Second Life as a Soldier

As much as I wanted to spar with Walter and test myself, the day had just begun and I already had work waiting. The outer trenches were finished; now we were moving to the mid-line.

Before anything else, I went to inform Sergeant Fenward about my breakthrough. He didn’t look pleased, more confused than anything, but he dismissed me quickly, saying he wanted to confirm a few things with the lieutenant later.

After that, I reported to Sergeant Holt for the morning meeting. Now that the outer trench lines were complete, he’d be debriefing us on the mid-line work. I arrived a few minutes early to mention the breakthrough, it wasn’t required, since he wasn’t my direct superior, but it didn’t hurt to let him know.

“Congratulations on tiering up,” Holt said.

“Thanks, sir,” I replied.

“You did good work these last five days with the conscripts. Keep that up when we start the mid-line trenches and the inner ditch.”

I nodded as we waited for the others. One by one, those with sapper experience gathered. Sergeant Holt stood near the map table. When everyone was in place, he unrolled a rough sketch of the trench lines and began his briefing.

“From today onward, we’ll start on the mid-line trenches,” he said. “Basic design follows the outer line, with some adjustments, the outer lip raised three to four feet. Mid-line needs proper finishing since these sections will be manned. We’ll add wooden watchtowers, four to six meters above trench floor, built from repurposed pine logs bound with iron nails and hemp rope. Each tower will hold two to three men, spaced sixty to eighty meters apart.”

He paused to glance at the men, then tapped the map with a finger. “For low-flying or jumping beasts, we’ll hang rope nets between towers and place sharpened poles about three meters high behind the trench, tied with tar-coated ropes to disrupt dive attacks. The mid-line is critical for slowing the beast tide, but escape routes from the mid-line trenches are just as vital. These defenses will be manned with reduced crews and are expected to be abandoned once beast pressure reaches the breach threshold. Personnel will withdraw through designated escape routes into the inner kill zone. Any failure of these paths will result in severe casualties among retreating mid-line units and the inner defensive squads.”

We went through the finer details and dismissed the meeting. Work on the mid-line would start after lunch.

Knowing I had three or four hours free, I thought I might find Walter for a sparring session. Luckily I found him lounging in the Longhall, chewing on jerky. He looked up, frowned for a second, and said, “You broke through?”

“Yeah. How did you know? Did Sergeant tell you?” I asked.

He shook his head.

“Anyone who’s spent enough time in the wild develops a sense for mana. You’ll get there eventually,” he said. “After so many spars between us, I can easily tell your mana, and the increase in it is quite noticeable.”

“Do you think that’s how the lieutenant figured it out? He kept frowning when I went to meet him,” I asked.

“For sure. The lieutenant’s Tier 3, his sensitivity to mana is far greater than mine. If you weren’t this young, he probably would’ve said it outright instead of holding back. If my assumption’s right, he probably thought something was off, your mana changed too much too fast. Tier 3s can sense that. He might have raised his guard until he confirmed it was really you.”

“Ohh… that explains it,” I said, then with a grin added,

“Got time for a spar?”

“Yeah. Let’s go to the training ground, you’re in serious need of a beating,” he said, muttering the last part.

We reached the training ground and picked out a pair of blunt spears and training shields. The air smelled faintly of dust and sweat, the ground uneven from countless sparring sessions.

I took a deep breath and lowered myself into a fighting stance.

I activated [Defensive Spearplay (C)], letting muscle memory guide my stance, left foot forward, shield angled just below eye level, spear tip steady. Then I focused on [Mana Reinforcement (UC)], trying to push both speed and strength through the shaft. Mana surged up my arm, thrumming against my skin, but it was uneven, bursts instead of flow.

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I lunged first. The point cut straight for Walter’s chest, fast enough to whistle through the air.

He shifted half a step to the right. Just enough that the spear passed by him harmlessly. His eyes tracked my motion, calm and unimpressed. I caught the faintest shake of his head before his counter came. His spear darted forward in a blur.

The strike hit my shield dead center with a crack that sent a jolt through my shoulder. I barely held my footing. Before I could pull back, he twisted on his heel, pivoted around me, and his shield slammed into my back. The impact drove the breath out of my lungs.

I stumbled forward, boots sliding in the dirt. Gritting my teeth, I spun, set my stance again, and called up [Perceptive Instinct (UC)]. A faint buzz filled my head, awareness expanding with increase in Mana capacity my range is also increase. With the skill active, I could feel the intent behind his movements, the faint shifts of mana before each strike, letting me predict where his spear would go.

But when he came in again, I realized just how much faster he was. His speed far outstripped mine. I tried to thrust toward his midsection, hoping to create an opening or catch him off guard.

He met my spear halfway. His weapon angled just enough to catch mine, gliding smoothly along the shaft. In a blink, my spear was pushed aside in a rising arc, leaving my right arm exposed. His follow-up came instantly, the edge of his shield slammed into my ribs.

The air burst from my lungs. I staggered back, pain flashing across my side.

We reset. I pressed harder, relying on speed, mana pulsing stronger through my veins. My spear blurred through a flurry of strikes, each meant to test his guard. Walter deflected every thrust, his spear moving with small, efficient motions. Every time I closed the distance, his positioning forced me to retreat.

Fifteen minutes later, I was on the ground again, gasping for air, bruises burning along my arm and ribs. Walter hadn’t even broken a sweat. His stance never faltered, balanced, calm, almost bored.

He extended a hand to pull me up. “Looks like you’ve unlocked [Mana Reinforcement (UC)]. Congrats,” he said flatly.

“Yeah. A whole lot of good it did me,” I muttered, rubbing my shoulder.

“Having talent doesn’t mean you’re not a fool.” His tone carried the calm annoyance of a disappointed teacher. “I was hoping you’d pick up on what I have been trying to show you by now, but after reaching Tier 2, I doubt you’ll pick up what I have been trying to show you, so I will spell it out.”

He exhaled sharply.

“You’re a fool because you keep trying to combine every skill you learn,” he continued. “You’re only thinking about [Defensive Spearplay], trying to combine it with other skills like [Mana Reinforcement (UC)] to force an evolution. But your core spear technique is still weak, very weak. You know about spear masters and sword masters, right?”

I nodded, catching on immediately. I’d learned about them from Colin after arriving at the fort, elite specialists who served as personal guards to fortress captains. Most were peak Tier 3, specializing in countering sneak attacks and capable of holding their ground against Tier 4 warriors in close combat for a while.

“They’re called that because even without mana, their technique with a weapon is so refined they can fight an average Tier 3 using nothing but weapon skill. So why are you so focused on mixing your basic spear skill with everything else,” Walter said, “instead of improving the spear itself?”

“I think you’re right,” I admitted, lowering my spear. “After getting all these mana-based skills, it felt like that was the right path forward.”

“You’re not the first to make that mistake,” he said. “There’s no perfect way to progress skills, but when it comes to weapon mastery, technique always comes first. Combining comes later.”

“Come on, let’s start again.”

I groaned and stood, raising my spear. This time I activated only [Defensive Spearplay (C)], removing the distraction of other skills. I focused solely on reading Walter’s movements, trying to learn from his technique.

We sparred for another forty-five minutes before he finally called it. By then, I was covered in bruises. While I was recovering, I decided to ask him about mana cultivation in Tier 2. I wanted to avoid repeating my previous mistakes of trying to figure everything out on my own.

“Hey, Walter, any advice on cultivation in Tier 2? The lieutenant told me I shouldn’t have rushed my advancement. He said I could’ve crippled myself, and also told me to stop cultivating for now. So I thought I’d ask your advice before I make another big mistake.”

He hummed, thoughtful. “Hmm… you did advance too fast to Tier 2. I hadn’t expected that. But he’s right about warning you not to cultivate until you reach the Initiate Class. As for Tier 2 cultivation, you’ll soon get a meditation technique from the library. Tell me, can you sense all seven nodes?”

“Yes,” I nodded.

“Then here’s some advice,” he said. “Meditation techniques will suggest starting with nodes that match your build. For example, a warrior usually clears the Heart or Solar Plexus node first; a scout focuses on the brow node; and intelligence units tend to start with the crown node at the top of the head. There are many examples in the library.

“But for you, I’d recommend starting from the bottom, clear the node at the base of the spine, then the one in the lower abdomen. That’ll give you better stability and increase your agility. The crown node might suit you in theory and could increase your mana capacity, but you already have a huge amount of mana. Since you fight on the front line, your agility lagging behind could be fatal against mid or higher Tier 2 opponents.”

I absorbed the information Walter had given me and made a note of it, but another thought lingered, the fact that I might not level up my class for some time. I still had five more levels to go, and with little fighting expected until the grand beast tide, my leveling speed would remain slow.

Pushing those thoughts aside, I spent the next two hours recovering from the beating Walter had given me, using [Minor Restoration (C)]. Only after that did I head for lunch.