[Reputation +10 with Victoria Grandersil]

[Level up! You have reached Level 4!]

[You have 5 stat points to allocate!]

The two of us are sitting at the same firepit as earlier. The sun had set some time ago, what little light came from multiple torches and only a handful of magical lights. Victoria thanks me for the furs and the meat, but I'm just glad they could be of use. I offer to cook the meat as well, but she looks toward one of the wagons and sees a hand wave.

"Our cook has it covered. He'll make a stew out of some of the meat. For now, we'll use the pelts as blankets and the hides for bedding." The three ladies I met earlier are distributing the pelts and hides, Kona is happily skipping back to bring the meat over to their cook.

"Is there anyone here with an Appraisal Ability?" I ask, but she shakes her head.

"I know Mika has it, but none of us here have it." I guess I'll be doing my optional quest anyway. I add 2 points to arcane and 3 points to dexterity, pushing it to 20.

[DecaStat reached: +1 skill]

I open the menu expecting to see the large list of skills and am suprised to see it drastically reduced. A notification appears above it.

[Due to your current status and gameplay, the pool has been reduced.]

Interesting. It seems like as we progress, the game will slowly funnel us into the type of play that suits us best. I skim through the list real quick and notice that I certainly am more interested in the ones left behind. There are a few, like Power Strike and Sweeping Slash that are more geared toward Strength type weapons. They leave an outlet in case we change our style or want options. That thought process doesn't concern me, however, and I distill my reduced pool of skills further down to three.

[Stealth I (15SP) Self/ Visually blend in with the environment. Does not reduce sound. Lasts 10 minutes/you attack/you are attacked/or otherwise detected.]

[Stance/Fencer (10SP/3SP per 2 sec)

[Requirement: One-Handed piercing weapons Self/ Deal +.5*Dex Total damage until effect is dismissed. No other abilities can be activated at the same time.]

[Recall Thrown (5MP+10SP) 50feet/ Teleport a thrown Main-Hand weapon back to your hand from up to 60 feet.]

Stealth is always a useful Skill in almost any kind of game you'd play from RPG to Action. With the Wolf Senses I can be a pretty good scout with it. The Fencer stance would be great in combat. With my Dexterity and Agility I could probably fire off quite a few hits before the timer runs out. And Recall Thrown sounded more interesting when I first read it, but now I'm unsure about it since I already have a projectile ability that uses MP. In the end, I choose Stealth since it's more versatile and the stance doesn't mesh with my bread-and-butter Critical Strike.

[You learned: Stealth I]

I activate it without thinking, my body becoming like my immediate surroundings, "Dammit, traveler! Don't do that right next to me!" Victoria slaps my back ending the Skill, it looks as if she quickly poured my colors back into my outline.

"Sorry, I leveled up and got a new skill. Stealth."

Her eyebrow arches and a wry smile curls her pink lips, "Don't be using that in camp tonight, boy. Some of us have ways of sleeping more… comfortably than others."

I blush, redder than I've ever been in real life and avert my eyes from her direction. She punches my arm, "Ha ha! You're a funny one, Ardacen!"

[Victoria punches you for 1 damage]

[Reputation +50 with Victoria Grandersil]

I remember that my survival skill has a puny heal function and I decide to test it out too. It's too small to use during combat and it uses MP and SP, albeit a small amount of either. I grasp my arm where she hit me and the spot glows a dull dark red.

[Heal +2HP]

"Was that a healing spell? Aren't they usually white?" Victoria looks at me with genuine confusion.

"It's a Skill called Minor Survival Craft. It can do a lot of useful things like making sparks for fire, purify water, and it heals but only for 2HP"

"Can you teach it to me?"

Now there's a question that should've been asked a long time ago. Can someone teach a skill?

"I… would like to? But I don't know how."

"Okay, open your menu and select the skill from your skill list." I follow her instructions and the description screen of the skill appears. She places her palm on the back of it and holds it there for a few seconds, the menu flashes and a notification pops up.

[Would you like to impart Victoria Grandersil the Skill: Minor Survival Skill I Cost: 50XP Y/N?]

I hesitate a little bit, "Will I lose my level or does my XP just drop to the lowest it can go without me losing the level?" She furrows her brow, searching my face for an explanation. "It says the cost is 50XP and I just leveled up."

Her laughter is light and non threatening, "No, silly traveler. By Dimitria, you lot really did come to our world with talents but no knowledge."

That got my interest, but I didn't want to stray from the task at hand.

"The cost you see is how much you will earn for teaching it to me. I'm the one that will have to pay XP to learn an ability that I didn't earn myself. The stronger the Spell or Skill, the more it'll cost the student. I will actually be paying 200XP, a small price for such a useful skill. I've heard of abilities like it, but they're usually reserved for higher levels!"

200XP is a small price? What level is this woman? She grasps both my hands and closes her eyes. Her hands are small, but they are not dainty or frail. They are a little cold, though.

"Well?"

Oops, she got me again. I mentally click yes and I wait for a feeling of transference. Aside from a minor refreshing feeling in my head, there really wasn't anything more to it.

[Received: 50XP]

I open my eyes, Victoria still has hers closed. She has a relaxed look and smile on her face. "Victoria?"

"Hm?" she responds, still not opening her eyes.

"We didn't really have to hold hands for this, did we?"

"Nuh uh," eyes still closed. I charge the Skill, sending small sparks into her hands.

She shrieks and jumps back, a shocked smile on her face, "You little shit!" Her own hands glow and she sends sparks back at me. I laugh and cover my face, hoping my hair doesn't catch fire. I shoot the rope out of my hands and it limply pools around her. "Oh, Theatri, that is the funniest thing! Rope, too? This skill would've been such a blessing at the start of our…"

She cuts herself off and I can tell the mood has shifted. I dismiss the rope and she folds her arms across herself. "Um," I clear my throat, "I can tell it's been hard for you and the others. But, I'm here now and I'll assist in everything and as much as I can."

"Thank you, Ardacen. I'm… I'm going to see if Gorm needs help with the food. Thank you, again, for the Skill. And for everything else so far."

I'm left alone by the small fire, looking into the pieces of night sky peeking through the trees. I can hardly believe this is a game the way that interaction went. I summon my bedroll and find a place nearby to lay down. Day two in game, two thirds of the day IRL.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

[Reputation +50 with Victoria Grandersil]

I wake up early next morning, the sun already glowing brightly. The four women are standing near the extinguished fire pit. I dismiss my bedroll and greet them all, "Good morning, everyone. What's going on?"

Ramona has her claw on the hilt of her sword, "Our friend hasn't come back yet. We plan to search for her." Everyone except for Victoria is readying themselves for adventure.

Victoria has a scowl on her face, both hands on her hips, "I warned that girl not to venture too far! She told us she'd be back yesterday!" She sighs deep, and runs a hand through her hair. "I need to stay here to protect the others. I know she's an immortal Traveler, but is there any chance you wouldn't mind helping us look for her?"

[Minor Quest received: Get the girl.

[Help the search party locate and most likely rescue their friend.

[Goal: Bring her back safely.

[Reward: 50XP, 1*Silver]

I can't hide being dumbstruck from them, my jaw dropping mainly from the quest rewards. Victoria gets slightly more irritated by my pause and confused expression, "What? You have something better to do"

I try to straighten it out in my head before I commit. I'm getting a quest to help some NPCs rescue a player who probably got a quest to help some NPCs.

"Yes. I mean no! I mean, of course I'll help!"

"Good," her disposition softens, though I can see she's still a bit tense, "You can be the party leader. We're not sure what's out there, but four sets of eyes must be better than one." I create the party, though I'm limited because of my lack of a Feat, and invite Ramona, Kona, and Elsbeth.

When they accept, their hovering names are joined by a tiny green triangle and their levels. "You're all level one?!" My voice cracks as my mind whirls to come up with a plan to survive this outing. Kona is giggling awkwardly, Elsbeth looks away shyly.

Ramona puffs out her chest and with a tone of defience, "We know how easy it is to level up for travelers, due to your recklessness and carefree attitude. But we regular people can only do so much with the one life we are given!"

"No, no, no! I'm sorry! I meant no disrespect! I was just shocked. I half expected you all to be much higher leveled than me to be so far out in the the forest for so long. Linqs must be under constant threat from creatures, so your vigilance is commendable! I almost died a couple times on my way here…" They all took it as a complient and the air shifted a bit.

[Reputation +25 with Kona Cafe]

[Reputation with Kona raised to Acquainted]

[Reputation +25 with Ramona Violetta]

[Reputation with Ramona raised to Acquainted]

[Reputation +200 with Elsbeth Trusco

[Reputation with Elsbeth raised to Friendly]

I look over at the Lunas Elf. If elves could blush, then she would have a really deep shade of red on her face, though her eyes still look as if she is about to cry.

"El…?" Victoria stretched out the L in a scolding tone, "We talked about this." Elsbeth caughs into her hand, more embarrassed than before.

[Reputation -175 with Elsbeth Trusco]

[Reputation with Elsbeth lowered to Acquainted]

I clear my throat, "Well, I saw your equipment yesterday so I'm assuming Ramona is a Fighter, Elsbeth is an Archer, and Kona is a Mage?"

They all nod in affirmative. Those three form part of the basic class system in Arc, the other two being Rogue and Cleric. Each is not a class itself, more like a large branch of a tree, and the smaller branches are not limited. It was revealed in one of the introductory videos that when one ranks up its very similar to choosing a skill, picking out of a pool that matches stats and play style.

It was hinted at briefly that custom classes can be created if certain parameters are met, which is very interesting since, the first instance of a class gains some kind of bonus. However, since NPCs have access to this adventage, some of the more typical classes already have their first i class Feats taken.

Then, the original owner of the badges pass them down, teacher to student, without the skill's XP payment system. This might be to encourage creativity in players, instead of just min-maxing stats. The Pantheon from the character creator event seemed interested in the novelty of my particular Feat and related class.

That reminds me, Victoria named two gods yesterday; Dimitria and Theatri. I am about to ask her about them when a pair of orange fur tufted hands squeeze my cheeks, "You in there, party leader?"

Kona pulls my face towards hers and I stare at her blankly, "Huh? What?"

"You kind of spaced out there. Ready to go?" She releases me and draws her staff from her back.

"Yes, yes. Um, happen to know which way she went?" I ask, pulling myself together.

Ramona pointed her prehensile tail to her left and looked off in that direction, "She headed East, though the beasts in that direction are much stronger. Travelling further away from the city, they grow large and powerful."

"Then our first goal is to level you three up at least once," I sigh lightly. I'm not a Fighter type, but my HP is at least double each of their own. Plus, my Agility is high. As long as I don't lose aggro, the aggressive attention, it shouldn't be too difficult. Two long range attackers and a fighter who can deal a quick hit sounds like a good enough group for now.

"Since we're in a party we might as well head in your friend's direction. There shouldn't be anything that can overtake the four of us, right?"

"Not this close to our camp."

There are still wolves on this side of Linqs, but very rarely a boar. There is the occasional green cobra and once in a while a giant lizard. The ladies don't have storage bracelets like I do, saying something like it would cost a gold or two. So, I became the primary pack mule, not that it strained me to do so. They still had small canvas packs, but I didn't want to weigh them down unnecessarily.

Our strategy will consist of me hitting a creature with a bolt and keeping its attention while they pepper it from a distance. Ramona would get a stab or two in if I manage to immobilize it somehow. The first time we found one of the giant lizards, which look like skinnier, taller alligators, I roped its mouth closed and rode it like a rodeo rider. Of course, my cloth pants did very little to protect me from it's spiky back and it was an uncomfortable eight seconds, for sure, but we got through it.

They had a good laugh as I kept using my survival craft to soothe the pain on my butt. I would get my revenge during lunchtime, which is fast approaching as I hear Kona's stomach growl.

"Let's stop for now. Show of hands, is anyone hungry?" I halt the group and turn back to them, their hands meekly admitting to their hunger. "Good…" I say, rubbing my hands together.

"As a saurion, I'm not certain I should be doing this," Ramona says through the grimace on her face. "Don't we have any other options?"

I shake my head negative, "We're saving it for the camp. Besides…"

[Buff received: -1 SP regen wait time, +1SP regen]

[Time remaining: 1 hour]

That is a fantastic buff! And with three of us needing SP it is the most efficient meal we ould have. I can understand Ramona's hang up, though. It'd be like me eating a monkey, right? Are they not evolutionary cousins? Along with a few scales and a spine, the giant lizard dropped four pieces of meat. Kona and Elsbeth don't seem to mind and Ramona reluctantly digs in as well. She looks concerned less by the taste, and more by the fact that she isn't disgusted and is taking more bites. It bumps my Cook level to 3 and I'm pleased with the results so far.

I'm currently at 440/500XP and the others are all at around 65/100. But more importantly, we're starting to learn each others quirks and rhythms. For instance, Kona may be a spellcaster, but her staff can fire weaker versions of Arcane Bolt I at a reduced rate. She exhausts her mana in a couple bolts and switches over immediately, due to her staff also being a Focus, an object she can channel spells through. After lunch, my plan is to see if they can defeat a creature alone, I will only step in to prevent death.

"Hey, Boss?" Kona inquires, though I told her before not to call me that, "What herbs did you add to this to get the effects?"

"Huh?" I respond. It seems like Kona always finds a good spot to pull me out of my thoughts.

"Did you use any? I didn't see any if you did."

"What do you mean?"

She waves her skewer at me, half chewed food still in her mouth, "Well, when Gorm cooks, he sometimes throws in Yellow Herbs and Red Herbs, depending on what's in the pot. I'm not sure what it does, but it seems to help of some of the others. The stuff he cooks like that is usually just for them anyway. Says, it'd be more better for the less fortunate to have some comfort."

I nod while listening to her, "Well, I have the Cook skill and some herbs. Maybe we can try it out next time?"

"Yes!" she hisses through a grin. A couple hours and several defeated creatures later, we all get our coveted notifications.

[Level up! You have reached Level 5!]

[You have 5 stat points to allocate!]

I drop it all in Arcane, bringing it up to 17 and getting closer to another DecaStat point. "Which stats are you working on, Kona?" She tells me she's purely an Arcane build, putting every last point into it. I offer her a suggestion to add a point or two to the regen later on, so that she can get her big spells back into the fight quicker.

"I'm not worried about it just yet," she says, but without her usual spunky attitude, her hand stopping short of touching something near her neck.

"Um, what about you Ramona?"

"Strength and dexterity. Oh look! I get a new Skill. Sweeping Slash." I wonder how comfortable she is with all those S's while she explains it deals a good amount of damage to hostiles in a 180 degree arc up to 7ft. I realize she doesn't care. Then, I get to Elsbeth and ask her the same question. She stares at me for a brief moment and then pantomimes shooting an arrow. Coincidence? I don't know, maybe?

Kona speaks up for her, "She says she put it all in Dexterity, for her bow." I try to sign with Elsbeth, but she just looks at me dumbly.

"Are you casting a Spell again?" Ramona asks while wiping the lizard blood off her blade and watching me with a good amount of interest.

"Its…a language using hand signs and gestures. Sometimes I cast spells with it, but it's mostly for communication for people who can't hear or talk or both."

"What if you can't see?" asks Kona and I realize the stat is Arcane and not Intelligence and I slap my forehead with my palm.

"You silly kitty. How would you see the hands then, huh?"

"Oh yeah, good point. Anyway, can you teach us that hand language? There are actually quite a bit of people in Linqs who are deaf." Is that what Victoria meant by the refuse and unwanted of Kes Rentas? People with disabilities?

"Of course! Let's keep walking while we practice the alphabet. We can spell out words and the world actually translates it as a magical command, so we don't have to shout cringy phrases all the time."