As I waited for their blows to strike me down, a shout rang out from the forest behind me. Several shadows darted out of the trees and smashed their way into the formation. The wolves who tried to stop them were knocked aside like leaves in the wind, their attempted resistance proved futile before the newcomers. I saw four people land around me, each one on guard against a specific direction of attack.

“Hey, Rook. You seem to be doing well for yourself.” Bryan grinned at me. His ringed armour jingled as he faced down several wolves to my left. I heard similar phrases from behind and to my right as John and Susan spoke up. The only one that treated the situation seriously was the heavily armoured woman who had appeared in front of me.

Claire glanced back at me, her eyes aflame as she met my gaze. For a split second, I believed she would strike me down then and there before I tossed the thought aside. Why would she jump into the centre of a pack of wolves to attack me when she could just watch from the side with the same effect?

“I knew you’d do something like this.” She looked back at the lead wolf as she drew her sword. “Stay there, I’ll speak to you later. If we hadn't heard their attacks, you'd be dead right now."

All thoughts of defence vanished like smoke in the wind. It was obvious I couldn’t beat her in a fight, but that wasn’t what scared me the most. The way she spoke was reminiscent of my childhood when my mother found out about the time I got into a fight at school. It didn’t matter if it was my fault or not, I could sense what would happen if we got out of this situation alive.

I was about to get a thrashing, only a verbal one if I was lucky.

The wolves had recovered their posture, but several of them remained out for the count. The one I had damaged had regained its feet before it moved back into the crowd. The arrival of this party caused more damage than my frantic fight, which hurt my confidence even further.

“Taunt!”

Claire lifted her shield and slammed her sword against the edge three times. A sharp clang echoed across the field which made me wince. As badly as is affected me, the wolves were worse off. Their eyes turned red as they collectively shifted focus to the warrior woman who challenged them. Even the leader forgot my existence as he swung to face Claire.

“Taunted, ten seconds. Go!”

On Claire's order, her three groupmates dashed into the crowd. Their assault was like a trigger as the wolves ran forward like a wave. I pushed myself up and raised my staff. It didn’t matter how many people had arrived to save me now, I would get swallowed by the tsunami of fangs and claws before they could react.

The wolves split around me like a tide around an island. Claire stood at the centre of the storm, her sword darted from wolf to wolf as she deflected blow after blow. No matter how many attacked, no matter the direction of their ambushes, she stayed strong under the intense onslaught. Her armour protected her from most of the damage but, eventually, the wolves would find their way past its sturdy exterior.

Whilst she fought on her friends weren’t idle. Bryan had equipped a pair of short swords, which made quick work of the distracted pack. John fired arrow after arrow from the vantage point he had taken in a nearby tree, whilst Susan held a staff above her head. For the first five seconds, I believed she was merely an observer for the battle, before an orb of electricity crackled into life above her head.

“Thunder Orb!” She yelled as she pointed her staff towards the central point in the sea of wolves. Bryan dashed to the side, his body twisted at a right angle as he dodged the magical projectile. It skimmed past him and landed in the middle of a group of wolves.

What happened next could best be described as a ‘fountain of wolves’. The explosion cleared at least a third of the group whilst the combined efforts of her party members had cleared at least as many on top of that. The wolves that remained gathered their senses a moment later as they noticed the severe losses they had taken.

“Taunt down. Defend.” Claire kicked the nearest wolf to the side as she rushed to my side. Her distraction had led every single wolf to a spot in front of me, which made it easier for her to block their advance. Susan moved behind me whilst Bryan dashed to flank his leader. John remained in his tree, though he now had an arrow nocked and ready to fire at a moment’s notice.

The group stared at the pack in silence. Most of their number had been cut down whilst the remainder were in various states of injury. The leader limped to the front of the group before it’s gaze met Claire’s, like a warrior who had met a worthy rival. After a minute or so, it turned away and walked into the forest, followed a moment later by the survivors of its pack. Claire waited for several seconds before she sheathed her sword and turned back to me.

“What’re you doing here alone?” She stepped towards me, her face set as she closed in. “You almost died, you know?”

“I know…” My legs trembled beneath me as I struggled to remain upright. My body provided the bill for the various shots of adrenaline it had fed me throughout the fight. Claire noted my response as she moved towards me and grabbed me into a hug. Her hands tightened around me to the point where it made me wince. No matter how dangerous the situation had been, this reaction was far too exagerated.

“Don’t worry. You’re safe now.”

I didn’t know how to react. Her consolation had technically worked as my mind shifted gears from confusion to shock. A woman who I barely knew had just grabbed me, and I didn't know how to respond. Shaking her off would be rude, but the length of her embrace wore through my patience. The other party members staunchly avoided my gaze as I glanced around. Claire moved back after a few moments, her expression gentle once more as she patted my shoulder.

Finally...

"Claire, he's fine." Bryan stepped forward and patted her on the shoulder. "Calm down, you saved him."

Why would she care so much about saving me?

“I was told this place wasn't too dangerous.” I muttered as I glanced at the devastation.“I didn’t know this would happen. I just came here to grind some levels.”

“Well, obviously.” John jumped off his perch and landed beside us. “If you did know, I’d be a bit worried.”

“Says the guy who went to hide in a tree.” Bryan chuckled at his friend. The pair bickered back and forth before Susan pointed her staff in their direction.

“You two never quit, do you. Maybe you need to have another duel with Claire, that might cool you off.” Susan raised an eyebrow at the pair.

The duo went silent immediately. I wasn’t sure if Susan’s threat was real or not, but those two treated it as such. Claire ignored their banter as she looked me deep in the eyes one last time.

“I guess your friend would be right, usually. Something big must have happened to push this pack so close to the edge." Claire frowned as she looked around. "We're here to check out some rumours, but it shouldn't be this bad. Can you tell me what’s wrong? There has to be a reason you came this far into the forest.”

Well, that explains things. I guess I can forgive Rose, a bit. She was stuck in the library, there was no chance she would have known about this.

“Uh, I can’t tell you.” I grimaced as I spoke. I had basically thrown her care and attention back in her face with my refusal, but it wasn't like I could reveal the fact I had been transferred to this world. Maybe people who moved over here were treated with suspicion or even hatred. I know I'd be pretty annoyed if someone else got an easy ride when I had to work for every advancement with sweat and tears.

My excuses didn't matter, though. It would have been fair for her to just walk off and leave me to my own devices, but instead, she smiled at me.

“It’s fine, everyone has secrets. I trust you.”

“Why do you trust me?” I could help but ask the question. I hadn’t told her a single thing about myself and yet she defended me again and again.

“Don’t worry about it too much. She’s just like a mother hen and you're a chick that fell out of the nest.” Susan waved Claire into silence. “Don’t try to argue, you know it's true.”

I watched as the group launched into a heated discussion. Claire defended herself, her face red as a tomato as she did so. The other three ganged up on Claire mercilessly, their grins wide as they bullied her. As flustered as she got, I knew they didn’t really mean anything harsh in what they said.

**Congratulations. You have levelled up.**

The voice echoed in my head. The group spun to face me, their smiles genuine as they rushed over to congratulate me.

“Well done, Rook.” Bryan nodded at me. “You’ll catch up to us in no time.”

“If he sticks with us, he’ll pass you, but not me.” Susan glared at the pair as she stood beside Claire.

“Yeah, just teach him how to steal kills and he’ll shoot up in no time.” John tutted at Susan before he turned to face me. “Seriously though, well done. Been a while since we had any level ups in our party.”

What did that mean? These people were active members of the Guild, as far as I could tell. How was it possible for them to battle consistently and yet fail to progress? Claire saw my confusion and stepped in to explain.

“Don’t worry about it, Rook. We’ll pass our advancement tests soon.” She waved the others into silence. “You just need to catch up before that happens, right?”

Advancement tests? I know what they are, but maybe these people can give me some tips about how to pass through them. I clenched my teeth before I finally voiced my query.

“You guys have passed your advancement tests? Is there anything I should watch out for?"

The party stared at me in silence. Claire opened her mouth to respond, but even she failed to answer my query. After several awkward seconds, she pulled a book from her satchel and passed it to me.

“This should help. We’ll gather up the loot while you read.”

I glanced down at the book. It was wrapped in a neat ribbon, but that only took a moment to pull aside. My insides churned as I read the title, but I couldn’t bring myself to refuse the offer.

‘Classes and Advancement: A Child’s Guide to Life’