Second Life as a Soldier

Varric’s POV

Class: [Savage Warrior]

Level: 51 / 100

Mana Cultivation: Tier 3 – 0%

Physical Attributes

Constitution: 115

Strength: 125

Agility: 40

Spiritual Attributes

Intelligence: 25

Wisdom: 20

Willpower: 60

HP: 1150

HP Regen: 280 per day

MP: 2000

MP Regen: 105 per hour

Class Skill

[Relentless Advance (A)] – Level 65

[Crushing Cleave (A)] – Level 52

[Deadhand Toss (UC)] – Level 40

[Mounted Pursuit (UC)] – Level 15

[Harshland Survival (UC)] – Level 50*

I stared at my status with feelings of pride, anger, and frustration.

My class, [Savage Warrior], was a great class. While I did not gain any new class skills, I could feel that the synergy between my skills had increased. The class trial proved it. My skills flowed without any issue during the trial, even when the battle was one of the hardest I had ever fought.

More than that, the conditions I faced in the trial reminded me of the day I was captured by the Royal Army.

The only difference was that if I had the same amount of fighting prowess that day as I had during the trial, I would not have been captured and thrown into this miserable life. I would have either died honorably or escaped from there.

I clenched my fist and cursed that day. That fucking day when I lost everything important to me. The day behind all my anger.

After that, I was humiliated and sent to lick the boots of a noble who would die in less than ten minutes in the wild. Barry was right. I was afraid to die. If I was not, I would have lopped off the head of that Fenward motherfucker the day I saw him.

Sure, I would have died because of the oath or at Walter’s hands, but that would have been a satisfying death.

The day both Walter and Fenward died was one of the happiest days of my life. It was not just because they died, but because of the decision I made that day. I had decided to make life hell for the next noble I was assigned to, and maybe even kill him if I got the chance.

Only to get assigned to the source of my frustration: Edward.

He led in a way that left me unable to take out my anger. Heck, he had yet to use the mana oath on me. He was so fucking hard to read that even after two years, I still did not know what he would do next.

Sometimes, he hated nobles as much as I did, while still treating a young master like Peter as his closest man. He took the hard path to prove a barbarian innocent, when most nobles would have killed him just to avoid pissing off other nobles. Yet at other times, he himself behaved like a noble looking down on almost everyone.

Edward did not show it openly, but I could see it in his eyes. That look he got when he thought he knew far more than any of us could understand.

Funny enough, I had seen him use that same look even on the noble kid, Peter.

So when I sparred with him and won, I expected him to use some cowardly method against me, maybe arrange for me to be attacked by beasts when no one could notice.

But nothing came.

What came was more absurd: freedom and a new weapon. He did not even ask to spar with me after developing Mana Arc. I was sure he could defeat me with it, maybe even more easily than I had defeated him. But there was no effort to prove that he was stronger than me. No effort to regain his honor against a bandit like me.

Fuck nobles. Even I would have tried to win back my honor if a subordinate of mine, or one of my father’s men, had defeated me.

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Since then, my leveling speed had increased to something I had never seen before. But instead of feeling satisfied, I waited for a demand from Edward, something that could justify all this freedom to progress.

So when Edward asked us to join his unit, I knew that was what he had wanted all along. A long play to make us all his slaves.

If not for that slimy fucker Barry agreeing with Edward, I would have attacked him then and there.

Worse than that, Barry was proven right. Nothing changed after joining Edward’s squad, except we no longer feared getting hurt by the mana oath.

No matter how much I denied it, the only reason I got a class upgrade, and not just a cap increase to my previous class, [Raider Captain], like my old man did, was Edward. He did not just give us freedom. He taught us mana skills and made the whole squad better fighters.

My thoughts were interrupted when Edward walked into the barracks, his eyes searching for something. So when his eyes stopped on me, I knew the bastard already knew about my advancement. Him and his fucking senses. I just sighed.

Without a care in the world, he strode closer to me.

“Congratulations, Varric. Just from the mana around you, I could tell you got a good class,” Edward said with a smile on his face, offering me his hand to clasp.

He was so close that with my recent increase in strength and mana, I could deal a huge amount of damage to him. Maybe even kill him.

But as usual, I did not act on my thoughts. Instead, I just nodded and clasped his hand with force.

By now, I knew I would never act on them. Acting against Edward after he had only helped me would be just as cowardly as the nobles of Avalon, the same nobles I had been taught to hate my whole life.

“Come, let’s spar,” Edward said, smiling from ear to ear.

This time, even I grinned and said, “Let’s.”

There was nothing better than a spar after a breakthrough.

“Get your hammer,” Edward said as he picked up his own shield and spear, and we both hurried to an open yard.

Facing Edward, I swung my hammer through the air a few times. It felt lighter than yesterday. Not just my hammer, but my whole body felt lighter.

As Edward readied himself, I jumped a few times in place.

As soon as Edward made eye contact with me, signaling that he was ready, I jumped forward, closing the distance with a speed that surprised not just Edward, but even me.

Not missing the opportunity, I swung my hammer at his chest. Using his superior agility, Edward moved to the side and deflected my attack with his shield.

Usually, this type of deflection would require more time for a counterattack, but this time, I did not need it. I planted my feet firmly on the ground and brought my hammer down on Edward using [Crushing Cleave (A)]. While this skill was effective with a spear, I had modified it to work better with a hammer.

Sensing danger, Edward created a mana shield above his head and moved backward, creating distance between us.

My hammer destroyed the mana shield like it was made of thin glass and struck the ground with enough force to create a crater. But the fraction of a second that flimsy mana shield had bought was enough for Edward to compose himself and counterattack.

Edward moved his spear, sending a mana arc toward my shoulder.

The bastard was going easy on me.

In anger, I did not dodge his attack, nor did I block it with my shield. Instead, I swung my hammer at the arc and destroyed it completely.

Then, like in our previous spar, I dropped my shield and rushed at Edward with [Relentless Advance (A)]. But this time, my advance was interrupted by a mana shield appearing in front of my chest.

I struck it with my hammer and destroyed it.

Then, with my next step, another appeared in front of my legs. Once again, I swung and destroyed it. Every step I took, a mana shield blocked my way, but instead of frustration, a grin appeared on my face.

What Edward did not know was that as long as I could keep attacking, the force behind my attacks would also keep increasing.

Edward kept taking steps back, blocking my path with mana shields, and I kept pushing him into a corner. In a few seconds, I had him where I wanted him. He had no place left to retreat.

I looked at him, grinning, ready to finish the spar.

Edward matched my grin.

Then, instead of stepping back, he stepped forward. When he took the next step, a mana shield appeared beneath his foot.

Suddenly, Edward was walking up into the air.

After getting over my initial shock, I attacked the mana shield to bring him down, but by then, he was already high enough to jump over me, giving himself the whole yard again to retreat and keep probing my defense.

In frustration, I threw my hammer down.

Edward had come a long way from his initial Mana Arc and mana shield combo.

“You are a bastard whose sight makes my blood boil,” I said, though nowhere near as angrily as before.

I knew if I went after him again, he would start mixing his mana arcs with mana shields, and I had already used one-third of my mana.

“Thanks. We will consider this a tie,” he said with a smile, which reminded me of Barry.

Maybe Kael was right. Edward needed to stop spending so much time with that slimy prick.

“Your speed and strength have grown a lot. I think once you get used to your advancement and gain some levels, you might be able to win against a veteran Tier-3 from the army,” Edward said.

I grunted, once again getting frustrated by his happiness over my advancement.

Edward moved toward the barracks, leaving me where I stood. Only when he realized I was not following did he stop and turn back.

“Come. I have an announcement to make to the whole squad,” he said before resuming his walk.