Everyone needs a group. While some may disagree, and some may excel on their own, Thomas did not believe he was one of those people. Should he be able to function independently? Yes, absolutely.

That was why he had chosen the sword. It didn't rely on the group. But he also didn't want to be on his own. Everyone needs some kind of support network to succeed, and Thomas wanted to find his.

With that goal in mind, he set out looking for people who could watch his back in combat. People who he trusted, and people who he thought could hold their own in a fight.

In his mind a wish list began to form for the ideal party. If classic video game logic was to be followed, a party should have a baseline of four players at least, and five as the ideal.

The ideal four base players would be some form of a tank, a ranged attacker of some kind, a healer, and a melee fighter who focused on dealing damage, like a swordsman.

The five player template would generally ideally consist of a tank, a mage, a ranger, a melee attacker, and a healer. The ranger would often function as a scout, reporting threats and then harassing a target, as the wizard focused on pouring on damage, with the melee attacker getting into the fray and the tank protecting the mage and healer, who's role was self explanatory.

Thomas knew that he clearly fell into the melee attacker category, and that the first order of business would be to look for a Ranger.

He scanned the crowd again and again, searching for a familiar face, and finally his eyes landed on Jack, who was conveniently enough carrying a bow.

Hustling over, Thomas waved his hand in the air at Jack, who smiled and returned the wave.

"Hey Jack," Thomas said, then added, "Not exactly 7th period, huh?"

"Nope," Jack replied, chuckling at the thought of this being some kind of regular class. "How are you," he asked.

It seemed that even in what seemed like an alternate reality, the automated niceties persevered. "I was thinking of forming a party," Thomas said, then waited for Jack's reply.

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Jack's lips curled slowly upwards into a grin, then he responded, "I'd love to join your group."

Thomas let out a sigh of relief. Him and Jack had been close friends since first grade, and having him watching Thomas's back was a comfort.

"Who else do you think we should join up with," Jack asked.

Thomas paused. "I think we should hook up with Alyssa," he said, much to Jack's relief. Alyssa was another one of their close friends, and a great person to be around, the type who could light up even the gloomiest of rooms.

They spent several minutes look for Alyssa, but eventually found her. Quickly they walked over to her spot, where Alyssa was sitting with Alex, another of their friends.

"Hey guys," Alyssa said, grinning, as she waved her hand and conjured a mana orb, because, you know, magic.

Thomas laughed, then said, "Well, I guess that shows us what class you picked."

"Yep," said Alyssa, beaming. Her choice didn't surprise Thomas, and he had a hunch that a lot of people had decided to go for the caster. The prospect of being a powerful wizard was just too enticing for some to pass up.

After some more small chat, it came into light that Alex had, pleasantly enough, chosen to be a healer. A healer was absolutely one of the best picks for someone who wanted to party up, since they would always be needed, and no party would ever turn down a healer.

That left just one spot to fill, and Thomas knew who to fill it with. There was absolutely no doubt in his mind that Jake Hudson, the footballer of Thomas's friend group, would have chosen the tank class, and when he found Jake some time later, his assumption was confirmed.

Jake quickly agreed to join their party, and the group was formed.

Now it was time to get into the nitty gritty, the fine print of their group. They had formed, but now they had to decide on things like loot distribution, where they would return to after going hunting, and how to handle conflicts.

Thomas, along with the rest of the group, quickly decided on a need over greed system regarding items, at least at first. If an item popped up that would be more useful to the caster of the group, then that's who it would go to.

Assuming the System awarded some kind of currency, they would distribute it evenly among all of the involved members of the party.

If someone was on their own and killed something they were entitled to all of the spoils from the fight.

In regards to finding a home base, the clearing might have seemed like an obvious spot, but that was the problem. There were a thousand kids in the area, and who knows? Some of them might try to pilfer the group's loot, and others might go a step further.

With that in mind, they decided to look for a clear spot to set up camp, and go from there.

In group problems had a simple solution. Since they had 5 people, simple democracy should work fairly well, at least until a clear leader emerged.

And with that, it was time to go hunting.