Nathan clapped his hands together. “I have already said, I don’t want to fight people. I just want to be a healer and protector. Why do I need to learn a weapon skill?”

“Because Nathan, what if another pack of wolves attacks and you are alone?” El stated. “It’s been two days since the attack, but have you already forgotten what happened? What if you didn’t have that spear? You would be dead, I tell you what!”

“I took an Oath to never do harm against anyone!”

“What if you had to protect someone who couldn’t protect themselves? Are you just going to take attacks to the face?” El was on the verge of screaming. The fact Nathan has yet to give up on this point has started to cause her mental pain.

“That’s why I think doubling as a tank could work!” Nathan said excitedly. The image of him in steel armor carrying a giant shield while healing others of any battle wounds was exactly what he wanted.”

“Tank with what? Your bare skin? Do you have any idea how expensive good armor is? Leather armor is not for tanking, it’s to help make deadly blows less deadly. So the healer can run over and help! How fast do you expect to move in armor?”

Nathan rubbed at his eyes. “I thought you saw dwarves with armor heavier than a house sprint hundreds of feet in a blink of an eye?”

“Who knows what skill that is. Do you want to risk the fact it’s a hidden skill? Or one that can only be taught or learned by a Dwarf? I want to help you achieve your goal, but you need to be reasonable. Until you start making money, you can’t be a tank. You should devote yourself to magic, you have no contract preventing you from anything! You could mix healing and offensive magic. Becoming a fearful figure on any battlefield.”

“And I refuse to hurt anyone still! An animal is something I can make an exception for my own life or for food, but that’s it. I can earn money being a healer and buy food anyways, so the point is worthless.”

“And what if the Church finds out you are a healer not a part of their Guild?” She asked. “They could take you away in the night, or send an assassin. Now you have no way to defend yourself, and it’s just a matter of time till you run out of healing abilities and die.”

Nathan was getting a little angry. “I would run away of course. Why does every one of your solutions have to be a fight?”

Peter did his best to stay out of the argument, but he found something interesting. “If I may, I have a solution, at least, partially.”

Both Elderade and Nathan turned to him and asked in unison. “What!”

“Uhh, what about the Iron Skin skill tree?” He pointed at a piece of paper showing the skill listed.

Nathan quickly opened his skill menu and found the skill tree. There he could select it and read the only skill it would give at Tier 0. Putting a point into it would allow him to see more skills within the tree.

Iron Skin

0/10

Reduce Damage taken by Physical Attacks by 5%

“Oooo That could work.” Nathan said, interested in the skill.

“5% That’s it?!” She asked aloud, also looking at it.

“Do you know how much it increases with additional ranks?” Nathan asked hopefully.

El shook her head. “No, I don’t. But how does this solve the weapon problem Pete?”

“Oh, well if he could just gain a bunch of resistance to damage, then why would he need to attack anyone?”

“Honey! I thought you were on my side in this?” El asked, shocked.

“I am! I do agree he should learn a weapon skill, but with this skill tree, at least he could survive longer, and could put less points into a weapon tree. Plus if he gets a weapon, he could learn whip skills, and just tie up his enemies. No harm done, right?”

Nathan thought about it in thought. The logic made sense, but it just didn’t sit well with him. “Healing, Whips, and Iron Skin as my core trees. It could work.”

El rubbed at her forehead. “Whips are shitty weapons. However, I have a compromise, you want utility and movement increase as a healer. That way you can get to your allies easier, right?”

Nathan nodded slowly, waiting to see her angle.

“I’ve seen, and know, people who are called Dragon Spear Warriors. They have skills that allow them to use a spear as a pole and vault across large gaps. They have insane jumping skills, along with the ability to throw their spears further than an archers arrow. Plus, if you have a spear, and Gods forbid you get into a fight, you can use it to threateningly scare away people. It has a long reach, and would be easier to keep them away as a deterrent if that is still what you are after.”

Nathan thought about it. As much as he hated to admit it, she had a great point. He hated the idea of fighting, and would do everything he could to avoid it. Yet the thought of fighting wolves again with no weapon would make him an open target. A spear would cause them to hesitate, and then someone else could come and help him out.

“So Spear, Iron Skin, and Healing Trees as my starter? Along with a few additional life skills such as First Aid, Cardio, and Battle Mind?”

Peter nodded in agreement, and finally El did as well. “Now for your stats. If you want to live your life as a tank, and ensure you stay alive long enough to get back home one day, Endurance and Constitution are your two key skills. Next will be Wisdom, healers need as much mana recovery as they can get. Increase to Intelligence means more spells and less chance of low Mana.

Put five points into Strength and Agility now and it will pay off. As you Level up, you will need to put more points into them to keep up with your fastest of allies. Climbing, running, and jumping are going to be important. Especially if you want to remain mobile with that spear to get to allies easier.

Luckily for Nathan, he could put the points into whatever stat he wanted and see how it changed everything else before confirming the final result.

It was another day before he finalized all his selections. Guidance from El was worthwhile, even if they butted heads a huge amount.

After everything, he looked at his yields and closed his eyes to asilamate everything. El warned it was going to be painful, so he only did a little bit at a time. Ensuring he had plenty of skill points left over to look at the additional skills in some skill trees in case he wanted anything listed in those.

Name:

Nathan Shutlz

Level:

4

Stat Points:

0

Skill Points:

4

Strength:

15

Agility:

15

Endurance:

20

Constitution:

18

Intelligence:

12

Wisdom:

20

Base

Current

Total

Stamina:

175

102

175

Health

240

110

240

Mana

170

108

170

Base

Total Per Day

Stamina Recovery:

85

85

Health Recovery:

140

140

Mana Recovery:

120

120

Iron Skin

1/10

Reduce Damage taken by Physical Attacks by 5%

Healing Touch

1/10

Touch a living creature and spend 10 Mana to recover 20 HP on target

Spear Mastery

1/∞

Each increase to this skill increases proficiency with a Spear.

First Aid

1/5

Increase knowledge on proper medical aid.

Cardio

1/∞

Increase speed by 1% per rank. For every 5 ranks increase Stamina Recovery by 1%.

Battle Mind

1/10

Increase awareness of one's surroundings during combat. Every 2 ranks increase Wisdom by 1 point.

Nathan had selected these skills to best increase his chance of being invited to a party. El knew her stuff, and Nathan had only disagreed with the weapon skill with her. She only knew a few tiers into the Battle Mind and Cardio tree, never touching the other four in her life.

Cardio had plenty of mobility skills that would keep him alive in combat, while Battle Mind would do the same but with his mind. Before selecting any new skills, he took a look at all the new options before him.

Tier 0:

Healing Touch - 1/0

Touch a living creature and spend 10 Mana to recover 20 HP on target

Tier 1:

Invigoration Ray - 0/10

Heal a living creature within 50ft. 10 Mana to recover 10 HP on a target

Remove Poison - 0/10

Remove Points from a target. 40 Mana

Cleanse - 0/5

Removes dirt and grime from the target. 25 Mana.

Tier 0:

Iron Skin - 1/10

Reduce Damage taken by Physical Attacks by 5%

Tier 1:

Troll Blood - 0/10

Increase Health Recovery by 10%

Enduring Strength - 0/10

5% of Endurance stat is added to Strength

Stone Bones - 0/5

Increase resistance to Knockback by 10%

Poison Resistance - 0/10

Reduce the effects of Poison by 10%

Tier 0:

Spear Mastery - 1/∞

Tier 1:

Spear Throw - 0/5

Increase aim when throwing a spear by 15%. Increase distance thrown by 50%.

Spear Thrust - 0/10

You thrust forward with your spear, aiming for a vial area. 20 Stamina.

Sweep - 0/10

Using your spear, you swing your weapon in front of you hitting all targets within reach. 50 Stamina

Vault - 0/4

You use momentum to carry yourself over a great distance using your weapon. Increase of this skill will increase proficiency in this action.

Instantly a few skills popped out at him. Invigoration Ray was a for sure pick. The ability to heal at a range would do wonders. In Iron Skin, Enduring Strength would only get better over time, from both increasing his Endurance and the skill. Troll blood was another fantastic skill he wanted to take instantly, but decided to wait for El’s opinion.

The Spear Mastery tree had only one that interested him: Vault. It was exactly what El talked about, and the fact it only could be increased to Rank 4 was unique to all the other skills he has seen so far.

After an hour of debate with Elderade, Nathan acquired the skills Invigoration Ray, Cleanse, Troll Blood, and a skill that came after First Aid called Field Medic. It increased his understanding of the severity of wounds.

Elderade informed him his build was similar to that of a Battle Medic. A position within the Kings Army that sometimes doubled as members of the Church or Temple.

She also suggested Cleanse as nobody liked walking around dirty or bloody. It would be like a portable shower. She reminded Nathan to not use it so carelessly, and to keep an eye on his mana. The best time to use it would be after a mission was completed, and he was heading back to the Adventures Guild for the reward.

The more and more information Elderade shared with Nathan, caused him wanting to know her past even more. Eventually he cracked and decided to ask.

“El, you know so much and have been so freely sharing this with me and helping me. Why?”

“Because you saved my son. I owe you this much and so much more.” She said with a genuine smile.

“I doubt that’s the only reason. Regardless, I want to know how you know so much. If you don’t or can’t share, I understand, but Peter let slip your level, and after watching you fight those wolves...why are you here as a farmer's wife?”

She looked over at Dale who was taking a nap in his crib. “Because Nathan, I lived a terrible life. I refuse to talk about it, but I secretly want you to succeed with your choice at helping people. I was part of the Rangers Guild and Adventurers Guild in my early days, and I so dearly wished I lived my life differently.”

“I was taught and raised to kill, destroy, and ensure absolute victory. I don’t have a single skill, spell, or piece of knowledge on how to create life, raise crops, or even ensure my children live a long and happy life.”

She sniffed back some tears and looked at Nathan. “I met and fell in love with Peter. A man who wasn’t even Awakened when I met him. He helped me at one of my lowest points in my life. I bought out my contracts, and hid away from all of those who would need me, only keeping contact with the closest of friends whom I could trust.”

“I won’t lie, when you showed up on my doorstep, I thought you were somebody trying to drag me back to my old life. If I didn’t believe your story, you would be dead right now. Long before the wolves attacked.”

“If I killed you, Marcilio would be dead. It’s because of that, is why I help you. I have knowledge far more than one should ever experience in their life. It’s why I wish for my children to never join the Adventurers Guild.”

Nathan looked a bit insulted. “But you almost forced me into it?”

El shook her head. “Not for that reason. I don’t want you to be a murderer. It’s a mix for your own safety, and so you can finally get out of this small farm house. You will still be at Twin Oaks for many years until you are at least level twenty, if not more. You might be gone for several days at a time, but our door and table are always open to you Nathan Shultz...Doctor Nathan Shultz that is.” She smiled.

“Thank you El. If not for you and your family, I would be so beyond lost and confused, I feel my life would be severely different.”

“Oh don’t thank me yet, wait till your little going away gifts Peter and I got you.” She nodded over to Peter who left to go and get something.

“Oh no, I refuse anything you have for me. I feel like I owe you instead.”

She stuck out her tongue. “Too bad, we didn’t keep receipts. Guess it will all go to waste then right?”

“Wait, receipts are a thing here?”

Peter walked in with a bag and a spear. The Spear was slightly nicer than the one Nathan fought with. The shaft was a dark wood, with a steel tip. The entire thing was smooth and straight. The bag was a new backpack full of some supplies such as rope, bandages, and a few days of food.

“How, how did you get all this so soon? It’s been only two and a half days since I told you about the blinking light, and we spent all day figuring out my skills.”

“A woman never tells her secrets. I also have this, our final way of helping you for now. If we ever get lucky and come across a small fortune in this damned farm land, expect more gifts.” She held out a sealed envelope. “Hand that to the desk clerk at the Guild. Inside is a letter of recommendation, that should help cover why you are already Awakened and at Level 4. Don’t ask who it’s from, or how I got it, that’s all I can ask.”

Nathan was hesitant to take the letter, but knew if he didnt’ he would be a fool. In the medical world, recommendations could move mountains. In a magical one, how much more could be moved?

“I- I don’t know what to say.” Nathan had a hard time holding back his own tears.

“You already said thank you. Just take them Nate.” Peter said, holding out the gifts.

“We will spend a couple of days going over your skills, spells, and I will show you how to hold the spear properly. After that, you are going to join the guild finally.”