I played for a bit and didn't quite understood that return to the hub meant that I had to restart from lvl 1 (i read to quickly your itch.io page). But I really like the strategy of the combat :)
As of right now it's may be a bit to repetitive and the return to the hub is a bit frustrating but I quite like the idea of returning "home" to get stronger before the next battle. Just wish it impacted more the gameplay in order for you to really get past fast the first ez round and really get the feeling of "I am stronger now" (like you improve your horse man and now he can do a super attack or something like that not just stat upgrades).
Congrats for the game :)