The three Elves huddle in a family hug, discussing their path forward. The mother lives in a village just inland of Assah, as did the father before he turned to piracy. In a stroke of luck for job-seeking, the father was the ship's cook and a good one at that, so he thinks there's a possibility he could get a legitimate job here in Assah.
He's grown to be quite a bit higher level than his peers here in Assah, a benefit of sea battles against monsters and with a higher level crew, so he'll have to wear the red bracelet, but that might actually help him get work if the shop owner doesn't want to hire security.
So with high hopes for the future, their decision is made. "If you'll give me the reference, I'll gladly join your friend and start over. Like a fresh start at life, I'm level 1 again; I need to do better this time and not chase my father into a life of crime."
Her dad looks more than a bit sheepish at that point, and her mom clearly blames him for their daughter's delinquency.
"Once you get your level back up, we can see about finding you a legitimate sailing job if you like the sea that much. The Guild has a little money, enough to add a small merchant vessel to the fleet if you want to once you're ready. With the benefit of having been a pirate, you'll likely also know where to avoid and not make a blunder like mine and sail right into a trap."
Leafen laughs at that, and her father tries to his amusement. "The spot we were sitting, whether you went through or around, you'd still likely have gotten hit. You'd have to make a significant detour to stay out of our sights, which would take you hours off course. It's rare to see anyone there because the coastal passage ships aren't high-value cargoes. The Captains were simply greedy today, and it cost them dearly."
In that case, maybe it won't be a recurring problem heading up and down the coast. Since they've got a ship, they should at least put it to use, not leave it to rot like the King of Behar did.
Leafen's parents head back to the hotel they've rented for the night, intending to go home in the morning, and Cain leads their recruit back to the beach house.
Looking around at the freshly refinished exterior with the guards on duty and the old Orc next door who comes out to say hello despite the late hour, Leafen wonders what type of Guild she has fallen in with. They're powerful and seem well-liked by the community. They also have a wide variety of species and classes in the Guild, which usually means merchants or crafters, but what one of those Guilds could fight off a Pirate attack twice their level?
"Tell me, Leafen, what sort of class is the Forest Stalker? It will matter to Char when we introduce you later, as she guides low-level members through dungeons in groups and arranges for them to do quests together."
"It's a Second Advancement class along the Hunter path. It gets a lot of bonuses to stealth-type spells, as well as huge increases to accuracy and range with Bows. One of the innate skills is [Predictive Targeting], an advanced version of [Hit Box Targeting] which not only gives you the location your strike will land but calculates the most likely position of moving enemies to help you critically hit moving targets."
Now that's a valuable skill. There's a good chance she was responsible for a number of the Arrows that managed to drop Drakes during the attack.
"Do you still have your book skills? Or did you fully reset?"
"It's all gone. I've got the basic skills of a Forest Stalker, with nothing that came before it, but I was still saving for book skills, so I didn't lose anything too good except the previous class bonuses. I boarded the ship as a level 27 Hunter, and they took us out sea monster hunting on our first voyage. The crew is a raid party for the purposes of healing and such, so I just climbed the levels over the next few months while stuck below decks, cleaning and helping dad cook. It was half a year before they let me join the battles and now here I am."
That's no different from what Cain did with most of his Guild. Just bring them along to dangerous places and let them level up.
"I should explain a few things about our guild before inducting you. First up, we've got some unusual Guild Skills. I'm a Summoner, as you learned the hard way, and the System gave the Guild two related skills. One lets Guild only dungeon groups Summon Lesser Demons to assist them. The other allows every member to Summon two Epic Quality Golems of their own.
The Shaman who trains the rookies doesn't usually let beginners use those skills until they're competent and confident in their class, but she might make an exception for you since you're not a newbie. I wouldn't count on it at first; she's pretty strict."
Everyone present waits for the moment of realization after what he said sinks in. It's always fun to see, and this time they'll get a double viewing once she's in the Guild and reads them in person.
"Epic Golem... like the Drakes I was shooting down? How did the system allow something like that? That's beyond S Rank, giving such an ability to the entire Guild." There's the shocked and incredulous look they were all anticipating. It won't ever get old.
"How about we get you a Guild Contract signed, and you can see them for yourself. You'll understand more completely afterward."
"Yes, please Sir." Leafen's happiness is contagious, and a great cheer goes up after she reads through the contract and accepts.
"I like that. You guys should use the phrase Please Sir' more often." Cain jokes with his Companions, making Leafen blush when he says it.
"I'd like to say yes, as your true and loyal Companion. But it's just not going to happen." Evangeline chuckles.
"What she said."
"I would oblige, but your wife might hurt me." Vala teases him back, making Evangeline choke on her laugh and nod along in agreement. What exactly did they talk about when Vala said she needed to give the Seraphim vital information?
Leafen shakes her head, wondering how such a man became Guild leader unless it was by raw power. "You're a weird bunch. You know that, right?"
Laura flies over to land on Leafen's shoulder. "You have no idea. It gets incredibly strange once all the twins are in one place and excited."
"Twins? There are more, just like you?"
"They're all Summoned Companions, and one of my skills duplicates my summons, so they all have identical twins. Same appearance, stats, gear, everything." Cain explains.
"I take back my words. You're right; weird doesn't even begin to describe you accurately."
Cain hears footsteps coming down from upstairs and realizes the building wasn't empty; the people here were sleeping.
"What's all this then? It's Dark O Clock in the morning, and you're all yelling and laughing in the front room?" Mythryll says sleepily, her eyes locking on Leafen.
"Sorry, we thought the house was empty. Meet Leafen, a Forest Stalker who recently reset her level due to unforeseen circumstances, and our newest Guild Member. But what brings you to the beach house tonight?"
"Misha was feeling stressed, so I brought her to the library. We both got some new skill books made, with the help of Red, and I was going to learn them in the morning, then return to the library and look for more good stuff until it let me pick a better class upgrade."
Misha joined them while Mythryll was explaining, leaning up against Cain, half asleep and in a nightgown. "Come to bed. You're too loud."
"Alright, everyone finds a bunk. The only rooms claimed in the house will be those with people in them. This is our beach house of sorts, the only one we have near the ocean, so it's mostly used for vacationing and relaxation or when we need to ship things out that we can't sell inland."
Mythryll pulls Leafen behind her, showing the disoriented elf the rest of the house's interior. That's something Cain probably should have done first thing, so the newcomer could at least find the bathroom in the morning. He follows Misha upstairs while most of the group turns in for the night, except Vala who has gone to the living room to read.
Entirely too early in the morning, a cheerful Red and Arial are at the door, eager to see what Mythryll made of her new skills and to bring her to find more if they're not enough to trigger an acceptable First Advancement class.
They've also come with news. The Traveling Merchants Association has put a Quest out for bandits along the trade route, and the System has assigned it an increased amount of experience for completion.
