They hadn't even been walking through the woods along a faint path for five minutes when Io zipped forward to float right in Kate's face. This is the perfect time to continue your Basic Training!

  “Yes, all right, fine. But move a little, will you? I can't see where I'm going. I actually did have some questions. Like about the inventory. How do I store things in there besides loot? Also, will it always be so small? There's only like twenty-five spaces in there.”

  Io obediently moved to float by her shoulder. Simple. To move something to your inventory, simply touch it and think or say “store item”. In fact, you don't have to speak out loud to bring up or interact with any of your menus. Just think the word. You do have to say spells out loud, however. Please don't try to do that mentally.

  “Well, that's handy.”

  Also, every five levels you will gain an additional five slots to your inventory. The things you put in there will stack with themselves, but be careful not to fill it up too quickly or you'll be forced to discard some things in order to pick up others.

  “Speaking of menus, I saw some stats I didn't understand on my character screen. What are C and Ch?”

  C is your constitution. It determines your health. The higher the number, the higher your health. It's important for tanks, but less so for Supports. Ch is for charisma. That's much more important to classes that depend heavily on using their charm or their wiles.

  “Like rogues or bards I suppose. Assuming bards are a thing. Okay, how about D?”

  Defense.

  “Oh. Obviously. Also, I suppose, not a stat I should waste too many points in?”

  You are free to allocate stat points wherever you please. But certain classes would do well to focus on certain stats. A Support Hero, for instance, relies most heavily on Willpower, though Intelligence is a good one to have as well. Willpower determines how quickly your mana grows with each level, and it ensures you can cast your spells more powerfully. If you had a low Willpower, even if you had seventy MP, your healing would be weaker. But even someone with lower MP could produce more powerful healing spells if they had higher Willpower.

  “And Intelligence?”

  Intelligence is helpful for both Mage and Support classes specifically because it ensures shorter cooldowns and casting times. It also determines how much XP you get. A Tank who ignores Intelligence completely in favor of defense will level more slowly because he is getting less XP per kill than his Mage companion might get by having much higher Intelligence. Io began to spin in place slowly, and Kate wondered with amusement if it was the Guardian's version of pacing as it lectured. Strength is, frankly, not a stat this one would advise you invest in much. All support weapons rely on Willpower to determine their effectiveness. Dexterity is also mainly for combat roles, so you could safely bypass it as well. Constitution and Defense, especially in your current situation, are not bad ones to add to, but this one would advise against dumping too many in Defense at the cost of not leveling up something more important like Willpower.

  “Noted. Quick question: was there perhaps a Support class weapon in my nonexistent Beginner's Bag?”

  Io seemed to droop. Yes.

  “So aside from even defending myself if needed, how am I supposed to level up without a party? I can't go picking fights unarmed by myself, not at level one.”

  Io was quiet for a few moments. This one will have to put in a request. The first chest with your ring was allowed because of the extreme circumstances. But this one is sure that a request for a simple common level 1 item would not be out of the question.

  “What do you mean by put in a request? To who, your gods?”

  That is not important right now, Io said evasively. What other questions did you have?

  Kate glanced towards where Gren was marching solidly along several feet ahead, clearly ignoring her one-sided conversation. “I'm assuming Gren isn't speaking English.”

  Pardon?

  “How can Gren and I understand each other if we're from different worlds?”

  You didn't think the gods would be cruel enough to invite you here and then make it so you were unable to communicate, did you? Each Hero is granted the Blessing of Speech upon arrival. You may understand any sentient language while in Giltar.

  Well thank god for that. Or gods. “Both you and Gren have made reference to Heroes from the past. How often have humans, er, volunteered to come here?”

  This is not the only world to require Heroes, and it is not only humans that have been summoned.

  “Well now I have like fifty more follow-up questions.”

  It is irrelevant. The simple answer is that Heroes have been to Giltar five times in the past two centuries. This is the third time that group consisted of humans.

  Kate managed to resist the urge to ask if the other Heroes had been some sort of alien. She had a feeling Io wouldn't answer. “And why are we 'summoned', anyway?”

  Over time the monsters of certain worlds grow in strength and number until the natives are unable to do anything to stop them. The monsters will raze villages, kill hundreds of thousands, and destroy everything in their path. This is something the gods will not stand for, but they are unable to directly intervene.

  “So they need Heroes that are able to level incredibly fast and use mana more effectively,” Kate extrapolated.

  Correct. The Heroes group up and go across the continent culling the monsters. Once things are stable, your job will be done.

  “And then we can go home?”

  Did you have any other inquiries?

  “Io. Don't avoid the question.”

  Apologies. This is a sensitive subject. Io fluttered nervously. Technically, yes. Heroes are then returned home. But... fighting monsters is dangerous. Not all survive.

  Kate stopped in her tracks. Last night she'd known she was about to die. But to have Io so blatantly state that there was a real possibility that going through with this could get her killed sent a cold finger of fear down her spine. “And I don't suppose I can un-volunteer?” she demanded a little stridently.

  No, Io said in a small voice.

  Kate glared. “You know, a disclaimer would've been nice right under the big red 'click here to sign up' button.”

  “Hey!” Gren had stopped and turned to scowl at them. He'd gotten further ahead than Kate had realized. “Get a move on!”

  “Let's take a break from Basic Training for awhile,” Kate suggested coldly, and hurried to catch up. Io floated despondently after her, and remained obediently silent as they continued their trek through the woods.

  ~*~

  They went on this way without speaking for twenty minutes before Gren came to an an abrupt halt, gesturing with one hand for Kate to stay back. She stopped immediately.

  “Something's stalking us,” Gren muttered, jerking his head towards the left side of the animal path he'd steered them onto. “Just stay there and let me handle it.”

  Kate! Io burst up in front of her face, startling her after so long acting as unobtrusive as possible. You must assist. You sorely need the XP.

  It had a point. “Um, Io says I should help--”

  Gren threw her an impatient look over his shoulder. “You have no weapons, and I assume no way to attack with spells. Just stay back.”

  “But I need to level--”

  Ah-- One moment! Io began glowing more brightly.

  Gren muttered something under his breath before growling urgently, “Will you tell that damned firebug to cut it out? It's attracting more attention.”

  Pop!

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  A chest appeared out of thin air and landed in the grass at Kate's feet. It was twice the size of the one she'd received earlier, but before she could so much as reach for it, a deer burst out of the trees and sprinted right at Gren.

  More like a deer from hell, Kate thought, horrified as she got a good look at it.

  She'd only seen a few deer in person before, but something was definitely wrong with this one. Its fur seemed longer than normal, and instead of curved antlers it had two long viciously-pointed horns sticking straight out of the top of its head. And it had lowered its head to try and gore Gren with them.

  He leapt out of the way with surprising quickness for such a large man, striking the deer hard on the flank with the flat of his axe as it passed.

  Omnivorous Deer – Lvl 3

  “Omnivorous?” Kate repeated in horror. “Does that thing eat meat?”

  “If you could see its teeth, you wouldn't be asking that,” Gren grunted, flipping the axe in his hand so he was aiming the business end at the deer. “Go on, you stupid animal, get lost. You won't win this fight.”

  The deer had already turned back to face him. Its mean red eyes radiated malice, and it pawed at the sod a moment before making another run, head lowered.

  Gren took a step to the side and brought the axe down hard.

  The deer slammed to the ground, and Kate winced, glancing away automatically at the sight of its head nearly cleaved from its body.

  Gren set the axehead on the ground and leaned on the haft, giving Kate a stern look. “Do your loot thing if you want, but don't interfere. The things out here are weak, but you're weaker. I understand you want to get stronger, but you have no way to fight back.” He seemed to notice the chest for the first time. “What the hell is that?”

  “I don't know. Io gave it to me.”

  A common Support weapon, as promised, Io boasted.

  “I thought you said you had to get permission.” Kate sent the deer's body a quick nervous look to assure herself it was dead, then squatted down and pulled open the chest's lid.

  This one thinks a good argument could be made for the circumstances.

  “Ask for forgiveness, not permission, huh?” She reached into the chest eagerly, but what she pulled out was not at all what she'd expected.

  It looked like a metal glove, like something from a piece of ancient armor. It was a little battered, as if it had seen some use, and there was no decoration aside from the one-inch spikes on each knuckle.

  Basic Healer's Gauntlet - Common

  Support class only, level 1-4

  “Am I supposed to... hit monsters?” she asked in disbelief. It seemed like more of a DPS weapon.

  Of course. Io seemed perplexed by her reaction. Support Heroes do not attack from afar, but they must have some way to defend themselves if an enemy gets past the party to harass them. As mentioned before, instead of Strength or Dexterity, a Support's weapon relies on Willpower to be effective. The higher your Willpower, the harder you hit. It is not as devastating as a sword or an axe, but it will do some damage, at least. Try it on.

  Kate tugged it onto her left hand. It was surprisingly light and flexible, feeling more like a regular glove than one made of metal. She flexed her fingers and made a fist. “Unexpected, but actually kind of cool,” she was forced to admit. “I probably hit like a toddler at level one, but...” She looked up quickly at Gren. “If we run into any monsters, can you maybe soften them up for me and then let me hit them once or twice? That way I can get some experience.”

  Gren stared at her for a long moment, then sighed loudly, lifting the axe to rest it against his shoulder. “I suppose you have to start fighting sooner or later if you have any hope of surviving. Without other Heroes to team up with, you'll be left behind if you don't start getting stronger. Fine. Next time we run into trouble, I'll leave the killing blow to you. But stay back until I say it's safe to step in, got it?”

  “Got it.” She leaned over and gingerly touched the deer. “Loot.” She felt the familiar faint whoosh of the items being sent to her inventory, but jerked her hand back in surprise as the deer faded so that it was almost like a ghost of itself.

  “Hmm.” Gren dropped into a squat to study the deer with interest. “I've heard of this, but never seen it. It only happens with Heroes. Soon the deer will fade away as if it never existed. Good cleanup, at least.”

  Looting a monster will fully dispose of it, Io explained. Any monster killed by a Hero will do this over time, but taking all of its items will speed up the process.

  “Only Heroes can do it,” Kate repeated slowly. Something about that seemed important, tugging at her brain, but she lost the thought as Gren pushed himself to his feet.

  “Let's go,” he said. “There's still a long way to go.”

  As they continued their hike, Io began spinning slowly by Kate's shoulder, clearly hoping their spat was over. Would you like this one to continue the training now?

  Kate couldn't help but feel a little guilty for snapping at the Guardian earlier. It was only doing its job. If anyone was to blame for her current predicament, it was the gods who had dropped her here. “I guess explain how parties work. I'll need to know what to do when I run across other Heroes. Can I party up with NPCs-- uhh, I mean Giltarians? Like Gren?”

  No, the party system used by Heroes is exclusive to them. You can fight alongside a Giltarian, obviously, but it's very different. If you two kill a monster together, you will get all of the XP so long as you land a blow, even if Gren does most of the work. It's more important for Heroes to level than Giltarians.

  She glanced towards Gren, glad he couldn't hear half the conversation. She wasn't sure if he would be irritated or not that she'd be basically stealing what little XP he could gain from a fight.

  There are other perks to the Hero party system that Giltarians are not privy to. Once you have an official party, you will be able to sense each others' presence for short distances, trade items and gear between your inventories, and divvy up the loot and XP amongst yourselves. You also get a small bump in XP gain just for being in a party. It encourages cohesion.

  “Great, so while everyone else is partying together and farming XP, I'm struggling to eke out experience just by smacking low-level animals Gren beats up for me. I'm going to be so far behind by the time I find them.”

  Try not to focus on that, Io soothed. It is more important that you reach your fellow Heroes in one piece. You can catch up to them in level later.

  “Io, if everyone is at least level five by the time I find them, just who do you think is going to want to take in a pathetic level one or two Support? No one wants to carry someone that weak.”

  Io's voice turned sly. Ah, but you do have one advantage. You are able to cast spells without mana if needed.

  “That's... a very good point.” Yes, she could definitely see some smarter Heroes realizing the advantages of having her along. A beginner Support with pitiful MP would be next to useless to them. But a Support who could channel lifesource instead? Much better. “All right. So what else do I need to know about parties? How do I join one?”

  This one will go over how to search for a request to join a party after we reach a town, as it will make more sense then. But should you run across a party in the wild you wish you join, you must ask the party leader to invite you.

  “And how do I invite someone if I'm the leader?”

  Respectfully, Supports are rarely party leaders, especially considering there are much less of them. It is unlikely this is something you'll need to know. Usually this role falls to either the Tank or the highest-level Fighter class. Ah-- As a side note, Fighter is a catch-all description of the many damage-dealing classes.

  “Yeah, I figured. Okay, fine, enough about parties, then.”

  “Heads up,” Gren interrupted. “Looks like more deer.”

  Io began spinning around Kate wildly. This is it! Don't be nervous! Let Gren weaken them, and then just... punch them a couple of times. Remember, they are higher level than you are, so--

  “Not now, Io,” Kate said hastily, heart thumping as two more deer burst out of the bushes. One was level three, the other level four. Gren already had an arrow on his bow and snapped off a shot immediately. It struck the level four in the chest and it went spinning across the loam.

  Its name tag had changed, she realized. Now that it was missing health it read:

  Omnivorous Deer – Lvl 3

  HP: 7/50

  “Wow, their health is even more pathetic than mine,” she noted.

  “Stand back!” Gren shouted, swapping out his bow for his axe as he dodged the other deer's headbutt. He swung hard, catching the deer in the shoulder and sending it to its knees.

  Quick, quick, Io urged.

  “One hit,” Gren warned as Kate nervously darted forward.

  HP: 15/50

  She made a fist inside the gauntlet and punched the dazed deer on the neck. It felt like a pitiful blow even as she threw it; she'd never tried to punch anyone before. But even as she made the blow she felt a surge of energy in the gauntlet that almost seemed to guide her fist and make her swing harder.

  The deer flopped onto its side, then struggled to rise again an instant later, looking angry.

  HP: 10/50

  “I only took away five hit points?” Kate cried in outrage.

  “Move,” Gren grunted, lifting the axe. She turned her head aside as he brought it crashing down on the deer's back. “All right. Go smack that other one before it gets back up.”

  It has seven hit points left. Better hit it twice to finish it off, Io advised.

  “Yes, Io, I can do math, believe it or not.” She edged around the deer Gren had killed and hurried over to the stunned one that was struggling to get its feet back underneath itself. Making a fist, she struck it with two quick raps on the back of the head. The body crumpled and she stepped back, unsure whether to feel pleased or not at her victory.

  “Five hit points,” she grumbled. “Pathetic.”

  You are only level one, Io reminded her comfortingly.

  “Pathetic indeed,” Gren snorted, tugging his arrow free from the corpse. “Best get used to dealing such sad damage. Your role is to heal, not to slaughter. So? Did that help at all?”

  Kate brought up her character window, eagerly focusing on her experience.

  XP: 80/100

  She stared. “That's... a bit more than I expected from two deer,” she admitted.

  They were higher in level than you. This will always result in more XP, Io said a trifle smugly. You can use Gren to farm these creatures. See, you will not be level one forever. It will not take you long to catch up once you join a party.

  “It definitely helped,” she answered Gren belatedly. “One more scuffle like that and I'll be able to level up.” She grinned at him, pleased.

  “Good. Quit looking so full of yourself and do your loot thing. You'll have plenty of other fights before we reach my neighbors, I'm sure.”

  She looted the bodies and hurried after him. “I won't be able to level up right away, though, will I?” She frowned at Io, suddenly disappointed. “You said before that I have to be in a safe area to level up.”

  Correct. You will be unable to level up out here, but any settlement not under attack is considered a safe area. Let us hope that these neighbors of his count. Don't worry about that for now. Just focus on gaining as much XP as you can. You also might want to ask Gren to allow himself to be injured. That way you can practice your spells on him.

  She snorted. “Somehow I don't see his pride allowing him to be nibbled on by some level three deer just so I can get in some practice.”

  Nonsense. It's all for the greater good. He will understand.

  “If you're suggesting I get bit so you can heal me,” Gren growled over his shoulder, “you can get rid of that thought right now.”

  “Told you.”