I couldn’t believe the amount of stats I gained, along with the levels. And I had free stat points now? As we were coming back, retracing our steps without stressing our bodies too much, I opened my status and checked the new skills and traits. There was too much we still didn’t understand about how all of this worked, but at least knowing the little the System was willing to share was imperative.

  I read and reread everything multiple times. Not very informative. But at least I knew what my skills did a bit more than just the feeling I had while using them. It was still a mystery how, after gaining the skills, or purchasing them, we knew how to use them and could modify them a little too. It worked by force of will, or the energy; the mana was psycho-reactive, maybe? We didn’t know, but in the meantime it was enough to know that we could use spells and skills and could change them with a bit of work.

  Now, the Arcane Infusion skill was the most interesting to me right now. I used it the same way I thought something like overcharge could work, but apparently it could do much, much more. I needed to start testing my skills and see if I could bring to the surface their full potential. That’s one of the reasons I gifted the shield to Jack; he needed it, and he was generally working as the “tank” of the group, like Quinn so often called him. But the main reason is that I was a mage – well, a hexer now – and I had a barrier-like skill that I wasn’t using properly, so it was time I started to fight like a mage and not like a brute with magic.

  I had more to check though; let’s see what my class is doing for me this time.

  A great step up, at least in terms of stats compared to the basic Mage class. Not that the class was weaker; it showed potential from the beginning, especially with a diverse repertoire of spells. Probably if I spent more points in spells and less in potions, I would have much greater versatility by now. Well, no matter, I did what I did for my curse. Speaking of which, it’s strangely quiet for now. But I felt before that my trait was on the verge of evolving again. It needs a bigger push, but I got a trait-enhancing token from one of my achievements. I could feel it burning a hole in my metaphysical pocket, but it wasn’t the time to use it for now. If I could evolve my trait another time by myself, then I could use the token. Given that the amount of work for every increase was clearly higher than the one before, it was the most sensible choice.

  But it wasn’t finished; I had a choice of skills again. After crossing level 15, apparently I had another one to choose, always between three.

  “Everything’s fine?” Alya asked before I could even decide on something; she got close without me noticing. I was so distracted by my new status that I lost track of my surroundings.

  “More than fine,” I regarded her with a smile. I will choose with more calm later. “I was just thinking of all the changes in my status after my new class evolution.”

  “Yeah, man, the new abilities and the trait and the choices! It is like a game, but in real life! You have to choose properly, or your build will be a mess, trust me,” Quinn said seriously.

  Despite his young age and somewhat childish mentality, he has proven many times that his logic taken from games and pop culture wasn’t flawed, at least here.

  “I agree with you here,” I told him, “but I would enjoy some more information about skills and other parts of my status; the system is not really forthcoming.”

  “You tell me,” interjected Mary. “One of my new skills literally says ‘cure at a distance with reduced efficiency… cure what? A fever? A heart attack? At what distance? How much efficiency am I losing? Nothing is clear; we need to experiment to understand anything about our abilities… it’s frustrating.”

  Alya snorted as we followed the winding path down the ravine, boots crunching on gravel still tacky with gorg blood. “Honestly, Mary, you should be happy your vague skill is about curing people. Mine literally says, ‘Amplify physical output through instinctive aggression.’ What does that mean? Do I scream and suddenly bench-press a waggon?”

  Jack raised a hand as if lecturing a class. “I respectfully propose you just scream at the waggon and see what happens.”

  Alya elbowed him. “If I break my vocal cords, you’re paying the healer fee.”

  Mary groaned theatrically. “Yeah, you’re lucky I charge in hugs and good intentions.”

  Marcus let out a wheeze of a laugh. “Expensive.”

  Quinn hopped over a root and spun to walk backwards, his eyes gleaming with the particular brand of fervour he reserved for system talk. “You know what I’m excited for? Trait interactions. In games, traits diversify builds. Synergies. Multipliers. Combos. Imagine what happens when I start to stack Rogue stuff with Assassin. Or Alya pairs her strength trait with that aggression booster. Or Mary—”

  Mary cut him off with a raised brow. “If you say I should be a healing nuke one more time, I’ll revoke your future medical privileges.”

  Quinn zipped his mouth shut. For maybe two minutes.

  I stifled a grin. The group felt lighter, despite the happening in the cave. Maybe it was the plums. Or the fact that we’d survived a Baron-class undead horror twice over. Or maybe the grim satisfaction of knowing those breeders weren’t suffering anymore.

  While we walked back, we started talking about our new classes and skills. Everyone improved by leaps and bounds. The outing has been incredibly rewarding, especially for me. After Jack finished explaining how his Brace skill evolved into Bastion, his tone shifted a shade more serious. “Think the camp made it without us?”

  Alya’s stride slowed for a moment. “They were about to move when we left. If the gorgs hit them… well, at least they had most of the people mildly organised now, and honestly, we probably killed like sixty or seventy gorgs since yesterday. How many others could be around here? The cave now is empty.”

  Marcus rubbed his shoulder. “Those fighters that remained there are not really reassuring me.”

  “They’re going to be fine,” Mary said. “We were gone for three or four hours.” She flicked a glance at me. “Now we are coming back stronger than ever, and we eliminated the biggest threat too… that has to count for something.”

  “I’m not sure they’ll see it the same way,” Jack muttered.

  “It doesn’t matter; they need to bunker down and level up decently,” I said. “They need the strength to follow us, at least.”

  “What are you planning now?” Alya looked at me with interest.

  I scanned the forest around us; we were near the clearing. “I was thinking that it is impossible to make them all keep our pace, so they should proceed at their own, and we could still help them by opening a path for them to follow, killing monsters, marking the way and progressing through this tutorial towards the beacon. One of the quests specifically mentioned that after defeating a king we will unlock a regional safe path. I think this arrangement could work for everyone.”

  Quinn’s eyes lit up before I even finished speaking. “That is actually perfect. We forge ahead, carve a safe line, and they follow at a reasonable pace; they don’t get murdered, and we don’t get slowed by people who can’t kill a squirrel without a committee vote. Honestly, why didn’t we think of this earlier?”

  Alya nodded, jaw tightening as if she were chewing on a sour memory. “I like it. It’s very clear they are not going to keep pace given their… disposition.” She shook her head. “If they want safety, then let them earn it at their own rhythm. We’ll just remove what would kill them outright.”

  Mary frowned, the crease between her brows deepening. “I understand the logic. I do. But leaving them behind—even with a trail—feels… risky. If we get too far ahead, something could slip between us and them. They could still be attacked.” She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, worry radiating from her voice. “There are old and young people in between...”

  Jack rubbed the back of his neck. “I don’t hate the idea,” he admitted. “Part of me wants to explore and get stronger. Part of me wants to make sure they’re not eaten by a random monster the moment we leave.” His lips twisted into a conflicted half-smile. “So… I guess we should really think about it, maybe with the group too. If somebody has the skills to follow or to make this idea more solid, maybe.”

  Marcus just grunted. Not even a syllable. Flat as a stone.

  “Was that approval?” Quinn asked.

  “Disapproval?” Alya added.

  Marcus shrugged as if the question itself was an inconvenience. Another grunt. “All decisions are bad decisions here.”

  “That’s the most prophetically vague thing I’ve ever heard,” Mary muttered.

  I exhaled slowly. “Whatever path they take, it won’t be on our shoulders. We’ll give them the safest chance we can. The rest is up to them.”

  Quinn snapped his fingers. “Exactly! We’re not abandoning them. We’re scouting ahead, like a strike team. They move up behind us with far less danger.”

  Alya smirked. “And if someone complains, we can remind them that if they really want to stop us, they can try...”

  Mary tried not to smile. Failed. “Okay. Fine. I’m not completely against it. But if something happens to them, we face it together. Agreed?”

  I nodded. “Agreed.”

  Jack gave a small salute. Quinn bounced on his toes. Alya gripped her new axe with renewed determination. Marcus… grunted again. I think the man's social battery was totally empty.

  We pushed through the final curtain of branches and stepped into the clearing.

  Empty.

  The tents were gone. Tracks carved in the dirt, hasty and uneven. Signs of rapid packing.

  “They moved…” said Mary, a touch of concern in her voice.

  “It’s fine; it’s not a bad idea to find the new camp and the river. We need a bath, remember?” I jokingly said while looking at Alya in particular.

  “Don’t remind me… do we at least know where to go?” The heavily blood-covered girl asked.

  Quinn spoke after thinking for a moment. ”I talked with the other guy who went to scout; he told me the way, more or less. I’m sure we’ll be there in a jiffy!”

  “Take the lead then.” I told Quinn.

  “Follow me!”

  Good, I could really use a bath too. I just hope our choice won’t make the group revolt. While I was managing my curse much better, I was still bound to it.

  For now.

  20 chapters ahead!