Chapter 11 Hmm . . . Party?

"Actually . . . I have a sys–"

GrRoOwL!

My confession was cut short at the appearance of a wolf half the size of us. They were the same wolf that Lancelot defeated, but the worrying part was that . . . they were three of them.

"Get behind me." I pushed Soarsie behind my back and eyed the wolves that were circling us. Ready to pounce with their sharp razor teeth.

"Calm down, everyone. Even though they look scary, remember that you have powers now to defend and attack." Luke brandished his sword and assumed a fighting stance.

Jane came closer to Soarsie and readied her staff.

I, on the other hand, didn't know what to do. So I just stayed close to Soarsie to protect her from any danger while Luke leaped and took the first attack.

Luke wasn't fast and dancing like Lancelot, but he was good with the sword and managed to kill one wolf with just two strikes.

However, the other two wolves jumped and came towards us.

"F-fire!" Soarsie closed her eyes and jabbed her shaking wand forward.

I watched closely how a weak ball of fire shot from the tip of her wand and landed on the wolf. The wolf's HP bar depleted by half, and there was now a [Burn] status near its name. It rolled on the ground, and the burning status was gone.

Was that how to cast a spell? Should I have to say its name out loud? That's kind of embarrassing.

<No. Host and the others can activate your list of spells and skills with just a thought.>

<Host can shout too if you want. It would sound cool~>

No, thank you.

Focus! I screamed to myself when the other beasts went for Jane's throat.

It was time for me to cast my very first skill. I extended my hand forward in the wolf's direction and activated [Evil Wisdom] while recalling Soarsie's fire.

". . ."

But nothing happened though a –100MP was now apparent on my MP bar.

That 10% success rate was really too low!

"What the fuck are you doing?!" Jane screamed.

Oh, right. The wolf. Before I could catch its jaws with my bare hand, preventing it from tearing Jane's neck, Luke was fast enough to slice its head with his sword.

He somehow landed a critical attack, and the wolf died with a single slashed while Soarsie finished the last remaining wolf with her fire spell.

Amidst the battle, I was curious about how much her spell actually cost her MP. I bet the simple fire spell only cost her about –10MP or lower since she was casting it numerous times now, even though my MP was much higher than her.

Ah . . . so jealous.

Jane cut me a glare.

"Sorry," I said, embarrassed.

Jane wasn't having it and she growled, "Don't you know how to cast your spell? You just have to activate it with your mind."

I rubbed the back of my head. I could only apologize. "I'm sorry. It slips my mind. It's my first time fighting with a wolf, so I froze."

Jane rolled her eyes, but she didn't say anything more.

Luke squeezed my shoulder. "It's fine. There's always a first time to everything. Just make sure that you don't forget the next time because our lives depended on it."

I nodded.

"You okay?" Soarsie asked, voice and face thick with worry.

I nodded and swallowed my embarrassment. "Yeah. Sorry about that."

Soarsie shook her head in understanding. "Even I froze at my first fight. There's nothing to be sorry about. Just make sure to learn from your mistake the next time."

She winked.

*sigh . . . She's really a nice girl. I wonder how I got her to be my girlfriend.

"Let's proceed. How's your MP Soarsie?" Luke asked.

"I used four fireballs just now, so my MP is already half. But since I acquired EXP, I think I have enough to add another +10 points to it."

How nice. I thought. They received EXP enough to level their ATP. I wonder if the MP bar would fill once you add points to it.

<No. The only way for your HP and MP bar to be full is by taking items, specific foods, or by resting and sleeping. Your HP and MP will increase, however, depending on how many EXP you allocate to it.>

So, in short, if 10 points were left from your 20 MP and you add +5 points to it, it would just increase to 15? For it to be full again, either you have to take in potions, foods, or rest?

< . . . That's exactly what I said.>

That looked like a pain in the ass. The mage class will have restrictions in the early game by the number of monsters they could defeat before running out of MP.

<But of course, as your skill and spells level up, the casting time and MP cost will also lessen~>

I looked over at Jane. Since only Luke and Soarsie killed the wolf, the rewards were theirs to keep. I wonder if there was a way to split the rewards evenly and gain EXP even if you didn't defeat an enemy.

<There is. There is a function of creating a group in your menu. Some quests and dungeons also required Host and the others to form a group in order to complete it.>

<There is no limit in forming groups, but the amount of EXP and gil you acquire is reduced since it will be distributed amongst you.>

<Though you won't receive EXP, you'll still receive other rewards.>

What about the items?

<The items will go to your group inventory which will be available once you form a group. It couldn't be withdrawn unless everyone or the majority agrees which item belongs to who.>

<And if you left the group, then you won't have access to the items anymore. Likewise, if the group disbanded without allocating the items, the items would also disappear.>

Hmm . . . maybe I should suggest forming a party.

"Should we form a party?"

Every eye went on me.

"I think this would evenly distribute the EXP," I explained.

Jane harrumph and crossed her hands. "So you could leech the benefit to our kills?"

Apparently, she wasn't over with my blunder, and I think she'd never will.

I was doing it for you, though. I mused to myself. In this early game, a healer couldn't possibly defeat a monster without extra help.

Soarsie stepped forward. "Watch what you're saying. Everyone made a mistake, so don't rub it on him."

"I wouldn't if it wasn't my life on the line," spat Jane.

Invisible static clashed between them, and I felt terrible for turning the situation into this.

<+1000 Evil Points Rewarded to Host for his first time in making others fight.>

<Continue your evil deeds and bring chaos to this world one step at a time!>

Shut up!

"Enough." Luke stepped between the two women. "Cross is right. If we party, everyone could level their ATP."

He then looked at Jane. "You badly needed it since you're a healer, and you don't have an attack or defensive spells at the moment."

Jane grumbled under her breath. "Fine."

Why was she grumpy about it when she received all the advantages of a party?

"But, of course, whoever defeats the most monsters will get the most loot, too," added Luke.

I didn't have anything against it. "Sounds okay to me."

Soarsie gave a half shrugged. "I don't have any complains."

Jane flipped her hair. "I'm fine as long as I have EXP and a little bit of gil."

With that, we formed a party and pressed on for another round of grinding, testing the waters if we could actually make it deeper into the goblins lair with our current ATP.