text: Out of every video game and tabletop game Dhane had ever played, this one, this heaven and fantasy world that he literally lived in, was the most delayed he had ever been in doing the one thing all gamers did within the first five minutes: check stats.
  
  He was an embarrassment to all gamers. . . . Hopefully, no one was watching some form of Heaven Twitch or the like, throwing popcorn at the screen.
  
  It wasn't like all games relied on early character build decisions. Plenty of games left the real building and min/maxing to the end. But somehow—probably that fuzzy database in the back of his mind—he knew that this world wasn't one of those games. His decisions mattered and affected everything he would do, moving forward.
  
  As such, and while the groups of trainees were marching toward the east gate, he summoned his phone and opened the Character app, staying behind everyone in case it revealed little details none of them needed to know.
  
  ─ Dhane [Arachnomancer, Assassin] Lvl. 1 (94/200)
  
  ─ Stats:
  
  ─ Health: 40/40
  
  ─ Mana: 90/90
  
  ─ Stamina: 100/100
  
  ─ Attributes:
  
  ─ Strength: 6
  
  ─ Dexterity: 9 (12)
  
  ─ Intelligence: 18
  
  ─ Vitality: 8
  
  Just by looking at the stats, he knew what they did. Everything clicked into place, and altogether, the system wasn't too unlike other role-playing games. This one focused on four primary stats, useful in infinitely different ways depending on the character's class.
  
  Strength increased physical damage by 1 for every point beyond 10. It also filled a requirement when handling heavy weapons and armor. It was the most ideal stat for tanks since heavy armor had a lot of health, and the tank's large weapon, slow as it was, did high enough damage to draw aggro.
  
  Dexterity, every point beyond 10, affected skill cooldowns by 2% and critical hit damage by 10%. Rangers, rogues, assassins—classes that depended on critical strikes—often focused on dexterity to provide solid damage while remaining outside of any direct threat.
  
  Intelligence supplied mana, the resource all classes used for triggering skills. Each point increased mana by 5, and each point above 10, improved mana regeneration by 2%. Intelligence affected magic damage, healing, and summons.
  
  Finally, Vitality represented the direct life link all entities had to this world. Every point increased health by 5. Each point over 10 also improved maximum stamina by 5 and out-of-combat healing by 2%.
  
  Since he hadn't done it yet, Dhane swapped to the Party app and sent invites to Devron and Aaliyah. They joined his party, which provided him with their stats.
  
  Oh, shit brownies. . . . The party leader had full access to the stats of everyone in his or her party. As soon as they clicked into Dhane's stats, they'd ask the inevitable questions, How do you have two classes? and more damning, What divinity provides the arachnomancer class?
  
  Well, that's just great. That meant he could never group with anyone unless he was the party leader. That was going to cause problems and make him look stuck up. Out of pure luck alone, he dodged a bullet with Aaliyah.
  
  Was there a way he could hide his second class? Apparently, it wasn't a common question because the information at the back of his mind didn't supply an answer. And why would it? He was likely the only person in this heaven with a dual-class.
  
  ─ Devron [Mage] Lvl. 2 (124/200)
  
  ─ Stats:
  
  ─ Health: 85/85
  
  ─ Mana: 25/25
  
  ─ Stamina: 135/135
  
  ─ Attributes:
  
  ─ Strength: 15
  
  ─ Dexterity: 7
  
  ─ Intelligence: 5
  
  ─ Vitality: 15 (17)
  
  This party was shaping up to be an odd concoction of stats and classes. How did an assassin explain such a high Intelligence stat—though perfectly normal for an arachnomancer—and a mage explain his complete lack of Intelligence?
  
  ─ Aaliyah [Amazon] Lvl. 2 (124/200)
  
  ─ Stats:
  
  ─ Health: 50/50
  
  ─ Mana: 40/40
  
  ─ Stamina: 100/100
  
  ─ Attributes:
  
  ─ Strength: 12
  
  ─ Dexterity: 12
  
  ─ Intelligence: 8
  
  ─ Vitality: 10
  
  At least Aaliyah had a decent balance of stats, especially for an amazon warrior, follower of the hawk. The main difference between her and a follower of the Lion was her proficiency with pole weapons: staves, spears, halberds, poleaxes . . . if it had a long shaft of wood, she knew what to do with it.
  
  Oi. Maybe Devron didn't measure up. . ..
  
  Mind, out of the gutter with you!
  
  But something did change between the two of them, and it seemed more than just a mild disagreement between party leader and strategy. A hurt ego, perhaps?
  
  Gorlan led everyone through the east gate. The guards saluted with a clasped fist over heart.
  
  A tingling, prying sensation swirled its way into Dhane's chest. He immediately responded by channeling his affinity of Light, following the Sisters of Death.
  
  Getting in and out of the city as an entity of Shadow would prove a bit difficult. With that thought, how had the two Cobalins gotten into the divinity room, beneath the arena? Did they have another way into the city, a way that wasn't guarded?
  
  The trainees moved up toward an array of platforms, the very ones that, on his first day and first time seeing the city, had lit up with a golden glow before people appeared in a sudden, swirling rush, like emerging from a whirlpool of light.
  
  They were waypoint stones, magical devices that allowed for quick travel between long distances. The longer the distance, the greater the cost.
  
  There were five waypoint stones, each about ten feet in diameter, with a circle carved into the stone, surrounded by arcane looking symbols. If Gameus was anything to go by, those symbols were of vital importance, and yet they held no familiarity, no locked away knowledge whispering their secrets.
  
  "The Wilds!" Gorlan boomed loud enough to catch the attention of passing adventurers, "are full of monsters! Training without real threat is no training, it's pampering. You see the real world today!"
  
  Gorlan stepped aside and a familiar blond man with a blond beard stepped up. He addressed the groups, "I'm Challenger Terry and this is Challenger Liandry." He motioned to a petite Asian woman with perfect posture, wearing a cascading dress of purple that changed to a royal blue, matching her eyes. "We've been tasked with helping today's training and will each take a few groups into the Wilds.
  
  "The Master of Arena has honored me with explaining today's challenge. Each party leader will receive a soul stone that tracks the value of all loot the party receives. The group that returns here with the most loot in value, wins 5 extra silver today."
  
  Challenger Liandry stepped forward, the fabrics of her dress flowing and floating around her as if she were underwater. "Our society is sustained by the resources that come from the Wilds. Any loot you receive is yours to keep. To further understand the adventurer's role in our society, and to earn the most coin for your work, pursue the sale of your loot to the city merchants."
  
  With that, the Master of Arena and the two challengers divided the groups up. Instead of nine, there were now eight, and one group only had two members.
  
  Challenger Terry grabbed the first three groups, per their rank in yesterday's challenge. Unfortunately, that meant Kevin—the blond douchebag—and his party, would be with Dhane's party.
  
  The third party was made of three young women, all with spears like Aaliyah's. They didn't have her ferocity or athletic build. They were like three college girls, more likely found in the library than on the court or track. But they had won second place, so looks weren't everything.
  
  Challenger Terry handed out blue stones to each of the party leaders. It weighed more than it should, fitting perfectly in the palm of Dhane's hand. He deposited the stone to his inventory, in time to catch Kevin's sneer.
  
  The guy really had a problem. Lack of motherly love? An abusive father? He probably was one of those Sims players who invited over the neighborhood to his mansion, only to remove all the doors and watch them pee on the floor and eventually die of starvation.
  
  "That armor," Kevin said, "doesn't quite catch your curves."
  
  "Hells, man," Devron said, "lay off the guy. You've been nothing but an asshole since you got here. You so insecure you gotta drag others down to feel big?"
  
  "Insecure?" Kevin's macho, red-headed friend said and laughed. "Is that what you call your fights with your wannabe midnight bump buddy? It's pathetic, dude. Get the hint, she don't dig you."
  
  Dhane plastered on his best, inquisitive face, accentuating his features to near comical lengths, then stared at Mr. Macho. This was called the Make Anyone Uncomfortable Stare, something he had developed as a secret weapon against meatheads.
  
  The macho guy started doing the uncomfortable dance, the slow head shake, the half step back, the flickering eyes trying to see what would make someone stare at him with such bewilderment.
  
  Finally, the guy broke. "What the hell, freak! What ya looking at?"
  
  Dhane acted surprised, as if he hadn't meant to stare so openly. He then said, "I just didn't know red-heads had souls. I think you're a walking miracle. How did you get into heaven?"
  
  Devron barked a laugh and Mr. Macho looked like he'd throw a fist, though Challenger Terry stepped in between them, saying, "There will be no fighting between trainees. Is. That. Clear?"
  
  "Yes, sir," Dhane said, already knowing how to gain the Challenger's favor: two simple words, words that Kevin's group clearly didn't understand and instead said things like Whatever old man or gave exaggerated eye rolls.
  
  Challenger Terry had a strong mastery of the glare, which may have been aided by the simple fact that, should he want, he probably could kill them all in a matter of seconds. This had the desired effect and everyone gave him the respect a Challenger was due.
  
  With that settled, Challenger Terry marched his three groups to a waypoint stone, warned everyone to keep their arms and legs in the ride at all times, lest they get torn off, and triggered something.
  
  Very much unlike the black portals to the realm of divinities, transportation via waypoint had a pleasant sensation of warm water rushing through every fiber of your being. Golden light seemed to imbue itself into each person's soul, swirling from head to toe, then all at once, it was over, and the world had changed.
  
  Instead of standing outside of the city walls, fields of green grass spotted with hundreds of trees and their pink leaves, they now stood in the shadows of giant trees, a green canopy so staggeringly far overhead, it was dizzying to look.
  
  "Where are we?" Bexley asked in wonder. Even if she didn't appear outright hostile toward Dhane, like that first day he so brazenly cataloged her bare form, the mere fact she was keeping her distance, stung.
  
  People like Kevin were a dime a dozen. Trolls, ingrates, whatever. They were playing their preferred role, and any nasty comment they could throw didn't matter, even if they caught a piece of truth here and there. But someone outright disliking him because he wronged them? Made them feel unsafe or vulnerable? Dhane wanted to make it right, just didn't know how.
  
  "You're all in the west biome of Ceratree," Challenger Terry said. "The mobs here—short for Monster or Beast—are typically lower level. This is a fantastic area for all manner of resource retrieval, be that from kills, finding chests, dungeons, or simply harvesting herbs and the like.
  
  "We're on Ceratree waypoint number 67, in case you want to get back here at a later date. Travel only costs 50 copper, one way, making this an ideal place if you are below level 10."
  
  Terry scanned over the three groups, pausing to consider each person, and giving his next words more weight. "If you're still alive, meet back here by 6:00 p.m. And set your alarms, the bus doesn't wait.
  
  "I'll be in the area, keeping an eye out for any Trechtas or Oomvats. They are big ass monsters that occasionally stroll through. Just use common sense, guys. If you find something bigger than a building, don't go Leeroy Jenkinsing it, okay?"
  
  With his speech over and no apparent questions, Challenger Terry summoned a giant wolf, mounted, and was gone. This left the three groups alone in the Wilds, standing on the only platform of relative safety for who knew how many miles.
  
  Unlike everyone else, Dhane started in the Wilds. It wasn't this mystical place of danger, it merely was another place to explore. He was the first to step off the platform, leading Devron and Aaliyah down a winding trail of moss-covered rocks and damp soil.
  
  Given the sheer size of the trees, it'd be impossible for any sunlight to reach the forest's floor. Instead, there were thousands of glowing fruit, hanging like teardrops the size of basketballs at every level.
  
  The closest ones to the forest's floor radiated warmth, like flecks of the sun had been captured. And they gave off a musical chime, each a different tone, vibrating in the warm breeze that spiraled around trees.
  
  Patches of lime-green grass with tall, thick blades, filled in the giant gaps between trees. Pink and yellow and white flowers grew off of everything. And just through a glade, an interesting plant sparkled. Dhane headed toward it.
  
  "Shouldn't we," Aaliyah said, "stay near the others? Ya know, safety in numbers and all that?"
  
  "Hells, woman," Devron said, "you want to be around those people?"
  
  "No! Not really, though we don't know what's out here. One wrong turn and our party leader goes splat again. And that didn't work out so well last time, did it?"
  
  "We'll be fine," Dhane said, kneeling next to the plant. There was nothing about it that would make it shimmer like it did, as if it were a sheet of polished metal, catching the light every few seconds. He grabbed the base of it and pulled.
  
  The plant made a pop sound and came free, almost with no effort required. He then summoned his phone and deposited the item to a slot, tapping it for additional information.
  
  ─ Ceraleaf [Common] Herb
  
  ─ The Ceraleaf herb is used by assassins to create common, low-level poisons. These poisons add Damage over Time effects when applied to an assassin's weapon. Poisons are a temporary weapon effect that does not stack with other temporary effects.
  
  "Whatcha gonna do with a weed?" Aaliyah asked.
  
  "It's an herb," Dhane said and stood. "This challenge is about loot, which comes from everything. We don't want to be next to anyone else, fighting over the mobs, the herbs, the random treasure chests—as Challenger Terry mentioned—in order to win.
  
  "This herb is used for poisons and can be sold to the system for 5 copper. I literally just picked up 5 copper. I could probably sell it for 10 copper to a merchant. That's the point—that's what we're here to learn. Adventurers aren't just here to kill, they venture out into the Wilds to retrieve stuff that others are too scared or too weak or whatever reason they have for not coming out here."
  
  Aaliyah considered this, then asked, "And if we run into a strong mob?"
  
  "That's even a bigger reason we don't want to be by the others. If we run into something beyond our skill level to kill, we can retreat. What happens if one of the other parties runs into something they can't deal with? We don't want them pulling mobs into our fights.
  
  "This is a low-level area, a place for newbs. And we're far from defenseless, we've got you to kick ass, right?"
  
  Aaliyah flashed a rather rare smile and shrugged. Devron looked surprised and a bit hurt, as if he had been trying to get her to smile for days.
  
  "And look there," he said and pointed to a little white rabbit with tufts of black fur along its back. "A rabbit should drop meat and a hide."
  
  "Heya little rabbit," Aaliyah said with a vicious grin. She spun her spear around, tip held out, and started creeping forward.
  
  Dhane wanted to tell her to not mangle the hide, though it was a rabbit, not even a big rabbit. Maybe the size of two softballs. To kill it without leaving a massive hole in its coat would be a challenge.
  
  Instead, and following more of an instinct than anything, he called out to the rabbit for its affinity. This didn't return anything of Light or Shadow, nor did it return a divinity. What it did do, however, was provide a name, level, and health bar: Raging Rabbit, Lvl. 4 with 134 health.
  
  This tiny rabbit had 134 health? That was more than Devron, who had a sheer abundance of Vitality, especially for a mage.
  
  The rabbit turned, and the black tufts of fur along its back formed the distinct shape of a skull. That alone should have given anyone pause, but Aaliyah either didn't see it or care.
  
  She jumped forward and thrust her spear down into the back of the rabbit for 10 damage.
  
  The rabbit spun around and shrieked a creepy-ass sound—like a dying kid—then one of its eyeballs inflated to just a bit larger than the entire rabbit had been before, completely shifting its weight forward, tiny hind-legs kicking the air.
  
  Aaliyah, in a very unlike Aaliyah way, noped the fuck out of there, leaving a very surprised Devron at the front, waving his hands out as if to conjure a new and powerful spell . . . or was that sign language for What the fuck is that?
  
  The creature made fast breathing noises, the watery, vitreous gel of its eye bulged, and its iris slid around to look at Devron and Dhane and Devron and Dhane until other parts of its body popped into a much larger form.
  
  That high pitched whiney scream that emanated from the once tiny, vulnerable, and perhaps cute, rabbit, was now a full-on, rumbling roar.
  
  Oh, shit brownies. . ..