Second Life as a Soldier

Garran POV

I stared at my status screen and frowned.

I had been offered a low-level soldier class, [Shield Bearer], the same class both my juniors had taken. I had also been offered the [Beast Butcher] class, but I chose [Shield Bearer] for my class trial only because Edward had told us to take soldier-related classes.

So I took it.

Now my class had been promoted.

Higher-than-expected performance detected. High synergy between multiple skills confirmed. Class rarity increased.

Class Available: [Shieldline Butcher]

Class: [Shieldline Butcher]

Level: 51 / 100

Mana Cultivation: Tier 3, 0%

Physical Attributes

Constitution: 120

Strength: 140

Agility: 30

Spiritual Attributes

Intelligence: 23

Wisdom: 20

Willpower: 50

HP: 1300

HP Regen: 300 per day

MP: 1800

MP Regen: 93 per hour

Class Skills

[Fury Anchor (A)] – Level 1

[Empowered Cleave (A)] – Level 1

[Shield Clamp (A)] – Level 1

[Butcher’s Eye (UC)] – Level 40

[Skinning Knife Mastery (UC)] – Level 45

For the first time in my life, I felt something other than anger. And it was not because of the new class.

During the class trial, I had gained a skill called [Fury Anchor]. As soon as I picked that skill, something inside me changed. I did not know what it was, but I knew one thing.

It felt good.

Like I had won a battle and butchered a dozen men.

This is why I follow Edward.

During the trial, I did what he always told me to do during some of my battles. He told me to use my anger on beasts. He reminded me of things people had said and done. He reminded me of Barry making me angry and told me to use that anger to attack the beast in front of me.

This time, when I did the same thing in the trial, I got a new skill.

[Fury Anchor].

It used my anger to keep me fighting for a long time, made my attacks stronger, and allowed me to keep fighting even while injured.

Closing my status, I stood up and made my way outside. It had been four days since I left the barracks. Again, I had followed what Edward told me and stayed most of the time inside the longhall given to the squad.

They gave me good food at the barracks, and that was all I needed.

Now that I had finished my class trial, I was hungry, and the barracks would not give food at this time. So I had to go outside and eat.

“Garran! Good, you are here.”

Kael stopped midway through his sentence and narrowed his eyes at me.

I waited for him to continue.

“I thought I saw a smile on your face,” Kael said.

Then, shaking his head, he continued, “Come with me. I am meeting Barry and Varric.”

Stolen from NovelFire, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

He pushed me.

I frowned. “I am going to the tavern.”

I had come out for food, and I was not going anywhere before I was done eating.

Kael stopped in his tracks, looked at me, and sighed.

“They will be at the tavern. You can eat there. I will even pay for it,” he said.

I shrugged and followed him.

Third Person POV

At the entrance of the tavern, two figures approached. One was tall, and the other wore a hood. They were Varric and Barry.

“I am surprised to see you are still in town. Last time I saw you, you were sneaking out, hiding in a caravan,” Varric commented.

Barry smiled and countered, “I could ask you the same thing. If I remember correctly, I saw someone like you stealing a horse from one of the caravans outside town and heading toward the mountains.”

Both of them entered the tavern, which was filled with all sorts of people, from town guards to common laborers. Once they found a free table, they took it and ordered two large ales.

As soon as the ale arrived, Barry started guzzling it down as if he were dying of thirst.

“Fuck Edward! Fuck the army!” Barry said, slamming the mug onto the table. “Oh, I wanted to leave so badly. And man, I am telling you, this time I would not have been caught. I would have gone to the capital. I hear that city is ten times bigger than Stonegate, with gangs richer than these Royal Army knights. A perfect city for me.”

“Then why did you come back?” Varric asked.

“Probably the same reason as you.”

“I don’t think so. The only reason I left town was because I wanted to fucking ride a horse. You do not know the feeling of riding through the wild as fast as you can. I also wanted to know that I could escape if I wanted to. I never planned on leaving.

“Most of my tribe is dead. As for the person who killed them, he was Tier-4, not someone I could ever kill. So when I agreed to join Edward’s squad that day, I stopped thinking about leaving the army. At least not until Edward is alive,” Varric explained.

“Then no. The reason I came back was that as soon as the caravan left and I knew I was safe, every instinct in my body told me that if I followed this path, I would regret it. My instincts are the reason I am still alive, so I turned back.”

While Barry and Varric were discussing the things they had done that could have gotten both of them killed, Kael and Garran also entered the tavern. Kael searched for Barry and Varric, while Garran’s focus was only on the smell of food.

Sensing the tense conversation between Varric and Barry, Kael asked, “What is going on? Did you two get into some trouble?”

“Oh, fuck off,” Barry said.

“No, he is just whining like a fucking girl because he did not have the balls to escape town,” Varric said.

Ignoring their conversation, Garran waved to the waitress, trying to call her over so he could order food.

“Why were you trying to escape? Were you not the one who first agreed to join Edward’s permanent squad? What happened now?” Kael asked.

Listening to Kael’s words, Barry wrinkled his face as if they had left a bitter taste in his mouth.

“First of all, if I want to, I can escape anytime I want. Your golden boy has lost his touch.”

Kael cut Barry off before he could continue. “Or he just doesn’t care whether we stay or leave.”

Barry just waved his hand dismissively. “Yeah, whatever. Second, I joined Edward because, at that time, it was the best thing for me. I never said I would not leave if I got a better chance. What, do you think I have sworn loyalty to Edward like Varric?”

Kael looked at Varric in confusion. As far as he knew, Varric had never sworn loyalty to Edward.

Realizing it was just a jab Barry had taken at Varric, Kael shook his head and answered, “Pretty much. I don’t see how leaving, especially escaping, would help me. With how fast Edward is rising through the army and the connections he is making, by the time he retires, I might end up in a better position than I would have after retiring as a town guard.”

“What do you think, giant?” Barry asked Garran.

“I will have a full roasted chicken, four steaks from the cheapest magical beast, and one large jar of ale.”

Garran, completely unaware of their conversation, was busy ordering his food.

Once he finished ordering, he looked at Barry, but Barry just turned his head to face Kael and asked, “What about the newbies? Do you think they will also stay with Edward?”

“I don’t know about Silas, but the other four are not smart enough to even think about leaving. And why would they want to leave? All five of them have military-related classes now. Escaping would mean even reaching Tier-3 would become harder for them,” Kael said.

Finally, at the mention of Tier-3 classes, Garran joined the conversation.

“I also got a Tier-3 class,” he announced.

“Hmm, that’s weird. For some reason, I sensed a little less danger from you today than I usually do.” Varric frowned and tried to feel the mana around Garran. “But the mana around you has definitely increased. I hope you got a good class.”

Garran nodded.

“Well done, giant,” Barry said.

“Yeah, congrats,” Kael added.

Unknown to Edward, his experiment had worked.

While most members of his squad had never even thought of escaping or doing something that would get them into trouble, the one who had tried to escape came back because of a sudden change of heart, and the other one left town, went horse riding, and returned without anyone knowing.