"Who knows! That is the point of exploring! What do you think we should do?"

Brightfire says "Isn't it about time we head back? The tree should have grown while we've been gone."

"Alright, are you going to paddle the canoe all the way back?"

Brightfire says "Um, can't we fly back?"

"Currently, I can only shapeshift for ten to fifteen minutes. That isn't going to get us very far!"

Brightfire says "Oh, that won't work! So, then what do we do?"

"I need to grow more. I think once my body matures I will be able to shapeshift without a problem."

Brightfire says "And while we wait for you to grow, you want to explore?"

"Yes, but you are right, it is too dangerous for you and Nala."

Brightfire says "Let me guess, you want us to stay in the cave while you explore?"

"Well, yeah. I mean you don't have to stay in the cave, just close to it. Unless you want to climb back down and wait below?"

Brightfire says "No, the cave is fine. We can at least be close by if you need help."

"You know it is for your safety, right?"

Brightfire says "Yes, I know. It still doesn't feel good to be useless."

"You are not useless. It is just that you are bite-sized to a lot of the things here. If you had levels it would be a different story."

Brightfire says "Yeah, I wish I could gain levels!"

"Actually, I might have a way to grant that wish. However, it would only be for you and you would start at level one."

Brightfire says "That's fine! What do I need to do?"

"Nothing, just give me a minute."

'Party Invite, Brightfire!'

Do you want to invite Brightfire to join your party? Y/N

'Yes!'

Brightfire says "Um, am I hallucinating? There seems to be something floating in front of my eyes!"

"It is not a hallucination. Just say yes!"

Brightfire says "Yes?"

Brightfire has joined your party!

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Brightfire looks really confused, so I start explaining the system to her and how it should work. As I am explaining I can feel the headache coming on, I have been shapeshifted too long. As soon as I am done explaining the system I drop shapeshift and let out a sigh of relief.

Then we head back to the cave, exploring is going to have to wait for a bit. After we eat lunch I shapeshift again to continue explaining things to Brightfire and answer her questions. Luckily, Brightfire trusts me enough to believe what I am telling her even though she has doubts.

When I can no longer hold the shapeshift I release it and then create a soulscape. This time I am automatically in my new body without having to change into it. That should mean that I am fully adapted to my new form, which is good news.

Brightfire and Nala show up as soon as I invite them, once they do I start explaining. First, I create an area for Nala to play in that will also help her learn to move better. Then, like I did with Myria ages ago, I use movies to give Brightfire some ideas.

Since she is an elf it is even more fun watching her watch Lord of the Rings. I can already see the desire to be like that burning in her eyes and motivation is a good thing. After the movies are over I create a training area for Brightfire to practice archery.

After letting her practice for a few hours with the bow, I change my form and teach her the sword. I may not be all that great of a swordsman, but I can still teach her the basics. Maybe when we get back to the peninsula I can convince Vacker to take her as a student.

It will depend on how dedicated she is and if she chooses the sword or bow as her main weapon. As I am teaching her I also explain that she will need to practice a lot in the real world. Muscle memory is extremely important when it comes to fighting with a sword.

Since this is only the first lesson I don't try to push things too far and end the soulscape after another hour. Of course, thanks to the time dilation, less than an hour has passed outside since we started. Since it is nowhere near dinnertime yet, I go out to do a little exploring on my own.

Since I only have a couple of hours I stick to the area around the cave. Mainly, I want to make sure that there are no really dangerous predators that wander this area. That way I can explore tomorrow without worrying too much about the others.

When I return to the cave for dinner I haven't found anything dangerous in the area. There are some smaller predators, but I am not too worried about them, Brightfire should be able to handle them. Especially since she will have Nala to help her, Nala may not be full grown but she can still fight.

In fact, Nala has been wrestling with me almost every day, and she has lived up to her name. She beats me three out of four times and it is not just because I am new to my body. Although, wrestling with her has been really good training for me, if a bit embarrassing.

Even now that I have grown to be a bit larger than her, Nala still wins most of the time. So, I am fairly confident in her ability to fight and to get away if she can't win. Brightfire on the other hand, she is the one I am the most worried about.

Brightfire says "Ash, it is asking me to choose a class! The three it is giving me are elven ranger, swordsman, or mage. Which should I pick?!"

Once again I use shapeshift to be able to answer her question, but I won't choose for her. Instead I tell her about the three classes, including the strengths and weaknesses I know of. Of course, I am basing my descriptions off of D&D so my information may not be one hundred percent accurate.

Still, it should be close enough for her to make an educated decision on what she wants to do. Once I am done explaining I drop shapeshift and start eating my dinner. While Nala and I are eating, Brightfire just sits and stares at the wall while she is thinking.

Brightfire says "I've decided. I want to be an elven ranger!"

As soon as she speaks it out loud there is a flash of white light around her. Then for a second I see information floating above her head, Brightfire Level 1 Elven Ranger. It is good to see that it actually worked and the smile on her face is really pretty.

She keeps playing with the system for a while as Nala and I continue eating. We are almost done by the time she comes back to herself enough to realize she is hungry. Even as she is eating, the smile never leaves her face, this obviously means the world to her.