Good job, Amy. It's better to get some information out of them than create a conflict, Frank thought as he eyes the two women. The older woman caught his gaze and gave him an apologetic smile.

“Sorry if I sounded angry, the last two days have been a nightmare,” she told him. She let out an audible sigh, then began to tell her story. “My name is Helen, and this is my daughter Demi. We were on a cruise to celebrate Demi's acceptance to her dream school. Then the System came, and we were transported to some forest, along with everyone else from the cruise. There was a huge panic, no one knew what was happening. Everyone had questions but no one had any answers. No one took charge, and everyone did what they wanted. Some people went to find civilization, others wandered around, hoping to find some clue. Most just sat around, hoping that the situation would clear up, somehow. Then the monsters came...”

She fell silent for a brief period before she shook her head and continued. “Some people tried to fight them, but the goblins just kept coming, thousands of them... Panic broke out and everyone started running... people trampled each other trying to get away... Everyone just kept running, but the monsters gave chase. People split up in different directions to lose them, and soon it was just the two of us. We kept running, but the goblins were relentless, no matter how far we got away, they would always track us down. Then some gnolls joined the chase as well...” Helen's lips quivered, and she took a bit of time to regain her composure. “Gnolls were faster, forcing us to run non-stop. Luckily, by that point, we've gotten the Running, Sprinting, and Fitness skills. We were still slowly running out of stamina, but it would take hours before it hit zero. We ran and ran. A grid called Runner's High became available due to our actions, which awarded us the Second Wind skill. It fully restores stamina and is usable every hour, provided you spent the entire previous hour physically exerting yourself. This skill allowed us to get far enough from the monsters to take short breaks.”

A sound of a twig breaking drew everyone's attention, but as the group continued to move the forest remained peaceful. After nothing happened for a while, Helen continued.

“The system informed us that a whole day had passed, yet the monsters were still chasing us. I've got a skill called Improved Hearing, from all the time I had spent trying to hear if the monsters were getting close. Anyway, we kept running, and about five hours later we finally ran into other people. A group of three men in some sort of uniform. They didn't speak English, but the System allowed us to understand what the other party meant, so we could communicate. I've told them that we were survivors from a cruise ship, and are running away from monsters. They nodded, then huddled together to discuss it. Thanks to my Improved Hearing skill, I could make out what they were saying... One of them argued that if they take us to their captain, he'd just rape us and that they should instead take us themselves, and pretend that nothing ever happened and that we just got killed by some monsters. The others were skeptical of his idea, but after taking a good look at Demi, they agreed.”

She paused once more, taking a quick glance at her daughter, who appeared flushed, her lips tight.

“We ran before they could act. They gave chase, but we were faster. I led them to the monsters, whom they engaged in battle, and apparently won. With the monsters dead, those men couldn't track us down and we finally got a few hours of rest. Then the trolls came. They were slow but just as persistent as the gnolls and goblins. In the morning, the wolves joined the pursuit and we could no longer outrun them, even with all our skills. Luckily, we ran into you before they caught up to us,” she gave them a thankful smile.

“That Bragra... the tiger monster, we haven't seen it before. Watching it overpower you guys... I wanted to help, but we have no combat skills, so we didn't. But running away wasn't an option either. Even if we survived, we would just die to a fast monster, eventually,” she paused as she fought back tears, “I just want to find a safe place so we can take a breather and come to terms with what has happened,” she added as tears streamed down her cheeks.

“It's OK mom, we are safe now,” her daughter spoke softly as she rubbed Helen's shoulder.

“These men you've met, did they say how many of them there were?” Frank asked after the woman had some time to calm herself.

“No.”

Great, a group of rapists of an unknown size about a day's run from us. Would it be too much to hope for monsters to wipe them out? Granted, she could be lying about everything... ah, what a pain, Frank thought.

“I am out of mana, but Bill stopped bleeding,” Margaret informed him as she appeared beside him. “Should we stop and Meditate?”

“Not yet. Let's get a bit further away, now that we aren't leaving a trail of blood behind. Kevin should come to soon as well,” Frank replied, as he shifted the body on his shoulder.

They were only running for a few minutes, yet he had already gained a level in Physical Labor. I wonder about that. I suppose it makes sense that combat and fear of death would make you learn faster, he thought absentmindedly, scanning their surroundings. He heard Amy ask Helen some things, but his mind was already occupied, analyzing their near-death fight.

Stupid, if I used Mana Shield it would block the Bragarth's attack and I could finish it off with little difficulty. Then Hank would still be up, and together we could beat the two trolls. God damn, one mistake, and it almost cost us our lives. He shook his head mentally. We really need to step up our training, not just skills, but battle experience, adapting to different circumstances and such. The first fight where the monster wasn't some dumb creature running straight at us, and we nearly died. Unacceptable. Then there are the skills... I should prioritize resistances, even if the others ridicule me. He thought, as ideas about training and sharing battle experience with others flooded into his mind.

His thoughts were interrupted when Kevin stirred, having regained consciousness. They took a short break to Meditate and recover their resources, in case of another fight, while Kevin was brought up to speed. They were about to depart when Bill finally awoke as well. They chose not to linger anymore and continued their retreat while filling Bill in on what had happened.

An hour later they reached the site of the base and were finally able to relax. Frank asked Amy to keep Helen and Demi company, while he reported what happened to them, the rest of their group went to clean up, as they were covered in blood. Frank quickly found the Marshall inside the base. The fence was nearly complete, and the first buildings were already up – a row of five outhouses. Chuckling about their priorities, Frank approached the Marshall and quickly told him the gist of what happened.

“Bad news all around, but at least everyone in your group survived. I can't believe we already have to deal with human scum two days in,” the Marshall responded, shaking his head.

“The old normality is no more, combined with a total uncertainty of tomorrow, it's only natural for people to act on impulse,” Frank offered with a shrug. “Regardless, they are far enough to not be of immediate concern. What we should do is have the scout team search the nearby areas, to make sure no one is hiding in wait, while keeping an eye on the two women.”

“You think they are lying?”

“I doubt they could kite the Bragarth. Most likely it was spawned normally and joined the fight due to noise. However, that doesn't mean the rest of their story is true.”

“Better safe than sorry,” the Marshall agreed, “guess we should form a second scouting team. I've sent the first one into the forest, have them gain some experience, and scout around for monsters.”

“Speaking of experience, this fight was a wake-up call. We need more combat experience and perhaps a better understanding of how to use our skills. I wonder if we can set up a knowledge exchange in the evenings. Like, have people from different groups share what they've learned, skills or combat wise. Something like that,” Frank said.

“That's not a bad idea. Would speed up the exchange of information. Also, remember how you suggested we should have someone collect info on skills and grids and such? I've got a guy for that, and he's awesome. You should definitely talk to him,” the Marshall told him while nodding energetically. “Do you want to accompany me while I talk to the newcomers?”

“No need for it, I'd rather spend that time chatting to this skills-guy,” Frank replied.

“Of course you would,” the Marshall said with a short laugh. “Come, he should be near Steve's crafters. Ah, yes, you probably haven't heard yet, a kid figured out how to make potions. It's quite simple actually, just add one of those flower crystals to a vial filled with water, then imbue it with mana and use magical crafting to turn it into a potion,” he explained as the two walked out of the base.

Frank quickly spotted Amy and the other two women and pointed them out to the Marshall. In turn, the Marshall pointed toward a group of people some fifty yards away: “See the black fellow next to Steve? That's the guy, name's Kareem,” he said and slapped Frank on the shoulder before walking toward Amy.

Frank made his way to where Steve, Kareem, and some teenager were chatting. As he approached, he saw some half a dozen people working on various things, wolf pelts, leather, wooden planks, and even a metal sword. He would ask Steve about it later, but for now, he had a different goal in mind. As he came closer, the three men halted their conversation and Steve greeted him loudly.

“Hey, Frank. Have you heard? We figured how to make them potions,” he said.

“We?” The teenager asked, raising one of his eyebrows.

“Fine, this one did. Figured some other stuff too,” Steve laughed as he rustled the teen’s hair.

“Impressive, and although I'd love to hear more, I was wondering if I could borrow Kareem for a chat,” Frank said as his gaze shifted from Steve and the annoyed teen to the third man.

“The infamous crazy old man, we meet at last,” Kareem said with a wide smile, “I wanted to chat with you before, but you are always busy training.”

“Is that so? I suppose I have been training hard,” Frank said as he scratched his head.

“What can I do for you? Do you bring info about new skills?” Kareem asked, clapping his hands and rubbing his palms together.

Frank gestured for them to walk, and explained about their recent fight, as they moved some distance away from the group of crafters.

“A monster that can use abilities, tough, but expected,” Kareem said after hearing about their encounter. “Then, do you want to know if there is a way to improve your skills and get stronger?”

Frank nodded and got a scary smile in return. Oh, no, what have I unleashed, he thought as Kareem started talking excitedly. “There are two ways to get skills, you can get them as a reward for completing grids, or you can perform an action and get the associated skill. It seems impossible to get physical attack skills, beyond the basic weapon masteries, however, magical skills can be learned, so long as they aren't skills awarded by grids. Sadly, most of the good stuff is blocked, but you can still find great skills, you just got to be creative. On the other hand, new grids can be unlocked by completing previous ones, performing certain actions, and by getting a skill to a certain level. Although we don't know what level a skill needs to get to before a new grid is unlocked. Anyway, we can see that the System is somewhat responsive, in that certain actions unlock certain grids. It’s my theory that, based on the skills you level and grids you unlock, the system will attempt to accommodate your chosen style. Or at least you'd get a choice in grids, like fighters getting Skirmisher and Guardsman options.”

He paused for a moment, looking at Frank, who nodded in silent agreement. “Therefore, you want your skills to complement each other, not only to improve your performance but so the System doesn't get confused and can accommodate your style properly. For instance, do you know Gabriel, the MMA guy? Obviously, he kicks and punches, wouldn't it be nice if his strikes also caused an electrical shock? Ah, but that skill is locked behind a grid, as is adding fire, poison, or freezing effects. However, we did find an Explosive Charges skill, which adds a stackable explosive charge to his target with every strike, charges Gabriel can detonate for a nice explosion. Similarly, after trying a bunch of things, we've found a Touch of Decay skill, which allows him to add a stackable, ten-second physical debuff for every second his body is in contact with a foe, if the debuff gets to more than three stacks, there is an added damage over time component as well. Not only do these skills improve his core strength, but they also show the System the direction he wants to go. Hopefully, when he levels up Explosive Charges to get a new grid, the reward from it will be something he can use, rather than a damage spell with a long casting time.”

“Interesting, I haven't really thought about the impact our skill choices would have,” Frank said. “Then, what can you suggest for me?” He asked, and then explained what skills he had.

“You really should specialize in something. Even going with a magic damage and healing hybrid, you'd be splitting your points between five attributes instead of just three. Adding physical combat on top of it just means your attributes and skill levels will be around a third of someone who chose a single line,” Kareem explained, then he sighed and raised his hands up. “Fine, fine, it's your choice. Now, what do you want to improve on?”

“My melee damage seems low, or rather the slashes can't cut deeply enough, even with a mana-imbued weapon, while the thrusts deal high damage but leave me open to counter-attacks. I am pretty happy with my spell casting, the main issue here is my lack of mana and damage, but that's due to my low attributes. Healing is adequate, but it would be nice to have something that can speed up recovery,” Frank told him.

“You shouldn't neglect your Telekinesis skill. I mean, it's useless now, but just think of what it would be like to have the power of the force! Anyway, all the healing spells seem to be locked behind grids. The best thing we've found is an instant-cast heal over time spell, but it has a lower efficiency than Healing Touch or Lesser Heal, plus its over-time nature, its usefulness is questionable. I do have something for your melee damage though, quite a nasty little spell. A skill called Metal Shards – when you wound a foe, your weapon will leave behind small, metal shards, which will slowly shred through the nearby flesh. In addition to damage, it causes increased bleeding, and is quite painful for the target,” Kareem explained with a toothy smile of a happy kid.

“Wouldn't my saber weaken if shards of metal get chipped away from it?” Frank wondered.

“The spell doesn't use your weapon, but rather creates those shards instead.”

Frank spent the next ten minutes listening to the details of how the spell worked, and what he needed to do to unlock it as a skill. Afterward, he promised Kareem to send the rest of his group to him. Stretching his neck and back, Frank thought about what to do next. Looks like Helen and Demi had finished their chat with the Marshall, and are now back to chatting with Amy, the rest of the group is here too. Hmm, I wanted to talk to Steve about potions and the Bragarth's body, but I have enough new information to process as is. I also want to try this Metal Shards skill... and it looks like we'll have lunch soon. So much to do, so little time, he sighed, and walked toward his group.

He told the others about Kareem, and what the man could do for them. Everyone seemed excited, however, Helen and Demi were the most enthusiastic about it. So much so, that they didn't waste any time saying their goodbyes, and going after Kareem. Frank then got another surprise, when Margaret of all people, told him that they will be training up their resistances to arcane magic as well as his Lightning Bolt.

“You were right, it's better to suffer the pain in a safe environment than experiencing it for the first time in a crucial fight. I never want to see Bill so close to death. And the only way to ensure it doesn't happen is to become stronger,” she offered after Frank asked what brought such a change of attitude.

“It's true. If we had Lightning resistance that fight would be simple,” Bill nodded

“Welcome to the path of pain! Now, who wants to stab themselves first?” Frank asked, trying to display as much enthusiasm as he could. The others just shook their heads at him. “Fine, fine, I've got something I want to do first anyway. We can start training after lunch,” he told them.

Amy released an audible sigh of relief, while Hank pulled out his sword, and after staring at his left arm, poked at it a few times, wincing in pain each time, he shook his head dejectedly and put the weapon away. Frank chuckled as he sat down nearby and went through all of his notifications.

The results of the hours spent training had been quite fruitful, and he had received the following skill increases: Leatherworking 4, Magical Crafting 2, Mana Channeling 5, Pain Tolerance 8, Arcane Resistance: 14, Phantom Strike 14, Power Strike 22, Saber Mastery 8, One-handed Sword Mastery 1, Dodge 3, Acrobatics 2, Fitness 6, Physical labor 2, Mana Shield 7, Healing Touch 10, Lightning Bolt 7, Arcane Bolt 6, Meditation 7, Unshakable Focus 3. Which brought his GP total to an incredible 134.

I can finish the Building Momentum grid and still have 44 GP leftover, Frank thought as he opened his profile and brought up the Grids tab.