Chapter 4: We need to prepare for war!

It was a dark room, with no light coming from the closed window, as the Village Chief held a meeting with the Village Elders.

"Chief Solan, what did you summon us for?" A woman Elder asked

Being on the council of Elders didn’t mean that they were old. It simply meant that they contributed greatly to their village and could have a say in its future.

"Elder Trena," The chief spoke. "One of the guards managed to find a body belonging to the Typhon Tribe."

"What?!" One elder stood up and slammed his palms into the round table in one motion.

"Elder Lars, please, lower your voice," Solan asked politely.

"I apologize, Chief Solan, but if the Typhon Tribe was spotted in our land, then they must be planning something nefarious."

"I agree." Solan nodded. "According to the guard, the tribesman attacked Kanan. Unfortunately for the man, our gods were watching over Kanan and protected him by striking the intruder down with lightning."

"Bless the gods." Another woman elder muttered under her breath. The others heard her and nodded in agreement.

"I’ve already alerted the Guards. Security has increased along each gate, and the warriors are prepared in case we are suddenly attacked out of nowhere."

"And the boy?" Asked the woman elder.

"He’s okay, Elder Nala. Healer Yala already checked on him, and he’s healthy."

They all breathed a sigh of relief. Losing a Tribesman, especially in these times, was difficult. Their future depended on the next generation, so it was their job to ensure that the future generations were able to thrive.

"For now, we’ll continue as normal. There is no need to alert the public to this. I don’t wish for them to be scared. I’m sure they will realize that something is wrong with the increase in security, but I’m sure they’ll understand."

"Chief." Elder Warren, who had been silent this whole time, spoke.

"Yes, Elder Warren?"

"We need to prepare for war."

Another elder slammed his fist into the table. "Elder Warren! War is the last thing we need!"

"Elder Hal, you’ve seen what happened last time the Typhon Tribe attacked! We were unprepared, our forces were overwhelmed, and we lost a lot of our kin that day! Think about Isa!"

"Keep my daughter’s name out of your mouth!" Elder Hal’s voice went quiet, yet his presence was still threatening, and lightning started to crackle between his fingers.

"Enough!" Chief Solan barked. He stood up and walked to the door. "There will be no war, and we will not strike first. We are already suffering as it is. I will not lead our people into senseless battle. This meeting is adjourned."

The Elders stood up and followed Chief Solan out of the room, leaving Elder Warren alone, where he slammed his fist onto the table, splitting it in half.

---

It was noon when Kanan returned, greeting the guards as he walked into the village. Kanan carried a boar over his shoulders, and for some reason, it wasn’t heavy for him. Well, it wasn’t light either, but it wasn’t difficult to carry.

"Nice hunt, Kanan! A boar isn’t easy for someone who isn’t a dedicated hunter. Your skills are the real deal!"

"Thank you!"

"Haha. No problem, kid. Now go inside. Don’t wanna have your aunt worry too much about you."

"Right." Kanan rushed back home to find his Aunt cleaning up the hut. There were dried mud stains from Kanan’s late-night return.

"Oh, welcome back, Kanan. How was you—Woah, a boar?"

"Yeah. I was hunting rabbits today, and I spotted a boar. So, I killed it. While I don’t know if this will have as much meat, I can say that it will taste better, to me at least."

"I like the taste of boar as well. Can you put it outside? I will skin it later."

Kanan opened the door to leave. "I can skin it."

"That’s kind of you, but I don’t want you working too hard after getting injured.

"I’m fine, Aunty. Healer Yala said I was okay as well."

A smile crept onto Glena’s face, and she stopped what she was doing to look at him. "Kanan, I’ll skin it, okay? Go and play. You already hunted, so let me do this."

Kanan thought it was best not to argue since Glena was only looking out for him. "Okay. I’ll see you later, then."

"Take care, sweetie."

---

Strolling around the village was something Kanan enjoyed doing. It was a nice way to clear his mind, enjoy the scenery, and mingle with his fellow villagers.

During his stroll, he came across the village smithy and saw the head Blacksmith slamming his hammer into a slab of bronze.

Bronze was something that the villagers managed to secure via mining. It wasn’t to the extent of creating buildings; instead, it was used for weaponry. A blacksmith saw to creating weapons for the guards, hunters, and warriors to defend the village and secure food.

Bronze striking bronze rang from the smithy as heat caused the smith to be drenched in sweat. His muscles bulged with each swing, his concentration as sharp as a knife, and his form was perfect.

Kanan watched the man work, fascinated by his skill. It was an honorable job, being a blacksmith. One where a person would work with pride.

Kanan wondered what type of blessing he would get. Being a blacksmith wouldn’t be so bad in his eyes.

[Registering Role - Blacksmithing. Tap for more details.] The system window appeared before Kanan’s eyes. When he tapped for more details, tons of ways to do metalwork flooded his eyes.

It was a treasure trove of information.

"T-This is...No way! I could learn any role at this rate! This is truly the blessing of Lord Nemean!"

Kanan was so lost in his own world that he didn’t notice people staring at him in confusion.

’If I can gain information like this, then my knowledge will be unmatched, wouldn’t it? Wait. Could this be what the system was talking about, learning multiple roles before my blessing ceremony?

If that were the case, then Kanan understood why it wanted him to do such a thing. His mission was to save his village from destruction. What that destruction was, he did not know. But if learning the roles of his village would help save his people, then he would stop at nothing to learn them all.