There wasn’t a sensation. It was simply like walking through a door. One moment, we were standing in the hot sun, breathing salty air, the next moment the air has cooled, is dryer, and a bug buzzes by my ear. I open my eyes to find myself in a forest. The black tower stands tall behind me. The trees are a spaced quite well with very little underbrush. I can see a ways in all directions. No little green men with sticks.

“Well, we survived so far.” I whispered softly. “Shall we venture deeper?”

Clint was clearly uneasy. His bovine nostrils were stretched tight as he took in deep breaths. His eyes darted around as his hand gripped the hilt of his sword. He did give me a nod, however, so I continued on into the forest and away from the tower.

There didn’t seem to be much foot traffic. The grass and leaves were not trampled in any patterns. It felt like a wild, virgin forest. I felt more at ease in the forest. Fewer eyes on me, less chances to do something wrong and make someone unhappy. Forests always felt welcoming and free.

I stepped along, my hooves making no sound as I walked. There was a lot of foliage, many different kinds of trees, some I have never seen before. There were also many kinds of mushrooms, flowers, and bushes with little berries on them. I paused at a small blue flower that looked like a tiny tulip that drooped over. As I bent over to look at it, Clint nearly bumped into me from behind, his face turning this way and that to scan the area around us.

“You can’t protect very well if you are about to panic. Should we go back?” I said, getting out my guide book. I wondered if Nothing could tell me about the plants. If this was an in depth game, there were sure to be crafts and that would mean that some things would be crafting materials.

“N-no. I can do this.” Clint closed his eyes and took a deep breath. It seemed to calm him a bit. I was still worried he might panic and I felt bad for having him bring me out here.

“If it is too much, it is ok to go back. You just let me know when it is time. The forest seems pretty peaceful now, maybe the green guys are chasing the man that entered before us.” I flipped open my book and asked Nothing a question. “How do we know what materials are mats for crafting?”

Materials for crafting can be identified with the skill. All shopkeepers have this skill and all players have the option of this skill once they purchase a shop or are taught it by another player with the same skill.

“Can I have a shopkeeper NPC identify materials I harvest?”

Yes, for a fee.

Ugh, money. Money sounded like it was going to be an issue pretty quickly now. I picked the flower and placed it in my bag. Flowers could probably be used in potions. If I was going to be a healing class, I might as well make potions to help keep myself and my party alive. I wasn’t going to be useful for much else.

“What was that?” Clint asked, stepping closer to me again as I was picking a fiery red flower with thorns.

“You got to-” the sound of something rustling along in the forest cause me to drop the end of that sentence. There was something out there. I slowly rose, my eyes darting about much like Clint’s had been earlier. The flower I had fell to the forest floor, forgotten as I stashed my guide book away and grasped my pendant.

It wasn’t until now that I realized I didn’t even know how to cast my heal spell. I hadn’t asked Nothing or Clint, though I doubt the latter would know. I hoped just saying the spell name and really wanting the effect was going to be good enough.

I finally caught movement as a haunched figure shuffled from the shadows and through a ray of light that was piercing the tree canopy above. It looked vaguely human shaped and there was nothing else around. I watched it for a moment, tapping Clint’s arm to direct his attention to the creature. It shuffled around like a zombie, it could be a zombie. In some games those were low levels, but they often came with infectious debuffs. That wouldn’t be desirable here, I didn’t know if my healing could remove diseases and the like or if it just cured wounds and direct damage.

It was only one creature, though, and this might be the only chance we could get to have one monster on its own. Clint needed a kick in the pants and a boost to his ego. He was a warrior with a sword, he should have some confidence. I made up my mind, well our mind. I was going to help him in getting over his combat fear.

“It is only one, it moves slow. It will be a good first target for you to get used to your abilities. Do you have any skills?” I said as I began to inch closer to the shambling figure.

“ and , I haven’t the first clue what they mean or how to use them.” He followed me, bent over as if he could hide his bulking frame behind the bushes as I was.

“This will be perfect to learn on. In games, usually there is a button. No buttons here for that kind of thing so I think we have to use our minds. Pure intent to use that skill. Let's get a little closer to the creature and then you can try to rush it. That is probably what the green man did to you and why you were too stunned to do anything about it.”

We crept closer and I could see it in better detail. The figure was humanoid in shape, but not in material. This creature appeared to be made of chunks of bark and random twigs that happened to form a person. It wasn’t like an ent, I decided, or a dryad as those were typically female and alluring. This pitiful creature looked barely alive.

I turned to Clint and whispered. “Now, think really hard about rushing the wood guy. Nothing in your mind but that and let it take over your body.”

Clint squinted his eyes, his hand squeezed the hilt of his sword, but nothing happened.

“Try saying rush while thinking that hard.” I added when it was clear he wasn’t going to dash off in a special skill.

“.” He said in an odd tone and off he seemed to rocket towards his target. His two handed blade plunged into the wood, splintering it everywhere. The beast gave no shriek of pain or anger. It only turned and looked at Clint with what I could only describe as a mask similar to what a child would put together for an art project where they were supposed to use leaves, sticks, and other woodland things to make a face. It was horribly formed and really didn’t seem to serve much purpose as there were no eyes, only eye sockets.

The clumsy thing attempted to slash at Clint but the big bull pushed away and out of its reach.

“!” He shouted again, but the tone didn’t follow.

“Shit, it has a cool down!” I shouted as Clint ran up to the creature without the speed and power of his skill. “You have to wait for a time after!”

Clint either didn’t hear me or was motivated to keep on this fight. I winced as he ran right into a claw attack. Red lines of blood appeared on his left arm where he had blocked the claws from ripping at his face. It looked painful, but Clint looked strangely calm and in control. Perfect. He was going to make a great tank, well for someone at least. He probably wouldn’t want to stick around with me as I was dead weight still.

The minotaur hacked and hacked at the wooden creature. A strange yellow dust, pollen I guessed, exploded from the creature until it stopped moving. I heard a soft jingle and felt my bag jostle. Opening the drawstring, I saw there were two copper coins laying on top of the flowers I had collected, right next to my guide book.

I withdrew my guide book again, to ask more questions and see if there was some kind of experience bar. I flipped to the second page where it held stats and there was now a hollow bar at the bottom. Mine was a quarter of the way shaded in. Under the bar it said: Experience. Perfect. These guys were high in experience or maybe levels were easy to get.

I was about to say something to Clint, when I noticed he was nursing the cuts on his arm. I guess it was my time to shine. I gripped my necklace tightly with one hand and then with the other, I pointed to Clint. I didn’t know if it was needed, but it seemed plausible. Plus, I didn’t want my healing spell to go awry if I didn’t direct it.

“.” I could feel the power in my word and felt a rush through my body that left me very dizzy. The cuts on Clint's arm glowed a charming teal color before they disappeared as if nothing ever happened. I fell promptly on my rump in the grass. One spell knocked that much out of me. This was not going to be good.

“Well, would you look at that? You are a healer! It was magic, you can use magic!” Clint said excitedly, the yellow pollen in his fur going airborne as he swung his healed limb around. “It’s like nothin’ even happened. Wow, just amazin’.”

His antics made me smile softly. I guess a hundred years ago magic was still kind of in the minds of people as a possibility so I shouldn’t be too surprised by his reaction, but it was cute. Very child like.

“I am glad to help, but I think it takes a lot out of me at this low level. I am dizzy.”

He knelt down next to me and patted me on the head. “Just take yer time. The forest is still quiet. I would never have learned how to fight without your help. You are invaluable.”

I blushed and looked down. I didn’t feel invaluable. I was pretty useless in that I could only cast one spell and then become incapacitated for a while. I know Clint would have figured it out eventually or even just asked his guide book when he was ready to venture out again. I felt like I was tricking him into thinking I was some all knowing encyclopedia of game knowledge here to save him from the big bad game.

Clint plucked some flowers near by to offer to my bag, chattering on about how amazing that skill felt. He said it felt like something took over his body, making it faster and stronger than it should have been. It made him feel invincible.

Soon, I was feeling better. I wasn’t sure how long it took until the fatigue dissipated, but it was several minutes. My bag was now full of flowers. I hoped at least some were going to be worth the time and effort. Clint helped me to my feet and I dusted off my pants, some of the yellow dust from the slain mob puffed out and prompted me to consult my guide book again.

[Blight - Twig]

Level 1

Earth Element

Blights are plants that have been cursed by malicious magic. They become hungry for the flesh of warm blooded creatures. They are relatively harmless individuals due to a lack of intelligence, but they often make up for that in numbers. When the alarm pollen is released, it is best to run or you will be overgrown with them.

“Shit.” I grabbed Clint’s hand and tugged at him. “We need to go. Now, quick.”

He didn’t hesitate and ran beside me, but he did not stop talking and protesting our sudden retreat. “But if they are that weak, we can take them. You can heal, I can smash.”

Apparently, the fight gave him too much confidence. This wasn’t good.

I saw movement to our left. The figure looked much like the Blight we had taken care of but it was not shambling. It was sprinting and getting closer to us. I shouted in surprise and was unable to form words. I know “gyaaaahhhh!” is not a very accurate warning, but it seemed to do the trick as Clint activated his skill and ed to the creature. It must have been a critical hit as the Blight fell easily and no dust rose. I felt the jingle in my bag again.

I didn’t stop running. Clint’s large strides easily caught up to my small but swift pace. I looked over my shoulder for more movement and found plenty. It looked like the entire forest was racing after us. I nearly tripped but Clint’s hand in the small of my back kept me upright and going.

In front of us, the black of the tower was starting to come into view. It was going to be a close call. Something shot around us and I felt something pierce my backside. Clint grunted in pain as well. I glanced behind me again to see one of the Blight throwing what appeared to be pine needles at us. Thankfully, the creature had pitiful aim, but it got lucky with several hits. It was making it difficult to run and I was feeling a bit weak.

“Don’t tell me they are poisoned!” I grumbled.

Two Blight stepped into our path. Clint’s had not recharged it, it seems, but he was able to hack at one as I dove between the legs of the other and kept running for the tower. I promised him that I would get out of there if there was too much trouble so he would not have to worry about protecting me as much as defending himself. I winced at Clint’s grunt of pain as the Blight that I escaped slashed him. I reached the tower and as I leaned into it, I called up the heal spell.

“!” I felt the energy leave me and I sank into the black of the marble.