The meeting unravelled the way most annoying meetings tend to do, slowly and with frayed edges.

  We tightened a few details and shifted the formation a notch here and a notch there. Tom, John, and Selene eventually stood. They went to spread the word so tomorrow no one could say they didn’t know where they were supposed to stand.

  Mary lingered.

  She looked like she wanted to say something, but in the end she just shook her head. “Goodnight, Elias.”

  “It’s not even late,” I said.

  She smiled faintly. “It is for today.”

  “...I understand. Goodnight, Mary.” Then she walked away.

  I was about to turn back to my status when I remembered him.

  The man who had been orbiting me for the last half an hour, pretending to stare at sparks and bedrolls, apparently found the courage to speak for himself. He came closer until the light revealed his figure more clearly. Average height, average build. Brown hair, brown eyes, a face you’d forget five minutes after turning away.

  Except I didn’t forget him. I forgot his name though.

  But he was the guy with the kid.

  The only kid.

  He took a breath like someone stepping into cold water and walked up to me.

  “Elias”, he said. His voice wobbled, then steadied. “Can I… talk to you?”

  I prepared myself for whatever request this man had. “Go on.”

  “I don’t know if you remember me; I’m Frederick… and… I’m not a crafter,” he blurted out. “I told people I was, but I’m not. I’m a Fighter.”

  Interesting. And annoyingly, we still didn’t have any means to understand what class other people had.

  Something in my expression must have given him hope because he went on talking with a kind of nervous energy. “I didn’t want anyone to know; if they did, they’d expect things from me. Send me out. Put me in danger.” His jaw tightened. “I have a son.”

  “I know.”

  That made him flinch, but he nodded. “Kyle. He’s six. He’s a mage. But I won’t let him fight. I won’t.” His voice cracked, and he swallowed it back down. “But after what you said today… I don’t know what to do anymore.”

  He looked at me like a drowning man looks at driftwood.

  “I’m a coward,” he said. “I know it. I froze the first time we were attacked. I panicked, and I lied. But I need to be strong. For him. And you said you’d help the people who want to fight.”

  He bowed his head just a little. “So I’m asking. I don’t know what to do. I don’t know how to use this class. I need… I need something. A direction, training… Anything.”

  Inside, my chest contracted, but in this case my interests were aligned with this man; the curse wanted me to help him, but I wanted him to succeed too.

  He was a fighter. Another one. I didn’t know if Frederick could swing a blade worth a damn, but the System had already given him the right skills. With a push in the right direction, he could become an asset. A protector, given his wish to protect his son.

  Outwardly, I just nodded.

  “You made the right call in coming clean,” I said. “Tomorrow, everyone who wants to fight will get their chance. That includes you.”

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  His eyes shone with something raw and desperate. “Really?”

  “Really. And you don’t have to figure this out alone.” I tilted my head towards the darker side of the camp. “Come on. There’s someone I want you to meet.”

  We walked together through the maze of tents and flickering fires; if there was something we didn’t lack, it was wood. I noticed his son, Kyle, a small shadow hovering somewhere behind him. Never speaking. The noise grew louder as we approached the corner of the camp. Apparently my people decided to band together even for dinner.

  Jerome was in full-performance mode, arms wide, voice booming.

  ‘And then I tell Melissa, “Watch this,” right? And I charge straight through three of them like a battering ram, blood everywhere…”

  “That is not what happened,” Melissa cut in sharply.

  Jerome shushed her with a totally not-subtle gesture. “Girl, don’t mess with the story…” he whispered loudly enough for anyone to hear.

  Marcus sat nearby, carving a piece of wood with methodical focus. Alya and Marco leant in, smirking. Quinn lounged back on his elbows, eating it all up like a soap opera.

  When we stepped into the light, Quinn spotted me instantly. “Hey man! Is it true he kept all the monsters busy so you could have a romantic one-on-one with a tree?”

  Rhea waved a hand while laughing. “Don’t listen to anything these idiots say.”

  Jerome doubled down. “It was a very intimate tree; it totally wanted him.”

  Marco snorted. Alya laughed. Even Melissa cracked a reluctant smile.

  Quinn added, “I heard you sent a magic kiss its way, and it just… melted for you.”

  “Pure seduction”, Jerome said solemnly.

  The whole group broke into laughter; I cracked a small laugh too. But not Frederick.

  He stood there, stiff and lost, gripping his son’s jacket like a lifeline, staring at these half-mad people joking about things he’d never seen.

  He didn’t get it. But if everything goes right, he will.

  I snorted and glanced at Jerome, then at the stick he was still bringing with him.

  “Hey,” I said while raising my hands in mock surrender. “It wasn’t me swinging my stick all around at the monsters while enjoying myself.”

  There was a beat.

  Jerome froze, looked down at the stick, then back at me. “Hey, this baby’s got reach.”

  “I’m sure you’ve got a skill for sticking with that, right?” Quinn butted in.

  “Oh my god, please, no…” Melissa covered her face with both hands. “Just no… not the dad jokes, I beg you.”

  “Of course I have,” continued Jerome. “Actually it gives me stamina; I can swing it all day long.”

  “Compensating for cooldowns?” Alya said.

  Everybody erupted in laughter. Marco actually bent over. Quinn slapped the ground. Even Marcus paused his carving long enough to shake his head.

  Jerome pointed the stick at me accusingly. “Look what you did; there are children here.”

  Rhea wiped her eyes and leant forward. “So? Did they finally let you breathe after dropping the ‘we march tomorrow’ bomb?”

  “More or less,” I said, settling near the fire.

  Marco’s smile vanished like someone flipped a switch. “Great. So now we’re babysitters.”

  I met his glare without flinching. “That’s one way to put it.”

  “I didn’t sign up to drag dead weight through monster territory,” he snapped. “I signed up to be the vanguard.”

  “And you will,” I said calmly. “If you want, you can take point tomorrow.”

  He stuttered. “Well, that… you know what I mean…”

  “At least we’ll stop running in circles,” Quinn intervened. “How many times do you want to come back here? I don’t know you all, but I want to actually progress. Make no mistakes, we improved a lot since day one. Hell, I’m as fast as a sports car in a forest! But I still want to survive in the end.”

  The fire popped. Sparks climbed into the dark.

  Alya nodded slowly. “He’s got a point. Staying static just paints a target on us.”

  Marco rubbed his face, jaw tight. “Doesn’t mean I like it.”

  “I don’t either,” I said. “But it’s the best option we’ve got, this or abandon everyone and continue on our own, but I’m sure nobody really wants that, right?”

  A choir of 'yes' and 'right' and a couple of grumbles followed. 'Good, at least in this we begrudgingly agree.'

  Rhea tilted her head. “And you really think the crafters can keep up?”

  “They’ll have to”, I said. “Three days in this place was a gift. Levels, stats, skills. I am positive that after making them fight, the system will grant them skills related to fighting, or at least some means to defend themselves.”

  Melissa crossed her arms, thoughtful. “Honestly, after seeing what we can do, with barriers, debuffs, and scouts calling threats early… it might actually work.”

  “Might. They could start improving and hold their own, or they could just be wiped out in a couple of days…” Marco muttered.

  “That’s the best we can do,” I replied. “Nothing here is safe, not stopping, not moving. And for sure, not avoiding fights.”

  I looked around the fire, at Jerome’s smirk, Marcus’s quiet focus, Marco’s frustration, and Quinn’s calculating eyes.

  Nobody was happy about this situation, but at the same time nobody had a better idea, so tomorrow we’ll march, and that was that.

  “To change topic, I have someone to introduce to you.” I gestured at my side. “This is Frederick, and the little guy here is Kyle.”

  “They will probably end up joining the team; I have a good feeling about them.”

  All eyes moved onto them. “H… hi, a pleasure to meet you all.”

  Frederick was nearly shaking at this point – not a good first impression, but we’ll see…

  20 chapters ahead!