Her Path

When the camp began to stir, tension hung in the air as word spread about the disappearance of three individuals. Even so, most pressed on with their morning tasks, preparing what little breakfast rations they had.

Sitting and waiting in the cart, Joseph turned to Tokko.
“Did you do as I asked last night?”

She nodded slowly, still curled up in the corner.

“…So? What did you pick?”

She hesitated, silence stretching, until Joseph exhaled sharply. “I mentioned this last night—if you can’t even manage basic communication, then you’re useless. More than talent, ability, or strength, I value communication. I get that it’s difficult with your circumstances, but… do you remember what I said yesterday?”

Tokko nodded and spoke softly. “Open, Honest, Loyal.”

“Good. As long as you’re open about your thoughts, honest with yourself and with me, and loyal—then I’ve no reason to discard you. You’re a long term investment so I don’t expect fast growth, but regardless, the moment you fail any of those consistently… well, we’ll have to see.”

Her shoulders tensed a little. But encouraged slightly by Joseph's words, she finally whispered, “I’m… not sure still.”

Seeing his frown, she tensed further and dropped her gaze to the ground. But instead of chastising her, he leaned back in thought. “Hmm… I’d rather you had a style you naturally gravitated toward. That’s usually best. But if you’re still uncertain, even after thinking hard—and I assume you really did think?”

She nodded quickly, eyes wide with anxious innocence.

“Haaa. Alright. I’ll decide something for now. It might not be permanent, but you need a direction to start in. Hopefully, as we go, you’ll find what really suits you. Repeat your stats again.”

Tokko pulled up her status and read it out:

Name: Tokko

Class: Swordsman

Title: None

Level: 1

Vitality: 2
Strength: 2
Dexterity: 3
Agility: 2
Magic: 0

Available Stat Points: 0

Active Skills: None

Passive Skills: None

Joseph rubbed his chin, thinking hard. Her malnourished body and bare stats didn’t help his ability to judge her best role. They’d already talked briefly about possible paths forward, but each idea had bounced off her closed-off heart, answered only with self-deprecating remarks or indifference.

‘Damn, this is tough. I hate picking for other people… Ugh. She has no confidence, clings to my word, and strives to do whatever I say. That’s fine for loyalty, but it’s an issue when she has no self-goals or drive.

Still, that makes her stable—safe. The question is: what role?’

Scratching his head, he envisioned many regular roles or classes, closing them off one by one.

‘I could use a tank or close-combat fighter, someone to be up close and person to draw their attention while I shoot from further away. Her stats don’t fit something like that yet, but that doesn’t matter—she can assign points later and aim for specific classes.

… maybe an agile tank/bait style role: dodging, deflecting, countering weak points, maybe with debuffs like poison?’

Not immediately dismissing this idea, he expanded on it. ‘With no set weapon there’s lots of options to test. And if it doesn’t suit her, we can change her path later as many of the stats and skills would transfer well anyways.

It all comes down to skill and courage… and that’s the problem. To throw yourself against monsters knowing one slip means death? That’s not just strength—that’s will. Can she do that? Maybe… Maybe not.’

After cycling through dozens of possibilities, Joseph settled.

“Well… if you’re fine with me deciding, I’m thinking you’ll take on an agile front role. Bait the attacker. Draw attention, dodge or deflect attacks, and punish weak points—joints, eyes, whatever.

Your main stats will be dexterity and agility, with some vitality so you don’t drop dead from one hit. Strength or magic depends on what classes open up.’

Tokko clenched her fists and nodded, hesitant with fear-filled eyes. “I’m fine with anything useful to you. I’ll live up to your expectations.”

Joseph shook his head, glancing around the dim chamber. “That won’t be hard. As long as you try and communicate, that’s all I need for now. I don’t care how ‘talented’ you are. Talent can be supplemented. Trust and hard work—that’s priceless.”

Stretching back, he continued. “Well, that’s the plan. Now we need to find you a weapon. Sword, spear, daggers, throwing knives—your role’s versatile, so plenty could fit. Once we’re out of the dungeon, we’ll test a bunch and see what sticks. Ever done kendo? Watched action movies? Anything like that?”

She shook her head quickly, clutching her arms as if for comfort, avoiding eye contact. Joseph let it drop and stepped out of the cart. With Han on alert and the shadow Rukvar near the cart, he set off for a jog to clear his mind and refine his ideas.

A few hours later, the group finally emerged from the suffocating labyrinth into open grassland. Relief swept through the party, audible in their collective sighs and gasps. While Lianhua organized supplies, Han gathered the core team together.

After a quick catch-up for Che and Logan about the group, Han brought up an earlier agreement he had made with the two. Addressing them directly—leaving Joseph and Tokko out for the moment—he spoke with his usual confidence, though a flicker of worry crossed his eyes.

“So… have you both made up your minds?