Kate yelled until her voice was hoarse and her tongue was dry. Below, the wolves had resumed leaping at the tree. They had, in fact, been joined by two others. They were one level lower, but that still left her surrounded by five wolves that could easily rip her throat out.

  “I'm going to die up here and it's all your fault,” she whispered, clutching the tree with numb fingers.

  Io had been spinning around her in ever-widening circles, clearly distressed. But now it zipped over and began bobbing in her face again. This one did not know! This one is not at fault!

  “Whatever. Your gods are at fault. Someone is. I never should have clicked that link.” She rested her forehead against the rough bark and closed her eyes, unable to stop a few tears leaking free. “This is a nightmare. And I'm too hungry and tired to--”

  From below, one of the wolves gave a high-pitched yelp.

  She twisted her head, trying to see what was happening, but it was far too dark. “Are they fighting each other?”

  Io floated downwards, but came to an abrupt halt after six feet. Clearly it could go no further, but it still had a slightly better view of the situation than Kate did. An arrow-- there is an arrow in the throat of a dead wolf! We are saved!

  Another wolf yelped, then another. There were snarls and scuffling sounds, then what sounded like a human yell. Kate's grip on the tree tightened in excitement.

  A rescue!

  Several minutes passed until finally the sounds of battle ended with one final keening howl from a wolf. She could hear someone panting from exertion below, then a rough male voice called up, “All right, who's up there? I can see your light. What fool got themselves treed by a pack of these weaklings?”

  Weaklings? Did that mean her savior was someone higher leveled? “Is it safe to come down?” she called, her voice still rough from all her earlier yelling.

  “A woman? Come down. It's safe enough, I guess.”

  Kate shifted her weight and carefully began easing her way off the branch.

  Io began spinning in tight circles beside her head. We have been rescued! You see, Kate, everything has worked out.

  “Cut it out, I'm trying to concentrate,” Kate muttered, squinting against the light. “My limbs feel like jelly.” Slow as a sloth, she climbed downwards.

  “Don't be all night about it,” the man on the ground snapped. “Get down here before--”

  Kate's searching foot missed a branch below, and before she could correct herself, her grip failed her. She barely got a scream out as she plummeted downwards.

  Thankfully, she'd been further down than she'd expected, and only fell a few feet. For the second time that day, she got the breath knocked out of her.

  Calloused hands grasped her by the arms and hauled her into a sitting position before thumping her on the back. She gasped in air.

  “Well that explains the light I saw bobbin' in the woods,” the man muttered as Io flew worried loops around Kate's head. “You're one of those Hero types? Just how pathetic can you be, letting a few Prairie Wolves get the better of you?”

  Kate lifted her head to finally get a look at her rescuer. Io helpfully floated closer to his face so she could make him out, though the man automatically tried to swat it away.

  The tall man towered over her, something Kate wasn't used to at her height. He looked older than her by at least twenty years. He was scowling down at her, but something about the way Io's light reflected off his skin seemed odd. He had a bow over his shoulder and was gripping a woodcutter's axe loosely in one hand. The haft was several feet long, but he handled it as casually as if it weighed nothing at all.

  “I'm only level one,” Kate managed to say. “I just got here a few hours ago. I'm... not sure what's going on.”

  “A baby, then.” The man's voice was dismissive. He gave a heavy sigh, looking away for a long moment. “Suppose I can't just leave you here to die. What in the gods' names are you doing way out here, anyway? Don't your type usually get delivered outside towns and such?”

  “Apparently there was a mistake.”

  “I can see that. Get up, then. My place isn't far from here. I suppose I'd better feed you.” His eyes flickered over her nightshirt with disdain. “And maybe find you some real clothes.”

  Kate got to her feet, self-consciously tugging at the hem of her shirt as if she could make it longer. She felt a flicker of trepidation. Going to an unknown location with an unpleasant man, savior or not, was probably number one on her mother's “do not do this if you don't want to be assaulted and murdered” list. But then she remembered the ring. If he touched her, he'd get a nasty shock. It made her feel a little better. “Thanks for saving me,” she remembered to say.

  But he just grunted and turned his back on her, already marching off further into the woods.

  Kate started to follow and almost tripped over the body of one of the wolves.

  Quick, Kate, loot it.

  “What?”

  If a non-player kills a monster, you're able to claim the spoils if they don't do it first. It's more complicated if a Hero did the killing, but for now point to each wolf and say 'loot'. Perhaps you will find something useful.

  She did so, but aside from a slight whooshing noise near her ear, nothing seemed to happen.

  It's done. This one will explain later. You had best catch up with our unfriendly rescuer.

  She hastened to obey.

  The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

  “What's your name?” she called as she caught up, stumbling in the dark. Io lowered itself so it was racing along by her heels, helpfully lighting up her path a bit.

  “Gren,” the man said shortly without turning. As soon as he said it, his name appeared floating above his head, though he seemed not to notice. Kate stared at it.

  Gren – Giltarian – Lvl 9

  “Uh. I'm Kate.”

  He only grunted in response, so she decided to stop talking. She noticed that if she wasn't actively looking for it, the label over his head faded away.

  Gren led her at a fast clip through the woods, never once looking back to make sure she was keeping up. They marched on in silence for what felt like nearly an hour. By the time she spotted light up ahead, her feet were throbbing dully with pain from stepping on sticks and roots, and she was shivering uncontrollably. Her legs actually felt numb from the chilly night air, which was a mercy because it helped dull the intense pain of the wolf's scratch she'd been trying to ignore.

  They came out from behind a tree and at last reached their destination.

  It was a simple log cabin, with light flickering through the shutters and smoke coming from the chimney. She took an unsteady step forward, eager for the warmth and safety promised, but stopped when the hairs on her arms stood up. She felt as if she'd stepped too close to an electric fence.

  “It's just the wards,” Gren said over his shoulder. “They're to keep creatures out, not wayward girls.”

  Kate wasn't sure what he meant, but the thought of a roof over her head and perhaps a blanket to roll up in spurred her on, and she dogged Gren's heels as the big man thumped up the steps and led the way inside. The strange tingling sensation left the moment she was inside.

  The place looked rustic and perhaps only a shade bigger than her apartment back home, but there was a fire in the fireplace and something simmering in the pot hanging over the flames smelled so good her mouth started watering. She hurried over to the fire and stood shivering before it, letting the warmth bring life back to her frozen limbs.

  Gren shut the door wordlessly and went to the far side of the cabin where a narrow bed was shoved in a corner. Opening a trunk at its base, he dug around until he found what he was looking for. As he carried over an armful of cloth, Kate glanced his way and finally got her first good look at him.

  He was gold.

  His skin actually looked like it had been painted gold. And his hair, which she'd taken to be grey in Io's unsteady light, was stark white despite the fact that his face belonged to a man that couldn't be any older than forty or so. The hair on his scalp seemed to be the only hair on his head at all, except for pale eyelashes. No sign of a beard or even a five o'clock shadow. He didn't even have eyebrows, which startled her almost as much as the color of his skin.

  She realized her mouth was hanging open and snapped it shut.

  Gren seemed unamused at her surprise. “First Giltarian you've seen, I take it.” He eyed her with a small moue of distaste. “Suppose with your pasty skin I must look odd to you.”

  “Sorry,” she muttered, accepting the cloth he thrust at her. She shook it out and realized it was a threadbare robe. Better than nothing. Wrapping it around herself gratefully, she edged away quickly as he moved to check the food. Her retreat, however, made him stop in his tracks. He scowled down at her, but his voice sounded slightly gentler than before, as if he was trying to calm a spooked animal.

  “I'm not going to hurt you, girl.”

  She didn't know how to explain that she was more afraid of him getting shocked due to the ring she was wearing. She was still a little wary of him, and wasn't sure if the ring would see him as a threat. “Sorry,” she mumbled. “It's been... a pretty horrible day.”

  “So I gathered.” He gave the bubbling stew a few stirs with a long-handled spoon, gesturing back towards a low log table with his free hand. “Sit down. You'll still be able to feel the fire from over there. Now tell me what in Jekla's fiery asshole you're doing so far from civilization.”

  Jekla, God of death, Io murmured in an aside, catching her confused look. By the way, our unpleasant friend can see this one, but cannot hear this one's words. You will have to do all the talking.

  “I'm... not from around here, obviously,” Kate started, taking a seat. Her voice rasped, and her throat felt dry as a bone.

  Gren wordlessly retrieved a pitcher from the counter and poured its contents into a clay mug, shoving it into her hands.

  She took a tentative sip. Water. She hadn't realized just how desperately thirsty she was, and chugged it down as fast as she could. “Thanks.”

  “You've got a Guardian with you and you're clearly not Giltarian. That makes you a 'Hero'.” He said the word scornfully. “Another of the gods' attempts to clean up their own mess.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “Never mind. Your little light bug there will explain everything, I'm sure.”

  Io huffed as if offended, but didn't speak.

  Kate began explaining what had happened to her. At her mention of her Support class, she saw Gren's expression grow thoughtful, but he didn't interrupt.

  When she finished, he got up without a word and dished the stew into two wooden bowls. Handing her one, he seated himself across from her, watching her narrowly. “So. A healer. That, I must admit, we are in sore need of.”

  Kate blew on a spoonful of the hot stew. “How come?”

  “There was a nasty plague that spread through the whole continent ten years back. Wiped out most of our own healers; they died trying to save as many as they could. On top of that, something about the magic in our world seems to react differently to your kind.”

  “I'm human.”

  “Humans. Fine. Whatever you are, those of you with mana seem to be able to draw greater strength from it than we can. It means your spells hit harder. It also means your healing spells tend to be more effective.” He lifted his arm, shoving back his sleeve to show off a dark bronze scar tracking its way up his arm. “Would've lost my arm if not for one of our healers, but it still took multiple sessions to get this healed, and it wore her out. My father used to tell me a story about a Hero that healed a broken leg in seconds.” He rolled his sleeve back down. “Giltarians with mana can only replenish their mana every morning. Heroes have ways around that. It will build back up gradually during the day. I've heard they can even concoct certain remedies that will restore some of it immediately. But you say you can't heal yet.”

  Kate shook her head, taking another quick mouthful of stew. It was plain but filling and hot. “No, I have to be in a safe place to uh, unlock my spells.”

  Gren indicated the cabin with a wave of his hand. “This is safe. I make sure to have a spellcaster refresh the wards every year or two.”

  “Io?” Kate looked down at where the little Guardian was resting silently on the tabletop by her elbow. “Does this place count? Can I unlock my class here?”

  Io began floating slowly around the cabin's interior. It's true, the wards here, while not the strongest, do offer appropriate protection from the types of dangers you'd find in the area. This one would have to bend the rules slightly, but the situation certainly calls for it.

  Kate pushed her robe aside to indicate the wound on her leg. “Well then let's do it before this gets infected or something.” With feeling returned to her extremities, it was getting hard to ignore the pain any longer.

  Gren saw the slash and frowned. “You should have said something earlier,” he snapped. “I wouldn't have made you walk all that way.”

  “You wouldn't have been able to carry me.”

  “Girl, you look like you weigh about as much as that pot of stew over there.”

  “No, I mean--” She stopped, unsure if she should explain. But at Gren's look she sighed and held up her hand, showing off her ring. “Io gave me this defense ring. It might hurt you if you touch me. I can't take it off right now, it's not like I have any pockets.” It hadn't hurt him when he'd thumped her on the back in the woods, she remembered now. Was it because she'd still just seen him as a savior? She hadn't even seen his face yet.

  Or maybe, knowing her luck, the ring was busted.

  “That's a valuable trinket to have,” Gren approved. “Now see about getting your spells. I have bandages and herbs around here somewhere, but that looks like it needs stitches and I'm clumsy with a needle and thread.”

  “Wait.” Something had belatedly occurred to her. She sent Io a suspicious look. “I managed to pull up my stats earlier. It said I should have a skilled called 'Natural Regeneration'. So why am I still hurt?”

  Io shrank down until it was barely a glimmer of light. Apologies. Even starter skills do not activate until the Basic Training has been initiated. Until then, all skills are locked. With all that's been going on, this one did not see a good time to begin your training.

  “Figures.” She turned sideways in her seat to face Io. “All right,” she said firmly. “Now's as good a time as any. Let's start this training. Tell me how to unlock my spells.”