"So, you made a contract with this little dewdrop nymph when you were young?" Liora asked.
They were making their way up the trail toward the burn area.
Liora had woken up to the Misty wake-up surprise, which had both enraged and fascinated her, since she had never seen a spirit before.
"Yeah," Aiden said as Misty flew little circles around his head. "I made a potion for a traveling merchant, and in return, they gave me a book on water spirits."
Misty spun upside down, then righted herself with a pleased little bob.
"Turns out I'm not good at it, but Misty is plenty for what I do day to day."
"Especially with the ash spirits," Jax said as he led the charge toward the ash spirit burn area. "Misty has been practically essential for stopping their secondary burn effect."
"Does that mean our plan is to fight them, then?" Kaelen asked.
They had been moving faster at first, but even on a flat hill, Kaelen was struggling, so they slowed down.
Until now, Aiden had never met someone with a weaker Constitution than himself.
Then again, he had been hiking mountains for a few years.
"I would assume so," Aiden said, stepping over a log as the wiry, burned trees came into view in the distance. "Unless Liora wants to try speed-reading the magic circle while someone runs around leading the ghosts away."
Thinking back to their first fight with the ash spirits, the once-vibrant clearing had become sooty and dead.
The edge of the ash circle had already engulfed it, growing an extra couple feet in length.
"In that case," Kaelen said, coming to a stop in the much smaller grass clearing they had found, "should we all see what the others can do, combat-wise?"
They settled under a large tree that would hide them in case the spirits wandered by.
As a precaution, everyone sat down in a circle, grabbing rocks and other things as makeshift seats.
"Makes sense," Jax said. "Adventuring teams should know what everyone in the team can do."
He held up a paw.
"I'll go first. System."
Jax's screen appeared, and he turned it with a paw so everyone could see.
Jax "Wildfang" Stormcaller
Age: 19
Race: Fullblood Beastman — Wolf
Class: Pugilist — Lv. 4
XP: 3,600 / 7,000
HP: 11 / 11
Ki: 56 / 56
Stats:
Strength: 20
Dexterity: 15
Constitution: 11
Intelligence: 4
Wisdom: 12
Charisma: 4
Soul Skill:
Feral Instinct (D)
Passive
Your natural instincts sharpen in combat, allowing you to sense movements and attacks just before they happen.
You gain a bonus to Dexterity-based saves and dodges, and can make perception checks to avoid ambushes even when distracted.
Skills:
Lifeforce Control (E)
Passive
You can tap into your Ki instead of HP when taking damage, allowing you to withstand attacks without tiring as quickly.
This gives you a unique edge in prolonged battles where endurance is key.
Ki Disruption (E)
10 Ki
You deliver a precise strike that can disrupt an opponent's energy flow.
The target must have a high enough level of Constitution or be unable to use energy-based abilities until the start of their next turn.
It is particularly effective against mages and aura users.
Martial Arts (E)
Passive
Your unarmed attacks deal increased damage and have a higher chance of hitting.
Your natural combat style is fierce and unrelenting, favoring fast and powerful strikes.
Everyone took a minute to read over Jax's skills.
Then Liora leaned back and spoke.
"So, you'll be our tank and frontline, because I think the rest of us are pretty squishy compared to that Lifeforce Control skill you have."
She raised a hand.
"I'll go next. System."
Liora's window appeared, and she spun it around for everyone.
Liora "Stormborn" Aeris
Age: 19
Race: Light-Blood Beastman — Eagle
Class: Wind Mage — Lv. 5
XP: 200 / 10,000
HP: 20 / 20
Mana: 60 / 60
Stats:
Strength: 9
Dexterity: 16
Constitution: 10
Intelligence: 20
Wisdom: 18
Charisma: 9
Soul Skill:
Storm Link (D)
Passive
Your connection to the wind grants you the ability to predict incoming weather patterns, sense air currents, and gain a bonus to accuracy with wind-based spells.
Skills:
Whipping Winds (E)
10 MP
Creates a ten-foot protective circle around the Wind Mage and allies, reducing the accuracy and power of all non-magical projectiles.
This skill provides defensive utility, especially against ranged attackers.
Light as a Feather (E)
Passive
Grants slow fall and reduces falling damage and fall speed.
The Wind Mage can also carry one other creature to provide them with the same effect.
This skill enhances mobility and prevents fall damage, adding versatility in various terrain.
Wind Blast (E)
10 MP
Summons a swirling ball of wind that the Wind Mage can launch as a melee or ranged attack.
Medium or smaller creatures hit by the attack have a chance to be knocked back.
This provides offensive and displacement capability.
Gale Step (E)
10 MP
The Wind Mage gains a bonus to speed and ignores rough terrain for the next ten seconds.
This skill enhances the Wind Mage's mobility, allowing them to maneuver quickly across the battlefield.
Looking over Liora's skills, it was clear that she excelled at speed and maneuverability, and she could do some damage.
For a moment, Aiden remembered back to when he first saw a combat skill.
He remembered the jealousy he had felt.
But he brushed it off, shaking his head as he turned to look at Kaelen.
"Looks like I'm up," Kaelen said. "System."
Kaelen "Brightblade" Therindor
Age: 185
Race: Elf
Class: Priest — Freyungen — Lv. 3
XP: 2,750 / 5,000
HP: 12 / 12
Faith: 54 / 54
Stats:
Strength: 8
Dexterity: 5
Constitution: 8
Intelligence: 15
Wisdom: 14
Charisma: 11
Soul Skill:
Divine Radiance (D)
Passive
Your connection to the divine allows you to channel healing energy more effectively, increasing the effectiveness of your healing spells and granting you a slight glow that makes allies feel reassured in your presence.
Skills:
Guiding Faith (E)
10 Faith
The Priest invokes divine guidance, granting one ally a bonus to accuracy as well as a better sense of where to strike.
This is a versatile support skill, useful for key moments when allies need to ensure a hit.
Healing Prayer (E)
25 Faith
The Priest channels divine energy, restoring HP to all allies within thirty feet.
This powerful area heal is invaluable during challenging encounters, providing a boost to keep allies in fighting shape.
Condemn the Wicked (E)
10 Faith
The Priest calls for divine retribution, causing holy light to burn a target.
If the target of this skill has injured an ally recently, this skill's power is increased.
This spell provides a reliable damage option, especially effective against aggressive foes.
Blessings:
The Spark of Kindness (E)
Gentle Understanding
You have a bonus on Insight checks made to discern someone's emotional state, or Persuasion checks made to offer comfort or reconcile conflicts.
Gentle Comfort
50 Faith
You can use an action to touch a willing creature and grant it healing warmth.
The target regains some HP.
This ends any mental debuffs currently afflicting the target.
Reading over Kaelen's skills, Aiden thought back to his own lackluster ones in comparison.
That old jealousy skipped through him for a moment before settling.
However, as he read over them, he noticed something.
"I do see a bit of a problem, though," Aiden said. "From the looks of it, your skills are good at healing HP, but Jax's main way of tanking is using his Ki to take damage instead."
He gestured toward Jax's screen.
"Without a way to refill that, he's no more tanky than the rest of us once he runs out."
"You're an alchemist, correct?" Liora asked with a shrug. "Maybe you have a skill or potion that can help here?"
Aiden shook his head.
"Sadly, no. System."
Aiden Hallowcreek
Age: 23
Class: Alchemist — Lv. 4
XP: 61 / 7,000
HP: 16 / 16
MP: 59 / 59
Stats:
Strength: 4
Dexterity: 16
Constitution: 13
Intelligence: 24
Wisdom: 10
Charisma: 0
Soul Skill:
Alchemy Attunement (D)
Passive
Increases your success rate with alchemical mixtures and allows you to feel minor fluctuations in potion consistency, improving the stability of mixtures.
Skills:
Quick Brew (E)
Passive
You can quickly toss together ingredients to make potions with lesser effects on the fly.
Potioner's Harvesting Guide (E)
Passive
You have a chance to obtain more potion-used items than others when searching.
Liquid Crystal Consolidation (E)
10 MP
You channel your mana to gather the liquid crystal in the air into a liquid state and pour it into a vial.
They stared at Aiden's screen for a moment.
Then Liora asked, "Your class is a production class, so what kind of potions can you make?"
Aiden reached into his bag and pulled out his recipe notebook, then began reading off the names.
"Shadowmeld Potion, Elixir of Clarity, Barkskin Potion, Vomit Potion, Elixir of Fleetness, Drowsiness Potion, Feather Step Potion, Focused Sense Potion, Itching Potion, Healing Dust, Blinding Powder, Vigilance Potion, Calming Potion, Swift Recovery Potion, Paralysis Potion, Healing Potion, Night Vision Potion, Basic Antidote, Invisibility Dust, and Flask of Firestarter."
He closed the notebook slightly.
"So twenty in total. But just because I know how to make something doesn't mean I have the ingredients, or that it will be useful."
"What do you mean useful?" Kaelen asked, peering over Aiden's shoulder at the notebook. "I'm pretty sure enemies that are itchy, vomiting, sleepy, and blind are much easier to fight than enemies that aren't."
Aiden closed the notebook fully.
"True, but effect alchemy, as it's called, comes in three main types."
He held up a finger.
"Elixirs need to be consumed orally but generally last longer."
A second finger.
"Potions can be consumed orally or through skin contact, but they last less time than elixirs and have slower, weaker effects if only applied through skin contact."
A third.
"And dusts are applied through skin contact for a quick and fast effect."
Aiden glanced toward the ashy trees.
"Sure, I could splash one of the ash spirits with Drowsiness Potion, but for all we know, they don't sleep. Then all that happens is the next time it hits one of us, we are injured and sleepy on top of that."
Jax, Kaelen, and Liora blinked at him for a few moments.
Then Liora said, "Now that just seems overly complicated and messy at best."
"You're right," Aiden said, crossing his arms and raising an eyebrow at the others. "But I have no combat skills through the system. So if I want to be helpful in a fight instead of a hindrance, I have to know what my stuff does and know it well."
His mind flashed to the accidental Night Vision attack on the ash spirits from the day before.
But he needed to know how everything worked on paper.
It was not his fault he was clumsy in real life-or-death situations.
"Then do you have any suggestions?" Kaelen asked, glancing over at the ashy part of the woods. "Because at this point, we are just waiting for one of the ash spirits to wander over and get combative."
Aiden was a bit surprised to be put on the spot.
So he turned to Jax, who was generally in charge of reckless planning.
Jax raised an eyebrow at him before sighing.
"Here's a plan that everyone may like," Jax said. "We're going to try to sneak our way to the shrine in the middle. From there, I'll take one of the Vomit Potions and throw it away from the shrine."
He pointed toward the ash line.
"Since the ash spirits get hostile to anything new entering the area, they should chase after the bad smell thinking something wandered in. From there, Aiden and Liora can go into the shrine itself and look over the circle, with Aiden helping where needed, while Kaelen and I stand outside as lookouts."
He clapped his paws together lightly.
"We get in, identify the circle, and get out."
Aiden turned to the others.
They seemed to be nodding in agreement.
He reached into his bag, pulled out a Vomit Potion, and handed it to Jax.
Jax rushed ahead of them.
Aiden beckoned the others to follow him as they made their way into the ashy area.