The relaxed atmosphere inside the Inn helped Michael cool his taut nerves.

Raskya immediately saw him enter and beckoned to approach.

[I heard you stirred up some trouble. Twice. Pretty impressive, considering that you've only left for some hours.](Raskya)

"Please don't make fun of me... I'd rather spend more time relaxing and less embroiled in utter chaos."

[Oh? Not ALL the time, but just SOME of it?](Raskya)

"Wasn't sure in the beginning, but I already confirmed that I enjoy a small degree of chaos in my life."

[Well, I have good news for you in that case!](Raskya)

"Ugh..."

[Hahaha! I already talked with Aybdah, and since you're flying solo, I convinced him to join you in your future 'adventures.' I also know Christine and Burt, as I pretty much raised them myself, so they will join you as well.](Raskya)

Looking at the ceiling with a blank face, Michael nodded dumbly and sighed heavily. There seemed to be no escaping the tapestry of fate.

'And since I can't escape, the best I can do is plan ahead. Overall, as much as I hate initiative being taken away from me, the Sanctuary pushing people onto me to form a party can only mean that whatever I'm about to face soon isn't something I can defeat alone.'

Thinking up to this point, Michael looked at the 'simple' Quest in the upper-right corner of his view and pondered what could go wrong on the way.

Unsurprisingly, before he could get far with his thoughts, Aybdah nodded and walked to his table.

[Do you mind if I join you?](Aybdah)

"Not at all. From what Miss Raskya said, we'll be party members soon, so it would be great if we could get to know each other more."

[Yeah... about that. Sorry. Aunty can sometimes be pushy but does it with the best intentions. In this case, she's probably worried about me falling behind. As a Ranger-type Class, it is challenging for me to take on solo missions, and when you appeared, she thought partnering with you would be the best idea. I had to listen to a sermon longer than the one the Church of Light holds on Sundays....](Aybdah)

"Well, she's not wrong. With the chaos outside the city walls, it's better to walk with people you trust rather than be by your lonesome. Let's get some introductions over with..."

Just before he could continue, he could see the eyes of the people in the Inn turn toward the entrance, where two new arrivals made their way inside.

The hostess went forward and grabbed both people, brought them to Michael's table, sat them down, and said that food and drinks on the house would soon come.

Seeing as the woman winked at him, Michael did his best to suppress a sigh and turned to greet the new additions.

"Hello. I'm glad to see the two of you are okay."

Aybdah was a bit stunned as he appeared not to know these two, but Michael couldn't be more familiar with them. After all, the lady there almost killed him with an arrow less than an hour ago.

[Aunty Rasyka hurried over when she heard we were injured and the guards already treated us. We're back to full capability.](Christine)

"That's good to hear."

Seeing as the woman didn't even bother apologizing for almost killing him, Michael was already considering what reason he should use to ditch this random party.

Unfortunately for him, the guy, Burt, pinched Christine in a very inconspicuous manner, drawing a yelp and a glare from the woman. Seemingly realizing that she had forgotten something, she hastily turned to Michael and apologized.

[I'm sorry I shot an arrow at you. I didn't recognize you, and my consciousness was blurry. I thought another rat had found its way to the alley to finish the job.](Christine)

"Don't worry about it. At the end of the day, there was no harm done."

[Hello! My name is Burt. You have to excuse Christine here. While she's a fantastic archer, she can sometimes be quite a ditz.](Burt)

Shaking hands with Burt, Michael, and Aybdah introduced themselves as well. Seeing how the pleasant personalities of the two wouldn't allow him to get away, the young Necromancer gave up and decided to roll with it.

Fortunately, before he could ask the question that was bothering him, Aybdah beat him to the punch.

[I'm hoping this doesn't concern some secrets, but what are these 'rats' you keep mentioning? I somehow doubt that they are the tiny pests old people beat with their brooms.](Aybdah)

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[Uhm, I assume you're from outside Kyovashad, right Aybdah?](Burt)

[Yes. Demons attacked my village, and I was the only survivor a passing Wanderer found. He brought me back to Kyovashad and taught me the ropes of my Class.](Aybdah)

It was Burt's turn to be punished by a knuckle sandwich, courtesy of Christine, only to have Aybdah join the conversation and pacify her.

Seeing how chaotic the conversation was turning, Michael took the reins and decided to start the introductions.

"My name is Michael. I'm a Level 6 Necromancer. Since we're going to fight together as a party, I guess that we should know a bit about each other. For myself after finishing my apprenticeship, I decided to travel the Sanctuary and was struck down by a cold. I woke up in a small camp where the villagers..."

After more than fifteen minutes of nonstop talking, Michael finished his story about how he got to Kyovashad just in time for the drinks brought over by Raskya.

The trio was looking at him with wide eyes, probably surprised at the unfortunate encounter he had to go through in Nevesk. He explained what he went through in broad strokes, forgoing details like his connection to Lilith.

[You've been through a lot, man. Christine and I grew up in Kyovashad. Our parents died when we were 14. Both of our families were friends, and the two of us grew up together. Unfortunately, the demons set up an ambush in one of the high-level Dungeons, and many Wanderers, including our parents, died there.](Burt)

Hearing the story, Michael realized just how normal it was for people to die in the Sanctuary. Especially Wanderers who put themselves at the front lines in the fight against these invading forces.

[Aunty Raskya took us in, and about a year or so ago, I got my recognition Quest. It was to kill a demon. So I sneaked out in the morning, killed one with a bow and arrow, and returned by noon as a Wanderer.](Christine)

Once again, hearing the blunt wording of the woman, Michael was a bit unnerved. She talked about killing that demon as normal, as if she were talking about killing a chicken.

The straightforward way through which she became a Wanderer was rather amazing.

[Christine returned and told me that she was a Wanderer now. I was obviously surprised and worried. With how our parents ended up and with how much of an airhead she is at times, I didn't want her to walk alone. So I asked the Sanctuary for a recognition Quest.](Burt)

[You yelled for one.](Christine)

[Irrelevant! Anyway, my Quest involved mixing different medicines into potions and brews and having Christine drink them. Then, she had to kill five demons while under the influence of my concoctions.](Burt)

Stunned and wondering if the Sanctuary truly works like that, Michael ended up concluding that it should. If someone is willing to become a Wanderer, the Sanctuary shouldn't ignore them.

Especially since they knew they would risk their lives daily, they still picked this road to travel.

[In the end, I couldn't let her go by herself, so I grabbed one of my father's two-handed swords and followed her in secret. As it turns out, handling five demons at once was too much for a newbie, and she got overwhelmed. I joined the battle and killed three of them myself. Well, the sword did most of the work as I was swinging it blindly. After we returned, I finished my Quest and got a strange Class as a result. Battle Shaman. I'm Level 8 now.](Burt)

[Archer. Level 9.](Christine)

Hearing the strange Class Burt had and the brief presentation of Christine's Class, Michael's curiosity toward the Battle Shaman class grew.

A Shaman was known for its buffing, debuffing, healing... pretty much its versatility with the spells. If Burt was a Battle Shaman, he should be able to buff himself and others.

'That should explain how they killed those five 'rats.' Also, that reminds me that the conversation was about those five dead 'rats' to begin with...'

[It seems that it's my turn. Not much more to say than what I mentioned before. When the village was attacked, I hid in a cellar and got my own Quest. I had to stealthily kill ten demons without drawing attention to myself. I somehow pulled it off, and the others got scared. In the morning, I was rescued and brought here. As for my Class... Thief. Level 5.](Aybdah)

"Is it a Class based on Stealth?"

[Huh? Yeah. How did you know?](Aybdah)

"I've read about it before, I think."

A Thief Class that can evolve into Assassin, most likely, an Archer capable of ranged attacks, a Battle Shaman that wields a greatsword, and himself a Necromancer.

The party didn't seem well balanced at all, but through its oddity and the fact that Michael could assume the role of a tank by using the minions, ranged with his spells, and mele by using his scythe, it might actually work.

"Since Miss Raskya decided to group us, we should run some tests to figure out how well we could work together. To start, myself. As a Necromancer, I have ranged attacks through my spells, but I can also use my Skeletons as tanks."

[How many?](Christine)

"Four at the moment."

[I can use elemental attacks with my arrows.](Christine)

[I can buff allies and debuff enemies. The spells are pretty weak, though, since I'm only Level 8. Fortunately, I can hold my own with a greatsword since I wanted to follow in my father's footsteps.](Burt)

[I can use Stealth to mask my presence. When in use, I make no sound, I have no smell, and I am hard to see. However, it's based on the environment. In the middle of a clearing with sunlight overhead, it's basically a useless trick. Besides that, I have only one skill called 'Backstab.' It increases the damage I deal to an enemy that's not facing me by two times. If I combine Stealth and Backstab, the damage gets multiplied twice.](Aybdah)

We all pondered momentarily, running different fighting scenarios in our heads. As it turns out, the party was pretty decent.

However, they were more of an aggressive party as opposed to a passive one. If we were put on defense, major flaws would be revealed.

Considering all possibilities wasn't something Michael could do at the moment, and he couldn't waste too much time either.

"Truth be told, I got a Quest just before arriving at the Inn. Can I share it?"

[We need to be in the same party.](Christine)

[Me and Christine are in one. We can invite you.](Burt)

"Sure."

[Okay with me.](Aybdah)

The party invite was very similar to many games he had played in the past, reminding Michael of something he almost forgot after being submerged in living in this new world: the Sanctuary and the game's system might be one and the same entity!

Taking a deep breath, he accepted the invite, and his MAP instantly updated, showing three green dots around himself.

Also, a Party interface popped up and showed details of the trio. It included their names, levels, and general Life points, represented by a red bar.

"Any idea how I can share the Quest? My first time doing it."

[Focus on the Quest. Now that you are in the party, you should have the option to share it if it can be shared. If not, then it's a solo Quest.](Burt)

Following the instructions, the 'Share Quest' option appeared, and all the remaining three members received it.

[A missing priest? And on the way to Menestad. It's not going to be easy. Lately, multiple demons and beasts have been attacking the travelers on that road. When were you planning to go out?](Burt)

"Now."

[Huh!?](Burt)

[Uhm...](Aybdah)

[No preparations.](Christine)

"Yes, I know. But it's an investigation Quest. We only need to find out if something happened to the man and sweep the road. If something interferes or we're being attacked, we can simply retreat. At least that's what I was planning to do alone."

Michael didn't suddenly go crazy. He indeed planned to ask around and investigate the road conditions before going on a search. But now that he had the other three, a bit more of a reckless approach wasn't a bad idea.

Plus, even with the bad feeling and the possible ambush, having four people instead of just one increased the odds in his favor.

'At the end of the day, to be able to level up, I need to kill demons. Running away from every fight isn't a good idea in the long term.'