Joining A Party

Reed stood next to the party members, hoping they would let him join. Simon stared at Reed and, with a smile, gladly welcomed him into their party.

Blaze, the magician with a weary attitude, walked up to him asking his name. He replied, "It's Reed."

Blaze folded her arms. "Oh yeah, what level are you in?" she asked, staring at him intensely.

Reed felt pressured, he knew If they know he was at level one, the party would dump him then and there. Healers were already useless enough as it was. What lie was he going to tell to save his skin?

Suddenly Simon intervened, easing up the tension. "Calm down, Blaze. You'll scare him away if you act like that."

Simon turned to Reed and introduced himself and the other members of his party. "Hi, I'm Simon, this is Blaze, and the guy over there is Dawn."

He pointed at a figure dressed in light armor with a bow across his chest, standing next to a tree just outside the village gates.

"I hope you don't mind accompanying us into the forest," Simon asked Reed politely, extending a handshake.

Reed shook his hand, happy everything had run smoothly. The status window appeared, a symbol close to his name indicating he was now a full-fledged member of the party.

And so they all walked out of the gate, meeting Dawn the archer outside. Dawn, closing his eyes, opened them and addressed the others' lack of urgency.

"You're late," Dawn complained. Simon apologized, explaining how hard it was to get a healer. Dawn turned to look at Reed and asked if he was the one. Simon nodded, introducing Reed.

Blaze grumbled, telling them they should get things over with. And so the party ventured into the beginner forest.

Walking past the tall trees, Reed surveyed the surroundings, taking note of the blade marks and slashes on the trees as they walked by. The forest had an eerie feeling and silence hung in the air.

Only to be broken by the sudden attack of a low-level slime monster. It bounced around, approaching the party with alarming speed.

"Stay back, everyone, I've got this one," Simon said nobly. He pulled out his sword from his back, engaging in a battle stance.

As the slime got closer, he readied his sword. Reed watched as the monster approached, wondering what he was waiting for.

As the slime made its final leap, Simon extended his leg forward and made a vertical slash, cutting the slime clean in half, then let out a sigh.

Reed watched, taking note of his capabilities. From what he had seen, Simon wasn't your average beginner; his skill rivaled those who had finish the tutorial stage. Why was such a powerful player here?

Wanting to know more, he got curious and tried to ask bluntly. "Hey guys, is there a reason why we are hunting here exactly?"

Blaze brushed him off, wanting to silence his curiosity. "We called you here to 'heal,' not ask questions. Mind your own business."

But Simon stepped in, knowing it would only make matters worse if they kept him too much in the dark. "Blaze, don't treat him like that. We are just here to grind and level up. Hopefully, you can get stronger too," Simon reassured.

"Well, that's fine by me," Reed responded confidently. He knew something was up, but he tried to dismiss it because of Simon's kind words, thinking it couldn't be too bad.

"Quiet! I hear something," Dawn silenced the party. His sharp senses were on high alert; something was coming. He brought out his bow from his back and readied an arrow.

Suddenly, goblins crept out of the bushes, their green bodies armed with clubs and axes, both of which were 'common' grade.

Dawn let go of his bow, aimed at a goblin's head, and blasted through, claiming first blood. The monsters rushed at the party. Blaze readied her staff and began casting a magic spell.

Simon rushed in, slicing through the goblins one by one. Any who got too close he would strangle with his bare hands. His method was cruel yet effective.

Reed stared from behind, watching them do battle. He couldn't intervene because he was too weak, but instead, he decided to study them, noticing what kind of methods they liked using to kill monsters and their skill level.

Dawn noticed his peering eyes, disliked the way he stared, and so decided to keep him distracted, letting a single goblin escape out of his range, heading towards Reed.

The goblin approached him, waving its weapon offensively. Reed was shocked, wondering how the goblin managed to escape and how he would defend himself.

He had no attack skills, nor a weapon built for fighting in close range. It was simply a gamble, but he wielded his staff like a sword. He swung an attack aimed at the goblin's head.

The goblin simply blocked the attack and countered by slapping Reed on his face with its club. Reed fell on the ground, defenseless, clawing backwards.

The goblin grinned. It had never taken down a human so easily before and it loved every second of it. It slowly approached Reed, slapping its club on its hand.

Reed's mind raced as he thought of an idea that would get him out of this messy situation. The others were busy dealing with the rest, so they couldn't help him.

Reed clawed back until his back eventually hit a tree. The goblin walked up to him, lifted its club, and was about to finish him off.

A line suddenly appeared across its frame, and it body was split in half by Simon's blade form behind, starring at Reed, he extending a helping hand.

"Be careful, don't let monsters like them get to you," Simon exclaimed.

"You're right, I'll do my best," Reed replied as he grabbed his hand, lifting himself back up. He went back and picked up his staff.

He stared at the battleground. Dead goblins littered the ground, some slaughtered by the blade, others burnt alive using magic.

The rotten smell of blood filled the air. It was truly a horrible sight to see, but one which was necessary.

The battle had ended, but Reed was still at level one. No one took any damage, so there was no one to heal.

Simon walked up to Dawn, complaining about him letting a goblin through and almost getting Reed killed. Dawn defended himself, explaining he thought Reed could at least handle a single goblin.

Simon countered, advising Dawn to stop making rash decisions; this is not the time for petty pride.

Blaze sighed, placing her hand on her forehead. "Ugh, they are at it again."

Reed sighed, knowing it was up to him to settle this mess. Walking up to Simon, he told him not to worry; everything was fine. Simon eventually sighed, letting go of the issue and focusing on their objective.

"Alright then, let's keep moving," Simon said, walking past the a pile of goblin corpses. The others agreed and followed him.

Reed followed from behind, clenching his fist. He wished he had selected a stronger class, but such is the fate of anyone cursed to wield healing magic.