The road northwest from Reeger's farm takes two hours by horse carriage to reach the town of Ryoma. Walking there will take Treo most of the day, and he was already a few hours along when he noticed someone in white off the road up ahead near the trees. As he continued along the road, Treo tried to get a better look at the person in white when he noticed a small animal run out from the trees. The small animal looked similar to a rabbit, but had a horn on its forehead as it ran towards the person in white who was bent over seemingly picking up plants or herbs.

: "Look out!"; he shouted as he began to run towards them.

The person in white whirled around towards the charging animal and put out a hand, beginning to glow white and causing the small animal to fall to the ground. Standing up, the person in white pulled the hood back revealing a young woman with emerald green eyes and long wavy auburn hair.

Treo was momentarily stunned upon seeing the woman's face as she closely resembled a younger version of his wife from many years ago. He blinked a few times before addressing her.

: "Nicely done. You made short work of that thing. What was that anyways? Some sort of magic?"

: "Thanks, I guess. I'm just lucky there weren't more of them, as I can't fend off too many at once. Who are you?"

: "I'm Treo. Nice to meet you. What's your name?"; he said trying to avoid looking like he's staring at her when he notices a few more of those small animals emerging from the forest. "There's more them. I'll hold them off."; he says as he equips his Sword & Shield.

: "I'm Stormy, and I'd be careful if I were you. I tend to be the instant target of any enemies whether I want to or not...it's a curse I have."

: Stormy? That was his wife's gaming name, he thought. Pushing that thought aside, he set Stormy as the target of his 'Shield Other' and he begins taunting each animal that comes into range of his sword. "I've got an ability that forces me to get their attention for all attacks, so I'm sure I'll be able to keep you protected. Just get that magic whatever ready, okay? Please?"

: "This has never happened before!"; she says stunned as she sees the animals ignoring her and attacking him. With this, she's easily able to dispatch them with her magic.

Each animal that attacks Treo gets killed at the hands of her magic. Although she sees the animals attacking him, Treo never shows any indication of being damaged. After a minute or so, the last animal dies at their feet.

: "How did you do that? What kind of ability is that? How is it able to override my curse?"; she asked excitedly peppering him with questions.

: "I'm a Defender, I have an ability called 'Shield Other' that transferrs any attacks from you to me and doubles my defense."

: "Wow! I've never heard of a Defender before, nor that skill. I can heal nearly any injury, but at the cost of drawing the attention of any enemies nearby. Most of the time, I can barely keep heal going continuously until someone comes along and kills things for me. It's why I'm out here alone...nobody wants me in their party."; she says dejectedly.

: Placing his left hand on her shoulder comfortingly he smiles;"Well, I'll be quite happy to party with you. I can keep their attention on me while you take them out with your magic. We seem to make a good team. What do you say? Care to join me?"; he asked offering her his hand.

: After pondering her options for a bit, she smiles as she takes his hand; "Sure. Thank you for having me!"

A pop up message appears in the overlay of his vision:

Stormy has joined your party

Acquired party passive skill:

Increased Experience Gain

: "Interesting. Being in a party with you will help both of us a lot. We should level up better than we would alone."

: "You think so? It would be nice if that's the case."

Treo tries to use his Analyze skill on Stormy and receives an error message:

Analyze skill level 5 required

: "Hmm...."; he mutters as he allocates a few more points into Analyze before trying again to Analyze Stormy:

Name: Stormy Level: 2 Race: Human Age: 16 Class: White Mage Title:

: Wiping her cheeks as she begins to blush; "Is there something on my face? Your gaze is...intense."

: Shaking his head; "No, I'm sorry. I was checking out your party information and was curious what a 'White Mage' is. The term is new to me."

: "The description I have says that White Mages are specialized in rapid healing, buffing, & cleansing. When I asked the Adventurers Guild about it, they said White Mages are specialized in combat effectiveness whereas Priests & Priestesses take much too long to cast their heals & cleanses to be of use during combat. They said there are very few White Mages, but those they hear about are often sought after in groups. I've had no such luck due to my curse...until you came along."; she said with a smile.

: "Well, I'm quite happy to have you with me. Again, thank you."; he replied with a smile as the two resume making their way to the town of Ryoma.

He was quite taken by how beautiful she was, and kept sneaking occasional glances at her. She noticed and couldn't supress a small smile of her own.

An hour later, they see two hooded figures on the road ahead and approach slowly.

: "Drop all your gear and leave the girl behind and we'll let you live!"

: Equipping his sword and shield while targeting Stormy with his 'Shield Other' skill; "How about you drop all YOUR gear and leave and we'll let YOU live!"

Two more hooded figures appear in front of them, as well as four more behind them for a total of eight.

: "I think not. You're out numbered 4 to 1. Boys...capture the girl and kill the boy!"; he commands as they begin their attack.

: Putting one hand in front and one hand behind, palm outwards as she begins to recite an incantation; "Bolt of Holy Judgment, attack my targets!"

Her long, wavy auburn hair moves as if blown by a wind gust as a white bolt of light shoots forth from each of her palms towards each group, causing one hooded figure in each group to fall. Two crossbow bolts hit her, but do no damage nor do they interrupt her subsequent incantation. Two crossbow bolts hit Treo, but also does no damage.

: Taking a sturdy stance and swinging his sword towards the 3 remaining in the group in front, they become enraged and turn their gaze upon him for their next attak. "I can hold their attention while you attack. Don't worry, I'll defend you!" He turns to face the group of 3 behind him and swing his sword, causing them to also become enraged at him.

As Stormy continues to attack while Treo defends, the battle is over minutes later as Treo's display announces another level up.

Level 3 acquired

10 Skill points acquired

Treo and Stormy look at each other with raised brows in response.

: "Wow! Level 3 already...that was fast. Grouping with you is already working out quite well. Thank you!"; she said smiling brightly.

Treo checks their gear and takes their ID cards, putting it all into his Item Box with the others.

: "At this rate, we should make enough money from all this fighting to buy what we need. Maybe even get 2 rooms in an Inn"

: "Sounds good to me. Thanks, Treo!"; she says smiling.

Soon the two resume their journey towards Ryoma.