My class Death Knight is just barely legal…

I awoke with a terrible headache. Honestly, for a moment I was convinced a rabbit was jumping inside of my skull. I hadn’t had a headache since... I couldn’t even remember.

I opened my eyes groggily, staring up at a brown tarp that hung above my head. I was laying down, I realized. Rather comfortably, too. Someone had been kind enough to support my head with a cushion.

Above my head, a system notification was buzzing. My head hurt too much to read it, though, so I waved it away for now.

I struggled to sit up, and realised that I was up to my neck in casts and bandages, which limited my movement. I scoffed. As if I needed these anymore. Though I appreciated the efforts of whoever had taken care of me, their work hadn’t exactly been necessary. Not with dark form taking care of me.

Sure enough, as I ripped the bandages and casts right off of my body, I found my skin to be unmarred, no scars to be seen. It was somewhat creepy that dark form found it necessary to heal every single nick, scar or patch of dry skin, but I wasn’t the type to complain. Luckily, my jaw was angular enough and my shoulders were wide enough so that nobody confused me for a girl. Maybe I should cut my hair soo, too.

Wait a minute...

Why was I here again?

I tried to recall what had happened before I woke up in this tent, only for my head to start pounding again. I wasn’t used to pain anymore, dark form prevented it. Why did I feel pain now? Had some kind of skill been used on me?

Despite the grueling pain, I wasn’t discouraged and continued scouring my memory, until, eventually, the haze cleared. Repressed memories flooded into my mind, and several scenes played out in my head. The bloodlust, that made me feel like I was drowning. The responsibility of leading others, being responsible for their survival or, more accurately, their deaths... Finally, my failure. The little girl I had set out to protect, only to ultimately fail in the face of overwhelming odds.

My failure stung. However, I was still alive. That could only mean one thing: I had bought enough time and the dry man had awakened.

I chuckled, relief washing over me. The voice I had heard at the end... its usual lazy drawl twisted into a tense, infuriated whisper. Thinking back on it now, that had been the moment the tides had turned. A shame I hadn’t been there to see it.

My headache had subsided enough for me to get up, so I jumped upright. After resting for who knew how long, I was filled with energy. Furthermore, I was curious as to the specifics of the war’s outcome.

I found my possessions stashed inside of one of the tent’s rickety wooden chests. Equipping my bracers, scabbard and spatial pouch, I then took the black rags I had been wearing throughout the war out of the box. Unsurprisingly, they had been ruined. This cheap piece of clothing was originally meant to prevent me from standing out, but that was a moot point now. My original armor would have to do.

I thanked its creator for the quick equip property, and swung one of the tent’s cloth entrances open, before making my way out.

An older lady with only half a face was just about to approach the tent with a basket filled with cleaned bandages, only to encounter me in the process of leaving.

“Hold on there, young man! Where do you think you’re going?! You’re wounded, you blithering idiot!” she chastised.

“Got a healing skill, lady. Now leave me alone.” I replied gruffly, lightly shoving her to my right. She continued to protest, but I paid her warnings no heed and explored the rest of the encampment.

It was depressingly empty, showing just how many classers had perished in a single major battle. The camp had been filled with more than ten-thousand men and women before. Now, only one out of every three tents had an occupant or two. Apart from logistical personnel, though, everyone was celebrating. The merry cheer was infectious and many had already become blackout drunk, despite it being the middle of the day.

I sauntered through the rest of the camp, getting an occasional greeting from people that recognized me. I even came across a few people I had commanded myself. Two of them apologized for running away when the tier 5 arrived, but I waved them off. I would have done the same, had I not been in a position of responsibility. It was strange how those positions felt far more restrictive than my chains could ever be, and I wasn’t sure leadership was for me. Forget about lack of talent, I just didn’t enjoy having to tell people to throw themselves into a meat grinder.

Eventually, I reached the centre of the camp, where the main tent still proudly stood. I nodded to the two classers that were standing guard and entered through one of the flaps. Thankfully, they hadn’t stopped me. That could have been embarrassing.

Inside I found, lo and behold, the dry man himself. Surprisingly, he didn't look any different. He still wore the brown clothing he had before, along with a straw hat. He still had the same stubble and unkempt hair... Honestly, if there was any difference compared to before, it was that he now seemed... at peace. I couldn't feel his mana anymore, so he seemed like any ordinary father you might come across on the street.

Maria was sitting on his thigh while he read her a book. A different one, this time, though it still looked like a fairy tale of some kind. Additionally, the three generals were also present.

Dullahan was nursing a wound at his waist which hadn’t healed yet, but Olgierd and Ash looked no worse for wear. The trio looked happy they finally got the chance to relax, it seemed, though Ash was still signing stuff on a separate desk. I guess ending a wat took just as much paperwork as starting one did...

As they noticed my entrance, only Maria was surprised. The other four had noticed my movement from a kilometre away, no doubt.

“Arthur!” she shouted happily, before jumping off of her father’s thigh and running over to me. I picked her up for a hug, since her demeanour made it clear I wasn’t getting away without one. It reminded me of my family. I supposed I could go visit them in a few weeks...

The dry man was the second person to address me.

“Arthur, my boy! I see you’ve recovered. No surprises there. Thank you for your work until now. Personally, I would’ve run away before the war ever started!” he said jovially, as if it was no big deal.

I groaned, gently putting Maria down. She re-joined her father, happy as pie.

“Yeah... I’m not sure what got into me either. No offence, but usually I put myself first. Maybe I’m sick?” I asked rhetorically, actually considering the possibility.

The dry man chuckled, well..., dryly.

“Good thing this sudden ‘sickness’ appeared right when I needed your help, then!” he laughed, before turning serious. “No, when we needed your help. Without you, my Maria would still be locked up on her own and I would either be dead or doomed to my previous struggles. Relying on you was a gamble, but you paid off and then some. Don’t doubt that I’ll repay you for this, kid.” He said sincerely, before bowing his head. Maria cutely followed his example after seeing what her father was doing.

I tried to wave them off, feeling slightly awkward.

“Don’t worry about it.” I responded lamely, embarrassed.

“As for that sickness of yours... Don’t try to avoid that feeling. I did, for many, many years. Only now do I see that kindness is a strength, in its own way. Funnily enough, that was what my trial was about...” he murmured to himself. “Think about it, kid. What if you end up with a trial like mine one day? Won’t you thank yourself for not giving up your humanity, then?”

I nodded. This sudden change could be the result of my meditation, after all. I could be a sign that I was healing. I wouldn’t deny this part of myself. Not until I had explored it fully, at least.

“Yeah, I’ll take your advice on that front.” I assented. “That being said, do I need to fear any... retaliation from abyss watcher’s people?” I asked. If the abyss watcher sent any of his soldiers after me or my family, I would be in trouble.

In lieu of a response, the dry man just laughed.

“Listen kid, I’m tier 7 now. How much do you think is left of that faction? Take a guess...”

My eyes widened, realising what he was implying.

“You mean...?”

The dry man grunted and kicked a steel chest my way. It slid across the dusty ground and reached my feet. Curiously, I opened it.

As I slowly lifted the metal lid, its locks clicked open. Its lid opened halfway and, immediately, I realised some kind of dread settle over me. My very essence trembled as I stared into the ceaseless void that had the shape of a featureless head. Any details escaped me as I was entranced by the strange spectacle I was seeing. I couldn’t take my eyes off it. It felt like... like something was there. Like everything was there... If I could just peer a little deeper...

Suddenly, someone wrenched me back and the lid slammed shut, the locks reengaging.

Rage filled me. So intents was my fury that my hand went to me sword hilt and I nearly activated my onyx chains, only to suddenly realise what I was about to do.

I shook my head, and my surroundings came back into focus. I stared incredulously at the dry man, who was chuckling at my plight.

“Finally snapped out of it have you? That was on quite another level as the abyss generals, no?” he asked, while comforting Maria after the sudden scare I gave her.

“T- That was...?” I stammered.

“The abyss watcher’s head, yes. Don’t worry, he’s very, very dead. I made sure of it. His generals, along with just about every tier 4 soldier of his, have joined him in his fate. His armies lie decimated.” The dry man explained. For a man wearing a straw hat, he sure managed to intimidate others easily.

I sighed, frustrated that I had fallen for his crass joke. I took a seat on a nearby chair and closed my eyes, happy to let the old bastard have his small victory.

A few minutes passed, everyone content with the silence. A single question still gnawed at me though.

“So... what’ll happen to the between lands now?” I asked.

Despite the... unfortunate events that had befallen me in this territory, I did quite like the place. Dark mana flowed through it like a river, invigorating me with every breath. Its environment was pretty monotonous, but I had found the people that lived here fairly agreeable, overall. They were predictable, I guess. All psychopathic murderers, sure, but as long as they kept to killing others of their own kind, I could see past that.

I suppose fighting by their side might have made me a tad too biased, though. There were many people here that deserved none of my sympathy or time.

After a moment of silence, the dry man answered.

“Hah. Well, first of all, the between lands will become mine in their entirety. The west, the east and Necropolis... All of it.”

Really? Even more war?

Seeing my face turn sour, the dry man just laughed even more.

“Such is the law of the strongest. Our law. Don’t worry, I won’t ask you to fight again. Not like anybody can hope to resist this change anymore, anyway. Necropolis’ major will give me the keys to the city on his own, and the east is a dead zone, ironically. After the takeover, I think I’ll try to make this place a little better, for when maria inherits my little kingdom when she’s grown.” He said fondly.

At least his priorities were still on his daughter.

We fell silent again, so I decided that now would be a good time to reopen that system notification.

Ding! Combat finished. Congratulations on reaching [Hollow essence Knight] level 46!

I almost shot up out of my chair when I read my new level. Level 46! That’s 27 levels in one go! Was that even possible?!

I chuckled to myself. Of course it was. I had lost count of how many classers I had killed, not to mention the tier 4. Unfortunately, wars like this wouldn’t come around often, and the later levels took more work to ger. Who knew how long it would still take to reach tier 4? Still, this was a fantastic start. Almost too good, even.

After some deliberation, I decided to continue dividing my free points equally across my physical stats. I had considered putting some into wisdom, but after my recent changes, I wanted to take it one step at a time on that front.

After the points had been allocated, I felt my body swell up with even more power. As of this moment, I could probably go toe to toe with an average tier 4, based just on my stats alone, because they had all gone up by more than 300 points each, while my mental stats had increased by more than 100.

Name: Arthur Titles [Dark prodigy] Class: [Hollow essence knight] LVL 46 Strength 815 Constitution 815 Dexterity 815 Intelligence 268 Wisdom 431 Affinity 653 Free stat points 0

Skills:

Passive:

[Overloading combustion core](11%), [Dark flow sight](14%), [Cascading mana-intrusive Swordsmanship](29%),

[Sapphire Mental palace](N/A),[Dark Form](62%), [Crawling road](3%), [Weak mana sense](N/A),[Blackened essence(formative)](0%), [Hollow essence return](4%), [Essence lifespan](0%)

Active:

[Ghost apparition](37%), [Corrosive mark](8%), [Relentless orbs](12%), [Sword laser](5%), [Onyx chain wind](10%), [Aura step](69%), [Hollow manifestation](5%)

My skills had seen some improvement as well, though none were that close to evolving yet, unfortunately.

With a satisfied smile, I waved the status screen away. Things were about to get even better, after all.

With a shit eating grin, I levelled a stare at the dry man, the first tier 7 existence that I had ever had the chance to interact with.

"So about those rewards..."