After training so much I am starving, so I head over to the Tavern and join John at the bar. He brings me another bowl of delicious stew and some more crusty bread. In between bites I ask John about forming a party. While I don’t have any one to form a party with I want to know how it works.

John says. “You can mentally invite someone. They will get a notification for the invite and can accept. If they accept you as the leader of the party you can set up rules to split the loot, which can be as complicated as you want. Then each person’s mana bar and health are visible to each other. You can reveal anything else about your character you want. Max party size is eight people. Typically, you want a dedicated healer, two tanks, three damage dealers, and two spell casters. However, parties can vary a lot based on types of quests and the skills of the party members. Do you know what I mean by tank and damage dealers?”

“Yes, a tank would be someone able to absorb a lot of damage and keep the enemy focused on them. While the damage dealer could be either ranged or melee, who can generate or cause a lot of damage. Why list the spell casters separately since they can be damage dealers?”

“Good question. The spell casters would fill in as damage dealers or healers as needed, while also supplying buffs to the party and de-buffs to the enemy. You seem to grasp things very well, how about buffs and de-buffs? Are you familiar with them?”

“Buffs would be spells that grant some bonus to the party, while a de-buff would reduce the abilities of the enemy in some way.”

“Excellent. Well that’s the basics, any other questions?”

“Nothing for now, thanks, John.”

“No problem, good hunting.”

I return to the barrack and wave to the Captain as I jog around to the back and sit down against the barrack wall. I am going to switch to Fire Dart next. Before starting I check out my Mana Manipulation. It has jumped to Beginner 2, which reduces my mana cost by 11% and increases my mana regen to 6.85 per minute. That makes the spell cost twenty-seven mana, which means five casts before I pass out and twenty minutes to wake up and repeat. All right let’s get back to grinding. After repeating the cycle for the fifteenth time I wake up to find the Captain standing over me.

“Have you been depleting your mana and passing out all day?” He says.

“Yes.” I grab my head and look at my clock, which says it’s 6PM.”

“I am impressed. Most natives usually need a trainer to keep them at it to increase their endurance.”

“Thanks, I believe it.” I say as he reaches down a hand to help me up.

“At this rate you will get the first level of the Numbness skill soon.”

“First level?”

“Yes, the first level lets you stay conscious for a minute after dipping below 50% mana or 25% heal. Subsequent levels awarded will increase the time you stay conscious.”

“I already got Numbness while I was in the Starter Glade.”

“Great job, I knew you were dedicated, but getting that on your own is impressive. Now even though I would be the last one to want you to slack off you should take a break and eat dinner.”

“Thanks, I think I will. Have a good night.” I walk slowly over to the tavern as my head throbs in time with my footsteps.

I step into the tavern and over to the bar. Tonight's dinner is a wolf steak. I look at John and he laughs “No, not Alpha wolf, just a regular wolf."

I dig in and it is very good. I feel much better after dinner and make small talk with John before heading up to my room. I sit in my bed and look at the clock, which reads 7PM. I am going to try casting Minor Heal for 3 hours before going to sleep. My Mana Manipulations is up to Beginner 5 now with mana cost reduced by 12.5% and mana regeneration at 6.9 per minute. That will be twenty-seven mana per cast and five casts before I pass out and twenty minutes to become awake. I cast once and see a golden glow outlines my body. All the little aches and pains of the day fade away. I sigh and start grinding again. At 10PM I stop and take a quick look at the notifications I have accumulated during the day.

You have reached Novice rank in the Spell Mana Dart. 25 XP awarded.

You have reached Beginner rank in the Skill Mana Manipulation. 250 XP awarded.

You have reached Novice rank in the Spell Fire Dart. 25 XP awarded.

I have finally reached the Novice rank and got my Mana Manipulation up to Beginner. It was worth the hard days training. I collapse on my bed and fall asleep before even thinking to turn the lamp off.