Julie chewed the bland meat. Two days had passed since the incident. They had all been rattled by Noah’s quick decline. He was stable now, but he still hadn’t woken up. The beasts were close. The previous night had been a long one, Kyle gained another level and so did she. Matt was a full-time Fletcher with arrows being their most effective defense. All three of them had passed level 10 that day, it was supposed to be a joyous occasion. They were tired. She could hear tinkering sounds from Matt’s direction and a soft snore from Kyle’s. She hated having to depend on him so much.


    So far the daytime had been quiet, but she could feel the tension rising in the forest. Their peaceful days were coming to an end. She needed Noah to wake up. He lay in the center of their camp, his chest rising and falling in a healthy rhythm. She had done it that day, the pressure pushed her forward and she finally grasped the magic. It had happened in an unexpected way as the life was fading from Noah’s form. She had felt a building crescendo within her, a string of notes familiar but unknown. It wasn’t until she put words to the melody that she felt it, a gentle stream and a raging river. Each word seemed to carry power and with each word Noah’s body recovered. She sang until the melody reached its end, at which point she was completely spent. It took a full day to recover the energy source she had depleted, at which point she repeated her performance. Only then did Noah fully stabilize.


    The snap of a twig jolted her awake. No. No. No. She panicked, scanning the perimeter - she was supposed to be on watch. What she saw brought fresh tears to her eyes.


    “Noah!” She ran to him only to stop a couple of feet away. She blushed.


    “You’re okay.” She said, remembering her hand on his face and the way he had stared into her eyes. Noah stepped forward and wrapped her in his arms. He squeezed her tight as the sobs came. She couldn’t reign them in.


    “It’s okay. It’s gonna be okay.” He whispered gently in her ear. She leaned into him, giving in to the torrent of emotions.


    Kyle watched from the ground, the pit in his stomach growing as his sister cried. It''s my fault. He wouldn’t let it happen again.


    Matt busied himself in his task, happy that his stalwart protector was back on his feet. He had seen all too much action these past couple of days and was eager to make anything that wasn’t an arrow.


    Noah held Julie until the tears stopped. He hadn’t been prepared for the well of emotion he awoke with. He had a mission, a calling, a purpose, he had to save humanity! He told himself that, but at this moment, the only person he wanted to save was her.


    They separated and Julie took a deep breath.


    “Thank you, Noah.” He nodded.


    “Of course.” Noah looked around the camp, taking in the rest of his surroundings for the first time. “You’ve been busy.” He said, observing the mess of bones and the red-stained ground.


    “Its been a trying couple of days.” She agreed.


    “Days?” He replied, his eyes wide. She nodded.


    “The nights have been getting worse. The beasts started approaching the camp and we have only managed to hold them at bay with Kyle’s arrows.” She explained. Noah looked for Kyle and saw his sleeping form near the fire. Well done.


    “It might be time to find a new home.” Noah said. Julie nodded.


    “About time! I vote for something with walls.” Matt interjected. They laughed.


    “I hope you guys haven’t been slacking!” Noah grinned, “Because the next few days are going to make you miss boot camp.” There was a collective groan, the now-awake Kyle joining in.


    “We head out at dawn. Until then, let''s see about getting some food,” he finished.


    They spent the rest of the day preparing for their trek. Matt had been busy over the last week and had fashioned clothes for them to wear and packs to carry supplies in. When Noah put his furry garment on he decided that calling them clothes was generous at best. The amalgamation of pelts covered him like a sleeveless dress, stopping a few inches above his knee. At least we’re modest. The garment stank, and would scare children but he was genuinely grateful not to be the bare-chested barbarian anymore. This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    Over dinner, Noah was pleased to learn that each of his companions had leveled, crossing their level 10 thresholds and becoming apprentices. They went around sharing their choice of primary stats and their progression plan. Julie chose intelligence and willpower and explained what she believed they governed. By her estimation, intelligence was the magic equivalent of strength, though she believed it affected her memory as well. Willpower, then, was the magic equivalent of constitution and she believed it would increase the rate of her magical regeneration. She planned to allocate most of her free points into wisdom, but she promised Noah to put some into constitution as well. Matt had chosen to specialize in dexterity and wisdom, explaining that he would need fine control of both his body and magic for what he had in mind. He had subscribed to Julie’s theory that wisdom was the magical counterpart to dexterity. His free points would then be split between strength and constitution. When it was Kyle’s turn to share, he livened up.


    “As an archer  my choices were clear. All my points will go to strength and dexterity!” Julie cleared her throat. “And some will go into constitution!” He added, muttering something under his breath. Julie must have heard him because she assumed a motherly tone and made her stance clear.


    “You will put at least one point into constitution every other level. Understood?” She said, eyebrows raised. He nodded sheepishly.


    “That sounds fair,” he agreed.


    “It sounds like you have all thought this through. I am impressed!” Noah said in a grandfatherly tone. Kyle suddenly sported a wolfish grin.


    “Noah, you’re level 11, right?” He asked.


    “Sure am!” Noah replied. Kyle’s grin grew.


    “Want to arm wrestle?” He challenged. Noah shrugged.


    “Sure, why not?” They stepped away from the fire and lay on the ground, clasping hands. “Ready?” Noah asked. Kyle nodded, beaming. “Go.” Kyle threw all of his strength into it, expecting a quick win. Not bad. Noah observed. Noah returned Kyle’s smile before driving his hand to the ground in a slow, controlled fashion.


    “What!” Kyle protested, “I am level 13, and I put way more of my points into strength!” Noah considered that.


    “You’re right.” He started, “I think it has to do with my caste though, I had a definite increase in strength after my breakthrough, even though the number on status didn’t change.” He shrugged, “Or it could be that I am older and have fully developed.”


    Thoroughly shown up, Kyle skulked away from the group and sat crisscrossed at the edge of the clearing. After a few minutes, Noah thought he could hear a humming sound coming from that direction.


    “I think he needed that,” Julie said, with a warm smile.


    “Always my pleasure to humble the youth.” He said, tipping his imaginary cowboy hat. She giggled. Matt chose that moment to excuse himself and return to his tinkering.


    “Where do you think we should go?” Julie asked. Noah shrugged.


    “I’m not sure. First, I want to get out of this forest. But after that? Part of me is hoping that civilization is still out there. Given what the system told us in the tutorial though… I’m not so sure.” Julie looked thoughtfully at him.


    “Even if it is gone, I’m sure someone is already working to restore it.” She said. He imagined it–it would be a huge undertaking. It would take a lot of people, and they would need to be organized. Would they welcome elves? Or the other races?


    Julie watched him and could see the thoughts racing through his head. She wondered just how random the system had been when it placed them so close together.


    “Julie, there’s something I want to share with you.” He said in a more serious tone than she had been anticipating. She nodded.


    “I’m all ears.”


    They were interrupted by a howl, piercing the night. Kyle was the first on his feet, bow in hand. Matt, knowing the drill, handed Kyle a bundle of arrows before presenting Noah with his newest creation.


    “I call it shark club!” Matt said, giving Noah a double thumbs-up. Noah looked at the weapon, shark club, in interest and horror. It was yet another femur, its origin unclear, and it was studded with sharp teeth everywhere but the handle. He nodded in resignation. Yep. It''s going to be a messy night. Knowing this, he took off his fur dress and readied himself for battle. The group had been ready and waiting, and the wolves didn’t disappoint.


    The hours passed, the levels rose, and to signal their triumph, the sun crested the horizon.