Still bleary from waking, Callum shook his head while staring at the stranger. That turned out to be a bad idea. His head hurt, despite the First Aid healing he'd been able to apply just before passing out.

"Oh wow, you're back to full health? How did you manage that?" The bald human crouched down in front of Callum, resting his wooden staff over his bent legs, letting it pinch between his thighs and stomach.

"First Aid skill," Callum said groggily.

The human reached out his hand toward Callum. "You a healer or something then? That was a pretty big explosion. You're what - wait? You're only a level 3?" He asked in surprise.

"Uhhh?" Callum said dumbly. He was looking at the human's hand and was about to reach out to grasp it when the words he'd said sunk in. "I'm level 3?" Only now did Callum notice the blinking notifications in the top right corner of his vision.

Oh! Oh- I'm level 3!

With a quick mental thought, Callum brought up his combat recap and experience gains.

Congratulations, you killed:

- Goblin x 27

- Goblin Shaman x 2

- Gnarlhound x 1

You've gained bonus experience for killing a monster 10 levels above your own. (25% increase)

Now that's more like it, Challenger! Nothing like wiping out dozens of baddies in one fell swoop.

Total EXP Earned: 617

Callum was incredulous. The explosion and ensuing tunnel collapse had decimated thirty of the monsters. He longed to access his Class menu and select his level two ability to see how his new stat points had been distributed. But he knew better than to get lost in menus at a time like this. The human before him wore an uneven grin.

This is not the time to be distracted, Callum reminded himself, clearing his throat. He extended his hand to shake the man's, but before he could speak, the stranger began to talk.

"You don't know your own level?" He said, still smiling. The torchlight seemed to dance in his eyes, and Callum couldn't help but feel like there was an unsaid joke here. The man seemed abnormally amused by his actions.

"Well, I was still level 1 when I set up the trap. I suppose that hitting the wall knocked me out, and the rest was long enough to allow my level up."

"Level up-'S'." He said with a widening grin. "That's a ballsy move to set something up like that with such a low health pool. Judging by your light armor, I'm assuming you're a caster? Why didn't you blow it up from a distance?"

Callum grumbled in frustration. "I'm not sure what this stupid class is. I don't have any ranged abilities at the moment."

The other man's eyebrows lifted in surprise. "Well, either way. Impressive for a level 1 to walk into a goblin den full of level 3 and 4s. You have a death wish or somethin'?"

"Not a death wish. A quest." He grinned a little sheepishly at the crouching man, realizing how insane his plan must seem to someone else. In hindsight, it even sounded a little insane to his own ears.

"Ahh, yea, that makes sense. Well, I cleared the rift at the bottom of the mines yesterday, so the goblins should stop spawning. I was just relaxing in a spot a little way down the tunnel, and I heard a huge commotion up here. I got here just in time to see you go skyrocketing through the air. You were on fire and hit the ground rolling and then slammed into the wall over here. It was lucky timing, though. That dog beast was in the middle of lunging for the back of your head when the explosion went off."

Callum shifted uncomfortably. That was not an image he wanted to think about.

"You were at 1 HP, you know? That was a close one, for sure. I was going to try and come see if I could help you, but the tunnel collapse blocked my path until I could burn my way out." He scratched his head sheepishly.

"You have an [Analyze] ability?" Callum said, without thinking about it.

"Of course I do. How else would I have just told you your own level?"

The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

"Oh- right." He said, admonishing himself. "Of course. You're an Elementalist, then?"

It was the human's turn to be surprised. "How did you know that?" He shifted back on his heels some, gaining a small amount of space from Callum. His hand rested casually onto his staff, though Callum recognized it as a safety measure.

He held up his hands to placate the human. "Well, there are only three caster classes that get a scan ability early. Your skin isn't a sickly gray, so you're not a Necromancer, and I highly doubt that a newly integrated race would have met the requirements to be an Enchanter yet. So that just leaves the Elementalist."

The man relaxed slightly and nodded. "That makes sense. Yes, I'm an Elementalist. Anyway, I'm getting kind of bored now. I was going to clear out the rest of these goblins in the cave before heading out. If you're interested, I could invite you to a quick party, and you can soak up some experience. These guys don't do too much for me."

"I'd appreciate that. I could use the experience." Callum wasn't one to turn down the opportunity of free assistance, though he was curious why the man was willing to help.

If killing the goblins didn't do anything for him, what was the point of killing them? I wonder if he's one of those hero types. Callum rolled his eyes as he stood and attempted to brush himself off a bit.

A system notification popped up in Callum's vision:

Attention Challenger: You've been invited to a party. Do you accept? Yes/No

Callum clicked yes, and another system window popped up immediately afterward:

You've joined a party! Look at you go, you social butterfly. While in a party: All experience will be decreased by 25%, but as long as party members are within 50 meters of each other, all kills will be credited to all party members. This applies to experience and quest counters.

Loot will be distributed evenly among party members unless the Party Leader adjusts the settings in his HUD.

Callum flicked the notification away, annoyed that he had to deal with some of these System Tutorial messages again. The snarky attitude was also a bit grating to Callum. He idly wondered if there was a way to turn them off in the System Settings Menu.

"Well, I'm going to be in a bit of a rush. So we'll try to do this as quickly as possible. What do you say?" The human stood and grinned. He stretched and raised the wooden staff over his head. He slid his hands along its length and seemed to use it as a stretching device.

Since it was his first time standing next to the other young man, Callum realized that he was several inches taller than the human. Unlike those in the village, this one also seemed to be built of muscle and moved with a certain deadly assurance. Callum found himself once again wishing for his [Analyze] skill. "Sounds splendid. I'll follow you."

"I'd like to try something. If you'd just hang back here, I'm going to gather up some of the goblins and bring back a big group here." He stretched some more, from left to right, while he spoke. His loose-fitting clothes swayed from his frame.

"Hmm, if you think it will work." Callum knew this was a proven method of power-leveling someone, but it typically required a lot of fighting experience and quite a bit of Constitution. If the booster didn't have enough health to take a large number of passing swipes from the monsters, then they could die before even getting back to the party. "You sure you don't want to do it the slow way? I don't mind."

The human's grin widened, revealing flat, white teeth that unsettled Callum. "I'm sure you don't, friend. But as I said, I'm on a tight schedule. Just hang out here, and I'll let you know when I'm returning to the cavern." With that, he lowered his staff and took off in a jog toward the tunnel on the far side of the cave.

For the first time since he had woken up, Callum had a clear view of the cavern. The explosion had caused chaos on the opposite side, leaving a wall of debris and rubble where the goblin huts and workstations had once been. It was a scene of utter devastation, with smoldering piles of wood and canvas scattered around the cave and scorch marks covering the walls and ceiling.

As Callum looked at the collapsed section of the cavern, he noticed that a wall of debris now obstructed both tunnels leading deeper into the mines. The left tunnel, where the gas pocket had originally been, was entirely covered, while the one to the right was partially cleared. Callum watched the man run through the opening and realized that it had once been completely blocked by debris as well. The opening was actually a hole burned straight through the rock wall.

Whatever fire magic he's using, it must be strong.

Callum walked closer to the rock pile, frustrated that the large majority of goblins were completely buried in the rubble, making it impossible for him to look at their corpses. He knew that while he didn't have to touch the corpses physically, he had to have a line of sight and clear intent for the System to loot a creature.

With a sigh, he began walking through the rubble and looting the few corpses that he could. After what he could, he sat on a large rock to wait, looking at his loot:

Loot Recieved:

- Copper Coins x 20

- Strips of Linen Cloth x 18

- Iron Nails x 12

He found himself content with the meager haul, yet he couldn't shake off the nagging feeling of disappointment at the potential riches that lay buried beneath the rocks on which he now sat. Above all else, it was the cloth that held the most value to him. Had he not been able to apply it to his leg after the explosion, he would have succumbed to blood loss or burn damage, forfeiting his last remaining health points and dying a pitiable death.

The thought alone sent shivers down his spine and sapped away any semblance of joy from his meager spoils. With a sigh, he dismissed the loot window and shifted his attention to his surroundings. It was then that his gaze caught sight of something peculiar. There, near the entrance ramp, lay the lifeless body of the ferocious canine beast.

The system had called it a Gnarlhound?

He hopped up and got closer to loot the beast.