Chapter 2 – Babysitter

Aenon

Aenon awoke refreshed after his nap, when the smell of burnt meat reached him. He looked over towards the campfire and noticed acrid black smoke rising from it. Jenny was next to the fire, having a coughing fit and trying to fan away the smoke. Aenon sighed internally at the scene. There was a long way to go before the woman could survive by herself, but at least she was trying. He still wasn’t sure why he let her tag along. Maybe it was the deep desire for some human company, or the lost puppy look in her eyes. Whatever it was, he wanted to make sure she had the basic skills needed to live in this new reality.

Not to mention, he needed to experiment with his second Unfettered skill. He was still not sure what a path was, but he felt a little resonance yesterday right before she collapsed. Her last words even had faint hints of a soul presence in them. Which was odd to say the least, but he was sure he had somehow triggered it. He needed to study her more closely to figure it out, and he didn’t see the harm in making her stronger in the process. He wasn’t sure when their pathways would diverge, but until then…

“Cough… cough… couch…,” Jenny stepped away from the fire with watering eyes, a piece of charcoaled meat in her hands. She was surprisingly able to hold the sizzling hot chunk with ease, and upon closer inspection Aenon realized how. She had concentrated mana in her hands and was using it to insulate the heat, kind of like mana mittens.

“I am assuming that is breakfast?” Aenon asked dryly while pointing at the black mass in her hand.

She jumped in surprise before looking embarrassed and turning away from him, “Umm, was supposed to be.”

Aenon grabbed the meat from her and looked closer. The outer layer was completely inedible, but the inner layers might still be salvageable. So, he grabbed his knife and started peeling the thick dark crust. It was extremely dry on the inside, but he started eating it with big gulps of water to wash it down.

“Wait, you don’t have to eat that,” she said in hurry, but Aenon waved her off.

“Survival 101, waste not, want not. If it is safe to eat, you choke it down,” he said while cutting it in half and tossing her a piece. “Things like the spider soup from yesterday might take some getting used to, but things like this you will need to eat.”

She stared at the dried husk with distaste, but eventually started eating it. She gagged a few times but managed to swallow it in the end. Aenon gave an approving nod before refocusing on his own meal. They both ate in silence, not the least bit interested in talking. When they were done, Aenon stood up and started doing some stretches.

“Now, tell me about your classes,” he said while bending forward and touching his nose onto his knees. When he got up, Jenny was staring at him with unease. “I know it’s considered social taboo to share your class specifics, so you don’t need to tell me the detailed description, just the overview. I need to understand your fighting style. Your fight yesterday was atrocious, and if not for some lucky hits I would have had to step in. I have seen drunk monkeys with more grace.”

He could sense embarrassment and anger rising within her soul, but she squashed it down successfully before explaining her classes.

“My first class is a melee/hybrid based frontliner. It gives a boost to my CON stat under certain conditions and gives me the ability for mid-range attacks using compressed mana projectiles.”

“I saw you use that attack, although you seemed to have drained your entire mana pool with that. Which means the attack is more of a means to close the distance or end the fight if an enemy is fleeing,” Aenon said while nodding. “What are the primary stats you gain per level?”

“Ummm, STR and CON, with more emphasis on CON,” she replied.

“Hmmm, so your typical tank class then, which is good. What about your other class?”

“It is a ranged/magical class that specializes in scouting. Gives me equal WIL and PER for every level,” she replied without hesitation this time.

“Oh. That must be the one that let you track the spiderwebs using mana sight,” Aenon said. It was a good build and told him a lot about her. She had focused heavily on survival, the second class allowing her to detect traps, while the primary class allowed her to push through any engagements.

“Wait, how do you know about my mana sight?” she asked in disbelief.

“Because I have something similar,” he replied dismissively before continuing his questions. “What about your skills? What are they and what proficiency?”

“Ummm, my mana sight is at Master rank. And my second skill is Weapon (Sword/Shield) at Adept rank,” she replied with some embarrassment.

Aenon didn’t respond with any judgmental or snark remark like she expected. He understood from her performance yesterday that she didn’t have any high proficiency weapon skills. He was genuinely surprised she had mana sight at a higher proficiency, which must have been because of her class. It looked like the lesser version of his mana sense ability. He was curious how it compared to his own, since his version could not be equipped into a skill slot, much like his soul sense. He wasn’t even sure what rank they should be at.

“Very well then, our first priority should be…” he began before being interrupted by her.

“Uh, can I know about your classes?” she asked with trepidation.

“Sure, seems fair. But do remember, this would put a bigger target on your back” he replied after some time. When she didn’t back down, he continued, “Both my classes are magic based, although my primary incorporates soul attacks as well. My secondary class also allows me to manipulate most mana types.”

She stared at him dumbfounded, blinking several times without a word. When she finally spoke, her voice was very subdued, “Did you say you can manipulate multiple mana types?”

Aenon merely nodded in response. He wasn’t sure what was so shocking about his class ability to manipulate mana types. It did allow him to make a variety of different spells, but he always thought that would limit the power of his spells.

“Do you not realize how ridiculous that class of yours is? Of all the adventurers I have served at the guild, only a handful could manipulate two elements. The ability to cast spells of three mana types is so rare, it is almost a myth. And four mana types are completely unheard of. Not to mention, I didn’t even know soul attacks were a thing till you told me about them,” she said while raising her hands in exasperation.

“Well, it is what it is,” he replied calmly.

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“How did you even get such rare classes?” she asked. But Aenon stayed silent, just giving a blank stare in response. She finally turned away in embarrassment and said, “Sorry. I got a bit carried away.”

“Doesn’t matter. We both have some idea what the other is capable of, and that is what is important,” he said. He got a sarcastic eye roll in return.

“As if,” she mumbled but didn’t interrupt him.

“Our next order of business is to start improving your skill proficiency. Specifically, your weapon skills. It’s just painful to watch you fight. Having said that, I am no weapons expert, and my skills have been upgraded using SP. Which I assume is not an option in your case. So we do it the hard and dirty way,” he said with a grin.

“What do you mean hard and dirty?” she asked while visibly flinching.

Aenon didn’t respond, turning towards his shadow instead. Five figures emerged from it, one adult and four young abyssal wolves. Venge casually walked up behind Aenon and sat down with a yawn.

“It’s time for a new babysitter, Venge,” he said with a smile as the four pups ran around a visibly scared Jenny. They were curiously smelling her, and occasionally pawing her dress.

“Wait, what?” Jenny asked while standing still like a statue.

“You are a tank, are you not? Your main role in a party is to maintain aggro while the damage dealers finish the job. So, here’s your party. You will hunt with these pups, keeping them alive and away from harm. It will help you in improving your skills while also learning how to operate in a party.”

“But… but… we don’t a have healer,” she said while trying to come up with some excuses. One of the pup’s got overeager and ended up scratching her ankle mildly, making her jump back in alarm.

Venge barked once in response, making the pups back off meekly. She then proceeded to lick the tiny cut on Jenny’s ankle, visibly making the cut disappear within seconds.

“Well, there you go. Your healer. Although she will only step in if it is necessary. During combat you are on your own, otherwise you will not get any levels or skill proficiency,” Aenon responded while standing up and dusting himself off. “In the meantime, I’ve got some business of mine to take care of.”

“WAIT,” Jenny tried to scream but Aenon melded into the shadows before she could say anything more. He couldn’t babysit her or the pups the entire time, and this was a good arrangement in his opinion. He just hoped the next time they met; she was still in one piece.

………………

Jenny

“Good puppies,” Jenny said with a sweaty smile to hide how uncomfortable she was. She wasn’t really a dog person, and these weren’t exactly dogs either. She eyed the mother who had gone back to lazily sitting in a corner. The pups started running all over the place once their mother closed her eyes and lay down.

Jenny tried calling them to her, but the rambunctious bunch completely ignored her and started chasing small critters once their curiosity about her was satisfied. She sighed before sitting down in defeat, unable to command even a single wolf pup. She pulled up her stat screen to review and plan her next move instead.

Name: Jenny Smith

Age: 17 years

Race: Human

Level: 8

Class: Shield Maiden

Level: 8

Subclass: Arcane Scout

Level: 7

Stats

Strength: 63 (7+24+32)

Constitution: 78 (6+24+48)

Dexterity: 36 (12+24)

Intelligence: 35 (11+24)

Willpower: 68 (9+24+35)

Perception: 71 (12+24+35)

She was genuinely shocked at her loadout. Not only had she managed to gain two amazing classes, her first two Titles were ridiculous. Knowledge about titles was sparingly shared, if ever, and from what was common knowledge she knew she had gotten some really powerful ones. She was still in disbelief whenever she pulled up her stats. She decided to review her classes as well. Even though she had not given out specifics, like the rarity, she had shared most other stuff honestly.

Class Name: Shield Maiden

Class Type: Melee/Hybrid

Class Rarity: Rare

Class Description: A frontliner class that excels at not only dealing devastating amounts of damage at close range, but also cast mana projectiles using melee weapons for mid-range attacks. Gets a massive boost to CON when under attack by a more powerful foe (doubles the CON).

Class Stats per level: +4 STR, +6 CON

Class Name: Arcane Scout

Class Type: Ranged/Physical

Class Rarity: Rare

Class Description: A scout class focused on detecting foes/traps, both physical and magical. Grants mana sight and a temporary boost to AGI when under attack. This class also allows the ability to specialize in two elements of the user’s choice.

Chosen mana types: Air and Water.

Class Stats per level: +5 WIL, +5 PER

She had not revealed her chosen mana types, but she knew the kid would figure it out even if she didn’t. She liked the synergy between the two classes, it allowed her to move faster in a pinch while also making her tankier when needed. The only problem was her mana pool. Neither of the classes granted her INT, which she knew was needed for a bigger mana pool. But the title gave her an idea. Maybe she could expand her mana pool through that instead.

She knew about titles from the basic lectures Lady Agatha made her attend, but she had given up hope of getting any when she found out the process of getting one. She had to pull off some extraordinary feats if she wanted one, and most involved putting herself in harm’s way. She could not have even dreamed of doing so at that time. But now…

She looked back at the wolf pups, who had managed to catch some poor rodent and were in the process of tearing it apart to eat it. It reminded her of the spider queen’s words, sending a shiver down her spine. Predators did hold the life of their prey in their hands and could be downright cruel about it.

“Hey, let that poor thing go,” she yelled in anger. The pups looked towards her in confusion, stopping their tug of war game for a moment. But they soon ignored her and continued. She stood up angrily and took a step towards them when she heard a voice directly in her head.

“Let them be.”

She drew her sword in a panic and started looking around but found no one new in the area. But when she finally turned to the mother wolf, she saw a pair of cold grey eyes staring at her.

“You… can talk?” she asked in a quivering voice. The mother didn’t respond, continuing her impassive stare. She gathered some courage before adding, “Your pups. They are torturing the poor creature.”

“The prey is already dead, is it not?” came the reply.

Jenny looked back at the creature the pups had managed to catch. It was dead indeed. Before she could say anything in response, the mother wolf continued.

“There is a difference between a hunt, and torture. Predators have a primal instinct to hunt. Not for sport, but for survival. Even when some predators, like cats, play with their food, it is not for fun. They do it to hone their skills. It’s only when creatures gain sapience do they start relishing in inflicting pain, like the eight-legged creature. Even then, not all predators do it. There are good ones and bad ones among them too. Just like the other enlightened races.”

Jenny turned to the pups. They had each gotten a piece and were munching on their bones happily. She was beginning to understand what Venge was trying to say. Cruelty was a feature of sapience, not instinct. And non-sapient beasts like the pups didn’t know what cruelty was. She felt silly that she had jumped to conclusions without knowing the full picture.

“I am sorry,” she told Venge with a bow. The wolf nodded her head in acceptance before laying back down with her eyes closed. But she did give out one last piece of advice.

“My pups are not sapient yet and will rely solely on instinct. I suggest acting more decisively when dealing with them. Predators will not follow the commands of the meek.”

Jenny thanked her for the advice before turning to the pups. She now had a clear picture of what she was meant to do. It was like Aenon said before leaving, this was training for her. She had to master her skills, her class, and learn to lead a party. And from her experience at the guild, she had learned how hard it was to be a party leader. After all, very few people ever managed to be promoted to the position of Captain, like Eskad.

Being a Captain was more than about power. You needed the guile to understand and command your party, and very rarely would you operate with a cohesive unit. There were always internal rifts, and it was the captain’s job to bridge those. Having made her decision, she stood up and blew a loud whistle, enhancing the sound using some wind mana. The pups all left their bones and sat up straight.

Jenny smiled as the pups approached her one by one. She was finally excited and ready for her next adventure. Unbeknownst to her, looking at her pups’ obedience even Venge smiled from behind her and sent a message to Aenon via their soul link.

“You were right, Alpha. You picked a fine one to train my pups.”