Hmm… hmmmmmmmmmm… hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm…

Echoing the pamphlets on each person had left me with a lot to process. Way more than I expected. It was cool seeing two Earth candidates mixed into the stack—Asher Dain and Taylor Renfield. But the real kicker? Finding out that a second group of Initiates had been brought in at the same time. Now that was interesting.

I did a quick check-in with Cuttle and found out that while it wasn't common, it had happened before. Still, what really grabbed my attention was the fact that Lyric and Taan were from the same world but entirely different species. Lyric's species was listed as Feline, which was straightforward enough—assuming "feline" meant the same thing here as it did back on Earth. But Folivoran?

Analyze.

Folivoran: A beastkin species reminiscent of the Sol Terran Sloth.

Mana: 504/814 (824)

Oof. I had barely noticed how much mana I had burned through Echoing all these documents, but wow, that had taken a chunk. I made a mental note to slow down before I drained myself dry. But also… a sloth person? That's… interesting? I wasn't sure what to make of that yet, so I filed it away for later and turned back to reading.

Now, I could kind of see why the humans might have been skipped over in the first round of Initiate selection. At least, Asher. From everything I'd read about this world so far, advanced technology didn't seem to be a thing. So, I could imagine most people here struggling to wrap their heads around how Asher's magic even worked.

Taylor, though? They were… interesting. Clearly, a lot of effort had gone into their training, but something about their Mission Statement rubbed me the wrong way. It felt too cocky, too sure of itself. I mean, confidence is probably one of the most important things for surviving here, but this? This was something else.

"I'm here to test my limits and break this system wide open."

Yeah… that sounded like a great way to get killed. Probably Taylor.

Besides, the party already had two solid hand-to-hand fighters. Both Cuttle and Urchin handled that front well enough. Urchin seemed to take the brunt of things, while Cuttle flowed in and out of combat, taking out enemies and keeping Urchin from getting overwhelmed.

Unfortunately, that also meant Grakk was out, being a Warrior and all. He could potentially help Urchin tank, giving the young Striker a better chance to focus purely on dealing damage instead of trying to keep the attention. That part made sense.

And honestly? His background painted him as a pretty decent guy—er, goblin. Protecting his home, fighting to defend what's his. All noble stuff. The problem?

I still didn't have a solid grasp on how fast leveling worked here. But if Grakk had been hardened by battle while defending his home, wouldn't he be higher than 5th level by now? Cuttle and his party had already evolved once, and from what I understood, they hadn't even been adventuring for that long. More than a year? Less than five? Somewhere in that range.

Also, adventuring didn't exactly come with a reliable paycheck. If Grakk was staying with a party solely for the money, that felt… risky. Sure, there's loot to be had, but betting your life on a financial plan that included dodging swords and fangs on a regular basis? Not the most stable career choice.

So, Grakk was out.

That brought me to Taan.

Okay, so Taan got a Profession instead of a Class, huh? And it's called Caretaker? Not Healer, though. Which immediately raised a big, yellow question mark instead of a flag.

Oh, right! Rat Admin had mentioned something about healing being rare here. But even then, Caretaker wasn't the same as Medic or Alchemist, so what did it actually do?

Everything about the Ushy Initiate screamed Healer to me, but given what I knew about healing in this world? It might be something that only evolves into a full-fledged support role later down the line. And honestly? That was too big a gamble for me to make right now.

For now, I'd suggest Taan as a secondary option, but I wasn't confident enough to put him as my first pick. Caretaker sounded useful after a fight, which wasn't exactly what the party needed at the moment. Right?

Alright then. Down to two.

Asher and Lyric. Let's see what you two bring to the table.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Alright, let's start with Asher.

A caster—fully arcane one, as a Mage. Which made him different from Hapa's Adept class. Hapa was more about support, buffs, and "stay away from me" type spells. Plus, some decent defensive magic, if I remember correctly. And I do.

So, having a caster who focused more on dealing damage, perhaps? That could be interesting.

Also, and I'll fully admit I had no idea how this worked, but… if Asher's magic was tied even slightly to programming, then there could be some really cool and weird things that could be pulled off. Like, what if Asher could hack a magically locked door? Or disable a trap by reworking the spell code behind it? That kind of stuff could be insanely useful. If it worked that way.

Speaking of traps…

Lyric of Palaris.

Now, that is a rogue if I ever saw one. Even his class screams it. Get it? Because his class is literally Rogue. Heh.

Stealth is always good, and with a Beta Skill tied to perception—if the report was accurate—then hopefully that meant little would get past Lyric. That could be invaluable. Having someone who could sneak ahead, check for danger, and not immediately get stabbed? Yeah, I could see the appeal.

But… Lyric was yet another melee fighter. A tricksy, stab-you-in-the-back melee fighter, sure, but still. At the end of the day, that was a lot of eggs in one basket.

And, not to be that guy, but Lyric also felt a little too close to Taylor in personality. Maybe a bit more professional, but still. That same overconfidence, that same "I've got this" energy. And that could be fine, but it also meant potential friction, and pushing too far too fast.

So now it came down to this. Two strong candidates, but for very different reasons.

Asher, the magic specialist with unknown potential. Lyric, the stealth expert with reliable utility but some overlap in skills and personality.

Yeah, this was gonna take some thinking.

After going through everything, I finally had my recommendations. In big bold letters, I wrote out to catch Cuttle's attention. "READY."

A few moments passed before Cuttle's utensil was on my page. He tapped it twice and then let it rest. I took that as a sign to continue.

"After careful consideration, I believer Asher Dain would be the best fit for the party. Though I would suggest Taan as a follow up option."

…

Things moved quickly after that.

Cuttle wasted no time putting his offer forward to Asher Dain, who accepted immediately. She was thrilled to have the opportunity to travel with a real adventuring party, practically buzzing with excitement. And while I considered myself a pretty curious guy—book—it became very clear, very fast that Asher might actually outmatch me in sheer drive to learn.

While I was interested in, well, everything, she had a laser focus on magic. Theory, practice, application—if it involved spells, she wanted to know about it. Honestly? I respected it.

Cuttle even put in a retainer offer for Taan—basically a "hey, if we make enough coin to expand the party and you're still free, join us." Taan accepted, but it turned out if we had picked him now, he would have declined. After putting in his application, he'd decided to focus on learning about his Profession before throwing himself into danger. But, he hoped that by the time the party could grow, he would have a better handle on what he was meant to do.

Smart guy. Probably for the best.

Then, Hapa was the first one back. And—oh, oh, oh—I immediately sensed the rhythm of something as soon as he sat down at the table. He had gotten me a gift. A welcome gift.

I practically drooled into my void with excitement.

Urchin came back later, closer to dinner. He'd been out gathering local intel, and he actually came back with some decent finds.

First, there was the established dungeon nearby. A solid option, except… it was likely already being packed full of the other groups and parties testing out their new Initiates. Which meant they would be hard pressed to do anything worth while.

But—here's where things got interesting—Urchin also dug up rumors of a lesser-known dungeon in the area.

Now that was something worth looking into.

Things are starting to pick up, eh?