93 This Hero Begins the Assault!

"So… Does this mean I can use a heroic style?" I quickly shifted my gaze between all of the people that had surrounded me. I was smiling in excitement, but as I saw the sight of Kilin shaking his head, I quickly lowered my expectations.

"Understand this, Kenji-san, while you have the prerequisite fulfilled, this does not mean you can use the power. I am sure that Jaq has already explained how styles work, but to ensure that you are aware of this… The stronger the style, the higher its detriments. Until you have full mastery of whatever this style would require of you, I recommend never even attempting to use it. If you do…" Kilin looked to the side, his eyes contorted in disgust before he quickly looked back to me, his expression returning to a neutral form. "You could die."

Though I knew this from what Jaq had told me before, Kilin's more serious expression of this sent a chill down my spine. Perhaps it's just the frost in the air, but the concept of dying in the pursuit of power is chilling.

"I-I wouldn't be that stupid!" I quickly stood up and flipped my screen from the styles menu to the level distribution section. I have a level that I can put into something after all, I may as well use it before we go to fight.

"Hm?" I let out. Something is odd this time, unlike the normal level tree with the individual sections to push and distribute levels, now there is a web-like link between the warrior class and monk class that is risen between them and connects to a purple colored class name. Its name was something that I knew all too much about.

"What's a samurai?" Erana spoke up quickly before I could think about it too much. She had been watching over my shoulder, so this freaked me out, causing me to jump up in shock.

"Ooo! A rare class! It must be REALLY rare though since I've never heard of a 'samurai' class. Quick, check its prerequisites!" Yuna stood up and dust herself off quickly before shifting herself closely again.

Mom, dad, I'm not sure what to do. Cute girls are latching onto me. I hope that nothing weird happens. Wait, did she ask me to check the prerequisites? Oh, I should probably do that before anything uh… weird transpires.

I placed my finger upon the screen and slid it downwards. This pulled out a large amount of extra information pertaining to the class itself. It read out this:

Samurai. Prerequisites: 5 levels in the warrior class. 1 level in the monk class. Be Japanese in race.

"You should totally take it and see what it does! Rare classes give some pretty good stat upgrades, so it's worth it even if the level doesn't give you any abilities." Yuna pat me on the back as hard as she could when she said this. Despite her lean figure, her pats hurt even through my leather tunic. I shudder to imagine how much it may hurt if I don't have anything on.

Well… I am curious as to what this class does, so I may as well take it.

I placed my finger upon the icon for the class. My stats increased and I could feel my body shift somewhat. My status screen had changed, and so had my mind.

Kenji Fujima. Level 13.

Strength: 70

Dexterity: 49

Constitution: 47

Mana: 100

Magic Power: 23

Luck: 20

Experience: 1366

While it's not as if I gained a new perspective on life or anything, it feels as if I understand the weight of my actions a bit more. I can feel my connection to the sword at my hip far more than I had prior. Ways to use it fluttered across my mind. A new ability had just been unlocked for me, and I think I'll unveil it if necessary. For now… I'd like to keep it a secret.

"Impressive. A stat boost like that from a single level… I am quite envious of you." Kilin held his ashy hands on my shoulder as he looked over it to say this. His voice still grated at me, but I decided to ignore the issues it may have caused me for now.

"Yeah, you know… I didn't expect my race to matter much. Do you think it's-"

I interrupted myself. I could hear a shuffling in the grass nearby. I drew my sword quickly. My speed towards drawing my sword had increased dramatically. Perhaps this is that iaijutsu thing I heard about in history books.

"Who's there?" Yuna held her fists towards the noise. Erana scuffled behind me while Kilin was quietly muttering to himself.

"What's up? It's me, the guy!" Tael quickly stepped into our encampment without a care in the world. All the tension I had built up had just released as I saw his face. I sheathed my blade as I exhaled.

"Tael-san… I believe, is everything alright? You're here rather early." Yuna also seemed to relieve her stress as she engaged Tael in conversation.

"Oh for sure. I just really wanted those whatever you call them foods." He looked expectantly towards Kilin as he said this. I think he's drooling.

"I am out of them for now. I am sorry." Kilin bowed his head slightly when he gave his solemn declaration.

"Wha… No… NO! N-" Tael had begun raising his voice, but it was quickly stifled by Jaq placing his gorilla sized paws over Tael's mouth.

"Would you shut the hell up? Are you trying to get us killed or something?" He quickly asked in a fit of rage. Tael let out a muffled "No" in response before Jaq slowly lowered his hand and wiped it against his jacket.

"Well… that's one way for us to make an entrance." Ron stepped forwards as well. His sly smile was illuminated by the orange light of the fireplace. The shadows that flickered across his face made him appear even more mischievous than he would normally.

"Is Kany alright?" Erana quickly interjected herself. Though she didn't appear entirely worried, I could tell that she was putting on a strong persona to ensure that she wouldn't crumble into a nervous wreck.

Tael took notice of Erana's attitude and shifted his usually aloof attitude into that of someone that may actually be serious for once.

"She's fine Erana. She's in position ready to enact the plan when we're ready." Tael gave a thumbs up as he said this. His confidence seemed to make Erana relax.

"Well… in the meantime… who wants to play shiritori? I'll teach you all how to play since we have about 10 minutes before the plan starts." I chimed in. I knew that a game was probably not the best idea, but it may be the best option to keep everyone from becoming restless while we waited for battle.

Time passed as the sun went down even further. The sky glowed a rich amber in the last throes of the day…

I raised my head over the rock and activated my skill as I had before. My vision pinpointed on the shivering hobgoblins that were standing watch. This was almost an exact redo of the previous events from thirty minutes ago.

"Tael, contact Kany and tell her to start on my signal, alright?"

"Got it." The subtle noise of Tael casting the mind connection spell began.

Okay…

A new set of hobgoblins appeared, they seemed to be ready to replace the previous ones.

"Now!" I nudged Tael.

For a moment there was silence. I could hear the wind blow across the frosted field before me.

Then…

Boom.

An explosion, so large that the shockwave made my insides rumble, occurred on the other side of the camp. I could see the flames that it had caused to rise up into the air, crackling with their raw power.

"Kany's fine! She'll meet us on the inside of the camp!" Tael declared.

I drew my sword and deactivated my skill. It's time to get to work. This is our only chance to complete this assignment and I'm not about to let it slip through our grasp today.