Chapter Eighteen: Reluctant to Be Slaughtered

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Night had fallen, and the camp atop the hill was illuminated by the flickering campfire. Having eaten and drunk their fill, and with time still early, Eric did not return to his tent but instead sat beside the fire, occasionally tilting his head back to gaze at the star-studded sky above.

Leslie had long since gone to sit elsewhere, leaving only Eric and two nuns by the fire. Both women ate much less than him and ate slowly; after filling their stomachs, they sat quietly for a while.

Looking down, Eric happened to see Sophie leaning toward Alina, whispering something in her ear. The latter, unusually troubled, whispered softly, “It’s probably not convenient here... let’s hold on for two more days.”

Sophie looked dejected. “Alright...” she replied.

“What’s wrong?” Eric asked.

Alina glanced at Sophie, who kept her head lowered, and said, “She wants to take a bath.”

There were no facilities for bathing in the camp. Nearby, Eric couldn’t see any rivers or lakes suitable for washing.

But...

Eric thought for a moment and rose from the fire.

Soon after, he returned with a village woman who had helped prepare the food, standing before the two nuns.

“This lady’s home has a place for bathing.”

The middle-aged woman was very polite, both honored and eager, inviting the two nuns to bathe at her house, and even suggested they stay there if they wished.

Sophie had already agreed silently, her wide eyes betraying her inner thoughts.

Alina also had no reason to refuse, especially since she too desired a proper bath — she couldn’t even remember how many times she had run back and forth through piles of corpses during the day.

“Thank you for your kindness.”

Thus, the two gladly accepted the invitation and followed the woman away from the camp temporarily.

“Now I feel like taking a bath too...” Eric murmured.

Watching their figures fade into the darkness, Eric glanced at the stars before sitting back by the fire.

After a brief moment of daydreaming, he suddenly remembered something and opened his status panel.

After having cleared all the undead in the mine shaft that afternoon, both of his classes had reached level 18, and all his attributes had increased significantly.

Besides that, he still had 16 free attribute points waiting to be allocated.

What he now needed to study was how to assign these points.

The attribute growth from leveling up was considerable and increased more as one progressed. Take the “Devout” class line as an example: at first tier, each level grants +1 Spirit and +1 Faith; by the second tier, it becomes +2 Spirit and +2 Faith. This did not even include the attribute bonuses from subclasses.

The greatest use of free attribute points was to adjust the ratio of these automatically gained attribute increases.

For instance, if he invested some free points into Faith, then the level-up bonus would shift from +2 Faith and +2 Spirit to +3 Faith and +1 Spirit.

In the past, assigning points was never an issue for Eric. Ten years of experience had made him intimately familiar with the key attributes for every class, whether mainstream or unconventional—he could allocate points perfectly with his eyes closed.

But now, even staring hard, he hesitated.

First, because he now had two class lines.

Second, because the considerations went far beyond whether a single strike would critical hit.

“Two class lines, so split attribute points between the two,” he thought.

For the “Devout” side, he definitely needed to invest in Faith to shift the primary attribute bonuses toward it.

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Faith directly influenced divine magic, meaning more effective healing and stronger buffs. Not to mention his other goal of becoming the successor to the Saintess, which made higher Faith all the better.

What gave him pause was how to allocate points for the other class line, the “Valiant.”

Strength, Agility, and Constitution.

They corresponded respectively to damage output, mobility, and endurance. For a melee fighter constantly on the edge of bloodshed, every attribute was crucial and difficult to sacrifice.

He wasn’t playing a game anymore; survival in combat was paramount.

But survival took several forms:

Kill all the enemies.

Run fast enough.

Not die when hit.

He quickly discarded the last option; if given a choice, he certainly didn’t want to be chopped up.

From that perspective, focusing on Agility seemed the best choice: agile and nimble, able to strike quickly and flee just as fast.

However, if his speed was high but strength insufficient, his attacks would lack impact—merely light scratches that could not penetrate defenses. That was another kind of embarrassment.

In the world he came from, this meant base damage was weak, heavily reliant on equipment and external boosts.

…Hmm?

Eric paused.

External boosts?

He had those!

Not to mention physical equipment, he could apply buffs to himself.

His past experience was both a help and an unintentional cage—he had always restricted his combat thinking to a single class line, forgetting he was actually a dual-class powerhouse.

Dude was an NPC!

Eric slapped his thigh as a sudden realization dawned.

After some thought, he concluded: since he had two class lines, he should fully utilize their respective strengths—rely on the Devout’s buffs and fight with the Valiant’s skills.

Eric was already well versed in all the swordsman archetypes—after all, they all hacked and slashed—so his focus shifted more toward the cleric side.

There were many subclasses under the Devout: the healing-focused “Light Priest,” the support-oriented “Oracle” who strengthened allies and weakened foes, the damage-dealing “Holy Flame Priest” who cast fire spells at enemies but could also heal teammates.

Each subclass had varying degrees of support capabilities, even the flamethrower priests could heal allies if their holy fire landed on them.

Only one class stood apart.

That class was Eric’s ultimate choice for his upgrade target after careful consideration—the “Relentless Fanatic.”

“Relentless Fanatic” was an advanced class unlocked at the fifth tier of the Devout line, requiring the character to have attained at least apprentice status in both the “Ascetic” and “Zealot” subclasses before transferring.

Upon transfer, one could learn unique buff skills exclusive to that class, and unlock the class trait “Fanatical Grace.”

“Fanatical Grace”: All buff effects are doubled but apply only to oneself. The character is also immune to any other external buffs or healing.

The Relentless Fanatic was a unique anomaly in the generally support-oriented Devout line, arguably the most peculiar subclass among the four major class lines.

From Ascetic to Zealot to Relentless Fanatic, the entire progression lacked any decent combat skills, possessing only powerful self-only buffs.

Yet, relying solely on these buffs, the Relentless Fanatic fought even fiercer than warriors—breaking armor with a dagger or knocking paladins down with a mighty hammer.

What Eric desired were the class’s strong exclusive buffs and their doubled effects.

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The Relentless Fanatic’s weaknesses were clear as well.

This class’s physique was not sturdy; it relied purely on buffs for survival and had only limited melee attacks. More critically, these buffs usually carried negative effects that could only be removed by killing enemies. If kited and the buffs’ positive effects expired, the character became vulnerable—even a priest would dare to strike him. During the weakest moments, he couldn’t even receive healing from allies.

But Eric was different. The base attributes stacked from his two class lines would reach terrifying levels after buffs, combined with the flashy pursuit and dash skills from the swordsman line, no one could kite him—he would be the one doing the chasing, provided he didn’t want to kill.

“I just don’t know how the church in this world views the ‘Relentless Fanatic’...”

Eric recalled how, in his previous life’s game, the church NPCs had a complicated attitude toward this class:

On one hand, they were reluctant to acknowledge such extreme killers as part of the church.

On the other hand, all the skills of the Relentless Fanatic could be learned right in the Holy City, and the church NPCs taught them freely—unlike other subclasses, which required a series of pre-tasks or finding hidden NPCs scattered far and wide.

The church needed the power of Relentless Fanatics to purge heretics and offered all support except public endorsement.

Yet, they worried the class’s notorious reputation would harm the church’s image, so they denied any connection beyond shared faith.

“…Forget it, can’t guess for sure. Better wait for the senior nun to return and test the waters.”

Even if Eric chose this career path, he wouldn’t be able to transfer until level six, so there was still plenty of time.

But having a clear goal removed hesitation in point allocation.

He split the remaining 16 free attribute points evenly between Agility and Faith. Upon confirmation, his existing attributes adjusted accordingly.

Strength, Constitution, and Spirit decreased somewhat, while Agility and Faith rose significantly. The immediate effect of increased Agility was a noticeably lighter, more agile body.

As for the boost in Faith...

“Leslie—”

“Yes, my lord?” The captain of the guards by the other side of the fire immediately rose upon hearing his name.

Eric clasped his hands together in a prayerful gesture, eyes fixed on him. “Do you feel I’ve become more devout now?”

Leslie was silent for a moment, glanced around, and not seeing the two nuns, leaned closer and whispered, “Is something wrong, my lord?”

From the moment Leslie spoke, Eric knew he had asked the wrong person.

He really was foolish—Leslie was less devout than he was; how could he tell?

“Nothing.” Eric waved his hand. “Forget I asked.”

“Very well...” The captain returned to the other guards, suspicion heavy in his eyes.

Eric, meanwhile, acted pragmatically, casting a “Prayer.”

[You have received Yera’s Blessing: Strength +3, Agility +3, duration 6 hours.]

The numbers had indeed increased.

Two points were based on the current class rank, while the additional one point came from Faith bonuses—every 50 points of Faith granted +1 bonus, just like in the game from his previous life.

Eric clenched his right fist, feeling the shift in his attributes.

This was only the most basic buff.

When he learned more divine arts and stacked countless buffs upon himself, that would truly be the moment Faith’s true power manifested.