Joe felt wrung out, not physically. It was the tiredness you felt after completing a rough exam or after a stressful event. He was mentally weary. As the boy and Buckle were having a mush session, Joe took a minute to shake away the cobwebs clogging up his head.

When the fogginess cleared, he looked at the pair and spoke. “Hey, guys. How’s everybody doing?”

“Thank you, sir. You saved Buck!”

“We both did,” Joe countered. “If you hadn’t gotten him out of there, I don’t know if I would have been able to help him in time. My name is Joe. What is your name?”

“Rhiley. My name’s Rhiley Dellham.”

“Nice to meet you, Rhiley. And you too, Buck. Okay, let me up,” he said, giving the dog a gentle nudge to the side so he could lever himself to his feet.

His body rose so smoothly that Joe almost overbalanced himself. It was going to take some getting used to having muscles that just did what you wanted them to without a fight.

The extra dash of vertigo from the lingering mana-loss wasn’t helping either.

“Woah,” the boy exclaimed, stabilizing Joe’s wobble. “Are you alright, mister?”

“I’m good. I just stood up too quickly,” he replied, finding his balance again.

As his head cleared, he looked around. The knight had vanished over the next hill, and it seemed Buckle’s howls had not alerted the boy’s family. Due to the lay of the land, the berry bramble was not in sight of the house and barn.

Since it was just him and a very grateful native, Joe figured now might be a perfect time to get some basic information.

“So Rhiley. I’m a stranger to this area. What town is that?”

“That’s Crowfield. Not really a town, sir. It is just a village.”

“No need for the sir, Rhiley. Joe’s just fine by me. Unless that will get you in trouble with your parents. It was sirs and ma'ams when I was in school, too,” he disclosed, earning him a smile from the boy.

“Is that where you learned to heal, Mister… Joe? In school? Did you go to one of the academies?”

“Nope. Buck is the lucky recipient of my first healing ever. I just picked up the ability a minute ago.”

“Are you a Newcomer?” the boy asked, seeming to notice Joe’s outfit for the first time.

“Well, I am definitely new to the area, but why do I get the impression that Newcomer means something more to you guys than just a foreigner?”

“Newcomers are those who have been brought to Illuminaria by the One Above. They are warriors and scholars from another world.”

“Well, I’m no warrior and not much of a scholar, but the rest seems pretty on the nose. Does this happen a lot? You know, people being reborn here in your world?”

“Not really. You are the first one I’ve ever seen, but every year, we celebrate Soultide. That’s the holiday all about Newcomers being brought to Illuminaria. There is a big feast and a dance, and stories of the Newcomers are shared. It’s a lot of fun.”

That made sense. Joe couldn’t figure out why both the knight and Rhiley had immediately jumped to Newcomer, even though under 1% of the population was from Earth. A standing holiday about those who crossed over would keep that tiny group from being easily forgotten.

“The One Above told everyone that Newcomers were arriving and established Soultide. I’ve always wanted to meet one,” Rhiley beamed.

“It’s nice to meet you too, Rhiley. So who is this One Above.”

“Oof. That’s a big question. The One Above is the one who shapes us and gives us our advancements. He made the world, and the people, and the monsters, and the beasts. He also does all the quests.”

“So, he’s god?” Joe had a hard time with religion on Earth. It was hard to accept there was a divine plan behind the death of his whole family and so many of his neighbors.

“Nope. Gods are totally different. The One Above is bigger than the gods in some ways but not in others,” the young man hesitantly explained. Seeing Joe’s confused face, he added, “You should talk to one of the Town Elders. They could explain it much better than I can.”

“Will do,” Joe conceded, letting the boy off the hook.

He was also not in the best frame of mind to listen to the answer as a number of flickering indicators in the corner of his eye were trying to get his attention. Joe realized he was going to have to get used to those signals quickly, though he wasn’t too worried about it. If he could block out the dozens of monitors and bedside conversations, dealing with the notification distractions would be a piece of cake.

“Hold on a sec, Rhiley. I need to read something. Is that ok?”

“That’s the One Above,” the young man announced. “Go ahead. Let me know what you get.”

You have successfully completed [Save Buckle].

This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

Do you wish to accept your quest rewards now?

“Yes, please,” Joe thought back.

A few feet away, one of the two balls of floating light that had appeared when he was healing Buck popped. A potion bottle filled with an ivory liquid flipped up into the air and landed by Joe’s feet. Joe picked it up, but he had no idea what it was.

“What did you get?” Rhiley asked.

“Got me, kid.”

“You don’t have [Identify] yet? Wow. You are new. Everyone takes that one.”

“Got here an hour or so ago, give or take. This is all new to me.” Joe moved to the next window.

Achievement: You completed your first quest.

You have gained 1 unassigned attribute point.

Your actions have awarded you the following choice of Traits:

[Martyr] You chose a path you did not want for the betterment of another. When you use an ability to help an ally, you can sacrifice up to 10% of your Health to add up to 10% to the ability’s effect.

[Vivacity] Muscles are good, but magic is better. +10% to mana recovery.

Joe was pleasantly surprised. It looked like there were rewards for completing landmarks as well. He looked at the two options and easily made the choice. He already had regrets over picking a class that was so party-dependent; he did not want to make it even more so. Also, MAGIC! Who would pass up an opportunity for more magic?

You have selected [Vivacity]: +10% to mana recovery.

There was another one of those glowing balls, so he figured he should grab that one, too. He had a couple more notifications, and somehow, he instinctively knew which one of them was related to the second glowing orb.

You have successfully completed [Let’s Get Started]

Do you wish to accept your quest rewards now?

When he accepted, that ball of illumination popped as well. Instead of a single item, this orb sprayed a handful of coins, a small satchel, and a large wooden staff into the air. Joe managed to get a hand up, but the staff still cracked him painfully on the arm as it spun to the ground.

“Ow!. As much as I appreciate the item-spray nod to Diablo, that is going to get old quickly. Rhiley, can you help me find the coins? There should be ten of them.”

Finding the gold pieces in the tall grass was a bit difficult, made even harder because Buck thought he should help the search as well. When they had them gathered, Joe looked into the satchel to find what looked like a fantasy first aid kit: plenty of bandages, soft cord, a needle, thread, as well as some tins and packets of herbs.

Unfortunately, nothing was labeled. That ‘Identify’ skill was looking better and better.

Adding the vial and the coins to the bag while picking up the staff, Joe gave the last alert his focus.

Achievement: You have had a profound instance of serenity upon your transference to Illuminaria. This pivotal moment has awarded you the following choice of Traits:

[Meditationist] You can add [Meditation] to your list of selectable skills.

[Gifted] +1 unassigned attribute point.

Joe knew immediately which one he wanted. For years, every holistic caregiver he ever had had tried to get Joe to learn how to meditate. And for years, Joe had failed spectacularly at it. The whole ‘empty your mind’ instruction was an immediate prompt for his brain to start thinking about everything under the sun. Maybe getting that skill would fix his overactive brain, but Joe seriously doubted it.

Besides, he had just learned that attributes were key to learning new skills. He would much rather have more options than a skill that, in his past life, he had found utterly annoying.

You have selected [Gifted] +1 unassigned attribute point.

“Not a bad start.” Turning to the boy beside him, Joe asked, “So Rhiley, what’s next?”

“Now, can you come and heal my mom? She cut her hand last week, and even though she put a poultice on it, the cut just won’t get better. It’s all swollen and oozy.”

“It must be infected,” Joe assumed. Remembering how difficult it was to heal Buckle, Joe worried he would not be able to visualize how to heal Rhiley’s mother.

Still, he should definitely try.

“Let’s give it a shot. Lead on, McDuff,” Joe quipped, uttering one of the commonly used lines from his old gaming sessions.

The farmhouse was two stories tall, fashioned from light-colored timbers. The downstairs was built around a large central fireplace. The upper floor was built into eaves, with two dormers facing forward, most likely the children’s rooms.

Rhiley threw open the front door, announcing, “ Ma! Ma! I found a Healer for you,” as he waved for Joe to enter the home.

Stepping inside, Joe could clearly see that Rhiley’s mother was very sick. She was bundled in blankets, seated right beside a roaring fire on a beautifully warm day. The woman’s skin had a waxy sheen to it, and her eyes were glassy.

Joe drew in a deep breath. All of a sudden, what he was doing hit him. Healing Buck had been a spur-of-the-moment decision. He now was actually taking responsibility for someone else's wellbeing. If he messed this up, he might make her worse.

That fear had landed on a firm resolve. For years, others had cared for him. Now, he had a chance to pay some of that care back.

The lost look on her face was one he had seen too many times before. That glassiness that came from being unable to think clearly while something was destroying you from the inside out. The fog which often led to the loss of hope.

Once hope was gone, things almost always got worse.

Joe pushed all those memories and doubts away. He now had something beyond all the years of medical training the doctors on Earth had.

Joe had magic.

He was not using toxins to kill part of her while trying not to kill all of her. He was not cutting out some part of her while trying not to cut out too much or too little.

Joe had straight-up, raw healing. It did not need to make medical sense. It just had to work.

Which meant he just had to try.

“Buck up, Joe,” he commanded himself.

New Quest [Septic Slice]

Sarsa Dellham cannot be saved by ordinary means. Use your skills to save her.

Reward: Talisman of the Medic