The First Story (3)

~ A Month Later ~

Arthur dodged a sword strike, turning his whole body left. His eyes swerved between the two swords, scanning the trajectory path of both sword strikes; he unsheathed his own blade parrying both attacks, before kicking both Ruben and Morgen in the chest. 

They both retreated a few paces, regaining their composure. 

"Cap'n sure is a beast. It's been a month and we still can't even scratch him and the worst part is the gap between us keeps growing even further." Ruben smiled, getting into a fighting pose again.

"Talk for yourself you filth, I'm the one who made him draw his sword." Morgen scoffed, also getting into a fighting stance. 

"Both of you shut up and come at me." Arthur stopped their talks before it could escalate into another quarrel.

He had been training his soldiers for the month and they all had grown to respect him. All of them had gotten stronger, not only them Arthur's own stats had broken passed 20, giving him new found strength.

"Alright that's enough for today. Go get ready and tell the others, we'll proceed with our journey today to the Kallen Kingdom. The commander has finally given us a mission." Arthur flicked his sword, sheathing it back into his scabbard. 

"And both of you good work." Arthur smiled, patting them both on their shoulders and walking away. 

"The Cap'n just smiled at me. Of course he was content with my exceptional abilities. He was shocked by my improvement. Hahahaha!" Ruben flicked his blonde hair, doing a flashy pose. 

"That was to me! You really wanna go?" Morgen retorted back, his face red.

'Status Menu Open.'

[Name: Arthur Grimm]

[Class: Peerless Librarian]

[Physique - 25]

[Mana - 0]

[Strength - 25]

[Bookmarks - 0]

[Skill(s) - Mental Library (D), Librarian's Gift (S)]

Arthur looked at his stats and was happy. At first, he grew worried, in the story he had read, after a week, the commander issued Damien a mission to go to the Kallen Kingdom. However, it had already been a month and only now did that order arrive.

Maybe this plot change was a blessing, he didn't know the consequences of the plot changing but it was providing him benefits, shouldn't he be happy? And although Arthur had to act tough as their leader, he genuinely enjoyed his time with the soldiers. He had become their squad leader at heart.

Arthur opened up the scroll in his hand. This was the order sent by the royal family to head for the Kallen Kingdom; this meant that he was at the build up of the story to the climax. 

Soon this quest would be completed.

**

As the carriages moved forwards, the soldiers all chirped happily. Since their new captain had joined, their lives had gotten a lot better. Although they hated the strict regimen he set for them consisting of training everyday, they were grateful for this. 

The 13th Platoon had been reborn. From once only consisting of rowdy soldiers with no goals and dreams apart from drinking booze and messing around, to an organised and motivated party of over 200 soldiers, Arthur had completely revamped the squad.

"Okay men, keep your eyes and ears open. We'll be entering the Wallowing Woods now. Protect these carriages with your life. We need to get these goods safely within the Kingdom walls." Arthur commanded. 

"Long live the Kallen Kingdom." They all said in unison, putting their right fists to their hearts. 

The deserted woods lay shrouded in an eerie silence that seemed to stifle even the whispering of leaves. Nature had claimed dominion here along with the abundance of wild mutated beasts. These woods were a place where time itself felt forgotten, a realm untouched by the march of progress.

As daylight struggled to penetrate the dense canopy, the forest floor remained in perpetual shadow, with dappled sunlight casting a feeble, flickering glow upon the gnarled roots and moss-covered stones. It was as though the very earth itself held its breath, as if daring not to disturb the spectral ambiance.

'Let's hope my luck isn't horrible and this story becomes even more out of line than it already is.'

Arthur took a deep breath stepping forward into this desolate place, that no human dared enter. From what Arthur remembered, there was even a dragon that inhabited these woods.

Within this chapter, there would be a horde of Beast wolves that would attack them at night. Their sheer number would cause all of Damien Lorde's soldiers to die, making him go to the kingdom empty handed. He would then be awarded a medal for his bravery and promoted to the Queen's Guard. So all Arthur had to do was survive the hundreds of wolves in the night, and reach the kingdom walls, the conditions would be met.

Arthur was in a pickle, firstly, he didn't have a mere squad of 10 soldiers like in the book. He had a whole platoon of warriors with him. Should he let them all die to allow the plot to retrack? What were the odds the plot would return back to its original course even if he did let them die. 

These people felt too life-like. The power of this S Rank skill was truly scary. It made him question this fake reality.

Arthur's 13th Platoon of men all walked onwards along the path, one hand on their weapon, and their sense wary of every sound made along the way.

Suddenly, Ruben and Morgen both pounced upwards towards the canopy and clean slicing sounds could be heard as several monkey looking beasts were killed. 

Even they didn't dare speak, as they also feared what was in these woods. 

The journey went on till dusk and the sun had set. Arthur had scanned the surroundings once more already feeling a sense of danger building up, an ominous feeling in his heart like before, when he was with his sister.

"We'll set up camp here, half of you keep watch whilst the other will rest. We'll swap over mid way through the night." 

They all nodded beginning their work.

**

It didn't take long till the preying wolves had surrounded them sneakily. Of course Arthur knew this, but he didn't know if he wanted to save his platoon members or not. 

"Men! In formation! We're surrounded." As Arthur's voice resounded, like it was the sound to start their attack, the wolves all charged in out of the darkness of the woods.

Arthur unsheathed his sword, slicing through several of the wolves with ease. By now the soldiers had all also begun jumping into the battle, working in groups to clear the hordes of wolves that were incoming. 

"Cap'n there are too many! What should we do?" Ruben gritted his teeth, looking back at Arthur for some help, but shock filled his face as he saw how his captain was shredding through the hordes of wolves like a machine on a mission 

"Why you complaining? If you die because you're weak, that's your own fault." Morgen mocked his rival, slicing another wolf down, "But the boss really is in a realm of his own."

Arthur danced around the battlefield; he was trying to use this opportunity to boost his stats even further as they raised the most after pushing the body.

Finally the Alpha of the Pack decided to join the fray as it slashed at Arthur.

Awoooooo!!!

Arthur leapt to the side, running towards the wolf in a zigzag. He leapt into the air spinning before slicing side ways at the tendon of one of the wolf's limbs. It shrieked in pain, gnashing its teeth towards Arthur. 

The wolf swung again, this time catching Arthur by surprise. He leapt backwards dodging the claw, but a deep gash formed on his chest as the sharp claw had actually pierced his chest plate into his skin. 

Arthur grimaced, launching forward this time sliding under the wolf's belly and slicing its internal organs open, killing his target. 

He got up from his bloody battle, his chest heaving. 

['Physique' has increased 25 >>> 26]

['Strength' has increased 25 >>> 26]

ROOOAAARR!!!!

Another deafening sound, reverberated, shaking the whole atmosphere itself. The ground shook and the trees shifted in fear. 

'Well we're all going to die.' Arthur laughed internally at the pitiful situation.

Did the plot have to get messed up this much?! This was his first story, and he had been following the plotline to the dot. 

What went wrong? Was this a drawback of the skill?