried to say something but my mouth wouldn’t cooperate.

Suddenly he looked away but not before I saw the hurt in his eyes and he ran out slamming the door.

Confused I tried to sit up but my arms could barely move let alone support my body weight.

“That was a stupid thing you did” Jak commented calmly watching me. I looked over at him and furrowed my brows, what was he talking about?

“Skill strain isn’t a joke, I don’t know what you were trying to achieve, but next time talk to me before you try to kill yourself. I know you must be going through a hard time, not knowing where your family is, feeling abandoned since no ones come for you, but I need to look out for my grandson”

Kill myself? Skill strain? What was he talking about? I hadn’t, I wouldn’t, did he think I was that upset about no one coming for me, I knew exactly why no one came since everyone I knew was in a different world.

“I’m not trying to be harsh here, but you can’t stay here if you’re going to pull a stunt like that again”

Anger and worry gnawed at me, do what? I had no idea what he was talking about, I tried to ask but only a gargled sound came from my throat.

Jak rubbed his forehead “Listen Aron hasn’t had an easy life, his parents were killed by slavers when he was little and he’s not had many friends since. He’s a sweet boy, a bit naïve and not the toughest, but he’s taken a liking to you” he sighed looking at me steadfast “You don’t know what he was like after his parents were gone. I can’t let him go through that again, so I get it that you’re going through a hard time, but Aron is my priority and if you can’t keep it together, I need you to leave, someone else in the village will take you in, but I can’t let you be around Aron, he’s gone through enough already”

I stopped trying to speak as I looked at him, its not that he lacked empathy or didn’t care, I could see in his eyes that he thought he understood exactly what I was going through. But that he would throw me in front of an oncoming train to save his grandson, not out of spite or cruelty, but because he loved his grandson that much.

There was no hesitation or confliction in his dark brown eyes, he knew exactly what he was saying and the consequences. Steadily I met his gaze, I hadn’t tried to kill myself, but he wouldn’t believe me now and it didn’t really make a difference, he’d made his stance clear and I could respect that. I managed a slight nod, not breaking eye contact.

He nodded back, and braced himself on his knees as he stood up and looked down at me on my mattress “I’ll let Aron know you’re ok, he’s a good judge of character so I’ll trust you for now, but no second chances” he paused impressing that on me, I met his solid gaze before he turned away, seemingly satisfied and walked out, closing the door behind him.

Looking at the ceiling I tried to digest everything that had happened and what Jak had just told me. They thought I’d tried to kill myself, the false accusation stung and I felt angry and vulnerable that I couldn't defend myself. I was still unsure of how they thought I’d done it and on top of that, learning about Aron’s past, my chest ached for him. He seemed so bright and cheerful; somehow I’d hurt him, after losing his parents like that, he must be terrified of losing someone else. Guilt welled up inside me, a torrent worse than anything I’d felt here, claws digging into my hands I might have drawn blood as I swallowed harshly trying to stop tears from spilling over.

Slowly the door opened and Aron stood in the doorway looking at me, but not coming closer, his face was grim and angry but his eyes revealed betrayed hurt. Struggling I opened my mouth, forcing every bit of strength I had into forming words I croaked out “I’m sorry”

He seemed to break down at that and ran over, tears spilling over “No I’m sorry, I should have noticed and done something-“

Guilt was clawing out my insides, he was the victim here and he was apologising to me for not helping me with a non-existent problem when he’d gone through horrible things that I had made him relive.

“No” I bit out, somehow moving my hand to grip his wrist, trying to squeeze to press my point home but doubting I could exert much pressure “My fault” I rasped out.

He stopped blubbering and looked at me before wiping his eyes and looking at me, I could see he didn’t believe me and started to apologise again. Narrowing my eyes I attempted to glare at him “No” my voice was quiet and croaky, but firm “My fuck up” I really couldn’t manage sentences, pausing to breath in “You helped me” swallowing with a dry mouth as I tried hard not to break eye contact “Thank you”

He looked ready to restart the water works but I dug my claws into his wrist, the pressure must have been slight, but it was the most I could mange right now “I’m sorry”

He looked like he was going to say something again before stopping and wiping his eyes dry before looking at me less hurt and more determined “Ok but promise me you’ll talk to me before you ever try to do- do it again” he stumbled over the words a bit but carried on, “I know you miss your family even if you don’t remember them, I know what its like” he swallowed hard but continued, brushing past it, “So I can be your family, I can be your big brother and I’ll look out for you, I mean if you want and until your family comes…” he trailed off a bit going red “I’ve always wanted a little sister” he mumbled getting redder but determined.

Bloody hell this situation had escalated so quickly. I swallowed and nodded, not able to form any more words, he grinned in relief, relaxing a bit “I mean until your real family comes and all, maybe you already have a big brother” he laughed a bit rubbing his neck and looking away, before turning back “But don’t worry, I’ll be a good big brother, I’ll help you with school and show you around the village and teach you everything I know and protect you from bullies” his shoulders straightened and he looked at me with such honest conviction, my chest constricted and I snorted out hot air, looking away.

Guilt still bloomed in my chest at the hurt I’d caused him, how could I let him do anything for me now? I vowed then that if he could forgive me and wanted to be my big brother, from now on I’d protect him so that neither I or bullies or anyone would hurt him ever again.