156. Interlude - Takis

156. Interlude - Takis

Takis was facing the hardest, most stressful moment of his life.

He never had an easy life, his fate was determined by having the Scholar class while living at the edge of the wilderness, where nothing was more important than direct combat capability, forcing him to fight for every scrap. The forced migration only made things harder for him until the day fate finally gave them a savior.

Holy Crusader.

Ironically, his life didn't get any easier after that. By virtue of pure luck, he had noticed the presence of his old steward mixing with their poor group which triggered a chain of events that ended up with him as the leader of their little group.

Their little group was not that little anymore, creating a new challenge for Takis. Leading all of them, balancing the resources, arranging the logistics, leading their tactical arrangements; and, in the process, constantly explaining to the stronger warriors why they needed to stay as a part of the formation rather than going forward recklessly.

Sadly this wasn't a discussion that got easier as their levels got higher. Takis was aware that it was not his achievements that earned their respect, but the fact that he was the sole connection to their mysterious supporter. Even if the Holy Crusader didn't show up again, he continued to provide their group with Advanced Skill Stones, weapons, and even occasional Stat stones; every single one, a treasure that they could never have touched otherwise.

Afraid of losing that support, the others assented to his leadership, leaving Takis with the responsibility of working harder than he ever had in his life. He wanted to excel, but not because he was afraid of losing his position.

For once, he was making a difference.

Then, came another challenge. Finally, a real mission from the Holy Crusader, to which the whole group responded with enthusiasm. Some because they wanted to pay back the great favor, others because they wanted to prove themselves so they could get even better rewards.

Takis knew it wouldn't be so simple. Any issue that the Holy Crusader would actually require their help with would be dangerous. Maybe dangerous enough to cost them their lives, but Takis still accepted.

It was his chance to do something important with his life.

Even if it killed him.

At one point, he was sure that it would be the end. One last valiant struggle as the cultists slowly weakened the town which was already lacking its leader and its elites. The soldiers were still confident that their precious baron would return to save them, but Takis knew better. A mere baron could never face the army that surrounded them in the open field.

It would take a miracle to save them . and a miracle, they received.

Takis knew that the Holy Crusader was strong. After all, he had single-handedly saved them from a group of cultists and had safely led them away when they summoned one of their monsters. When the Holy Crusader used magic to ignore the siege, he suspected that his understanding of the Crusader's power might have been inaccurate.

Then, he started chopping down summoned monsters, the kind that required a small army and several minutes to take down, with just a few blows, forcing Takis to adjust his understanding even more, making him realize that, by sheer coincidence, he might actually have joined an organization that a Scholar like him had no business being involved with.

And, that was before the army returned, led by a Priest that broke the siege single-handedly.

Takis was facing the hardest moment of his life, because he stood in front of the Holy Crusader and the mysterious Priest while they stayed silent for almost ten minutes, examining the scouting plans that Takis had prepared on their request.

At the same time, judging his value. Takis just stood still, doing nothing as he waited for them to state their judgment. It was supposed to be about the plan, but Takis knew that it was also a test of his worthiness.

"This is garbage," the Priest suddenly exclaimed, and Takis flinched, his heart sinking. One call, and just like that, all of his hopes were gone. Maybe he shouldn't have been surprised. After all, he was a mere scholar. He wasn't worthy of being in the same room with such exalted beings.

[Stat Potential Awakened: Charisma

Accept / Reject]

A miracle. He accepted it immediately, hoping that he could somehow use it to bargain. An awakened stat was important. Maybe, just maybe, he could bargain with them to protect his men.

He was afraid of who would lead them once he was gone.

The miracle turned out to be a useless one. At this point, the weight on him was heavy enough to prevent him from speaking. He tried to use his new Stat to somehow counter it, but he didn't have one of the rare classes with free points. And, without any free stat points, it was helpless.

Lord Crusader raised his sword, but Takis refused to close his eyes, waiting for his end.

"Enough, Euon. He has more than proved himself," the priest spoke as he threw his hood back, revealing an old man.

Just like that, the weight over him disappeared, yet, his mind refused to start working. For once, his thoughts stilled.

"Hey, I told you he's a nice kid," the holy crusader answered and removed his helmet, revealing an even older, unfamiliar man.

No, not unfamiliar, Takis realized. He looked similar to the lord steward, but not close enough to be brothers. Maybe cousins? It wasn't the most important thing to focus on, but Takis still focused on that.

He would faint otherwise.

Takis looked blankly at the hand that was pointed at him. "Sorry about that, kid," the holy crusader said as he grabbed his arm and lifted him to a chair. And, Takis felt a glass in hand. "Drink," he said.

Takis followed it, and a burning sensation covered his throat, the burning sensation leaving him coughing and wheezing. But at least, his mind started working once more.

"W-what's going on," he stammered.

"Well, we needed to make sure you're trustworthy before we could reveal some important facts to you," the holy crusader said. "Like the fact that we're not actually followers of some sun god. It's just a ruse to keep the military from bothering us while we save lives."

"I see," Takis said, which was technically a lie. He didn't. His mind was still not working properly.

The holy crusader no, not holy crusader, but Euon continued. "Now, let's meet properly. This is Zolast, a priest and the guildmaster of the Dawn Hammers "

"Not for long," Zolast cut in. "Mahruss is ready to take over."

"Never, no stealing my officers, old man. I need him to run the casinos. I can't have him dealing with a bunch of useless nobles all day. He's important."

"Hey, if I'm old, you're ancient. And, I don't have time to tend to the guild with this church nonsense. What if " Zolast started to answer, and Takis found himself listening to a pointless argument filled with insults, while he watched, determined to wait until the world made sense again.

It had to start making sense soon.

Right?