My previous class had been built around [Applied Military Theory (UC)], which meant the core function of my new class would be determined by whatever it evolved into.
[Memory Recall (UC)] + [Applied Military Theory (UC)] → [Operational Cognition (A)]
Type: Cognitive / Tactical
Associated Attributes: Intelligence, Wisdom, Willpower
A refined cognitive discipline formed from the seamless fusion of structured military doctrine and perfect situational memory. The user no longer recalls information passively or applies theory in isolation. Instead, all observations are automatically filtered, categorized, and interpreted through a battlefield oriented framework.
This skill continuously evaluates both combat and non-combat situations as evolving operations, matching present conditions to learned doctrines, past experiences, drills, and recorded outcomes.
Effects
? Automatically classifies surroundings, behaviors, terrain, and formations using military principles such as threat vectors, lines of advance, fallback routes, and force distribution
? Actively surfaces only relevant, actionable knowledge from memory based on the current situation rather than recalling information indiscriminately
? Converts past drills, training exercises, manuals, and real combat experiences into predictive responses under pressure
? During combat, dynamically highlights:
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Optimal positioning and movement
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Known enemy behaviors and counters
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Likely outcomes based on similar past encounters
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Tactical priorities based on mission context
? Outside of combat, analyzes daily army life through an operational lens, identifying:
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Inefficiencies in routines and formations
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Deviations from standard doctrine
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Leadership, morale, and discipline indicators
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Preparation gaps that may become liabilities in battle
? Reduces cognitive delay between observation, understanding, and decision-making
Just reading the description made me smile.
This was exactly the kind of ability I had needed during my class trial, and that was the reason the two skills had combined in this way. Though the trial had lasted for less than fifteen minutes, it had forced me to juggle perception, memory, theory, and instinct at the same time. Every decision had required conscious effort. Every adjustment had demanded focus.
With this skill, that process would become instinctive.
As long as I could perceive my squad’s position and the enemy’s movements, the battlefield itself would present a tactical picture to me. Not as scattered information, but as structured understanding.
And it would not stop there. Even daily routines, formations, patrol patterns, and training inefficiencies would now be filtered through an operational lens. The army would no longer be just a place where I lived and fought.
It would be a system.
One that could be optimized.
My thoughts were already racing ahead to how I could use it in the field and find out its limits. Lieutenant Cicero had warned me during our training that maintaining continuous awareness of my entire formation, even when something happened behind my back, carried a risk of cognitive overload. This skill would only increase that risk. I needed to discover its limits before using it in active combat.
Cognitive overload begins with a dull pressure in the head as the brain’s nerves approach their limit. The earliest sign is a mild headache.
In many ways, cognitive overload is similar to how I tore the muscles in my arm while trying to kill a Tier Three Shadow Cat. The only difference is that if I push past the headache stage, I could faint, suffer temporary memory loss, or, in the worst-case scenario, fry my brain and die. And unlike muscle, the brain did not recover easily.
A person’s cognitive limit was tied directly to Wisdom.
Thankfully, mine was high.
Even so, I had no intention of discovering my limits the hard way.
If I was going to use this skill in real combat, I needed to understand exactly how much information I could process before my mind began to fracture under the load.
I closed the skill window.
Next, I checked the available skills from my class upgrade.
Unlike Awakening Day, when skills arrived bundled with fragmented memory impressions, this time the system presented them cleanly. Just names. Just descriptions.
A long list unfolded before me.
[Digging (C)]
[Lifting (C)]
[Boot Polishing (C)]
[Equipment Maintenance (C)]
[Marching Discipline (C)]
I scrolled past them without hesitation.
All of my existing general skills were already at Uncommon tier. There was no reason to downgrade my foundation.
I went through the Uncommon-tier options and compared them with my existing general skills. Compared to the long list of Common-tier skills, the Uncommon options were far fewer. This confirmed something I had read in the library. Skills progressed faster when they were part of a status window.
Some of the available skills were ones I had rejected in the past, like [Sentinel’s Vigil (UC)], which I had passed over in favor of [Perceptive Instinct (UC)]. I also saw [Intermediate Rune Theory (UC)].
Seeing both of those filled me with relief. It meant that skills I had rejected were still a part of me and could still be obtained during a class upgrade.
After some thought, I concluded that my current general skills were the perfect fit for me. But I still had one open slot left, after [Memory Recall (UC)] and [Applied Military Theory (UC)] combined.
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That was when I found the three candidates that fit my path best:
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[Mana-Projected Command (UC)]
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[Commanding Presence (UC)]
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[Battlefield Command (UC)]
All three could serve as morale-boosting skills similar to Lieutenant Fenward’s leadership ability. Among them, [Commanding Presence (UC)] was the strongest in terms of raw morale impact, but its effect would be unreliable in the chaos of battle, where my presence could be easily overshadowed by the beasts and the fear in my squad’s hearts.
[Mana-Projected Command (UC)] was excellent for carrying my voice across the battlefield, but it provided no direct morale boost.
That was why I was leaning toward [Battlefield Command (UC)]. It felt like a bridge between [Commanding Presence (UC)] and [Mana-Projected Command (UC)], combining the strengths of both.
It was far better suited for the chaos of real combat.
After some thought, I made my decision.
I chose [Battlefield Command (UC)].
[Battlefield Command (UC)]
Type: Command / Support / Mana Technique
Associated Attributes: Willpower, Wisdom
A disciplined command technique that allows the user to project orders through mana while anchoring allied morale through presence and clarity. The skill reinforces authority through reliability, composure, and decisiveness under pressure.
When activated, the user’s voice carries across the battlefield with controlled mana, while allied soldiers who hear it experience a stabilizing mental effect that suppresses panic and restores formation discipline.
Effects
? Projects the user’s voice over extended distances with high clarity, cutting through battlefield noise and terrain interference
? Allies who hear the command experience increased morale stability and reduced fear response
? Improves reaction speed and compliance to issued orders
? Reduces hesitation, misinterpretation, and breakdown of formation during chaotic engagements
? Effect scales with the user’s emotional control and battlefield composure
Once I was done reviewing my skills, I finally looked at my class description.
This was the culmination of everything I had done since coming to the fort. From trying to build a bond with the conscripts, to digging trenches, to learning how to repair both men and weapons. From taking beatings from Walter, to enduring long lectures from Lieutenant Cicero. From losing more than half my squad, to barely surviving the beast tide.
And now, I was about to see what a class with twice-increased rarity looked like.
Class: Battlefield Coordinator
A Field Sergeant candidate who has proven themselves not only through leadership, but through direct combat execution and real-time command under pressure.
This class represents a budding commander who does not stand behind the battlefield, but moves within it. The user fights, commands, and adapts simultaneously. Orders are issued while blades clash. Decisions are made while blood is still in the air.
For a Battlefield Coordinator, the battlefield is not chaos. It is structure in motion.
Through seamless integration of tactical doctrine, perception, and instinct, the user turns shifting combat conditions into controllable variables. Terrain, formations, enemy movement, morale, and momentum are processed as a single operational system.
This class excels at unit coordination, adaptive formations, and real-time battlefield control. The user’s presence increases unit cohesion, response speed, and tactical precision while reducing command delay and confusion.
On the battlefield, the user is not merely a leader.
They are the center of the fight.
Each Level Attribute Gains: Constitution: +1.5, Strength: +1.5, Agility: +1.0, Intelligence: +1.0, Wisdom: +0.8, Willpower: +0.8
I sat there for a long moment, staring at the screen. My class was powerful. There was no doubt about it.
At the Novice stage, my class had only provided a total of 1.5 attribute points per level. A direct upgrade from Novice to Initiate doubled those gains, bringing it to 3 points per level. An upgrade in class rarity, like [Tactical Leader], should have increased that to 4 or 4.5 points.
But my class provided 6.6 attribute points per level.
Finally, I exited my meditative state. I was smiling from ear to ear as I opened my eyes, but there was one more thing to check before I went to sleep. I opened my status.
XP Gain After the Beast Tide
+825 XP — Leading Night Watch
+1000 XP — Organizing drills and creating squad training plans
+2000 XP — Analyzing fortifications and supply routes
+175 XP — Healing squadmates
[Class Progression]
Battlefield Coordinator
- Level 21 → Level 22
EXP: 6300 / 6300 → 0 / 6600 - Level 22 → Level 23
EXP: 6800 / 6600 → 0 / 6900
Name: Edward
Class: Battlefield Coordinator
Rank: Initiate (T2)
Level: 23 / 50
EXP: 200 / 6900
Elemental Affinity: 0.1% Wind
Mana Cultivation: Tier 2 (0 / 100)
Mana Nodes: 0 / 7
Physical Attributes
Constitution: 40.5 → 43.5 → 46.5
Strength: 31.9 → 34.9 → 37.9
Agility: 25.9 → 28.9 → 30.9
Spiritual Attributes
Intelligence: 41 → 44 → 46
Wisdom: 31.6 → 34.6 → 36.2
Willpower: 34.2 → 37.2 → 38.8
HP:465 / 465
HP Regen: 115.3 per day
MP: 1677
MP Regen: 171.5 per hour
Class Skills
- [Operational Cognition (A)] – Level 1
- [Unbroken Stride (UC)] – Level 17
- [Flowing Spear Style (UC)] – Level 35
- [Perceptive Instinct (UC)] – Level 30
- [Vital Restoration (UC)] – Level 12
General Skills
- [Battlefield Command (UC)] – Level 1
- [Triage Ward (UC)] – Level 7
- [Rune Analysis (UC)] – Level 10
- [Fortification Planner (UC)] – Level 1
- [Logistics Routecraft (UC)] – Level 1
- [Mana Manipulation (UC)] – Level 20
- [Mana Reinforcement (UC)] – Level 40
I did not close the status window until I had memorized every line. I could also see that the increase in class rarity came at a cost. It raised the amount of experience required to level up. I did not know the XP requirements for other classes, but I knew that [Field Sergeant] required 4,200 XP to advance from Level 21 to Level 22.
Even so, that only meant that by the time I reached Tier Three, I could be considered an elite. And even if I was thrown into another difficult situation, I would have my class and my stats to back me up.
As I made my way to bed, my mind was still filled with thoughts of everything I could achieve with this class and how I would use my skills starting the next day. I did not know how long I lay there thinking before sleep finally claimed me.
The next morning, after waking and cleaning myself, the first thing I did was head to the training yard. As I began my warm-up, I felt lighter. Not just physically, but mentally as well. I had gained a large number of attributes after my class upgrade, and even processing information and details felt easier than before.
When I picked up my spear and shield, they felt light and comfortable in my hands. I trained for an hour, using all of my skills and getting used to my new gains before making my way to the infirmary to check on Leif.
I had a meeting with my new squad members in an hour, and I wanted to see Leif before that. It had been a few days since my last visit, and with my squad nearly complete, I could be assigned to any task at any time. I might even be posted outside the fort soon.
As I entered the infirmary and walked toward Leif’s bed, I saw something that made even the happiness of gaining a new class and new skills feel insignificant.
Leif’s eyes were open.
And he was smirking at me.