The words failed to really register with any of the boys, the detail of it simply too insignificant in the moment to remember.

Kalle was still whimpering in pain while Harold was lying unconscious from emptying his magic reserves so violently. And Oscar had instinctively gone to try and get his sword out, but was left standing there holding on to the handle when it still wouldn’t budge.

That woman Livia saw how the corpse was already killing the fire, and so decided she could leave him there for the moment.

First she went to comfort Kalle for a second, and whispered just a faint couple of words that he could leave it to her. She had seen him trying to speak up several times, but the pain was too much for him to get started.

She then told them both not to try and wake Harold since it was clear he was still breathing and just needed to recover from simple mana exhaustion. I’d bet that earned him a level.

Livia stopped and took a moment to think after that, but did not get very far. It was best to start with the basics. She decided that the best course was first removing the evidence of the recent trauma, right after she helped herself to some of the food, since she was shaking and probably at risk of passing out after her run on an empty stomach.

She dragged the corpses off into the brush and kicked some dirt over the remaining blood stains.

Then when things were seemingly back to normal–and she had gotten the fire relit with the boy’s equipment–she tried talking to them again.

"Okay. Who is your leader, are you guys really alone out here?"

Harold was down in the dirt, still passed out while Kalle and Oscar remained awake but still badly affected by their brush with death.

Kalle supposed he was the leader, but he knew answering one question would lead to demands for more. He didn't have it in him right now. Being able to leave it to someone else felt like a Spirit-send at the moment.

Livia finally seemed to accept the fact that nobody was ready to provide the answers she needed, but enough time had apparently passed. She went to wake Harold. It took a splash of water and some harshly delivered words, but eventually she got him up for just a minute.

Harold went over to Kalle in a zombified trance and then suddenly Kalle’s badly burned arm was enshrined in a glowing green light and started visibly healing. [Regenerating Form].

Now that they were all gathered around the fire again Livia tried asking about more basic things, but despite being over the pain now, the healing had still taken a lot out of Kalle.

"What is your name?" A moment of pause.

Livia looked like she decided then and there to throw the colorful mushrooms she had picked up over the course of her day into the fire. The smoke that started emitting held many strange colors, but neither the watching Oscar nor Kalle reacted. They both just breathed in deep out of some inner instinct.

A few short minutes later Livia finally heard English words again, albeit in a funny accent that she was unprepared for.

"I'm Oscar, this is Kalle. That's my brother," He pointed to the–once again–passed out form of Harold.

Livia kept the questions going and while it still had the air of an interrogation, by now everyone was calm enough that the answers started pouring out. It began simply, with their basic reason for being out here, but eventually they tried telling her every detail they could think of, and despite the fact that they’d been at it for hours, Livia still had more questions.

At one point Harold woke back up and despite remaining groggy he quickly understood the situation. They had been saved, and this stranger was the one to kill the final wolf. Awesome.

By the end he was the only one still managing some enthusiasm in responding to the questions, but it wasn’t because the others didn’t want to help out as much as possible.

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They just didn't have the energy left in them once Livia began asking the truly weird stuff, about how dice worked here, and if they’d ever done any number of weird things to figure out how their magic operated in their bodies, under a number of conditions. Under water, in the rain, during a bonfire. Is she pulling our legs, is this actually important right now?

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Despite having arrived at the camp in the nick of time, Livia rested only a couple of minutes before she got to work on the camp. These boys looked almost too young, but being out here, they must have Classes.

Livia knew she would need their trust, and if she said so herself, she was off to a great start having saved their lives. But the boys were looking shell shocked.

"What were you doing out here?"

She posed the question ten different ways, barely getting a reaction. When she finally noted their hesitance she decided to throw the few mushrooms she had been able to identify over the day, the ones that did something more than provide an edible. Once the cosmic rainbow-coloured smoke had drifted off, and everyone was able to calm down, she decided to focus on Oscar.

"Aren't you a little young to be out here? Do you actually have a Class?" When the silence remained she kept pushing. "I didn't spot you using any abilities, unless those warrior wasps are yours?"

"I'm Oscar, this is Kalle. That's my brother,"

When all of the truth came out Livia couldn't help but be disappointed. They were at least a week out from any civilization, and these boys were clearly not prepared to be out here. Her sense of panic returned, and she eventually blurted out.

"Were you guys really prepared for this, how in the hell did you all even make it this far?"

The words were clearly offensive, but with the recent rescue looming large; the lads' every argument fell short of being uttered.

When they told their story once again, from the start, including everything that Brunner, The Captain, and the rest of the villagers had done to help, it did make some sense, but Livia still had to question how anybody could be so irresponsible.

"We've been acting foolish," The lads declared eventually, with closed eyes and solemn faces.

It was due to any number of mistakes. They forgot to stop using the Campguard stone once they had entered the inner parts of Doc Forrest, despite the fact they knew the creatures would grow much more dangerous around these parts. The stone was only ever meant to deter non-magic beasts.

They didn't station a lookout, they didn't prepare traps nor even figure out a way to set an alarm to warn of things approaching.

Despite being inexperienced hikers they had been trudging steadily for a week, and then had the brilliant idea to exhaust themselves with a competition.

The predictable result being how they had all been moving slow during the fight, except Harold. But on the other hand he had been wasting his magic on recovery from something self-inflicted, if it weren't for that he would have been able to keep going far longer despite using such a high tier Spell.

"The real question is what will you do now?” Livia’s eyes felt penetrating, with the way the campfire reflected in them. “You made mistakes, but you also made it through. You're all still here. Do you learn from it?"

None of them knew how to respond, despite the words resonating.

"How, if all you do is go back home and hide behind your Townguard field?" They could picture it all too clearly, the easy life of safety in numbers and being warned in time of every attack.

"You were sent out here on your own because you made the decision to go out and start leveling; to do something as adults, despite knowing that it would be challenging," Livia's words reminded them of the fire that had been sparked to a blazing inferno as the lads left home. "This is it, your first challenge, and yes you fell down, but a stranger helped you up. Now what?"

That made the boys go still and quiet, but inside there was motion.