Claire lifted her shield and shouted two words.

“Holy Shield!”

Her shield glimmered as a pale white light drifted out of it. but the troll ignored her preparations as it swung its club at her head. Claire lifted her shield and blocked the blow.

The envisioned scene of her being slammed to the ground didn’t happen, but she didn’t escape unscathed. The shield of light only lasted a moment before it cracked into pieces under the pressure, but it managed to slow the strike by a significant amount. Despite that, Claire was knocked from her feet. Her body skidded along the floor and rolled to my feet. I turned to run towards her, but Bryan was faster by a significant margin.

Bryan pulled out a small bag and tossed it at the bandit group. He didn’t watch the results as he turned to Claire and pulled her to her feet with my assistance. As we stumbled out of the clearing, I saw John quickly pour a vial of liquid into Susan’s mouth, before he lifted her up with extreme care.

A muted thump rang out from behind us, so I glanced back to check what had happened. The object Bryan threw towards the group had broken apart the instant it hit the floor. It hadn’t done any visible damage, but a murky cloud of gas had covered the bandits. Those who still stood had clasped their hands over their mouths and noses as they sprinted off into the distance.

Claire’s taunt had faded the moment she had been knocked out, so the troll no longer had a reason to treat us as a threat. It gave us a confused glare for a few moments before its flaring nostrils caught onto a new scent and it turned away. The troll roared as it smashed past trees and crushed any bushes that got in its way.

It’ll follow them forever, hopefully. I should make sure I don’t annoy Bryan…

“Rook, help me with her. John, get Susan!” Bryan pulled Claire’s arm over his shoulder and walked her out of the clearing. I took her other arm, but I almost collapsed under the weight of her armour.

“Is she going to be OK?” I asked after we had moved out of view. Bryan shook his head as he pulled a small glass vial from his pouch. He held it to Claire’s lips and tipped the contents down her throat. Claire was conscious, but her eyes were unfocused as she drank the mixture in several gulps. After a few moments, her eyes cleared up, though her face remained the same shade of white as before.

“We need to report…” She spoke in a whisper as she tried to take a step. She was about to tumble to the floor, but we managed to grab her before she hit the ground. Bryan pushed me away and lifted her into a princess carry.

What the hell… how strong is he?

“I’ll take her. Carry this.” He shifted his shoulder and dropped the bag of loot to the floor at my feet. I pulled it up with all my strength. After how much loot we had gathered, it would obviously be too heavy for me to lift without at least that much effort. Despite my expectations, I managed to lift the bag with only a moderate amount of effort, which shocked me until Bryan answered my unspoken question.

“It's enchanted. Keep up.” He ran off into the distance as I slung the bag over my shoulders. The straps dug into my skin, but my armour absorbed the pressure a little. I sprinted to catch up, barely able to keep track of him despite the difference in our burdens.

We ran on, not a single complaint to be heard from any member. The sounds of the troll and its prey faded into the distance as we moved closer to the edge of the forest. I glanced over at Susan, my eyes focused on the arrow in her chest. John hadn’t taken it out, obviously worried about the damage such an extraction could cause.

“Can’t Susan heal herself?” I blurted out. She could use magic, surely she could do something about her wound. Now that we had lost our pursuers, it would be the perfect time to do something about our injured members.

“Don’t say something so stupid. She has an Elemental Attribute. Did you see her using any Holy abilities?” John snapped. “The potion will keep her alive, but she needs proper treatment.”

“John, calm down.” Bryan said. John grit his teeth and turned away from us. Despite the speed we ran at, he didn't seem out of breath as he responded.“Rook, keep an eye out.”

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I remained quiet from then on. Though I had done nothing wrong, the timing of my question was still not great. I had glanced at the list of attributes in the book, but my brain hadn’t fully absorbed the information yet. Classes and attributes were like two halves of the equation, combined to make something more valuable than its parts.

It was something I would need to learn sooner rather than later. I didn’t even know what my own attribute was, never mind other people’s. I promised myself I would figure it all out before I went on another trip outside the town walls. My guild card hadn't shown my attribute, but that could just be because it was designed for those above level ten. The only other way to find out was an official test, and my age would raise many questions if I tried that.

The bushes in front of us shook as three wind wolves stepped out. The number would have been less than a distraction not too long ago. But with our injured members, they would be enough to slow us down.

And that was something we desperately needed to avoid.

“AAAHHH!”

I sprinted at the wolves and smacked the leader on its head. The rest of the wolves dodged back and ran off into the forest. The noises from the forest probably had them on edge, but that worked for me. They were spooked by my attack, plus the others who stood not far behind me. If our battle had attracted any more wolves, that would have lead to a delay in our escape.

“Good job, Rook.” John gave me a small smile. Bryan nodded at me as he shifted his grip on Claire. His face was strained as we ran through the forest. It was obvious that her armour weighed down on him, but we didn’t have time to discard it. After several long minutes, we left the forest and moved out into the open fields.

“Rook, see that group over there? Go ask them to help, one of them is a Holy Practitioner.” John nodded at a group in the distance. “Quick, Susan won’t last much longer!”

I caught sight of the people John had pointed out. The bag dropped to the floor as I sprinted towards the group. They had defeated a pack of slimes and were on their way to the next spawn location before they spotted my approach. Their leader, a man in a thick leather breastplate, moved forward to greet me.

“Hey, it’s the rookie. How-”

“We need your help. Claire and Susan have been injured.” I grimaced as I interrupted the leader. Now wasn’t the time for pleasantries. “It’s urgent. Please, follow me.”

“Wait, Claire and Susan are hurt? What happened?” A robed man moved to the front of the group. I guessed his class from the reaction and pulled him towards my group.

“I’ll tell you later. Come on!”

The man turned to his leader who nodded in approval. I pulled the man away from his group, towards the others in the distance. John had settled Susan on a patch of grass whilst Bryan had leaned Claire against a nearby boulder. Susan was awake, but her pale face and dull eyes hinted at her pain.

“Hi, Ronnie. Good to see you.” Claire muttered, a crooked smile on her face as she rolled to one side. Bryan held her upright and waved at Ronnie to come closer.

“Hi…” The man named Ronnie interrupted his greeting when he noticed the two injured group members. His smile vanished as he moved towards Susan. Of the two injured members, he moved to the more serious of the pair after a quick glance.

“Good work, Rook.” John smiled at me, his earlier irritation nowhere to be seen. “Sorry about before, I forgot how new you are. You did well when you scared off the wolves, perfect timing there.”

“It’s fine, I shouldn’t have said anything.” I stared at the practitioner as he worked. His abilities worked in a similar way to Susan’s, though the effects were much less destructive. He chanted for several seconds before he muttered an odd phrase.

“Light’s Blessing.”

A pale light seeped into Susan’s wound. John pulled out the arrow, his face taut as the shaft slowly left her body. The white light of the spell wavered around the wound and pulled it closed a little. Ronnie placed his hands over the wound and closed his eyes.

“Holy seal.”

A white seal settled on Susan’s chest. I couldn’t make out the design due to its faint nature, but it looked like a shiny bandage more than anything. Susan was still unconscious, so it was clear the heals didn’t cure all her injuries.

“I’ll be fine.” Claire tried to push herself up before she clanged back onto the rock. Ronnie turned to her and cast Light’s Blessing once more as he ignored her protests.

“That’s all I can do. It should last until you get to town, but they need proper treatment.” Ronnie glanced at me. “I don’t know what happened, but you need to thank-”

“It wasn’t his fault.” John spoke in my defence. “Get the word out, the bandits have a troll in the forest. If it wasn’t for Rook, we wouldn’t have made it out alive.”

I appreciated his compliment, but it felt a bit disingenuous. They had helped me more than I had helped them. They had saved my life when the wolf pack surrounded me. I had helped in the fight

It was awkward to say it, but at the moment I felt like a burden. The fights we had been involved in were too difficult for my current skill and level.

I need to unlock my abilities as soon as possible. They saved me, but I helped them in return. We should be even now, but I don't want anyone to have to save me ever again.