The other search parties met us on the way back to the cabin.

"What happened?" Van asked. His body was tense and he looked worried.

"We heard fighting and went to investigate," Bjoukin added.

"Oh, and don't forget the flash and smoke! Somebody was busy throwing Fire Bolts! And I have a major suspect in mind," Rijana joked to lighten the mood.

I stared at her incredulously. I couldn't believe she could make a stupid joke at this moment.

"We were ambushed by the Black Jester and he was defeated," Kalistra replied nonchalantly. She quickly opened her sack and showed off the deceased jester's white mask.

"Damn it!" the paladin shouted while punching his fist at a nearby tree in frustration. *BAM* He REALLY wanted to be the one to take down that smirking fop!

"I'm sorry," I said quietly. "Apparently, he waited for us to split before approaching me."

"But he still lost," the cat girl smirked.

Rijana clapped her hands. "It's getting late. Let's go back to the cabin and have lunch there," she suggested.

"Good idea," I nodded. I didn't want to waste any more time standing here in the woods.

Yradmin observed our interactions with amusement. While I outranked everyone else in the party, I did not take offense in the lack of respect shown to me. In fact, he suspected that I was actively encouraging the others to act normally around me. And that impressed Yradmin very much. Seeing that everyone was looking at him now, the guide took the lead and showed us a shortcut to return to the cabin a bit sooner.

Rystole was not in the cabin. However, we heard the sound of a tree being chopped and we knew he was the one chopping down the tree.

Yradmin looked me and said, "Milord, we should take a lunch break now before continuing on with our search."

"Okay," I agreed. "Let's eat."

Our party sat down on the front porch of the cabin and started eating our provisions. It was a hard piece of bread, cheese, cured meat, and some seeds. With plain water to drink.

I had a hard time biting off a piece of the bread with my teeth and had to use my dagger to cut it into smaller pieces. The meat was extremely salty. Therefore, I only took one slice of meat and wrapped up the rest. There was no need for me to suffer. After all, I will be returning to Southampton soon and I could grab better grub then.

When I finished my unappetizing meal, I devoted my time toward clearing up my backlog of in-game messages. I was really surprised to see that my skill in the Fire sphere had advanced two levels, to Level 7 now. But then again, I was practically spamming the Fire Bolt spell non-stop during the fight with the Skeletal Knights, which were evidently much stronger than the ordinary skeletons. I ended up casting 20 Fire Bolts during the fight and receiving 500 XP for successfully casting them. I was credited with killing three skeletal knights for 250 XP each. I received another 250 XP for defeating the Black Jester even though it was the demons who killed him. I believed that was because the demons were under my command and thus, I received credit for their kills.

I paused for a moment to consider this outcome. If I was receiving credit for the kills of my minions, then this was almost like a cheat ability because I wasn't doing any work personally for the experience. It would be similar to getting XP from running a business, which I had successfully pulled off with a wholesaling business for signs back in Tregome.

It was a shame that I didn't choose the Tamer or Summoner profession because it would have been much easier to gain experience through my minions. But then again, I was the type of person who preferred getting his hands dirty. Therefore, I doubted that I would enjoy my time in this gaming world as much if I chose either of those professions instead.

In addition to experience from fighting, I also gained a small sum, 300 XP, for my use of the Spirit Sense and Magic Sense while walking around in the woods. Once my pop-up messages were dismissed, I pulled up my Player Status Screen and reviewed my personal stats:

A picture of my player avatar was in the left column and right above that read: “Title: Pursuer of the Crown, Title: Finalist in the Melee Tournament, Title: Undead Hunter, Title: Were-Hunter, Title: Avenger of the Town Judge Wachtel; Title: Liege of the Butterfly School of Swordsmanship, Title: Protector of Southampton, Status: Member of the Mage Guild, Status: Adept of the Butterfly School of Swordsmanship, Status: Adept of the Church of Britannia, Status: Town Judge of Tregome, Status: Honorary member of the Tregome Bordermen, Status: True Friend of Burnhamm Village.”

The middle column read: "Name: Lawrence Eugene Mulligan, Race: Human, Alignment: Lawful-Neutral, Permanent Conditions: Marked by Bane, Marked by Musa, Marked by Luck, Marked by Gaea, Marked by Jasla; Profession: Mage/Swordsman, Level: 7, Experience: 28,750/21,000, Reputation: 16,152, Attack: 40, Damage: 6-8 (Unarmed), 8-12 (Dagger), 8-18 (Long Sword), Critical Attack: 8%, Critical Damage: 250%."

On the right side of the screen, my player attributes were listed: "Health: 76, Stamina: 46, Magic: 35, Strength: 20, Intelligence: 25, Wisdom: 12, Dexterity: 19, Constitution: 26, Charisma: 12. Abilities: Navigation-Sense (Level 5), Magic Sense (Level 6), Immunity to Electricity (Level 1), Negotiation (Level 5), Spirit Sense (Level 8), Reroll (Level X)."

At the bottom were five tabs. The first was marked "Skills." When I mentally clicked on the tab, I saw: "Professional Skills: Mage—Read Magic (Level 7); Swordsman—Dual-Weld (Level X), Charge (Level 6), Disarm (Level 4), First Strike (Level 3), Slide Step (Level 4), Duel Winner (Level 2)." The second tab was "Magic Spells: General (Level 3)—Detect Trap, Light, Dispel Magic; Fire (Level 7)—Fire Bolt, Fireball; Water (Level 2)—Acid Arrow; Earth (Level 2)—Armor, Web; Air (Level 2)—Magic Missile; Light (Level 2)—Protection from Undead; Dark (Level 2)—Dark Vision, Darkness." The third tab was: "Divine Spells: Order—Unveil (Level X), Chaos—Veil (Level X), Charm Opposite Sex (Level X); Life—Minor Heal (Level X)." The fourth tab was "Artifacts," and it revealed: "Truth-Stone of Order and Chaos—Truth-Telling (Level X)." The newest tab was "Followers," and it listed: "Bila, Journeyman Swordsman."

I saw that I had earned enough experience to advance to Level 8. But I decided to delay my advancement in order to learn new spells and skills.

Kalistra read my screen with great interest. She was impressed with my continual growth in swordsmanship as well as my dramatic increase in reputation. Of course, it wasn't a matter of altruism on her part. Since she was my official instructor in swordsmanship, my personal reputation reflected on her as well.

"What combat skill should I add?" I asked her. Two nights had passed since I last checked my player status. And, coincidentally, this was the end of my second week in this gaming world. I hoped that I wouldn't be stuck in this world forever because even though I was enjoying my stay (somewhat), I realized that I missed home and all the modern comforts of living.

"Considering how frequently you seem to be fighting the undead these days, you should learn to use a blunt weapon," Kalistra recommended honestly, to her chagrin.

Bjoukia giggled. "Aren't you committing sacrilege? How could a Master Swordswoman recommend her pupil use something other than a sword?" the Elf fighter teased the cat girl mercilessly.

Kalistra's tail flickered back and forth. She hissed back.

Van quickly held up his hand. "My dear lady, Master Kalistra makes perfect sense in offering her recommendation to Brother Mulligan. Despite her superior swordsmanship, Kalistra recognizes the inherent weakness of an edged weapon against skeletons and the difficulties that halving the sword damage will cause for him. She only has his best interests at heart and it is a commendable act by her in doing so," he praised generously.

The cat girl nodded slightly in acknowledgment.

"I would be more than happy to teach you how to use a mace, Brother Mulligan," he offered.

I nodded. "I appreciate it." I turned my attention over to Rijana, my magic instructor. "Rijana, I need to report back to the Magic Guild and turn over the Black Jester's mask. At that time, I will be able to choose a scroll as part of my reward. What do you recommend that I ask for?"

The Enchanter took a sip of her wineskin as she contemplated a response. "It depends on two things: what path you want to take with your magic; and whether you want a spell you could use immediately, or pursue hard-to-get magic," Rijana replied. Seeing my quizzical expression, she continued. "I assume you could learn Fourth-Tier magic now but not Fifth-Tier, correct?"

I nodded. Due to my Dual-Class in Swordmage, I needed to earn double the normal amount of experience to advance my character level. Additionally, I needed to reach Level 9 in order to gain access to Fifth-Tier magic.

"Since you will be traveling across Britannia, the ideal magic to choose would be a Gate scroll. But that's a Ninth-Tier spell and it will take you a very long time to be able to use it. Generally speaking, all the travel spells are advanced and even Teleport Self is Fifth-Tier and thus unusable to you currently. Thus, I would not recommend choosing a travel spell from the guild. Additionally, if you choose to become an Enchanter, you could learn the magic you need for this specialty from me. So I wouldn't ask for an enchant scroll either," she explained.

I considered Rijana's words carefully. I noticed that she did NOT suggest choosing a higher tier offensive or defensive magic spell. Evidently, those scrolls would be much easier to obtain from magic shops and thus, she did not bother to consider them at all. Instead, my teacher's focus was on spells offering great utility. This reminded me of Tescka, the spy mage and travel master of The Double-Cross Society back in Bristol. She frequently used Invisibility to follow me while keeping out of sight. I thought that was a good spell to learn. "How about an Invisibility spell that can affect my entire travel party?" I inquired.

Rijana's beautiful green eyes lit up at my suggestion. "There is a Fifth-Tier Air magic called 'Mass Invisibility.' Since you have Air affinity, you can learn it. And yes, it is VERY valuable to use during your travels." She smiled at me.

I smiled back. "I will ask for Mass Invisibility from Delkon, then," I confirmed with her. I turned toward Yradmin. "I'm going to head back to Southampton with my two bodyguards. Can you take the rest of my companions to continue the search for the ruins?" I requested. Speaking of Invisibility, I just remembered that I had yet to add the spell to my spellbook. I had received it as part of my reward from the guildmaster of the Magic Guild in Bristol.

The guide bowed. "It is still early afternoon. We should be able to reach Chilworth, search the area, and return to the city by sunset," he agreed.

"Please do so," I nodded slightly in approval of his suggestion. I turned toward my companions. "I will return to Southampton now and wait for you at The Trade Wind. We will have a nice meal waiting for you in the VIP room," I promised them.

Bjoukia immediately rose to her feet. She absolutely hated the hard bread she ate for lunch. "What are we waiting for? Let's continue on to Chilworth!" she said enthusiastically. She reached out with her hand and pulled Yradmin to his feet.

We parted ways at the cabin in Bassett. I led the cat girls southbound while Yradmin headed northwest. As I walked down the trail, I activated my Spirit Sense and Magic Sense again. Additionally, I activated my Navigation Sense; I had a mental map of how to return to Southampton. Roughly an hour into the trek, I sensed a wolf pack. "Wolf pack," I whispered. "Spirit sense SUCCESSFUL. +200 XP."

"Belly up!" Kalistra whispered back and dropped to the ground.

Bila and I immediately followed her lead.

The shrubs and plants rose to my thighs and provided ample cover for us.

With my Spirit Sense, I had detected eight wolves. While I wasn't afraid of losing a fight with the wolf pack, I preferred not to fight them and draw further attention to us. Such as from the big bear a mile to our east.

Somehow, the wolf pack had detected the three of us. But they couldn't pin down our exact location. The pack trotted the area seeking to flush us out of hiding. After a fruitless ten-minute search, the alpha male barked and led the pack away from us.

We stayed still for a few more minutes. When Kalistra finally rose from the ground, I jumped to my feet and patted my lower back. I had felt something crawl across my body and I wanted to make sure that it was gone.

Bila bent down to check my rear and the bottom of my backpack. "All clear, master!" she said cheerfully.

I breathed a sigh of relief. Wordlessly, I activated my three senses again and continued moving southward. Due to a lack of recognizable markers in the area, I lost my way and had to double back a few times. But after another hour, the gate of Southampton was finally in sight! The three of us hurried down the path and soon, we joined the line to enter the city. "Navigation sense SUCCESSFUL. +100 XP."

After a half-hour wait on the line, we reached the gatehouse. I saw a young man dressed in a white robe holding a board with a parchment. Accompanying him were two mean looking fighters dressed in chain mail armor and carrying sheathed swords at their hips. I looked up at the mage's caption and his name was "Boden."

"Your names and purpose of your visit?" the young mage asked.

I noticed that when he was dealing with the merchants in front of us, he wore a bored facial expression. But when it was my turn for an inspection, Boden was much more attentive. "Well met. I am Brother Lawrence Eugene Mulligan. With me are my bodyguards, Kalistra and Bila. We have returned from a mission assigned to us personally by Councilor Delkon and we need to speak to him at once," I explained.

Boden wrote furiously on his board to record the information. The seashell necklace he wore around his neck was magically enchanted to detect lies. If a lie was made, it would warm up against his skin. However, the magic item remained cool when he heard my response. The inspector nodded at me. "I will inform the Councilor. Someone will await your arrival at the mage tower and take you to him," Boden replied. He then stepped aside and permitted us to enter the city.

When we were gone from the gatehouse, Boden yelled, "Axus! Please send the following message by carrier pigeon to Councilor Delkon: 'Brother Mulligan has returned.'"

A young boy with curly brown hair appeared before the mage and saluted. The teenager wore a light tan robe with a yellow sash; he was an apprentice of the Magic Guild. "Yes, sir!" Axus wrote the message in a letter, tied it to the pigeon's right foot, and released the animal. He watched the pigeon fly in the direction of the mage tower.