This time, there was less pain. A great deal less. Cleo still ended up squeezing her eyes closed and bunching her hands into fists, but she was able to throw off the torturous effects of being portaled—or teleported—in only a few moments. She thought that meant she had traveled nowhere near as far.

  Every card an F minus, she thought. F minus my life.

  When she opened her eyes, a silvery light surrounded her, along with the remains of an identically colored beam which stretched into the sky above, before it dissipated into sparkling motes, and then into nothing.

  “Over there!” someone shouted.

  Great. I landed with a spotlight on me. Cleo frantically looked around, but couldn’t see anyone nearby. They were probably hidden from her sight by the hills.

  The ground. Eww. Gray and lifeless, like scorched sand, and rock fragments intermingled with glittering grains of crystal. Here and there she could see the remains of plants and the rotting wood of dead trees. An icy wind blew, slapping her new dress against her skin, causing her to shiver. But the sandy ground was warm on the soles of her bare feet. The air smelled dull, somehow, but was tinged with the scent of hot metal and wood-smoke. Apart from the undulating ground, the only prominent feature looked to be a pyramid, far, far in the distance. Low on the horizon shimmered a pale sun, as if a thin haze obscured it.

  Cleo squinted. Just short of the pyramid, the gray land changed to green.

  I obviously need to go there.

  Fifty yards away, in the opposite direction of the pyramid, a man and a woman appeared over a rise. Both were limping, the man more so than the woman. And both were covered from head to toe with the gray dust of this desolate place, wherever she was. They were of a similar height, but the man was bent over a little, so he was taller, and wore handkerchiefs tied around their necks, probably to keep from breathing in the dust when in use. He wore what looked to be leather armor and carried a sheathed short sword at his side, and clutched a spear he was using as a crutch. The woman was garbed in a flimsy-looking robe, with a wide leather belt, and held… was that a wand?

  Add to to-do list: Get a wand.

  The woman paused and pointed the wand behind her. Blasts of coruscating fire burst from the tip and muffled explosions erupted when they impacted on something. She turned back to the man, and they continued on, whatever she’d killed with her wand on the other side of the hill sending a thin plume of black smoke into the hazy sky.

  Yes, I definitely need a wand.

  The duo trudged closer, and as they neared, Cleo could hear their panting breaths and see exhaustion etched on their faces. She couldn’t tell their skin or hair color, as at the moment they were a universal dust coated gray. Both wore modest leather backpacks—the kind she imagined adventurers would use.

  Add to to-do list: Get a backpack.

  Both were still bleeding from wounds, and their armor and robe were slashed in several places. At the sight of the blood, Cleo thought she might be sick, but they had to have healing items or potions, right? And she needed to toughen up, as no doubt she’d see a lot more blood in the future. Hopefully none of it hers.

  “Thank goodness!” exclaimed the woman, as they stopped a few paces from Cleo. “I thought it hadn’t worked!”

  The man just stood there, glaring at Cleo. His eyes were red-rimmed and he looked like he was about to keel over.

  “Um… hi? I’m Cleo,” she said, holding her hands up, palms out, in a peaceful gesture. “What did you think hadn’t worked?” She stole a look at the woman’s wand—and noticed it was made from dark brown wood, thicker than she expected, and had a spiral pattern carved into the middle.

  “My rescue orb. It cost me too much, but I knew it would save us one day.” Her eyes narrowed as she examined Cleo. She whispered under her breath and then groaned. “An F minus Aura Mage!”

  Did she just identify me?! Why didn’t I get a card for that?

  The man sank to the ground, too exhausted to stand. His spear toppled onto the sandy soil beside him. “That’s it,” he said, pressing a hand to one of his wounds in an attempt to stop the bleeding. “We’re dead. You paid an arm and a leg for a defective single-use rescue orb. I knew when we first saw her that someone this pretty was too good to be true.” He laughed then, short and bitter. “How are we going to get out of this? They’re all around us.”

  “Shut up, Kalak. We’ll think of something. She has to be a hero, though.” The woman turned to Cleo. “You are a hero, right? Tell me my orb at least got that part correct.”

  Cleo wasn’t sure what to say. She tilted her head from side to side a few times, and did her best to smile. “I mean, technically I’m a hero. But I just got here. At the exact time that you saw the light, probably. So, I don’t really know what I’m doing. I was hoping for a little help myself.”

  “That’s just great!” said Kalak, grinning mirthlessly. “A tiny damage buff or a shitty shield from an F tiered Aura Mage isn’t going to do squat. We’re dead.”

  “For the last time, Kalak, shut up. I’m trying to think.”

  “Well, think quickly, Rosalia, because there are at least a few of the Silent Legion out there, and even if Scrubby was alive, we’d…” His words trailed off, and tears trickled down his face. Cleo looked away from the man’s grief. They’d lost a companion recently. This ‘Scrubby’. Kalak was distraught and barely holding himself together.

  So, Kalak, likely a warrior of some type, dexterity-based judging from his armor and weapons, and Rosalia with the magic wand, who had to be a mage or sorceress. I wish I could identify them. Add to to-do list: Find or buy an Identify card.

  Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  And survive and find a way home.

  “I’m well aware of our situation, thank you,” said Rosalia. She chewed on a thumbnail, ignoring the dust and dirt that covered it. She spat out a mouthful of grayish saliva, then touched the tip of her wand to her worst looking wounds. With a deep sigh, she did the same to Kalak, but on her third touch he shook his head. Rosalia sighed again. “All out of charges. That’s it for healing until we get back.”

  Their wounds did look better, though some of the cuts were raw and inflamed.

  “Didn’t even get to use some on Scrubby,” Kalak said. “They were too quick. Filthy creatures. Couldn’t even grab his cards.”

  Rosalia shook her head and wiped her eyes. “He’s with the Source now. May he rest peacefully.”

  “You still have fire charges, right?”

  “Yep. A few left.”

  “A few. Fraking hells. Hang on,” Kalak said, staring at Cleo. “Where are your shoes?”

  “I don’t have any,” replied Cleo. So, the wand uses charges. What’s this ‘Source’. And who or what is the Silent Legion? Should I ask, or is this something everyone knows?

  “No shoes!” Kalak laughed almost hysterically. “A hero with no shoes, no idea, and dressed like a princess. We are so dead.”

  “Kalak, shut up!” hissed Rosalia. “Keep your voice down.”

  At this, Kalak seemed to take heed, glancing at the desolate hills surrounding them. He shrugged off his backpack and rummaged around, emerging with a canteen and strips of jerky wrapped in waxed paper. He shoved a whole strip into his mouth and gulped down half the contents of the canteen before offering some to his companion.

  Cleo shifted her weight on her feet, feeling something in the right pocket of her dress. Oh, it has pockets. She shoved a hand in to feel some metallic discs, much like coins. Must be the money from Saskia for ‘something to spend on odds and ends’. She decided not to take them out to examine in front of Rosalia and Kalak.

  “Cleo,” said Rosalia, in between bites and sips, “you’re a hero, supposedly, but a new one, except you don’t have a hero class. Do I have that right?”

  “I’m an Aura Mage. If that’s not a hero class, that you’re aware of, then your records need updating.” That’s a fudge, but I have to be functionally indistinguishable from a hero, right? She hoped so.

  “We know what an Aura Mage does, but it’s not a hero class. It’s too weak. Anyway, right now that isn’t anything we should be concerned with.” Rosalia looked at Cleo and blinked.

  [Party invitation received!]

  Cleo hesitated. How did she accept? “Yes?” she said hesitantly.

  [Party joined with Rosalia (hidden) and Kalak (hidden)]

  She sensed they remained cautious, concealing their true levels and abilities. Tier, Cleo, she reminded herself. Cards have tiers, not levels. Wait… Hide my class and abilities, please.

  [Cards hidden!]

  She didn’t know what information had been available before she’d cut off access, but hopefully nothing other than her class title and tier. Well, she’d find out sometime if anything had slipped through. For now, she needed to be cautious. Both Rosalia and Kalak were strangers, and in a world where cards were wealth and power, there would definitely be cutthroats and unscrupulous characters. Saskia had warned her…

  Being in a party was interesting, as she’d suddenly developed an awareness of exactly where both her companions were in relation to her—a kind of sixth sense—and a general feel for their overall health along with something else that she couldn’t define. She hadn’t been hoping for a mini-map, and thought it unlikely one would pop-up, but this was fascinating. And probably the way the system defined ‘allies’ with respect to her skills. Maybe there was a way she could include people in her general vicinity, and exclude monsters, but she’d have to figure that out another time when she could experiment.

  “Excellent!” said Rosalia. “You look to be in good health, and topped up on mana.” She paused then, and frowned. “Very topped up on mana… Anyhow, I’m aware that under normal circumstances the next few questions would be rude and inappropriate, but these aren’t normal circumstances as I’m sure you’ve realized. How much mana do you have?”

  “I… don’t know. Hang on.” As another groan emanated from Kalak, Cleo tried to access whatever interface she had.

  Mana, she thought. Nothing happened. Mana level. Again, nothing.

  “Don’t bother,” said Rosalia. “You can’t access it yourself; you need to be tested or a lot more experienced with mana cycling. I should have realized you’d have no idea of your mana level if you’re new and haven’t been assessed, but I’m not at my best right now. Okay, what cards do you have? I know, I know, under normal circumstances I wouldn’t ask, but these aren’t normal circumstances.”

  Cleo didn't want to reveal anything important to strangers about her cards and abilities, but Rosalia was right. They needed to know what she could do, or they might all end up dead. Whatever the Silent Legion was, she didn’t want to find out, and she wanted to fight them even less. On top of that, Rosalia and Kalak obviously knew she was a new hero—as in new to her cards and hero class. Whether they also knew she was from another world was up for debate. So far, they hadn’t mentioned it.

  “Cleo, what can you do?”

  She looked at Kalak and Rosalia’s exhausted, bedraggled state, and their seeping wounds, and the despair on their faces.

  You wanted not to die and to help people, Cleo, so do it.

  “Maybe it’s best if I show you,” she said.

  She guessed she probably wouldn’t have to say her skills out loud, and thinking something like “Activate Skill” was clumsy, so she just willed Regeneration to happen, hoping it would work.

  She immediately felt something deplete inside her chest, as if a vital resource had been partially cut off. Reserved, she realized. The skill constantly reserved ten percent of her mana, kind of like a cost, an upkeep. Cleo turned her senses inward and tried to probe where she thought her mana was, but was unsuccessful at finding anything. Hopefully with practice she would understand more.

  She heard Rosalia gasp and returned her focus to her new companions.

  Kalak stared at her, his mouth slightly open. Rosalia was grinning like a mad-woman and chuckling to herself. Then she let out another gasp.

  “It works on mana, too! It’s just a trickle, but it’s helping.”

  Magic! I’m doing it! “Yes!” said Cleo. “It works on both life and mana.”

  “Life?” said Kalak. “You mean health.”

  “Er, yes.”

  “My wounds have stopped bleeding at least,” he said, “but the health regain is small.”

  “Kalak,” said Rosalia. “We’ve used up all our potions and the healing from my wand, and this is far better than nothing. It might make enough of a difference to get us back to safety, and I’ll take whatever we can get.” She glanced at Cleo. “It’s not an Aura Mage skill, though.”

  “It is for me,” Cleo said quickly.

  Kalak grunted. “I don’t care if she’s a priest or something else, as long as she keeps this up. If she can tier-up once or twice it would be better, though. F plus would be much stronger than F minus. Wait, do you need to keep casting the skill?”

  Cleo shook her head. “No. It’s an aura. As long as I let it keep reserving my mana it’ll keep functioning.”

  “Huh,” said Rosalia, giving Cleo an odd look. “It’ll help, that’s for sure. The longer it’s active, the better. At this rate, we’ll both be fully healed in a few hours. Maybe a little longer. But for a passive aura, that’s not terrible. And the mana regeneration is beneficial, too. It’s much faster than the health aspect.”

  Heat rushed to Cleo’s face at the praise. The situation had gone from dire to not-quite-dire. But from the way Rosalia and Kalak kept scanning the surrounding hills, they expected trouble. And it was trouble they thought might kill them.

  I should probably just fully commit. It’s not worth holding anything back.

  Cleo fairly hummed with excitement, and activated her Energy Shield skill.